What do you think?
Rate this book
It Seems to Me: Selected Letters
The letters of Eleanor Roosevelt reveal a cagy, self-confident woman who was never afraid to speak her mind on politics, religion, civil rights, and sitting presidents.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 18, 2001
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 22, 2025
Well, somehow this was more political than I had imagined, but I guess that is what a lot of her focus in life was. I did enjoy getting more personality in the earlier years. And her drive and stamina to the end were amazing. But I ended up skimming a lot of her pushing for various candidates, etc.
January 2, 2021
A better book than expected, providing a glimpse behind the person with a nice assortment of letters from the former First Lady nearly all after her service to the country in that role. She was a columnist, chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and television interviewer during these years. More than once she used her connections to try to move a request to be on her various shows.
Predictably, the book provides a unique view of her strained relationship with Truman and her troubled relationship with John Kennedy – at least until he locked up the nomination in 1960. Her interaction with Walter Reuther was telling about labor’s strong role back then. Her letters to former VP Wallace showed she had a complicated relationship with the guy that she would had liked to keep on her husband’s ticket but FDR had no interest and with Stevenson, someone she wanted to be president so bad that she had tried to stop the effort for Kennedy to get the nomination and push for a third campaign of the liberal. She writes to Wallace after he was not nominated as VP again that she was “distressed” and said, “I am told that Senator Truman is a good man, and I hope so for the sake of the country.” Clearly she knew her husband was not long for the world.
What was surprising was her descriptions of so much that was happening in the world, especially the aftermath of WWII and the formation of Israel. Taft, the Philippines, and Israel repeatedly came up. It was interesting since I’ve read many books with the same characters.
It’s duly noted in the book that Hitler controlled Germany from 1933 until 1945, nearly the entire time of her husband’s presidency. In September, 1939, she wrote her friend, “There is an inability to understand how people of spirit can be terrified by one man and his storm troops to the point of counteracting the kind of horrors which seem to have come in on Germany, not only where the Jews are concerned but as in the case of the Catholics and some of the liberal German Protestants.” Then she went on with words that shocked me, “I realize quite well that there may be a need for curtailing the ascendency of the Jewish people, but it seems to me it might have been done in a more humane way by a ruler who had intelligence and decency.” She points out that England and France were not in a rush for war, pointing out that the first thing that was dropped was leaflets, not bombs.
She later speaks – via letter in 1946, the status of Europe, incorrectly predicting that Germany will be an agricultural nation. She speaks about young people returning from concentration camps who had to spend time in “sanitariums” to rebuild their bodies and deal with the “mark on their personalities.” She speaks about building self confidence and initiative of workers in such horrible problems.
Most interesting, she speaks about the resistance groups who have missed out on 5-6 years of education and having a hard time converting where they were ‘lying, cheating, stealing, and even killing’ to be leaders in the resistance. She also speaks about the food scarcity. Poland was evidently a mess with various factions fighting and still killing people, others in far away nations, and concern about the Soviets.
Then in 1948, she presented the president with a report speaking about the men who were in the resistance movement still having a hard time and food still being a major problem. Governments, many who had not had elections in years, were in constant transitions and lacked the confidence of their voters. Throughout all this – and many of her letters – was the threat of the Communist. The Soviets were in France and providing support in ways that she didn’t think would make a difference in the long run since “The French are not naturally communist” but accepted many communist things.
Eleanor had a view that the British “takes the attitude that she makes the policies on all world questions and we accept them.”
There are many other treats in this book, highlighted throughout.
Predictably, the book provides a unique view of her strained relationship with Truman and her troubled relationship with John Kennedy – at least until he locked up the nomination in 1960. Her interaction with Walter Reuther was telling about labor’s strong role back then. Her letters to former VP Wallace showed she had a complicated relationship with the guy that she would had liked to keep on her husband’s ticket but FDR had no interest and with Stevenson, someone she wanted to be president so bad that she had tried to stop the effort for Kennedy to get the nomination and push for a third campaign of the liberal. She writes to Wallace after he was not nominated as VP again that she was “distressed” and said, “I am told that Senator Truman is a good man, and I hope so for the sake of the country.” Clearly she knew her husband was not long for the world.
What was surprising was her descriptions of so much that was happening in the world, especially the aftermath of WWII and the formation of Israel. Taft, the Philippines, and Israel repeatedly came up. It was interesting since I’ve read many books with the same characters.
