Lou Henry Hoover Essays on a busy life

Long obscured by the towering shadow of Eleanor Roosevelt, Lou Henry Hoover has appeared, by contrast, as a traditional wife and pleasant, if unimportant, First Lady. This collection of essays attempts to revive the historical reputation of the wife of President Hoover. Based on her recently opened papers in the Hoover Library, essayists chronicle Hoover's early life, interest in the Girl Scouts, support of women's amateur sports, and encouragement of the arts. The several historians involved in this project have made extensive use of the Hoover papers (and make frequent plugs for the Hoover Library), but seldom address current issues in the secondary literature. For example, one writer asserts that Hoover's activism should be seen as a more conservative form of feminism, but does not mention any of the raging historical debates about the varieties and definitions of feminism. More a contribution to Hoover hagiography than to women's history, the essays are quite uncritical of their subject: every act of charity is faithfully recorded, no harsh words were ever spoken. Although the collection may "serve as a catalyst for further studies on" Hoover, they do not confirm "her unique place in women's history." E. C. Green; Sweet Briar College