Preface<br >My parents probably were the most important pair of per-<br >sonalities in the two-hundred-year history of this country.<br >Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as president for more than<br >thirteen years， longer than any other president has served.<br >And he served during a period that was as critical as any in<br >our history. Eleanor Roosevelt pioneered the participation of<br >women in public life. Lately， their private affairs have been<br >made public property， A case can be made for the Kennedys，<br >but John F. Kennedy served as president less than three years，<br >while Jacqueline Kennedy is， unfortunately， better known<br >for her private than for her public affairs. Washington， Jeffer-<br >son， Lincoln and our other presidential immortals did not<br >have wives who made any real public impact.<br > More than ninety years after the birth of my father and<br >mother， almost forty-five years after he was elected to the<br >presidency， more than thirty years after his death， and more<br >than fifteen years after hers， there has been a reawakening of<br >interest in them. There have been television and stage plays<br >based on their lives， and， of course， many books have been<br >written about them. Why， then， another book? Partly because<br >many of these works are by people who never knew them and<br >so cannot present them properly. Others， of course， are by<br >those who knew them， but even many of these do not present<br >