Customer Reviews

Founding Mothers

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Cokie Roberts thoroughly enjoyed writing this tribute to the wives of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and other prominent women of the era . The book begins in the early 1700's. It ends when the presidency of George Washington ends and John Adams is elected, in 1797.

I appreciated the notes and the cast of characters including names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the signers of the Constitution, the players in the new government, women writers of the period, and famous soldiers and statesmen during the revolutionary war, which are included in the back of the book.

Excerpts from many letters are included and are so beautifully written.Let your imagination wander as you read vivid accounts of the sacrifices made by families who wanted independence from England - the yellow fever and smallpox epidemics, the building of a military, the contributions made by exceptional women such as Abigail Adams and Martha Washington, as well as Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, Sarah Livingston Jay, and many others portrayed here.

Cokie writes as if she is having fun telling us so many interesting facts about the "founding families", and I had fun learning more about them and relearning early American history.
The true story of Benedict Arnold and his wife was enlightening as well as the character of Alexander Hamilton.

You will enjoy learning about influential women in this book.
Cokie has inserted some of her own remarks to lighten up the picture, and she carefully recounts the contributions of each state as they represented the new government at that time; the
conflicts with the British,the alliance with the French, as well as inevitable partisan politics.

This is a very fascinating book and I am glad that I was able to buy it not too long ago. I remember reading the back of the book at the bookstore and thinking, "I have to have it." That first thought hasn't changed.

This book is written about women who influenced the leaders of the Revolutionary War, the first Continental Congress, the first Congress, first states and so on. These are women who have managed to keep the homefires burning, raising children and oftentimes, burying children, finding ways to keep their heads above financial debt while their husbands were away at war or at debates. These are women who have given up homes and friends to be with their husbands overseas on diplomatic missions ~~ women who published their thoughts and urged other patriots to fight in the war. These are not shy wall-flowers that other historical tomes would have you believe. These women really did back their influential husbands because they are strong women themselves.

This book covers the pre-War era, the Revolution, and the beginnings of a new country where it took men two years on how to decide to rule this brand-new country. This book was based on other biographies, letters exchanged among the women and among their husbands, and other historical tidbits that definitely made this book interesting. I know there are reviewers here who did not like Roberts' little asides and comments nor did they like her style of writing. I found it utterly fascinating and wanted to read more. It was disjointed in some places as she would wander off track for a little bit ~~ but I never had any trouble following her train of thought. It was just fascinating.

This book is a must-read for every true history reader. Not only did it contain political thoughts that these women have written or talked about ~~ it also contained customs of the times (which in some cases really haven't changed much over the years), personal thoughts of people who were actually there in the midst of the fighting and it definitely showed the Founding Fathers ~~ not as perfect men, but as human and oftentimes flawed. They become more real because Roberts took the time to make them more human and more interesting.

This book is definitely one of the top 10 for my 2006 booklist. I finished it in time to really enjoy the Fourth of July as now I understand these people a little bit better and can appreciate their fight more.

7-3-06

Cokie Roberts did an outstanding job in this book showing the courage, strength, passion, and patriotism exemplified by the extraordinary women of our nation's history, and how they made the jobs of the men who formed our nation possible.

The women had a voice that was spoken behind-the-scenes. They took care of keeping their homes safe, even defending them against attack during volatile times.

The extraordinary women are role models of just how much a woman can accomplish while working in harmony with the men in their lives, which made it possible for much reform, change, and revitalization of America.

This book is an outstanding read for all who are interested in the authentic power of how much influence a woman can bring while backing, supporting, and working in harmony with the men in their lives. A great example of a win/win for all.

This book deserves 10 Stars! Highly Recommended!
Barbara Rose, author of "Stop Being the String Along: A Relationship Guide to Being THE ONE" and 'If God Was Like Man'
Editor of inspire! magazine

I rather enjoyed this low-keyed take on history. The reading was easy and it was fun and I did indeed learn some facts I was unaware of. This by no means is "hard core history" and I doubt if it was ment to be. The book of course take a look a the wives of some of our founding fathers and the role they played at the time. The book appears to be reasonably researched, as any book of the nature can be, and the author uses an easy and informative style. On the otherhand, I doubt if this work will satisfy the hard core reader of history any more than it will satisfy the reader who is wanting a cozy sort of read...it sort of falls in the middle somewhere. I read it for pleasure and did receive that from it. Recommend this one.

