Courage in a Dangerous World

by Allida M. Black (editor)

Dozens of books have been written about Eleanor Roosevelt, but her own writings are largely confined to the Roosevelt archives in Hyde Park. Courage in a Dangerous World allows her own voice again to be heard. Noted Eleanor Roosevelt scholar Allida M. Black has gathered more than two hundred columns, articles, essays, and speeches culled from archives whose pages number in the millions, tracing her development from timorous columnist to one of liberalism's most outspoken leaders.

From "My Day" newspaper columns about Marian Anderson and excerpts from Moral Basis of Democracy and This Troubled World to speeches and articles on the Holocaust and McCarthyism, this anthology provides readers with the tools to reconstruct the politics of a woman who redefined American liberalism and democratic reform. Arranged chronologically and by topic, the volume covers the New Deal years, the White House years, World War II at home and abroad, the United Nations and human rights, the Cold War, the civil rights movement, the resurgence of feminism, and much more. In addition, the collection features excerpts from Eleanor Roosevelt's correspondence with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Adlai Stevenson, J. Edgar Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and ordinary Americans.

The volume features a collection of 30 rare photographs. A comprehensive bibliography of Eleanor Roosevelt's articles serves as a valuable resource, providing a link to the issues she held dear, many of which are still hotly debated today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir

360 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this woman! I can't imagine ever being so strong, charismatic and intelligent, but she provides a great model to work toward. She was so prolific and not afraid to stand by her opinions, opinions which were stern when they needed to be and were often ahead of the times. Her views on social responsibility, international relations and even herself are just fascinating.


I'm cleaning out my book shelves and have decided to let go of all of my ER collection. It's (sniff) hard to do, but I can't keep dragging my books around the world with me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of her times are like ours. Should we be at war? Going from boom to bust, mistrusting certain foreigners. Eleanor showed great courage and wisdom, both personally and publicly.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very accessible and interesting collection of the published works by one of the architects of 'the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' The fascinating Eleanor Roosevelt. Like most things to do with politics, philosophy etc it is impossible to agree with everything she puts forward but there is no doubting that she was important, if not integral, part in the political thought of the last 100 years. Some of the musings especially near the start of the collection around the rise of fascism really hit home hard in today's current climate and the whole collection deals with a range of topics both domestic for the US (like workers rights, civil rights and the place for Women in Politics) and also wider Foreign policy (Korea, Russia and fleetingly also the breakdown of the British Empire) that do a lot to explain plainly her thinking of the time. In what is a really forthright and easy to follow manner but without sacrificing intelligence, something that I find quite lacking in most of today's political writing.

I also would like to point particularly to her insights into the 'cold war' between the liberal US and Soviet communism are definitely eye-opening for someone like me who really must read more about/around the subject. It becomes fascinating because she was tasked with being on the committee with Soviet diplomats/workers to write one of the most important post-war documents. All the while being ideologically opposed to a large part of what they were and knowing what they were doing in/to their homeland (and surrounding areas) was often and devastatingly in breach of that very document. It really did put her in a fairly unique position of comment, at least to me. It also led to a stark candidness where she points out where she thought the US was going wrong with their 'fight' against this ideology and where they needed to improve in especially education and aid abroad. All things still, if not sadly, relevant to today as we are once again finding ourselves needing to be courageous in what is an ever increasing dangerous and divided world.

[Barbara Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into the political realities of her time. Unfortunately, the editor chose to delete the personal stories with which Eleanor Roosevelt peppered her newspaper column, "My Day". They would have added much to the narrative, which could be somewhat dry at times as Ms. Roosevelt addressed the various aspects of her political thinking.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleanor Roosevelt is one hell of a woman. While reading this I was often caught by people living in a time where you had a First Lady writing this stuff for people to see. It made me think of what it would have been like if we had Michelle Obama writing letters and getting a peak into correspondence. My mind could not wrap around it, but I still feel the intrigue. As for the subject matter of the book it can be hit and miss. I did not agree with everything she said, as I find it's pretty rare to ever agree with someone 100% politically, but the chapters I did agree I found fascinating. My favorite parts were the ones during ww2. She was a fiesty woman and this is worth reading for anyone. Some parts I'd say are easier if you have knowledge of inner workings of the time, but regardless, it's a very interesting book I'd recommend to just about anyone.

[Cheryl L.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first in-depth look at the political writings of Eleanor Roosevelt. I'm sad to say much of what she wrote about 70-80 years ago is still a problem today. Roosevelt cared deeply about equality and treating each other like human beings. While some of her words and ideas when referring to minority groups come off as insensitive, they were a product of her time and a great improvement over what was generally accepted. Not giving her a pass perse, but context is important.

I think one of the most significant things she wrote that really resonates today is that a democracy can not survive unless the people are will to treat each other as equals. To love one another as Christ taught us, vs using faith to judge, belittle, and impune the rights of others (sound familiar?). While she was a Christian, she made an effort to learn about and understand other religions. She saw the similarities in all the world religions.

Another important lesson, completely lost in today's world (but oh, how we would benefit from it) is approaching other cultures with genuine curiosity. The idea of educating our children about other cultures, teaching them other languages so that they can actually speak and understand them -- this as a means not of teaching Americans to dislike themselves, but of understanding how to work with other nations to our mutual benefit. Today it seems knowing another language or studying other cultures is seen as a character flaw.

There was much more in these writings, far more than I could comment on here. I will say I certainly would have benefited from a more thorough understanding of the history and political atmosphere and events from 1930-63. Well before my time. However, the last section where there was more discussion of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, I was much more familiar with the events of that era as I've studied this more recently. I just add this because I think if you wish to read this book, it would help you to be familiar with not only the events written about but the social and political atmosphere of America at the time they were written.