Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt

By: Eleanor Roosevelt

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Now back in print, a candid and insightful look at an era and a life through the eyes of one of the most remarkable Americans of the twentieth century, First Lady and humanitarian Eleanor Roosevelt.

The daughter of one of New York's most influential families, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt witnessed some of the most remarkable decades in modern history, as America transitioned from the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and the Depression to World War II and the Cold War.

A champion of the downtrodden, Eleanor drew on her experience and used her role as First Lady to help those in need. Intimately involved in her husband's political life, from the governorship of New York to the White House, Eleanor eventually became a powerful force of her own, heading women's organizations and youth movements, and battling for consumer rights, civil rights, and improved housing. In the years after FDR's death she became a U.N. Delegate, chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, a newspaper columnist, Democratic party activist, world-traveler, and diplomat devoted to the ideas of liberty and human rights.

This single volume biography brings her to life through her own words, illuminating the vanished world she grew up, her life with her political husband, and the postwar years when she worked to broaden cooperation and understanding at home and abroad.

©2014 Original material © 2014 by Elleanor Roosevelt. Recorded by arrangement with HarperPerennial. (P)2014 (p) 2014 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books.

What a woman!

What did you love best about Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt?

A fascinating life, during a fascinating period of our recent history. Mrs Roosevelt was a woman well before her time.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ummm, Eleanor Roosevelt.

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first I didn't love the narration. She seemed to exaggerate the last consonants of words and over-emphasised the pronunciation of the phrase "my husband", which made it feel like it was used twice in every sentence. However, the narration improved as the book progressed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I found myself looking for tasks I could complete with ipod attached.

Any additional comments?

If you're looking for an insight into the personal relationships between Mrs Roosevelt and her children or FDR, you won't find it here. There is so mention of FDR's affairs, for example. Mind you, that wasn't what I was interested in anyway. I really enjoyed this book for its history, and for Mrs Roosevelts opinions and beliefs. If only there were people like her and FDR in public life today.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

How Eleanor saw her world and life

This book is a collection of several volumes originally sold separately. Portions of these have been abridged and additional information has been added. All alterations were done by the author herself, in an effort to improve the content. Thus the book is split up into different sections, each having a specific theme. I liked some sections and disliked others.

The first part is about her childhood and familial relationships. This part was excellent. You see how Eleanor develops from an insecure and naive girl into a strong, independent woman. Watching this transformation is inspiring. You come to understand how and why she changes. You understand how she came to marry Franklin. You also understand the family she married into. This shaped her too.

Then you follow her years with Franklin. He establishes his career, becomes president and dies. How they influenced each other is covered, but historical events are skimmed over. This is not the book to pick if you want the details of Franklin’s political decisions or the war years. There are huge gaps in both historical events and personal relationships. This is an autobiography and clearly Eleanor is telling us what SHE wants said. There is no mention of either her own or her husband's extramarital relationships. It is not just the relationships that are lacking but also Eleanor’s support of Blacks and Jews is scarcely dealt with. I was disappointed that so very much was missing. I wanted to hear more about her efforts to coerce her husband into helping these groups. Oh, and it was strange how she spoke of her husband not as Franklin, but as “my husband”!

After the death of Franklin her role as a UN Delegate and Chairman of the Commission of Human Rights is meticulously covered, but here the writing sounded like a political speeches selling her views against the prevalent beliefs during the Cold War period. This section felt dated and extremely repetitive! I would mutter, "OK, here we go again.......another speech with the same message for the fifth, sixth time!" "Old truths" are proclaimed. This was the part of the book that was most thoroughly covered. She traveled all over the world speaking to political leaders. Much of this section reads as a travelogue recounting all the different places she visited. She worked as a columnist, a speaker and a radio correspondent. She never stopped working; the book follows her through her 75th year, as an activist and speaker of human rights. Her death, three years later, is not covered.

