First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House Wives Paperback – August 27, 1996

Never knew Margaret Truman was such a prolific writer and her attention to detail is evident in this book. She did her research in an excellent manner, and wrote the pieces with humor, charm and hopefully, totally correct historical facts. She certainly had a wonderful role model in her mother AND her father who probably had input into her research.Heartily recommend this to any lover of history---it is a book of little known facts about well-known people and makes one feel as if they knew these first ladies in person.

Read this book years ago! Ordered it to share with my daughters and granddaughters!

I enjoyed Margaret Truman's review of First Ladies from Martha Washington through Hillary Clinton. Ms. Truman, the daughter of a former President herself, obviously conducted thorough research and shared anecdotes about each of the first ladies, their influence on their husbands, how they were regarded by the public and, when possible, got each first ladies' perspective on the "job". It was a well written, quick read that provided good perspective on some of the significant events and people who have shaped our nation.

First Ladies: An Intimate Group Portrait of White House WivesPurchased at Amazon.I am very interested in American History. My favorite section of it is the Men who have been our presidents & their wives & families. Margaret Truman was very knowledgeable in that aspect. She want there as a teenager & left to go to college. Some of the families had very sad lives, in & out of the White House.Some came from poor backgrounds & others from wealthier backgrounds. Another words, from all parts of America & from all over the country.All first ladies do not run or seek their jobs, they are there because of a husbands desire to be president of the USA.Some enjoy the job, and truly add their input, be it political, beautification of their surroundings or just a helpmate, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, who traveled the world, even during World War II, checking things that her husband was unable to do, because of his physical handicap.Some are very unhappy there & stay in the background & little is known of them. Others become famous in their own right & not only enjoy their time there, but become well known for the rest of their lives.They are really fascinating people in their own right & deserve to have their personal stories told, for future generations to admire. I like the little unknown trivia stories & that is fascinating to read about, especially as related to the president, their wives & children.

for those of us who often wonder about the lady who stands beside the man in the white house you will find this a great read There should be more books on our first ladies Not just those that were popular but thosr that stood quietly beside the man we vote in for 4 years

Lots of information about our first ladies- famous , infamous, and relatively unknown. Hard to read in one sitting. Take it a chapter a day and it won't seem so repetitious. Ms Truman is knowledgeable, but also opinionated. First ladies who were nice to her father and democrats get the best treatment.

The book was published in 1995 so does not include first ladies after that date. Still it's a worthwhile read with lots of interesting details.

If you happen to be a fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, I would not bother with this book. Margaret Truman clearly has an axe to grind. Her failure to appreciate the mutual failings of the Roosevelts' marriage leads her to paint Eleanor as an unsympathetic wife responsible for her husbands infidelities. Sadly no true social activist such as Eleanor Roosevelt escapes criticism, but Mrs Daniels treatment of her comes off as just sour grapes and makes one question her bias in the treatment of other first ladies.