THE PRESIDENTIAL COMPANION
Readings on the First Ladies
Second Edition
Edited by Robert P. Watson and
Anthony J. Eksterowicz
Foreword by Melanne Verveer
“The chapters in The Presidential Companion cover either singly or as a group the
development of the position [of First Lady], its social influence, its political and
policy influence, and the modern first ladies of the past two decades.”
—Journal of American History
“The Presidential Companion is a scholarly and very highly recommended
contribution to American political science and women’s studies reading lists.”
—Midwest Book Review
Bringing together the work of notable historians, political scientists, and sociologists,
The Presidential Companion: Readings on the First Ladies offers a collection of essays
that demonstrate the political relevance of first ladies throughout U.S. history and
the dramatic expansion of their power during the twentieth century. With a foreword
by Hillary Clinton’s former chief of staff, Melanne Verveer, this anthology fills a gap
in scholarship about the position of first lady and reveals the political acumen and
activism of a number of the holders of this unofficial executive office.
The contributors reveal how the office has grown in political influence, from
Martha Washington’s selection of furnishings for the presidential mansion to Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s leadership of the President’s Task Force on National Health Care
Reform. They underscore the notion that an understanding of presidential spouses
is central to the study of the American presidency. Bringing this second edition up
to date are two new chapters on the first ladyship of Laura Bush and on analyzing
public perceptions of Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.
September 2006, 416 pages, 12 illus.
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Robert P. Watson has written
or edited seven previous books,
including The Presidents’ Wives:
Reassessing the Office of First Lady
and the encyclopedia American First
Ladies. He is an associate professor of
political science at Florida Atlantic
University.
Anthony J. Eksterowicz is a
professor of political science at James
Madison University in Harrisonburg,
Virginia. His previous books include
American Democracy: Representation,
Participation, and the Future of the
Republic and The President and Foreign
Policy: Chief Architect or General
Contractor.
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