RaveThe Washington PostRebecca [has a] flair for writing crisp and engaging narratives. Her book Untold Power: The Fascinating Rise and Complex Legacy of First Lady Edith Wilson is quite simply a compelling yarn ... Roberts’s description of Wilson’s wooing springs to life through her careful research of the love notes the couple exchanged almost daily. In addition, the author skillfully deconstructs the second Mrs. Wilson’s 1939 memoir ... Roberts’s storytelling soars as she leads the reader through Edith’s machinations to hide her husband’s disabilities while maintaining his White House’s functions.
Karen Tumulty
RaveThe Washington Post... deeply researched and compellingly crafted ... Tumulty paints a striking portrait ... Relying on Nancy’s previously unavailable personal papers at the Reagan library and interviews with her son and stepbrother, Tumulty is able to construct a persuasive portrait of the future first lady’s character development ... Tumulty’s biography, sympathetic yet objective, captures Reagan-era ironies[.]
Susan Page
PositiveThe Washington PostWhat makes Page’s biography such a notable contribution to our understanding of Barbara Bush is the access she gave the author to private diaries dating to 1948 and five interviews she granted in the months before her death. The narrative also benefits considerably from conversations Page conducted with Bush 41 and 43; President Bill Clinton; and more than 100 Bush family members, friends and former aides ... This definitive biography is a welcome contribution to our understanding of the complex role of presidential spouses.
