Product Description

"Fascinating. . . . First Ladies is a wonderfully generous look at the women who, often against their wishes, took on what Truman calls 'the world's second toughest job.' "
--The Christian Science Monitor
Whether they envision their role as protector, partner, advisor, or scold, First Ladies find themselves in a job that is impossible to define, and just as difficult to perform. Now Margaret Truman, daughter of President Harry Truman and an acclaimed novelist and biographer in her own right, explores the fascinating position of First Lady throughout history and up to the present day.
With her unique perspective as the daughter of a First Lady, Ms. Truman reveals the truth behind some of the most misunderstood and forgotten First Ladies of our history, as well as the most famous and beloved. In recounting the charm and courage of Dolley Madison, the brazen ambition of Florence Harding, the calm, good sense of Grace Coolidge, the genius of Eleanor Roosevelt, the mysterious femininity of Jackie Kennedy, and the fierce protectiveness of Nancy Reagan, among others, Margaret Truman has assembled an honest yet affectionate portrait of our nation's First Ladies--one that freely acknowledges their virtues and their flaws.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #299006 in Books
• Published on: 1996-08-27
• Released on: 1996-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780449223239
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Publishers Weekly
Truman's look at the nation's first ladies features capsule accounts of a selective number of women who have shared the White House with their husbands. She includes the obvious subjects such as Martha Washington, Dolley Madison, Mary Todd Lincoln, Eleanor Roosevelt and all the modern presidents' wives, along with lesser-known first ladies as Julia Grant and Julia Tyler. Although Truman, a mystery writer (Murder in the White House) provides a brief background on the women she profiles, she focuses, naturally enough, on their White House years and the roles they played in their husbands' administrations. And Truman attributes to the first ladies plenty of influence over their mates, asserting on numerous occasions that they have played major parts in changing the course of history (e.g., how Dolley Madison's courage helped her husband, and the country, recover from the War of 1812). But her light approach makes it difficult to tell whether she seriously believes her assertion that Rachel Jackson and Lou Hoover died of broken hearts because of the negative publicity about themselves and their husbands. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Truman writes about first ladies with the obvious advantage of an insider, having spent her young adulthood in the White House. Her book is a tribute to both her parents-her father urged a study of presidential wives, and her mother exemplified the role of a supportive partner. Rather than following a strict chronology and discussing every first lady, Truman draws comparisons and contrasts. Lady Bird Johnson is judged the most successful first lady; Florence Harding the least. Lucy Hayes's interest in improving the lives of the poor and Ellen Wilson's interest in slum clearance foreshadowed Eleanor Roosevelt's career. Truman concludes that first ladies should provide public support to the president but there is no single pattern to follow, and each lady needs to fill that role in her own way. Truman's work is the latest popular treatment of presidential wives, following surveys with the same title including Carl Sferrazza Anthony's two-volume set (LJ 8/90, 4/1/91) and Betty Boyd Caroli's soon-to-be updated book (LJ 9/1/87). Recommended for public libraries.
Patricia A. Beaber, Trenton State Coll. Lib., N.J.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Readers who like chatty, anecdotal history will relish this entertaining, thoughtful survey of 29 of the women who have held the "world's second toughest job." Former White House resident Truman--author of biographies of both her parents and a dozen Capitol crime mysteries--is well positioned to cover this subject, and her long marriage to former New York Times editor Clifton Daniel adds depth to her perspective on the role of the media in complicating the efforts of presidential wives to fulfill their position's multiple roles. Truman blends historical research with the fruits of her family's direct contacts with every First Lady since Grace Coolidge; she acknowledges special assistance from Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. Truman offers some interesting opinions: she defends the much-criticized Mary Todd Lincoln, viewing Florence Harding as a better candidate for "worst First Lady" ; Lady Bird Johnson, by contrast, was the "almost perfect First Lady." Truman is hardly a feminist, but her analysis does, on occasion, recognize issues feminist scholars have raised about the singularly anomalous position of the nation's presidential spouses. Lively popular history; expect requests. Mary Carroll

Customer Reviews

A Charming look at our First Ladies
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Margaret Truman uses her own unique perspective as the daughter of a First Lady to share a charming look at First Ladies throughout our history.

This is a very interesting, easy-to-read book with a variety of antecdotes illustrating the different roles First Ladies have taken on.

Good book to read in this '96 election year.
An interesting author in her own right with "first-hand" knowledge of living in the 'Big House'. Tastefully done review of little-before heard of facts and information about America's first ladies. Dolly Madison and Lou Henry Hoover were amazing women. The special qualities, strengths, and human frailities of our country's leading ladies is told in an honest, compassionate, and fascinating manner

Political Partners
From her unique perspective and personal contacts with many Twentieth Century First Ladies, Margaret Truman has told their stories in a most interesting way. The brief biographies primarily cover the years each of these Ladies resided in the White House, although their roles in getting there are not overlooked.

The concept of President and First Lady as political partners is central to the book. How and to what extent each First Lady fits into this mold is carefully examined. The influence that each First Lady has had on her husband and his administration brings some surprises.

We know of the public partners, such as Rosalynn Carter and Hillary Clinton, as well as those such as Lady Bird Johnson, who would do anything to advance Lyndon's career, and Eleanor Roosevelt, the eyes and ears of Franklin, but there were others. Who would have thought of Julia Tyler, the young second wife of John Tyler who, in her year in the White House, orchestrated a whirlwind entertainment campaign to achieve the annexation of Texas. Another second wife, Edith Wilson, virtually ran the country during her husband's two year illness after his stroke. There were those, such as Julia Grant and Helen Taft, who wanted the White House worse than their husbands.

Margaret Truman does an excellent job at categorizing the First Ladies topically. Among the tragic topics are those who may have been killed by newsprint, Rachel Jackson and Lou Hoover. Maligned First Ladies, such as Mary Lincoln, and those who lived with domineering husbands, such as Grace Coolidge, get sympathetic reviews. No sympathies are wasted on the undeserving, prominently Florence Harding.

In this book Margaret Truman gives us a splendid introduction to one of the most crucial jobs in our country. I am glad that I read it. You will be too.