Unusual For Their Time: On The Road With America's First Ladies - Volume 2

by Andrew Och

Behind every great man is an even greater woman... or in this case... lady.

If George Washington had never met and married Martha Dandridge Custis, this book would be called something quite different. It may have been written in a different language, or perhaps never written at all.

If George and Martha Washington had never married, America would be a very different place... or quite possibly... not America at all.

Martha Washington was unusual for her time. In Volume 2, the adventure picks up with Edith Roosevelt and continues through our most recent 2016 election and First Lady, Melania Trump...

My name is Andrew Och, I am the "THE FIRST LADIES MAN," and I'm not done telling you about these amazing women and the incredible adventures they inspired. My travels have given me the opportunity to learn about every First Lady of the United States from Martha Washington to Melania Trump. I continue to visit and explore cities, towns, villages, homes, schools, churches, birthplaces, cemeteries, train stations, farms, plantations, libraries, museums, general stores, town centers and cottages that relate to these women...our American First Ladies. Finding out what type of woman grows up to become married to a President of the United States is a lifelong project for me. As I showed you in Volume One, many of our Presidents married up. Most of these men would not have made it to the White House without the help, influence, and support of their wives. I have traveled tens of thousands of miles in the lives, footsteps, and shoes of these First Ladies, and here's what I've learned...ALL of these women have been UNUSUAL FOR THEIR TIME.

487 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2018

Reviews

[Sjervey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second volume of First Ladies is just as entertaining and informative as the first. But it should be noted this is as much a memoir of Och's discovery of the first ladies as it is biography of these ladies. Och was producing a TV series and wanted each episode to give the viewer something new, something special about each of the first ladies. In the end, these books give us an extraordinary insight into the way these ladies have dealt with the unanticipated responsibilities which were heaped on them as they entered the White House. Och appreciates how well these women have responded to the needs of their country and, in turn, set new standards for us. If Och sometimes comes across as a cheerleader, it is because he has found so much in the first ladies to admire, to respect, indeed, to love. These are remarkable ladies and I hope Och will continue to explore and research more about them and delight us all with updates of his travels and discoveries.

[Jill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is in sore need of editing. I found this extremely distracting, as I was tempted to break out a red pen while reading. The topic of the book interested me, so I stuck with the book. But, I found reading the book to be a hard slog. I learned a lot about the First Ladies, but feel the two volumes written by the author could have easily been one if the repetitive and irrelevant parts were cut. The wholesale inclusion of portions of Volume I and articles written previously by the author were annoying; exact sentences from this book were repeated multiple times. As I noted in my review of Volume I, I purchased this book after hearing an excellent talk on the First Ladies. But, I was disappointed in the books.