Kate Andersen BrowerFirst Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies

I read Kate Andersen Brower's other book, The Residence, and really enjoyed it. When I finished that, I was looking for another read. I found First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies, and it looked interesting. I think Brower is a very good author, and I enjoy her writing. I became more interested in the lives of first ladies after reading The Residence. I sent a copy of The Residence to my daughter, and will pass my copy on to a friend. I am just getting started reading First Women, and hope First Women is as good as The Residence. So far it is very enjoyable.

This is a pleasant valentine for ten first ladies. It is not profound but neither is it particularly critical. A few of the anecdotes appeared in Brower's The Residence. Many of the stories she shares are already widely known: the coolness between Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan, the Clintons' profane arguments, the fact that Michelle Obama was not particularly happy about moving to Washington and into the White House, and so on. At first Brower appears to want to make readers think that the First Ladies have some special relationship because of the role they shared, however, that theme doesn't really work. In fact, the only two first ladies who seemed to have developed a true friendship were Lady Bird Johnson and Betty Ford. Rosalind Carter remained bitter for a while after her husband's defeat and even was somewhat resentful because Hillary Clinton did not ask her anything about health care although that had been Rosalind's major effort has first lady. Nancy Reagan doesn't seem to have cared much for any of them with the possible exception of Jackie Kennedy Onassis (snob appeal, maybe?) There is one photograph of several of the women at an event which tells all. The five or six others appear to be talking to each other but Mrs. Reagan is at the end of the table and is turned completely away. The expression on her face says, more or less, "when will this purgatory end"? All in all, the book is interesting as a sidelight into the lives of these women who have tried to fufill the role as best they could. Some more successfully than others. Some tidbits are fascinating. Laura Bush has an image of the perfect southern lady who never loses her cool but evidently there were times when she could make her displeasure known, especially toward a staff member who kept losing the keys to her daughter's car. Pat Nixon was much liked and admired by her staff as was Barbara Bush. The only real criticism I have of the book is its organization. Brower skips around and repeats herself at times. Perhaps organizing it chronologically completely would have made for a more cohesive story.

Although this book is full of personal information about some of our nation's first ladies and family dynamics, it is not very well organized and sometimes very hard to follow. Our book club chose it to read after reading Upstairs In The White House by J. B. West which covers the past first ladies. This book picks up where the other one leaves off. Often the author compares various first ladies on one topic, then changes the characters and the topic to compare all in one paragraph. We all agreed that we had to flip back the pages.to know who was being discussed. The information was interesting but the book definitely needed better organization and editing.

I admit that this kindlebook of First Women; The Grace and Power of America’s First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower caught my attention after I had seen it available on Amazon and referenced (tweeted about) on Twitter. The positive is that this book covers much detail that could go in a future documentary such as: some of the first ladies that got along well with each other, Rosalynn Carter was initially shocked that first families have to pay for their own food, even the White House chefs were not always immune to the changes in leadership etc. Last, but not least, the mention of the infamous Monica Lewinsky scandal that put Hillary Clinton through a lot yet eventually brought her and Bill Clinton closer in their marriage. However, even as a Hillary Clinton supporter (for Hillary Clinton to be elected President in November 2016), I must refrain from saying too much more except to say that the whole situation was also complicated by Linda Tripp wiretapping what Lewinsky said without her consent and knowledge of doing so (theguardiandotcom article titled Monica Lewinsky’s Revenge by Julian Borger dated December 16, 1999).

A thoughtful, well-researched compilation of complex women who are devoted wives, mothers, and career women and how they balance public life with their own desires, needs, and biases. Courageous and insightful, each one is presented fairly in both her positive and negative traits. Brought to public lives by their husbands, this detailed and personal look at each family lends individuality, empathy, and sensitivity to all.Especially nuanced with private information, as only a respectful friend would see them. Anderson Brower makes each woman human, and over-rides all the incredibly biased press coverage and falsehoods that haunt each woman's existence, while only looked at through the myopic eyes of the ignorant and nosy.I was surprised at each one's sisterly support of the others, as they are part of a sorority few will ever belong to. It's a shame several of these women could not have risen to the leadership roles their husbands did. What a waste to eliminate remarkable women from the United States' representation in the world. Our country is the poorer for keeping such women in background roles.

Well written and interesting , gives a fascinating insight into the lives of these woman who form an exclusive club .

Super livre qui va m'aider dans mes études. Très bien écrit et agréable au toucher. On apprend plein de choses

it was one of the most enjoyable books that i have read. it told me a lot about the things that go on that the public does not know.

The title of the book and the summary encouraged me to get this book. I did go through the reviews and founda variety of completely opposite opinions. Hence I chose to build my own by getting the book. At page 87 I couldnt go any further. As much as I tried to find a structure in the narration, I was unable to get to one. The events are not acording to any dates, all events are mixed up, there is a lot of jumps between one and the other ladies. This was argued to be reasonable as they are intertwined. Given the extensive lack of structure I was unable to verify my own hypothesis as it seems like a mash-up of letters without the letters being, as said, put in order of any events happening. One page it may be abut the death of Kennedy, then it goes on about some completely other narrative and 10 pages later goes back to it. Very odd and a shame, really. This could have been great if only any type of structure were put into it.

A very entertaining book. All the first ladies were so different. Some enjoyed the luxuries of office and some found it claustrophobic. Though theý felt obliged to take up "causes" hardly any of them left a lasting impact. So much could have been done in their positions.