All The Presidents ChildrenWead, 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.
In this illuminating bestseller, Washington insider Doug Wead offers an authoritative analysis of our nation's presidential offspring. Featuring lively anecdotes, photographs, short biographies, and never-before-published personal accounts, All the Presidents' Children is an important socio-cultural work, a groundbreaking study of American family dynamics, and an entertaining foray into the homes, hearts, and history of our forefathers.
An excellent resource to educate future generations about the personal lifes of our presidents and their families. Doug illustrates, in a profound way, the humanism of these families through their vulnerabilities, weaknesses and above all their strengths. Thank you Doug!
-Pam Troy MI
The second volume in Doug Wead's seventeen year, ongoing trilogy on the first families. It offers an account of the lives of the parents of our chief executives and is a companion book to the instant New York Times bestseller All the Presidents' Children.
In The Raising of a President Doug Wead goes where no presidential biographer has gone before: straight to the childhood homes of America's greatest leaders. Wead analyzes the types of families in which they were reared, and offers fascinating psychological profiles based on his findings. Using presidential letters and personal correspondence -- as well as notes from his own private conversations with six presidential families -- Wead brilliantly portrays the early lives, loves, and political awakenings of George Washington; John Adams and the rest of America's first dynasty; Lincoln, who never betrayed his humble roots; Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, each raised in prominent political households; and the once and future commanders in chief Bush.
"Massively researched, superbly written, this is the long-awaited study of a difficult subject often hidden by presidents and their families. It is a piece of American history that solves many mysteries."
- Steven Lee Carson,
Chairman, White House Conference on Presidential Children
"Epic! A remarkable perspective, with unforgetable, haunting stories. One sees the American presidents through a more intimate lens. The true inside story of our most powerful families."
- Peter Schweizer,
Hoover Institute, Stanford University;
author of The Bushes: Portrait of a Dynasty
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Doug Wead is a respected presidential historian and New York Times bestselling author. He has been an advisor to two presidents and served on senior staff at the White House of George Herbert Walker Bush. Read the full biography.
Read about Doug Wead in Time Magazine
Read the Today Show Transcript
Doug Wead also speaks at locations around the world.
"Doug Wead is one of the most inspiring speakers, teachers, thinkers and writers of all time! I grow every time I hear him."
Mark Victor Hansen - Author, Chicken Soup for the Soul
