Customer Reviews

The Extraordinary Mrs. R: A Friend Remembers Eleanor Roosevelt

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This short magical book, with 30 intmate photographs, does a great service to all who may have wished they had known Mrs. Roosevelt(The "Mrs.R" of the title). The author, William Turner Levy, reveals, in the affectionate telling of his longstanding friendship with Mrs. R, very touching and human dimensions to the already very detailed and historic portrait of Mrs. Roosevelt. It is through his enchanting and loving memoir, told through short delightful anadotes, that I gained new insights and perspectives into the private life and personality of Mrs. R. Indeed, not only did I gain nuance, I gained a strong emotional sense of who this woman really was. The excellent comments incorporated throughout the book of Cynthia Eagle Russet, a professor of history at Yale University, provided valuable historical and contextual insight into the significance of the role of Mrs. Roosevelt in shaping history and politics. I highly recommend this charming book to all those interested in Mrs. R and a part of American history coming alive in new and fascinating ways.

I've read many books by and about Mrs. Roosevelt. Including books by Joe Lash (a good friend), family members (Grandmere) and My Day. I've read the acclaimed biographies by Blanche Wiesen Cooke and other books about FDR. Perhaps this made the book more enjoyable for me, because I was already so familiar with many aspects of her life. I can't say any of these books succeeded as well as this particular book at communicating what she was like personally.

What makes this book such an incredible treat for an admirer of ER such as myself is that it is the first book of it's kind that allowed me to enjoy Mrs. Roosevelt one on one. The contemporary, intimate account of a friendship that lasted to the end of her life is remarkable for the tiny details that the author took the time to describe. What she wore, the pictures on her wall, the approach to her house. The many small expressions of her beautiful manners or personal habits. It was just a treat to read this book.

Last year I had the opportunity to listen to a speech by Nina Roosevelt Gibson, ER's granddaughter. That was a great experience as well because Mrs. Gibson's speech successfully conveyed ER's spirit. This is the closest I have felt to that remarkable experience of hearing a reminiscence about ER by a friend or family member. I had the sense that William Turner Levy loved Eleanor Roosevelt very deeply (as a friend) and that is why so many small impressions remained so vividly in his memory. I am so grateful for the care he took to describe his friendship with her.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that considers ER a role model or simply would like to learn more about this extraordinary women.