Cheri L. (BlondeBomberGA) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Forced myself to finish it for bookclub selection. Turned out I was the only one who did. Most people found it very slow and dry. Nothing new to me that behind every good man there is a GOOD WOMAN.
Tish O. (tish) -
Helpful Score: 4
sigh...it has been a long read for a short book (285 pages) BUT i finally finished Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts. this book became embroiled in my reading 4-5 books at a time and i finally finished it!
at times dry and long winded, it is a wonderful book about the brave women who raised our nation.
at times dry and long winded, it is a wonderful book about the brave women who raised our nation.
Helpful Score: 3
This is an enjoyable book that I had to get for book club reading. It's focus is on the women who were wives, daughters, etc to the men who are most prominent in the history of our country. It was eye-opening to see what kind of hardships these women dealt with even though they were for the most part upper class women. Many had little or no education. They bore children every two years and many of those children died from a variety of illnesses. The men were often away doing business, so the women had to manage the farm or business that the husband or father left behind. Often a woman was alone, carrying a child on her hip, nursing an sick child, and giving directions for farm or business chores, making meals, etc. It was a difficult life, but something that generation was accustomed to. In exchange they got to provide political insights to their husbands, lovers, fathers and brothers something many of them were happy to do.
The book does get a bit repetitious since it moves through history accounting for one "Founding Mother" after another and they all seem to merge into one after a while having the same heavy duties, and same sometimes loving, sometimes not so loving men in their lives. One has to have patience to stick it through to the end of the book.
The book does get a bit repetitious since it moves through history accounting for one "Founding Mother" after another and they all seem to merge into one after a while having the same heavy duties, and same sometimes loving, sometimes not so loving men in their lives. One has to have patience to stick it through to the end of the book.
Helpful Score: 3
I found it very informative, but the format was confusing. I couldn't keep track of the names or relations.
Jeanne C. (jeannec) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Written by Cokie Roberts, this is a very interesting history of the women of the American Revolution.
Helpful Score: 1
Not as interesting as I had anticipated.
Leslie L. (genealogygeek) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 47 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed "Founding Mothers" by Cokie Roberts. She has an engaging style of writing that kept me hooked in. Loved hearing about the Revolutionary War period through the eyes of the women and their letters, diaries, etc. Very engaging! Now I'm looking forward to reading Roberts' "Ladies of Liberty."
Jan H. (jharker) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I found it entertaining. The author did often go in a timeline circle, but she always came back to the topic at hand. She could have left out her personal quips and opinions. But those were not too distracting.
Kate W. (katydid13) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 55 more book reviews
A good read for those who love history!
I really enjoyed reading this book. More people should be aware of the influence the women had on our "Founding Fathers".
Miriam B. (mtb) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 30 more book reviews
Exploiting a wide range of historical evidence from military records to recipes, private correspondence, pamphlets and songs, Roberts succeeds in presenting something entirely new on a topic seemingly otherwise exhausted Founding Mothers is a welcome addition to American Revolution biography, which is saturated by the lives of the Founding Fathers. It fills in blanks and adds substance, detail and dimension to what until now has seemed a strangely distant and utterly masculine mythology. [Maria Fish - USA Today]
With Founding Mothers, Roberts fills a gap in our coverage of the era without straying far from the familiar story of colonial resistance, the struggle for independence and the climactic writing of the U.S. Constitution. We don't lose sight of the white male titans who built the nation; we just see them from the vantage point of the women they wooed and the families they worried aboutusually at a distanceduring America's longest war. [Joyce Appleby - Washington Post]
With Founding Mothers, Roberts fills a gap in our coverage of the era without straying far from the familiar story of colonial resistance, the struggle for independence and the climactic writing of the U.S. Constitution. We don't lose sight of the white male titans who built the nation; we just see them from the vantage point of the women they wooed and the families they worried aboutusually at a distanceduring America's longest war. [Joyce Appleby - Washington Post]
I loved the book very interesting if you enjoy history. It was enlightening to read the stories of the strong women who helped build the United states of America. It jumped around a bit to much for me though.
