Description

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The first book to tell the full story of Eleanor Roosevelt's unprecedented and courageous trip to the Pacific Theater during World War II.

On August 27, 1943, news broke in the United States that First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was on the other side of the world. A closely guarded secret, she had left San Francisco aboard a military transport plane headed for the South Pacific to support and report the troops on WW2's front lines. 

Americans had believed she was secluded at home.

As Allied forces battled the Japanese for control of the region, Eleanor was there on the frontlines, spending five weeks traveling, on a mission as First Lady of the United States to experience what our servicemen were experiencing... and report back home.

"The most remarkable journey any president's wife has ever made."

—Washington Times-Herald, September 28, 1943

"Mrs. Roosevelt's sudden appearance in New Zealand well deserves the attention it is receiving. This is the farthest and most unexpected junket of a First Lady whose love of getting about is legendary."

—Detroit Free Press, August 28, 1943

"By a happy chance for Australia, this famous lady's taste for getting about, her habit of seeing for herself what is going on in the world, and, most of all, her deep concern for the welfare of the fighting men of her beloved country, have brought her on the longest journey of them all—across the wide, war-clouded Pacific."

—Sydney Morning Herald, September 4, 1943

"No other U.S. mother had seen so much of the panorama of the war, had been closer to the sweat and boredom, the suffering."

—Time, October 4, 1943

About the Author

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Shannon McKenna Schmidt is an author and journalist who has written for National Geographic Traveler, Shelf Awareness, DailyBeast.com, NPR.org, and other websites and publications.

Praise For…

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"This action-packed and suspenseful wartime drama vividly captures the selfless grit and tenderness of Eleanor Roosevelt’s battle-zone leadership. By revealing as never before the tensions of our gutsiest First Lady’s perilous transpacific odyssey, Shannon McKenna Schmidt shows why for the first time in her career Eleanor came home exhausted---thirty pounds lighter---from comforting the wounded and energizing ravaged teenage combat veterans to bring back from bomb-blasted islands, New Zealand, and Australia, the hardest truths of the bloodiest world war." — David Michaelis, author of ELEANOR

"Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy of activism and mettle continue to inspire. Recommended." — Booklist

"This work provides numerous details and the context needed to understand the trials and difficulties of Eleanor Roosevelt’s historic undertaking. Readers interested in World War II or women’s roles in the war effort will likely appreciate this enjoyable read." — Library Journal

"This sepia-tinged portrait captures the appeal of a pathbreaking first lady." — Publishers Weekly

"As Schmidt powerfully conveys, it was a trip that changed many lives, especially Roosevelt’s." — BookPage

""I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this remarkable woman, friend of the downtrodden and celebrated, alike… Highly recommended." - Historical Novel Society " — Historical Novel Society

"Shannon McKenna Schmidt fully and captivatingly depicts the journey in The First Lady of World War II... McKenna Schmidt puts the trip in context and provides a lively account of an often overlooked, inspiring journey." — Shelf Awareness STARRED Review