Peter Schifando and J. Jonathan Joseph have captured the style and elegance of the Reagan White House in a gorgeous book, Entertaining at the White House with Nancy Reagan. The two interior designers had access to Mrs. Reagan's White House scrapbooks to collect the details of those years in "the President's House." They were also fortunate enough to have Mrs. Reagan's cooperation, and that of former members of the Reagan White House staff.

The book puts White House entertaining in historical context, beginning with the earliest dinners and receptions, under President John Adams. The First Ladies began to put a stamp on entertaining under Dolley Madison, and the changes and influences are shown up until the Reagan years.

The pictures in this book illustrate the fact that the dinners, parties, and entertaining are as much a part of American history as anything else in the government. During the Reagan years, they hosted 55 state dinners, and numerous private events. However, it's the pictures, menus, and invitations to those state dinners that show how important they were to international relations.

As in some other recent books, my biggest complaint with Entertaining at the White House with Nancy Reagan, is the use of white print on tan pages at times. This is not always easy to read, and publishers should consider their readers when publishing books. Black print on white pages, or the white print on black pages, is still the most effective print for a reader.

Except for this small complaint, the is an intriguing look behind the scenes at the White House. The attention to detail is wonderful in the book that captures the history, etiquette and protocol of White House entertaining. No matter what your political beliefs, the Reagans were experts at elegant entertaining. Schifando and Joseph used their access skillfully to portray the style of Entertaining at the White House with Nancy Reagan.