Butlers, plumbers, doormen, florists, the Executive Pastry Chef: these are just some of the hundreds of people that work at the White House for the President of the USA.
They’re legendarily discreet, but Kate Andersen Brower has interviewed many of them to present this not-quite oral history of the post-war Presidency.
Hardback by Harper Collins, priced £18.99 (ebook £9.51)
Their anecdotes about the men who have held the job and their families are arranged in loose thematic chapters that continually skip through time, but it’s easy to think juicier stories are left untold.
For the most part, they are just what you expect (JFK had affairs, the Clintons argued during the Lewinsky scandal, the Obamas danced to Mary J Blige), although there is some fresh perspective and Lyndon Baines Johnson’s search for a powerful shower certainly was a surprise.
But if politics is show business for ugly people, then The Residence is probably a gossip magazine to idly flick through.
Book Review: The Residence by Kate Andersen Brower
