![]() Lash is not bashful about revealing Franklin’s and Eleanor’s numerous faults, but given his friendship with the former First Lady it is not surprising this is generally a sympathetic treatment of Eleanor. The last 17 years of her life are chronicled in Lash’s follow-up volume “ Eleanor: The Years Alone“. ![]() Despite its length (723 pages) this book only covers Eleanor’s life up to FDR’s death. To some extent it is a book focused on the relationship between Eleanor and Franklin.īut what “Eleanor and Franklin” really proves to be is an insightful, detailed and often dense review of the life of a remarkable woman who transformed herself from an insecure, orphaned young girl into the compelling champion of a wide array of humanitarian causes. Even then, Franklin’s appearances seem more often designed to highlight Eleanor’s virtues than roundly describe his life or political career. FDR fails to appear until more than 100 pages have elapsed. ![]() The book’s title notwithstanding, this is not a dual biography of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. His 23-year friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt (and proprietary access to her personal papers in 1966) formed the basis for this authorized biography. Lash was a radical political activist but grew disillusioned with communism and later became a journalist and author. Lash was published in 1971 and earned the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. ![]()
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