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Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts comes New York Times bestseller Founding Mothers, an intimate and illuminating look at the fervently patriotic and passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families–and their country–proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.
While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts brings us women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favoured recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed and Martha Washington–proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might have never survived.
While much has been written about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution, the wives, mothers, sisters and daughters they left behind have been little noticed by history. #1 New York Times bestselling author Cokie Roberts brings us women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favoured recipes, Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials and extraordinary triumphs of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Deborah Read Franklin, Eliza Pinckney, Catherine Littlefield Green, Esther DeBerdt Reed and Martha Washington–proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might have never survived.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 13, 2004
About the author
Cokie Roberts
36 books136 followersCokie Roberts was an American journalist and bestselling author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio and ABC News, with prominent positions on Morning Edition, The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, World News Tonight, and This Week.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,433 reviews
March 7, 2022
Having read numerous biographies on the men from this era, I was eager to read about the female side of things.
In Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation a number of historical facts had been presented slightly askew. That's not a good thing in a history book. Also, Roberts occasionally stops the flow to point out that women did just as important things as the men back then. I don't doubt that they did. In fact, that is precisely why I picked up this book. I've read enough about the men. I want to hear about the equally strong women! The courageous women of our nation's founding - Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Margaret "Captain Molly" Corbin, and young Sybil Ludington - they all deserve quality history bios of their own. Just state the facts, correctly, and let their achievements speak for themselves. The writer breaking perspective and speaking directly at the reader was too jarring.
All in all, Founding Mothers... was not bad, but it was a disappointment in the end. However, it won't keep me from seeking something better on the same subject.
In Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation a number of historical facts had been presented slightly askew. That's not a good thing in a history book. Also, Roberts occasionally stops the flow to point out that women did just as important things as the men back then. I don't doubt that they did. In fact, that is precisely why I picked up this book. I've read enough about the men. I want to hear about the equally strong women! The courageous women of our nation's founding - Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Margaret "Captain Molly" Corbin, and young Sybil Ludington - they all deserve quality history bios of their own. Just state the facts, correctly, and let their achievements speak for themselves. The writer breaking perspective and speaking directly at the reader was too jarring.
All in all, Founding Mothers... was not bad, but it was a disappointment in the end. However, it won't keep me from seeking something better on the same subject.
September 29, 2019
With the death of Cokie Roberts this week, I checked to see if I had read all of her books. I discovered I had missed this one.
The book is well written and researched. The problem is the lack of information on many of the women except for Abigail Adams. In this period women had no rights and few were educated so little information about them was recorded. The Adams’ family was an exception as they were educated, including the women, and were prolific letter writers and diary recorders. Some of the women covered in this book besides Abigail Adams are Dolly Madison, Martha Washington, Mary Barlett, Esther Burr and Sarah Livingston Jay. The book is a fast easy read and provides a glimpse of life in the 1700s.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is six hours and forty-three minutes. Cokie Roberts narrated her own book. Roberts was a pioneer television broadcaster journalist.
The book is well written and researched. The problem is the lack of information on many of the women except for Abigail Adams. In this period women had no rights and few were educated so little information about them was recorded. The Adams’ family was an exception as they were educated, including the women, and were prolific letter writers and diary recorders. Some of the women covered in this book besides Abigail Adams are Dolly Madison, Martha Washington, Mary Barlett, Esther Burr and Sarah Livingston Jay. The book is a fast easy read and provides a glimpse of life in the 1700s.
I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is six hours and forty-three minutes. Cokie Roberts narrated her own book. Roberts was a pioneer television broadcaster journalist.
February 7, 2016
I am ashamed that it took me so long to get around to reading this book - it was given to me for Mother's Day in 2004. That's me looking sheepish :) Although I am a big fan of historical fiction, straight up history tends to make my eyes droopy - so I either really have to be motivated or have some sort of external force urging me onward. Since my online book club chose this for our book of the month, I knew this was the time to remove the dust jacket and sink my teeth into some American History.
In this case, the history was not particularly dry - in fact, Cokie's writing was full of anecdotal and interesting stories about the wives, daughters and relations of our Founding Fathers. Her style was readable and informal - I felt like I was sitting in a lecture hall, being taught by a professor with a healthy sense of humor and irony. Some parts were, admittedly, dull to me and I had to force myself to pick it up, but I get that way with nonfiction sometimes. I think I am just a more plot-driven reader, for better or for worse.
The book is divided into historical periods, which was helpful. What was not so helpful, for me, was how often I felt the narration jumped around - either from person to person or from past to present (well, Revolutionary Present). There were so many people and names that when we kept jumping back and forth I had a really hard time keeping everyone and their story straight.
