Items related to First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents
First Mothers tells the captivating stories of the mothers who played such large roles in developing the characters of the modern American presidents. The book covers a wide range of memorable personalities, from formidably aristocratic Sara Delano Roosevelt to diehard Democrat Martha Truman, from zealous pacifist Ida Eisenhower to family matriarch Rose Kennedy, nurturing Rebekah Baines Johnson, stoic Hannah Milhous Nixon, and courageous Dorothy Ford. From outspoken Peace Corps mother Lillian Carter to would-be actress Nelle Reagan, champion athlete Dorothy Bush, and gambling, hard-living Virginia Kelley Clinton, First Mothers invites us into the historic lives of these extraordinary women.
Much has been written about First Ladies, but now Bonnie Angelo, a veteran correspondent and bureau chief for Time, has captured the daily lives, thoughts, and feelings of these remarkable mothers and the relationships between them and their sons. Angelo recounts stories of traditional family values nurtured to the fullest, examples that should resonate with today's parents. She blends these women's stories with the texture of their lives and the colorful details of their times, and creates much more than faded daguerreotypes in their family albums. Her enthralling personal anecdotes leap off the page to reveal brilliant, moving lives, up close and personal. Based on dozens of interviews with the president-sons and other living relatives of these remarkable women, First Mothers is a richly textured, in-depth look at the lives, the influence, and the patterns that can be identified in the special mother-son relationships that nurtured the modern American presidents -- the last eleven -- to the pinnacle of power.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Succinct and highly readable, this group portrait of the 11 women who gave birth to America's 20th-century presidents might just put a more favorable spin on the phrase "mama's boy." From Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, all these chief executives were devoted to their mothers (relations with Dad were often more problematic), and that devotion had a direct effect on their presidencies--for the most part, a positive one. Sara Delano Roosevelt's adoration gave her son the self-confidence necessary to champion the New Deal's more unpopular measures. Martha Truman's personal experiences of the Civil War's bitter aftermath inspired Harry's determination to lend a hand to the vanquished as well as the victorious after World War II. Ida Eisenhower's pacifism didn't prevent her from supporting Dwight's decision to pursue a military career, but it shaped him into that welcome rarity, "a military leader who hated war." Lillian Carter's defiance of Southern mores to espouse civil rights and her precedent-shattering stint in the Peace Corps (at age 68) affected Jimmy's emphasis on human rights as well as his post-presidential commitment to serve the less fortunate. Virginia Kelley gets slapped for imparting to Bill Clinton the sense that "rules were for other people," but she's also credited with instilling his famous ability to feel other people's pain. In First Mothers, Bonnie Angelo, a longtime correspondent for Time magazine, delineates 11 different lives with a journalist's gift for cogency and an ability to see underlying similarities. Many of the facts here are familiar, but her interpretations are fresh. --Wendy Smith
About the Author:
Bonnie Angelo is the author of First Mothers. During her more than twenty-five years with Time magazine, she has reported on the White House and has covered newsmakers and events across America and the world. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and New York City.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSan Val
- Publication date2001
- ISBN 10 1417698799
- ISBN 13 9781417698790
- BindingHardcover
- Rating
(No Available Copies)
Search Books: Create a WantIf you know the book but cannot find it on AbeBooks, we can automatically search for it on your behalf as new inventory is added. If it is added to AbeBooks by one of our member booksellers, we will notify you!
Create a Want