Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies

J.B. West served as chief usher of the White House from 1941 to 1969, running the household staff under Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. His memoir looks at each presidency from below stairs, through the First Ladies he worked for: Eleanor Roosevelt's brisk indifference to ceremony, Bess Truman's frugality, Mamie Eisenhower's pink bedroom, Jacqueline Kennedy's restoration of the mansion, and Lady Bird Johnson's habits. He describes the staff, the budgets, the guest lists and the quirks of running a residence that doubles as a national symbol.

Anyone curious about American presidential history in the middle of the century, and especially about the personal side of life in the executive mansion, will find it an easy, anecdotal read. It gives a servant's close-up view of how power and domestic life share one building.

Practical, outward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.

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