Eleanor and Harry: The Correspondence of Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman (Lisa Drew Books) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743202430 ISBN 13: 9780743202435

Publisher: Scribner, 2002

Synopsis

Previously unpublished correspondence between Harry S. Truman and Eleanor Roosevelt offers insight into their sometimes turbulent friendship as it occurred against a backdrop of the Cold War and the rebuilding of postwar Europe.

About this title

About the Author

Steve Neal, political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a former White House correspondent, is the author of seven previous books, including Harry and Ike, which was chosen by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as being among the best books of 2001, and Dark Horse: A Biography of Wendell Willkie, which was cited in 1984 by American Heritage as a notable book and selected by The Wall Street Journal as a "critic's choice." Neal has been described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "consummate American political historian."

Reviews

Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman enjoyed a relationship unique in American history. Virtually strangers before the death of FDR, afterward the two became close friends and began exchanging letters on everything from their health and the weather to Democratic politics and global communism. Now, in this collection of over 250 of their letters ably edited and introduced by Chicago Sun-Times political columnist Neal (Harry and Ike), the full extent of their friendship finally becomes apparent. Truman, Neal makes clear, admired Mrs. Roosevelt greatly, calling her the "First Lady of the World." She, in turn, thought he was a "good man" and wanted to help him however she could. But the two also disagreed on many issues, and Mrs. Roosevelt was never shy about expressing her opinion. In her letters, she rebuked Truman for the "loyalty boards" designed to root out communists (he later agreed with her) and shamed him into investigating discrimination against Japanese-Americans. For his part, Truman staunchly defended his support of noncommunist regimes in Greece and Turkey (the beginnings of the "Truman Doctrine") and delicately asserted that she was too naive about Stalinist Russia. Yet Truman also trusted Mrs. Roosevelt immensely, and told her things he could tell few others ("The difficulties with Churchill are very nearly as exasperating as they are with the Russians," he wrote after the frustrating negotiations to end the war). On her end, Mrs. Roosevelt never hesitated to offer kindness and support. "My congratulations on your courage... you have done the right thing," she wrote to Truman after he fired General MacArthur. These are letters without parallel. As Neal points out, just try to imagine Jacqueline Kennedy and LBJ writing these letters, or George H.W. Bush and Nancy Reagan. This collection is a valuable contribution to early Cold War scholarship, as well as a fascinating window into two titanic figures in American history.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Before he assumed the presidency in April 1945, Truman had largely been frozen out of major policy decisions of the Roosevelt administration. He knew virtually nothing about the Manhattan Project, and his personal relations with both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were cordial but fleeting. Neal is the political columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and a former White House correspondent. In his compilation of correspondence between Truman and Mrs. Roosevelt over a 15-year period, Neal illustrates how their relationship deepened into one of mutual respect and even affection. Truman, initially uncomfortable with a politically outspoken woman, came to appreciate Mrs. Roosevelt's political passion and acumen. Mrs. Roosevelt slowly came to understand Truman's commitment to his own bedrock principles. But this is not all sweetness and light. One frequently senses Truman's irritation with Roosevelt's "meddling," while Roosevelt wishes Truman were more of a standard-bearer for her internationalist agenda. This is a useful and revealing look at the evolution of the relationship between two postwar icons. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

They were an odd match, the former First Lady who would have preferred to leave the White House after two terms and the accidental president who had not initially sought the presidency. In more than 250 letters between Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman from 1945 through 1960, readers encounter the active and flexible personalities behind both correspondents, who often differed but eventually grew to admire each other. Neal, a political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, former White House correspondent, and author of five books, including Harry and Ike: The Partnership That Remade the Postwar World, uncovered these unpublished letters while working on that volume. He inserts useful introductory remarks throughout the text, which is arranged chronologically, and also provides brief epilogs. Truman appointed the former First Lady as a delegate to the United Nations to shore up his support among liberal Democrats. Though she often came close to resigning, he took pride in making her "the First Lady of the World," a title Eisenhower tried to deny her but could not, just as he could not deny that Truman would become a folk hero to many including Republicans. Both remain heroes today for reasons reflected in these letters, and political buffs will enjoy reading this personal correspondence. Recommended for public and academic libraries. William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743202430
• ISBN 13: 9780743202435
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304
• Editor: Neal Steve