Ratings7
Average rating3.4
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • What if you lived out the drama of your twenties on Air Force One? “[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)
Reviews with the most likes.
I loved this book from beginning to end. The author, Beck Dorey-Stein is a young woman, jobless in DC, who answers a vague job posting on Craig's List and ends up being hired as a stenographer in the Obama administration. She took daily notes of events and this book, which includes her inner journey, is the result. Beck is blatantly honest and shouts of insecurity yet manages to push through and relish this job of a lifetime. She was a tiny, invisible cog in the scheme of things but became part of a troop of people who bonded and became family as they worked their buns off and also managed to have fun along the way. The book is also a nice reflection of Obama's goals while president, as well as his character and integrity. My only critique is that she had an affair with an Obama staffer, off and on, for a few years, while both were in a relationship with others. Though honest, it detracted from my opinion of her, which is that I thought her plucky, intelligent, funny, warm with a great future ahead as a writer. Hope to hear more from her.