Are You Prepared for the Storm of Lov..., Dorothy Hoobler
Are You Prepared for the Storm of Lov..., Dorothy Hoobler
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Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?
Letters of Love and Lust from the White House

Author: Dorothy Hoobler

Narrator: Danny Campbell, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Gibson Frazier, Lisa Larsen, Leon Nixon, Eunice Wong

Unabridged: 8 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/06/2024


Synopsis

An “irresistibly readable” (David Michaelis, New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor) collection of love letters by American presidents to their wives—and lovers—revealing an intimate and deeply personal side of our leaders.

Our presidents loom so large in history that we often forget they are human. Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making? is a collection of handwritten love letters that offers a surprising and intimate portrait of the men who occupied the White House. From George Washington to Barack Obama, these are not the presidents we see in history books. “In this varied (and variously entertaining) assortment of excerpted letters…a careful reader will see in the decorous prose of…George Washington and Thomas Jefferson that the hearts of real men beat beneath their stiff frock coats, too.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Some of the letters are incredibly romantic—and surprisingly so.

It took Richard Nixon years to convince Pat Ryan to marry him: “Someday let me see you again? In September? Maybe?”

Others will make you blush.

Staid-looking Woodrow Wilson, about to return home from a trip, warned his wife of ten years: “Do you think you can stand the unnumerable kisses and the passionate embraces you will receive? Are you prepared for the storm of lovemaking with which you will be assailed?” In letters to one of his mistresses, Warren G. Harding referred to his penis as “Jerry”—letters which would later be used to blackmail him.

All the letters show the writer at his most vulnerable. We see letters of sorrow written about the death of a child or during a time of separation while the president was away on the battlefield. This “lovely book, stuffed with romantic details…[is] a helpful reminder that historical figures are also human beings: petty, sappy, and flawed” (The New York Times Book Review), revealing a never-before-seen side of the men we still honor today.

About Dorothy Hoobler

Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler have written many award-winning books for adults and young adults. Their young adult mystery set in medieval Japan won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Their ten-book series on American ethnic groups, published by Oxford University Press, received many favorable reviews from such publications as The New York Times and the Miami Herald. The Hooblers’ other books for adults include The Monsters, which tells the story of Mary Shelley and the four people who helped inspire her classic novel Frankenstein; and The Crimes of Paris, a collection of famous French crimes that was excerpted in Vanity Fair. Dorothy has a master’s degree in American history from New York University. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Dana

I started this book with high expectations in spite of the reviews I saw online, which is something I tend not to do often, unless the premise sounds very interesting. And it did! Letters from US presidents? And about their love and sex lives? Count me in! Needless to say, I was quite disappointed b......more

Goodreads review by Matthew

I'm gonna steal some of the delightfully antiquated language used by 200 year old presidents to score a date. Lots of really poignant descriptions of love, loss, yearning. I wish I wrote people like this. Also some awful people, odd relationship dynamics. Was hoping for more juicy details. Closest you......more

I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, but I enjoyed it because I learned so many fun tidbits about all of the presidents. I’m always trying to color in their personalities and their personal letters are helpful in that particular endeavor.......more

I found this a fun and quick read with a very funny (though a bit sensationalized) title. There's not a lot of analysis happening here, but the authors don't promise that-- they claim their goal is to show a different side of the presidents, and it does do that. Who knew Taft was such a sweetheart? S......more