Amazon Prime Free Trial
FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button and confirm your Prime free trial.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited FREE Prime delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-16% $14.22$14.22
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: FindAnyBook
$7.85$7.85
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Burlington MA- Used Book Superstore -new books too
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Audible sample
Follow the author
OK
From the Corner of the Oval: A Memoir Paperback – August 6, 2019
Purchase options and add-ons
“[This] breezy page turner is essentially Bridget Jones goes to the White House.”—The New York Times
RECOMMENDED READING theSkimm • Today • Entertainment Weekly • Refinery29 • Bustle • PopSugar • Vanity Fair • The New York Times Editors’ Choice • Paste
In 2012, Beck Dorey-Stein is working five part-time jobs and just scraping by when a posting on Craigslist lands her, improbably, in the Oval Office as one of Barack Obama’s stenographers. The ultimate D.C. outsider, she joins the elite team who accompany the president wherever he goes, recorder and mic in hand. On whirlwind trips across time zones, Beck forges friendships with a dynamic group of fellow travelers—young men and women who, like her, leave their real lives behind to hop aboard Air Force One in service of the president.
As she learns to navigate White House protocols and more than once runs afoul of the hierarchy, Beck becomes romantically entangled with a consummate D.C. insider, and suddenly the political becomes all too personal.
Against a backdrop of glamour, drama, and intrigue, this is the story of a young woman learning what truly matters, and, in the process, discovering her voice.
Praise for From the Corner of the Oval
“Who knew the West Wing could be so sexy? Beck Dorey-Stein’s unparalleled access is obvious on every page, along with her knife-sharp humor. I tore through the entire book on a four-hour flight and loved reading all about the brilliant yet hard-partying people who once surrounded the leader of the free world. Lots of books claim to give real insider glimpses, but this one actually delivers.”—Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada
“Dorey-Stein . . . writes with wit and self-deprecating humor.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Addictively readable . . . Dorey-Stein’s spunk and her sparkling, crackling prose had me cheering for her through each adventure. . . . She never loses her starry-eyed optimism, her pinch-me wonderment, her Working Girl pluck.”—Paul Begala, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
- Print length352 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRandom House
- Publication dateAugust 6, 2019
- Dimensions5.18 x 0.73 x 7.94 inches
- ISBN-100525509143
- ISBN-13978-0525509141
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Obama administration memoirs are rolling in, but in a refreshing twist From the Corner of the Oval swaps policy for good old-fashioned workplace drama. . . . Readers won’t find state secrets so much as they’ll get a glimpse at what life was really like working for the most historical of administrations. There are countless flights on Air Force One, late nights at four-star hotel bars in far-flung locations, and a bravely honest retelling of her workplace affair.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Who knew the West Wing could be so sexy? Beck Dorey-Stein’s unparalleled access is obvious on every page, along with her knife-sharp humor. I tore through the entire book on a four-hour flight and loved reading all about the brilliant yet hard-partying people who once surrounded the leader of the free world. Lots of books claim to give real insider glimpses, but this one actually delivers.”—Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada
“[Dorey-Stein] writes with wit and self-deprecating humor but is fully aware, too, of the pomposity and petty spite of official Washington. She’s at her best and funniest when recalling the physically unhealthy and vaguely ridiculous work of following the president wherever he goes.”—The Wall Street Journal