To remedy this, instead of trying to be 100% aware at all times of who I was reading about, I tried to mostly just appreciate what this book intended to teach me: that these women deserve to have their stories told. And while Martha Washington and Abagail Adams are familiar names, many more women were influential on not only their own men, but on pre-Revolutionary society as a whole. A good part of what our country is today is a result of their opinions and their valiant efforts both during the Revolution and while our country was being slowly pieced together. Not all the women in this book made great choices, of course. Some had affairs with married men - and these affairs affected the course of historical events. Some women even held their husbands back from public office, adding to the workload of other Revolutionaries. For good or bad, these ladies had an important place in the events of the Revolution.
What Cokie did particularly well was to place these women in the context of the lives of their men. And by doing so, without ever stating it outright, she helps us to realize that these men, immortalized on our money and in the names of our elementary schools, they were just that: mortal men. They had flaws and they made mistakes and they loved their wives and cheated on them. They mourned the loss of their children, traveled back and forth constantly throughout a war torn land and fought tirelessly for a dream of governing themselves. And while these men worked in the public sphere, the women oversaw plantations alone, ran fundraising campaigns for the soldiers, wrote political plays, raised children and buried them. Martha, Abagail and all the others who supported the Founding Fathers absolutely deserve three cheers of their own.
In this case, the history was not particularly dry - in fact, Cokie's writing was full of anecdotal and interesting stories about the wives, daughters and relations of our Founding Fathers. Her style was readable and informal - I felt like I was sitting in a lecture hall, being taught by a professor with a healthy sense of humor and irony. Some parts were, admittedly, dull to me and I had to force myself to pick it up, but I get that way with nonfiction sometimes. I think I am just a more plot-driven reader, for better or for worse.
The book is divided into historical periods, which was helpful. What was not so helpful, for me, was how often I felt the narration jumped around - either from person to person or from past to present (well, Revolutionary Present). There were so many people and names that when we kept jumping back and forth I had a really hard time keeping everyone and their story straight.
To remedy this, instead of trying to be 100% aware at all times of who I was reading about, I tried to mostly just appreciate what this book intended to teach me: that these women deserve to have their stories told. And while Martha Washington and Abagail Adams are familiar names, many more women were influential on not only their own men, but on pre-Revolutionary society as a whole. A good part of what our country is today is a result of their opinions and their valiant efforts both during the Revolution and while our country was being slowly pieced together. Not all the women in this book made great choices, of course. Some had affairs with married men - and these affairs affected the course of historical events. Some women even held their husbands back from public office, adding to the workload of other Revolutionaries. For good or bad, these ladies had an important place in the events of the Revolution.
What Cokie did particularly well was to place these women in the context of the lives of their men. And by doing so, without ever stating it outright, she helps us to realize that these men, immortalized on our money and in the names of our elementary schools, they were just that: mortal men. They had flaws and they made mistakes and they loved their wives and cheated on them. They mourned the loss of their children, traveled back and forth constantly throughout a war torn land and fought tirelessly for a dream of governing themselves. And while these men worked in the public sphere, the women oversaw plantations alone, ran fundraising campaigns for the soldiers, wrote political plays, raised children and buried them. Martha, Abagail and all the others who supported the Founding Fathers absolutely deserve three cheers of their own.
October 10, 2019
As late as November 1792, when [President George Washington] was still telling her that he was determined to retire, Eliza composed a letter detailing the "consequence of the sentiments that you had confided in me." First she threatened him, telling him that "the well earned popularity that you are now in possession of will be torn from you by the envious and malignant should you follow the bent of your inclinations." People would say that he cared only about himself, that the job could do nothing to add to his fame. "The Anti-Federalist would use it as an argument for dissolving the Union, and would urge that you, from experience, had found the present system a bad one, and had, artfully, withdrawn from it that you might not be crushed under its ruins." Then she appealed to his patriotism: "Will you withdraw your aid from a structure that certainly wants your assistance to support it? Can you, with fortitude, see it crumble to decay?" Then she played to his pride: "At this time, you are the only man in America that dares to do right on all public occasions...your very figure is calculated to inspire respect and confidence in the people." And then she raised doubts about his judgment: "Have you not, on some occasions, found the consummation of your wishes the source of the keenest of your sufferings?" This outpouring from a friend carried no self-interested politics with it. Washington would run for a second term.
Cokie Roberts, a political reporter and analyst most often associated with NPR and ABC News, passed away this September. Among her contributions in the journalistic arena were three books tracing the history of influential women in American politics - books that take us from the Revolution through to the Civil War. Founding Mothers is the first of the series and chronicles the break from England, the battle for independence, and the construction of the government as seen through the eyes of the women present and participating in this, often ferocious, endeavor.
The most common critiques of this work point to its loose structure and the frequency with which Ms. Roberts breaks "the fourth wall" to offer an aside of her own. She does, indeed, have a tendency to range (though never far afield), and to exclaim when a woman is being treated unfairly - but I thought it a small price to pay for the amount of solid research that went into this account. It is no easy task to relay the feats of women from an age when those acts were summarily dismissed as inconsequential and those voices deemed unworthy of recording. There is so much correspondence here; letters in which those female minds are genuinely encountered, and passages in which those voices striving to express, to confront, to advise, to support and strengthen the cause and the birth of this nation are finally given their day. In this, the author has succeeded rather magnificently.
