Shannon McKenna Schmidt – The First Lady of World War II
In August 1943, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt set out in secret for the Pacific on an arduous journey that was part goodwill tour, part fact-finding foray, and part informal diplomatic mission. She returned five weeks and 25,000 miles later, having trekked to Hawaii, New Zealand, and Australia, through the South Pacific and into territory still under enemy air attack.
Shannon McKenna Schmidt, the author of The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back, will discuss this unprecedented undertaking, described by a journalist at the time as “the most remarkable journey any president’s wife has ever made.” See Eleanor Roosevelt in a dramatic new light, as an adventurer and traveler, find out how travel was a key factor in her success as First Lady, and learn about the importance of her leadership during World War II.
Shannon is the co-author of two previous books, Novel Destinations and Writers Between the Covers, and has written for National Geographic Traveler, NPR.org and other publications and websites. She has appeared as a guest on television and radio programs, among them MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and has spoken at such venues as the FDR Presidential Library and Museum and the National World War II Museum. She lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.