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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.30922
EAN: 9780060533311
Format: Large Print
ISBN: 0060533315
Label: HarperLargePrint
Manufacturer: HarperLargePrint
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 592
Publication Date: April 01, 2004
Publisher: HarperLargePrint
Release Date: May 04, 2004
Studio: HarperLargePrint

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:


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.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating:

Rating: - Different slant on History of our nation
This book is not just about the women who supported the men leading up to our Declaration of Independence and the Revolution. It may be "fiction", but it is based on many first hand letters, and written history so that the reader learns (or,and) relearns some basic facts about our country's fight for freedom. It is a very readable book.

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Rating: - feminist revisionism?
An interesting, though not particularly deep, look at the female relations of the men who get written about in the history books. Unfortunately, although Roberts makes much of the historical context when discussing how the women broke out of the mold, she does not give the historical context much thought when it comes to the men, leading her to be a bit harsh on the men sometimes.

Perhaps a bit more problematic is that approximately the entire second half of the book is really the same ... Read More

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Rating: - An Unfascinating Look at Fascinating Women
Well intended and with too-few doses of contemporary perspective, commentary & humor, author Cokie Roberts examines some of the most remarkable women of the colonial era. Unfortunately, in her attempt to paint them as more than merely First Ladies and "Mrs." Washington, Adams, Madison, et al, Roberts comes up with a narrative that is often as slow going as a book report. Thorough, meticulous research doesn't necessarily deliver a good read.

This important and underreported patriots deserve ... Read More

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Rating: - Dry as toast
The title was all that attracted me to this book. It seemed poorly written and nobody in our book club enjoyed this book. The characters came and went and then reappeared (the book was in chronological order versus taking one character at a time) which made it confusing. It was a hard read. I actually got through another book club pick "Andersonville" by Kantor- almost 1000 pages with less trouble.

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Rating: - Founding Mothers
Although this book was listed by the vendor, it was out of stock so I never got it. My account was credited, but why list the book when it isn't available.?

see more

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