"What struck me most about this story is the perspective it comes from, which in this case is the butler---a man who was a fly on the wall for decades in the world's most powerful home."
-producer Harvey Weinstein, speaking of Eugene Allen
Earlier this year I saw the movie called "The Butler" with a group of friends. We all enjoyed it very much and felt as if we had traveled back in time. The movie was a fictionalized account of the story of Eugene Allen, a butler at the White House through 34 years and 8 presidential administrations.
In this book Wil Haygood, first relates the biography of this amazing man, enhanced by the addition of many actual photographs. Haygood, also a writer for the Washington Post,was the first to share the story of Eugene Allen in 2008, just prior to the election of Barack Obama, America's first African-American president. His goal was to show changes in race relations through the eyes of someone who experienced them in a very unique way. I found Allen's life truly inspiring.
The latter part of the book deals with African-Americans, as portrayed through history in the film industry, leading into the making of the film, "The Butler." In the movie, Eugene Allen and his wife, Helene, are played beautifully by Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. In this portion of the book, there are color photographs from the movie.
A few years ago our local history museum had a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian called The Working White House." Eugene Allen was featured, of course, and so was JFK's tie which was given to Allen by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Butler is a short and easy read with fascinating pictures. Very worthwhile, I say. My rating is 4.
No comments:
Post a Comment