There are, and (hopefully) will be, biographies of far more weight and substance. Yet as an introduction to these women? The book meets its aim.
Cokie Roberts, a political reporter and analyst most often associated with NPR and ABC News, passed away this September. Among her contributions in the journalistic arena were three books tracing the history of influential women in American politics - books that take us from the Revolution through to the Civil War. Founding Mothers is the first of the series and chronicles the break from England, the battle for independence, and the construction of the government as seen through the eyes of the women present and participating in this, often ferocious, endeavor.
The most common critiques of this work point to its loose structure and the frequency with which Ms. Roberts breaks "the fourth wall" to offer an aside of her own. She does, indeed, have a tendency to range (though never far afield), and to exclaim when a woman is being treated unfairly - but I thought it a small price to pay for the amount of solid research that went into this account. It is no easy task to relay the feats of women from an age when those acts were summarily dismissed as inconsequential and those voices deemed unworthy of recording. There is so much correspondence here; letters in which those female minds are genuinely encountered, and passages in which those voices striving to express, to confront, to advise, to support and strengthen the cause and the birth of this nation are finally given their day. In this, the author has succeeded rather magnificently.
There are, and (hopefully) will be, biographies of far more weight and substance. Yet as an introduction to these women? The book meets its aim.
May 18, 2021
"Behind every great man, there's a great woman"
We hear a whole lot about the founders of America, at least here in the US we do and I assume the rest of the world knows a thing or two about them as well.
Side Note: Non US readers does it bother you that while you follow what happens in the US most Americans have no clue what's happening in your country?
Anyway...
But what do we know about the women who stood by them?
Of course we've all heard of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Betsy Ross but that's about all we get when it comes to women during the American Revolution. In Founding Mothers the late great Cokie Roberts sets out to shed light not just on the women mentioned previously(she points out that Betsy Ross didn't sew the first flag but she still understands the importance of the lie) but she brings new women to forefront.
This book kept my Google fingers busy because I had never heard of half of the women in this book. It really points out just how shitty our History lessons in school are. I also got a kick out of just how little politics has changed since the dawn of The United States as we know them.
Tell me if this sounds familiar
To stop property owning women and free Blacks from voting legislators used the excuse of "Voter Fraud" to eliminate their right to vote. By limiting the franchise to "Free, White, Male citizens" they sought to guarantee "the safety,quiet, good order and dignity of states.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Founding Mothers isnt for everyone. I think alot of people will find it boring and dry but I liked it alot. I had fun reading this book and I need to track down Cokie Roberts other books on forgotten women in history.
We hear a whole lot about the founders of America, at least here in the US we do and I assume the rest of the world knows a thing or two about them as well.
Side Note: Non US readers does it bother you that while you follow what happens in the US most Americans have no clue what's happening in your country?
Anyway...
But what do we know about the women who stood by them?
Of course we've all heard of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Betsy Ross but that's about all we get when it comes to women during the American Revolution. In Founding Mothers the late great Cokie Roberts sets out to shed light not just on the women mentioned previously(she points out that Betsy Ross didn't sew the first flag but she still understands the importance of the lie) but she brings new women to forefront.
This book kept my Google fingers busy because I had never heard of half of the women in this book. It really points out just how shitty our History lessons in school are. I also got a kick out of just how little politics has changed since the dawn of The United States as we know them.
Tell me if this sounds familiar
To stop property owning women and free Blacks from voting legislators used the excuse of "Voter Fraud" to eliminate their right to vote. By limiting the franchise to "Free, White, Male citizens" they sought to guarantee "the safety,quiet, good order and dignity of states.
The more things change the more they stay the same.
Founding Mothers isnt for everyone. I think alot of people will find it boring and dry but I liked it alot. I had fun reading this book and I need to track down Cokie Roberts other books on forgotten women in history.
February 9, 2016
She's a poor journalist/commentator and a worse writer. What could have been a fascinating read (the title is great) was presented in a boring, sophomoric style. Her prose is bad, the content is mere filler of cute stories of women doing very little, and she doesn't stay on the subject. Those who gave this high marks in their review surely have lost their abilities for critical thought. This repetitive, plodding clip-job is really the result of a popular hack trying to cash in with as little work as possible.
July 25, 2009
It is clear that Cokie Roberts (1) knows these women and their stories well and (2) likes them. It is interesting to read about the women who did so much during the War for Independence and the early days of the United States of America. Ms. Roberts has a firm grasp of history and the place of these early women in it.
