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Zusatztext " The Butler: A Witness to History should get just as much! if not more! attention than the film which uses its story for thematic foundation. Wil Haygood adds Eugene Allen’s chronicle to his impressive list of essential works on great figures in black and American history." Informationen zum Autor Wil Haygood been described as a cultural historian and is the author of a trio of iconic biographies. Haygood has been awarded a 2013-14 National Endowment for the Humanties Fellowship. Klappentext White House butler across eight administrations Eugene Allen is the subject of this biography from "Washington Post" reporter Wil Haygood, in a project that came about from Haygood's anticipation of Obama's election in 2008 inspiring him to track down Allen, seeking the perspective of an African American who had been present in the White House during the civil rights struggle at its most embattled. Zusammenfassung This mesmerizing companion book to the award-winning film, The Butler traces the Civil Rights Movement and explores crucial moments of twentieth century American history through the eyes of Eugene Allen—a White House butler who served eight presidents over the course of thirty-four years. During the presidencies of Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan, Eugene Allen was a butler in the most famous of residences: the White House. An African American who came of age during the era of Jim Crow, Allen served tea and supervised buffets while also witnessing some of the most momentous decisions made during the second half of the twentieth century, including Lyndon B. Johnson’s work during the Civil Rights Movement and Ronald Reagan getting tough on apartheid. But even as Allen witnessed the Civil Rights legislation develop, his family, friends, and neighbors were still contending with Jim Crow America. Timely, “poignant and powerful” ( Kirkus Reviews ) The Butler also explores Eugene Allen and his family’s background along with the history of African Americans in Hollywood and also features a foreword by the film’s director Lee Daniels....
