Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112639 in Books
• Published on: 1993-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140094602
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

From Library Journal
Continuing a major biography.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
From Cook (History/John Jay; The Declassified Eisenhower, 1981, etc.)--the first volume of a massive biography of Eleanor Roosevelt, which, in seeking redress for its subject, is flawed by its own (feminist) biases. Long overshadowed by the achievements of FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt's own extraordinary life deserves wider attention. The poor little rich girl who was born into one of New York's wealthiest and most distinguished families was unkindly called ``Granny'' by her beautiful but cold mother; lost both her parents before she was 12; was taken in by relatives who made her always feel an outsider; and, once married, had to contend with a tyrannical mother-in-law and a philandering husband. And yet, Cook tells us, there were triumphs and periods of fulfillment-- schooldays in London; ventures into politics and civic activities; and the golden interlude of the 1920's, when ER led her own life independent of FDR, becoming a sought-after speaker, activist, and commentator. Cook conscientiously records the achievements and the many unhappinesses--not just the discovery of FDR's affair with Lucy Rutherford--as well as the consolation of friends, mostly women (though Cook believes that ER had an affair with Earl Miller, one of the Roosevelts' security guards). The volume ends with FDR's election to the presidency, an achievement about which, for FDR's sake, ER was ``sincerely glad''--but which also led her to comment, ``Now I shall start to work out my own salvation.'' In less-than-luminous prose, ER gets her uncritical due while FDR becomes the typical male villain--duplicitous, weak, and owing everything to a good woman. Informative but not definitive. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

"...assertive, independent, and bold."
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. ;-)

Explores New Ground on a Famous Woman
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.

Angry about neglected history
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.