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Secret Lives of the First Ladies
- What Your Teachers Never Told you About the Women of The White House
- Narrated by: Teresa DeBerry
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
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Publisher's summary
Scandals, Seduction, Addiction, Adultery, Horrific Fashions...And the White House?!
Your high school history teachers never gave you a book like this one! Secret Lives of the First Ladies features outrageous and uncensored profiles of the women of the White House - complete with hundreds of little-known, politically incorrect, and downright wacko facts. You’ll discover that:
- Dolley Madison loved to chew tobacco
- Mary Todd Lincoln conducted séances on a regular basis
- Eleanor Roosevelt and Ellen Wilson both carried guns.
- Jacqueline Kennedy spent $121,000 on her wardrobe in a single year
- Betty Ford liked to chat on CB radios - her handle was “First Mama”
- Hillary Clinton dreamed of being an astronaut .
With chapters on every woman who’s ever made it to the White House, Secret Lives of the First Ladies tackles all of the tough questions that other history books are afraid to ask: How many of these women owned slaves? Which ones were cheating on their husbands? And why was Eleanor Roosevelt serving hot dogs to the King and Queen of England? American history was never this much fun in school!
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Editorial reviews
Cormac O'Brien's humorous and irreverent audiobook on America's First Ladies might not paint full biographical portraits, but it certainly paints colorful ones. Listeners know they're in for an idiosyncratic history when each chapter opens not only with the dates the subject lived in the White House, but also her astrological sign.
Teresa DeBerry performs Secret Lives of the First Ladies
with the perfect amount of snark as she reveals that Mary Todd Lincoln was a witchy impulse shopper and Dolley Madison had a penchant for tobacco chew. DeBerry seems to delight in the audiobook's fun revelations as much as the listener does, for who can resist the dirty details of history?Related to this topic
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By Winston Churchill's own admission, victory in the Second World War would have been "impossible without her". Until now, however, the only existing biography of Churchill's wife, Clementine, was written by her daughter. Sonia Purnell finally gives Clementine her due with a deeply researched account that tells her life story, revealing how she was instrumental in softening FDR's initial dislike of her husband and paving the way for Britain's close relationship with America.
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Exasperating At Times But Very Good--
- By Gillian on 04-09-18
By: Sonia Purnell
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Franklin and Lucy
- President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life
- By: Joseph E. Persico
- Narrated by: Ted Barker
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt was arguably the greatest figure of the 20th century. While FDR's official circle was predominantly male, it was his relationships with women - particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd - that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman.
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Franklin and Lucy
- By Connie's on 03-06-09
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America's Queen
- The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- By: Sarah Bradford
- Narrated by: Sandra Burr
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Abridged
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Using remarkable new sources, Sarah Bradford has written a timely celebration of a life that was more private than commonly supposed. Revealing new testimony from many of the couple's friends shows the complexities of this apparently very public relationship and of her controversial marriage to Aristotle Onassis. Here is the private Jackie - neglected wife, vigilant mother, and working widow - whose contradictory and fascinating nature is illuminated by all that Bradford has discovered.
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American Royalty
- By Kindle Customer on 06-10-16
By: Sarah Bradford
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The Churchills: In Love and War
- By: Mary S. Lovell
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 21 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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The first Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722) was a soldier of such genius that a lavish palace, Blenheim, was built to honor his triumphs. Succeeding generations of Churchills sometimes achieved distinction but also included profligates and womanizers, and were saddled with the ruinous upkeep of Blenheim. The Churchills were an extraordinary family: ambitious, impecunious, impulsive, brave, and arrogant. Winston - recently voted "The Greatest Briton" - dominates them all. His failures and triumphs are revealed in the context of a poignant and sometimes tragic private life.
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Grand! In it's own wonderful way.
- By Cookie on 12-05-11
By: Mary S. Lovell
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Louisa
- The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams
- By: Louisa Thomas
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century.
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Insightful
- By Jean on 05-18-16
By: Louisa Thomas
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The Woman Behind the New Deal
- The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
- By: Kirstin Downey
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Based on extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.
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An Absorbing Biography
- By Jean on 08-16-17
By: Kirstin Downey
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Founding Mothers
- The Women Who Raised Our Nation
- By: Cokie Roberts
- Narrated by: Cokie Roberts
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Abridged
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Cokie returns with Founding Mothers, an intimate look at the passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families and country proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.
