My Dear President: Letters Between Presidents and Their Wives

by Gerard W. Gawalt

My Dear President is a historic, heartfelt collection of letters between first ladies and presidents -- including many that have never been published -- that casts a warm, new light on our leaders at their most open-hearted and vulnerable.

"I am very madly in love with you," wrote Lyndon Johnson to his future wife, Bird Taylor. James Madison sent off this plaintive line to his wife "Every thing around and within reminds me that you are absent." In this inspiring collection of correspondence between U.S. presidents and their wives are hundreds of unguarded moments of affection, strain, grief, and triumph, revealing as never before the private thoughts and working partnerships of our most public figures. Culled from the holdings of the Library of Congress and various presidential libraries and private collections, it is the most comprehensive compilation of its kind ever put together.

Gerard Gawalt, a curator of presidential papers at the Library of Congress for the past thirty years, has divided the book thematically into such topics as love, war, politics, travel, and sorrow. Each letter appears in its entirety, with the original spelling and grammar intact, and is set in historic context for a full sense of the moment that formed its backdrop. In most cases, exchanges are included, forming an enlightening dialogue between husband and wife. Throughout, historic photographs and artwork from the Library of Congress's collection enhance the text. Like its companion volume, First Daughters, My Dear President is bound to become a cherished gift for all those interested in American history for years to come.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 6, 2006

Reviews

[Zack Irish · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and insightful read! The beginning of the book was well written to set the stage and introduce the reader to the different writers through history, which provided context to their letters. The book was well structured categorizing the letters by theme and taking the reader from late 1700s through the 1900s. It was interesting to see how the writing style had evolved in the 200 years, as well as the method of communication from lengthy letters to short telegrams, to emails. As a historian, I loved reading the primary sources and learning more about the thoughts, philosophies, and personal challenges of these historical figures. It is remarkable how much the First Ladies have impacted the Presidents throughout their political climb to power, and then serving as their top advisors while in office. Some sections of the book were more meaningful and engaging than others, but it is a great collection of letters to illustrate the complicated relationship that the presidential couples have with each other while living in the political spotlight.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in tiny chunks while waiting for things. It was a fascinating peek into the lives of our presidents.

[Jacki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a collection of letters from presidents to their wives and from wives to the presidents. It spans from George Washington through the Clintons (since the Bush's documents haven't been released yet). It was put together by a historian for the library of congress & is a great collection.

There were some letters that were hard for me to understand because either I was unfamiliar with the events that were happening then or just because of archaic language, but most of the letters were great.

It's broken into several sections: love & marriage, politics, foreign travel, war, sorrow and grieving, hello & goodbye, stuff like that- so you don't read all of one couple's letters at one time, instead all of the letters are sort of themed.

What struck me was the humanity of it all. When I think of FDR or George Washington or Abe Lincoln or even more modern presidents: LBJ, Jimmy Carter- I just think of them as figureheads. This just made them really human, and they had silly little jokes with their wives and it was just cute.

It was amazing too: There were letters from, say, John Adams on July 2nd, 1776, or other things like that: the president's most personal thoughts written to their wives as they were making history. It was amazing to read.

I got this a while back at an outlet mall for 2 dollars, so honestly I'm not sure if it would be easy for you to find or not, but if you can get your hands on it I highly recommend it!

The only thing I would have changed is this: I would have loved a little more background with each letter. There were a lot of parts where I really wanted to know what they were referring to, but really there was no way for me to know.

Other than that, I loved this. I learned a lot, and also it was just really sweet. Makes me want to start exchanging written letters with my husband. Not that we're looking to be president, but just because it's such a great record that they have of their lives together.

[Steph Hundt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always had a keen interest in things related to the presidents. This book is very intriguing. Letters between the presidents and their wives appear in their entirety with no change to the grammar or sentence structures. It is so neat to read these letters because I felt like I was being transported back in time to the Civil War or World War I. The letters appear in different chapters including; politics, education, foreign travel, and health and concern. My favorite letters were between Julia and Ulysses Grant and Nancy and Ronald Reagan. The love and care in these particular letters shined through very clearly and you can tell just how much these couples respected each other.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is arranged in categories and has letters (note that letters has a very different definition in this book just as the author mentioned in the foreword) from George Washington to Bill Clinton, although not all.

There are no revisions done to the letters at all and no footnotes, but there is a brief description before each letter, which makes it easy for the reader to comprehend.

I was able to finish this book in almost one sitting, partly because I skipped the introductions done on the Presidents and First Ladies who are present are correspondents. Nonetheless, this book is very easy to read.

[Kristy]

As of yet, I have only read the chapter of "Sorrow and Consolation". I find it interesting and insightful. To see the words of love, anger, hurt expressed between these famous husbands & wives is moving. Not a book needing to be read cover to cover in one sitting, it makes a wonderful "pick me up at your leisure" reading experience.

If you are one of us (those missing the days of letter writing and the personal touch that went along with it) this book is great (so far... again, I have only read one chapter). I will try and update this recommendation further along in my reading.

[Elizabeth]

My mother-in-law was reading this on her last visit with us and she was enjoying it so on to the list it goes.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to see the various perspectives on married life & the presidency. A unique compilation.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was mostly dull. I enjoyed some of the letters and could suffer through the shorter, boring ones, but some just went on and on and on.