Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage

I am someone who brings a book with me wherever I go. I also read while I exercise. And I have some odd rituals with the books I read while exercising. I have a book I read while using the treadmill. It stays on the treadmill and can only be read while I am running. (If I am walking I can read something else). I also have a book I can read on my Airdyne bike. That book also stays with my bike. And I read books or magazines on my elliptical. The key to wanting to run is finding a good treadmill book. A book that is a fast read isn't necessarily a good treadmill book. If I have to turn the pages too frequently it makes it seem as though time is standing still. A great treadmill book is one that takes a few minutes to read before I have to turn the page. If I was into rating books based soley on that characteristic alone, Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley would receive the highest rating available. And, if it were judged on how excited I was to get a run in, it would also rank quite high.

Although I know the basics of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's lives, Rowley's writing was interesting. She included a vast wealth of research in this look at the Roosevelt's marriage. And while I did already know a bit about other people involved with both Roosevelts, Rowley investigates Franklin's relationships with Lucy Mercer and Missy LeHand and Eleanor's relationships with Earl Miller and Lorena Hickok. Despite these extramarital relationships, Franklin and Eleanor still appeared to love each other and need each other to achieve their political ambitions.

Beginning with Franklin's birth and ending with Eleanor's death this book chronicles both Franklin and Eleanor's entire lives, while focusing most of the time on their marriage.

I enjoy reading about the presidents and their personal lives- more than I enjoy hearing about their politics - and this book was both informative and enjoyable.