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Title: No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin ISBN: 0-684-80448-4 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.65 (79 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Not typical fare for history readers
Comment: Although I am an avid history reader, I'd recommend Goodwin's "No Ordinary Time," to most readers. Goodwin does not write in the typical non-fiction writing-style by not continually delivering fact after fact. She will dig into the story, isn't afraid to offer opinions from other historians, will often share a first-person quote from letters, interviews, etc.; and will not shy from surmising her own hypotheses on the subject matter.
Although the book solely focuses on the Roosevelts during World War II with only passing mention to the New Deal and the Depression, the main body of the text is on the relationship between FDR and Eleanor and their concerted effort to win the war while bettering the American way of life at the same time. With Franklin, Goodwin examines his determination to beat fascism, both before the United States' involvement and after Germany declared war on the US. Key players such as Harry Hopkins, Henry Stimson, George Marshall, Winston Churchill and others make continual appearances in the book.
Looking at Eleanor, Goodwin concentrates on her work with the OCD and her persistence at improving civil rights and women's issues. Goodwin does not shy from entering family business, and writes at length about FDR and Eleanor's unconventional relationship, their troubles with their parents, children and in-laws and FDR's early-marriage affair. Goodwin even tackles the controversial topic of Eleanor's alleged alternative lifestyle in very good taste by not gossiping but delivering factual information without jumping to conclusions.
Missing from the book is any military view of the war so it helps to know some of the background of the WWII military theaters but is not necessary to still enjoy "No Ordinary Time." (I'd recommend Robert Leckie's "Delivered From Evil" for that aspect). The diplomacy view is also lacking as, for example, Goodwin spends more time on the controversy of Eleanor not going to the Tehran Conference, than the actual issues at the conference itself.
That said, I still enjoyed this Pulitzer Prize-winning book and was quite impressed with the amount of information I learned on one of America's greatest president's and the effort this nation put forth on the home front to win the war.
- In case any readers of "No Ordinary Time," become interested in the colorful Winston Churchill, I highly recommend William Raymond Manchester's "The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940." Although it covers Churchill before the war, it is written in much the same fashion of Goodwin's book in that it covers both the daily life as well as the international issues. Sadly, Manchester passed on before finishing his third installment in this incredible series.
Rating: 5
Summary: Well Written and Easy to Read
Comment: Doris Kearns Goodwin has written a very enjoyable book. It takes a different view of presidential history by focusing on the family life of Franklin and Elanor Roosevelt and the life enjoyed by their official family during their White House years.
By focusing on the perosnal side, this book provides glimpses at facets of the Roosevelt story that are either ignored by standard histories or covered in passing. That is not to say this book is not serious history -- it is -- just from a different vantage point. One is much more likely to learn about FDR the man (and Eleanor the woman) than thay would in say James McGreggor Burn's excellent FDR biography. There are also excellent passages on their relationships with the luminaries who made the time...Churchill, Hopkins, Ikes and the New Deal crew. Since so much related to getting things done revolves around relationships, this focus helps in the understanding of how the great events of the 1930's came to be.
The gossipy stuff is in here too -- affairs, the questions surrounding Eleanor's "friends" and FDR's personal foibles and habits. Goodwin to her credit does not treat these issues salaciously, but as part of the story to understanding the Roosevelts.
She is an excellent author and has produced a very enjoyable history of her subjects. Can't wait for her upcoming book on the day to day activities of President Lincoln. It she meets this standard, that will be a fascinating book.
Rating: 5
Summary: the best biography
Comment: Doris Kearns Goodwin really took her time and wrote one of the best books I have ever read. She talked about Franklin and Eleanore and their influence on each other, as well as the support for each other they needed to get through WWII. I was born in 1960, and recognized many of the names in politics from my childhood, but the step by step process of the war and the thinking behind each step was just so educational for me. I chose this book for my Literature group last year, and everyone loved it. Most of the women lived through this time, and one was a nurse in the army at that time, and said this was a very accurate account, but also that she learned much more than was ever in the news. Just a great experience and definitely sparked great discussion fo hours!
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Title: Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream by Doris Kearns Goodwin ISBN: 0312060270 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR: A MEMOIR by Doris Kearns Goodwin ISBN: 0684847957 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 02 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Truman by David McCullough ISBN: 0671869205 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 14 June, 1993 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys : An American Saga by Doris Kearns Goodwin ISBN: 0312063547 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: Swastika Night by Katharine Burdekin ISBN: 0935312560 Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY Pub. Date: November, 1985 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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