The Washington century : three families and the shaping of the Nation's Capital / Burt Solomon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Solomon, Burt.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Boggs, Hale, 1914-1972--Family.

Boggs, Hale.

Cafritz, Morris, 1886?-1964--Family.

Cafritz, Morris.

Hobson, Julius W--Family.

Hobson, Julius W.

Cafritz, Morris, 1886?-1964.

Boggs, Hale, 1914-1972.

Political culture--Washington (D.C.)--History--20th century.

Political culture.

Political culture--United States--History--20th century.

Politics and government.

Manners and customs.

History.

Families.

United States.

Washington (D.C.)--Biography.

Washington (D.C.).

Washington (D.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century.

Washington (D.C.)--Politics and government--20th century.

United States--Politics and government--20th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

498 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : William Morrow, [2004]

Summary:

The Washington Century tells the captivating history of the nation's capital during the last century, made vivid through the struggles of three very different families, each representing an essential aspect of Washington. Veteran journalist Burt Solomon uses these families to explore everything from the customs of Washington's grand hostesses to the surge in the federal bureaucracy to the critical roles that politicking and lobbying have played as the capital has grown more truly democratic. Each family's story forms a strand of the city's single history. Their lives were entwined with those of other Washington notables-from Eleanor Roosevelt to Lady Bird Johnson, Perle Mesta, Stokely Carmichael, J. Edgar Hoover, Tip O'Neill, Jesse Jackson, John F. Kennedy, and even a twenty-six-year-old Bill Clinton. The Washington Century is also the behind-the-scenes biography of an intricate and ever-changing city, once a gracious capital that has become a money-driven and partisan place. Solomon's ingenious narrative, written with the pace and sense of a novel, is full of quirky moments and unforget-table characters, both familiar and unfamiliar to the American public, who made a sleepy, southern town into the soul of a nation. Compulsively readable, as enlightening as it is entertaining, here is a fascinating chapter of living history.

Contents:

1 Theodore Roosevelt to Hoover 1

2 Roosevelt 25

3 Truman 61

4 Eisenhower 87

5 Kennedy 117

6 Johnson 145

7 Nixon 197

8 Ford 251

9 Carter 273

10 Reagan 297

11 Bush 329

12 Clinton 355.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [403]-473) and index.

ISBN:

006621372X

OCLC:

55700265