First Lady Betty Ford will long be remembered for her active support of the Equal Rights Amendment, her struggles with breast cancer and substance abuse, and her later involvement with the addiction treatment center that bears her name. But perhaps more than these, Betty Ford will stand as a paragon of candor and courage, an outspoken woman whose public positions did not always conform with those of her husband. An independent, free spirit who regularly ranks among the most-admired First Ladies, Betty Ford is considered by many to be the most outspoken since Eleanor Roosevelt: she spoke her mind publicly and frequently, sometimes sending the president's political advisors running for cover. This is the first book to address the successes and failures of her advocacy, the effect of her candor, and the overall impact of her brief tenure as First Lady. John Robert Greene traces Betty Ford's problems and triumphs from her childhood through her husband's entire political career, including his controversial presidency, which thrust her into an unrelenting media spotlight. He then tells how she confronted her personal demons and became a symbol of courage for women throughout the nation. Contrasting the sometimes harsh assessments of historians with the respect in which she continues to be held, Greene examines Betty Ford's outspoken opinions on abortion and women's rights and suggests that her views hampered Gerald Ford's ability to forge a coalition within the GOP and may well have been a factor in his presidential defeat. Afterwards, as the author highlights, Betty Ford remained a role model for people suffering from addictions and personal pain, and made seminal contributions in the field of public advocacy for women's health issues and substance abuse. The Betty Ford Center especially stands as a lasting tribute to her foresight and caring. Greene concludes that, while Gerald Ford wanted to restore an aura of honesty to the presidency, in many ways it was his wife who accomplished this instead. His book, the first to draw upon her papers at the Ford Library, captures her courage and candor and tells why she will always be remembered - for who, not what, she was.
Show moreFirst Lady Betty Ford will long be remembered for her active support of the Equal Rights Amendment, her struggles with breast cancer and substance abuse, and her later involvement with the addiction treatment center that bears her name. But perhaps more than these, Betty Ford will stand as a paragon of candor and courage, an outspoken woman whose public positions did not always conform with those of her husband. An independent, free spirit who regularly ranks among the most-admired First Ladies, Betty Ford is considered by many to be the most outspoken since Eleanor Roosevelt: she spoke her mind publicly and frequently, sometimes sending the president's political advisors running for cover. This is the first book to address the successes and failures of her advocacy, the effect of her candor, and the overall impact of her brief tenure as First Lady. John Robert Greene traces Betty Ford's problems and triumphs from her childhood through her husband's entire political career, including his controversial presidency, which thrust her into an unrelenting media spotlight. He then tells how she confronted her personal demons and became a symbol of courage for women throughout the nation. Contrasting the sometimes harsh assessments of historians with the respect in which she continues to be held, Greene examines Betty Ford's outspoken opinions on abortion and women's rights and suggests that her views hampered Gerald Ford's ability to forge a coalition within the GOP and may well have been a factor in his presidential defeat. Afterwards, as the author highlights, Betty Ford remained a role model for people suffering from addictions and personal pain, and made seminal contributions in the field of public advocacy for women's health issues and substance abuse. The Betty Ford Center especially stands as a lasting tribute to her foresight and caring. Greene concludes that, while Gerald Ford wanted to restore an aura of honesty to the presidency, in many ways it was his wife who accomplished this instead. His book, the first to draw upon her papers at the Ford Library, captures her courage and candor and tells why she will always be remembered - for who, not what, she was.
Show moreJohn Robert Greene is the Paul J. Schupf Professor of History and Humanities at Cazenovia College. Among his other books are The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford and The Presidency of George Bush (see page 49), and The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Administrations.
"Betty Ford was not only an outspoken supporter of ERA, but she was
also a dancer, a career woman, a divorcee, and a supporter of
family planning, when all such things were more than uncommon for
the wife of a Republican President of the United States. These
fascinating revelations ought to be better-known; Green's laudable
goal is that, starting with this book, they will."--Journal of
International Women's Studies"With this brief and very readable
volume, Greene offers the first serious, scholarly biography of
Betty Ford. This study is long overdue."--Michigan Historical
Review"A well-paced, insightful, and sympathetic account of Betty
Ford's two great starring roles as the first feminist First Lady
and the iconic celebrity who endured the all-too-typical descent
into addiction, followed by therapeutic redemption. Greene
integrates Betty Ford's story into the larger dramas of the Ford
presidency, as well as modern America in general. Brief, punchy,
well-organized. . . . All should salute Greene for producing a most
welcome biography of a woman who, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes
willingly, helped Americans redefine the boundaries of public
discourse while expanding their expectations for the difficult role
of the presidential spouse."--History: Reviews of New Books"An
affirmative account of the life of a popular and controversial
First Lady. . . . Greene provides a wealth of carefully researched
detail about the conflicts between members of her staff that also
created tension. . . . Greene's account is frank enough and
thorough."--Publishers Weekly
"Greene's engaging biography gives Betty Ford her rightful place in
history--as an outspoken first lady whose public positions did not
always conform to her husband's and as a courageous advocate for
solutions to breast cancer and substance abuse."--Susan Hartmann,
author of From Margin to Mainstream: American Women and Politics
since 1960"Betty Ford was like no other First Lady before or since,
and John Robert Greene shows why."--Herbert Parmet, author of
Presidential Power from the New Deal to the New Right"A fitting
tribute to a free spirit and most indomitable First Lady."--James
Cannon, author of Time and Chance: Gerald Ford's Appointment with
History
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