Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933 [Paperback]

Blanche Wiesen Cook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1993

Cook hit a nerve with her portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt--the brave, fierce, passionate, political heroine of our century. A national bestseller, her authoritative biography has been celebrated by feminists, historians, politicians, potential first ladies, and by reviewers everywhere. Now this seminal work depicting the life and achievements of an inspiring First Lady is available in trade paperback. Photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This highly readable, well-researched work of feminist scholarship erases the image of the young Eleanor Roosevelt as a long-suffering, repressed wife and presents her as a strong, ever-evolving individual. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Eleanor Roosevelt is an extensively researched, revisionist text which sings praises of one of this century's most revered and least understood women. Eleanor Roosevelt was born in 1884 into a prominent American family, but her childhood was often bitter. Her parents could not offer her the love and security she needed, and they died when she was very young. Raised by maternal relatives, she studied for a time in England, then fell in love with her cousin, Franklin Roosevelt. She seemed destined to be a socialite wife of a wealthy politician, and that is how her life has most often been interpreted. But Blanche Cook chronicles Eleanor Roosevelt's real life: her political agenda - often refreshingly at odds with the powerful political arena surrounding her husband - and her lifelong efforts on behalf of women, children, and workers. Equally compelling is the author's compassionate and revealing study of this remarkable woman's personal life. Although her abiding respect and love for her husband and children is central to her life, it is Eleanor Roosevelt's passionate friendships with the independent and sometimes radical women intellectuals of her time, and in particular, her intense relationship with Lorena Hickock, which underscore her deep commitment and struggle to create a separate and fulfilling life for herself. We are left in awe of this woman, this freethinking iconoclast who bucks tradition, and of Blanche Cook's inspired telling of Eleanor Roosevelt's first fifty years. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Rebecca Sullivan

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140094601
• ISBN-13: 978-0140094602
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,402 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Roosevelt, Eleanor

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "...assertive, independent, and bold.", May 31, 2002

By 

Robert S. Clay Jr. (St. Louis, MO., USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933 (Paperback)

Eleanor Roosevelt's passions impress those who recall her later public image as a dowdy grandmother-type. No cracks about prominent teeth, please. Author Blanche Wiesen Cook does a commendable job of telling a familiar story from a fresh perspective. This book details ER's life from childhood to the beginning of her career as First Lady. The theme of the book is ER as "assertive, independent, and bold." As long as she lived by other people's expectations, ER was stifled. After she asserted her independence, she was happier and more successful. "She feared rigidities," Cook asserts. She abhorred the judgmental absolutes that she thought contributed to her parents' problems and early deaths. ER aspired to walk in the humanist footsteps of her mentor and great teacher, Marie Souvestre. Intriguing questions of ER's private life remain unanswered because she destroyed many of her personal letters and papers. Her marriage to Franklin Roosevelt was mercurial, and the boundaries grew undefined. After 1918, a crisis year in their marriage, ER formed a number of associations with women social activists. She embarked in new directions, and tirelessly supported women's issues. Ironically, she opposed the 1920s version of the equal rights amendment because she felt it would remove protections that women enjoyed under the laws of that time. Woven through the tapestry of the narrative are questions of ER's love life. Her close working friendships with lesbian activists, at minimum, suggest Sapphic possibilities. ER's views of love and sex were nonconformist, and included men and women. Both Earl Miller and Lorena Hickock played special roles in her life. Cook writes of Eleanor Roosevelt as a three-dimensional woman of joy and sorrow. This book is an eye opening and enjoyable read. Highly recommended. ;-)

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Angry about neglected history, August 21, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933 (Paperback)

I thought I was a decent student of American history; well, I am, sort of. Of MALE American history.

Not once in all my years of school have I ever had a history class that focused on the great women leaders in our nation's history--including Eleanor Roosevelt. It is a travesty that needs to be rectified ... and it can be by reading this biography of Eleanor Roosevelt.

What a woman! Was she perfect? No. Did she always do the right thing? Nope. Was she always presented in the best possible light? Nada.

Instead, what Blanche Cook did was present a portrait of a very real Eleanor Roosevelt--warts and all.

I never once gave consideration to reading about Eleanor--until I read a NEW YORK TIMES' review of the second volume of the biography. It compelled me to purchase the first; I will now read the second. I would encourage any and all women to do the same simply because what we have been able to accomplish in today's world can be directly connected to Eleanor Roosevelt, her contemporaries, and her mentors.

We owe it to her legacy; we also owe it to the children of today's schools to learn about her in our history classes. These women deserve mention as much--if not more--than the heroes of the Revolutionary War, the great presidents, the fighters of the Civil War, the World Wars, etc., etc.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Explores New Ground on a Famous Woman, June 18, 2000

By 

Dana Keish (Ohio, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933 (Paperback)

Most books that I have read on Eleanor Roosevelt stress that no matter how revolutionary she might have seemed, she lived her life within certain bounds for her time. Yet this book demonstrates that the historical character and the real woman are very different. The author portrays Eleanor as a woman who did not find herself until her mid-thirties and then was determined to live as she wanted. Her marriage to Franklin was not fulfilling and she needed more. She found this with various life long friends who shared her passion for politics and social change. The author does an excellent job staying on track, and keeping Eleanor in the forefront. This is definitely not a biography of Franklin! I found the information on the early life of Eleanor to be especially interesting, in how so many of the obstacles that she faced as a youth played a large role in how she dealt with others the rest of her life. Her childhood is hearbreaking and I can't help but think that even for all her wealth and priviledge, how sad her childhood was. She seemed to search all her life to find a home and finally decided to create her own with her friends, not her family. Even though she had five children, their lives were controlled by her mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt. Rather than become depressed at the various obstacles presented by her life, she rose above them and ultimately became a very fulfilled and happy person.