Books Set in the United States: Washington, D.C.

Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies, by J.B. West (1973)

The author, J.B. West, entered the White House on March 1, 1941 as an assistant Usher to the White House.  He left the White House exactly 28 years later as the Chief Usher.  During those 28 years, he served six Presidents, or more precisely, the needs and demands of the First Ladies.

During those 28 years, the duties of the White House evolved from being somewhat quaint (Eleanor Roosevelt could run all over town without Secret Service on her tail), to one under a fishbowl with the advent of the television age.

The Chief Usher is responsible for running the White House, from its personnel, its budget, and all guests and visitors of the First Family.  Each First Lady had her own whims and tastes.  The White House staff must adjust.

Since the Chief Usher deals mostly with the First Lady, the book did not go into the politics of each of the six Presidents.  Instead, the book provides an insight into the inner working of the White House under the control of the First Lady.  Each presidential family had its own stamp that it incorporated into the White House.  Each family is given a budget within which to use to refurbish the home.

The White House, while sturdy on the outside, was crumbling on the inside. During a tea that Bess Truman was hosting, the chandelier nearly came crashing down on her guests.  It was soon discovered that a butler walking across the floor on the room above caused the swaying chandelier.  Engineers examined the building and discovered that it was very unstable.  During the Truman administration, the White House was gutted and all the internal rooms were rebuilt.  In addition, the iconic balcony on the White House was a Truman addition.

The author details the tastes of each First Lady.  Eleanor Roosevelt was a whirlwind, always on the go.  Bess Truman was a frugal Midwesterner.  Mamie Eisenhower, was a military wife through and through.  She came across as the least likable of all the First Ladies in the book.  She seemed to laughingly scold everyone.  Jackie Kennedy was a devoted mother with a keen sense of style.  She brought the White House to the public.  Lady Bird Johnson bowed to the wishes of her husband and children.  The author left during the Nixon Administration, and his portrait of Pat Nixon is short.

I found the book to be interesting.  It is a quick and easy read.

Read:  April 7, 2018

4 Stars