This book, “No Ordinary Time”, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, is a pretty comprehensive account of life in the White House just before and during WWII. Although it is a lengthy book, with a wide cast of characters, Goodwin, in my opinion, never fails to make the story entertaining, and the characters come alive. Her research is exhaustive, but because of that, the personalities and the stories are arrayed in such detail, that is almost as if the reader is a fly on the wall. Both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, are treated objectively, with good points and bad pointed out. Their triumphs and joys, as well as their sorrows and shortcomings are portrayed so well that the reader feels they can actually know these people. They are very real and human. Goodwin never fails to disappoint for me as a reader. She is a scholar, to be sure, but writes for the lay-reader who enjoys history. I am definitely not a scholar, and I feel as though I come away from reading her books with as comprehensive a feel for the subject matter as is possible to get in one book. I find her books approachable, easy to read, and extremely informative. She makes history fun! I highly recommend “No Ordinary Time” if you are a fan of history, the Roosevelts, or Doris Kearns Goodwin.
I give this book 5 out of 5 bookmarks.
Reviewed by: Anna
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