“Addictively readable . . . Dorey-Stein absorbs it all with a fine eye for detail and conveys it with freshness, candor and humor. . . . She may be a stenographer, but this is not typing; this is writing. . . . It is a testament to Dorey-Stein’s charm and her writing chops that we root for her throughout. . . . From the Corner of the Oval has been aptly dubbed The West Wing meets Devil Wears Prada. I see it more as C-Span meets Sex and the City—but with more drinking and even more sex. . . . Dorey-Stein’s spunk and her sparkling, crackling prose had me cheering for her through each adventure. . . . She never loses her starry-eyed optimism, her pinch-me wonderment, her Working Girl pluck. Which makes From the Corner of the Oval somehow, against the odds, a story of hope.”—Paul Begala, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“A few weeks ago, what I always fear will happen actually did happen. I’d been reading Beck Dorey-Stein’s engrossing memoir, From the Corner of the Oval, out July 10, on my commute home. ‘Huh,’ I thought, as I looked up from my book and saw a slightly unfamiliar landscape whir by. ‘This train ride seems longer than usual.’ And it was. I had been so absorbed in Dorey-Stein’s insider recollections of the Obama White House that I’d missed my stop entirely.”—Refinery29 (Best New Books For July 2018)
“Dorey-Stein brings readers along for romance, heartbreak, and growing up.”—Bustle
“History lesson meets soap opera. In this poignant, brutally honest, and often-funny work of self-reflection, Dorey-Stein pulls no punches and tells all she learned from and about the president who ‘taught me to look up.’”—Booklist
“Hilarious . . . Dorey-Stein writes with honesty and panache.”—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Connecting the Dots
2011–January 2012
“so what do you do?” is the first question d.c. people ask, and the last question you want to answer if you’re unemployed, which I am. It’s October 2011, and since the summer, I’ve spent nine to five at my kitchen table writing cover letters no one will ever read. I keep setting the bar lower and lower, and I’m no longer hoping for actual interviews, but just generic acknowledgments that my applications have been received so I know that I haven’t actually disappeared from the universe even if my savings and confidence have. I’ve grown to appreciate employers considerate enough to reject me properly with a courtesy email. The halfhearted Google spreadsheet I keep on my desktop shows zero job prospects but tons of student loans, and rent due in four days. And now it’s time to go blow more money I don’t have at a bar full of douchebags.
Dante failed to mention the tenth circle of hell, which is for people pretending to be happy at a happy hour full of young politicos at a lousy bar with sticky floors two blocks from the White House. These are soulless TGI Fridays–type places, except that the cocktails are $17, and every time I walk into one, the soundtrack from Jaws plays in the back of my head.
I know the question is coming; it’s lurking just below the surface like a patient predator: What do you do? What do you do? What do you do?
Happy hours in D.C. are thinly veiled opportunities to network, hook up, or both. I’m not trying to do either, but here I am at Gold Fin because I promised my boyfriend I’d talk to his coworker’s girlfriend about doing research at her think tank. However, now that I’m here, talking to Think-Tank Tracy seems like a waste of everyone’s time. I’m not a good fit for a think tank, or a PR firm, or a nonprofit; I haven’t even received a generic rejection in weeks. I’m slowly figuring out that I’m not a good fit for this city in general, where everyone acts as if they know something you don’t and dresses as if they’re going to a mob boss’s funeral in 1985. Black on black on black. And not cool New York black. Boring, uninspired, ill-fitting Men’s Wearhouse–meets–Ann Taylor Loft black.
So instead of looking for Think-Tank Tracy, I look for the bartender. I try to get drunk right away so I can stop worrying about my bank account and how I’m going to answer the inevitable “What do you do?” question. As the edges of the room begin to blur, the floor feels less sticky, and life seems beautiful and ironic and funny.
As I wait at the bar for another drink, I watch the pantomime of ladder-climbing bobbleheads who eagerly anticipate the moment they can offer up their freshly minted business cards. These twentysomething Thursday night kickballers and Saturday night kegstanders are as interesting as the bleached walls of this bar, and yet they’re so arrogant, I must be the one missing something. After all, they are real people with real jobs earning real paychecks. They are young professionals who don’t go grocery shopping in sweat pants in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon. Staring into the bottom of my drink, I wonder, When did I fall so far behind? When did I become some loser twenty-five-year-old without a job or a life plan, who isn’t even financially responsible enough to do her drinking at home?
I’m two Cape Codders deep and waiting for a third when a guy with a severe side part and a visible desperation to be his father sidles up next to me, introduces himself, and then casually asks, “So what do you do?”
I know that other people in my predicament say, “I’m between things,” or “I’m weighing my options,” but everyone knows what that means and I hate bullshitting. So instead I look this baby-faced Reaganite in the eye and tell him I don’t have a job.
