The First Lady of World War II

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.

"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