First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women

A look inside the personal life of every first lady in American history, based on original interviews with major historians

C-SPAN's yearlong history series, First Ladies: Influence and Image, featured interviews with more than fifty preeminent historians and biographers. In this informative book, these experts paint intimate portraits of all forty-five first ladies -- their lives, ambitions, and unique partnerships with their presidential spouses. Susan Swain and the C-SPAN team elicit the details that made these women who they were: how Martha Washington intentionally set the standards followed by first ladies for the next century; how Edith Wilson was complicit in the cover-up when President Wilson became incapacitated after a stroke; and how Mamie Eisenhower used the new medium of television to reinforce her, and her husband's, positive public images.

This book provides an up-close historical look at these fascinating women who survived the scrutiny of the White House, sometimes at great personal cost, while supporting their families and famous husbands -- and sometimes changing history. Complete with illustrations and essential biographical details, it is an illuminating, entertaining, and ultimately inspiring read.

Author: Susan Swain, C-Span
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 10/04/2016
Pages: 496
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.40w x 1.30d
ISBN13: 9781610397179
ISBN10: 1610397177
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Women
- Political Science | American Government | Executive Branch
- History | United States | General

About the Author
Susan Swain is C-SPAN's co-CEO and, in addition to her senior management role at the network, has been an on-camera host for C-SPAN for more than thirty years, interviewing public officials, historians, and journalists for the public affairs network. The Presidents is her ninth book project with C-SPAN and PublicAffairs. She lives in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.