The health of the first ladies : medical histories from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama / Ludwig M. Deppisch, M.D. ; foreword by Dr. Connie Mariano.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Deppisch, Ludwig M., 1938- author.

Mariano, Connie, 1955- author of foreword.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents' spouses--Health and hygiene--United States.

Presidents' spouses.

Presidents' spouses--United States--History.

Presidents' spouses--United States--Biography.

History.

United States.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

ix, 232 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2015]

Summary:

"The secrecy with which the White House has traditionally handled inquiries about the health of the president's wife is explored in detail; several First Ladies have been transparent about their illnesses in order to educate the public. This book also seeks to discern how the well-being of the First Lady influences presidential performance"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I. Before the advent of modern medicine

Martha Washington and Dolley Madison: the first first lady and the first mistress in the White House

Malaria in the White House: Abigail Adams, Sarah Polk and Lucretia Garfield

Letitia Tyler: a first lady dies in the White House

Retiring and sickly first ladies in antebellum Washington: Elizabeth Monroe, Anna Harrison, Margaret Taylor and Abigail Fillmore

Depression in the White House: the sad stories of Jane Pierce, Louisa Johnson Adams and Mary Todd Lincoln

Julia Grant and Lucy Hayes: healthy, supportive, socially successful and minimal political impact

Tuberculosis: the white plague kills Caroline Harrison and ravages other first ladies

Part II. The twentieth century

Ida McKinley and the audition of the White House physician

Strokes, stress and smokes: Nellie Taft and Pat Nixon

Ellen and Edith: Woodrow Wilson's two wives

Homeopathic physicians and the kidney disease of Florence Harding and Grace Coolidge

Mamie Eisenhower and menière's disease

Obstetrics in the White House: Jackie Kennedy, Frankie Cleveland, Edith Roosevelt and the second Mrs. Tyler

Twentieth century stalwarts: Lou Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman and Lady Bird Johnson

Part III. Modern times and into the twenty-first century

Breast cancer and other maladies: Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan

Modern-day first ladies: Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush and Michelle Obama

The diseases, burdens and confidentiality of first ladies.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780786474363

078647436X

OCLC:

898334320