This book is like a smoothie, slick and cool, and easy to read. A plethora of stories about US first ladies, it offers historical tales from the White House that range from the curious to heart-breaking, moving and tragic.
“First Women — the Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies” focuses on the relationships between the first ladies and how they reacted to times of joy and of sorrow.
“For this book, I interviewed more than 200 people, including chiefs of staff to the first ladies, press secretaries and other top advisers, along with the first ladies’ close friends and family members, to discover what life is really like in the White House. Their children shared revealing stories about their mothers’ personal struggles and their ultimate resilience,” said author Kate Andersen Brower.
Although they are not elected and their role is largely ceremonial, first ladies have played a highly visible role in the eyes of not only the United States but also the wider world.
The greatest first lady
The first lady is first and foremost the hostess of the White House, though some have used their position to advocate specific issues. This is especially true of Eleanor Roosevelt. She lived in the White House from 1933 to 1945 and worked as an activist for human rights and women’s rights. She has been called the greatest first lady and definitely set a standard by which those that followed her are measured. Hillary Clinton, in particular, has a great respect for Eleanor Roosevelt. This book includes accounts relating to Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.
Life changed these women once they began living at the White House. Rosalynn Carter recalls how surprised she was when she asked the operator to connect her to “Jimmy”. After she was asked which “Jimmy” she wanted to speak to, she realized that there were times when she had to refer to her husband as “the President”. Rosalynn was also shocked to learn that first families are expected to pay their food expenses.
The book highlights the rivalries between Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush and the unexpected friendship between Laura Bush and Michelle Obama as well as the strong friendship between Lady Bird Johnson and Betty Ford.
The book, which has many emotional stories, describes one account of Betty Ford’s remarkable character. A black-and-white photograph was taken on Sept. 27, 1974, while Betty Ford was giving a tour of the President’s bedroom to Lady Bird Johnson and her two daughters. The picture features the first lady smiling gracefully, and the presence of a small black suitcase lying at the foot of the bed which no one had noticed. Betty Ford was going to leave for Bethesda Naval Hospital as soon as her guests departed because she had been diagnosed with cancer. After the surgery, she wrote to Lady Bird to explain that she never said a word about her condition because she did not want to ruin their special day at the White House.
We also learn how an iconic photograph of “John John” Kennedy, son of President John F. Kennedy, was taken. Jackie Kennedy was staunchly against her children being photographed. Eventually, President Kennedy told the White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger that access to the children could only take place in the absence of Jackie. One day she left on a trip, and the president informed the press office, and 10 minutes later, “Look” magazine sent Stanley Tretick, who took the famous photograph of John-John sticking his head out from under the president’s desk in the Oval Office. When Jackie returned she was furious and the photos were set aside; she did, however, decide to publish them after her husband’s death and they were seen the world over.
Jackie charm
Jackie Kennedy was the most glamorous first lady and her husband was well aware of her terrific appeal. When they drove to inaugural balls, the president asked the driver to leave the lights on inside the car so that people could admire Jackie.
Jackie went on to charm the French President Charles de Gaulle who told her husband that she knew more French history that most French women. She also gave an elaborate dinner in honor of the French cultural minister and author André Malraux. He was skeptical about the young presidential couple; however by the end of the evening, he had been won over and told Jackie that he was going to lend the United States the Louvre’s masterpiece, Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”. It was the first and only time that the painting has ever been lent out.
The book also sets the record straight on some issues. Nancy Reagan had been criticized for spending $200,000 from private donations on a new set of china. Hillary Clinton, who otherwise had little in common with Nancy Reagan, believed the criticism was unfair because it was in fact the only complete dinner service which could be used for state dinners.
Barbara Bush was the only woman since Abigail Adams to be both the wife and mother to US presidents. I was surprised to learn that her hair turned white when she was 28 years old, after her three-year-old daughter Robin was diagnosed with leukemia.
“The stress of staying by Robin’s bedside and watching their three-year-old daughter endure rounds of transfusion and painful surgeries was written all over Barbara’s face, and eventually it began to turn her dark hair silver,” writes Brower.
Lure of the White House
Barbara Bush acknowledged that when she left the White House she had a difficult time without the help of maids, butlers and cooks.
As for the Clintons, they were particularly unwilling to leave the White House. They even removed gifts which belonged to the permanent collection of the White House but they eventually sent them back. This however did not happen only with the Clintons. Five years after he left office, while he was redoing his office in Houston, President George H.W. Bush discovered two bookcases with stickers on the back that read “Property of the White House”. The furniture was immediately sent back to Washington.
This book is entertaining and fun to read, with never a dull moment. Politics, after all, is always full of surprises. Hillary Clinton never stopped dreaming of going back to the White House, and perhaps thought she was heading in that direction, given her confidence before Donald Trump’s eventual victory in this year’s presidential election. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, relishes the thought of leading a different life when her husband steps down.
America now has a new first lady — Melania Trump. She is the second foreign-born first lady since Louisa Adams, the English wife of President John Quincy Adams. Like Betty Ford and Pat Nixon, Melania is a former model — and we can only hope she will shine a positive light on her husband, Donald Trump.
