This was an outstanding book. I listened to the audio version and that seems to be a good thing for me with non-fiction. I hate that I am that way, but hey, know yourself and then listen to great books that you might not otherwise read, right? :)
I knew that I liked Eleanor Roosevelt just from the snippets of information I have gotten about her life throughout my life - and things I have learned about her along the way in books. But this was the first time I delved into HER, the woman, Eleanor Roosevelt. I am now completely a fan of this remarkable woman and must learn more about her! This book also taught me more about an aspect of World War 2 that I admit I just didn’t know as much about. I feel like most of my ‘schooling’ and even the books that I read are about the war in the European theater. I haven’t been all that aware of details from the South Pacific part of the conflict.
In 1943 Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, undertook a secret mission to travel to the Pacific theater to encourage and support US troops and to report back on how they were doing and what they needed in support. At 59 years old she traveled without an entourage, without even her longtime assistant, in a military transport plane into truly dangerous territory - the front lines. She wore her Red Cross uniform the entire time, even when attending ‘important’ dinners or functions. She also chose to spend her time with the troops, asking to eat with them instead of with the military brass, and so on. She visited injured troops and even carried home messages to their loved ones. She won over just about everyone she encountered, including Admiral Halsey who at first was completely against the trip. In the end he became one of her biggest admirers. Her work on behalf of US servicemen ultimately led to the G.I. Bill, among other things.
There truly is much more to this book and certainly to Eleanor Roosevelt! But this book is a great place to start in getting to know her a little better. I rated this a 4.5 but it continues to grow on me and as I write this I feel I could go up to a 5. The book club group rating was 4.1. Several hadn’t yet finished it.
Here are some links that go along with this book....
I had wished for a photo version of this book while listening… here is a YouTube video with the author and the director of the National Museum of the Pacific War and it provides just that… commentary with photos, maps, etc that takes you through the book.
One bonus about listening to the audio version is that when the book was over, they included a bonus track of an actual audio recording of a speech given by Eleanor Roosevelt to a woman’s group in New Zealand. I wanted to find that audio so those (in my book club) who read the book could hear it, too. There are 3 different speeches here but the last one, from August 29, 1943, is the one at the end of the Audible version of the book. It begins at about 29:10.
https://www.ngataonga.org.nz/search-use-collection/search/31399
From CBS Sunday Morning - Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady and Humanitarian
One aspect I loved learning about in the book was that Eleanor Roosevelt wrote daily dispatches, including throughout her travels. Here is a link where you can browse through her ‘My Day’ columns that were referenced throughout the book.
https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/my-day
She also wrote a column in the Ladies Home Journal titled ‘If You Ask Me’. You can browse through them at this link.
https://erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/if-you-ask-me
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