Name: Marcy Pursell 's review of From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein
Item: From the Corner of the Oval
Rating: 5
Author: Marcy Pursell

Beck Dorey-Stein

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)

A Memoir

From the Corner of the Oval

Marcy Pursell 

This was my favorite book of the year so far! Maybe it's because I was a journalism major in undergrad or because I live in DC right now and work for the federal government, but everything about this book just hit me the right way and I absolutely loved it, and it didn't hurt that there was a bunch of romance too. I highly recommend listening to it as an audiobook read by the author.

Ana Couto

I absolutely loved “From the Corner of the Oval” by Beck Dorey-Stein! In this memoir, Dorey-Stein writes about her experience working as a stenographer for President Obama — including all the incredible places she got to visit while flying on Air Force One, and all the professional and personal drama that occurred throughout those hectic years. I felt that at times this read more like a work of contemporary fiction than a memoir, which in my opinion is a good thing — this real-life narrative is so good and so well-written, I literally could not put it down, much like what happens when I encounter a great fictional story. You don’t even have to be into politics to enjoy Dorey-Stein’s writing — it’s THAT good. Seriously, read this book!

Marcy Pursell &
From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

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Marcy Pursell &From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein

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Marcy Pursell &
From the Corner of the Oval by Beck Dorey-Stein