Real Life at the White House

Celebrate the 200th anniversary of the White House with this richly illustrated new book on America's, if not the world's, most famous residence. Abigail Adams dried her wash in the unfinished East Room. Benjamin Harrison left the lights burning all night because he feared being shocked by the newly installed electric switches. LBJ waged an obsessive battle with the water pressure in the shower, demanding shower heads on all sides. His successor, Richard Nixon, promptly had them removed. The White House has not always been the ideal home, and as each president moved in, he transformed the house in small and large ways to fit his family's needs.
Real Life at the White House celebrates two centuries of domestic life in this historic abode. In forty-two chapters - one for each administration - this stylish sourcebook takes us on an intimate tour of the daily life of each president and his family, bringing into view everything from china patterns to built-in closets (a luxury added during the Truman renovation), from plumbing to telephones (Coolidge refused to use the phone for business) from architectural structure to state dinners and family meals. Filled with hundreds of anecdotes, photographs, and presidential quotes from Washington(who never lived there but oversaw the first plans) to Clinton, this thoroughly engaging book captures the texture of presidential life while documenting the very human history of a house.

Father/daughter author team John and Claire Whitcomb have previously collaborated on Oh Say Can You See: UnexpectedAnecdotes about American History (1987) and GreatAmerican Anecdotes (1994). John Whitcomb has taught American history for 32 years. Claire Whitcomb has written extensively about houses and history while on the staffs of magazines such as House & Garden, HouseBeautiful and Victoria.

DATES INTRODUCTION 1. GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1789-1797: The Foundation Is Laid Creating Washington, D.C., 1790-1800 2. JOHN ADAMS, 1797-1801: The Great Castle 3. THOMAS JEFFERSON, 1801-1809: The Leveling Principles of Democracy 4. JAMES MADISON, 1809-1817: Conflagration The Rebuilding of the White House, 1814-1817 5. JAMES MONROE, 1817-1825: Good Feelings and Gold Spoons 6. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, 1825-1829: A Dull and Stately Prison 7. ANDREW JACKSON, 1829-1837: The People's Choice 8. MARTIN VAN BUREN, 1837-1841: Felled by a Gold Spoon 9. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, March 4-April 4, 1841: Mourning 10. JOHN TYLER, 1841-1845: Courtship 11.JAMES KNOX POLK, 1845-1849: Attention to Detail 12. ZACHARY TAYLOR, 1849-JULY 9, 1850: Tragedy Souvenir Hunters 13. MILLARD FILLMORE, July 1859-March 4, 1853: The Last Whig 14. FRANKLIN PIERCE, 1853-8157: Twice Forgotten 15. JAMES BUCHANAN, 1857-1861: The Eve of Rebellion 16. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1861-April 14, 1865: A Whited Sepulcure Civil War Washington 17. ANDREW JOHNSON, 1865-1869: Traitor to Patriot 18.ULYSSES S. GRANT, 1869-1877: A Bright and Beautiful Dream 19.RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES, 1877-1881: Lemonade 20. JAMES GARFIELD, March 4-September 19, 1881: Death Watch 21. CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR, 1881-1885: Tiffany Tastes 22/24. GROVER CLEVLAND, 1885-1889, 1893-1897: Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage Ponies, Snakes, Raccoons, and Other White House Pets 25. WILLIAM McKINLEY, 1897-1901: Better Than a Bishopric 26. THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 1901-1909: The Reign of Enthusiasm The 1902 Renovation 27. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT, 1909-1913: Not Where He Wanted to Be 28. WOODWARD WILSON, 1913-1921: Love and War 29. WARREN G. HARDING, 1921-1929: Playing the Part 30. CALVIN COOLIDGE, 1923-1929: For the Roaring Twenties, a Man of Quiet The 1927 Rooftop Renovation 31. HERBERT HOOVER, 1929-1933: And Then the Crash 32. FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, 1933-1945: Full House 33. HARRY S. TRUMAN, 1945-1953: What a Life! 34. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, 1953-1961: TV Dinners 35. JOHN F. KENNEDY, 1961-1963: Style White House China 36. LYNDON B. JOHNSON, 1963-1969: Power 37. RICAHRD M. NIXON, 1969-1974: Caught The Nixon Refurbishment: A Curator's View 38. GERALD R. FORD, 1974-1977: The Unelected President 39. JIMMY CARTER, 1977-1981: Down Home 40. RONALD REAGAN, 1981-1989: Perfectly Cast 41. GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, 1989-1993: Stepping Up to the Plate A House and Eighty-Two Acres 42. WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, 1993-2001: Peephole on the Presidency ACKNOWLEDGMENTS NOTES INDEX