He keeps an urbane smile pasted on his lips, but I can see him recalculating, the wheels turning. He tilts his head, as though he might be able to assess my condition better from a different angle. This is how three-legged dogs must feel, I think.
The funny thing is, nobody cares what you do. They don’t ask because they’re curious about how you spend your day or what you’re interested in. What D.C. creatures really care about is whether you’re important or connected or powerful or wealthy. Those things can help advance a career. But a jobless girl getting buzzed at the bar can’t do anything for anyone.
The Reaganite backpedals away once he gets another beer, doesn’t even bother to offer me a business card, and so I quickly knock back my third drink and leave the bar before Think-Tank Tracy shows up. On my walk home, I text my boyfriend to say I’m done with happy hours. They make me too depressed.
i’d moved to d.c. in the spring of 2011, by myself, for a semester-long tutoring job at Sidwell Friends School. I would live in the nation’s capital for three months, and not a moment longer, because who wants to live in D.C.? I had enough friends to make a three-month stint exciting, but enough self-respect to know that D.C. and I would never really be into each other. D.C. is the girl who never swears and always wears a full face of makeup; the guy who makes a weekend “brunch rezzie” for him and his ten closest bros and thinks tipping 15 percent is totally solid. I moved to the city with two suitcases and my eyes wide open—I’d use D.C. to build my résumé, and D.C. would take all my money for rent and bland $11 sandwiches.
An exclusive Quaker school, Sidwell Friends flaunts quite a roster of notable alumni, from Teddy Roosevelt’s son to Bill Nye the Science Guy to Chelsea Clinton. In such a pressure cooker, where the Friday speaker series includes parents who also happen to be members of Congress, I was not surprised to learn that Sidwell students were unbelievably worried about not being smart enough or good enough at oboe/squash/debate/all of the above to get into college. So in addition to essay structure and thesis statements, I spent a solid portion of my tutoring sessions reassuring sixteen-year-olds that they were plenty smart, definitely going to college, and absolutely prom-date-worthy. In other words, my job in the spring of 2011 was to help those hormonally charged stressballs chill the fuck out.
Sidwell’s grounds were beautiful, and so were the smoking-hot, super-fit male teachers I saw in the hallways. I assumed the school boasted some top-tier experimental outdoor physical education program to have drawn all this masculine brawn. As a single woman with limited time on campus, I didn’t waste a precious moment playing coy. But every time I looked over to say hi to one of these human Ken dolls in a short-sleeved button-down, he’d look back at me with a quick, close-lipped smile, completely uninterested.
Sitting across from one of the square-jawed teachers in the cafeteria one day, I went for it and introduced myself. He gave me a sheepish smile and explained that he was working. “Working on what?” I asked. He didn’t have a stack of papers, a pile of tests, or even a pen in his hand. He sat there with nothing in front of him, but he was working? He said it again and threw his head in the direction of a group of girls sitting at a table diagonally across from us. I was confused, until one of the girls shrieked “Malia!” and the whole table cracked up laughing.
Oh, right. The Obama girls were at Sidwell, as were Joe Biden’s granddaughters. These guys weren’t male models moonlighting as gym teachers; they were Secret Service agents.
I gave up on the agents around the same time I gave up on D.C. in general. The city was too buttoned-up for me, too obsessed with politics. When my job at Sidwell ended in June, I’d pack up and go wherever the next job took me, abandoning my large group of college friends that had migrated to D.C. after graduation.
Not that D.C. was all bad—I’d miss spending time with Sarah, Erin, Charlotte, Emma, and Jade—five of my former lacrosse teammates whose apartments in Foggy Bottom were as close to one another as college dorms. Living in the District with a deep bench of friends had been like being a senior on a small campus all over again. I was dizzy-busy. There was always a rooftop happy hour or birthday party to attend, or jazz in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden on Friday nights, or boozy brunches on Saturdays that started at noon and ended after dark. We would meet up for runs in Rock Creek Park and make our way down to the National Mall, winding our way among the monuments and lamenting how slow we were compared to our mile times during preseason.
