In case you've ever wondered, the walls at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have eyes and ears -- and, what's more, they don't miss a thing. Now, listen up because the walls have a thing or two to tell you! During President John Tyler's presidency, the White House was such a mess that it was called the "Public Shabby House." President William Howard Taft was so large that he had to have a jumbo-size bathtub installed -- one big enough for four people. President Andrew Jackson's "open door" policy at the White House resulted in 20,000 people showing up for his inauguration party. (The new president escaped to the quiet of a nearby hotel!) President Abraham Lincoln didn't mind at all that his younger sons, Tad and Willie, kept pet goats in their White House bedrooms. Children all across the country sent in their own money to build an indoor swimming pool for wheelchair-bound President Franklin D. Roosevelt so that he could exercise. President Harry S. Truman knew it was time to renovate the White House after a leg on his daughter's piano broke right through the floor. Hear these funny, surprising stories and more about the most famous home in America and the extraordinary families who have lived in it.

What if the walls of our homes could talk? What stories would they tell about the people they've sheltered over the years?The house on the corner of Third and Oak in a small Nebraska town has some stories to tell. Six families have lived there. They experienced wars, illness, death, racism. But also many happy times: babies born, holidays celebrated, times together with family and friends. Some loved living there, others not so much. But for a little piece of time, each family called that place home. Here are their stories.

From the Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces and BBC Television series including Lucy Worsley: Mozart's London Odyssey and Six Wives with Lucy Worsley, available on Netflix. “Worsley is a thoughtful, charming, often hilarious guide to life as it was lived, from the mundane to the esoteric.” -The Boston Globe Why did the flushing toilet take two centuries to catch on? Why did medieval people sleep sitting up? When were the two “dirty centuries”? Why, for centuries, did rich people fear fruit? In her brilliantly and creatively researched book, Lucy Worsley takes us through the bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen, covering the history of each room and exploring what people actually did in bed, in the bath, at the table, and at the stove-from sauce stirring to breast-feeding, teeth cleaning to masturbating, getting dressed to getting married-providing a compelling account of how the four rooms of the home have evolved from medieval times to today, charting revolutionary changes in society.

Philadelphia's community muralism movement is transforming the City of Brotherly Love into the Mural Capital of the World. This remarkable groundswell of public art includes some 3,500 wall-sized canvases: On warehouses and on schools, on mosques and in jails, in courthouses and along overpasses. In If These Walls Could Talk, Maureen O'Connell explores the theological and social significance of the movement. She calls attention to some of the most startling and powerful works it has produced and describes the narratives behind them. In doing so, O'Connell illustrates the ways that the arts can help us think about and work through the seemingly inescapable problems of urban poverty and arrive at responses that are both creative and effective. This is a book on American religion. It incorporates ethnography to explore faith communities that have used larger-than-life religious imagery to proclaim in unprecedented public ways their self-understandings, memories of the past, and visions of the future. It also examines the way this art functions in larger public discourse about problems facing every city in America. But If These Walls Could Talk is also theological text. It considers the theological implications of this most democratic expression of public art, mindful of the three components of every mural: the pieces themselves, those who create them, and those who interpret them. It illuminates a kind of beauty that seeks after social change or, in other words, the largely unexplored relationship between theological aesthetics and ethics.

A behind the scenes perspective on Boston Celtics history from two-time champion Cedric Maxwell Having won two NBA titles with the Celtics before joining the broadcasting team as a radio analyst, Cedric Maxwell knows what it means to live and breathe Celtics basketball. In If These Walls Could Talk: Boston Celtics, Maxwell opens up about his life and career and provides insight into the team's inner sanctum as only he can, from Larry Bird to the Big Three era and up to the current roster. Featuring conversations with players and coaches past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes only Maxwell can tell, this indispensable volume is your ticket to Celtics history.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the most successful and unparalleled teams in the NHL, with 11 Stanley Cup victories and a perpetual playoff presence. Author Ken Daniels, as the longtime play-by-play voice for the Wings, has gotten to witness more than his fair share of that action up close and personal. Through singular anecdotes only Daniels can tell as well as conversations with current and past players, this book provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between. Citizens of Hockeytown will not want to be without this book.

From the days of Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent, and the Broad Street Bullies, and up to the current era with stars like Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere, Lou Nolan has lived and breathed Flyers hockey as the team's longtime public address announcer. In If These Walls Could Talk: Philadelphia Flyers, Nolan provides insight into the Flyers' inner sanctum as only he can. Featuring conversations with players past and present as well as off-the-wall anecdotes only Nolan can tell, this is your rinkside ticket to some of the most memorable moments and characters in Philadelphia hockey history.

As the radio voice of the San Jose Sharks since the team's inception, Dan Rusanowsky has witnessed more than his fair share of Sharks history up close and personal—from jaw-dropping playoff runs to the individual brilliance of stars like Owen Nolan, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Joe Pavelski. Through singular anecdotes only Rusanowsky can tell as well as conversations with current and past players, If These Walls Could Talk: San Jose Sharks provides fans with a one-of-a-kind, insider's look into the great moments, the lowlights, and everything in between. No Shark Tank regular will want to miss this book.

Now fully revised and updated for 2023! Chronicling the Brewers from the Suds Series of 1982 to the MVP season of Christian Yelich in 2018, and from Bambi's Bombers of the late '70s to Harvey's Wallbangers of the early '80s, Bill Schroeder, a longtime Brewers color commentator and former Brewers catcher, provides insight into the Brewers inner sanctum as only he can. Read about what goes on in the equipment and training rooms, how batting practice can be chaotic, what it's like to travel with the team, and off-the-wall anecdotes, like the time Steve Sparks injured his shoulder trying to rip a phone book in half after listening to a motivational speaker.

Led by stars like Walter Payton, Jim McMahon, Mike Singletary, William "Refrigerator" Perry, head coach Mike Ditka, and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, the Chicago Bears in the 1980s were an NFL powerhouse. As anyone who's seen "The Super Bowl Shuffle" surely knows, they were also an unforgettable group of characters. Otis Wilson, the Bears starting outside linebacker, was right in the center of the action, and in this book, Wilson provides a closer look at the great moments and personalities that made this era legendary. Readers will meet the players, coaches, and management and share in their moments of triumph and defeat. Be a fly on the wall as Wilson recounts stories from those days in Chicago, including the 1985 Super Bowl-winning season. If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Bears will make fans a part of the team's storied history.