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    NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies
    NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies
    NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies
    Audiobook3 hours

    NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies

    Written by NPR

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    While the role of the first lady has changed dramatically over the course of the nation's history, one thing remains constant: American's have always been fascinated by the wives of the President. Insights into their formative years, their daily routines within the White House, their influence on the public policies espoused by their husbands, and their bold journey into the modern political spotlight have captivated generations of political historians, social critics and tabloid gawkers alike. NPR presents the story of these iconic women as they apply their unique gifts to help transform the role of women in public and private life. Featuring in-depth profiles of many of our beloved, inspiring, and occasionally enigmatic first ladies, including: Martha Washingtion, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and more.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateFeb 3, 2015
    ISBN9781622313518
    NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies

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    Reviews for NPR American Chronicles

    4.5/5

    40 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Not really an audiobook, this product is part of a series of NPR-sponsored CD collections of stories on a theme, originally recorded for broadcast. The theme here is American First Ladies, and though we don't hear about all of them, we're given 26 glimpses into the lives of some the best-known women in that distinguished group. They're nearly all interesting stories, and fun to listen to, though none of them quite reach the level of being an NPR "driveway moment."I'd recommend this collection to nearly anyone who's interested in American politics, culture, or history, with just a handful of minor reservations. One is a reflection of a characteristic problem of broadcast journalism: there are always time constraints. The better stories left me longing for more detail. There's also more of a twentieth-century emphasis to the stories than I would have liked. The other issue is that the stories were originally produced over a period of over three decades, and discussed very different eras in American culture, so there's some inconsistency from beginning to end. These are minor issues, though, and overall these stories are well worth a listen.
    • 4/5
      This audio book was good. In fact, it made me want to know more about our First Ladies.
    • 5/5
      This is a brilliant little collection of NPR stories. I'm not fond of books on tape, but this is a mix of stories that is easy to listen to while travelling. I've learned a lot and will investigate other similarly packaged materials.
    • 5/5
      This Audio CD is great for car or airplane travel. I enjoy NPR and can't always pick it up on the radio when traveling. Diverse interviews.
    • 4/5
      I received these CDs as an Early Reviewer. I really enjoy listening to books in my car and this selection worked particularly well that way. The entries are fairly brief and lend themselves to a car ride. I don't know that I necessarily learned much new. I listen to NPR quite a bit and have heard some or even most of these pieces before. However, it is always fun to hear them gathered together and to get a sense of the first ladies. I found myself caring for these women and wishing that they could meet as a group right now and talk about their thoughts as former first ladies. I do believe I have friends that will enjoy these cds and I plan to lend them out very soon.
    • 4/5
      Like others in the NPR American Chronicles, this is a compilation of broadcasts from NPR. Cokie Roberts just provides the segways between them.Most of the broadcasts about the earlier first ladies, are discussions with authors of biographies. However, Mrs. Lincoln is discussed in an interview with Sally Field about how she prepared for the role and her interactions with Daniel Day Lewis (all in character).For the most recent first ladies, there are interviews with the women themselves. Also, a couple of reminisces by people who knew them.I found the book talks the most interesting, since it lead me to a couple of books I would like to read. Since I'm kind of a news junky, I didn't learn anything I didn't know about the more recent first ladies. In fact I had heard most of the interviews before.Overall, the pieces are so short that there is not really much new in any of them. But if you don't know which first ladies are interesting to you, and you want to get a quick glimpse and then go find out more, this is a good place to start.
    • 4/5
      Listening to the stories, letters and voices of the first ladies was a treat. In interviews conducted by NPR, we were given sippets and glimpses of the first ladies and their lives celebrating and reviewing their causes, passions and roles while they served as first lady. Some of the interviews provided confirmation of things I already knew and others gave insights to the behind the scenes lives and choices of these special and famous women. There was a very short musical phrase between each interview which provides the reader a chance to move to the new interview with greater ease than might have been possible with straight dialogue. Only a little over three hours in this set of cd's I experienced a great deal of personal academic and emotional review., listening to the stories caused me to rethink and remember information and opinions that I had gained or formed over the years. I would highly recommend listening to this book. I give it a 4 stars and than LibraryThing and HighBridge Audio for the complementary review copy.
    • 5/5
      What a great score from Library Thing Early Reviewers! I'm a big fan of NPR and a big fan of history, so this compilation of stories about the First Ladies of the US was a win/win for me. Cokie Roberts acts as the guide through the three discs, providing context for the stories in the introductions. It's one thing to hear these stories by themselves as they were produced over the years, but it's quite another to hear them told one after the other. The eras and situations in which these women found themselves may have all been different, but somehow the strength and dignity of each woman shines through. And oh, Mrs Harding, why have I never heard this story before??
    • 3/5
      I was disappointed in these CDs. I enjoy history and learning about first ladies, but I felt that the interviews were so superficial that I didn't really learn anything new. I think in the future I'll stick to full-length biographies/memoirs where I will get a true feel for the women's lives.
    • 4/5
      This 3-disc set compiles NPR stories about a diverse collection of women, all tied together in history by being First Lady. Early First Ladies are discussed by historians, journalists, and artists. As time and technology progresses, we also begin to hear from the First Ladies themselves, from speeches by Elinor Roosevelt and Lady Bird Johnson to private recollections by Jackie Kennedy and Betty and Gerald Ford's personal experience with alcoholism and recovery. These pieces are insightful and revealing. They're well worth the listen. And regardless of your political affiliation, you'll find much to respect and admire about all these women.
    • 4/5
      I just finished listening to the CD version of NPR American Chronicles: First Ladies and it has made for an informative and entertaining afternoon. There are profiles of many of the first ladies and interviews with the more recent ones. What you gather from listening to the 3 discs is that the first ladies have to have as much drive and intelligence as their husbands in order to fulfill unpaid and thankless duties. As a life-long liberal, I was surprised that I was so impressed with several of the Republican first ladies--both Laura and Barbara bush were intelligent and had their own opinions, separate from their husbands, at times. Each woman who has filled that role has brought their own unique talents, humor and interests to the White House and have enhanced the job through their efforts. Definitely interesting.