Best Little Stories from the White House 2nd edition

Best Little Stories From...

by C. Brian Kelly

A fascinating collection of more than 100 vignettes drawn from the life and times of America's most famous and legendary home. Here are stories about the house itself and how it has evolved over the years, as well as stories about its famous occupants.

Best Little Stories from the White House is a fascinating collection of more than 100 vignettes drawn from the life and times of America's most famous and legendary home. Here are stories about the house itself and how it has evolved over the years, as well as stories about its famous occupants.

For instance did you know:

Woodrow Wilson used to chase up and down the White House corridors playing "rooster fighting" with his daughter Nellie. Winston Churchill once suffered a minor heart episode while struggling with a stuck window in the White House. Among the menagerie tended by Theodore Roosevelt's children was the pony Algonquin, whom the siblings sneaked upstairs in the White House elevator to cheer up their sick brother. "Silent" Calvin Coolidge liked to play pranks on his staff - he would press the call buttons on this desk, then hide behind the door as Secret Service agents, secretaries, military aides, and other support staff streamed in to look for him. At Boris Yeltsin's first state dinner at the White House - the first state dinner for a non-Communist Russian leader since the nineteenth century - George and Barbara Bush presented him with an automatic tennis-ball server.

Also included are stories of the experiences of several first ladies, including Dolley Madison, Harriet "Hal" Lane (niece of James Buchanan), Mary Lincoln, Jacqueline Kennedy, Barbara Bush, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Laura Bush.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Ebooks

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 1992

About the author

C. BRIAN KELLY, a prize-winning journalist, is president and founder of Montpelier Publishing and a columnist and editor emeritus for Military History magazine. He also is a lecturer in newswriting at the University of Virginia. Kelly's articles have appeared in Reader's Digest, Friends, Yankee, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, and other magazines, and he is the author of several books on American history.

Reviews

[Ines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro pieno di aneddoti, episodi e fatti particolari accaduti ad alcuni dei presidenti degli Stati Uniti d'america......a me è piaciuto molto, per niente lento ne ripetitivo.
Una piccola perla per chi ama la Storia e la formazione degli USA

[Randy Elster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read of random stories from the White House, from the poignant to the amusing. The stories are roughly grouped into three headings: Beginnings, Middles, and Ends. Plus at the back of the book there are quick bios/stories about the first ladies. Each story is short--just a couple of pages. A great book to just pick up and read for a couple of minutes at a time.

I picked this book up at a used book store (2nd & Charles in Kennesaw, GA) and the bonus is that it's signed by the author.

[Kit McAlear · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. It’s been sitting in my house for ages and I always was interested in it, but never got around to it.

The content of the book is not the problem. The anecdotes and facts presented were interesting and often amusing. However the format and structure of this book was disastrous.

For a book that spans over two hundred years of history, you would think the authors would have taken more care to present the short stories chronologically and with smoother transitions. I’m someone who prides themselves on being a US history buff and who at one point in my academic career could recite the presidents in order with their corresponding terms. However, I was often confused about where in history the story was being presented and how it fit in with the rest of the White House chronicles.

There are sections entitled “Generally Speaking” which describe births, deaths, marriages, pets, etc. these sections were the most frustrating of all as they held no chronological order and were sprinkled throughout the book, interrupting the flow of historical anecdotes.

I think this book could be greatly improved with a simple restructuring. The easiest and most sensible way to write a book that spans over such a large historical timeline would be to break it down by President. I think these minor improvements would make this book a much more enjoyable and less frustrating read.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of those books that I started reading, put it down wishing it read differently, picked it back up, regained my interest, repeat. I did eventually finish it and am glad that I did because section on the First Ladies and the legacy they left behind was quite interesting. However, I was disappointed by the amount of gossip. I had thought that this book would be more about the families that lived in the White House and how they made it home ... the rooms that each family used, what important things happened in these rooms, etc.

The writing on Lincoln and his premonitions was interesting but there was nothing on the home that Jefferson created when he become President.

I can only imagine what the authors would have written about #45.

[Bailey Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love presidential history, so although I enjoyed and appreciated this “behind the scenes” story book, it was just okay. From time to time, the writing seemed too “conversational”; it seemed sophomoric.

There were also inconsistencies. For example, one part of the book challenges Dolley Madison as the savior of Washington’s portrait, while another said she was...

In the section about the First Ladies (which is commendable), why talk about President Clinton’s infidelity and it’s impact on Hillary, but not talk about Jack Kennedy’s impact on Jackie?

Liked the stories, but the inconsistency and writing bothered me. Book could have been better written.

[Jo-Ann Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful little book with short stories about the presidents and first ladies and The People's House. Very entertaining and perfect for those situations where you want to read and finish something in a short amount of time so you don't have to remember where you were the next time you pick up the book.

The information is taken from other published works so many I had come across before but there was enough new information to keep me interested.

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts about life in the White House.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories, did not care for the style of writing.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not get far, this is amazingly dull. Dull stories, told in dull ways.

[Fred Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories not normally known.

[Shelly Dabbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very informative. I learned so much about each president & first lady in it. Some behind the scene looks in to the lives of the people who lived & worked there.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book though a little dry in places and sometimes they repeated what had been told in a story earlier. This is a great look at the inside of our presidents and their wives.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it fascinating to learn little tidbits about the presidents of the United States- that are not so well-known. In the back there are stores about the first ladies as well- things we don't often hear- things that they did in helping their husbands the Presidents.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you enjoy history (like i do) then this is an enjoyable read. quite interesting and personable look into the lives of 41 of the most famous men in american history. the section about the first ladies is also entertaining to read. well written and well researched.

[Karl Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book, not just because I like history, but because it was well-written and entertaining. Some very interesting stories about out presidents are included, as well as some neat info about first ladies.