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    Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel
    Ebook357 pages12 hours

    Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel

    By Robin Gerber

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    It is a time of turmoil, with the nation mired in an unpopular war in Korea and with Senator Joseph McCarthy stirring up fear of a lurking Communist "menace." Racial discrimination is rampant. A woman's place is in the home. And when a shocking act of God eliminates the Democratic presidential nominee, the party throws its support to an unlikely standard bearer: former First Lady and goodwill ambassador to the world Eleanor Roosevelt.

    Captivating and fast-paced, Eleanor vs. Ike pits the unforgettable Eleanor against the enormously popular war hero Gen. Dwight David ("Ike") Eisenhower. But while the opponents promise "an honest campaign," their strategists mire the race in scandal and bitter innuendo. Suddenly Eleanor finds herself a target of powerful insiders who mean to destroy her good name—and Ku Klux Klan assassins dedicated to her death—as she gets caught up in a mad whirl of appearances and political maneuvering . . . and a chance encounter with a precocious five-year-old named Hillary Rodham.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061844331
    Unavailable
    Eleanor vs. Ike: A Novel
    Author

    Robin Gerber

    Robin Gerber is the author of several books, including Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way, Katharine Graham, and the novel Eleanor vs. Ike. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

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    Reviews for Eleanor vs. Ike

    3.5/5

    18 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Robin Gerber’s alternate history novel is based on an intriguing premise: as he takes the stage to accept the Democratic presidential nomination in 1952, Adlai Stevenson suffers a fatal heart attack. Facing a fractious convention and a politically formidable Republican nominee, the party’s leaders turn to Eleanor Roosevelt and ask her to serve as their standard-bearer. After reluctantly accepting the offer, Roosevelt begins a spirited campaign with the help of a rising young campaign manager and the devotion of her many passionate supporters. Yet in addition to facing long odds and a politically formidable Republican nominee, she must also undertake an additional challenge that no nominee before her has ever had to address: that of convincing Americans that the nation is indeed ready for a female president.

      Like science fiction in general, alternate history is a genre dominated by the interests and attitudes of men. Because of this, many scenarios focus on wars or the decisions made by political leaders. This is what makes Gerber’s book so refreshingly different. Her focus on Eleanor Roosevelt offers a nice change of pace, supplying an imaginative speculation of the type that distinguishes the best works of the genre. Having written a previous, nonfiction book on Roosevelt, , she has an easy familiarity with the particulars of her life, which allows Gerber to develop her into a well-defined character. Yet this book is about more than just Eleanor Roosevelt. Published in 2008, it advances a none-too-subtle argument that the time has come for a woman to be elected president – a point that Gerber makes explicit with a chance encounter between Roosevelt and a young Hillary Rodham.

      Though such a detail may date the novel somewhat, Gerber’s novel transcends this point to offer a dramatic narrative of a election that might have been. Based as much as possible on the words and actions of the people at the times, it does not sacrifice plausibility in speculating on what a Eleanor Roosevelt candidacy might have looked like, nor does it sacrifice readability to offer a dry recitation of details. Though some of her other characters are not as well defined as her central protagonist, Gerber has written an enjoyable book that is well worth the time of fans of political novels and alternate history tales.
    • 2/5
      This book was our November book club selection. The overall feel from the group was that it made an interesting what if scenario, but it seemed to get bogged down by to much detail but not enough depth in the believability of the idea of Eleanor Roosevelt running against Eisenhower. There were some good discussions on politics of the time and present day. We did agree that Roosevelt and Clinton are both women you either love or you hate not much middle ground. It was also interesting to see what parts had some basis to history and what parts were fictionalized.
    • 4/5
      If you enjoy Harry Turtledove's alternate history fiction you should like this. It is 1952 at the Democratic National Convention. Adlai Stevenson is the presumptive nominee but wracked with indecision. Other candidates are Estes Kefauver, and various regional favorite sons. The party is wracked by racial divides after the Dixiecrat rift of 1948.Stevenson has a heart attack and dies at the podium after his nomination. The Democrats are in a quandry, who do they nominate now? Enter Eleanor Roosevelt. The party feels it has no other alternaive than ER. She picks Sam Rayburn as her VP and the campaign is off. Both sides deal with rumors and gossip regarding their candidates. With Ike it was his relationship with his wartime driver, Kay Summersby and with ER her relationship with Lorena Hickok. In kind of a mutually assured destruction neither side goes public.An assassination attempt is made by the Klan on ER. The election is a nail-biter determined by one electtoral vote. I'm a history buff and thoroughly enjoed the book.
    • 4/5
      Probably mostly because I'm another idolizer of ER, I LOVED this book that I happened across on the remainder shelf. I also particularly appreciate the historical authenticity — nobody real was made to do anything out of character, real published documents were used as they are, I note at least 2 blurbs in my copy by figures named in the book, and I can vouch for Gerber's spot-on descriptions of Val Kill and its atmosphere. I was born about 6 months after the novel ends, into a family where I grew up thinking of Ike as another kind of grandfather and was shocked to learn in 1960 that he wasn't President for life. I love (and hate) thinking how my life might have been different if, as in the novel, we'd had this style of Presidential campaigning all those years earlier. Yep, I think Gerber depicts the kind of campaign Obama ran, which has changed our country forever, and that Hillary, much as I wanted to see a woman win, never could have.
    • 4/5
      Nice, breezy "what-if" novel set around the 1952 presidential race pitting Ike, the "conquering hero general" against international stateswoman Eleanor Roosevelt. Depicts a steel-willed Roosevelt who runs her campaign over against the politically expedient and politically savvy. A gratifiying read for this erstwhile liberal. A bit too predictable -- you knew from the start that there would be little doubt that Eleanor would prevail -- but nevertheless satisfying in its positive tone and extremely hopeful message. Full of fascinating factoids and real, thought-provoking quotes from the real players in that election. Interesting insights into the character and legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt's political and social thought. All in all, a fun read.