We were joined on the show last week by Mark Farkas, executive producer from C-SPAN, to talk about a new book on every First Lady in U.S. history. Farkas was the executive producer for a 35-part TV series on the subject and helped shepard the book to completion.

The book, First Ladies: Influence and Image, is an inside look at the personal life of every first lady in American history, based on original interviews with major historians:

In this informative book...experts paint intimate portraits of all 45 first ladies—their lives, ambitions, and unique partnerships with their presidential spouses. Susan Swain and the C-SPAN team elicit the details that made these women who they were: how Martha Washington intentionally set the standards followed by first ladies for the next century; how Edith Wilson was complicit in the cover up of President Wilson’s incapacitation after a stroke; and how Mamie Eisenhower used the new medium of television to reinforce her, and her husband’s, positive public images.

It's a wonderful, up-close look at the women who have served in the role of First Lady, complete with illustrations and essential biographical details.

So which First Lady had a pet raccoon in the White House? You'll have to listen to the interview to find out:

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