she rode with tolbert all over the city in an open-air motorcade. she briefed african leaders on her husband's upcoming trip to s to china and to russia. in this picture, as an act of goodwill, she participated in a tribal dancing performance and she allowed the african women to wrap a blue tie around her head and a tie-dyed dress over herself. pat nixon pretty much invented the first lady's diplomatic role. but i think this example from and shows that we actually do have a pretty good reason to care about what first ladies do , and why they do it. that's essentially what i set out to explore in my book. in my book, i argue the story of first ladies and women in america, two separate stories, cannot be understood apart from each other. i examine the first lady's changing role through the lens of what was going on in women's politics and history during the time they served. i think its innovation is i try to weave those two stories. on the one hand, first ladies, on the other hand, the story of american women, into one narrative. i start with lou hoo