# White House Roosevelt room books **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051 "2022-05-25T02:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/1 "2022-05-25T02:12:28Z")
What are those books on the fireplace mantle in the Roosevelt room? I think they have the presidents names on them but what’s in them? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/2 "2022-05-26T11:49:20Z")
It appears that they’re a recent change to the decor in that room — you can find pictures from the [Obama](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/05/06/cinco-de-mayo-president-obama-focuses-investing-100000-strong-americas) and [Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-meets-labor-union-heads-promises-build-n711346) administrations where there’s a clock on the mantelpiece instead. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/3 "2022-05-26T12:37:16Z")
I was wondering the same thing, but googling hasn’t shed any light for me. Teddy was a prolific writer for a politician, and it would be nice if the books on the mantel were some of his works. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/4 "2022-05-26T15:12:29Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > It appears that they’re a recent change to the decor in that room — you can find pictures from the [Obama](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/05/06/cinco-de-mayo-president-obama-focuses-investing-100000-strong-americas) and [Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-meets-labor-union-heads-promises-build-n711346) administrations where there’s a clock on the mantelpiece instead. I was in that room once. In my memory (flawed for sure) I recall seeing TR’s Nobel Peace Price on that mantel. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/5 "2022-05-26T15:17:36Z")
> [@MikeS](#): > > It appears that they’re a recent change to the decor in that room — you can find pictures from the [Obama](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/05/06/cinco-de-mayo-president-obama-focuses-investing-100000-strong-americas) and [Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-meets-labor-union-heads-promises-build-n711346) administrations where there’s a clock on the mantelpiece instead. Yeah, I didn’t know what the OP was talking about, so I googled for pictures of the Roosevelt room, and the first few pictures I saw had me wondering “What books?” Then I saw the books in the background of photos of Joe Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/6 "2022-05-26T15:34:04Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I was in that room once. In my memory (flawed for sure) I recall seeing TR’s Nobel Peace Price on that mantel. Took a bit of googling, but I was partially right (I was there in the Clinton era, so maybe things changed, this is from Obama’s website) > On the southeast wall hangs President Theodore Roosevelt’s Congressional Medal of Honor awarded posthumously on January 16, 2001 to honor his heroism in the Spanish-American War in 1898. To the left of the fireplace hangs President Theodore Roosevelt’s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in 1906, for his mediation of the Russo-Japanese War peace settlement. This was the first Nobel Prize awarded to an American. > **[Inside the WH - West Wing Tour](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/about/inside-white-house/west-wing-tour)** > > See the President's daily schedule, explore behind-the-scenes photos from inside the White House, and find out all the ways you can engage with the most interactive administration in our country's history. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Room](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_room/32/5069_2.png) [@Little\_Room](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Room)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/7 "2022-05-31T21:29:06Z")
I had this question in the back of my mind, and while I was walking through the library of the college where I work, I think I found the answer. These collections of “Public Papers of the Presidents” look a lot like what I see back there in (for instance) an Instagram video posted by potus . Like these: [https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/public-papers-presidents-united-states-george-w-bush-2001-book-2-july-1-december-31-2001](https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/public-papers-presidents-united-states-george-w-bush-2001-book-2-july-1-december-31-2001) ---
**Author:** ![deblopez55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f0a364/32.png) [@deblopez55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deblopez55)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-house-roosevelt-room-books/965051/8 "2024-03-26T17:16:23Z")
You are absolutely correct! Found it on Twitter/X under @ratemyskyperoom. Sorry they won’t let me post the photo-but it was posted 8:52 AM • 3/11/22 in X.