Author Youngs' biography offers plenty of information and surprises for new Roosevelt readers.

Though fairly repetitive, it explains Eleanor's early lack of confidence and the doubts which often continued to plague her.

What wonders a really good Therapist could have done for her marriage and her family life! ( )

I continue to learn more about the life of Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a strong woman who faced much adversity and dealt with a tough childhood, loss of those she loved, and many obstacles throughout her life. This book was a fascinating study of a woman who looked at the sun during periods of darkness.

Highly recommended ( )

This is a fairly well-written and fairly interesting biography. I read the whole thing in about three days, and enjoyed it - but it has problems.

The main problem with it, I would say, arises when the author (obviously a tremendous fan of Eleanor's: why else would he write her biography?) glosses over the former first lady's character flaws or potential outside criticisms of her. It's all very well if she was very kind to reporters and the general public, but it seems contradictory to call her a loving person when she spent virtually no time with her husband or children. So little time, in fact, that after forty something years of marriage, her husband wistfully remarked to their daughter that he wished he could have some time to get to know Eleanor, but that she was too busy.

Now I have a couple word-use criticisms.

I tend to dislike the word "probably" in biographies. The word "probably" is used to cover a lack of hard fact, and indicates (potentially groundless) inferences on the part of the biographer. It's possible to forgive it: after all, most biographers are unable to account for every second of their subject's life, so some allowances must be made. However, I did note a lot of "probably"s in the first part of this book.

I also dislike the use of the term "office" when describing the position of the first lady. The first lady is not an elected office within the political community. You may have clout - you may have strong opinions and even influence the President - but it is not an "office", any more than being a doctor's wife makes you a member of the medical community. Happily, the author only used the term "office" once that I noticed.

In spite of these criticisms, I would say that this book is a good introduction to Eleanor Roosevelt's life. It interestingly documents the historical times she lived through. And, of course, the human elements of Eleanor's story (there was a lot of personal drama) were engrossing. However, I would be interested to read an account of her life by a less effusive and more neutral author. ( )

Group B