Books behind a Bush?

January 25, 2008 5:29 PM

When President Bush is speaking from the White House, there is a shelf with several books behind him. What are the titles of these books? Do they change with different Presidents? [Will edit if I can find a screencap, doesn't seem to be one on the internet.]
posted by sperose to grab bag (6 comments total)

These books? That link says it's the Roosevelt Room. This page has a VR of the room and a video tour (bizarrely with Karl Rove as tour guide). Both of those show the books replaced by Teddy Roosevelt's Nobel Peace Prize. And this photo from June 2007 shows more books on the shelf. Here it is with shrubbery. And a clock in June 2004. And some different books in January 2007. I think they just make it look nice for TV and grab some handy books.

Here's a bunch more photos through the years. Clinton had a bunch of law books at one point, and Ford had a bronze bust of Roosevelt.
posted by smackfu at 6:12 PM on January 25, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Well I'll be damned. I looked at that panoramic thing of that same room and it just didn't click in my mind.

Pops has suggested emailing them to find out what the books actually are. He says 'it's not a nut question, so they should answer it.'

Thanks smackfu!
posted by sperose at 6:23 PM on January 25, 2008

BTW, I got a little obsessed trying to find a larger photo where you could read the books... that's how I ended up with so many random links.
posted by smackfu at 6:28 PM on January 25, 2008

Wow, smackfu, awesome. You and Teddy Roosevelt really drink my milkshake.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 4:00 AM on January 26, 2008

That was interesting: Traditionally, a painting of Theodore Roosevelt (a Republican) is displayed over the mantle during a Republican administration and a painting of Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat) is displayed during a Democratic administration (although President Clinton kept the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider painting).

Thanks for the links, smackfu!
posted by hadjiboy at 5:36 AM on January 26, 2008

They could be absolutely anything, I suppose, but the green one with the gold lettering on the spine looks like one of the Loeb Classical Library books--the green books are Greek, those in red are Latin. It could be a Greek historical text-- though it could also just as easily be some government treatise.
posted by AthenaPolias at 6:54 AM on January 26, 2008