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Founding Mothers
- By Carol Roath on 05-31-04
By: Cokie Roberts
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Emily Post
- Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners
- By: Laura Claridge
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From the excesses of the late 19th-century Gilded Age, through the horrors of World War I, to the transformations of the Roaring 20s that gave birth to her magisterial Etiquette, Emily Post unfailingly took the measure of her era. A Baltimore blue blood with a populist heart, she helped the masses live the American dream with her hugely popular book, which has been continuously in print for over 85 years.
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Typical for Emily Post
- By Stephanie on 01-07-19
By: Laura Claridge
What listeners say about Secret Lives of the First Ladies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Linda
- 06-09-14
Where did they get this narrator???
Nice voice in the narration but what's with all the snottiness??? Just started listening and I really wish someone else was doing the narrating. Tone of voice is snippy gossip. How demeaning to the First Ladies.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Barbara Kelly
- 04-15-15
Human Interest Stories are the BEST!
An interesting walk down memory lane - one OUTSIDE a textbook that would hold you responsible for remembering all the dates!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Kian Boloori
- 05-26-16
Enjoyable
It's true that this book mixes rumors and facts, but that does not detract from the enjoyment of listening to it. Also, it shines a light on the vast influence these powerful women had on our nation--a subject all but ignored in our traditional K-12 education.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Sandra Bailey
- 11-19-16
Interesting!
Learned so much about the wives and the men they married. Very good information.
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- Kathy J. Garrett
- 02-18-17
Very partisan
Would you try another book from Cormac O'Brien and/or Teresa DeBerry?
It is pretty obvious that the writer was a Democrat. I feel Republican first ladies were unfairly reviewed, and Democrat First Ladies were glowingly described. If you are a Democrat you will love this book.
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- Amy Perkins
- 06-15-24
the little antidotes about the families through The years .
the facts that you wrote about the families and the women wish there'd been more facts written but it was a good story about each and individual that was written. I probably will listen to it another time but it made a good audible while I was driving and doing housework I thoroughly enjoyed it. also recommended it to several people to read thank you for doing it 🙏
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-01-15
interesting facts
Would you try another book from Cormac O'Brien and/or Teresa DeBerry?
not sure I would. was interesting, to have that many facts of presidents wives, but not sure i would say it was a serious book to read, just like a trivia book.
What did you like best about this story?
interesting facts
What aspect of Teresa DeBerry’s performance would you have changed?
a little mundane. more expression could of been used/
Was Secret Lives of the First Ladies worth the listening time?
I am not sorry i listened to this book, but nothing out of the ordinary.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Denise Reed
- 12-23-16
Almost a First Man
This was a fun election year read, especially considering how close we came to having a First Man. I always wonder about "power couples." This was an interesting behind the scenes look at the President's lives.
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- Jean
- 01-11-15
Trivia delight
This is a great book for gathering trivia information but be forewarned the book mixes facts with gossip. I recently read “Upstairs at the White House” by J. B. West which is West’s memoirs as Chief Usher in charge of the East wing of the White House and the first ladies. West book is all facts. O’Brien’s book covers all of the first ladies to date. The first ladies are a position of marriage and she is not paid for any of her work. The effect the first ladies have on the nation is immense and should not be overlooked.
Some of the information is well known such as Abigail Adam’s letter to her husband John while he was working with the group writing the Constitution to “Remember the ladies”. The author says it was Helen Taft that saw to the planting of the cherry trees that was send as a gift from Japan. O’Brien also includes some little know facts such as the candy bar Baby Ruth was named after President Cleveland’s baby daughter.
O’Brien states some the Presidents and their wife’s were partnerships, like the Carters, The Hoovers and the Taft’s while other Presidential couples were just quietly devoted to each other, such as the McKinley’s, the Cleveland’s, and the Truman’s.
The book has made me want to learn more about some of the first ladies. I shall be off to the library looking for a good in-depth biography of a first lady. Teresa DeBerry narrated the book.
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7 people found this helpful
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- LRK
- 12-18-15
Great little known facts
Any additional comments?
This book was a great listen and should be enjoyable for Presidential history or women's history enthusiasts. First wives, especially those of the past, are not often talked about, and this book really makes them come to life. There were a few that I hadn't heard much about and found myself looking into biographies on them just from the brief summary on their lives. I also like how the book included stories and info about the other wives of the Presidents from before or after their term in office. It was interesting how some wives dreaded the thought of their husband becoming President, while some of them actually drove their husband to it. I also enjoyed that the narrator had a lot of personality and didn't conflict with the story or its purpose. I highly recommend this book!
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2 people found this helpful