The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower

The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower is a nonfiction account of life in the White House. From HarperCollins:

"A remarkable history with elements of both 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 First Family.

These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight 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 I Liked: Reading about the changes that occurred in the White House staffing and even the decorations between each First Family was really interesting. I think most Americans think of the White House as being unchanged from when the first presidents lived there and that simply isn't true. It was also neat to hear about the different jobs that each of the members of the White House staff had to perform, sometimes under enormous pressure. They weren't just making beds or holding doors open. They had to remain in the house for hours until on end, past the end of their workday a lot of time. And if there was an event at the White House? They pretty much all had to contribute and work some part of it.

What I Didn't Like: This may have been the result of my expectations, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more insight into recent events from the staff point of view. Brower touched on things like the Kennedy assassination and 9/11, but not on more recent things that have happened with the Obama's. Being the first African-American family in the White House is a huge deal and I was hoping for a little bit more of an insight into how the staff felt serving them.


Overall, if you like nonfiction novels and are interested in American history from a different perspective, I would definitely look into this book.

Any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com


Thanks for reading!