Cokie Roberts (1943–2019)

When I first listened to the book, I concluded it was really a YA book disguised as an adult book. It seemed so shallow, and was full of annoying and tendentious asides. Yet it was also kind of interesting; it told a story that I was somewhat familiar with from a different perspective, that of the mothers, daughters, wives and sisters of generally better known personages of the colonies, American War for Independence, and earliest years of the United States. Then I read the sequel, "Ladies show more of Liberty", and that was more interesting to me, because I was much less familiar with the time period covered, and for the same reason more confusing. I decided it would be quite useful to actually read the sequel, and decided that to be thorough I might as well start with reading the first book.

The book is better when read. The tendentious asides recede into the background and become moderately annoying distractions while the narrative becomes more interesting, probably because when one is reading instead of listening, it is somewhat easier to keep track of all the different characters, their relations to each other, what they were doing last time the book discoursed about their lives, etc.

Since so many of the women found themselves in Europe, because some male relative was an ambassador or had property or children to educate, the interactions of the new United States with Europe are given more weight than in many other history books and events in the old and new world are linked in interesting ways. For example, when James Monroe was ambassador to France, his wife made a ceremonial visit to the Marquise de Lafayette, then in prison and headed for the guillotine, and managed to get her extracted from her situation and out of the country prior to her scheduled beheading, sometime during George Washington's second term.

While this book has one good quotation after another, as well as a great number of end notes, it would be much enhanced by numerous parallel timelines of the life of each woman and about ten or so family trees. Instead it has a bunch of period recipes and a virtually useless "Cast of Characters".

This is actually as good a way as any to learn, not very deeply, about the colonies, the war, and the early United States, through the election of the second President, John Adams. Recommended. show less

Cokie Roberts celebrates the 150th anniversary of the end of Civil War by writing the biography of 14 politically influential women from the late 1840s to the late 1860s. Some were spouses or relatives of powerful men while others were reknowed activists, reformers, or authors in their own right. Mary Todd Lincoln, Elizabeth Keckley (Todd's seamstress), Clara Barton (the founder of the Red Cross), and Rose Greenhow (Confederate spy) all helped shape both the city of Washington D.C. and the show more nation in the years after the Civil war as the nation was put back together. Roberts uses government records, newspapers, and personal papers to give an intimate view but with extensively documented details. Roberts makes it clear, these women actually started the women's suffrage movement and thus the women's equal rights movement. Roberts is a wonderful writer and makes the time period and the women's stories come alive. show less

Despite a desire to remain positive in comments about Capital Dames, I must lodge one significant complaint—it came to an end! This is the first of Cokie Roberts' books that has come my way, and it has inspired me to search out her other published works. I find her to be an inspired and inspiring writer of fascinatingly readable as well as instructive history.

Let me phrase my opinion of Capital Dames another way. I feel that the value of any book can be determined by whether the time show more expended in its reading is worth the consumption of those hours from the reader's finite lifetime. Understanding that those hours are never going to return, were they among the best ways that the reader could have used that time? Reading Capital Dames was not only worth the time from my lifespan, but the returns were also magnificent.

I certainly recall having studied something of the pre-civil-war, the Civil War, and the post-civil-war periods in American history classes in both high school and university, but one of my enduring memories of those studies is that they were boring. This battle was fought here, that side won, the generals' names were so-and-so, and Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox. Oh yes, and General “Stonewall” Jackson also died after being accidentally shot by his own soldiers in some battle. (That was before the phrase “friendly fire” came into the national lexicon, and it wasn't even totally accurate since he died of pneumonia about a week after being shot.) My history textbooks were full of rather dry facts but were pretty short on what I can best describe as personal impacts. Isn't the importance of any event really related to—or even dependent on—its impact on those who are involved and those who are affected by it whether we mean a single individual, a group, a nation, or even the world?

Cokie Roberts shows us the United (and Disunited) States as it (or should that be “they”?) were roiled by politics and conflict in the mid 19th Century. Through her portrayal of the women—and men—who, either by personal ambition or happenstance, played significant roles in Washington, D.C., we view the disintegration of the union that had been shakily established a century before, we see the physical, emotional and financial pain of the resultant war, and we get a peek at the period of Southern Reconstruction to follow. We also learn that infighting, lobbying for personal gain, influence peddling, and the perceived importance of social status are not new creations in the halls of political power.

Cokie Roberts does not lay out a succession of dry historical facts in her book. She draws us vivid pictures of the actors in this national drama, enabling us to visualize their thoughts and feelings as well as to see their actions, and through these all-too-human actors we learn a surprising number of facts that either never found their way into our school textbooks or that escaped our memories soon after the semester ended. This is history as it should be taught—through the eyes of the people both impacting that history and being impacted by it.

This is an American history book that goes far, far beyond its title of Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868. The only thing I actually do dislike about the book is that title. It is incomplete. It is too restrictive. It may repel some male readers. In actuality, the book will fascinate and entertain while “surreptitiously” teaching some excellent history. For whom would I recommend it? That is a dangerous question that should probably never be answered in regard to any title, for, as literary critic Edmund Wilson noted, “No two people ever read the same book.” Still, I now ask myself if, as a younger reader, I would have enjoyed Capital Dames. I really think the answer is “Yes” so, although summer reading during my high school years was primarily science fiction, I believe I'd have enjoyed Capital Dames had it existed all those years ago, so I'd recommend it for every literate senior high school student through every centenarian who still enjoys exceptionally engaging writing. show less

This book was just what was needed to pull me out of a reading slump. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts is an account of the women who supported and helped shape the development of the democratic government in the United States. While I initially thought that this would yield minimal new information considering how heavily this period of time was covered during my schooldays I discovered just how wrong (and ignorant) I was especially in regards to the women. show more I realized that it had never occurred to me to wonder just how long the absences of these women's husbands were during the creation of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution (including the Articles of the Confederation), and the U.S. government as a whole. Not to mention how absolutely strong-willed and informed these women were about the affairs of state (which was beneficial as they passed on the latest news to their husbands through extensive letter writing). Best couple award goes to George and Martha Washington who were the most well-adjusted and steadfast couple of the lot. Martha went everywhere George went including Valley Forge where she was instrumental in keeping the morale of the men up (and getting them to stay at all) as well as organizing other women into organized sewing groups to keep the troops clothed. Favorite woman of the many discussed was hands down Abigail Adams who not only had the keenest mind but also the sharpest tongue. She had no problem telling John where to go and letting him know that just because he was away didn't mean that the romance in their relationship needed to suffer. In fact, theirs was the most strained relationship of all as John was in high demand and for the majority of their marriage they were separated as he worked tirelessly in his work as a member of the Continental Congress and then later as the Vice President. If you, like me, love reading about confident women and relish learning new things about a slice of history you thought you had thoroughly mapped then I must point you in the direction of Founding Mothers. 10/10

PS Benjamin Franklin was the worst. show less