Life in the White House

Robert P. Watson is Associate Professor of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University. He has published several books, including the coedited volume (with Colton C. Campbell) Campaigns and Elections: Issues, Concepts, Cases.

• Tables Preface Part I. Introduction: The "First Home" Overview: Welcome to the White House 1. At Home with the First Families Robert P. Watson 2. Political Architecture: The Building of the President's House Russell L. Mahan 3. Rooms of Their Own: First Ladies and Their Impact on Historic White House Rooms Elizabeth Lorelei Thacker-Estrada Part II. Private Lives in a Public Home: Media Coverage of First Families Overview: On Stage in a Public Home 4. The Media in Their Midst Carol Lynn Bower 5. The Carter White House: The Public and Semiprivate Lives of the First Family Virginia A. Chanley 6. A Tale of Two Brothers: Billy Carter, Roger Clinton, and the Media Christopher S. Kelley 7. First Sons versus First Daughters: A Gender Bias in News Media Coverage? Lori Cox Han Part III. Profiles of First Families in the White House Overview: Calling the White House "Home" 8. "A Hell on Earth": The Pierce Marriage During the White House Years, 1853-1857 Michael J. C. Taylor 9. TR's White House: The Biggest First Family Tom Lansford 10. The Scandalous Hardings James S. McCallops Part IV. Preserving the President's House Overview: A Mansion with a History 11. Renovating the White House: A Brief History Robert E. Dewhirst 12. Preserving the President's House: The Office of the White House Curator Michael E. Long 13. Edith Roosevelt and the 1902 White House Renovation Tom Lansford 14. The Truman Renovations of the White House: The House That Harry (Re)Built Raymond Frey Appendixes 1. White House Floor Plan 2. First Families, 1789-2002 Bibliography Contributors Index

Erudite and entertaining, Life in the White House looks at the social history of the first family, the creation of the president's home, and efforts by first families to carve out a space for the important business of family, while preserving the history of their famous residence. This public museum and private residence, which began as the result of a $500 Jefferson-era architectural design contest, now symbolizes one of the world's great superpowers.