Eleanor Roosevelt. Volume one, 1884-1933, the early years
(Book)

"First published in the United States of America by Viking Penguin, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc., 1992 - Published in Penguin Books 1993"--Title page verso

Includes bibliographical references (pages 563-570) and index

Up to her time, Eleanor Roosevelt was the most important woman in American political history, and in this definitive biography, ten years in the making, Blanche Wiesen Cook re-creates her in all of her roles--as a visionary, an activist, a political wife, and a woman, far more independent than we knew. No other First Lady has had a greater influence on the course of democracy in this century, and no other book about Eleanor Roosevelt captures the complexity of her character--her wit, her passion, her boldness, and her commitment to greater dignity and security for all women and men. Born into the American aristocracy and into a family ravaged by alcoholism and self-destruction, Eleanor Roosevelt learned, rather than inherited, her progressive views. "Education ends only with death," she said, and her life bears that out. Though steeped in the sensibilities of the Old South with its facile prejudice against Blacks and Jews, she became an antiracist activist; accustomed to the jingoistic bellicosity of her Uncle Theodore, she became an eloquent spokesperson for peace; and the woman who, in 1911, said, "I realize that if my husband were a suffragist, I probably must be, too, " was by the early 1920s the most significant woman in democratic politics. "ln the future, there will be nothing closed to women because of sex," she told her students at Todhunter. Blanche Wiesen Cook's access to new archives, her superb insights, and her respect for her subject contribute a new perspective not just on Eleanor Roosevelt but on the world of politics in which she thrived. Every issue she addressed--both in her public life and in her private relationships--is relevant today. This book celebrates a woman of unfailing energy and blithe courage, whose biography can be used as a handbook--inspiring and exhilarating--for all women and men interested in a just society. --Adapted from dust jacket

This biography provides an evaluation of one of the most inspiring women in American political history--and paints a portrait of a brave, fierce, passionate polital leader of America's twentieth century