“It’s kind of funny,” Sarah said one Saturday in May as we walked arm in arm to a party on Seventeenth Street. JD and Elle, also Wesleyan alums, were throwing the first barbecue of the season. “It’s kind of like D.C. is the new Wes.”
“Only without the papers or stress or freezing lacrosse games in Maine,” Jade said, shuddering at the memory.
“Or boy drama,” Charlotte said. “Or is there boy drama?”
I feel her elbow in my ribs as they all stop to look at me.
“Nope!”
“Really?” Emma asked. “Any luck with the Secret Service agents?”
“Definitely not. But it’s fine, because I’m not dating guys while I’m in D.C.”
“Does that mean you’re dating girls?” Jade asked.
I shake my head. “I’m only here for one more month. I’m not going to waste my time dating Napoleon wannabes.”
Washington is great for a long weekend to see the monuments and the cherry blossoms, but I find the ethos of this one-trick-political-pony town as seductive as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Even the cashier at Trader Joe’s asked me what I did for a living as he bagged my groceries with the spatial reasoning of a Tetris champion.
For once, my social life seemed straightforward. I’d friend-zoned the entire District and felt great about it, because the last thing I wanted in the spring of 2011 was to get tied down to a guy in this ego swamp of a city.
Which is why, of course, I did not fall so much as face-plant in love that night at the backyard barbecue.
It was a hot, humid evening, and I was draining my second Cape Codder when the upstairs neighbor walked out onto the porch with a beer and a bowl of chips. He was tall, with sandy brown hair and the casual friendliness of a displaced Californian. “Hey, I’m Sam,” he said, extending his bear paw of a hand.
Between the sportsman’s scruff and the moss-green eyes, I was sure he had the cutest face I’d ever seen, even if it was still caked with mud from an all-day rugby tournament. Every time he looked at me, my heart flailed in my chest like one of those car dealership inflatables. When Sam laughed at one of my jokes, I nearly passed out. After an hour or so, I saw him saying goodbye to his friends when my song came on—Dr. Dog’s cover of “Heart It Races.” Before he ducked out, he whispered in my ear that Dr. Dog was one of his favorite bands, too.
“It was like lightning!” Sarah squealed on our walk home that night.
“Hasta la vista, boy hiatus!” Jade laughed.
“JD says Sam just asked for your number,” Charlotte said, smiling down at a text.
“Give it to him!” Emma yelled.
sam wasn’t like other young washingtonians. i mean, sure, he worked at a PR firm and was more political minded than I was, but so was everyone. And yes, he had volunteered on the Obama campaign in 2008, but everybody my age in D.C. had been involved in Obama for America—it was part of the standard D.C. pedigree: high school, four-year college, OFA. When I told people I’d been teaching in the fall of 2008, they squinted, confused. Why would I have spent 2008 teaching when I could have been volunteering for the greatest president we’ve ever had? The idea that I needed to start paying back my student loans after graduation—that even if I’d known about volunteering, I wouldn’t have been able to afford it—never crossed their minds.
But Sam got it, and got me. He loved that I was a teacher, that I didn’t care about business cards or job titles. We started to text all day and see each other every night, aware but unafraid of our breakneck romantic clip.
Two weeks after the backyard barbecue, Sam and I were in the checkout line at Whole Foods. As we unloaded our cart, I asked, “You’re my boyfriend, right?” and just like that, we were official. Two weeks after that, he was at my brother’s wedding, meeting my entire family in the middle of a stress torpedo. My mom liked Sam’s can-do attitude. (He fixed a bench in the front yard.) My dad liked his handshake. (Firm but not a death grip.) My little sister liked his Converses. My big brother, the groom, thought I was “fucking crazy” for dragging a brand-new boyfriend to a family wedding, “and Elizabeth agrees with me,” he said of his future wife over the phone.
But that night, while everyone danced under a big white tent in the backyard, Sam told me he loved me. We were about a hundred feet from my childhood bus stop. My brother was right: I was totally fucking crazy. Luckily, Sam was, too.
good partners help you grow, and they force you out of your comfort zone, and Sam did both in short order. His default mode was optimism. Between his kisses and his laid-back SoCal vibe, I felt so much more relaxed, as if a kitten were sleeping on my chest at all times.
