The hidden White House : Harry Truman and the reconstruction of America's most famous residence

Author

Robert Klara

Call Number

• 975.3 K633 (CEN)

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Edition

First edition.

Publication Information

New York, N.Y. : Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, 2013.

Physical Description

viii, 371 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Summary

"In 1948, Harry Truman, President of the United States, almost fell through the ceiling of the Blue Room in a bathtub into a meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A team of the nation's top architects was hastily assembled to inspect the White House, and upon seeing the state the old mansion was in, insisted the First Family be evicted immediately. What followed was the biggest home-improvement job the nation had ever seen"--

Contents

• Moving day
• The Great White Jail
• The Porch
• "Like a ship at sea"
• The inspection
• The eviction
• The slow murder
• Wanted : home for President
• "The people want a new building"
• The verdict
• "Shoot it"
• The shovel in the earth
• Wreck it gently
• "We are no longer ahead"
• The hidden White House
• Twenty-seven rounds
• furniture, rugs, and draperies
• The tour
• Something to remember you by --"Every dollar must be saved"
• The General's burden
• Missing pieces
• "A race against time"
• Open house.