What is this Blog About?

Blog Origins 

Who is your favorite president? 

Such a simple question led me to this project. My friend asked me some version of that question in the summer of 2016. I probably said Barack Obama but mentioned that I love Jimmy Carter. Since she's from Georgia, my friend wanted to know more about my love for Carter. At that moment I realized I didn't really know that much about Carter's presidency, but I knew that I viewed him as a morally conscience individual who did the best he could with the country he had. I probably like him for what he has done since being president as much I think he was a good president. I realized that I know very little about any of the presidents. Political history has never been a strength or pleasure of mine.   

I decided I would embark on a project to read a biography about each United States President (in chronological order of service, of course). I figured I would (eventually) have something to back up my favoring of Jimmy Carter, and I would brush up my knowledge of American history along the way.   

So I grabbed a biography of George Washington from the public library and proceeded to spend – TWO MONTHS! – trying to slog through about 300 pages. Man, that book was boring. And it had nothing to do with the writing (having read many a poorly written history book in my day); it had everything to do with the subject matter and my failure to engage with it. I learned some surprising things about Washington along the way and liked the book's overall argument, but there was no way I was moving on to another presidential biography. Plus, in doing some digging, I found out that there are a good number of people across the country and the internet who have or are currently engaged in the same project. Who wants to compete with other blogs? 

Project Transformation 

I didn't want to completely give up on the project. I was looking forward to learning about so much American history that I know only on the most basic of levels. So the project morphed into something along similar lines but that would better suit my personal interests – a biography on each First Lady. I am certain that looking at American history – political or otherwise – will be infinitely more relatable through the lens of gender. And what's the point of doing all this reading and learning if I'm not recording what I learn? That's where this blog comes in.   

Here you have, dear reader, my thoughts – none too analytical nor critical, none too detailed nor overly conceptualized – on what I am reading about the spouses who stood by our Presidents. Perhaps before the end of this project we'll have added a man to the list.  

A Note on Books  

I will decide which biographies to read based on the following criteria, in no particular order:  

1) Availability at or by my local public library: I would prefer a book that I can pull right off the shelf, but I will utilize ILL if a book meets other criteria but is not owned by my library. I will NOT purchase any of the books I read for this blog.   

2) Length: I prefer a book under 400 pages before endnotes, bibliography, and index. Otherwise, it'll take too long to read.   

3) Book Focus: Whenever possible the book should be a true biography, covering the entirety of a First Lady's life rather than a specific portion of that life. For the handful of Presidents who were not married while in office, or in the instance that a biography does not exist for a specific First Lady, I will read a related biography – most likely on a previous wife, another close relation, or the President himself.   

4) Author credentials: preferably a university professor or someone otherwise trained in the historical profession.  Nothing against independent scholars;  this is simply to say scholarly integrity trumps best-seller status.  I will also try to choose the most recently published option. 

5) Critical response: I won't spend a lot of time searching out reviews (scholarly, professional, or reader), but if I run across some while searching out the right biography, I will take them into account.   

One Final Thought 

I understand that relegating myself to a single book on a subject, not to mention neglecting all the books and various other sources that historically contextualize that subject, is not good history. As such, I readily admit the limitations of this blog to act as any sort of in-depth study of the individuals in question. It is not meant as such but merely a record of my thoughts on what I am reading at the time. That being said, feel free to comment on or question anything I have written (politely and respectfully, of course). I will do my best to respond with the limited knowledge I have.