Eleanor Roosevelt and Harry Truman enjoyed a relationship unique in American history. Virtually strangers before the death of FDR, afterward the two became close friends and began exchanging letters on everything from their health and the weather to Democratic politics and global communism. Now, in this collection of over 250 of their letters ably edited and introduced by Chicago Sun-Times
political columnist Neal (Harry and Ike), the full extent of their friendship finally becomes apparent. Truman, Neal makes clear, admired Mrs. Roosevelt greatly, calling her the "First Lady of the World." She, in turn, thought he was a "good man" and wanted to help him however she could. But the two also disagreed on many issues, and Mrs. Roosevelt was never shy about expressing her opinion. In her letters, she rebuked Truman for the "loyalty boards" designed to root out communists (he later agreed with her) and shamed him into investigating discrimination against Japanese-Americans. For his part, Truman staunchly defended his support of noncommunist regimes in Greece and Turkey (the beginnings of the "Truman Doctrine") and delicately asserted that she was too naïve about Stalinist Russia. Yet Truman also trusted Mrs. Roosevelt immensely, and told her things he could tell few others ("The difficulties with Churchill are very nearly as exasperating as they are with the Russians," he wrote after the frustrating negotiations to end the war). On her end, Mrs. Roosevelt never hesitated to offer kindness and support. "My congratulations on your courage... you have done the right thing," she wrote to Truman after he fired General MacArthur. These are letters without parallel. As Neal points out, just try to imagine Jacqueline Kennedy and LBJ writing these letters, or George H.W. Bush and Nancy Reagan. This collection is a valuable contribution to early Cold War scholarship, as well as a fascinating window into two titanic figures in American history. (Sept.)
