The President's House

Readers will find in The President's House a history of nearly constant and sometimes radical adaptation to a house that must serve as a workplace, residence and "bully pulpit." Washington built it, Jefferson added to it, Madison and Monroe rebuilt it; Andrew Johnson and Chester Arthur vowed to destroy and replace it; Theodore Roosevelt restored it, and half a century after that, Harry Truman replaced its old wooden bones with modern steel. In doing this he hoped to preserve the house forever. The clock however, never stops at the White House.