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    My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer
    My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer
    My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer
    Audiobook5 hours

    My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer

    Written by Nancy Clarke and Christie Matheson

    Narrated by Nancy Clarke

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In My First Ladies, Nancy Clarke reveals the touching, funny, and illuminating story of what it was like to serve under six administrations and to help each first lady find her own personal style when it came to planning flower designs, state dinners, and holiday festivities in the White House. Learn how Nancy gave comfort to Nancy Reagan when she discovered she had cancer and how she helped Laura Bush to gain the confidence to select bright, bold flower arrangements over the more conservative palettes she used in her first years as first lady. See the deep bond that developed between Nancy and Barbara Bush and feel what it was like to be standing in a bunker right next to President Bush in the days following 9/11. Only Nancy can reveal the inside story of what it was like to work for more than thirty years in the White House she called her second home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateSep 30, 2011
    ISBN9781452673967
    My First Ladies: Twenty-Five Years as the White House Chief Floral Designer

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    Reviews for My First Ladies

    3.5/5

    5 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Ms. Clarke describes her twenty-five-year career working at the White House, from being a volunteer in the White House Flower Shop through twenty-five years as chief floral designer. She began as a volunteer when Rosalynn Carter was First Lady, and resigned to spend more time with her family shortly after Michelle Obama became First Lady; thus she served six First Ladies. The position of Chief Floral Designer involves much more than keeping fresh flowers throughout the White House; it also includes decorating for Christmas, which involves nearly a year of planning and making decorations around a theme. Ms. Clarke needed to be creative in forming some of the floral arrangements and decorations requested by the First Lady, who is responsible for White House furnishings, decorations, and social events. Ms. Clarke worked closely with the First Ladies she served. She made samples of various floral displays (including the table cloths and china, to be used) for special occasions such as state dinners, parties, etc.; the First Lady chose the display she wanted, sometimes asking for modifications. Ms. Clarke describes special moments which she had with each First Lady. The book is enhanced with 64 pages of colored photographs. Also included are facsimiles of menus and notes from the First Ladies to Ms. Clarke. However, the text gets a bit repetitious.This book would appeal to people interested in First Ladies, White House history, and flowers. However, one does not need to be knowledgeable about flowers to enjoy the book.This review originally appeared in late July 2012 attached to another record (dup record). I reloaded this record into my catalog, and tried to delete the other record since my symbol was the only one attached to it.
    • 5/5
      Great insight into the workings of the white house. She gives a small peak into the importance of a flower arragement can make of break the ambiance of a dinner. also very intersting facts about some of the first ladies.
    • 3/5
      This was good fun, although needed some stronger editing. An insider’s view of the floral designs & antidotes that served 6 presidents over 30 years. Simply written but full of delightful details about the inner workings of the White House. The author narrates her book, which was robotic sounding.
    • 3/5
      So this book was like mini-biographies of the last several first ladies, from Mrs. Carter to Mrs. Obama, as told by the White House floral designer. I really enjoyed the insight into their different personalities (and how that was reflected in their entertainment preferences, floral arrangement choices, and even their favorite china patterns for state dinners.

      Also, how did I not know there were such things as "White House calligraphers"??