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Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by [J. B. West, Mary Lynn Kotz]

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J. B. West

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

by J. B. West (Author), Mary Lynn Kotz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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In this New York Times bestseller, the White House chief usher for nearly three decades offers a behind-the-scenes look at America’s first families.
J. B. West, chief usher of the White House, directed the operations and maintenance of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—and coordinated its daily life—at the request of the president and his family. He directed state functions; planned parties, weddings and funerals, gardens and playgrounds, and extensive renovations; and, with a large staff, supervised every activity in the presidential home. For twenty-eight years, first as assistant to the chief usher, then as chief usher, he witnessed national crises and triumphs, and interacted daily with six consecutive presidents and first ladies, as well as their parents, children and grandchildren, and houseguests—including friends, relatives, and heads of state.

J. B. West, whom Jackie Kennedy called “one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met,” provides an absorbing, one-of-a-kind history of life among the first ladies. Alive with anecdotes ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt’s fascinating political strategies to Jackie Kennedy’s tragic loss and the personal struggles of Pat Nixon, Upstairs at the White House is a rich account of a slice of American history that usually remains behind closed doors.

Print length

495 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Open Road Media
Publication date

October 1, 2013
File size

22237 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“I think he is one of the most extraordinary men I have ever met.” —Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
“If he were at court he would be called Head Chamberlain. . . . He finds solutions to so many problems with quiet efficiency.” —Lady Bird Johnson in A White House Diary

“This memoir by the former Chief Usher (i.e. majordomo) of the White House is several Truman-balconies above all those others.” —Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

J. B. West (1912–1983), chief usher of the White House—or executive director of the executive mansion and grounds—was once called “the most powerful man in Washington next to the president.” Discreet and witty, he supervised the large permanent staff that provided for every personal want and need for six presidents and first ladies, including at state dinners, weddings, and funerals, redecorating the facilities for each family and tending to every special request. He served first as assistant to the chief usher and then as chief usher after retiring as a high-level civilian officer of the US Navy. A native Iowan, his White House tenure (1941–1969) followed a career in the Veterans Administration. Upstairs at the White House was published in 1973 and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for months, with more than five hundred extraordinarily positive reviews, editions in seven languages, and more than two million copies sold in the US across hardcover and paperback formats.

Mary Lynn Kotz, the author of four books, is a freelance magazine journalist based in Washington, DC. A contributing editor of ARTnews, she has written many cover stories, including “A Day with Georgia O’Keeffe.” Her book Rauschenberg: Art and Life is the biography of the late American artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008), about whom she has given illustrated lectures at more than seventy museums and festivals, including at the 2009 Venice Biennale.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00F3QYL06
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media; Reprint edition (October 1, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 1, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 22237 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 495 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #9,534 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in Biographies of US Presidents
- #15 in Add Narration for $3.99 or Less
- #21 in 20th Century History of the U.S.

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J. B. West

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Upstairs at the White House was published in 1973 and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for months, with more than five hundred extraordinarily positive reviews, editions in seven languages, and more than two million copies sold in the US across hardcover and paperback formats.

Customer reviews

5 star		68%
4 star		23%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Lajitasgal

I really enjoyed this book!

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2017

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I'm usually not a big fan of non-fiction books, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The author has a very personable way of writing that made me feel like I was having a nice, informal dinner with him and his wife. I also appreciated the fact that this wasn't a tell-all type of book that tried to show the reader the ugly side of the occupants of the White House. Instead, it struck me as being extremely truthful and down to earth. It was written with great warmth and respect. As a result Mr. West has shown the first ladies and their families as human beings, and made them very accessible to those of us who will never find ourselves serving in any comparable position. I'm old enough to remember the Eisenhower presidency, and to have lived through the Cuban missile crisis and Kennedy assassination. As a native Texas I remember very well Lyndon Johnson's presidency and his big personality, as well as Lady Bird's highly-successful beautification efforts. But these weren't the only reasons the book made me quite nostalgic. We now live in an age where everyone seems determined to undermine each other and treat opponents as sub-human. It was good to remember the times when opponents could duke it out during the day but then go out for dinner or drinks, or have a meal at each other's homes while the kids played together. I wish Mr. West was still alive so I could hope he would see this review and know that his stories have touched my heart.

