BOOKS
Published
Read Time
8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.7
· 1,321 Amazon ratingsShare This Review
Upstairs at the White House by J. B. West and Mary Lynn Kotz Review: A Landmark Insider Memoir of Presidential Domesticity
A New York Times bestseller that sold more than two million copies in the United States, Upstairs at the White House is the memoir of J. B. West, who served as Chief Usher of the White House for nearly three decades, offering a behind-the-scenes account of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue across five first families — from Eleanor Roosevelt to Pat Nixon — and illuminating the unelected, unpaid, but consequential roles the First Ladies played in shaping the presidency itself.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers fascinated by the private, operational life of the mid-twentieth-century White House — the logistics of state dinners, the personalities of First Ladies, and the domestic rhythms behind the public ceremonies — across five administrations from FDR to the early Nixon years.
Worth it if
You want a primary-source, insider account of how the White House actually functioned as a home and workplace, seen through the eyes of the one staff member who served continuously across nearly three decades and five First Families.
Skip if
You're expecting political exposé, frank behind-the-scenes drama, or coverage of any administration after 1969 — West's professional discretion keeps the book deliberately restrained, and the Nixon-era sections are notably thin.
What readers & critics say
Kirkus Reviews singled the memoir out as "several Truman-balconies above all those others" of its genre, praising West's "shrewd ability to perceive and limn character with intelligence" alongside a discretion that "leaves wide spaces between the lines." Books.Google.com reader responses describe it as "a beautifully related collection" and "one of my favourite books," underscoring its reputation as a well-written, behind-the-scenes account that has sustained devoted readership for decades.
“Several Truman-balconies above all those others — West has a shrewd ability to perceive and limn character with intelligence.”
— Kirkus Reviews“A discretion which leaves wide spaces between the lines.”
— Kirkus Reviews4.7from 1,321 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Is and What It Covers
- Historical Significance and Reception
- Strengths: Portraiture and Discretion in Balance
- Limitations and Points of Friction
- Who This Book Is For
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Draws on nearly three decades of direct, daily access to five First Families, making it a primary source unavailable from any other vantage point
- Kirkus Reviews praised West's ability to render sharply differentiated character portraits of each First Lady with intelligence and discretion
- A New York Times bestseller that sold more than two million copies in the US and appeared in seven languages, reflecting broad and sustained readership
- Structured around a clear, sustained argument — that First Ladies made significant contributions to the presidency — giving the memoir intellectual weight beyond anecdote
- The 2016 Open Road reprint keeps the text accessible to new generations of readers interested in mid-twentieth-century American political history
What Doesn't
- West's professional code of discretion means the Nixon-era sections are notably thin — he retired early in that administration and, by his own account, never saw past Pat Nixon's public persona
- The memoir's scope ends in 1969, so readers seeking coverage of First Ladies from the 1970s onward will need to look elsewhere
A New York Times bestseller with more than two million copies sold in the United States and editions published in seven languages, this memoir stands as one of the most substantive insider accounts of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue ever written.
What the Book Is and What It Covers
Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J. B. West, Mary Lynn Kotz front cover
Upstairs at the White House is the memoir of J. B. West, who served as Chief Usher — effectively the majordomo — of the White House for nearly three decades, written with Mary Lynn Kotz. In that role, West directed the operations and maintenance of the executive mansion, coordinated its daily life at the request of the president and his family, planned state functions, parties, weddings, funerals, and extensive renovations, and supervised a large residential staff. The book chronicles his tenure across five administrations, from the guest-laden wartime days of Eleanor Roosevelt through the presidencies of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson, ending with his departure during the Nixon administration in 1969. It is structured around the First Ladies themselves — an organizing principle that, as the book makes clear, reflects West's genuine conviction that each woman played a significant, if largely unacknowledged, role in the functioning of the presidency.
“with infinite calm, humor, a passion for anonymity and the steel of a Napoleon”
Historical Significance and Reception
First published in 1973 by Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, the book became a New York Times bestseller and remained on that list for months, eventually appearing in seven languages with more than two million copies sold in the United States across hardcover and paperback formats. The Open Road Integrated Media reprint edition, published June 21, 2016, has kept the title continuously available to new readers. Kirkus Reviews, in its original assessment, called it "several Truman-balconies above all others" of its genre — a pointed way of distinguishing it from the more superficial White House memoirs that preceded it. The endorsement West received from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who described him as having run the White House "with infinite calm, humor, a passion for anonymity and the steel of a Napoleon," became one of the book's most quoted testaments to its subject's singular position and character.
