Presiding in the White House longer than any other first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt championed the downtrodden as she traveled the globe, yet she was a maze of contradictions--an idealist who carried on a moneymaking career that depended on her position and a conventional-appearing wife and mother who found emotional succor from intense relationships outside her family. This book cuts through those contradictions to reveal how Eleanor operated, both in and out of public view, to advance the causes in which she believed by participating in the political process. Although previous books have dealt with Eleanor Roosevelt, this is the first to focus on her White House years, and how she took the ambiguous position of first lady and transformed it into an institution of the American political system. -- from Book Jacket.

Finding a place -- Launching a career -- Merging the personal and the political -- Claiming the public stage -- Reaching the dispossessed -- Backing the war effort -- Visionary for the world -- Modeling political leadership.