The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

 This was a selection by someone in my Monterey Book Club, and I'm glad I waited to get it from the library, because it isn't one I would ever want to give away or reread.

That is not to say, though, that there isn't some merit to the book. I liked how it shared the complexities of the way politics and the U.S. government work. Mary McLeod Bethune is a black academician who becomes a civil rights leader and a good friend of Mrs. Roosevelt. There was a lot I didn't know about the Roosevelt family, for example that Eleanor was related to Teddy and was a Roosevelt herself before she married Franklin.

I also knew that there was speculation about her having a lesbian relationship and marital problems, and this book took that theme and ran with it. It got a little tiresome to read about some of these problems. What was interesting to me, though, was the way that Eleanor supported Civil Rights causes and tried her best to persuade her husband to support them as well. I also learned more about the New Deal and its sweeping legislation. 

What is disappointing, though is the total lack of credible citations or sources or bibliography. In the end notes, both authors claim to have read hundreds of articles, etc., yet there isn't one citation. So it's kind of impossible to separate fact from fiction. 

The authors also claim that their own black/white relationship grew as they discussed difficult racial issues as they co-authored this book. However, the racial aspects of the story are not particularly nuanced. They did do a good job, though, of reflecting the oft-made mistake of whites wanting to make decisions for blacks, and of token black appointments with no power or authority. That was felt authentic and unfortunately true. 

One of my neighbors said she disliked the book so much she couldn't even read past the first couple of pages! She doesn't even want to attend the discussion, which makes me wonder what she's all about. She checked in with me to see how I liked it, but I hadn't begun it yet... Now I'm curious to see if it's the sympathetic portrayal of blacks that got to her or what??? It will be interesting to find out!

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

 Several women in our Monterey Book Club mentioned at our Christmas luncheon at Bloomington Country Club that they had enjoyed this book. While we were deciding on a process to choose this year's books, we all agreed to read this one for January and make our final decisions for the rest of the year at our January meeting. So I put in a request at the library for this book, and happily, it came through in time for me to read it.

I liked the setting of the 50s, of course, and all the attendant TV, music, and food references for that time period. The boarding house with all of its interesting characters were also fun to read about. The mysterious murders unfold along the way, and in the end are justified because the two murdered characters were so despicable. This is not reality, but it's kind of a fun ride. This is not deep or compelling reading, but it is fun and mostly fairly light.

There are two historical situations that I was unfamiliar with. One is that the Russians set up a whole mock American city in order to train their spies. Russians learned to speak flawless English, shop in supermarkets, etc., so they could easily fit in as natives in America. That was fascinating to read about, and also the shock that these spies were astounded to learn that what they actually found in America was even better than the mock up version, and many apparently defected.

The other situation was a mock invasion in Texas where a whole town reacted to a mock Russian invasion. It was called Operation Longhorn. I'm still hazy on why this was done or what the learning was supposed to be, but how weird! This book also illustrated the panic that was rampant among people accused of being Communists or gay; the McCarthy era. And Edward R. Murrow makes a brief appearance calling him out on his newscast. It made me think, I wish a respected Republican would do the same with Trump! Some are trying, but there is so much hate flying in both directions that we don't hear them...They don't stand out. 

At any rate, this story was enjoyable with strong and interesting characters. Would I seek out other work by this author? Probably not...but maybe. I really liked the author's notes at the back explaining some more of the historical context and who was real and who was fictional. It's a fun way to learn some history, for sure.