Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from Children of the Great Depression (Paperback)

~ Robert (ed.) Cohen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From the voluminous correspondence addressed to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Cohen has culled nearly 200 letters penned by children. Poignant, heartfelt, and brimming with childlike faith, these missives represent a portion of the population often overlooked by historians eager to capture the heart and soul of Depression America. Viewed as a champion of the poor, the oppressed, and the helpless, Eleanor Roosevelt was beloved by legions of poverty-stricken children and teenagers, who reached out to her in record-setting numbers. Nearly every letter contains a plea for economic or material assistance, reflecting the physical and psychological burdens and fears visited upon the vast majority of American youth during their formative years in the 1930s. Perhaps even more bittersweet than the letters themselves, is the fact that Eleanor Roosevelt was unable to personally answer or address the individual problems described in such vivid and heartbreaking detail. A priceless primary resource for both amateur historians and Depression scholars. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A must-read for anyone concerned about poverty and its impact on the young. -- David N. Dinkins, former mayor of New York City

An honest, splendid depiction of the hopes, fears, vulnerability, and aloofness that both Eleanor Roosevelt and the children who wrote her needed to survive the Depression. -- Allida Black, editor of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers

Poignant, heartfelt, and brimming with childlike faith, these missives represent a portion of the population often overlooked by historians. -- Booklist

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (January 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807854131
• ISBN-13: 978-0807854136
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #390,203 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #37 in

  Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( R ) > Roosevelt, Eleanor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful way to learn about our grandparent's generation., August 12, 2003

By A Customer

This book contains absolutely touching letters written by the youth of America during a time when the country was struggling feed, clothe, and employ a large part of the population. Robert Cohen must have spent millions of hours researching the letters that were kept by Mrs. Roosevelt's staff.
Chapters focus on the following subjects: Ill-Clothed, Ill-Housed, Ill-Fed; Education; Social Life; and Minorities. Mr. Cohen draws conclusions based on the letters he researched, then includes letters written to Mrs. Roosevelt from the children. The letters are, for the most part, heartbreaking - I wouldn't recommend reading more than 4 a day, otherwise you might be overwhelmed.
This book gave me a greater understanding of what my grandparents lived through. I also that some things in life never change - our desire for art and culture, education, and societal acceptance.
A must-read for anyone with an interest in history, or for someone who is interested in hearing firsthand accounts of what life was like for a large part of the American population in the late 1920's and early 1930's.

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book of letters to Mrs. Roosevelt, May 3, 2006

By	J. Brandt (texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Robert Cohen has taken letters from children (and young adults) who wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt asking for help during the Great Depression. Mrs. Roosevelt had become a beacon of hope for millions of Americans who had lost everything in the Depression and the letters are, at times, difficult to read due to the needs of the people writing directly to her hoping she would sent them money, clothes or other items to help their families.
Cohen takes each group of letters and introduces them with a short chapter explaining in more detail the issues addressed in the letters.
The fact that so many people wrote to Mrs. Roosevelt (more than 300,000 letters) and the fact that her staff was overwhelmed and unable to do much more than send form letters in return or refer some of the people to social agencies speaks volumes of the fact that the New Deal just could not possibly help everyone.