[Read by Karen White]
A remarkable history with elements of In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.
America’s first families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the president and the first family.
These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, 3 elevators, and 8 staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love.
Combining incredible first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members — many speaking for the first time — with archival research, Kate Andersen Brower tells their story. She reveals the intimacy between the first family and the people who serve them, as well as tension that has shaken the staff over the decades. From the housekeeper and engineer who fell in love while serving President Reagan to Jackie Kennedy’s private moment of grief with a beloved staffer after her husband’s assassination to the tumultuous days surrounding President Nixon’s resignation and President Clinton’s impeachment battle, The Residence is full of surprising and moving details that illuminate day-to-day life at the White House.
What really goes on at the White House A serious, insightful, meticulously documented peek at life in our White House. And a fun to read, hard to put down tale that includes, from over the years, information both from the transient “Boss” of the USA and his immediate family as well as from the more permanent staffers who allow the White House to function.
An American Downton Abbey! I love this book….very well researched and reads just like an American Downton Abbey! It’s hard to believe that these wonderful insider stories have been hidden all this time. What a loving, hard working group of people . They deserve to be recognized for all the support they give to our First Families .
The perfect Mother’s Day gift This is such a readable book. I just bought three copies for my mom and sister and mother-in-law. The perfect Mother’s Day gift. There are so many amazing stories. It’s not all about gossip either. There’s a story about 9/11 and how there was a barbecue planned at the White House and there were so many tables and chairs set out for the event. Since the White House was a target, they had to evacuate all of the staff. People were running out of the White House to safety. They were terrified, as I…