Seems the best theme I can come up with here is that all of these took place in Washington D.C. at some point. Not my best connection, but I'm sure it won't be the worst! ;-)

This book requires a pair of glasses to enjoy, fortunately there's a pair tucked in the back. Lincoln in 3-D: Amazing and Rare Stereoscopic Photographs of His Life and Times, by Bob Zeller and John J. Richter is a collection of these special photos gathered from the Smithsonian and Library of Congress. As I looked at each picture I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have seen this technique for the first time.

Would FDR have become President without the polio? That's one of the questions raised in The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency, by James Tobin. I was captivated by the early chapters on how the virus gets into the body, and then how it either is overcome by the immune system, or goes on to replicate and grow. If a proper diagnosis and treatment had come earlier, would it have made a difference? Even knowing the outcome here this was a fascinating read! Thanks to Constant Reader for the recommendation!

Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat's Jewel Box, by Madeleine Albright was one of those delightful finds for me. I had a sort of fuzzy memory that there was 'something' about the pins that Albright wore and this book brought that into a nice, sharp image! At some point Ms. Albright realized attention was being paid to the pins she wore so she started picking them with a bit more care and intent. She explains her choices for when she wore which pin here, and it's a fascinating story. I especially liked that few of them were expensive, most were simple costume jewelry.

I had no idea the desserts for the big dinners at the White House were so complicated! Each dinner had it's own 'theme' and the pastry chef did his homework .... who was coming? Any food allergies? Any designs that could be considered offensive? Then, every thing had to be baked (sometimes in the hundreds), and timed so the meal flowed seamlessly from course to course. All the President's Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House. A Memoir, by Roland Mesnier, with Christian Malard (and translated from the French by Louise Rogers Lalaurie) tells all about doing just this. I was impressed with the author. He knew what he wanted to do from an early age and diligently and doggedly pursued that goal. He moved (always at times of his own choosing) from job to job and place to place to learn more, or something new. There were times he didn't (yet) speak the language of where he was headed. This was the first time I'd read an account of what it was like to be in the White House on 9/11. All in all, a most interesting memoir.

To be clear here, White House Nannies, by Barbara Kline, is not a book about nannies in the White House, but rather the name of a nanny placement service run by the author. Being a parent is a hard job. It's harder when one or both parents have jobs outside the home. It's even harder with a high profile job, especially when there's always someone younger (and childless) waiting in the wings. Finding the perfect nanny can be a challenge (there are some rather interesting requests from parents) but Kline has done so for a long time now and these are some of her favorite stories.

My Senator and Me: a Dog's-Eye View of Washington, D.C., by Senator Edward M. Kennedy and illustrated by David Small is a charming look at "Splash", the dog who went to work each day with Senator Kennedy. This children's book is a nice introduction to how the government functions.

Reading Hermit With Dog