Having said that, I found this a hard book to read. I suppose every writer of history faces a decision about how to present the material. I was hoping for a set of mini-biographies of these amazing women. Instead, Roberts presents the material as part of a history of the war and the early days of the republic. Unfortunately, the material is so dense that it is hard to keep track of who is who and to remember what they have done earlier in the book. Sometimes she breaks out of chronological sequence, flashing backward or forward in time. Reaching the end of the book, I have a sense of appreciation for these remarkable women, but I don't have clear pictures of each one an an individual.
Having said that, I found this a hard book to read. I suppose every writer of history faces a decision about how to present the material. I was hoping for a set of mini-biographies of these amazing women. Instead, Roberts presents the material as part of a history of the war and the early days of the republic. Unfortunately, the material is so dense that it is hard to keep track of who is who and to remember what they have done earlier in the book. Sometimes she breaks out of chronological sequence, flashing backward or forward in time. Reaching the end of the book, I have a sense of appreciation for these remarkable women, but I don't have clear pictures of each one an an individual.
January 2, 2009
A very slow read for me. Although many of the "behind-the-scenes" stories surrounding the Founding Fathers and their women were very new and interesting to me, they were not very well organized. I kept having to scan back for dates and names, making it a tedious read at times. There was little flow or focus throughout the book, as the author jumped from one story to the next, sometimes connecting back to a story in the first chapter. I also thought there seemed to be a lot of pointless quotes, including many pulled out of context.
I am glad to have learned about the women who raised and impacted so many great men, but I can't say that I'd recommend this book to just anyone. If you'd like to learn a very little bit about a great many women who brushed shoulders with the Founding Fathers, then maybe you ought to give it a read sometime.
I am glad to have learned about the women who raised and impacted so many great men, but I can't say that I'd recommend this book to just anyone. If you'd like to learn a very little bit about a great many women who brushed shoulders with the Founding Fathers, then maybe you ought to give it a read sometime.
December 19, 2007
While the men were busy founding the nation, what were the women up to? Aside from Betsy Ross, I don't remember ever hearing about women as a child (By the way, some of Ross's descendants still insist that she did, in fact, sew that first flag.) My courses in American history provided me with a glimpse of Martha Washington's bravery at Valley Forge, and gave a brief account of Dolley Madison's daring rescue of the portrait of George Washington as the British marched on the White House. When the modern feminist movement bloomed in the 1960's, women started passing around Abigail Adams's famous advice to John and his colleagues in Philadelphia to "remember the ladies." That was about it.
As I read through the letters of John and Abigail Adams and became more and more fascinated with her life, I grew curious about the other women who had the ears of the Founding Fathers. These women lived through extraordinary times and must, it seemed to me, have extraordinary tales to tell. Now I know they do. It's safe to say that most of the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, fought the Revolution, and formed the government couldn't have done it without the women. And it was the women who, by insisting that the men come together for civilized conversations at dinner parties in the early republic, helped keep the fragile new country from falling into fatal partisan discord. The women made the men behave. -Cokie Roberts
I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting. Far from being a boring history book, Roberts breathes life into these great women. Not only does this talk about the women, but it fills in the details of The Revolutionary War (good, because I think I slept through this part of history class). At times hard to put down.
As I read through the letters of John and Abigail Adams and became more and more fascinated with her life, I grew curious about the other women who had the ears of the Founding Fathers. These women lived through extraordinary times and must, it seemed to me, have extraordinary tales to tell. Now I know they do. It's safe to say that most of the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, fought the Revolution, and formed the government couldn't have done it without the women. And it was the women who, by insisting that the men come together for civilized conversations at dinner parties in the early republic, helped keep the fragile new country from falling into fatal partisan discord. The women made the men behave. -Cokie Roberts
I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting. Far from being a boring history book, Roberts breathes life into these great women. Not only does this talk about the women, but it fills in the details of The Revolutionary War (good, because I think I slept through this part of history class). At times hard to put down.
August 10, 2018
A Book for all Seasons topic: related to this season
July 24, 2023
This was a perfect read for me as I awaited the 4th of July this year.
Cokie Roberts always does a careful, just-right job with these kind of collections. Founding Mothers is no different! In addressing this particular topic, the women who supported and assisted those men we now call Founding Fathers, the author focuses on just a few of them. Primarily only the stories of the wealthy and those with time and leisure to write their stories down, and then move them through the gates of generational and national interest (if any). The fewer the resources, the more a "founding" mother (or father) was concentrating on day-to-day survival!
Abigail Adams (John A.), Deborah Read (Benjamin F.), Mercy Otis Warren (Warren family - highly placed in politics at that time) and Martha Washington (George W.) are specifically considered.
Reading this book added to my patriotic spirit of those days, thoughts about the many sacrifices we take for granted and the privileges and rights we demand, usually forgetting who earned and paid for them so long ago. Also, a sober nod at the other side of the coin about past generation Taking what was Not Given (talk about Taxation Without Representation!!), and the many complications and layers of first, conquering, invading cultures clashing through more wars than we ever think about these many years later.
