The President's House : A First Daughter Shares the History and Secrets of the World's Most Famous Home

Rating:
Summary: fluffy but fun look at America?s showcase home
Review: Author and a former first daughter (unbelievably over fifty years ago) Margaret Truman provides the perfect combination to escort readers to an insider tour of the White House (past and present). The best-selling writer provides numerous anecdotes from history as she escorts her visitors through the kitchen, garden and the famous social functions, etc. The book also contains chapters on the household, political and security staffs, the press corps, and White House weddings. Of course other sections provide insight into the first families including pets.

Though history buffs will think it is too much fluff the former first daughter turned novelist provides a fun look at America's showcase home over the two plus centuries of residents. Readers will enjoy this book written in a light-hearted upbeat manner enhanced by color and black and white photos.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: fluffy but fun look at America¿s showcase home
Review: Author and a former first daughter (unbelievably over fifty years ago) Margaret Truman provides the perfect combination to escort readers to an insider tour of the White House (past and present). The best-selling writer provides numerous anecdotes from history as she escorts her visitors through the kitchen, garden and the famous social functions, etc. The book also contains chapters on the household, political and security staffs, the press corps, and White House weddings. Of course other sections provide insight into the first families including pets.

Though history buffs will think it is too much fluff the former first daughter turned novelist provides a fun look at America's showcase home over the two plus centuries of residents. Readers will enjoy this book written in a light-hearted upbeat manner enhanced by color and black and white photos.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: The Story of the White House, By A Famous First Daughter
Review: Former First Daughter Margaret Truman offers the reader an entertaining, anecdotal account of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Her focus is on the White House as a home, though its role as a seat of power is not neglected. As a result, you can expect to learn more here about the first wives, children, doormen, Secret Service agents, maids, gardeners, cooks and others who have lived and labored behind these famous walls..although the presidents themselves aren't entirely overlooked.

The exterior the White House presents to the world has changed little in two centuries...but the interior has been undergoing an almost constant process of destruction and renewal. We learn about the 1814 torching of the president's house by invading British troops; the addition of greenhouses, which gave way to the west wing at the beginning of the 20th century; almost constant sprees of redecoration and reconfiguring of the public and family rooms, all of which culminated in the complete reconstruction of the White House during the Truman years.

There are chapters about the rambunctious children, the unusual pets, the glamorous weddings, riotous inaugural balls and other historic events that have enlivened this historic mansion. You will get a sense of the behind-the-scenes preparation that goes into welcoming a visiting head of state or similar dignitary. There are two sections of illustrations, one in color, that further help the reader share in Truman's wonder and appreciation of this historic house.

Rating:
Summary: Inside the White House by a Famous First Daughter
Review: Margaret Truman is, of course, the daughter of President Harry Truman and his wife Bess. She is the most prolific writing child of any American Chief Executiv. Margaret Truman has written several mysteries and histories about life in Washington which are written in a popular style easy to understand and enjoy.
As Ms. Truman opens the door to our White House she lets us discover the fascinating men and women who have lived at 1600
Pennyslvania Avenue. She discusses such various topics as:

1. White House Weddings.
2. Relations between the Presidents and the Media
3. The Children of Presidents who have lived in the White House
4. White House Presidential Pets
5. The kooks and crazies who have tried (and in some cases been successful) in assasinating our chief executive.
6. She describes the growth of the White House from its first occupancy by John and Abigal Adams in 1800. The history of the White House building, grounds, gardens and additions are discussed.
7. How the routine of a White House day changed with every administration-when they awoke to what they liked for dinner!
Ms. Truman has written in a charmingly simple style which is nevertheless based on her well done historical research. This is a book anyone regardless of age or party affiliation could enjoy.
I recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: The President's House : A First Daughter Shares the History
Review: Serving as a national monument, home, and goldfish bowl to two centuries of presidential families, the White House would have much to say if its walls could talk. The former first daughter channels some of its story, taking the listener behind the scenes for a fascinating chronicle of her former home and its denizens-the Presidents, First Ladies, children, pets, staff, dignitaries, and ordinary people who walked its halls and garden paths (did you know the White House is bibbed by an 18-acre private park?). Truman regales us with anecdotes, descriptions, and her own memories, conveyed with the zest of a raconteur and the affection of an insider. Sandra Burr's clear, untheatrical diction makes one feel as if Truman herself is telling the tale. The savvy listener will want to borrow the book concurrently since it is enhanced with 75 captioned color and black-and-white photos. This sturdy library edition will survive numerous circulations. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: A Good Beginning. . .
Review: This book certainly reminds one of Mrs. Daniel's mysteries. I have read her various publications on her parents and I consider them to be better reads.

However, Mrs. Daniel does an excellent job of organizing her work, and the break-down of the chapters here is excellent. I didn't read the book in order, but picked the chapters in which I was most interested first!

I'm a history reader, though, and found very little in this book that was news. Save her personal recollections, I think I've seen this information elsewhere, and in greater detail. The book is very 'readable', though, and I managed to polish it off in two evenings, easily. This will likely broaden its appeal to its intended audience.

I can't say the book is a disappointment. I didn't expect a more academic volume. The expression 'history lite', used by Publisher's Weekly, is appropriate. For those who ordinarily don't read history, it will be pleasurable. For those of us who read history, a look elsewhere is recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Beginning. . .
Review: This book certainly reminds one of Mrs. Daniel's mysteries. I have read her various publications on her parents and I consider them to be better reads.

However, Mrs. Daniel does an excellent job of organizing her work, and the break-down of the chapters here is excellent. I didn't read the book in order, but picked the chapters in which I was most interested first!

I'm a history reader, though, and found very little in this book that was news. Save her personal recollections, I think I've seen this information elsewhere, and in greater detail. The book is very 'readable', though, and I managed to polish it off in two evenings, easily. This will likely broaden its appeal to its intended audience.

I can't say the book is a disappointment. I didn't expect a more academic volume. The expression 'history lite', used by Publisher's Weekly, is appropriate. For those who ordinarily don't read history, it will be pleasurable. For those of us who read history, a look elsewhere is recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A fun and insightful read....
Review: While Margaret Truman isn't on the same level as Ken Burns, Shelby Foote or other historians her books are a fun read. Who better to tell you about the White House than someone whose parents spent seven years in residence (although due to renovations it was not technically seven years - they spent some time at the Blair House).

She crafts a nice balance between telling you little known stories about the former first families while sprinkling in her opinions; much like a chef would throw a dash of spice into a recipe. One of the most pleasant surprises is that she is bi-partisan in her narrative. If she is wry in her observations about some of the first families, it is based more on her observations of character rather than party loyalty. She speaks glowingly of some of the Republican inhabitants - most notably the Coolidges.

I definitely recommend this book for those who love historical trivia. Plus much of the reading material (White House pets for example)can be shared with kids for those times that you'd like bedtime reading to be a little more stimulating than "Captain Underpants" or "The Day my Butt went Psycho"