Eleanor Roosevelt, The War Years and After, 1939-1962  (volume 3) by Blanche Wiesen Cook 

Eleanor Roosevelt remains a fascinating American figure for readers worldwide. During and after her time in the White House, she handily topped annual “Most Respected Woman” lists. I am slowly working my way through the more respected Eleanor biographies. Like many, I powered through Blanche Wiesen Cook’s first two volumes of this series. The third took many years to be published.

Cook is an insightful, efficient writer – akin to how we know Eleanor to have communicated. Moreover,  Cook’s research on Eleanor is definitive, extensive and perhaps most  importantly… was conducted with a woman’s curiosity.

While I really liked the book’s focus on years 1939 to Eleanor’s death, Cook focused on Eleanor’s public life. Perhaps there was more original source material for ER’s public life than her private or family experiences. Bottom line, I completed the book feeling  inspired and connected to this magnificent woman. For students and  readers interested in America’s rise of feminism and activism or the  power of systemic racism pre-Civil Rights era, Eleanor Roosevelt will always be an important woman to understand and study.