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Loading... Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nationby Cokie Roberts
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  cyderry | Mar 28, 2009 |  Profiles of the wives and daughters of early American movers-and-shakers, told in their own words. Roberts forms her chapters around presidential wives Abigail Adams, Dolly Madison, and Louisa Adams but branches out to tell us of their contemporaries in Philadelphia and Washington DC. (  ) mojomomma | Mar 7, 2009 | Very well researched and written. Easy and pleasant to read. I felt that the main character was Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams. Her writings, and writings about her, added fresh insights into the historical period covered, from the John Adams to the John Quincy Adams administrations. To a certain extent, the amount of coverage of each lady correlated with the amount of written material available about/by them from which to draw. Abigail Adams has a wealth of materials. Her daughter-in-law is even more interesting, in my view. (  ) smithwil | Jan 8, 2009 | Thank you, Cokie Roberts, for showcasing the women whose contributions to America's development deserve just as much note as do the men of the time. Ms Roberts writes well with her own view interjected from time to time in an informative and interesting style bringing to light heretofore little known stories of these influential women. "The Ladies of Liberty" tells us much about the intellect, deeds and ways of influence of her subjects and much also about the times and conditions of day to day life in colonial times. I do think the book was heavy on Abigail Adams, while interesting and certainly had an impact, more on the other women would have given the book more balance. None the less, a good read. ( ) bonsam | Nov 22, 2008 | Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts is a history of the United States as a new nation as witnessed by the women important to the politicians and statesmen of that era. It is a sequel to Roberts’s previous history, Founding Mothers. Beginning with the death of George Washington, the book spans six presidencies, beginning with John Adams’s election in 1797 and ending with his son’s John Quincy Adam’s election in 1825. The book is exceptionally well researched. Relying heavily on the personal correspondence of the women portrayed, Roberts provides a better rounded, more human history of the time. She reveals how great these women’s personal sacrifices were and the significance their contributions to the success of an emerging nation. Especially remarkable is the role of women in establishing orphanages and social welfare services for the poor. The book is long, and of necessity detailed, but Cokie Roberts’s tone is informal and chatty, and this helps to make the reading easier and more enjoyable. ( ) Ciruelo | Jul 31, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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In Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts paid homage to the heroic women whose patriotism and sacrifice helped create a new nation. Now the number one New York Times bestselling author and renowned political commentator—praised in USA Today as a "custodian of time-honored values"—continues the story of early America's influential women with Ladies of Liberty. In her "delightfully intimate and confiding" style (Publishers Weekly), Roberts presents a colorful blend of biographical portraits and behind-the-scenes vignettes chronicling women's public roles and private responsibilities.
Recounted with the insight and humor of an expert storyteller and drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources—many of them previously unpublished—Roberts brings to life the extraordinary accomplishments of women who laid the groundwork for a better society. Almost every quotation here is written by a woman, to a woman, or about a woman. From first ladies to freethinkers, educators to explorers, this exceptional group includes Abigail Adams, Margaret Bayard Smith, Martha Jefferson, Dolley Madison, Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Catherine Adams, Eliza Hamilton, Theodosia Burr, Rebecca Gratz, Louisa Livingston, Rosalie Calvert, Sacajawea, and others. In a much-needed addition to the shelves of Founding Father literature, Roberts sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation, giving these ladies of liberty the recognition they so greatly deserve.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400)
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Wikipedia in English (1)
The First ladies are not the only women represented in this book. Even though the primary women are Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Louisa Adams, other notable women recognized are Sacagawea, Mother Seton, and Margaret Smith.
I was a little apprehensive when I realized that Cokie Roberts, the author, was actually going to be doing the reading (this book was on audio.). I was extremely pleased by her delivery and the enthusiasm with which she delivered the material. My only problem were with two small pronunciations but since they were quite frequent, it was a little irritating. (Cokie Roberts cannot pronounce New Orleans or Sacagawea properly. Both have a "ya" in her pronunciations.)
Nevertheless, this was an extremely enjoyable experience. (