About the Author

KATI MARTON is the author of numerous works of non-fiction—Wallenberg, A Death in Jerusalem, and The Polk Conspiracy—and fiction, An American Woman. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair, and The New Republic. A former correspondent for National Public Radio and ABC News, Marton received a George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast journalism. She lives in New York City with her husband and her son and daughter.

Reviews

“Insightful. . . . Colorful. . . . A shrewd and illuminating look at the juncture where the personal and the political overlap.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Irresistible. . . . An entertaining shot of history. . . . Scores of interviews and extensive research have turned up some revealing anecdotes and shrewd insights.” –The New York Times

“Brilliant. . . . Delectable. . . . Marton has a deft hand with narrative. . . . It’s the intimate, keyhole view of these marriages that gives Hidden Power its allure.” –Newsday

“Fascinating . . . well-researched.” –The New York Times Book Review

With this thoughtful rumination, journalist Marton augments the proliferating literature on the position and person of the First Lady. Marton examines 11 of the 20th-century presidential couples (the Wilsons, the Franklin Roosevelts, the Trumans, the Kennedys, and the seven couples that followed), relying chiefly on interviews, oral histories, and secondary sources. Ultimately, the reader comes away with the sense that the First Lady has confronted the same problem faced by every other 20th-century American woman, albeit writ large: however she balances the demands of her family and her "job," she isn't seen as getting it quite right. The First Lady, however, gets ragged on not just by her in-laws or her neighbors but also by the national press. Much of the material Marton includes has appeared elsewhere, but her commentary is insightful. The portrayals of Woodrow Wilson as a passionate lover, Bess Truman as selfish, small-minded, and mean, and Pat Nixon as isolated and depressed, are vivid. Recommended for public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/01.] Cynthia Harrison, George Washington Univ., Washington, DC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

"Insightful. . . . Colorful. . . . A shrewd and illuminating look at the juncture where the personal and the political overlap." -The Wall Street Journal

"Irresistible. . . . An entertaining shot of history. . . . Scores of interviews and extensive research have turned up some revealing anecdotes and shrewd insights." -The New York Times

"Brilliant. . . . Delectable. . . . Marton has a deft hand with narrative. . . . It's the intimate, keyhole view of these marriages that gives Hidden Power its allure." -Newsday

"Fascinating . . . well-researched." -The New York Times Book Review