Most nights that summer were drunken, musical dream walks. Sam spent his days at the PR firm, and his nights jamming in a band called Fear of Virginia. He knew all the underrated bars in D.C. and had so many friends I began to call him the mayor. We couldn’t walk down Eighteenth Street without his stopping to say hello to the dishwashers on break outside Lauriol Plaza or a crowd of former coworkers eating mussels at L’Enfant Cafe.
Product details
- Publisher : Random House; Reprint edition (August 6, 2019)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 352 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0525509143
- ISBN-13 : 978-0525509141
- Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.18 x 0.73 x 7.94 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #894,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,223 in United States Executive Government
- #4,577 in Political Leader Biographies
- #6,458 in Military Leader Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
BECK DOREY-STEIN grew up in Narberth, Pennsylvania. Her first book, From the Corner of the Oval, was a New York Times bestseller. She now lives in Maine with her family but still roots for Philly sports teams.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and relatable. They praise the writing style as well-written and easy to read. The style is described as lovely, classy, and fun. Readers appreciate the insightful and passionate look at government life from an insider's perspective. They also praise the author's witty prose and comfortable use of language. Overall, customers find the book provides a unique and informative glimpse into the Oval Office.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book engaging and relatable. They praise the well-written narrative and lively storytelling. The book provides an entertaining account of White House operations and the risks and rewards faced by everyone involved.
"...I thought this was so cleverly written. It was cheeky, sassy, and fun...." Read more
"...And the first part of the book and the last part delivered a most entertaining account of just that...." Read more
"...Again, the book is well written and very interesting, however, the author uses a lot of analogies to describe different outcomes, almost to the..." Read more
"...This is a great book if you want to read about interesting travels (surface level only), quarter-life crises, and LOTS of drinking, but not much else." Read more
Customers appreciate the writing style. They find it well-written and easy to read, with a comfortable use of language. The author's humor and energetic voice guide readers on her adventures.
"...Oh, the nostalgia. I thought this was so cleverly written. It was cheeky, sassy, and fun...." Read more
"...Again, the book is well written and very interesting, however, the author uses a lot of analogies to describe different outcomes, almost to the..." Read more
"...There are glimpses of really enjoyable and communicative writing, and I hope and believe she will grow as a writer...." Read more
"...make an entrance until the end, but I didn’t care because it is so well written I got lost in reading about Barack Obama...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's style. They find it engaging, touching, and a unique look at life inside the bubble. The story is described as honest and entertaining, with parts about the White House being appreciated. Readers appreciate Beck's candid assessment of her 20s and working in the millennial world. Overall, they find the book relatable and enjoyable.
"...I thought this was so cleverly written. It was cheeky, sassy, and fun...." Read more
"A Unique View of a Side of DC and the Whitehouse Seldom Seen..." Read more
"This breezy look at life inside "the bubble" fulfills Beck's hopes: she IS a writer, and a talented one, who knows when to go long and when..." Read more
"Fascinating behind-the scenes look at working in the White House...." Read more
Customers find the book insightful and informative. They appreciate the author's personal and professional life as well as the behind-the-scenes perspective and glimpses into the Obama White House. The factual information is blended with the romantic aspects, making the book especially interesting during the Obama era.
"...dish or put gas in a car or cooked a meal--but it was still fun and informative. The title was inspired...." Read more
"...From the Corner of the Oval is funny, insightful, and informative. But it is also sad and infuriating...." Read more
"...I loved that it wasn't a tell all, or about politics and policy. Honestly reminded me for the tv program The West Wing, which I love too...." Read more
"...Obama and his enormous, but necessary support staff, are fun and revealing, especially if you like to read about how much they drink, hang out, and..." Read more
Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book. They find the prose brilliant, the author likable, and the humor witty and fun. The author's style and comfortable use of language take readers on an engaging journey.
