#1 New York Times Bestseller
"A revealing look at life inside the White House. . . it's Downton
Abbey for the White House staff."-- The Today Show
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. In her runaway bestseller, former White House
correspondent Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain on the world's
most famous address. 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.