“First Women — the Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies” focuses on the relationships between the first ladies and how they reacted to times of joy and of sorrow.
“For this book, I interviewed more than 200 people, including chiefs of staff to the first ladies, press secretaries and other top advisers, along with the first ladies’ close friends and family members, to discover what life is really like in the White House. Their children shared revealing stories about their mothers’ personal struggles and their ultimate resilience,” said author Kate Andersen Brower.
Although they are not elected and their role is largely ceremonial, first ladies have played a highly visible role in the eyes of not only the United States but also the wider world.
The greatest first lady
The first lady is first and foremost the hostess of the White House, though some have used their position to advocate specific issues. This is especially true of Eleanor Roosevelt. She lived in the White House from 1933 to 1945 and worked as an activist for human rights and women’s rights. She has been called the greatest first lady and definitely set a standard by which those that followed her are measured. Hillary Clinton, in particular, has a great respect for Eleanor Roosevelt. This book includes accounts relating to Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama.
Life changed these women once they began living at the White House. Rosalynn Carter recalls how surprised she was when she asked the operator to connect her to “Jimmy”. After she was asked which “Jimmy” she wanted to speak to, she realized that there were times when she had to refer to her husband as “the President”. Rosalynn was also shocked to learn that first families are expected to pay their food expenses.
The book highlights the rivalries between Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush and the unexpected friendship between Laura Bush and Michelle Obama as well as the strong friendship between Lady Bird Johnson and Betty Ford.
The book, which has many emotional stories, describes one account of Betty Ford’s remarkable character. A black-and-white photograph was taken on Sept. 27, 1974, while Betty Ford was giving a tour of the President’s bedroom to Lady Bird Johnson and her two daughters. The picture features the first lady smiling gracefully, and the presence of a small black suitcase lying at the foot of the bed which no one had noticed. Betty Ford was going to leave for Bethesda Naval Hospital as soon as her guests departed because she had been diagnosed with cancer. After the surgery, she wrote to Lady Bird to explain that she never said a word about her condition because she did not want to ruin their special day at the White House.
We also learn how an iconic photograph of “John John” Kennedy, son of President John F. Kennedy, was taken. Jackie Kennedy was staunchly against her children being photographed. Eventually, President Kennedy told the White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger that access to the children could only take place in the absence of Jackie. One day she left on a trip, and the president informed the press office, and 10 minutes later, “Look” magazine sent Stanley Tretick, who took the famous photograph of John-John sticking his head out from under the president’s desk in the Oval Office. When Jackie returned she was furious and the photos were set aside; she did, however, decide to publish them after her husband’s death and they were seen the world over.
Jackie charm
Jackie Kennedy was the most glamorous first lady and her husband was well aware of her terrific appeal. When they drove to inaugural balls, the president asked the driver to leave the lights on inside the car so that people could admire Jackie.
Jackie went on to charm the French President Charles de Gaulle who told her husband that she knew more French history that most French women. She also gave an elaborate dinner in honor of the French cultural minister and author André Malraux. He was skeptical about the young presidential couple; however by the end of the evening, he had been won over and told Jackie that he was going to lend the United States the Louvre’s masterpiece, Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”. It was the first and only time that the painting has ever been lent out.
The book also sets the record straight on some issues. Nancy Reagan had been criticized for spending $200,000 from private donations on a new set of china. Hillary Clinton, who otherwise had little in common with Nancy Reagan, believed the criticism was unfair because it was in fact the only complete dinner service which could be used for state dinners.
Barbara Bush was the only woman since Abigail Adams to be both the wife and mother to US presidents. I was surprised to learn that her hair turned white when she was 28 years old, after her three-year-old daughter Robin was diagnosed with leukemia.
“The stress of staying by Robin’s bedside and watching their three-year-old daughter endure rounds of transfusion and painful surgeries was written all over Barbara’s face, and eventually it began to turn her dark hair silver,” writes Brower.
Lure of the White House
Barbara Bush acknowledged that when she left the White House she had a difficult time without the help of maids, butlers and cooks.
As for the Clintons, they were particularly unwilling to leave the White House. They even removed gifts which belonged to the permanent collection of the White House but they eventually sent them back. This however did not happen only with the Clintons. Five years after he left office, while he was redoing his office in Houston, President George H.W. Bush discovered two bookcases with stickers on the back that read “Property of the White House”. The furniture was immediately sent back to Washington.
This book is entertaining and fun to read, with never a dull moment. Politics, after all, is always full of surprises. Hillary Clinton never stopped dreaming of going back to the White House, and perhaps thought she was heading in that direction, given her confidence before Donald Trump’s eventual victory in this year’s presidential election. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, relishes the thought of leading a different life when her husband steps down.
America now has a new first lady — Melania Trump. She is the second foreign-born first lady since Louisa Adams, the English wife of President John Quincy Adams. Like Betty Ford and Pat Nixon, Melania is a former model — and we can only hope she will shine a positive light on her husband, Donald Trump.
