Direct Ad for a Movie Deceptively Veiled as a Book: The Butler

Every reader should know before reading this book what it is and is not about.

It is not about Eugene Allen as a butler who served 8 presidents.

The first chapter deceptively titled "The Butler's Journey" is about the 18 months when the author Wil Haygood knew Eugene.

The second chapter, titled "Moving Image", is a brief account of the history of black images in Hollywood and an account of how the movie the Butler was produced. My takeaway from that chapter was all sorts of people piled on just to be part of the film.

There are photos of Eugene Allen in the White House and there are photos from the film. Sadly, not only is the title and its premise deceptive-- I would love to have read a story of history unfolding before a black butler in the White House-- but the writing isn't even compelling. It is as if the author was given an assignment that he didn't have his heart in and he was under deadline.

We are fortunate that Wil Haygood sought out Eugene Allen as a witness to history and Wil's original Washington Post article is pretty much the first chapter of the two chapter book (although with a much better editor). The most interesting part of the book are the all-too-brief two page summaries of one issue around black history for each of the eight presidents under which Eugene served.

So unless you need a high level synopsis of the history of blacks in Hollywood or want the images bound in a print book rather than looking at them on your internet device, stick with the Washington Post article. Sadly, I wanted to see the movie, but after this direct advertisement deceptively veiled as a novel, I won't. I'll wait for some one to write the real novel of Eugene Allen, Witness to History.