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joko88's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Solid book covering some aspects of US history from (1797 to 1825) and the prominent women of the era; covers their accomplishments and viewpoints by using their own words to help explore their world as they experienced it
jmrprice's review against another edition
3.0
Fair accounting of these women’s impacts, but found this work more difficult to track than Founding Mothers.
meme_too2's review against another edition
4.0
I learned facinating things about the First Ladies of our country. Some things I didn't want to know about some of the men, however.
I did learn about one woman, who is mentioned in the book, that I have since decided to greatly admire: Isabella Marshall Graham, who began the first orphanages in NYC as well as organizing a relief society for young widows with children (which she had personally experienced). She wrote her own autobiography called The Power of Faith (which can be found in its entirety on-line) which is really amazing and facinating. Yeah for her and her bravery, conviction and faith.
I did learn about one woman, who is mentioned in the book, that I have since decided to greatly admire: Isabella Marshall Graham, who began the first orphanages in NYC as well as organizing a relief society for young widows with children (which she had personally experienced). She wrote her own autobiography called The Power of Faith (which can be found in its entirety on-line) which is really amazing and facinating. Yeah for her and her bravery, conviction and faith.
mlottermoser's review against another edition
2.0
I found the insights into women in early United States history fascinating, but the information was not conveyed in a clear and interesting way. I got through less than 10% of the book before I moved on to something else.
mariajaramillo17's review against another edition
Lo siento, no fui capaz.
Lo dejare en paro por el momento
Lo dejare en paro por el momento
witchofthemountains's review against another edition
3.0
This book was kind of hard to get into, but I lay that at the feet of Abigail Adams rather than Cokie Roberts. Roberts' writing style is respectful but playful, engaging without distracting from the information presented. Adams, however, is not among the first ladies I enjoy learning about, her views being rather out of alignment with my own. I found Dolly Madison much more engaging, though I will admit that Roberts' writing style endeared everyone but Abigail Adams to my by the end.
This is a side of history we're not often taught. When we learn of women in history at all it is either presented as the blazing stars that broke free of society to leave their mark, or it is the oppressed suffering more or less silently. These women are neither archetype. They worked within the system they were given to better their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens. It's inspiring in a way I haven't often been inspired before and I fully intend to seek out more of Roberts' books, particularly on this topic.
At a time when myth is becoming more important than fact in our political narrative, having a solid understanding of the truth of our history is very important. Books like Roberts' help us develop that understanding.
This is a side of history we're not often taught. When we learn of women in history at all it is either presented as the blazing stars that broke free of society to leave their mark, or it is the oppressed suffering more or less silently. These women are neither archetype. They worked within the system they were given to better their lives and the lives of their fellow citizens. It's inspiring in a way I haven't often been inspired before and I fully intend to seek out more of Roberts' books, particularly on this topic.
At a time when myth is becoming more important than fact in our political narrative, having a solid understanding of the truth of our history is very important. Books like Roberts' help us develop that understanding.
eliser217's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book on a whim because it was on sale in the Kindle store. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would. I'm not a huge history buff, but it was really interesting to learn about a side of history you don't see in history class. Dolley Madison and Abigail Adams end up being a footnote in textbooks, but they actually influenced a lot more than they were given credit for.
sigmamorrigan's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book over 6 years ago after hearing about on NPR, and I'm quite sad that I only just got around to reading it. Cokie Roberts provides an in-depth and engaging view of the influential women of the early United States: First Wives, philanthropists, business women, abolitionists, and more. The women of the day were letter writers just as prolific as the men, which is a blessing. Roberts makes good use of all of that primary source material to weave together the stories of women from the presidency of John Adams to the election of his son, John Quincy. Going through this definitely rekindled my desire to get my hands on the letters themselves, as they are clearly treasure troves of interesting information. I would highly recommend reading this book.