Bobbie L. (nascargal) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 352 more book reviews
In the histories of the American Revolution, much has been written about America's founding fathers, those brave men who signed the Delcaration of Independence, battled the British, and framed the Constitution. Yet the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters who supported, encouraged, and even advised them have been ignored. In Founding Mothers, author Cokie Roberts brings to light the stories of the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as men, sometimes even defending their very doorsteps from British occupation.
Rebecca R. (Waterlogged) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 51 more book reviews
Could have been deeper but a very easy read.
Leslie L. (genealogygeek) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 47 more book reviews
Cokie Roberts has a terrific style of writing. Very engaging. Loved the history and the backstory on each of the Founding Mothers. Great read.
Cokie Roberts's number one New York Times bestseller, We Are Our Mothers' Daughters, examined the nature of women's roles throughout history and led USA Today to praise her as a "custodian of time-honored values." Her second bestseller, From This Day Forward, written with her husband, Steve Roberts, described American marriages throughout history, including the romance of John and Abigail Adams. Now Roberts returns with 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. Roberts brings us the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. While the men went off to war or to Congress, the women managed their businesses, raised their children, provided them with political advice, and made it possible for the men to do what they did. The behind-the-scenes influence of these women -- and their sometimes very public activities -- was intelligent and pervasive.
Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored 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 never have survived.
Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the drive, determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Roberts proves beyond a doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender -- courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor -- to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances and carry on.
Great gift Copy!
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. Roberts brings us the women who fought the Revolution as valiantly as the men, often defending their very doorsteps. While the men went off to war or to Congress, the women managed their businesses, raised their children, provided them with political advice, and made it possible for the men to do what they did. The behind-the-scenes influence of these women -- and their sometimes very public activities -- was intelligent and pervasive.
Drawing upon personal correspondence, private journals, and even favored 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 never have survived.
Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the drive, determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Roberts proves beyond a doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender -- courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor -- to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances and carry on.
Great gift Copy!
Thomas F. (hardtack) -
I agree with some of the other reviewers that parts of this book dragged, but others hopped along at a fine pace. Over all, it is a very good book and more young women, and men, should read it. I was happy my favorite American female, Dolly Madison, even received her two or three pages, even though she made her remarkable presence after the American Revolution.
One surprise to me was New Jersey allowed women to vote as of 1776. I always thought that honor belonged to Wyoming much later. Unfortunately, a 'packed' ballot box in one New Jersey county, with more ballots than eligible women voters, allowed male legislators to change the state's constitution in 1807.
One surprise to me was New Jersey allowed women to vote as of 1776. I always thought that honor belonged to Wyoming much later. Unfortunately, a 'packed' ballot box in one New Jersey county, with more ballots than eligible women voters, allowed male legislators to change the state's constitution in 1807.
Miriam B. (mtb) reviewed Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation on + 30 more book reviews
Exploiting a wide range of historical evidence from military records to recipes, private correspondence, pamphlets and songs, Roberts succeeds in presenting something entirely new on a topic seemingly otherwise exhausted Founding Mothers is a welcome addition to American Revolution biography, which is saturated by the lives of the Founding Fathers. It fills in blanks and adds substance, detail and dimension to what until now has seemed a strangely distant and utterly masculine mythology. [Maria Fish - USA Today]
With Founding Mothers, Roberts fills a gap in our coverage of the era without straying far from the familiar story of colonial resistance, the struggle for independence and the climactic writing of the U.S. Constitution. We don't lose sight of the white male titans who built the nation; we just see them from the vantage point of the women they wooed and the families they worried aboutusually at a distanceduring America's longest war. [Joyce Appleby - Washington Post]
With Founding Mothers, Roberts fills a gap in our coverage of the era without straying far from the familiar story of colonial resistance, the struggle for independence and the climactic writing of the U.S. Constitution. We don't lose sight of the white male titans who built the nation; we just see them from the vantage point of the women they wooed and the families they worried aboutusually at a distanceduring America's longest war. [Joyce Appleby - Washington Post]
John O. (buzzby) -
The picture of Mercy Otis Warren (center of the front cover) looks a lot like Cokie Roberts.
