New Releases

Throughout their married life, Ronald Reagan wrote tender love letters to his wife, Nancy. This playful anniversary note was written in March 1981, soon after Reagan was sworn in as president of the United States. During the fifty-two years of their marriage, Ronald and Nancy shared an extremely close, loving relationship. Even in the Oval Office, Reagan was dependent on his wife for support and counsel. “I miss her if she just walks out of the room,” he wrote. She, in turn, adored her “hero.” As president and first lady, Ronald and Nancy Reagan lived through eight tumultuous years ...

Today we revere George Washington as a hero who, by virtue of singular courage, determination, and integrity, oversaw the difficult birth of the United States of America. We tend to forget that, like most famous people, George owed his reputation to a combination of character and good luck. Martha was part of that good luck. Toward the end of Washington’s life, a testy old veteran of the Revolutionary War decided to take the famous ex-president down a peg. “What would you have been,” he snapped at Washington, “if you hadn’t married the Widow Custis?” It is possible that without ...

In 1915, less than a year after his wife Ellen died, President Woodrow Wilson met a charming widow named Edith Bolling Galt. To their surprise, they felt a connection. By June of that same year, Woodrow had proposed, telling Edith, “In this place, time is not measured by weeks, or months, or years, but by deep human experiences...” Woodrow’s statement would become true of both their life together and his tenure as president. Woodrow & Edith Wilson offers a behind-the-scenes look at this intriguing couple, from Woodrow’s leadership during World War I and his struggle to enact peace ...

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln are one of the most memorable and, in some ways, controversial couples in American history. Mary Todd, though, has been judged more harshly. Though pitied as the wife of a slain president, she has also been criticized as a nagging wife, an extravagant first lady, and even, at the end of her life, a crazy widow. Yet Mary was not as flawed, and Lincoln was not as saintly, as legend would have it seem. They were both imperfect human beings challenged by extraordinary circumstances: the death of children, the disintegration of their country, and the threat of ...

In 1902, on a train from New York City, Franklin Delano Roosevelt caught the eye of an elegant young lady. She was Eleanor Roosevelt, his distant cousin, who had just returned from school in Europe. From a shy, solemn girl, she had matured into a confident woman. Two years later, they were married. In 1932, at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin was elected president. Together, the couple worked tirelessly to improve social conditions and help the American people regain faith in themselves. Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt offers a behind-the-scenes look at this dynamic couple, from ...

Jack and Jackie Kennedy, the most glamorous president and first lady ever to live in the White House, were a charismatic couple and a superb political team. To many people in the 1960s, they seemed as dazzling as the prince and princess in a fairy tale. Revelations about the Kennedys’ private life have since led us to realize that the fairy tale was an illusion, yet their imperfections highlight their very real virtues: courage, grace, intelligence, and a capacity to grow. Many decades later, Jack and Jackie Kennedy continue to fascinate us. Presidents and First Ladies An intimate glimpse...

Before Raphael Warnock became a pastor and the first Black senator from Georgia, he was a little boy whose father told him to get up, get dressed, put on his shoes, and get ready! So that’s what he did, along every step of his journey. From his work boots to his marching band shoes to his shiny lace-ups, Senator Reverend Warnock found the right shoes to fit his feet and to carry him toward his dreams.