In 1932, a significant year in American history, the country was experiencing economic upheaval, natural disaster, bubbling political radicalism, and a rise of dangerous forces ushering in a new era of global conflict. Amid this turmoil loomed a choice in the presidential election between two men with very different visions of America: Republican Herbert Hoover and New York Democratic Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Former Los Angeles Times staff writer Scott Martelle places that presidential campaign in the context of the significant issues of the day.