Dramatically narrated by Jean Stapleton, Eleanor: Her Secret Journey is a superb, eighty-minute monologue drawn by Rhoda Lerman from Eleanor Roosevelt's writings. We are introduced to a woman who justifiably became known as the "First Lady of the World" and perfectly captures the duality of a complex personality both in her public activities and her private life. Eleanor: Her Secret Journey is a wonderful addition to any school or community library audiobook collection, and a "must" for those with an admiration for one of the most influential American women of the 20th Century.

I found this book at Crossroads Market in Dallas TX. Don't know exactly why I bought it, but I'm so glad I did. I've been reading a lot of poetry this spring of 2001 (Merrill's collected, Ashbery's 'your name here', Horace in Latin and translated). And the poems in this book hold up very well with that company. The Booklist review is a little too dry I think. The poems are wonderfully human in their insights, images, and their ease. Very inviting to read alone (or out loud to someone else). One of my favorites is 'Magazine Street'. I think I must have stood in the same spot in the same airport with the same silly trinkets on my first visit to NOLA, returning home to my remarkable partner. The poems about travel are all glowing, whether she's traveling in a park, or to some domestic city.

Eleanor is a moving account of a fascinating woman, involved in a complicated marriage with one of history's most influential men and his family, at a tumultuous time in world history. One has a sense of peeking inside Eleanor's heart and feeling the mixture of emotions she experiences in her often trying personal life. A wonderful new perspective on a woman we have come to respect for her many gifts.

This is the most beautiful and truest book on Eleanor Roosevelt that I have ever read. The writing is gorgeous. A must read for any fan or historian interested in Eleanor Roosevelt and her influence on our lives. Not only is the writing elegant and intimate, you believe that you are reading a book by Eleanor Roosevelt. Great Fictional Autobiography. Lerman really is Eleanor.