Washington Century: Three Families and the Shaping of the Nation's Capital Book

The Washington Century tells the story of two generations of three families living in Washington, DC over the course of the 20th Century. Their stories illuminate the changes to the capital city - not only the political shifts, but also the cultural, racial, and architectural evolutions that accompanied the city in its transformation from a provincial town into a world power.

The first of these families is the Cafritzes, whose progenitor built himself up from an impoverished newspaper boy into the premier real estate magnate of the city. His story is the classic story of an immigrant rising, and his wife's remolding into the doyenne of the Washington social scene both breaks cultural barriers (as a Jewish family crashes into territory formerly occupied only by the protestant elite) and demonstrates how power in the city spread from a tight-knit group of power players into a democratized diversity of factions. This narrative follows the local power players and how they interact with the national ones, and explains why there are so many plaques to the Cafritzes' generosity across the city, from museums to social services.

The second of these families is the Boggs. Hale Boggs arrives in Washington as a fresh-faced representative from Louisiana, and rises to become the House majority leader. All of his family enter the power set of DC, as his wife assumes the same House seat, his daughter becomes an influential journalist, and his son becomes the city's preeminent lobbyist. This narrative explores how the national government has changed, and crosses paths with many of the most powerful political figures of the 20th Century.

The third family is the Hobsons, an African-American family who struggle against the institutional racism of the city in very different ways. The father of the family becomes a major rabble-rouser and educational equality advocate who refuses to compromise his principles. In contrast, the scion of the family chooses a more conservative path of reconciliation to cut his own path of power in a world dominated by whites. This narrative demonstrates the very different lives and challenges of African-Americans in DC as they navigate a complex web of racism, protest, and setbacks.

At the same time, the book follows the structural upheavals of the city itself. As the book opens, Pennsylvania Avenue is a boulevard of seedy saloons and fish markets, Georgetown is an industrial morass, the National Mall is a wilderness populated by thieves, and K Street is a stately avenue of mansions. By the book's close, Pennsylvania Avenue has become the national government's main thoroughfare, Georgetown a wealthy residential neighborhood of posh shops, the National Mall a grand park surrounded by world-class museums, and K Street a lobbyist and lawyers' haven of office buildings. Anyone even passingly familiar with the city today should find this evolution fascinating.

A book like this is obviously destined to be highly detailed, and occasionally plods, getting slower as it proceeds. But it's well-constructed, well-researched, and clearly a labor of love. The key players are well-fleshed out and the themes well-explored. Anyone interested in the history of Washington from a human point of view will find much to enjoy.