This stretch of years covers the residency of presidents from franklin and eleanor roosevelt when he started working there on march 1, 1941, through march 1, 1969, when he brought his wife to a luncheon served to the two of them by the white house chef upon his retirement. If you had been the books editor, what would you have changed. Upstairs at the white house is the history, memoir, social sciences and politics book which tells the stories inside of white house. Book club discussion questions downstairs at the white house. The book was loaned by a friend, who knows my reading habits.
During a span of twentyeight years, west was an assistant to, and chief usher of, the white house. A novel of first daughter alice roosevelt and became intrigued with life in the white house, so decided to investigate further by reading white house usher, j. Reading that memoir together with upstairs at the white house made me wonder if mr. Mary lynn kotz, the author of four books, is a freelance magazine journalist. Backstairs at the white house tv miniseries 1979 imdb. Read upstairs at the white house my life with the first ladies by j.
My life with the first ladies, by j b west with m l kotz, revd by e bombeck. Bradley jay, wbz news radio 1030 boston an amazon bes tseller i n political humor, history humor, presidents and heads of state, and teen and young adult president and first. Do you think that the book properly reflects the world of the early 1970s. Downstairs at the white house downstairs at the white house. This position directs the maintenance of 1600 pennsylvania avenue. Chief usher of the white house for three decades, j. The white house is the peoples house, but few americans have ever been inside it. West and mary lynn kotz is the author of this informative world. In this new york times bestseller, the white house chief usher for nearly three decades offers a behindthescenes look. Upstairs at the white house gives us a glimpse of what life was like in the private quarters of the white house, from roosevelt to nixon.
Theres not a whisper about any infidelity even with presidents who are notorious for it jfk, im looking at you, and he generally paints all the presidents and first ladies in a pretty flattering light. It helped that it was a completely fascinating book. What did you find to be dons most unusual or intriguing comments about the white house. Johnsons showerheads to the tragic the aftermath of john f. For the month of december, the admin team decided to step outside of the box when it came to our choice of book. My life with the first ladies with mary lynn kotz, documents his time in the executive mansion and is considered a good source of material on the first families he served.
My life with the first ladies kindle edition by west, j. My life with the first ladies kindle edition by west. The series, produced by ed friendly productions, is the story of behindthescenes workings of the white house and the relationship between the staff and the first families. Based on the true story of intern mimi alford and her 18 month affair with jfk in and out of the white house. The easy, conversational style that west uses in telling of his experiences while employed at the white house gives an even more intimate quality to the already familial nature of the. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading upstairs at the white house. Crim, and eventually rose to the position of chief usher. My life with the first ladies this was published in 1973 by j. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read. Summary of upstairs at the white house rakuten kobo. A fascinating behindthescenes look at life on pennsylvania avenue with americas first families, by the man who spent nearly three decades in their midst j. Pdf download summary of upstairs at the white house free. Upstairs at the white house my life with the first ladies book. Jb wests book upstairs at the white house is a gold mine of interesting facts and anecdotes that is sure to capture the interest of anyone who picks it up.
The narrator was good but i did have to run it at 1. Instaread summaries summary of upstairs at the white house. It gave a good look at how the different first ladies acted while in the white house and what they did to change it. Downstairs at the white house is a really cool book the story of a kid who kind of forrest gumps his way into all kinds of interesting situations. Its a room thats definitely not on the white house tour. Kennedys assassination, wests audiobook is an enlightening and. During the nixon administration an investigation found that west allowed friends into the white house for after hours tours. James bernard west july 27, 1912 july 18, 1983, known as j. Upstairs at the white house wisconsin public library. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Summary of entire book introduction to the important people in the book. Summary of entire book introduction to the important people in the book analysis of the themes, important people and author style. My life with the first ladies which covers life at the white house from fdr to nixon.
It was tucked into the northwest corner of the second floor next to the main stairway to the second floor and accessible only from the. If you were making a movie of downstairs at the white house, who would you cast as don. Youve just reminded me to pull it out and read it again. Alive with anecdotes ranging from the quotidian lyndon b. West, who began work at the white house as assistant to the chief usher in 1941, later became the chief usher and retired in 1969. West, chief usher of the white house, directed the operations and maintenance of 1600 pennsylvania avenueand coordinated its daily life.
My life with the first ladies by j b west, mary lynn kotz online at alibris. He began work there on march 1, 1941 as assistant to the chief usher, howell g. He is loyal to every president which arrives in white house for four years or eight years. Wests and mary lynn kotzs upstairs at the white house, provides a look into the lives and personalities from the roosevelts to the nixons. High on the third floor of the family quarters, the book room is a cozy hideaway, open to the first family, staffers and the presidents. Upstairs at the white house is definitely not a tellall kind of book, though. After finishing upstairs at the white house i came across a memoir released several years ago called, once upon a secret my affair with president john f. This is a summary and analysis of the book and not the original book. The paperback of the summary of upstairs at the white house. West, chief usher of the white house, directed the operations and maintenance of 1600 pennsylvania avenueand coordinated its daily lifeat the request of the president and his family. My life with the first ladies with mary lynn kotz, documents his time in the executive mansion and is. In upstairs at the white house, west offers an absorbing and novel glimpse at americas first families, from the roosevelts to the kennedys and the nixons. Tads bedroom relatively little is known about the bedroom of abraham lincolns youngest son.
Upstairs at the white house this book grabbed my attention and i couldnt stop listening till it was finished. The chief ushers at the white house, like the rest of the domestic staff, are d voted, professional and nonpolitical and work for one administration after the other. Reading a good book upstairs at the white house blogs. A fascinating behindthescenes look at life on penn. His book, upstairs at the white house, was first published in 1973. West 1912 1983 worked as a white house usher for 28 years. For a limited time only, head on over to where you can score the very highly rated and new york times best selling novel upstairs at the white house. For that reason, west was considered a blackmailsecurity risk and dismissed in 1969. Backstairs at the white house is a 1979 nbc television miniseries based on the book my thirty years backstairs at the white house by lillian rogers parks with frances spatz leighton.
The white house chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the white house. But mostly he repeats the same old stories about the white house china, nancys rodeo drive friends, and the sad little girl who grew up in bethesda. Upstairs at the white house download ebook pdf, epub. West shares anecdotes and littleknown historical accounts of his time with the first ladies. West chronicles his career at the white house and gives an inside. This resulted in some thefts of white house mementos and chinaware. Rather than reading a book built for people in business, we grabbed the highly acclaimed upstairs at the white house. West, was the 6th chief usher of the white house serving from 1957 to 1969. Upstairs at the white house by jb west rhapsody in books weblog. In this new york times bestseller, the white house chief usher for nearly three decades offers a behindthescenes look at americas first families.
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