Scan barcode
nlando115's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
1.5
DNF at 85% but I’m still counting it because the audiobook was literally 25 hours long. I really wanted to like this. I tried so hard. It was interesting to learn about DC’s complicated history of race and development, but the writing itself was SO dry. I felt like I was reading a textbook.
sjgrodsky's review against another edition
5.0
Written by Chris Asch, a native Washingtonian like me, and George Musgrove, a Baltimorean.
Deeply researched and engagingly written. The authors enliven what could have been a dry recitation by describing particular lives that are emblematic of a period or movement. My favorite of these stories concerned Annie Stein, who worked with the majestic Mary Terrell Church to end segregation. Because Annie, Jewish like me, was also a resident of Trenton Terrace! Did my parents know her?
The authors are even handed in their treatment of Marion Barry, Washington’s top candidate for the “tragically flawed hero” award.
The publisher’s subtitle is accurate, but i would have substituted this one: “How racism makes you stupid”.
Because, for sure, racism has been behind many of the self destructive decisions and attitudes that litter DC history. Such as:
—Trading, in 1868, a democratically elected mayor for a board of governors composed of members of Congress.
—Sticking with that form of government for almost a century. Because it was better to be Congress’s testing ground for hair-brained ideas than extend suffrage to blacks.
—Electing a drug-addled addict to represent you on the city council.
There are a few oddities (his name is Pierre L’Enfant, not Peter) but MANY wonderful insights and stories. Here are a few:
—The original Washingtonians were the Nacostine Indians, who lived at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. They traded with the Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
—The Anacostia was navigable as far as Bladensburg until overfarming of tobacco exhausted the soil, which washed into the river and silted it up. It was not always a sewer.
—The first black prez of Howard was appointed in 1935. The school was about 70 years old by then.
—Reconstruction was a time of hope and progress for blacks. So many gains were rescinded in the following years.
—Laundry was a good biz in Washington, a white collar town.
—DC lacked the immigrant communities of other cities because it lacked the factory employment that attracted them.
—Despite my claim (true in the 1970s) that 16 St divided black and white DC, there were black communities northeast of Dupont Circle (around 19th and S) and in the area between Connecticut and the core of Adams Morgan.
—In the 1950s, there was progress on desegregation because of the Cold War: Soviet “propagandists” portrayed segregation and discrimination, and visiting dignitaries of color were shocked when subjected to segregation.
—However, progress didn’t address economic matters because activists were afraid of being called communists.
—Congress Heights remained blue collar white until the mid-1960s. Around then, two employment centers (a factory and Bolling AFB) declined and the white population decamped to PG and Calvert counties.
—Affordable housing has been an issue in DC darn near forever. The authors don’t mention the building height limit as a factor, though I’ve often heard that restriction blamed.
—The book mentions Trenton Terrace, my home from ages 1-3, as a complex that was mostly Jewish and mostly liberal.
—My family was, in 1955, part of that white flight to the suburbs. My parents bought in Montgomery County, home of excellent schools for their cherished children.
—I’ve long been aware that DC struggles financially because so much of the land is not subject to real estate taxes. The book gave the number: 42 percent of the land is tax-exempt. It’s owned by the federal government, or a church, or a school, or a non-profit, or an embassy. Stunningly large proportion.
Deeply researched and engagingly written. The authors enliven what could have been a dry recitation by describing particular lives that are emblematic of a period or movement. My favorite of these stories concerned Annie Stein, who worked with the majestic Mary Terrell Church to end segregation. Because Annie, Jewish like me, was also a resident of Trenton Terrace! Did my parents know her?
The authors are even handed in their treatment of Marion Barry, Washington’s top candidate for the “tragically flawed hero” award.
The publisher’s subtitle is accurate, but i would have substituted this one: “How racism makes you stupid”.
Because, for sure, racism has been behind many of the self destructive decisions and attitudes that litter DC history. Such as:
—Trading, in 1868, a democratically elected mayor for a board of governors composed of members of Congress.
—Sticking with that form of government for almost a century. Because it was better to be Congress’s testing ground for hair-brained ideas than extend suffrage to blacks.
—Electing a drug-addled addict to represent you on the city council.
There are a few oddities (his name is Pierre L’Enfant, not Peter) but MANY wonderful insights and stories. Here are a few:
—The original Washingtonians were the Nacostine Indians, who lived at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. They traded with the Powhatan tribe in Virginia.
—The Anacostia was navigable as far as Bladensburg until overfarming of tobacco exhausted the soil, which washed into the river and silted it up. It was not always a sewer.
—The first black prez of Howard was appointed in 1935. The school was about 70 years old by then.
—Reconstruction was a time of hope and progress for blacks. So many gains were rescinded in the following years.
—Laundry was a good biz in Washington, a white collar town.
—DC lacked the immigrant communities of other cities because it lacked the factory employment that attracted them.
