Publisher Description
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’s Johnson’s work during the Civil Rights Movement and Ronald Reagan getting tough on apartheid.
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.
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“The book is brief,
but the two sections…speak volumes about a nation struggling, and succeeding by degrees, to come to
terms with an ignominious history of racial inequality. Poignant and powerful.”
—
Kirkus Reviews
About Wil Haygood
Wil Haygood is an award-winning author and journalist and a national reporter for the Washington Post. He is the author of The Haygoods of Columbus, In Black and White, and King of the Cats, among others.
About the Narrators
David
Oyelowo is an English actor, who studied theater at the London Academy of Music
and Dramatic Art. He is best known for playing MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the
British television series Spooks
(known in the US as MI-5). He has
also had appearances in several critically acclaimed films, such as The Last King of Scotland, The Help, and Lincoln.
Oprah Winfrey, over the course of her esteemed career, has created an unparalleled connection with people around the world. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning The Oprah Winfrey Show, she entertained, enlightened, and uplifted millions of viewers for twenty-five years. Her continued accomplishments as a global media leader and philanthropist have established her as one of the most influential and admired public figures in the world today.
Forest
Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a
reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as
ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the award-winning television series, The Shield. He won an Academy Award, a
Golden Globe, and a BAFTA for his performance as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in
the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland.