Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of the 20th Century's Most Influential Woman, by author Harold Ivan Smith

Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of the 20th Century's Most Influential Woman, by author Harold Ivan Smith is filled with historical accounts of the great Eleanor Roosevelt. The author has noted interviews and taken written documentation and public records of the words and actions of a remarkable first lady. I have long appreciated the tireless work of Eleanor Roosevelt for the under-privileged poor and the civil rights of all people. I admire her staying true to her beliefs in the face of a public who sometimes did not appreciate her intelligence and spiritual heart of compassion for people. Eleanor was a major influence in promoting the arts and education for all people during the time of economic distress. Eleanor championed for men and women in the workforce and in the civil rights as a whole.

I enjoyed reading this biography written by Dr. Smith, but am also disappointed in some statements I feel overstepped his authority as a writer. I cringed within myself each of the many times the author wrote “Eleanor would have…” in reference to events, public response, laws, and private actions. As a reader, I felt the author did not have the authority to publish what Eleanor would do in different situations. Why would he do this? Was it to influence readers of his own personal beliefs and to influence the public toward a certain philosophy or belief? Eleanor showed through her actions and words that some of her feelings and beliefs toward certain rights and freedoms did evolve and change during the course of her life. An example is her reluctance to believe the plight of the Jewish people and her sometimes seemingly prejudice. Later in her life Eleanor knew she needed support from Jewish leaders to be successful to meet certain goals she had set concerning legislation and law for the public.
In this current age of insecurity among the races in the United States, I felt the author moved from Eleanor’s Faith and spiritual life to making the focus of the book more toward civil rights and possibly further inflame a tenuous racial public. This is regretful because the premise of the tribute to Eleanor was so much more than condemning the southern people for the same actions which were happening in some northern states but did not receive as much press or media attention. Her personal friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr made a statement referring to confronting worse racism in Chicago than he ever encountered in Mississippi. Even Malcom X had written that the conditions experienced by Black people in Northern ghettos rivaled the conditions faced by African Americans in the South.
The title of this book is “Eleanor: A Spiritual Biography: The Faith of the 20th Century's Most Influential Woman”. Her faith and Christian beliefs and charity is admirable. The compassion Eleanor showed in action for others was heartfelt. Her voice to the public for a time in America’s history is iconic! Her tribute as written in this book became a bit lost.