First Ladies Fact Book: The Stories of the Women of the White House from Martha Washington to Laura Bush

by Bill Harris

The First Ladies Fact Book is a definitive guide to the lives, achievements, and triumphs of every first lady from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. Arranged chronologically for easy reference and illustrated throughout with artwork, photographs, and documents, this is a information-packed overview of the lives and legacies of America's first ladies.

What's more, The First Ladies Fact Book features selections of the most intimate correspondence of all the first ladies. Delightful surprises abound, including little-known information about the women's hobbies, styles of dress, habits of socializing, and quirks. With more than 700 photographs and illustrations, this is a eye-catching history of the nation's first ladies.

Genres: History, Presidents, Nonfiction, American History

725 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the most remarkable thing about this book is how non-partisan it is. The author manages to take the side of every First Lady, always portraying them (and their husbands) in the most positive light. It's honestly rather refreshing. It's usually a well written book, although there are a few minor mistakes. Still, it's very well done.

[Justlesa Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of information in this book about the first ladies and I really enjoyed learning.
The typos were a little distracting and the last chapter, alot of the wording, felt very bias. Biggest take away from this: The White House gets filthy.

[Elena Santangelo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree with the reviewer who commented about the typos being annoying. I actually read a slightly later edition with revisions by Laura Ross. You'd think an editor doing a revised edition would have fixed all the typos. The captions under the photos were the worst, some simply ending mid-sentence or missing words. But the absolute worst problem with this book was the history that was wrong. Just little things (I think). John Wilkes Booth was NOT in the cast of the play Lincoln was seeing when Booth shot him. Valley Forge was NOT the coldest winter of the American Revolution. Once I began to doubt Bill Harris's research based on what I already knew, I fact-checked more as I read on and found more and more mistakes. So if you're reading this book for historical knowledge, you'd do better reading better authors like Cokie Roberts's Founding Mothers, Ladies of Liberty, and Capitol Dames.

I will admit that a few chapters inspired me to want to read more on the particular woman--Harriet Lane, for instance. But, for the most part, the book seemed to cover more about what the women looked like, what they wore, how they redecorated the White House, what kinds of hostesses they were, what kind of wives they were, and did people in Washington society like them. They rarely painted full pictures of these women as human beings, or their contributions as First Ladies. The chapters that did were great but they were too few. And most chapters had more biographical info about the president than about the First Lady, especially if the president's wife didn't live to be a First Lady (not really sure why they were included). The chapter on Jefferson, for instance, was pretty much all about Jefferson. I waded through page after page about Benjamin Harrison and when Caroline was finally mentioned again, it was just a throw-away reference. To me, this was kind of a man's view of what should be remembered about these women.

Beyond that, the book was very poorly put together. The chapters often confusingly jumped around in time. You never were given a feeling for what era you were in. The photos were often out of order chronologically and didn't fit with the part of the chapter where they were stuck (Andrew Johnson's chapter kept putting in cartoons about his impeachment throughout the chapter, even before he became vice president). There were these odd insets in italics that usually just repeated something I'd already read or info from a photo caption before or after it. (Probably something to make this coffee table book artsy, but I was reading on Kindle and it was annoying.) They could have been eliminated altogether. The whole book had many redundancies. Amazon lists it as a 700+ page book. The editor could have easily cut out 200 pages.

So, in summary, the book contained bad research, many typos, way too many words, information that had nothing to do with first ladies, and not enough information about them. Not at all recommended.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I intended to read a book about every first lady after I had read a book about Eleanor Roosevelt and an autobiography of Michelle Obama. I did go on to read books about Martha Washington and Abigail Adams but I felt those books were too bogged down with details as to whom they had dinner with and who their relatives were. It was also difficult to find books on some of the first ladies. I was interested in the lives of the first ladies and how they contributed to their husband's careers. I came across this book which contained what I was looking for.

[Annisa]

DNF

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. I learned a lot about the First Ladies, as well as, their president husbands, the evolution of their roles in our government, and the government itself. We tend to think that things have always been the way they are now, but our country's government has undergone numerous changes. Some that stand out to me are the way campaigning has changed, how the White House has changed,and how security has changed for our Presidents and First Ladies. Who knew that presidents did not campaign for themselves for a second term? The vice-president and others did it, so he could continue to do his job as president without interference. Some presidents campaigned from their own front porches, and people came there to hear what they had to say. Early first ladies did not play an active role in campaigning, like they do today. The general role of the first lady was as White House hostess, but many took a more active role in advising their husbands, or providing information. Today the First Lady often has her own cause or agenda. The White House has undergone numerous changes. Sometimes the redecorating or remodeling was done at the expense of the president and his wife. Congress often had to approve the use of government money for White House updates. The living quarters and office areas for the President and First Lady seems to change with each new administration. Other than learning about the changes over time, I especially enjoyed learning about the first ladies from my lifetime. There was so much I didn't know, although I was familiar with them. As for security, it became mandatory after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It has spread to include the First Lady and the President's children, as well as, former presidents and first ladies. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the history of our government from a unique viewpoint. It's also more of an encyclopedia, and can be read by chapter, and not necessarily in order.

[Eric and Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating... Love the pictures and the stories behind "the story."

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute coffee table book. Love the stories surrounding the first ladies and the pictures are nice too.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

tidbits from the most popular first lady to the most hermit like

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about history. And i think you would really enjoy this book.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting, although sometimes equally disturbing, look at a long line of first ladies and the challenges they faced.

[Emily Rabecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a very interesting book!! if you love history and learning about amazing women than pick this up!!

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. I learned a lot of things I never knew.

[Abi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of typos

[Christine Martin-Arrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book interesting. I did not know a lot of things about the First Lady of all the presidents.