Guest of Honor cover art

Guest of Honor

Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation

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Guest of Honor

Written by: Deborah Davis
Narrated by: Karen White
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About this listen

In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to have dinner at the executive mansion with the First Family. The next morning, news that the president had dined with a Black man - and former slave - sent shock waves through the nation. Although African Americans had helped build the White House and had worked for most of the presidents, not a single one had ever been invited to dine there. Fueled by inflammatory newspaper articles, political cartoons, and even vulgar songs, the scandal escalated and threatened to topple two of America's greatest men.

In this smart, accessible narrative, one seemingly ordinary dinner becomes a window onto post-Civil War American history and politics, and onto the lives of two dynamic men whose experiences and philosophies connect in unexpected ways. Deborah Davis also introduces dozens of other fascinating figures who have previously occupied the margins and footnotes of history, creating a lively and vastly entertaining book that reconfirms her place as one of our most talented popular historians.

©2012 Deborah Davis (P)2012 Tantor
Americas Political Science Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Presidents & Heads of State United States American History War Theodore Roosevelt Civil War Social justice

What the critics say

"A well-researched, highly [listenable] treatment of an important era in racial relations, encapsulated in the meeting of two of the era's most significant men." ( Kirkus Starred Review)
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