the powerful women

This book was fascinating. The Perfect Wife is well written, well researched, insightful and informative. Ann Gerhart is able to place Laura Bush in context for us; through every chapter she delineates how the personal and the public coexist within a complex person. Laura Bush seems stereotypical of a certain sort of southern woman, but as we know, stereotypes are confining in their lack of dimension. The Perfect Wife ably shows us how Laura Bush is not one-dimensional, rather, she is an intellectual surrounded with stacks of books at her side, she has had friends who are Democrats (and hippies, back in the day), she has known tragedy first-hand, and, like many wives and mothers, is at times annoyed by her spouse and offspring (but is too well-mannered to ever say so in public.) I loved this book - I never thought I could relate to a "first lady" (or a perfect wife... ) but after reading this, I'm rethinking many expectations.

Author Ann Gerhart had a tough subject, a tough case to crack in Laura Bush, and did so splendidly. The First Lady emerges as bright, more politically savvy and determined than many people would guess, loyal, and fiercely guarded and private. But despite the walls that Mrs. Bush constructs, Gerhart tells her story in a lively and informative manner, beginning with the tragic car accident in Midland, Texas, in which Mrs. Bush, driving, plows into another car and kills a high school classmate and friend.

The book is fair to Mrs. Bush -- it's an admiring portrait -- but it is not uncritical. It is also a joy to read, far and away superior to the average political biography.

Don't waste your time or money on this book. I am a big fan of the President and the First Lady, but it is clear that the author is not. I lost interest after the first two chapters. Not only does the author patronize the First Lady, but she also patronizes the President. While some of the information MIGHT be valid, the author offers her opinion and describes Texas in a demeaning way. I couldn't stand to read much more.....note to the author>>>Put your pen down and take up a new hobby. If you can't say something nice about people, you shouldn't say anything at all.