The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back

In this amiable history, freelance writer Schmidt (Novel Destinations) documents Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1943 mission to visit Allied troops in the Pacific theater of WWII. Concerned that after two years of war U.S. civilians were becoming “dangerously complacent,” Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt believed that a trip to the South Pacific, Australia, and New Zealand would help “revive the strong sense of national unity that existed in the dark, shocking days after Pearl Harbor.” Schmidt takes readers through Eleanor’s exhausting five-week itinerary visiting hospital wards, mess halls, Red Cross facilities, and factories staffed by women workers. Talking with “tongue-tied” soldiers eager for news from the home front, Eleanor soon won over senior military officers who had been averse to the “distraction” of a visit from the first lady; after witnessing “the meticulous way she toured a hospital,” Adm. William Halsey did an “about-face” and consented to Eleanor’s request to visit Guadalcanal, despite rumors that Japanese troops were “hiding out on the far side of the island.” Though the announcement of Eleanor’s trip “generated both support and scorn, much of it along political lines,” American newspapers covered the tour in detail, and Schmidt suggests that it helped galvanize support for the GI Bill of Rights and other programs to assist returning servicemen. Though somewhat baggy, this sepia-tinged portrait captures the appeal of a pathbreaking first lady. Agent: Daniel Lazar, Writers House. (May)