It’s duly noted in the book that Hitler controlled Germany from 1933 until 1945, nearly the entire time of her husband’s presidency. In September, 1939, she wrote her friend, “There is an inability to understand how people of spirit can be terrified by one man and his storm troops to the point of counteracting the kind of horrors which seem to have come in on Germany, not only where the Jews are concerned but as in the case of the Catholics and some of the liberal German Protestants.” Then she went on with words that shocked me, “I realize quite well that there may be a need for curtailing the ascendency of the Jewish people, but it seems to me it might have been done in a more humane way by a ruler who had intelligence and decency.” She points out that England and France were not in a rush for war, pointing out that the first thing that was dropped was leaflets, not bombs.
She later speaks – via letter in 1946, the status of Europe, incorrectly predicting that Germany will be an agricultural nation. She speaks about young people returning from concentration camps who had to spend time in “sanitariums” to rebuild their bodies and deal with the “mark on their personalities.” She speaks about building self confidence and initiative of workers in such horrible problems.
Most interesting, she speaks about the resistance groups who have missed out on 5-6 years of education and having a hard time converting where they were ‘lying, cheating, stealing, and even killing’ to be leaders in the resistance. She also speaks about the food scarcity. Poland was evidently a mess with various factions fighting and still killing people, others in far away nations, and concern about the Soviets.
Then in 1948, she presented the president with a report speaking about the men who were in the resistance movement still having a hard time and food still being a major problem. Governments, many who had not had elections in years, were in constant transitions and lacked the confidence of their voters. Throughout all this – and many of her letters – was the threat of the Communist. The Soviets were in France and providing support in ways that she didn’t think would make a difference in the long run since “The French are not naturally communist” but accepted many communist things.
Eleanor had a view that the British “takes the attitude that she makes the policies on all world questions and we accept them.”
There are many other treats in this book, highlighted throughout.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2025
Very disappointing. The book isn't full of ER's letters, its full of snippets from the letters. Eighty percent of the snippets cover the period 1945-1964 and are mostly to famous people on political matters: Harry Truman, Bernie Baruch (her longtime friend), George Marshall, Wallace, JFK, Stevenson, Ike, etc.
Postwar ER was obssesed with: Israel, Civil Rights, avoiding war with the USSR (which she insisted on calling "Russia"), keeping the Germans poor by destroying their industry, and fighting for unrestricted immigration. Oh, and Joe McCarthy and the "anti-communist hysteria".
Other interesting factoids:
Eleanor Roosevelt was against JFK because she disliked Joe Kennedy Snr. and because JFK was Catholic. In another letter she opposes sending an Ambassador to the Vatican because "This is a Protestant Country". And in the late 40s tells the Agnes Meyer (Jewish wife of Eugene Meyer, Owner of the WaPo), that the "Greedy Catholic church" should be stopped from getting any Federal Aid for its Parochial Schools.
ER refused to support Wallace in 48 because she didn't think he could win. She agreed with him on the issues. And she refused to endorse Truman in 48 thinking him a weak leader and too tough on "Russia".
Her Comment on Hiss-Chambers? Chambers did more damage to the USA then Hiss did! And when someone claims the recognition of the USSR in 1933 helped the Soviet Union, she defends it by saying the "Russians" would've pushed for world revolution regardless.
Postwar ER was obssesed with: Israel, Civil Rights, avoiding war with the USSR (which she insisted on calling "Russia"), keeping the Germans poor by destroying their industry, and fighting for unrestricted immigration. Oh, and Joe McCarthy and the "anti-communist hysteria".
Other interesting factoids:
Eleanor Roosevelt was against JFK because she disliked Joe Kennedy Snr. and because JFK was Catholic. In another letter she opposes sending an Ambassador to the Vatican because "This is a Protestant Country". And in the late 40s tells the Agnes Meyer (Jewish wife of Eugene Meyer, Owner of the WaPo), that the "Greedy Catholic church" should be stopped from getting any Federal Aid for its Parochial Schools.
ER refused to support Wallace in 48 because she didn't think he could win. She agreed with him on the issues. And she refused to endorse Truman in 48 thinking him a weak leader and too tough on "Russia".
Her Comment on Hiss-Chambers? Chambers did more damage to the USA then Hiss did! And when someone claims the recognition of the USSR in 1933 helped the Soviet Union, she defends it by saying the "Russians" would've pushed for world revolution regardless.
December 31, 2017
This volume contains only Eleanor Roosevelt's political letters with most of the selected taking place after her husbands death. A fascinating look at the political Eleanor AND a window into the vast amount of letters that she wrote - if these were just some of the political letters and other volumes have covered the personal...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews