It Seems to Me

May 15, 2001
Most scholars consider Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) to be America's greatest first lady. Some even consider her legacy more important than that of either Franklin, her spouse, or Theodore, her uncle (see, for instance, James MacGregor Burns and Susan Dunn's The Three Roosevelts, LJ 2/1/01). Prolific historians Schlup and Whisenhunt (Western Washington Univ.) present 272 of her letters in this volume. There are already several edited collections of her personal letters to family and friends, but this is the first volume of her letters to political leaders, from Dwight Eisenhower to Mme. Chiang Kai-shek, and they are significant, as they document her transformation into a world figure after FDR's death in 1945. These chronologically arranged letters are superbly introduced and footnoted for the general reader to gain insight into the public persona that Roosevelt created for herself during the second half of her productive life. Highly recommended for both public and academic libraries. William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2001
Eleanor Roosevelt's status as one of the twentieth-century's most salient humanitarians is affirmed by the designation of Val-Kill, her modest stone cottage in Hyde Park, New York, as the only National Historic Site dedicated to a First Lady, and the founding of the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal Award, which has recognized such luminaries as Leah Rabin and Jessye Norman. A shrewd politician, Roosevelt wrote to share her keen impressions, express her beliefs in human rights and world peace, and offer suggestions for how best to achieve them. This is the first volume to concentrate on her letters, which constitute a two-million-page archive. Historians Schulup and Whisenhunt's annotated selections span 50 years but deliberately emphasize the period after FDR's death. Roosevelt's correspondents included Churchill, Averell Harriman, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, and Martin Luther King Jr., with her most vigorous letters addressed to an extremely attentive new president, Harry Truman. Forthright, savvy, and deeply opposed to oppression in all forms, Roosevelt tackled everything from conflicts in the Middle East to school funding to racism.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)