The Arts Club of Washington
Drama and Literary Committees
present
Downstairs at the White House
with Author and Humorist Donald M. Stinson
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
6:30pm-9:30pm
Arts Club Members $25 - Non-Members $30
A personally inscribed, author-signed paperback copy of the book will be provided free to the first 50 paid registrants
Please join us for an unforgettable evening at the historic Monroe House as the Arts Club of Washington proudly hosts author and humorist Don Stinson to speak about his bestselling, award winning memoir, Downstairs at the White House (The true story of a teenager, an Oval Office, and a ringside seat to Watergate).
About the Book
In 1973, at just 17 years old, Don Stinson stumbled into a job—not an internship—at the White House during the height of the Watergate scandal. A truly insignificant member of the Nixon White House staff, he frequently loitered outside of the Oval Office to watch it unfold. What he saw throughout the White House ran the gamut from the deeply profound to the wildly hilarious.
He was also a kid who did the same kind of harebrained things most teenagers do. Only steps away from the Oval Office, he fought with a foreign head of state for space in a restroom. He spilled ice water on Frank Sinatra. And that was just the small stuff.
A laugh-out-loud funny, fast-paced memoir, Downstairs at the White House is richly decorated with presidents, first ladies, celebrities ... and events that shook America.
Praise for the Book
Kirkus Review of Books called it “a captivating account of a historically momentous time told from a refreshingly uncommon perspective… Stinson’s prose is unfailingly clear and his tone is self-effacing.”
WCBS Radio, New York said, “Don Stinson is the guy at the party they’ll listen to when he says, ‘Well, I’ve got a story to tell.’”
About the Author
A graduate of American University’s School of Public Affairs and former senior vice president of marketing for the newspaper division of Gannett Co., Inc., Don is also an honorary member of the Union of Russian Journalists, a story that involved a great deal of vodka. In the 1990s, he worked with Russian newspapers to build a free press during the Yeltsin era. Although that didn't work out so well, he nevertheless managed to be held hostage in a smelting plant, sleep in an insane asylum guarded by sheepherders, and wrestle a goat on Russian airliner Aeroflot. The goat won. But that’s another story.
Price also includes reception with full bar and hors d’oeuvres after the program.
Discounted parking (free for members with membership card) at 2001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW DC. Entrance on 20th Street (first garage, on the left, just past I Street.
Seating is limited; registration online recommended no later than Monday, June 23rd.
To purchase the book in Paperback, Audible, or Kindle, go to
https://a.co/d/gfts0Ax or www.downstairsatthewhitehouse.com
