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Book, 2013
Current format, Book, 2013, First edition, Available .
Book, 2013
Current format, Book, 2013, First edition, Available . Offered in 0 more formats
In 1948, Harry Truman, President of the United States, almost fell through the ceiling of the Blue Room in a bathtub into a meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution. A team of the nation's top architects was hastily assembled to inspect the White House, and upon seeing the state the old mansion was in, insisted the First Family be evicted immediately. What followed was the biggest home-improvement job the nation had ever seen. The Trumans moved across the street to the Blair House, the Congress argued about how much the job would cost, and then, in the midst of it all, the Soviets exploded an atomic bomb. Rob Klara reveals what has been little understood about this episode: America's most famous historic home was basically demolished, giving birth to today's White House. The facade was left intact, but the entire structure was taken apart, removed, and replaced with a steel structure, including with a complex series of steel-reinforced subbasements and bomb shelters. The story of Truman's rebuilding of the White House is a snapshot of postwar America and its first Cold War leader.
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