Cokie Roberts always does a careful, just-right job with these kind of collections. Founding Mothers is no different! In addressing this particular topic, the women who supported and assisted those men we now call Founding Fathers, the author focuses on just a few of them. Primarily only the stories of the wealthy and those with time and leisure to write their stories down, and then move them through the gates of generational and national interest (if any). The fewer the resources, the more a "founding" mother (or father) was concentrating on day-to-day survival!
Abigail Adams (John A.), Deborah Read (Benjamin F.), Mercy Otis Warren (Warren family - highly placed in politics at that time) and Martha Washington (George W.) are specifically considered.
Reading this book added to my patriotic spirit of those days, thoughts about the many sacrifices we take for granted and the privileges and rights we demand, usually forgetting who earned and paid for them so long ago. Also, a sober nod at the other side of the coin about past generation Taking what was Not Given (talk about Taxation Without Representation!!), and the many complications and layers of first, conquering, invading cultures clashing through more wars than we ever think about these many years later.
August 30, 2021
This enlightening journey with the famous ladies of early America was extremely well researched and well-organized. There was plenty of intrigue, heroism, and determination in all of the life histories contained here and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire ride. Just be forewarned that this is not a quick read; the information is interesting but dense in places and there’s much to sort through. It’s all well-worth the time, though!
January 8, 2009
I wanted to like this book. My sister-in-law raved about it so I picked it up from the library and settled in. Perhaps it was me, but I found the stories a little bit muddled. It was so hard to keep track of which woman was being discussed because in the middle of one woman's life it would be like "oh and she also knew this other girl who was really cool so I'll talk about her right here and then get back to where I was". I couldn't follow it. It's also just so many women that unless you're really paying attention, or already familiar with them, it's hard to keep track of who they are, who they were married to, who they were friends with, etc., and the book assumes you remember it all.
I gave up about 1/3 of the way through because I figured the writing style wasn't going to change. Too bad, I really like the author's bits on NPR but this book wasn't for me. 3 stars for covering a topic that I think is cool anyway.
I gave up about 1/3 of the way through because I figured the writing style wasn't going to change. Too bad, I really like the author's bits on NPR but this book wasn't for me. 3 stars for covering a topic that I think is cool anyway.
April 12, 2017
Sadly, Ms. Roberts' Founding Mothers is pretty boring. I generally like her work, but I think only an occasional American history reader would find new material here. Ms. Roberts has good subjects for her biographies, but she doesn't have enough material for most of the characters. A majority on the content seemed like a dry middle grade history.
I don't suggest this book, but Capital Dames by the same author is much stronger and more entertaining.
I don't suggest this book, but Capital Dames by the same author is much stronger and more entertaining.
May 15, 2016
Roberts shows a light on all those women who play second fiddle to all those men in those history books and on those tv shows. Very readable. Very enjoyable. Mostly white women, but she does mention and tell the story of Elizabeth Freeman, who needs her own movie.
November 29, 2007
I'm not particularly interested in the American Revolution or the founding fathers, but I picked up this book because I thought I might learn some interesting stories. And I certainly did.
This book uncovers incredible stories of women running farms, businesses and families through the uncertain times of late colonial life. There are stories of women defending their homes from Loyalists, outwitting the British as spies and even fighting on the front lines.
Two famous women, Martha Washington and Abigail Adams have rather top-billing, but they had very interesting places as the female leaders of the new republic's social scene.
However, readers (or listeners, who may appreciate the familiarity of Cokie Roberts as the reader) should be fully prepared to develop a surprising dislike of Ben Franklin. I have been used to thinking of Ben Franklin as radical printer, ingenious inventor, skilled negotiator, but this book shows him as husband and father and I thought he sounded dreadful as both.
I looked forward to turning on this audiobook the moment I got in my car and raced through it with hardly a pause for radio or music. I thought a few times that I might have found reading it a little tedious, but I was never bored while listening.
This book uncovers incredible stories of women running farms, businesses and families through the uncertain times of late colonial life. There are stories of women defending their homes from Loyalists, outwitting the British as spies and even fighting on the front lines.
Two famous women, Martha Washington and Abigail Adams have rather top-billing, but they had very interesting places as the female leaders of the new republic's social scene.
However, readers (or listeners, who may appreciate the familiarity of Cokie Roberts as the reader) should be fully prepared to develop a surprising dislike of Ben Franklin. I have been used to thinking of Ben Franklin as radical printer, ingenious inventor, skilled negotiator, but this book shows him as husband and father and I thought he sounded dreadful as both.
I looked forward to turning on this audiobook the moment I got in my car and raced through it with hardly a pause for radio or music. I thought a few times that I might have found reading it a little tedious, but I was never bored while listening.
January 4, 2009
That's right, my book club selected a book by Cokie Roberts.