256 people found this helpful

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Carole P. Roman

Interesting book about the families that occupied in the White ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2017

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Interesting book about the families that occupied in the White House from Presidents Roosevelt to Nixon. JB West, the head usher, gives an insider's look at the First Ladies and the way they made the house their own. Fascinating on many levels, it's a unique microcosm of our changing society. The shift in social status and the way things are done, as the Roosevelt's upper crust lifestyle exits, compared to the bread and butter of Harry Truman's middle America. Mami Eisenhower's velvet gloves fifties style housewife, contrasts Jackie Kennedy's upper crust finishing school that brought a new elegance to the White House. Everything is lovingly detailed from the strange requests, the guest and parties, births and deaths, making each First Family unique. This book concentrates on women thrust into a peculiar position, torn from their regular lives, to create the illusion of normalcy for their families, all while being a role model for a country that has not quite figured out exactly what they are supposed to do.

97 people found this helpful

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M. A Newman

History through the eyes of J.B. West

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2018

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An extremely entertaining book on the comings and goings at the White House. To be honest, this book, though it focuses exclusively on the domestic arrangements of Presidents Roosevelt through Nixon, this is also a good depiction of how any federal agency functions. There are people who cultivate loyalty with their staff (the Trumans and Kennedys), who tend to leave all too soon. There are the somewhat crazy eccentrics (Mamie Eisenhower, who once mistook a bottle of ink for Vick’s vapor rub) who require looking after, a lot of looking after. The difficult prima donas (LBJ and his quest for a shower that resembled in effects a car wash). The over taxed and under focused (the Roosevelts). The various interpersonal relationships by the staff are also very familiar. Like all government agencies there is never enough money, pointless rules to follow (all White House china damaged must be smashed and tossed off Hayne’s Point), and daily the staff must perform miracles in as inefficient manner as possible. Pay is never consistent with private industry.

J.B. West presided over the circus that was the White House for 28 years and with the pre-Reagan civil service pension was able to retire after only 30 years of government service. This book is very anecdotal. It is clear his favorite occupant was Jacqueline Kennedy whose restoration of the White House occupied Mr. West for several years and is very much always on West’s mind whether I’m the White House or not.

West was only on hand for two months of the Nixon White House, but for those of us who know how that story ends, there are a number of ironic passages. Involving electronic devices and Nixon’s determination to do without those of his predecessors. The Nixons also revealed their mean spiritedness by trying to eradicate evidence of their Kennedy predecessors. Yes, all of this would catch up when these particular chickens came home to roost five years later. One wonders what he and any of the other members of staff depicted in the book would have made of Donald Trump.

This book was published in the early 70s and there are a number of mores that probably will be incomprehensible to anyone born after 1980 (does anyone understand the difference between black and white tie anymore?). The intricacies of rail travel are another. These are some of the more charming aspects of the book. J.B. West is an insightful and charming observer of the history of the presidential mansion.

68 people found this helpful

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Jeff

A Superficial Look at the First Families

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018

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I first read J.B. West's book when I was a teenager, some forty years ago, and enjoyed it. Rereading it now, however, I find it to be very superficial. We really learn very little, and West writes in so dispassionate a style that even the most dramatic events of his tenure--such as the JFK assassination--appear to carry the same import as the most mundane. Still, it's nice to get a glimpse of such neglected figures as Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower, and West's portrait of the remarkable Jacqueline Kennedy almost does her justice.

35 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

music lover

Fascinating read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 7, 2021

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What a wonderful insight into the internal workings of the White House and the amount of work it took to keep things running smoothly. The book gives many interesting personal details about the Presidents and First Ladies and how they liked things done.

2 people found this helpful

ethel hillier

A ‘must read’

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2021

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A wonderfully captivating insight into the historical White House
I enjoyed every chapter.
A lot of events are in my memory and so interesting to read of the other side of the stories

One person found this helpful

pam cheshire

A hidden gem

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2020

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Purchased this book after it was recommended on the West Wing Weekly podcast & thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr West’s memoir about his time at the real White House & the five First Ladies he served. It’s an easy read & a joy for anyone interested in recent (20th century) American history.

One person found this helpful

Mrs Julia McIntyre

Very well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 31, 2021

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This - thankfully - was well written and very well recorded, what a supersonic memory Mr West had! A pleasure to read and very interesting.

Pat R

Fascinating background

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2021

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So many little known facts and a welcome expose of characters who spent their lives in their husband’s shadow. An enjoyable read

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