"...Oh, the nostalgia. I thought this was so cleverly written. It was cheeky, sassy, and fun...." Read more
"...But Dorey-Stein is a good observer and eloquent writer. First, she teaches us a lot of background about her job...." Read more
"...Beck, as she likes to call herself, writes a unique and personal story of being a very small cog in one of the biggest machines in our world with..." Read more
"...Dorey-Stein writing is unlike any memoir I've read. She makes you laugh, she shares her personal issues about her rocky relationship(s), the crazy..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's unique perspective. They find it provides a glimpse into the workings of the White House and administration from a person closely connected to the leader. The book offers an honest, interesting, and rare view of life behind the scenes in D.C.
"I chose this book because the author had such a unique perch from which to view the day to day reality of working (sorta) in a White House..." Read more
"...The story itself is interesting and the author has a unique, fresh perspective..." Read more
"...There are glimpses of really enjoyable and communicative writing, and I hope and believe she will grow as a writer...." Read more
"I really enjoyed this book. It was a glimpse into the White House and insightful of some of the inner workings...." Read more
Customers have different views on the book's pacing. Some find it fast-paced and fun, with an admiration for the Obama-Biden Administration. Others find it boring, disappointing, and lacking depth or heart.
"first let me say that this book was a quick and mostly enjoyable read...." Read more
"...a strong finish that ALMOST captured the absolute dejection, despondency and gut-wrenching despair as well as sheer terror I felt about the election..." Read more
"...own story as she bumbles through learning her job, breathing the rarified air of world leaders, and giving you an inside glimpse of the humanity of..." Read more
"...But it is also sad and infuriating...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the personal narrative. Some find it relatable and authentic, drawing them into the author's world. Others feel the book puts too much emphasis on personal relationships and drama, making it tiresome.
"...He was especially human and personal in his interactions with his staff...." Read more
"...The stories about personal angst & relationship problems became tiresome - far too much drinking, antics, HS type crushes, & late-night affairs...." Read more
"...She makes you laugh, she shares her personal issues about her rocky relationship(s), the crazy work environment, to the coworker hookups, to..." Read more
"...Talk about getting lucky! Did love the description of trips on Air Force 1. It is good, but I wish there were more to it." Read more
Reviews with images
Hard time putting this historical guilty-pleasure down!
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2018OMG, I love this book. I'm a 47 year old mother, and this book totally took me back to my young, single, fresh-out-of-college days. I felt like she was writing the book about me (except I didn't have a sweet White House job and I never went running). It reminded me what it was like to be young and have no idea what career I would ultimately have, to be exploring careers, friendships, and romantic relationships. To keep picking the "bad boy", even though they treated me poorly. Oh, the nostalgia. I thought this was so cleverly written. It was cheeky, sassy, and fun. I loved getting a little glimpse into how everything goes down behind the scenes at the White House, and it particularly made me bring up fond memories of our beloved #44. I'm so happy that the author had this crazy once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I hope that she appreciates it. But I'm really glad that she became an author, and I look forward to reading her future books.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018I chose this book because the author had such a unique perch from which to view the day to day reality of working (sorta) in a White House Administration. And the first part of the book and the last part delivered a most entertaining account of just that. I loved the author’s writing style (calling Congress “a bag of dicks” when they shut down the government,causing the author to miss out on a trip to Asia which got canceled made me laugh out loud). BUT the middle part of the book got completely bogged down in the author’s love life and her cheating with an unattainable guy. This part of the book wasn’t something unique to working in the White House and I found it cumbersome, boring and completely predictable. Of course it was part of the author’s personal story but since I didn’t choose to read this book for soap opera dramatics, the ridiculous “Jason” saga almost made me stop reading the book. But I didn’t and I’m glad. She provided a strong finish that ALMOST captured the absolute dejection, despondency and gut-wrenching despair as well as sheer terror I felt about the election of Trump. When I read the acknowledgments at the end of the book I saw where David Remnick was the person who encouraged her to make her own personal story a big part of the book. In my opinion that was a mistake. And does the author think for one second David Remnick would have described his adulterous cavorting if HE had written a book about working in a White House Administration? Would he have recommended that ANY male author take that slant? I don’t think so and I think Remnick steered the author wrong with his advice. The god awful heavy narration about a cheating affair with a jerk who had no intention of engaging in a meaningful relationship took away from the otherwise wonderful narration of the author’s experiences in the Obama White House. And after suffering through reading about this cheating, the author didn’t even write steamy sex scenes so at least we could have some raunchy entertainment (other than the vibrator gift. If a man gave me a vibrator as a “joke” gift in front of several friends, I do believe I’d have shoved it up his ass sideways, sans lubricants!)
- Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2018Overall, a great book and the author is a very good writer. If you are looking for the latest sneak-peek of the Trump Administration, this isn't that type of book. As the book states, this is a memoir of the author's time working for the Obama Administration in a non-appointment position.
Again, the book is well written and very interesting, however, the author uses a lot of analogies to describe different outcomes, almost to the point of annoyance. The author states in the book that she doesn't want to be, what she calls, a "DC Creature" but in my opinion, she tried so hard not to be one that she was slowly becoming one, perhaps without her knowledge--Semi stuck-up and better than others--although, it may have not been noticeable to her. Also, in the book, she discusses her relationships, especially the forbidden one that she carries on with "Jason." I feel that her waste of time with "Jason" could have better been spent with someone that cared for her, like the "Raven" she talks to several times as she gets on Air Force One. But instead, she keeps going back to him, sleeps with him and then he breaks her heart. I found myself wanting to throw my Kindle out the window.
All in all, a great book. I highly recommend to read--It's an easy read!
- Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2018I saw many glowing reviews of this book and was very excited to read it, but I was terribly disappointed by the average writing. The story itself is interesting and the author has a unique, fresh perspective (I had no idea of the shenanigans that took place among the White House staff, nor of the opulent staff trips that our tax money pays for ...). I also enjoyed hearing anecdotes about POTUS.
The writing is incredibly repetitive (sentences to the effects of "How did we get so lucky?" "Tick Tock Croc is counting down" "Don't forget to look up," "The smell of his mint gum..." and "the triangle of light on the ceiling" are repeated so many times that it drove me absolutely crazy). Music is "fun," outfits are "fun," and dancing is "fun," all in the same paragraph. Places where it would have been interesting to hear the author's insight on political issues are boiled down to uninspired sentences ("congress is a bag of dicks"). The love triangle that the story centers on goes up and down so many times that I started to lose interest. It just could have been SO much better, in my opinion.
With that said, I'd recommend this book as a light beach read without too much substance. This is a great book if you want to read about interesting travels (surface level only), quarter-life crises, and LOTS of drinking, but not much else.
Top reviews from other countries
- S.F.Reviewed in Germany on March 18, 2022
1.0 out of 5 stars Not a new book. It has been used before.
Not happy with my purchase.
S.F.
Reviewed in Germany on March 18, 2022
Images in this review - Marie McGrath DavisReviewed in Canada on December 15, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect and Speedy
This item arrived much faster than I'd expected, especially in this season. So, Bravo!
-
lbls69Reviewed in France on October 22, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Un régal !
Son écriture est tellement riche et pure, son analyse de ses ressentis tellement précise et honnête, livrant tout sans fausse humilité ou non-dits que j’ai eu l’impression de vivre son expérience.
Sa bienveillance à l’égard de ses personnages, même lorsqu’elle ne les apprécie pas, est la traduction d’une incroyable maturité et d’une belle humanité.
Bref, je suis séduite et attends sa prochaine œuvre.
- The Friday PotterReviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible book that works on so many levels...
I absolutely loved this book! As a 40 something who cried when Obama left The White House, this gave me a small glimpse into that world. Beck Dorey-Stein writes brilliantly and you are swept away in what it was like to be a real person in a incredible environment. You have to love characters to engage with a book and you are obviously drawn to POTUS but Beck is who you cheer for. Reading her journey helps to show that the every day can be truly extraordinary.
What an inspiring, heart felt, warm, funny and addictive read...thank you for writing it all down!
- Candace ChaputReviewed in Canada on September 19, 2018
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
I liked the memoir and descriptive writing that painted the picture well enough to Help me appreciate what a good president looks like, while seeing what an ordinary person could accomplish with an extraordinary opportunity!