All the Presidents' Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families FROM THE PUBLISHER
From Abigail "Nabby" Adams to Barbara and Jenna Bush, George Washington Adams to John F. Kennedy, Jr., the children of America's presidents have both suffered and triumphed under the watchful eyes of their powerful fathers and the glare of the ever-changing public. Many, like the children of William Henry Harrison and Andrew Johnson, writhed under the pressure and fought bitter battles with alcoholism and depression only to die young. Others, like Robert Todd Lincoln, Margaret Truman, and Helen Taft Manning, used the privileges granted them to achieve their own success in the worlds of politics, business, and academia. All, however, had to cope with the entirely unique experience of sharing their fathers with the country that called them to leadership and living a life worthy of their place in history. Combining twenty years of study with never-before-published letters and personal accounts from presidential children, Doug Wead has produced a remarkable and authoritative analysis of the extraordinary people born to American presidents throughout history.
Stories of outstanding presidential daughters; the eight weddings performed in the White House and what later happened in the marriages; tales of the real and rumored illegitimate children of the presidents; a list of presidential children who pursued politics and the five who were almost president themselves; examples of how the pressures of being a celebrity child interrupt the normal desire for intimacy and personal identity; biographies of living presidential children and where they are now -- these are just a few of the historical gems unearthed. Both an entertaining lesson on our nation's history, a study of the problems and solutions of high-achieving parents, and a fascinating look at the father-son dynamics of the current White House, All the Presidents' Children is a must-read for anyone interested in America's most high-profile pedigree.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Wead, who was President George H.W. Bush's special assistant, explores the dynamic bond with their presidential fathers that catapulted offspring to great success or, more often it seems, to the depths of despair. The stress of being the son or daughter of one of the most powerful men in the world, the burden of great expectations, wore away at the mental fabric of many. Some sons became alcoholics, womanizers, gamblers or just plain reckless sorts, while daughters made impossible sacrifices to gain their fathers' approval. After the death of her second son from alcoholism (the elder son drowned, perhaps a suicide), Louisa Adams, wife of John Quincy Adams, said, "[Y]et another son had been sacrificed on the altar of politics." Among the most interesting of those explored are Robert Lincoln, one of the most successful yet darkest presidential sons; Alice Roosevelt, famous for her fearless tongue and her pet snake named Emily Spinach; John Eisenhower, decorated soldier and military historian; and Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who outdid his famous father on the battlefield. Also profiled are the nine weddings held in the White House. Wead includes only short bios on those presidential children still living, out of respect for their privacy. Still, there is no shortage of drama, scandal and emotion in the lives detailed here, for as Wead sums up, "Two things are unforgivable for the child of a president-success and failure." 16 pages of color photos. (Feb. 18) Forecast: Publication on Presidents' Day should be a good hook to boost sales of this unusual look at life in the White House. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Madmen, murderers, miscreants, martyrs: presidentsﾽ children are just like the rest of us, only more so. So one would conclude from this thoroughgoing compendium by former Bush I administration staffer Wead, whose researches began as a memorandum to the current president when he was contemplating his first run for Texas governor. (No presidentﾽs child had ever successfully run for governor, he warned Bush II.) Being the child of a president can be tough duty, Wead capably shows; it makes for loneliness, paranoia, high rates of divorce and alcoholism, and a life expectancy lower than the national norm. It can lead to maladjustment and exceptional nastiness, as witness Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who specialized in bitter complaint about just about every conceivable topic throughout her long life. (Teddyﾽs daughter died at 96 in 1980, having outlived every other presidential child.) It can yield spasms of rebellion: Patti Davis, Ronald Reaganﾽs daughter, for example, "took loud, public stands against her fatherﾽs policies." Yet there have also been well-adjusted, happy, and productive presidential progeny: William Howard Taftﾽs daughter Helen, a notable suffragette; Gerald Fordﾽs son Steve, an actor familiar to fans of The Young and the Restless and Black Hawk Down; and Amy Carter, a hardworking humanitarian like father Jimmy. Weadﾽs well-written, gossipy narrative is good fun to read, though it doesnﾽt boast much analytical power. Readers can fashion from it just about any case they care to on the question of whether a presidentﾽs kid is apt to turn out a hero like Webb Hayes (son of Rutherford), who won the Congressional Medal of Honor, or a loser like Marshall Polk (adopted son of James),who died in prison. Light enough for a dentistﾽs waiting room, but substantial enough to amuse and inform White House watchers and students of political history.
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