America's First Ladies [Library Binding]

Barbara Silberdick Feinberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

Traces the evolution of America's First Ladies from the role of White House hostess to that of social and political leader.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-The role of First Lady is undefined in the Constitution, thus allowing each president's wife to dictate what part she will play. Feinberg differentiates between the more traditional and modern roles and has written separate chapters on them; they include hostess of the White House; campaigner; promoter of family values; and supporter of humanitarian, social, and cultural causes. Each chapter explores how several First Ladies have handled these particular positions and responsibilities and explains how they have evolved over the years. Black-and-white photographs, chapter notes, and a list of "Presidents' Wives" are included. Not an essential purchase but one that provides a different approach.-Debbie Feulner, Northwest Middle School, Greensboro, NC

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Library Binding: 128 pages
• Publisher: Franklin Watts (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0531113795
• ISBN-13: 978-0531113790
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,969,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Expectations Not Fulfilled, March 21, 2005

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's First Ladies (Library Binding)

I read about 5 pages of this book and started to wonder if the author was talking down to me or if I was just going through a highly emotional period in my life. I pressed on until about page 20 when I stopped and looked the book up on Amazon. I then realized the issue, this book is written for young adults. This book came into my house as a bargain table purchase of my wife's that sat around on the shelf for a couple of years. I finally took it down to see what it contained. Once I found out the book was geared to a young adults the rather basic and bland writing style made sense. At the end of the day it made for a book that I got through so fast I could almost delude myself in thinking I had picked up speed reading skills.

I tend to like my non fiction books to follow chronological order and find that if they do not I get disappointed. This book, one that you would think almost demands a historical order, was chopped up into subject specific chapters. One chapter on ball gowns, one on parties etc. I felt that I could not get a good feel for how the position of first lady changed over the years because of the snippets in each chapter made it difficult to see the progressions. I also felt that the author was able to hide content holes by structuring the book in this fashion. She tended to fill the chapters up with a predominate amount of recent or more popular first ladies. It was probably easier to find the material that way.

Overall I was disappointed by the book. This being said I am probably not the right reviewer for the book. I have never read, at least not for 20 some odd years, a book focused on a teenager market thus I was disappointed in its depth. I also have no idea what a teenager would be looking for in a book of this nature so I can only judge the book by my own viewpoint.