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The unfortunate part of the book for me was that the chapters lacked continuity and focus and made following it a little difficult. It is a true deficit in history books where we hear so little about women. I like history and I like the idea of learning more about the women who lived during the revolutionary period. The chapters would jump around with references to different people and then talk about them again in latter chapters. I appreciate the fact that the author took on the topic and researched archives for clues about the experiences of powerful and high society women of the time period. Some of the facts and observation were interesting and informative. It made the reading a little slow and difficult to follow.Sometimes I think I missed the point and it was a little disappointing to find a history book that was hard to keep my attention. I love the concept and the topic.
The women were much more involved than I thought most of my life. It was so wonderful to read history from the women's point of view. So glad they wrote letters and kept them.
Not all of them were American Heroines, either. Another book by Cokie, "Ladies of Liberty" belongs on every DAR (whether by lineage or by ideals) library shelf. ( In Old Ben's defense, however, one must remember that speaking your mind publicly was a more difficult matter then than it is now - if you could actually keep it a secret, a pen name was a great buffer zone whilst getting the job done). She was of particular interest to me, and it was one of the best accountings I have read concerning her contribution to the Revolutionary movement. Nonetheless, it was clear that while they were given little public credit for their thoughts, nonetheless, they were listened to - if mostly behind closed doors. At the tender age of 16, this girl, barely more than a child, was taking over not only the family acreage in the absence of parents, but was "thinking ahead" like any good chess player - making business decisions that were to bear the fruit of those decisions years down the road. Add another paradigm of stress while keeping THAT a secret while being surrounded by armies of Friends and Foes.Some of them, such as Eliza Pinckney, would have made any modern CEO look like the fools most of them are.
I suspect nobody gave her a gargantuan bonus or "incentive options" in Unplanted Indigo for her hard work, but that's a more modern story.I must admit, my huge admiration for Benjamin Franklin suffered another slight setback after reading Cokie's remarks regarding him; but they were points well taken, since I had secretly suspected most of it myself gathered from the histories regarding Ben prior to reading this literary autopsy of him; but every icon deserves a notch or two downward occasionally just to keep them within the confines of the human race. In a strange paradox, Ben Franklin promoted freedom of speech with his covert pen taking the heat for him as Silence DoGood; at the same time, the fact that he used a pen name at all supports the remarks that he "waited in abeyance to see which side of the fence was going to prevail" before making a commitment. ~Regarding the Public and it's Opinions and Support: "One fourth may be said to always be on the side of Government; one fourth sunk in sensuous pleasure; one fourth immersed in business; and the remainder inattentive and indolent to all public matters provided a grievance does not actually happen to their own."~Dennis deBerdt - page 122~Another excellent tribute by Cokie Roberts to the "women behind the men and the scenes" during the Revolution. Roberts for rising to the cause of the long-suffering Mrs. Franklin and making us laugh at the same time.Mercy Otis was one of the few women of that time who were supported by their men and families more openly as a important voice in politics and writing. Quite an accomplishment, maintaining appearances as a lady, while keeping a keen brain under control at the same time. My grandmother, whose ancestors number among those in this book, did it for me. So much for 250 years making a difference.I'm not a rabid feminist, because I don't have to be.
Cokie pulls no punches when delivering the goods in either of these books - the oft repeated appeal of Abigail Adams to her John "Do not Forget The Ladies" is taken quite literally by Cokie Roberts and she eloquently brings their discounted intelligence, courage and sacrifices to the rightful place in history with the men by whom they stood; for whom they loved, feared for, farmed for, bore children for without the protection of sufficient medicine, as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on at the time; some even covertly donned the garb of men and charged into battle too. A couple of them, most notably the infamous Mrs. Clay on the feet detract but little from his measure, after all. But Cheers to Ms. Loring, were spies for the British, applying their wiles while passing the secrets; a humiliating lesson that never seemed to be learned over time by the men among us, either. The debt of gratitude will never be fully repaid.Thanks, Cokie.
product received was as advertised, and in great condition. Would buy from this vendor again.
The author rightly reminds us how little women could do publicly that we take for granted today. The familiar voice of Cokie Roberts does the reading in the unabridged audio material, and her admiration for these talented, accomplished and articulate women is obvious (and well-deserved). Roberts moves along mostly chronologically, with some slightly confusing hops in time. A common theme is the struggles of the women on the home front, handling family, business and everything else while the men were away. When the women of Pennsylvania and then other states raised significant money for the troops during the war, the whole story was wonderfully touching. You may easily stop and pick up again, as often the sections are short-to-medium topics that stand partly alone.
Washington. She brings some fresh insight to familiar names such as Abigail Adams and Martha Washington, who comes across much better than I imagined from traditional histories.The CDs are good drive-time listening, as Ms. I appreciated especially several women who were unfamiliar to me or whose contributions were higher than I thought, besides Mrs. She found a reasonable balance in the tricky question of how much to say about the men. Clearly Ben Franklin, Washington, John Adams, Hamilton and the others must appear in non-trivial amounts, either directly in their correspondence with the women, or as anchors for the actions of the women in support of the country. There were the highly talented Eliza Pinckney who opened the book, Caty (aka Kitty) Greene (who may have invented the cotton gin), Sally Jay, Mercy Otis Warren, and others.
Another brief highlight was mention of some women who actually served in battle.The book had occasional wanderings off topic, mostly notably a thread on the Randolph family that seemed largely irrelevant other than its juiciness as a scandal.The history concludes when John Adams wins the presidency and America starts its transition into the post-founding age.
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