2013: What are you reading at the moment?

[kag]

2. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin

It's about FDR and Eleanor during WWII. It's got some pretty fascinating history, but it's dense and thick. I'm a slow reader, so I've been at it for months, but I'm nearly finished.

My favorite part was when she talked about Eleanor's role in FDR getting the nomination for a third term. In fact, it's where the title of the book comes from. Eleanor was truly a remarkable woman. FDR refused to go to the convention that year because he didn't want it to appear that he was "asking" for the nomination. He wanted them to force it upon him. (He was a great man, but he did have a colossal ego.) So, he sent Eleanor. She gave a speech that had the rest of the convention chanting FDR's name, and basically begging him to take the nomination, which was just what he wanted.

It's pretty clear that without Eleanor, U.S. history would be very different.