Founding Mothers

The Women Who Raised Our Nation

By: Cokie Roberts

Narrated by: Cokie Roberts

Cokie Roberts's #1 New York Times best seller We Are Our Mothers' Daughters examined the nature of women's roles throughout history and led USA Today to praise her as a "custodian of time-honored values." Her second best seller, From This Day Forward, written with her husband, Steve Roberts, described American marriages throughout history. Now Cokie returns with Founding Mothers, an intimate look at the passionate women whose tireless pursuits on behalf of their families and country proved just as crucial to the forging of a new nation as the rebellion that established it.

Roberts reveals the often surprising stories of these fascinating women, bringing to life the everyday trials of individuals like Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Eliza Pinckney, Mary Bartlett, and Martha Washington, proving that without our exemplary women, the new country might have never survived.

Social history at its best, Founding Mothers unveils the determination, creative insight, and passion of the other patriots, the women who raised our nation. Cokie Roberts proves beyond doubt that like every generation of American women that has followed, the founding mothers used the unique gifts of their gender (courage, pluck, sadness, joy, energy, grace, sensitivity, and humor) to do what women do best, put one foot in front of the other in remarkable circumstances, and carry on.

©2004 Cokie Roberts (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Roberts's style is delightfully intimate and confiding....In addition to telling wonderful stories, Roberts also presents a very readable, serviceable account of politics (male and female) in early America. If only our standard history textbooks were written with such flair!" (Publishers Weekly)
"Roberts offers a much-needed look at the unheralded sacrifices and heroism of colonial women." (Booklist)
"She [Roberts] creates a strong, though perhaps overstated, case that without the patriotism of women on the home front, the Colonies would have lost the Revolutionary War....A series of entertaining minibiographies and engaging vignettes." (The New York Times Book Review)

Interesting, but not engrossing

I found these stories interesting, but not compelling. What I found most interesting was the relationships between the ladies mentioned in this book. But, it was a little hard to follow, and I put it down several times. I enjoyed the author's reading. But I was not inspired to find out any more about these women, which was surprising to me, since I very much like American history.

Founding Mothers

This was a refreshing perspective on the formation of our country. After reading "Benjamin Frankin", "John Adams", and "Alexander Hamilton" it was nice to read a book about the women behind the men.

excellent!

She brings these ladies to life. Showcases their strength, dedication, and courage, inspite of the era of inequality they lived in.

Excellent!

Having the story of the founding mothers was made greater by the narration of Cokie Roberts herself! I really enjoyed listening to this book and learned so much!

Great read

There would be no founding fathers if were not for these courageous group of women. Educational and entertaining. Well read by Ms Roberts.

expectations unfulfilled

I wanted to love this book... for the subject and the author and the audiobook reader. I found it all rather flat, unexciting and kind of dull. I had hoped for more... creatively it felt like a bloodless recitation of facts. what did delight me was how so many letters have survived through the centuries. And what really hit home was how self centered and self indulgent the founding fathers were.

Pretty good

Cokie Roberts enlightens us about the role of women in early America. Unfortunately, they were relegated to third class citizenry but a few set the standard for future generations. Roberts writes well and does a nice job of narrating the book with enjoyable quips that added to "a change of pace" when the text needed it. At times, the text dragged and needed additional content.

Loved the History

This was a really good book with history of women that made a huge impression and difference on early American society. Every girl should know about these women. I think Cokie Roberts should not have been the narrator though. I love her commentaries, and would recognize her voice anywhere, but she was not the best person to present her book.

Runs slow

First of all, why Ms Roberts is it abridged. The parts that are most interesting were the parts not read. (Shame!)

The non fiction book is about how the women who played a very important support staff to the soldiers, the members of Congress and the signers of the Declaration of Independence. These women ran the family, businesses, the farms, plantations, organized women guild to raise money or make clothing for the soldiers.

These same women would then leave home in winter to spend it with their husbands in the camps only to leave pregnant.

These same women would have their homes bombed, seized, searched and hide what they can from the British.

Cokie Roberts was the narrator on her own book and felt it necessary to slightly chuckle at her own jokes. (Not funny. Please let me decide).

The story was interesting as long as Ms Roberts kept it to the women and something new that most wouldn’t people didn’t know. The last 1/3 of the book, I felt was an abridged portion of my high school text book, and slowed the book down to a crawl.

My new favorite book!!!

Would you listen to Founding Mothers again? Why?

Yes...yes! So well done by Cokie and so well written.

What did you like best about this story?

I like that it was chronological. I love learning about our Founding Fathers and greater detail is painted as you get to know the women behind them.

Which character – as performed by Cokie Roberts – was your favorite?

All of them!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Indeed...but it was parceled out in a few days.

Any additional comments?

This book was recommended by two people and it was even better than they described!