Rating The First Ladies: The Women Who Influenced the Presidency

- 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. Read more Continue reading Read less 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 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."

FROM THE BACK COVER
"Just as Ginger Rogers matched Fred Astaire step for step, except she did it backwards and on high-heels, the First Ladies who serve as political partners in the White House have an equally daunting role to perform. Some have done better than others, and John Roberts shows us why. His analyses are informed by historical context and filled with delicious, gossipy details that make this book both a valuable research tool and a great read." Eleanor Clift, contributing editor, Newsweek. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John B. Roberts II is a writer and television producer. He is a consulting producer for The McLaughlin Group. His investigative reporting has been featured on NBC's Dateline; his print credits include the New York Times, George, The Washington Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, and Reader's Digest. Roberts served in the Reagan White House in the first and second terms. He has been a media consultant and strategist on political campaigns across the United States and in Latin America, Africa, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe. He has an M.A. from Oxford University and graduated with a B.A. from the University of California at the age of seventeen. Read more Continue reading Read less