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Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency
 
 
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Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency [Hardcover]

John B. Roberts II (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)


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Book Description

March 1, 2003
- Laura Bush's profile will be updated for this edition. - New ratings of the first ladies based on the 2003 Siena College Research Institute Poll. - The First Ladies National Historic Site is in Canton, Ohio. - The author is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a fascinating glimpse at the evolution of the modern First Lady...a compelling book...Roberts should be applauded." -- Laura Hodes, FindLaw's Writ Book Review, May 23, 2003

"Rating the First Ladies" is a first-rate book...His chapters on Reagan and George H.W. Bush break new ground." -- Tony Blankley, Creators Syndicate, Sept. 17, 2003

"Some of the ratings may surprise you, or inflame you...I give it four-and-a-half out of five bookmarks!" -- Terri Schlichenmeyer, WIZM Radio

"Who was the best first lady? ...Eleanor Roosevelt..in his readable and comprehensive book, Roberts wrote she set the precedent.." -- Theo Lippman, Jr, Baltimore Sun, May 23, 2004 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

Beginning with Martha Washington, First Ladies have influenced world events, shaped domestic policies, had their hand in political campaigns, and hired and fired Cabinet officials. They have also held White House seances, consulted astrologers, taken bribes, and abused power. Their importance has only recently begun to be appreciated and understood. In "Rating the First Ladies," journalist and Washington insider John Roberts examines these private women in the public eye, measuring their effectiveness with a rating system developed by the Siena Research Institute.

From the top-ranked Eleanor Roosevelt to last-placed Mary Lincoln, Roberts looks at the way each First Lady has used her unelected power to shape her husband's administration and political destiny, further his causes, and in many cases, promote her own. Roberts shows them as ambitious, ambivalent, idealistic, greedy, egotistical, and selfless, in biographical essays that make for compelling and surprising reading." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Citadel; First Edition edition (March 1, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0806523875
  • ISBN-13: 978-0806523873
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For his latest book, J.B. Roberts II took a thirteen-hour road trip to northern India in the dead of winter to reach Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's home in exile. While doing research for the book he stayed in an unheated guest house during the coldest January on record for years, raced thunderstorms to write a TV show from an Internet cafe before lightning plunged Dharamsala into a black-out, and immersed himself in the world of Tibetan exiles and their political movements.

It was just another typical adventure in a career that has thrown him into the Salman Rushdie riots in Pakistan, the overthrow of the Ceasescu dictatorship in Romania, and an attempted coup in Argentina. As a freelance television producer, Roberts has written thousands of shows and interviews for world leaders, celebrities, experts, politicians, and authors. He works on assignment around the world, from exotic locales such as a remote atoll in Tahiti to world capitals like Madrid.

Born in Panama, Roberts has lived in Spain and worked throughout Latin America. Before making a mid-career switch to writing fulltime, he was an international political consultant. His experience in the White House and in campaigns in the U.S. and abroad makes him an expert in political movements and trends, especially in developing democracies. His personal knowledge of how politicians work and what motivates them carries into his non-fiction books, bringing an invaluable insider perspective.

He is listed in "Who's Who in America" and has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Times, Reader's Digest, and other publications. When he isn't writing television shows, books, or articles, he can be found drawing and painting,or wandering remote biways in his 1984 Jeep.

 

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars NO!NO!NO!, March 13, 2005
This review is from: Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency (Hardcover)
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK. ... He makes incredible errors of historical fact-well known historical fact, at that. For heaven's sakes never mind his errors regarding the women's lives, he puts Warm Springs (where FDR died) in West Virgina instead of Georgia(and where were his editors?) His lack of understanding of the truth of women's lives is no worse than many otherwise credible male biographers. Read it with a spoonful of salt, and you will learn of many women who have been overlooked. Just know going in that you are reading what amounts to a shallow overview magazine type article. Not unenjoyable just disappointing. I ignored the whole rating thing which is absurd.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars America's Top Ten, August 14, 2005
By 
This review is from: Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency (Hardcover)
Life is competitive, right? This is an engrossing book that really helps explain why Eleanor Roosevelt ranks #1,Abigail Adams #2, Dolley Madison #3, Jackie O #4, Hillary #5, Rosalynn Carter #6, Lady Bird Johnson #7, Betty Ford #8, Edith Roosevelt #9, and Sarah Polk #10. Find out why Laura Bush is only #24!
This book dishes lots of embarrassing details passed over by other more flattering accounts of first ladies. Don't be bothered by hisotorical nit-pickers who can't see the forest for the trees -- this isn't an encylopedia, it's a way to measure first ladies. You'll never think of them in old-fashioned stereotypes again after reading this book.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous!!!, February 25, 2004
By 
Johanna (Ann Arborite) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency (Hardcover)
This book was a Christmas gift, and I didn't know what to expect since I'm not really into politics and I like biography more. Once I started reading I was hooked by the biographies and the way the writer places each woman in the sweep of the history and politics of her times. I found the rating system easy to understand and the author explained it in great detail in the book's introduction. John Roberts really brings politics to life, instead of the dry boring subject I always thought it was. I'm really glad I read it this year, when the focus is on presidential candidates and potential first ladies. I plan to give this book to many on my birthday list this year.
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