The audiobook is narrated by Tavia Gilbert. This narrator has a young voice, and it worked well for the young, naive Eleanor. As her self-assurance grows it felt more and more misplaced.

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

Fascinating

This book was originally published in 1946. I first read it in 1960 just after I attended a lecture by Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962). Over the years I have read everything I could get my hands on about Eleanor. I was reviewing some notes the other day and decided it was about time I reread “Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt” by Eleanor Roosevelt.

The book is well written but it must be taken in the age it was written, by a woman of the 19th century. The book is written in the reserve style of that era. Eleanor reviews her early life in the large Roosevelt family. She goes into details about her life as first lady and at the end of her life her hopes for the United Nations. (Last section was added to new edition issued just before her death) I could see how Eleanor rose to the challenge of first lady and the need for her to be the eyes and ears for her invalid husband, the president. Many former first ladies were overwhelmed with the role but it brought out the best in Eleanor. Mrs. Roosevelt was a complex woman and to begin to understand her it is necessary to read a wide range books about her from all points of view. For anyone wanting to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt or about first ladies, this is a must-read book.

The book is eighteen and a half hours. Tavia Gilbert does an excellent job narrating the book. Gilbert is an actress, voice-over artist and audiobook narrator. Gilbert won the Audie Award for the Best Female Narrator for 2017.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Eleanor as she would like to be remembered

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who likes a watered down, fairy-tale princess version of reality.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Biographies of Eleanor Rossevelt

What didn’t you like about Tavia Gilbert’s performance?

Too syrupy. Too much of a "smile in her voice" for the first person voice/autobiography of a severely depressed workaholic who was completely out of touch with her feelings.

What character would you cut from Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt?

Ha ha. Eleanor!

Any additional comments?

I wish I had written down the amount of times the author "set the record straight." It was not as if she was writing to share her life story, but to have the last word. If I wanted to read an outline of Eleanor Roosevelt's life I could have found that in a children's book. What I wanted was to learn what it was like to be her -- i.e., emotionally, spiritually, psychologically -- but I doubt she even knew.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Who's who

If you want to know every person Eleanor ever met and exactly when and where this is the book for you. If you want to understand her, choose another book. Plus, the narrator's voice is too high pitched to match Eleanor's persona. Not worth the price as fas as I am concerned.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Heartwarming and inspiring

I am so glad to have gotten to know such an accomplished, humble, and wise human being. Eleanor is a role model for the ages. The narrator enhanced an already very "readable" autobiography.Definitely one of my favorite books now.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

historical and inspirational for today's politics.

despite the sometimes overly detailed accounts, I will miss Eleanor and her journeys. what a remarkable women. political leaders and citizens alike could learn much that is wisdom for today if they took the time to learn about Eleanor.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Brilliant writing

Had me fully absorbed and daydreaming at the same time! Eleanor was a profound women with amazing drive. I learned many things while reading this book which made Eleanor a more interesting and unbelievably brave woman or her time.

simply amazing.

so much that we can learn from her story and apply to today's tumultuous times.

Interesting life

I enjoyed hearing about Eleanor’s life, and have learned she would probably expect me to refer to her as Mrs. Roosevelt. From being born in the 1800 to leading efforts on women and human rights is incredible.
The only reason I didn’t give the story 5 stars is that she doesn’t cover as much about interpersonal relationships as I would have liked.

Not dazzling

Very informative about what this wonderful lady got up to. Very ahead of her time and had a lot of respect as a woman wherever she went. She wasn't a feminist as such but she got a lot done. The narrator's voice is very skip hop skip.. irritating. But most of all it lacks the heart and soul of the woman but is a great reference aid nonetheless to this woman and her times

Disappointing

Having seen a superb one woman play on Eleanor R I really wanted to know more about her. The narrator was super but the autobiography was uninspiring and far too much about "my husband this, my husband that..". Also, there was little about her personal life it was mainly about her public life.
Rich and wealthy who think they are poor! Shame because she did great things.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful