First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Look At History
Review: This is a great read for anyone even casually interested in American politics. I wish only that there were more photos!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This is a rich topic, the influence of mothers upon famous men, but the author presents her material with all the depth of those admiring biographies of famous women written for junior high school girls. The reader is jerked back and forth in time while the author hops from one topic to the next while discussing presidential "first mothers" in a superficial and breathless style. There are a few moments of candor that make these mothers more than cardboard saints,(Eleanor Roosevelt comes in for quite a bit of criticism for her lack of mothering skills), but these moments are few and far between. When the author does permit some clouds of disapproval to darken her sunny skies, her criticisms are quickly balanced by elaborate, and rather strained, excuses for the woman's behavior. (Angelo's depiction of Mr. Clinton's mother could have been written by a rabid Clinton apologist.) Three stars because of the interesting topic although it only deserves two for execution.