I really liked the idea of this book--true stories, many taken from actual letters--about the women who were influential in early days of America. But the actual book is boring, and hard to get through. The book is organized by person, and not as much with a specific timeline, so I got confused with trying to keep track of the chronology. Sometimes the letters themselves can be a little boring, too. It seemed like the author was trying to pack in all the info she had, instead of paying more attention to creating a story. No one in my book club finished it, and I've been half-way through it for months. I'm finally throwing in the towel.
I really liked the idea of this book--true stories, many taken from actual letters--about the women who were influential in early days of America. But the actual book is boring, and hard to get through. The book is organized by person, and not as much with a specific timeline, so I got confused with trying to keep track of the chronology. Sometimes the letters themselves can be a little boring, too. It seemed like the author was trying to pack in all the info she had, instead of paying more attention to creating a story. No one in my book club finished it, and I've been half-way through it for months. I'm finally throwing in the towel.
June 28, 2023
Mixed bag review. The content definitely held my interest. Roberts writes about the heroic women, who were involved in the revolution and establishment of our early American government due to some relationship with a ‘founding father,’ be they a wife, daughter, sister, mother or friend. Her narrative is straightforward, with her signature humorous asides. Listening to her narration brought back fond memories of her commentaries on NPR. It was fascinating to read, especially considering so much of Robert’s research seemed to be derived from correspondence. It was replete with quotations from letters. The sacrifices made by these women, unavoidable under the circumstances, were remarkable. Long overseas absences of spouses as ambassadors and envoys, they were forced to manage homes and farms at a time when women held little rights or power. There was little to no timely correspondence. Women endured frequent pregnancies and infant deaths. Often separated from their children so they could accompany their husbands on war campaigns, they were called upon to make contributions to the troops of goods and services. I found her chronicles of their lives entirely humbling. In particular Abigail Adams was an impressive voice, for her fortitude and patience with her husband’s duties and for women’s rights and education. At the same time I lost respect for Benjamin Franklin, who took his wife much for granted and basically abandoned her while living in Paris for years at a time, admittedly enjoying the delights of French women. Roberts touches on the now infamous Schyler sisters - thanks to Alexander Hamilton. And who REALLY invented the cotton gin!? Kitty Greene or Eli Whitney.
HOWEVER… Do NOT try to do WhisperSync between your Kindle and Audible versions. This was a complete train wreck. There are entire sections of the Kindle version that don’t appear in Audible. Sometimes mere sentences, other instances, paragraphs and pages. The deeper I got, I neither wanted to miss these omissions nor give up the author’s own reading. Nowhere does it say the Audible is an abridged version. The beginnings and endings of chapters don’t match up. Chapters were laid out on a timeline but the content didn’t always match the dates - at least in the Kindle edition. Plus the accounts are mostly sequential, but not always, enough to be frustrating. While there is no clear reason for this mess, I would lay some blame on the editing. There were so many names, including similar first/surnames or familial connections, such that it was at times confusing. It felt at times like it jumped helter skelter between historical figures and times.
5 for historical interest, 3 for narrative accessibility and a 1 for logistical and editorial nightmares!!
HOWEVER… Do NOT try to do WhisperSync between your Kindle and Audible versions. This was a complete train wreck. There are entire sections of the Kindle version that don’t appear in Audible. Sometimes mere sentences, other instances, paragraphs and pages. The deeper I got, I neither wanted to miss these omissions nor give up the author’s own reading. Nowhere does it say the Audible is an abridged version. The beginnings and endings of chapters don’t match up. Chapters were laid out on a timeline but the content didn’t always match the dates - at least in the Kindle edition. Plus the accounts are mostly sequential, but not always, enough to be frustrating. While there is no clear reason for this mess, I would lay some blame on the editing. There were so many names, including similar first/surnames or familial connections, such that it was at times confusing. It felt at times like it jumped helter skelter between historical figures and times.
5 for historical interest, 3 for narrative accessibility and a 1 for logistical and editorial nightmares!!
January 27, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I am Canadian, and so did not know much about the events leading to American independence, and certainly the names I was familiar with were men (Jefferson, Washington, Adams, Hamilton etc.) I also am not yet on the Hamilton bandwagon, have not seen the musical or read any of the Hamilton-themed historical fiction. Now I might be interested. I enjoyed the detailed examination of what women's lives were like pre- and during independence. I loved the figures of Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Kitty Greene in particular and (mostly) enjoyed reading their correspondence with each other and with their husbands.
I did find that the book was a little quote-heavy. The letters and correspondence included was interesting, but I would have preferred fewer quotes and more analysis. This book is dense with information and so not for all readers, but I learned so much! I love how book clubs and group reads have me picking up and enjoying books I would never have chosen on my own.
I did find that the book was a little quote-heavy. The letters and correspondence included was interesting, but I would have preferred fewer quotes and more analysis. This book is dense with information and so not for all readers, but I learned so much! I love how book clubs and group reads have me picking up and enjoying books I would never have chosen on my own.
