Empire of Mud: The Secret History of Washington, DC - Hardcover

Dickey, J.D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0762787015 ISBN 13: 9780762787012

Publisher: Lyons Press, 2014

Synopsis

Washington, DC, gleams with stately columns and neoclassical temples, a pulsing hub of political power and prowess. But for decades it was one of the worst excuses for a capital city the world had ever seen. Before America became a world power in the twentieth century, Washington City was an eyesore at best and a disgrace at worst. Unfilled swamps, filthy canals, and rutted horse trails littered its landscape. Political bosses hired hooligans and thugs to conduct the nation's affairs. Legendary madams entertained clients from all stations of society and politicians of every party. The police served and protected with the aid of bribes and protection money. Beneath pestilential air, the city’s muddy roads led to a stumpy, half-finished obelisk to Washington here, a domeless Capitol Building there. Lining the streets stood boarding houses, tanneries, and slums. Deadly horse races gouged dusty streets, and opposing factions of volunteer firefighters battled one another like violent gangs rather than life-saving heroes. The city’s turbulent history set a precedent for the dishonesty, corruption, and mismanagement that have led generations to look suspiciously on the various sin--both real and imagined--of Washington politicians. Empire of Mud unearths and untangles the roots of our capital’s story and explores how the city was tainted from the outset, nearly stifled from becoming the proud citadel of the republic that George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant envisioned more than two centuries ago.

About this title

About the Author:

J. D. Dickey is the author of numerous Eyewitness and Rough Guide travel guides, including Washington, D.C., Directions and The Rough Guide to Washington, D.C., as well as a contributor to The Rough Guide to the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. He has written for the Independent and Daily Telegraph and created content for online sites such as Feed, Budget Travel, and Void magazine. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Review:

[An] eye-opening, in-depth look at the history of America's capital city in the 19th century: sordid, squalid, tawdry, filthy, and corrupt. Dickey pulls no punches as he examines the dark side of the District's misspent youth, from its origins as a compromise carved from several states to its evolution into "a fiefdom ruled by national politicians" ... Only someone who loves the city can be so honest about its flaws, and this love shows in Dickey's flowing style and knowledgeable approach. [Publishers Weekly, 7/7/2014]

An entertaining story for local history enthusiasts or general readers eager to peek into the curiosities and scandals in the less-than-reputable past of the now glittering capital. --Thomas J. Davis, Arizona State Univ., Tempe [Library Journal, Sept. 2014]

Make no mistake. "Empire of Mud," J.D. Dickey's history of early Washington, is a bracing and graceful read, but upon finishing its calamity-laden pages, you may conclude that a lot of people had a lot of years to get a job done and failed to do it -- and that their failure haunts us in ways too numerous to count. So if you can stomach learning how our beautiful, vexed city became a cat toy for national politicians and an ongoing rebuke of democracy, this is as good a place as any to start. [Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 9/5/14]

About this edition

• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0762787015
• ISBN 13: 9780762787012
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320