Book Description

In the style of Homes and Libraries of the Presidents,William Clotworthy--the leading authority on sites that honor these leaders--brings us yet another historical guidebook--this time focusing on sites that commemorate and interpret the First Ladies of the United States. The lives of our nation's First Ladies have never been of more public interest. Watching our modern First Ladies, such as the ground-breaking career of Hillary Clinton--from her rise as First Lady of Arkansas to America's First Lady, then U.S. Senator, the first modern woman presidential campaigner, and now as U.S. Secretary of State--is remarkable and intriguing. Other First Ladies led interesting and rewarding lives as well, each in their own unique ways--such as Dolley Madison, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosalynn Carter, and Betty Ford--and there is no better way to understand each First Lady's life than to visit her former home or museum. Homes of the First Ladies: A Guide to Publicly Accessible Homes, Museums, and Related Sites contains three sections. Section one provides historical and geographical context for the First Ladies, including an assessment of the changing role of First Ladies and a map showing the distribution of sites described in the book. Section two--the most extensive part of the book--presents short anecdotal biographies of each First Lady, followed by a description of the relevant home and/or museum sites. Contact information, hours of operation, and driving directions, including maps, are also provided for each site. For most entries, sources of additional information are provided. Fifty-eight sites are included in the book. Section three provides additional information related to the theme of the book, including a list of burial sites of the First Ladies. End notes, a bibliography, and index complete the book. Homes of the First Ladies is the only book that systematically identifies and describes sites associated with these public women, and will serve as a guidebook for anyone interested in knowing more about their lives, interests and achievements, children, and the places they called home.