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A review by j_m_alexander
Eleanor by David Michaelis
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
A well told, well paced, biography of a complicated woman that I greatly admire on the whole.
<blockquote>...“perhaps because much further back I had had to face certain difficulties until I decided to accept the fact that a man must be what he is, life must be lived as it is… and you cannot live at all if you do not learn to adapt yourself to your life as it happens to be.”</blockquote>
Michaelis provides an unvarnished look at the child, student, wife, mother, lover, 1st lady, activist, and US delegate to the United Nations. The Roosevelts had a singular and immeasurable impact on the United States and the world, but Eleanor was the real progressive of the family (I would argue the indelible conscience), fighting for individual rights and allowing herself to evolve over time. The most intriguing parts of this book to me were likely the most personal, and that is likely because these areas were the least explored and most likely to be previously misinterpreted. Eleanor was imperfect and while often ahead of time she was nonetheless molded by those times. She was an absolute force.
<blockquote>...“perhaps because much further back I had had to face certain difficulties until I decided to accept the fact that a man must be what he is, life must be lived as it is… and you cannot live at all if you do not learn to adapt yourself to your life as it happens to be.”</blockquote>
Michaelis provides an unvarnished look at the child, student, wife, mother, lover, 1st lady, activist, and US delegate to the United Nations. The Roosevelts had a singular and immeasurable impact on the United States and the world, but Eleanor was the real progressive of the family (I would argue the indelible conscience), fighting for individual rights and allowing herself to evolve over time. The most intriguing parts of this book to me were likely the most personal, and that is likely because these areas were the least explored and most likely to be previously misinterpreted. Eleanor was imperfect and while often ahead of time she was nonetheless molded by those times. She was an absolute force.