Inventing a Voice

Inventing a Voice is a comprehensive work on the lives and communication of twentieth-century first ladies. Using a rhetorical framework, the contributors look at the speaking, writing, media coverage and interaction, and visual rhetoric of American first ladies from Ida Saxton McKinley to Laura Bush. The women's rhetorical devices varied—some practiced a rhetoric without words, while others issued press releases, gave speeches, and met with various constituencies. All used interpersonal or social rhetoric to support their husbands' relationships with world leaders, party officials, boosters, and the public. Featuring an extensive introduction and chapter on the "First Lady as a Site of 'American Womanhood,'" Wertheimer has gathered a collection that includes the post-White House musings of many first ladies, capturing their reflections on public expectations and perceived restrictions on their communication.

Molly Meijer Wertheimer's Inventing A Voice is an excellent addition to the first lady research shelf. Addressing an area not usually examined by first lady historians, this ambitious book examines the rhetorical discourse of first ladies from Ida McKinley to Laura Bush. The essays are interesting and well-researched and provide perspective on the most difficult unpaid job in America., This collection offers new insights into the private and personal lives of America's First Ladies through an examination of their rhetorical discourse and image. Essential., By utilizing both traditional and alternative approaches to the study of mass communcation, the authors reveal the complexities of political outreach and exchange as conducted by the presidents' wives. First ladies, these authors maintain, have invented their voices with throught and care. They have not chosen simply between speech and silence, but rather among a diverse array of messages, means, and audiences., This book is a worthy and long-overdue addition to the growing base of scholarly literature on the first ladies. Wertheimer is to be commended for bringing together probing, original essays on every first lady of the twentieth century that examine the rhetorical styles and communication of those occupying this most dynamic and challenging 'office.' I enthusiastically recommend it to scholars of the presidency, communication, media studies, and women's studies, and also believe the book would make a fine supplemental text for the classroom, as students will find it to be quite readable and approachable!

Molly Meijer Wertheimer is professor of speech communications and affiliate associate professor of women's studies at Pennsylvania State University, Hazelton.