Profiles the second part of the life of Eleanor Roosevelt through 1938, including the Great Depression, the New Deal and world events preceding World War II.

Volume Two of this celebrated biography encompasses the monumental era of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the gathering storms of World War II--the years of the Roosevelts' greatest challenges and accomplishments. Cook restores Eleanor Roosevelt to her place as a visionary policymaker and social activist with her own agenda, often ahead of her more circumspect husband. From the day ER entered the White House--and began holding press conferences for female journalists only--she worked indefatigably for justice and equality. She wrote, she published, she traveled, she lobbied, she joined grass roots organizations and radical communities with a zeal that sparked controversy everywhere. Cook gives us the complete Eleanor Roosevelt--a loyal wife, a devoted mother, a woman who courted romance and adventure, America's most compelling, charismatic, and visionary First Lady. She took unpopular stands and often countered her husband's policies, particularly concerning racial justice, women's rights, the plight of refugees, and approaches to fascism and the Spanish Civil War. And in November 1928, after Kristallnacht, as Europe drifted toward war she took an unprecedented and courageous stance on race relations and bigotry. Intimate, sympathetic and acute, this is an unparalleled portrait of a woman whose life was filled with passionate commitment and who struggled for personal fulfillment. It is a biography of vibrant scholarship and daring, a book for all readers of American history and politics, and, as the New Deal comes under assault today, a book for everyone who cares about a decent future for all people.--Adapted from dust jacket.