They only covered the ones everyone kind of knows already, which was a little disappointing. I would have liked to learn something about Julia Grant, Rachel Jackson, Ida McKinley, Frances Cleveland, Grace Coolidge, and Edith Roosevelt, for example. But I did enjoy it, and I was especially pleased to learn how much I like Rosalynn Carter and Barbara Bush based on these interviews. Barbara Bush is fabulous.

Not really an audiobook, this product is part of a series of NPR-sponsored CD collections of stories on a theme, originally recorded for broadcast. The theme here is American First Ladies, and though we don't hear about all of them, we're given 26 glimpses into the lives of some the best-known women in that distinguished group. They're nearly all interesting stories, and fun to listen to, though none of them quite reach the level of being an NPR "driveway moment."

I'd recommend this collection to nearly anyone who's interested in American politics, culture, or history, with just a handful of minor reservations. One is a reflection of a characteristic problem of broadcast journalism: there are always time constraints. The better stories left me longing for more detail. There's also more of a twentieth-century emphasis to the stories than I would have liked. The other issue is that the stories were originally produced over a period of over three decades, and discussed very different eras in American culture, so there's some inconsistency from beginning to end. These are minor issues, though, and overall these stories are well worth a listen. ( )

A brilliant idea: collecting and repackaging NPR stories on related topics. This collection, First Ladies, in the American Chronicles series, includes 26 segments (plus a brief introduction by Cokie Roberts) that aired between 1982 and 2013; they're presented roughly in chronological order. I enjoyed the more historical pieces more (Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Mary Todd Lincoln, Florence Harding, Eleanor Roosevelt), I believe, in part because the later segments (involving First Ladies who are still alive) felt more like "news" than like "history." (For example, Elizabeth Drew's 1995 comments on Hillary Clinton are most interesting in 2015: but that story is not yet finished.) The profiles encouraged me to learn more about these important and often overlooked figures of U.S. history.

A delightful introduction to a collection of first lady vignettes. Cokie Roberts introduces this series of NPR podcasts, which present us with some well-known, some little known tidbits of information, gossip, facts and inferences about many of our favorite first ladies.

Not exactly a book, I received this short CD assortment as part of the ER program. The individual segments are the perfect length for travel listening. Well written, well researched, and absolutely fascinating. It has certainly enhanced my quest to read biographies of all the presidents. I definitely plan to add some fuller bios of the interesting ladies.

Not really a book, this is a wonderful collection of NPR stories about America's First Ladies. These stories come from all their different programs. Some are funny, some are touching, all are fascinating. It sent me looking for books that were mentioned and had me rewinding to share stories with my husband. It really opened my eyes. Such a wide range of women who approached the job with lots of different ideas and personalities. It touches on everyone from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama. I am grateful to have received this as a gift from LibraryThing. ( )