No one but Margaret Truman could have written this delightful book on First Ladies. From her formative years growing up in the White House as the daughter of Bess and Harry S. Truman, she had a unique perspective on the many aspects of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. She has written with fairness and a shrewd eye for human frailties and foibles.

        She states that the First Lady has the world’s second hardest job. This book will find readers nodding heads and saying to themselves, “Hmm, I didn’t know that,” as she divulges fascinating incidents of each life of every First Lady and their husbands.

         One story sheds new light on the qualities of Mary Todd Lincoln, who was used to having the best of everything. It never occurred to her that she couldn’t always have the finest at her fingertips. Mary was blamed for being a spendthrift, but actually she was only following the lifestyle she was accustomed to. Margaret Truman’s insight offers a feeling of sympathy for Mrs. Lincoln that is not usually shared in history books.

     Truman writes of a little known fact regarding the assassination attempt on the life of President Reagan, which came to light in an interview with Nancy, the President’s wife. At the hospital as he was stripped of his clothing a staff person asked for Reagan’s personal items, such as his papers, wallet, and a special pair of gold cufflinks, which were given to him by the State of California on his retirement as governor. The cufflinks were engraved with the bear of California. They only recovered one of the cufflinks – who has the second one?

     One of the most fascinating women was Frances “Frankie” Cleveland. She told the White House staff as she departed, “Expect us to return in four years.” This bold prophecy was fulfilled. Grover Cleveland is the only President to serve two, non-consecutive terms.

     Did you know that the taciturn Cal Coolidge splurged on ornate gowns for Grace, his beautiful wife? This lavishness does not square with the character he showed the world.

     Bess Truman was always thought of as being stiff and stolid, a typical Midwesterner. She was anything but that. In the privacy of her home, Bess was famous for her one-liners causing uproarious laughter in the whole family, no one laughing more heartily than Bess herself.

     One other interesting note in the book is that Mrs. Taft disliked Teddy Roosevelt and detested his daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Alice reciprocated the ill feelings by burying a voodoo doll in the White House lawn to give the Taft’s bad luck.

     Margaret recognizes the power of the media. She notes that by a curious twist of fate, the death of Andrew Jackson’s wife, Rachel, may be attributed to the press. Witness also the murderous effect it had on the administration of the Hoovers, those good and kindly people.

     First Ladies by Margaret Truman is eminently readable, conversational, and as a history book is hard to put down. The stories are entertaining, sometimes surprising and well written. This review touches only on the more light hearted and less consequential stories in the book, but be assured that First Ladies contains far more significant accounts of how the wives of the Presidents have actively influenced the course of our great country. Momentous changes in the history of the nation are written with remarkable clarity and objectivity.

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