Strengths: Portraiture and Discretion in Balance
What distinguishes this memoir, as Kirkus Reviews observed, is West's "shrewd ability to perceive and limn character with intelligence" combined with a discretion that "leaves wide spaces between the lines." The portraits of individual First Ladies are specific and differentiated: Bess Truman's "subtle gritty humor," Mamie Eisenhower's uninhibited belle-of-the-house frills, Jacqueline Kennedy's sparkle — described by West himself as "imaginative, inventive, intelligent — and sometimes silly" — and Lady Bird Johnson's chairwoman-of-the-board command of White House operations. Even West's more guarded account of Pat Nixon, in which he admits to seeing only her "First Lady Face" and speculates it may have covered considerable private suffering, registers as honest restraint rather than evasion. The book is, as its publisher describes it, alive with anecdotes ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt's political strategies to Jackie Kennedy's tragic loss — a richness of episode that keeps the institutional history grounded in human detail.
Limitations and Points of Friction
Readers seeking political analysis or frank exposé will find this memoir's careful boundaries a genuine constraint. West's professional code of discretion — the very quality that allowed him to serve five administrations without incident — means the book withholds as much as it reveals. His account of the Nixon years is the most conspicuously thin section: he retired shortly after the Nixons arrived and, by his own admission, never saw past Pat Nixon's public face. Some readers, according to reader responses on the Everand platform, have noted the book's deliberate avoidance of gossip, though many consider that restraint a virtue rather than a flaw. The era covered also ends in 1969, meaning the memoir is a document of a specific, now-distant chapter of American political life — comprehensive within its scope but not extending to the administrations that followed.
Who This Book Is For
Upstairs at the White House occupies a durable place in the literature of American political history, sitting at the intersection of memoir, institutional history, and social history of the mid-twentieth century. It is particularly well suited to readers interested in how the White House actually functioned as a home and a workplace — the logistics of state dinners, the protocols of domestic staff, the personalities behind the public ceremonies — rather than in legislative or diplomatic history. SuperSummary's study guide for the book identifies West's sustained argument that First Ladies made significant contributions to the presidency despite their unelected and unpaid status, which gives the memoir a throughline that lifts it beyond mere anecdote. For anyone drawn to the private rhythms of American political life from Franklin D. Roosevelt's era through the early Nixon years, this remains, more than fifty years after its first publication, a genuinely irreplaceable primary account.
Frequently Asked Questions
is Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J. B. West, Mary Lynn Kotz worth reading
If you're interested in how the White House actually functioned as a home and a workplace — the logistics of state dinners, staff protocols, and the personalities behind the public ceremonies — this is genuinely hard to beat. Kirkus Reviews called it 'several Truman-balconies above all others' of its genre, and more than two million copies sold across hardcover and paperback suggests that verdict has held up over fifty years.
What is this book actually about
It's the memoir of J. B. West, who served as Chief Usher of the White House for nearly three decades, covering five administrations from Eleanor Roosevelt through the early Nixon years. The book is structured around the First Ladies themselves — Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon — reflecting West's argument that each woman played a significant, if largely unacknowledged, role in the functioning of the presidency.
Does this book have a lot of gossip and scandal or is it more restrained
It's notably restrained — West's professional code of discretion, the very quality Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis praised when she described him as running the White House 'with infinite calm, humor, a passion for anonymity and the steel of a Napoleon,' means the book withholds as much as it reveals. Readers seeking frank exposé will find that a genuine constraint, though many consider it a virtue rather than a flaw.
How are the different first ladies portrayed in this book
The portraits are specific and differentiated rather than generic: Bess Truman gets 'subtle gritty humor,' Mamie Eisenhower is described as an uninhibited belle-of-the-house, Jacqueline Kennedy's sparkle is called 'imaginative, inventive, intelligent — and sometimes silly,' and Lady Bird Johnson is cast as a chairwoman-of-the-board in command of White House operations. Even the more guarded account of Pat Nixon — where West admits to seeing only her 'First Lady Face' and speculates it may have covered considerable private suffering — reads as honest restraint rather than evasion.
Is this book good for people who aren't really into political history
It's well suited to readers who want the private, human side of political life rather than legislative or diplomatic history — the book is alive with anecdotes ranging from Eleanor Roosevelt's political strategies to Jackie Kennedy's tragic loss. The reviewer notes it sits at the intersection of memoir, institutional history, and social history, so it reads more like an intimate domestic account than a dry policy chronicle.
Does this book cover the Nixon years in detail
Not really — the Nixon section is described as the most conspicuously thin part of the book, since West retired shortly after the Nixons arrived and, by his own admission, never saw past Pat Nixon's public face. The memoir ends in 1969, so it covers a specific, now-distant chapter of American political life rather than the full Nixon presidency.
What makes this book different from other White House memoirs
The reviewer highlights West's 'shrewd ability to perceive and limn character with intelligence,' combined with a sustained argument — identified by SuperSummary's study guide — that First Ladies made significant contributions to the presidency despite their unelected and unpaid status, which gives the book a real throughline beyond mere anecdote. Kirkus Reviews' original assessment distinguished it sharply from the more superficial White House memoirs that preceded it, calling it several levels above the genre.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
kirkusreviews.com
- 2
- Further reading
- 3
- 4
newbookrecommendation.com
- 5
- 6
Related Reviews
Reviews of books we picked for readers who enjoyed Upstairs at the White House.
Reader Comments
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!