The White House: An Historic Guide

by National Geographic Society

An account of the mansion's history, its architectural significance, and its contents.

Genres: History, Travel, Nonfiction, American History, Reference, Architecture, Historical

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history. The National Geographic Society's logo is a yellow portrait frame—rectangular in shape—which appears on the margins surrounding the front covers of its magazines and as its television channel logo. Through National Geographic Partners (a joint venture with The Walt Disney Company), the Society operates the magazine, TV channels, a website, worldwide events, and other media operations.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl]

My God, who could have imagined even a year ago that an enormous beloved chunk of this historic mansion would be dismantled, bulldozed, decimated, demolished, razed, ruined, annihilated, sacked, desecrated, shat upon (well, ok, that we could have foreseen), eradicated, destroyed? And what tawdry excrescence will be erected upon that gaping wound, what gilded shit will tower asymmetrically over its behumbled partner to the west?

Fortunately I have this "historic guide" from 1975 with the warm wishes of Betty Ford, its first two pages devoted to the East Wing (RIP, 1902 - 2025), all the other rooms lovingly photographed and described, to pore over and begrimace with my salty tears.

[Christopher Hicks]

This book is an official tour guide to the Executive Mansion. The edition I read is from 1963 the Kennedy administration (I have previously read the 1987 version. The Reagan administration. I had purchased that one at the White House in 1989) this copy I found at a library book sale. It's fascinating to see the changes each family and administration does to the mansion. I've found out there are over 15 different versions of this guide. I'd love to read them all. White House history and stories of the Presidents and their families have always fascinated me.

[David Czuba]

Growing up revering American history and the U.S. Presidents, and visiting Washington D.C. on a few occasions, I naturally gravitate toward historical work on the subject. The White House embodies those facets in a thing that seems familiar, yet distant, like home ownership must look like to a family that rents. This book indeed elicits mixed feelings, due to the current person occupying that house, and also subsumes the veneration I've held for the place. To know facts about a subject at once trivializes it and expands it in the mind. For example, to know the desk made from the timbers of the H.M.S. Resolute is the same desk that Presidents have sat at signing papers, the same desk on which Harry S Truman placed a plate that reads "The Buck Stops Here", the same desk young John Kennedy played beneath, is to hold reverence for the tree, as much as the trees that formed timbers that held the structure up until it could sag no more and needed them replaced with steel beams. So, this is a story of a living thing, a house, that gets treated like the public/private space it is, and so there is little room for regret of all the shabby furnishing, carpeting, and china that had to be thrown out or auctioned off. The book gives me a sense of place that, although realized as a point on the globe, and a heritage all Americans (those who have a home) can identify with, it would be best known lived in. Meant as a guide for those "touring" the house, this book gives insight well beyond the harried passage through corridors to be shown something the guide is focused on. It gave me a yearning to camp out there, to have dinner there, to be a guest there, no matter who the commander in chief is, or what period in the historical timeline we're talking about. The house may not have feelings, but after reading this book, one may well wish it were so.

[Andrew]

For its size and photos it's the best book I've read on The White House yet. Full of historic info and great pictures it's a fast and easy read

[Jon Gaide]

Some might find it tedious to get through the first 105 pages, which outline, room-by-room, each noteworthy piece of furniture in the White House. Not me!

I was expecting a little more detail about events like the burning of Washington, but I enjoyed the read nonetheless.

[jaimedannie]

I actually read the version that was the original edition printed when President Kennedy was in office. The photography is beautiful, and there was a lot of history about the White House but mostly about the furniture and paintings within the house. I will say I feel like from the beginning America has had this weird love affair with the concept of royalty. We don't have royalty in our country, but the White House and the people that have lived there are sometimes treated like royalty. This year amount of expensive furniture and art that has been purchased over the years for this home is a bit overwhelming. I can't help but wonder if the White House has a musty smell to it because of all of the old furniture. Kind of like when you go to an antique shop and it's fun but it can have the sense of overwhelming mustiness. Or when you go to an old historic building or historic Inn and it just smells old. I also can't help but wonder if anybody's ever actually allowed to sit on any of the chairs or couches or sofas in the White House. I imagine there has to be a lot of spaces that we are simply not privy to that are more functional and usable by the people who live and work there. Are more functional and usable by the people who live and work there.

my ratings:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Loved it. Couldn't put it down. I will probably read it again and it has a place in my library.
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Enjoyed it. Good characters, great story. if nonfiction, great information, interesting topic.
⭐⭐⭐: Liked it. Glad I read it, but won't read again.
⭐⭐: okay, I won't read it again, it will not be kept for my library.
⭐: I didn't like it, don't recommend it.

[Joseph J.]

I have received the most recent THE WHITE HOUSE An Historic Guide, published in 2022. We had our first copy in 1964, and still on my shelf in the volume from the George H.W. Bush years thirty years ago. This is the "fatest" yet at some 250 pages. (That first copy was $1; this over $20; I waited for a free shipping sale now expired!) The photography is colorful and lush, including state room fold out pages. I would have appreciated more text room descriptions Re: furniture and art work, but this is the most up to date with pictures from the current White House. A warning to purists and traditionalists: the private quarters reflecting recent years shall we say are a shock. The old Queens Bedroom with its rose walls and accents-and Andrew Jackson canopied bed- gone! Replaced by yellow and gilt and a hotel room look, in my view. I also liked the Obama years/Michael Smith Yellow Oval Room: Gone also in a wave of sunny yellow and fringed sofas which spill into the center hall. The English partners desk is gone now from there. BUT that is the White House, recording changing tastes and times even if I-we-don't like it. THIS IS OUR MOST RECENT and best source for the White House of now. A MUST for White House groupies."

[Fran Johnson]

Interesting book. It is published almost every year. This year (2022) it covers more areas of the White House than previous books. The bowling alley, kitchen, and flower shop are new to this year's guide.

[Amy]

A visual treat.

[Valerie]

Very interesting information; a good overview of the White House, with lovely photos (current and historical). I was disappointed that every angle of all the rooms aren't shown, nor are all the paintings in the rooms identified.

[John Anderson]

3/4 pictures,1/4 text. Interesting printed walkthrough of the public area of the White House grounds. Lots of interesting facts but it probably just whets the appetite of those that want an in-depth understanding of the history of the building.

[Jerry]

Judging from the included welcome letter from Patricia Nixon, these were given out or sold as part of a White House tour. If it’s the equivalent of an event program guide, it’s one of the best I’ve seen. It is filled with the sort of historical tidbits that a good docent would recite while guiding people through a tour. It also has a lot of amazing color photographs of rooms, artifacts, and paintings in the White House, and some older photographs, paintings, and sketches of the White House or people in it.

[Stormy]

This guide was first published by Jacqueline Kennedy and her staff to raise funds for historical research on the White House. In 2012, it is now in its 16th printing. Beautiful photos, Wonderful fold out diagram of the five levels of the structure. I bought my copy in Washington and read the whole thing on the plane home.

[Linda]

One of our many DC highlights was our tour of the White House. This guide is full of relevant information for the first-time visitor. I'd really love to go at Christmas sometime in the future. When we toured Buckingham Palace, I was shocked at how dusty the shelves were in the China Room. I'm proud to say the White House was immaculate.

[Patrick Meehan]

Written when Nixon presided!

[Michael Heath-Caldwell]

Interesting book on the style and history of the White House in Washington.