First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents

Although I suspect there was some glossing over here and there concerning deeper family issues (especially for presidents still alive at the time of publication), this was an interesting look at the lives and relationships with their sons of the Presidential mothers from Sara Delano Roosevelt to Barbara Bush.

Unlike the other two reviewers commenting on this book, I neither found it silly or boring. I do agree with one of them: that it would be useful for teachers when discussing the Presidents with students in class and perhaps more teachers should have those kinds of discussions than apparently do. So many of our people know so little of most of the folk who have shaped the country. The book is not an earth-shattering treatise but it is interesting as anecdotal history and as a philosophical presentation of some of what has gone into making men into Presidents.

I found this book very slow and boring at times. I enjoy learning about history and even the presidents. This book was very long winded and I felt somethings were repeated over and over again.

The book starts out reading about Franklin Roosevelt and goes to George W. Bush. It seemed like all these presidents had very similar lives and yet different at the same time. Either they were poor or their mother was poor.

I probably wouldn't have read this book if it wasn't for my book club.

This is a book about the presidents mothers. Each page has a different silly mini biography. Would be good when discussing presidents! Fun way to introduce biographies-- possibly have students do a follow up silly biography about their own mom