Customer Reviews

Eleanor & Franklin

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This is not a biography of Eleanor Roosevelt so much as an examination of her life with Franklin. Some of this story is heartbreaking, and one can only come away from this book blown away with wonder.

The story stops with Franklin's death and its immediate aftermath. Since this moment also brings to Eleanor a bitter reaffirmation of Franklin's infidelity, it is very sad. And yet, who can stay upset for long with FDR, who sacrificed himself in the causes in which both he and Eleanor most fervently believed.

The most interesting sections of the book to me related to the various campaigns and especially the historic third- and fourth-term campaigns. The 1940 election exposes the fragility of the presumably monolithic New Deal Coalition.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a great politician. For many years an anti-suffragette, she evolved into one of the great pillars of the New Deal and one of the great architects of the post-WWII order through her role in the founding of the United Nations (a subject beyond the scope of this book).

This is biography at its best.

I almost never read anything that can be even mildly construed as having to do with politics. I picked this up because I was going on a trip and it was long - 930 pages to be exact. I assumed it would be about Eleanor and her relationship with Franklin, not about him, and I was right. I really enjoyed reading about her childhood and young aduldhood. I never realized what an amazing person she was and how much she had to overcome.

Yes, there were chapters in this book that I read with a somewhat dazed attention as they included far too many details about far too many people whom I had never heard of. But even in those chapters, Eleanor's light kept me reading.

Highly recommended for its revelation of an extremely important American woman.

Excellent history of Eleanor, her childhood which was difficult because her wonderful mother died when Eleanor was 8 years old. Her father, Elliott Roosevelt, brother of President Theodore was an alcoholic and ineffective as a father. Eleanor was raised by her maternal grandparents, the Halls who lived in a mansion in Tivoli N.Y. on the Hudson River. Eleanor grew up to be a woman of deep intellect and great charm. Franklin relied on her advice when making major decisions. They had marital problems because of his dalliances but there was a lot of love and understanding because they had the common goal of serving the country with honesty and loyalty during the depression years and during World War II.

I loved this book. The story is incredible and will make you very patriotic. After this read, I felt compelled to participate in my country's political process and volunteered in the 2008 presidential race (won't say which candidate).

would have been a better title for this book. Slow in some parts. I believe you really have to have an interest in Mrs. Roosevelt to get through it. She was truly FDR's most important advisor. Not becauses he wanted it that way but others in his administration would defer to her. The book talks about many of her back door power plays to the annoyance of the president. These are amusing stories but too infrequent.