August 9, 2019
I hate to say it, but this was a dud for me. I’m generously giving her 3 stars because of the subject matter, but her writing style, filled with personal interjections throughout, was off-putting and came across as almost juvenile. From what my friends have said after reading it in book form as compared with the audio version that I listened to, neither form was better than the other from that regard. Yes, I learned a lot about our often-heroic and long-suffering Revolutionary War wives, but Cokie disappointed me here.
May 19, 2009
This book has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, it's hard to keep focused because there are so many names, places, time periods covered all at once. There are some great stories and I learned quite a bit, but I would have organized the book in a completely different way to make it more reader friendly. The way it is now, this is a grazing book instead of a sit-down-and-read book.
March 15, 2007
this is an extremely interesting yet dry book about the women who helped establish the United States. It's amazing how little credit these women get in the grand scheme of things. it made me realize the resilience and passion these women had in order to create the land in which i live today.
August 26, 2016
This book was on my “to read” list for quite some time, but I always felt that I ought to get a better grounding in the founding fathers, ie the colonial, Revolutionary, and Constitutional period, before I took on the founding mothers. So after my recent reads of
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
and A People's History of the Supreme Court, the latter of which gave a thorough picture of the Constitutional Congress, as well as a re-read of
Johnny Tremain
with my kids and my middle son’s report on Benedict Arnold, I felt I was finally ready.
Because this was the first book I’d read after A People's History of the Supreme Court, my first reaction was almost a sigh of relief. Both are history books, but this one was a breeze by comparison, one of those histories that reads like a novel. It’s not for nothing that Cokie Roberts is one of the premier journalists in America. In addition to detailing all the heroism of famous women like Abigail Adams and Martha Washington, she told the stories of lesser known women of the day, so that you get a really complete picture of the time. And here and there, she inserts her own comments, some of which are pretty snarky.
I do have one regret regarding this book, and that is that I dropped it in favor of Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation, a writing book that I had on interlibrary loan. That really interrupted the flow, so my enjoyment of the second half was not quite equal to my enjoyment of the first. But that was my fault, not the fault of the book. I recommend this book to every woman in America. It’ll make you want to give a big huzzah to all our founding mothers.
Because this was the first book I’d read after A People's History of the Supreme Court, my first reaction was almost a sigh of relief. Both are history books, but this one was a breeze by comparison, one of those histories that reads like a novel. It’s not for nothing that Cokie Roberts is one of the premier journalists in America. In addition to detailing all the heroism of famous women like Abigail Adams and Martha Washington, she told the stories of lesser known women of the day, so that you get a really complete picture of the time. And here and there, she inserts her own comments, some of which are pretty snarky.
I do have one regret regarding this book, and that is that I dropped it in favor of Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation, a writing book that I had on interlibrary loan. That really interrupted the flow, so my enjoyment of the second half was not quite equal to my enjoyment of the first. But that was my fault, not the fault of the book. I recommend this book to every woman in America. It’ll make you want to give a big huzzah to all our founding mothers.
December 3, 2008
Reading this is like eating vegetables all the time. Not easy to do, so I have had to take a break every now and then and read something a little lighter. Maybe I am just shallow, or maybe it's her writing style but I am having a hard time getting through it. However, I have learned a lot about the women who made the founding fathers who they were.
July 3, 2018
I learned more from this book about the American Revolution than I did during my high school and college history classes.
July 30, 2013
Okay, I feel a bit silly giving this New York Times Bestseller's author's book a rating of just one star. But the definition of one star is "did not like it," and that's how I feel about this book. That may not be fair, since I didn't finish reading it, and, in fact, only just started reading it. But I'm put off by the author's feminist viewpoints. It feels like every page has her commentary about how these "women who raised our nation" were wonderful in spite of the men around them, or oppressed because of the men around them, or something along those lines.
After reading the Acknowledgements and Author's Note, the Introduction, and the first 22 pages, I decided to scan the Table of Contents to review the layout of the book. There I found listed, after the seven chapters that comprise the body of the book, a "Cast of Characters." I turned to page 279 to review that list, and, at the end of the introductory paragraph, was put off once again by this last sentence: "Here, then, as sorry as I am to define these wonderful women by their male attachments, is the Who's Who among Founding Mothers." And that pretty well summarizes the tone of the book.
I would appreciate the stories much more if they didn't have the added commentary by the author. But, then, I suppose she is only doing her job as she sees it. The "About the Author" page describes Cokie Roberts as being a political commentator for ABC News and also the senior news analyst for National Public Radio.
'Nuff said.
After reading the Acknowledgements and Author's Note, the Introduction, and the first 22 pages, I decided to scan the Table of Contents to review the layout of the book. There I found listed, after the seven chapters that comprise the body of the book, a "Cast of Characters." I turned to page 279 to review that list, and, at the end of the introductory paragraph, was put off once again by this last sentence: "Here, then, as sorry as I am to define these wonderful women by their male attachments, is the Who's Who among Founding Mothers." And that pretty well summarizes the tone of the book.
