Mr. and Mrs. President: From the Trumans to the Clintons [Paperback]

Gil Troy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

It began with Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt. It accelerated with Hack and Jackie Kennedy. Lady Bird and Lyndon Johnson became partners in office and Nancy and Ronnie seemed joined at the hip. Without question, the presidential couple has arrived as a force in politics. Yet surprisingly, the electorate is not happy about it.

The emergence of the presidential couple is one of the most important and contentious developments in America's postwar political history. Its citizens' reaction to the First Couple reflects the country's changing morality, its uncertain attitude toward feminism, and the increasing power of the media. Gil Troy traces these shifts through ten presidential marriages, from the homesick tensions between Harry and Bess Truman to the very public scandals endured by Bill and Hillary Clinton. Along the way, readers learn of Mamie Eisenhower's perseverance on her husband's campaign trail, Gerald Ford's embarrassment over Betty's outspoken honesty, and the amazing political success of Nancy and Ronald Reagan's partnership in office. With a new chapter devoted to Hillary and Bill Clinton's tainted partnership in office and to our present First Lady's senatorial ambitions, this edition of Gil Troy's Mr. and Mrs. President offers fresh insights into America's paradoxical expectations for its presidential wives and husbands.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must read for anyone interested in the presidential marriage. Recommended for a broad audience." -- Presidential Studies Quarterly

"An absorbing book full of surprising and fascinating anecdotes." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Deeply engrossing." -- Publishers Weekly

"Hillary Clinton should read Troy's book. Anybody who wants to be First Lady should read it. Anyone married to a powerful person, or thinking about marrying a powerful person, should read it; in fact, everyone should. It's full of nuggets and insights about marriage, power, and the presidency. I loved it." -- Lesley Stahl, CBS News

"Thought provoking [and] convincing." -- Library Journal

"Troy argues that the rise of the First Couple is not simply a function of the women's movement, but reflects a mixture of factors, including the weakening of parties, the rise of personality politics, the increasing power of the Presidency and the Federal Government and perhaps, most important of all, the 'rise of the mass media and the new political culture it spawned.'" -- New York Times Book Review

From the Back Cover

"A must read for anyone interested in serious discussion of the power and influence of presidential spouses. It removes these women from the roles associated with tea and china and places them in the larger context of White House turf battles and American ambivalence toward women and power. While I disagree with his conclusions, I have not read a more provocative, thoroughly researched, or readable account of these women. I recommend it without reservation."--Allida Black, author of Casting Her Own Shadow: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Shaping of Postwar Liberalism

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 440 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kansas; 2 Rev Sub edition (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700610340
• ISBN-13: 978-0700610341
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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