Bending The Twig [Hardcover]

 

 

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Predictable. This book only made me turn the pages because I was hoping to find some golden nugget of information that would truly link the Presidents. It was not to be found.

Imagine if the public throughout history had been privileged to read books and concepts like this one. We might have had entirely different Presidents than we had, or we might have had a much better understanding of the kind of President we were getting. Barbara Bush has been around for some time, and most know both her influence, and her ability to put people at ease with her common sense and her style. We've yet to hear anything about the mothers of the current candidates in 2004, but who would not remember Lillian Carter, feisty as she was, a no nonsense strict disciplinarian if my memory serves me correctly, but endearing, and honored by her son, the President. One of the most powerful mothers of all was Bill Clinton's mother, and when I read her story I wept, not only for her, but for her family, and in part, for me, and for all of the women I'd known who had to march forward in life in less than ideal circumstances. Hers were pretty bad, but they sounded more familiar than not, unfortunately, as I'm sure they did to many others. I had never read a more powerful personal reflection and about such deeply troubling topics. Their familiarity continues to move me whenever I think about it. With all of our rhetoric about how we claim to be opposed to domestic violence, physical, emotional and verbal, we've done little to the vast need that actually exists. She may have been the first that I'm aware of in my lifetime to be so candid, and be connected to so powerful a person as a President of the United States. Surely, that is a major step forward for America, and one hopefully not lost on American women, even if it is usually on American men. Because we prefer our heroes complete with shining armor and white horse, we are not prepared for the knowledge that they had endured some of the common problems that affect so many families. The revelation was striking, and provides an extraordinary backdrop to understanding her son, the President, and perhaps a little of his administration despite their obvious gender differences. Men are often measured by their fathers as the "chips off the old block," as Dad's are inclined to view them, but in fact, most have far more affinity with their mothers to whom they have been the most intimate and honest. It is the reason that Barbara Bush can look at her son, and wonder if he would make a good President, as she did once, and why Lillian was not about to become lax with her son. The high expectations that mothers have of their sons as adults is far higher than their fathers do, and sons nearly always feel the pressure of that concern, as well as the love that accompanies it. Fathers have high expectations of their sons as youngsters, generally, to prepared them for that task, but it is usually the mothers who scrutinize and measure their progress the most intensely. Any book that attempts to define the relationship of Presidents and their sons, or even any prominent sons, and their mothers is well worth the effort and the expense for understanding how those gentlemen are able to rise to meet those expectations, and the struggles to get there. This is true family entertainment, and among the most worthwhile available for family values, and perhaps, for family progress.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. An easy read with tons of anecdotes and facts that made the presidents and their families come alive.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and hard to put down!
Starting with Sara Delano Roosevelt and ending with Barbara Bush, this book gives of biographies of the mothers that shaped the lives of the US Presidents. Read more

Published on Dec 26 2002 by meiringen

1.0 out of 5 stars Slavish Claptrap
A typical "project" from someone who has written for the likes of Time magazine to scintillate a plebian readership with "interesting" tidbits. Read more

Published on Dec 22 2002 by ckhl

3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Concept
Bonnie Angelo has a brilliant concept for a book and enough material for about one-third of her pages. Read more

Published on Sep 24 2002

3.0 out of 5 stars Could Be a Lot Better
This book covers the early lives of all Presidents since Franklin Roosevelt. It purports to focus on the Presidents' mothers. Read more

Published on Mar 22 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it !
I love it !
As an non-amercican , it gave profound information on the presidents themselves as well as their family, childhood and of course their mothers and their influence... Read more

Published on Nov 9 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look At History
This is a great read for anyone even casually interested in American politics. I wish only that there were more photos!

Published on Sep 4 2001 by Reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched, fascinating read!
FDR was an incurable mama's boy? Truman's mom was an independent upstart with vision ahead of her time? Who knew?? Read more

Published on Mar 27 2001 by Lisa

4.0 out of 5 stars Superficial, but nevertheless interesting
This book gives many interesting details about the ancestry and the childhoods of presidents from FDR to Clinton. Read more

Published on Feb 2 2001 by Anne B.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read
Bonnie Angelo was my roommate on a White House Press trip for Mrs. Johnson's New England beautification projects during the six-day Middle East war in June, 1967. Read more

Published on Jan 24 2001 by Ann E. Wood

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Writing, Captivating Reading
"First Mothers" is for mothers, sons, fathers, daughters, and anyone else who is intersted in good history written by a first-rate journalist (Bonnie Angelo) without... Read more

Published on Dec 23 2000 by Fred Negem

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