—Despite my claim (true in the 1970s) that 16 St divided black and white DC, there were black communities northeast of Dupont Circle (around 19th and S) and in the area between Connecticut and the core of Adams Morgan.
—In the 1950s, there was progress on desegregation because of the Cold War: Soviet “propagandists” portrayed segregation and discrimination, and visiting dignitaries of color were shocked when subjected to segregation.
—However, progress didn’t address economic matters because activists were afraid of being called communists.
—Congress Heights remained blue collar white until the mid-1960s. Around then, two employment centers (a factory and Bolling AFB) declined and the white population decamped to PG and Calvert counties.
—Affordable housing has been an issue in DC darn near forever. The authors don’t mention the building height limit as a factor, though I’ve often heard that restriction blamed.
—The book mentions Trenton Terrace, my home from ages 1-3, as a complex that was mostly Jewish and mostly liberal.
—My family was, in 1955, part of that white flight to the suburbs. My parents bought in Montgomery County, home of excellent schools for their cherished children.
—I’ve long been aware that DC struggles financially because so much of the land is not subject to real estate taxes. The book gave the number: 42 percent of the land is tax-exempt. It’s owned by the federal government, or a church, or a school, or a non-profit, or an embassy. Stunningly large proportion.
s_rees's review
slow-paced
4.0
This is both an incredible work of history and a frustrating read. At times it feels like it shows without telling (a lot of factual anecdotes without much analysis stitching things together) and at other times telling without showing (conclusory, unearned statements). The scope of the book is remarkably broad -- it's an ambitious attempt to write the entire history of DC, but the very nature of its breadth makes some of the omissions (the development of the subway, go go music, what ever actually happened to disburse alley communities, etc.) notable.
chughes120's review
3.0
This surprised me in that it was more about general race politics in the US (I guess that was in the subtitle tho) and not exclusively about the black experience in DC, although it does include that as well.
Was going to give this 3 starts because it was very dry and read like a textbook for the middle half, but I was very engaged and felt like I was actually learning stuff about DC once it got to about the 1970s-80s, so it’s more like 3.5-4 stars now.
Was going to give this 3 starts because it was very dry and read like a textbook for the middle half, but I was very engaged and felt like I was actually learning stuff about DC once it got to about the 1970s-80s, so it’s more like 3.5-4 stars now.
alaiyo0685's review against another edition
5.0
Highly recommend to any and all DC-area transplants!
ascoular's review against another edition
4.0
In many ways, the story of D.C. felt like two steps forwards, one step back. At other times, I was blown away by the power of local activists and formidable coalitions. This is a necessary book and it feels like the preeminent book on the city’s history.
This book gave me a lot of context and appreciation for the neighborhoods I’ve lived in, for better or worse! (Mount Vernon, NoMa, Navy Yard, Tenleytown, and Dupont)
I also grew up primarily knowing only the negative stereotypes about Marion Barry and this book did a great job of explaining his rise and continued support by his constituents.
Four stars because at times I felt like some pieces were repetitive at the cost of cutting other more significant events that could have rounded out the story better.
I highly recommend this book for any D.C. transplants or even people that grew up in its suburbs (like me).
This book gave me a lot of context and appreciation for the neighborhoods I’ve lived in, for better or worse! (Mount Vernon, NoMa, Navy Yard, Tenleytown, and Dupont)
I also grew up primarily knowing only the negative stereotypes about Marion Barry and this book did a great job of explaining his rise and continued support by his constituents.
Four stars because at times I felt like some pieces were repetitive at the cost of cutting other more significant events that could have rounded out the story better.
I highly recommend this book for any D.C. transplants or even people that grew up in its suburbs (like me).
hagermanmg's review against another edition
5.0
“We hope that this book will inspire Washingtonians to take up the challenge of black and white abolitionists, of former slaves and Radical Republicans, of civil rights and home rule activists, of freeway protestors and cooperative organizers, to build a more just, egalitarian, and democratic nation’s capital.”
I’m a DC transplant. As a white person living here, it’s especially important to acknowledge all of the racial tension and political strife DC has gone through in the past AND present. This book is a must-read for anyone living or planning to live here or just interested in the complicated history of our nation’s capital.
The book spans history from pre-European settlement all the way up to 2010. This is one of the most well-written, well-researched, expansive and thorough books I’ve read in quite some time. The length is a little overwhelming to start, and trust me, it took me a long time to get through (as someone who is not a nonfiction reader most of the time
I’m a DC transplant. As a white person living here, it’s especially important to acknowledge all of the racial tension and political strife DC has gone through in the past AND present. This book is a must-read for anyone living or planning to live here or just interested in the complicated history of our nation’s capital.
The book spans history from pre-European settlement all the way up to 2010. This is one of the most well-written, well-researched, expansive and thorough books I’ve read in quite some time. The length is a little overwhelming to start, and trust me, it took me a long time to get through (as someone who is not a nonfiction reader most of the time