AMERICAN WOMAN

A historical study of the soft power of modern First Ladies.

As a White House correspondent for the New York Times who’s covered two presidential administrations, Rogers has reported recently on the Hunter Biden custody case involving his unacknowledged daughter, Navy. The author uses the life and career of Jill Biden as a springboard to discuss the evolving nature of the modern First Lady role, starting with Hillary Clinton. As Rogers writes, the word ambition is not often associated with First Ladies. Even though she was often pilloried for her ambition, Clinton was the first lawyer in the role, and she was also a highly competent policymaker charged with putting together a national health care bill in the first 100 days of her husband’s presidency. “No First Lady had ever tried to push the boundaries of her role so far and so fast,” writes Rogers about the resulting backlash. In contrast, Laura Bush, the soft-spoken librarian and teacher, did not get involved in the administration policies of her husband. “She was not there to push George toward policy or to mediate some of the more conservative voices in his ear,” writes the author. “She was there to remind him where he came from.” Outspoken Michelle Obama left her high-paying job to help her husband’s campaign, while Jill Biden has continued to work at a community college. Melania Trump was the most enigmatic of the modern First Ladies, defined largely by her absence and Sphinx-like demeanor and sometimes odd behavior and comments. All of Rogers’ subjects faced controversies and “struggle[d] with feeling understood.” The author’s detailed coverage of the Bidens, from their earliest days, reveals a symbiotic partnership, and Jill emerges as a fiercely protective mother and wife, not easily forgiving of disloyalty.

A well-written, extensively researched account of a challenging role in the public eye.