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    First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
    Unavailable
    First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
    Unavailable
    First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
    Ebook483 pages7 hours

    First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives

    By Bonnie Angelo

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    What is it like to be America's First Family? In this wonderfully engaging book, Bonnie Angelo, Time correspondent and acclaimed author of First Mothers, probes two hundred years of American history to tell the story of real life within the White House walls—how presidents, their wives, children, and extended families worked to create a home in an imposing national monument while attempting to keep their private lives from the public domain.

    First Families chronicles exhilarating moments as well as dark days at the nation's most famous address, with fascinating, behind-the-headline accounts of picture-book weddings, gossipy love affairs, rollicking children, domestic squabbles, and tragic deaths. From activist wives Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton to reluctant occupants Bess Truman and Jacqueline Kennedy, to those such as Mary Todd Lincoln, Dolley Madison, and madcap debutante Alice Roosevelt, who embraced their new address and status, here is an unforgettable human portrait of our First Families and how they coped, stumbled, or thrived in the national spotlight.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061972812
    Unavailable
    First Families: The Impact of the White House on Their Lives
    Author

    Bonnie Angelo

    Bonnie Angelo is the author of First Mothers. During her more than twenty-five years with Time magazine, she has reported on the White House and has covered newsmakers and events across America and the world. She lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and New York City.

    Read more from Bonnie Angelo

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    Reviews for First Families

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      A fascinating account of life in the White House. What is it like being a First Family? How has life in the White House changed over the years? How was it different for Dolley Madison, Bess Truman and Jacqueline Kennedy? Which first ladies were beloved by all and which were the most difficult to like? Who is responsible for the Japanese cherry trees which blossom each April? Who was married in the White House and which presidential children got into the most trouble?

      I found this an entertaining and easy book to read. Some stories I'd heard before, but most were new. Bonnie Angelo is a longtime correspondent for Time and reported on the White House for years. She's definitely done her research and shares many delightful anecdotes about past presidents and their first ladies and families, from George Washington to George W. Bush. We learn which First Ladies relished their roles and which ones were reluctant celebrities.

      While Ms. Angelo cites many references, she doesn't do so until the end of the book. I found myself wishing that there were footnotes so that I could check references and sources, none of which are found in the actual text. She does have an extensive bibliography at the end of the book, many of which sound interesting and will probably end up on my reading list!

      A lively, entertaining book about America's House. Simply enjoyable.