I would appreciate the stories much more if they didn't have the added commentary by the author. But, then, I suppose she is only doing her job as she sees it. The "About the Author" page describes Cokie Roberts as being a political commentator for ABC News and also the senior news analyst for National Public Radio.
'Nuff said.
April 3, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. In the beginning Cokie's comments got to be a bit much, but at least she did not try to disguise her opinion. It was easy to discern it from the facts. She got me a bit miffed at times with her man-hating but that added energy to my read.
The information and stories told were wonderful to learn. Cokie must have done a phenomenal amount of research and it showed. She included many letters and interspersed them in her narrative reasonably effectively.
I wish I could give this 3.5 stars due to my less-than-high opinion of Cokie's banter but I gave it four because I thouroughly enjoyed every page. Cokie Roberts wrote a good book. The abundance of information was exciting to learn and made me want to know more about our Founding Parents and the time of the Revolution and all it encompassed.
We have so much for which to be grateful. We must not forget the sacrifice made by those that came before. We must not be complacent and rest upon the laurels they planted. We must work and toil and take joy in our lives and in our freedoms. Now, onto The Good Earth.
[I bumped this down to a three star because I realized it was more the topic that I loved than the writing, necessarily. I still recommend the book and hope to learn more about the beginnings of this, our great nation.)
The information and stories told were wonderful to learn. Cokie must have done a phenomenal amount of research and it showed. She included many letters and interspersed them in her narrative reasonably effectively.
I wish I could give this 3.5 stars due to my less-than-high opinion of Cokie's banter but I gave it four because I thouroughly enjoyed every page. Cokie Roberts wrote a good book. The abundance of information was exciting to learn and made me want to know more about our Founding Parents and the time of the Revolution and all it encompassed.
We have so much for which to be grateful. We must not forget the sacrifice made by those that came before. We must not be complacent and rest upon the laurels they planted. We must work and toil and take joy in our lives and in our freedoms. Now, onto The Good Earth.
[I bumped this down to a three star because I realized it was more the topic that I loved than the writing, necessarily. I still recommend the book and hope to learn more about the beginnings of this, our great nation.)
September 20, 2017
Give me history books - memoirs, bios, tales of wars and lost loves, of revenges and death - and i am a happy woman!...perhaps i was born in the wrong century after all....
What we have is a very interesting piece of american history that approaches the women whose husbands, fathers, sons and brothers played a pivotal role in the american independence and the birth of the new nation.
Abigail Adams and her famous correspondence with her husband - future President John Adams; Martha Washington and her world famous husband (need i name him?); Mercy Otis Warren - published author, curious mix of conservative and rebel; and a few other names totally unknown to me and just as pleasurable to get acquainted with.
The author is quite sucessful in engaging one's attention and curiosity towards her founding mothers, mostly because she almost perfectly weaves a fluid tale of life and love, war, death and the birth of a nation.
This is quite a remarkable group of women, whose role is sadly only known because their correspondence with the men survived, but its nevertheless important and worth knowing of.
Happy Readings!
What we have is a very interesting piece of american history that approaches the women whose husbands, fathers, sons and brothers played a pivotal role in the american independence and the birth of the new nation.
Abigail Adams and her famous correspondence with her husband - future President John Adams; Martha Washington and her world famous husband (need i name him?); Mercy Otis Warren - published author, curious mix of conservative and rebel; and a few other names totally unknown to me and just as pleasurable to get acquainted with.
The author is quite sucessful in engaging one's attention and curiosity towards her founding mothers, mostly because she almost perfectly weaves a fluid tale of life and love, war, death and the birth of a nation.
This is quite a remarkable group of women, whose role is sadly only known because their correspondence with the men survived, but its nevertheless important and worth knowing of.
Happy Readings!
March 17, 2008
Anecdotal but does get a bit dense with the history at times. Roberts said in the preface that she started out thinking she was writing about a bunch of extraordinary women but then realized the women during the Revolution were doing what women always do: put one foot in front of the other every day doing what needs to be done. They were running farms, raising kids, managing households, collecting debts, facing British soldiers, whatever, so the men could sit in Philadelphia and create a new kind of country. Perfect timing for this one, too. I didn't realize how much Charleston figured into the Revolutionary War era (4th largest city in the country at that time). I was there last weekend and all that history I just read is right there in the streets, homes and buildings. I enjoyed the book.
August 12, 2009
This was a second read. I have read enough other books about this time period that I am more familiar with the characters...who they married....who they wrote to...other names they were known by....who else they were married to......what they did to contribute to the founding of our nation( and it was significant!).....and how they fit in with the time line of events. As fascinating as the book is, I found it difficult to follow time lines and relationships due to the way Ms. Roberts presents the characters & events. 2nd read is much better and I really feel she's done an excellent job identifying how important the women were to the forming of our country and what Patriots they were. This book made me feel more intimately acquainted with these wonderful women and their sacrifices. I hope Ms. Roberts writes continues to write about women and history.
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