• Features
  • New Books
  • Biggest New Books
  • Fiction
  • Non-Fiction
  • All Categories
  • First Readers Club Daily Giveaway
  • How It Works
 
 
 
Features
New Books
Biggest New Books
Fiction
Non-Fiction
All Categories


Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk

Amy S Greenberg

Buy Now

Buy From a Local Bookstore
Publisher
Knopf Publishing Group
Date
February 5, 2019
Biography
History
Non-Fiction
Politics
The little-known story of remarkable First Lady Sarah Polk--a brilliant master of the art of high politics and a crucial but unrecognized figure in the history of American feminism.

Embed our reviews widget for this book

What is this?
Positive
Based on 5 reviews

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

What The Reviewers Say
Positive Brenda Wineapple,
The New York Times Book Review
... intriguing ... Unlike social history, though, biography concerns itself with the individual and her idiosyncrasies: that is, how a single subject is unlike the crowd. As a result, an element of defensiveness occasionally creeps into Greenberg’s prose, particularly regarding her many speculations or frequent use of 'may have' ... Greenberg’s excellent chapters on Polk’s alliances during and after the Civil War reveal the fault lines in the first lady’s character without defensiveness or hyperbole: Sarah Polk, a lady first, unquestionably wielded her unequal status with a velvet vengeance.
Read Full Review >>
Positive Kathleen McBroom,
Booklist
Extensively documented ... More social history than biography, the text traces Polk’s steadily growing expertise in charming, manipulating, and exerting pressure to abet her husband’s political career, which made for lasting change in Democratic Party policies. This is an in-depth, telling account of a largely overlooked woman who was able to effect profound influence while working within the constraints of her time and place.
Read Full Review >>
Mixed Walter R. Borneman,
The Wall Street Journal
Ms. Greenberg does an admirable job of analyzing various letters to and from Sarah Polk ... While painting a captivating portrait of Sarah and making no apologies for her role in Western expansion, Ms. Greenberg is unforgiving toward James.
Read Full Review >>
See All Reviews >>

SIMILAR BOOKS
Biography

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Separate: The Story of Plessy V. Ferguson, and A…
Steve Luxenberg
Positive

Biography

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Stalin's Scribe: Literature, Ambition, and Survi…
Brian Boeck
Positive

Biography

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

The Only Woman in the Room
Marie Benedict
Positive

Biography

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Camelot's End: Kennedy vs. Carter and the Fight …
Jon Ward
Positive

Biography

Rave

Positive

Mixed

Pan

Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Cla…
Eric Rauchway
Positive


What did you think of Lady First: The World of First Lady Sarah Polk?
  • About
    • Get the Book Marks Bulletin

  • Categories
    Fiction
    Fantasy
    Graphic Novels
    Historical
    Horror
    Literary
    Mystery, Crime, & Thriller
    Poetry
    Romance
    Speculative
    Story Collections
    Non-Fiction
    Art
    Biography
    Criticism
    Culture
    Essays
    Film & TV
    Graphic Nonfiction
    History
    Investigative Journalism
    Memoir
    Music
    Nature
    Politics
    Religion
    Science
    Social Sciences
    Sports
    Technology
    Travel
  • Lithub Daily

      February 22, 2019

      • A 160-year-old letter details the decline of Dickens' marriage.
      • A Kickstarter campaign for women-centric literary postcards.
      • Plans for an Austen memorial in the UK were scrapped.
      • A profile of Haymarket Books.

© LitHub