Written in contemporary prose with plenty of opinions thrown in to spice things up, this is an eye-opener of a book with lots of discoveries to be made about Abigail Adams, Martha Washinton, Mercy Warren and their contemporaries. Did you know Eli Whitney might have stolen the idea of the cotton gin from Kitty Greene, according to no less an authority than MIT? Did you know slave Elizabeth Freeman pretty much single-handedly forced Massachusets to end slavery? What's really amazing about this book is how obvious it is that while the men may have been in revolt against the British, the women were in revolt against their condition. I don't think the men had any idea that all this revolutionary dealing would start the women down the road to Seneca Falls in 1848 and the 19th Amendment in 1920.

The concept of this book is what interested me. I was quite inspired by the women depicted here. Unfortuantely I found the work to be poorly written. I certainly could have done without the personal commentary Cokie threaded through the book. It was as if I was being directed what to think. I "get it" I wanted to scream. The content wasn't all that bad but the book is written for the reader young reader, perhaps of high school age. I would consider it for paperback if at all.

Cokie Roberts does an outstanding job of relating to us the stories of the women who worked behind the scenes to build our nation. The stories flow well and are intertwined with one another, as well as with Roberts' own comments. Not only do her comments provide clarity for certain points and situations, but they also provide insight into both her mind and the minds of the women involved in America's quest for independence.

These women were truly outstanding. As Roberts points out, they not only spurred the Revolution and supported their husbands and sons, but they also dealt with, among other things, constant pregnancy, the death (or deaths) of children, absentee husbands, and hostile British soldiers. They wrote articles and satirical pieces to incite the fight for independence, such as in the cases of Mercy Otis Warren and Esther Reed. Like Martha Washington and Sarah Jay, they left their children to follow their husbands around the colonies and Europe. And some, like Deborah Franklin, defended their homes from angy mobs. All the while, these women provided comfort to their exhausted and worried husbands, as well as to the American public.

Roberts' portrayal captures the differing opinions of the women's involvement well. She makes sure we know that women were generally supposed to stay in the home with the children. Some men did not want women to leave their "sphere" at all, such as Benjamin Franklin; he believed that all women, including his wife, Deborah, should stay out of politics. Despite this type of opposition and stereotype, many men supported their wives' involvement in the Revolution. Roberts does a particularly good job of relating to us the sentiments of men like George Washington and John Adams who staunchly supported their wives and all women. Not only did these men praise the efforts of women, but they also attributed much of the success of the new country to the females. As Washington wrote, "Nor would I rob the fairer sex of their share in the glory of a revolution so honorable to human nature, for indeed, I think you ladies are in the number of the best patriots America can boast."

It is Roberts' use of quotes like these that truly enhances "Founding Mothers." She has skillfully found pertinent passages from the letters of the Founding Fathers and Mothers that both relate to us the events of the time as well as reveal to us the true character of these historic figures. They are no longer statues or names from history books; rather, they are living human beings, much like us, who had dreams and fears and emotions. Roberts does not just tell us that Abigail Adams was deeply in love with her husband or that Sarah Jay was heartbroken when her baby daughter died while the Jays were in Europe. Instead, Roberts uses quotes from these people's correspondence to make us feel as if we are these women, for we can feel the emotion in the letters.

With amusing tales of their daily lives, revealing passages from their correspondence, and personal comments to make the connection to our own lives, Cokie Roberts weaves together the fascinating stories of the women who helped with the birth of our country. The result is a colorful quilt of society that creates respect for out forbearers as well as a belief that we too can influence the world around us.

We have been listening to the audio version in the car. Quite enjoyable- Cokie makes the history interesting and it's a great book to listen to while driving.

No- this is by no means a complete history of our country. And no- it does not even qualify as a complete biography of any one of these women. But, it is a much needed glimpse into the past. In general, women are ignored by history books, and she fills in some gaps. Of course, there are still huge gaps, but those say more about how women have been ignored throughout history than the thoroughness of Cokie's research.

I would recommend this to anyone interested, and quite frankly, were I a history teacher, I would make it required reading for any American History class. Altogether too often history gets bogged down in dates and wars, and every single class can benefit from remembering that these people were human too.

I love, love, love this book! Roberts in her introduction points out how one is more likely to find a grocery list written by a founding father than anything written by a women. The amount of the research done is unimaginable and it shows. The format of the book is helpful by dissecting a the various lives and times and areas but still keeps them organized so one can get the general gist of the events without reading numerous individual biographies and smoothly correlates all of them so their lives eventually meet and their stories make sense.
Another great point is how empowering it is to women as we can realize, although challenges have changed, some things such as the endurance and perseverance of women and their will-power, will, and do not, change.
It is a great book and worth a read; once you do you will know why, enjoy!

A wonderful book about extraordinary real women who deserve their own spot along side the Founding Fathers. The bravery and the guts of these women surprised me. Each one was heroic in her own way and has made me want to learn more about each one.