First Ladies

I have always been interested in presidential and First Ladies history and trivia. I had memorized the order of the presidents when I was 11 and can still name them all in order. Therefore, I had to have this book when it came out in 1995. I don't read non fiction that often therefore this book just sat on my shelf for over 10 years before I finally got to it.

I am glad I finally read it though. I've read most of Margaret Truman's mystery novels that take place in various D.C. locations. I was very interested to read this one as she is a First Lady's daughter (Bess Truman) She has also known many of the First Ladies personally so that adds an unique aspect to the book.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought she would write about the First Ladies in order as she starts with Martha Washington and Abigail Adams but then she skips around, sometimes devoting a whole chapter to one First Lady, other times comparing several in a chapter. I learned a lot about First Ladies that I didn't know about and found it fascinating.

It was fun to read the section on Hillary Clinton, as she had been First Lady only for several years when the book was published and in light of the current political situation. Truman asked her in her interview for the book whether she had any thoughts about running for office and she said "I'm just trying to get through this experience , one day at a time."