Ultimate Insiders: White House Photographers and How They Shape History

by Kenneth T. Walsh

Virtually unknown to the public or historians, White House photographers have developed amazing access to the presidents of the United States over the past half-century. In this book, long-time White House correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh tells their stories, emphasizing observations about the presidents the photographers got to know so well along with other key figures close to those presidents―including the first ladies, members of Congress, and important world leaders. This book shows how official White House photographers have morphed into ultimate insiders within the American presidency, allowed to observe and take pictures of nearly everything Chief Executives do related to their job. The "photogs" have often become close friends with the presidents they have served. Using these bonds of trust and their own powers of observation, they created fundamental impressions and public images of the presidents through the art of photography. Acting not only as image makers but as visual historians, they have built pictorial chronicles of the presidency―intimate narratives of America’s leaders in public and private, showing how they dealt with everyday life as well as moments of great crisis and opportunity. From children playing in the Oval Office to decisions to send troops into harm’s way, images created by White House photographers can make or break a presidential administration as well as define an era.

Genres: Nonfiction, Photography

286 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ken Walsh's behind the scenes tour of the White House and resident Presidents is a fascinating read. Especially since the reader sees it all through the eyes of the photographers who capture those historical images we see over and over again.

The stories behind those iconic photos are revealing and provide perspective for that particular moment in time. Just to name a few: JFK & Ike discussing what went wrong at the Bay of Pigs; John Boy poking his head out of JFK's desk in the Oval Office; LBJ being sworn in with Jackie standing next to him; Bush 44 hearing about the 9/11 attack; Obama and Secretary Clinton watching the raid that killed Bin Laden.

Each chapter deals with a specific administration and the photographers appointed to the post of White House Photographer. Walsh combines personal interviews (when possible), with painstaking research into secondary sources to provide a rich and detailed narrative.

Walsh carefully describes the relationship between each President and his White House photographer(s) including the very important issue of access which varies from absolute to somewhat regimented. Then, there's Jimmy Carter who never appointed a White House photographer during his four-year administration and so the chapter on his term is very short and not many photos document his tenure.

Walsh also does interesting chapters on: 1.the photojournalists who cover the White House for specific publications 2. the evolving photography tools from the beginning of photography (big bulky cameras) to now with the digital tools that almost defy imagination 3. the future of White House photography.

For anyone who enjoys reading about U.S. Presidents, especially from those who work on the inside, this is a very informative and fun read. And the reader gets an up close look at how these leaders interact with professionals who can shape their visual image for history.

ARC provided by netgalley.com

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both photography fans and politicos alike. Kenneth Walsh does a wonderful job taking the politics out of each of the highlighted presidents since the 1970s or so and describing their relationship with the press and how each president used both the “official” White House photographer(s) and news media photographers to their advantage. Throughout the decades, photography has been used less as a documentation method of history and more for PR, especially with the advent of social media and the 24 hour news cycle, both of which Walsh describes extremely well.

[Jerry]

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[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but denser than expected and more like multiple mini academic essays with some repetition.