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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
informative
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence
Minor: Death
I thought this was the book that inspired the movie. It is not. It is more of a "how my story got made into a movie" book, which is still quite interesting. A quick and informative read. Now to watch the movie...
Loved the added bits about people of colour in film over the years and the synopsis' about each President in the film The Butler. Great read that can be finished in one sitting. Fantastic writing by the author.
The writing itself was fine...the idea that this is a book about Eugene Allen is a gross misinterpretation of a biography
Short and ultimately disappointing read about the man who inspired the title character of The Butler (pardon me, "Lee Daniels' The Butler"). I enjoyed the movie, but this book is nothing more than a rush-to-the-bookstore money grab. There are nice photos of the actual butler, Eugene Allen, with his wife and a few of the presidents he served, along with pictures of the cast. However, there was barely anything added to author Wil Haygood's original article from the Washington Post.
Haygood tries to flesh out the story with an overview of blacks in American cinema and the movie's making, but in the end, it's unsatisfying because anyone picking up this book is doing so for one reason only: to learn the real story about the movie's main character. It just seems that Haygood ran out of time to fully capture and do justice to Allen's story, since he tracked him down when Allen was 86 years old. The movie did a fine job of dramatizing his life, but it's a real shame that we won't have the true, in-depth story of Eugene Allen.
Haygood tries to flesh out the story with an overview of blacks in American cinema and the movie's making, but in the end, it's unsatisfying because anyone picking up this book is doing so for one reason only: to learn the real story about the movie's main character. It just seems that Haygood ran out of time to fully capture and do justice to Allen's story, since he tracked him down when Allen was 86 years old. The movie did a fine job of dramatizing his life, but it's a real shame that we won't have the true, in-depth story of Eugene Allen.
Eugene Allen was a butler in the White House for eight (8) presidents from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan. He was a witness to some of the biggest historical events of the 20th century. He lived a fascinating life and his story deserves to be told. However, it is not really told in this book. Unfortunately, this book is more the story of how Wil Haygood found out about Allen and how he wrote his article about him at the time of Obama's election. We get snippets of Allen's life, but the full story is not told here. The first half of this audiobook is Haygood's story really. It is about his instincts about the election, his meeting Allen and its aftermath. The second half is a history of African Americans in cinema, which while fascinating really doesn't fit in this story. The only link is the fact that a movie called The Butler was made about Eugene Allen's life.
I found Eugene Allen to be a fascinating character and I am sure he has tons of stories to tell about his years in the White House. I think it is a missed opportunity on the part of the author not to tell more of those stories and a more complete story of Allen's life.
I found Eugene Allen to be a fascinating character and I am sure he has tons of stories to tell about his years in the White House. I think it is a missed opportunity on the part of the author not to tell more of those stories and a more complete story of Allen's life.
Worth reading, despite not being the book I wanted it to be, nor the book it was presented as in the catalogs.
The Butler is, for a very short while, the story of Eugene Allen's life and service in the White House. Mostly, it is the story of his meeting with Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood, the friendship they developed, and then half the book is about the history of black American filmmaking and the making of the movie The Butler. There's a brief section at the end highlighting the presidents featured in the movie and their major contributions to civil rights.
Those second and third sections were interesting and valuable, to be sure. However, as I had heard the movie was enormously fictionalized, I really wanted to read Allen's story. It's not here. Here's where some of it is.
I am so impressed by the people who served and saw so much, and stayed discrete. That takes incredible strength.
The Butler is, for a very short while, the story of Eugene Allen's life and service in the White House. Mostly, it is the story of his meeting with Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood, the friendship they developed, and then half the book is about the history of black American filmmaking and the making of the movie The Butler. There's a brief section at the end highlighting the presidents featured in the movie and their major contributions to civil rights.
Those second and third sections were interesting and valuable, to be sure. However, as I had heard the movie was enormously fictionalized, I really wanted to read Allen's story. It's not here. Here's where some of it is.
I am so impressed by the people who served and saw so much, and stayed discrete. That takes incredible strength.
On the cusp of Obama's election, Washington Post writer Wil Haygood sought to find an African American butler. His goal was to interview a butler who witnessed the civil rights movement from inside the White House. In 2008, Wil Haygood found and met Eugene Allen, a remarkable man who worked as a butler in eight presidential administrations for thirty-four years, never missing a day.
"He had to take it in, decipher it, process it emotionally. He was, yes, the man with the tray, the medicine, the tea, the bowl of soup; he was the butler who fetched the president's straw hat, the president's wingtips. But he was also a black man." ~ pg. 34
From a plantation in Virginia to the most powerful home in the United States, Eugene Allen lived a grand life that was well displayed in the movie despite the fictional characters. However, the book lacked focus on this main character. The book was mainly about the presidential administrations and the nation's events rather than the butler himself. More information and stories about the man who was a fly on the White House wall would have made the book longer and more interesting. As such, I would have preferred the original article "A Butler Well Served by This Election" to be republished.
"The father, the butler, watching history turn, could not say a word. All he could do was stand there, frozen..." ~ pg. 20
The foreword is by director Lee Daniels. There are pictures of Eugene Allen, his family, the presidents he served and of the movie cast at the end of the book. In this regard, the book is a good complement to the movie. As a standalone, it was disappointing and left me wanting more. I would not recommend this book if you are interested in reading about the real life butler.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
"He had to take it in, decipher it, process it emotionally. He was, yes, the man with the tray, the medicine, the tea, the bowl of soup; he was the butler who fetched the president's straw hat, the president's wingtips. But he was also a black man." ~ pg. 34
From a plantation in Virginia to the most powerful home in the United States, Eugene Allen lived a grand life that was well displayed in the movie despite the fictional characters. However, the book lacked focus on this main character. The book was mainly about the presidential administrations and the nation's events rather than the butler himself. More information and stories about the man who was a fly on the White House wall would have made the book longer and more interesting. As such, I would have preferred the original article "A Butler Well Served by This Election" to be republished.
"The father, the butler, watching history turn, could not say a word. All he could do was stand there, frozen..." ~ pg. 20
The foreword is by director Lee Daniels. There are pictures of Eugene Allen, his family, the presidents he served and of the movie cast at the end of the book. In this regard, the book is a good complement to the movie. As a standalone, it was disappointing and left me wanting more. I would not recommend this book if you are interested in reading about the real life butler.
Literary Marie of Precision Reviews
Glad I have read this so I have more of the back story of Eugene Allen before going to see the movie. Quick east read. Ready to head to the theater