DC Washington Books

What an excellent easy enjoyable reading that expands the lifetime of the author and her family growing up in the south and moving north. If you were born in the south, you'll enjoy remembering some of the things in your childhood that you may have forgotten and others that will jog your memory. This is a must read for anyone and especially people that value the meaning of "family".

A long unit history, compiled by participants some time postwar, about a brigade which contemporary scholars have perhaps underrated.

Originally Ashby's Valley cavalry and always looking back upon him as their most beloved leader, the Laurels (named during the war by Rosser) participated in Jackson's Valley Campaign. Under Grumble Jones' command, they went on a raid into West Virginia in early '63--something I don't recall being covered by Longacre or any other CS cavalry historian, but if the writers here are not exaggerating, it was an impressive accomplishment. No doubt, after riding 700 miles in 30 days, they were less than thrilled at shining themselves up for the Brandy Station review.

And, interestingly, where almost every primary cavalry document I've read takes a moment during the Brandy Station review to praise Stuart, his appearance on a horse and so forth, the Laurels are tellingly silent.

The battle of Brandy Station gets much detail and good description, and while there's a bit of a gap around the start of the Gettysburg campaign (perhaps not coincidentally), the rearguard fighting is well told. The account continues through various actions to the Valley Campaign of '64, and this is interesting again, because this unit has been rather derided during that campaign. "The laurel is a running vine," General Early is said to have scoffed. According to this text, he might better have said, "The laurel is a raiding into West Virginia and bringing me supplies..." Two more impressive raids, one in 25' snow, took place during this period. So perhaps the Laurels weren't as pathetic as contemporary scholars seem to accept (cf. Lee's Miserables; Lee's Cavalrymen), though the unit historians do lament the state of their mounts and materiel.

An interesting and valuable account, and, though obviously written by interested participants, seeming to suggest that this unit contributed more to the Confederacy than it commonly receives credit for.

THE INSIDERS' GUIDE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. is a great book, with an absolutely impeccable description of historical sites, music venues, theaters, shopping malls, neighborhoods, and freestanding stores of all kinds. It shows the DC area, despite its reputation for having the nation's highest percentage of couch potatoes, to be an area with enough ethnic diversity to provide healthy diet ideas for anyone with any kind of celebrity crush.

There are, however, certain parts of the book that really need to be taken like the humor in comedy movies/shows featuring Alyson Hannigan, Jennifer Garner, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Melissa Joan Hart, and Jennifer Love Hewitt. One of these is the section on the Virginia suburbs, which says that the schools south of the District are excellent, when, in fact, from all available evidence, the schools in Howard and Montgomery Counties in Maryland are much better in many areas. Another is the "Media" section, which fails to account for such changes as classic rock station WARW's recent change to Triple-A, with its new call letters being WTGB, and a local classical station's change to Adult Hits, the call letters WXGG, and the nickname "George 104" (after George Washington).

Overall, however, whether you're planning to visit or move to the Washington, D.C. area, or are just proud to be American, this book will enrich your life.

I think this guide gives complet information and is not too big to handle.
It includes an extra map. It will lead us perfectly through our 2-days-stay.
Gisela, Germany

I moved to Washington D.C in the mid-1970s and have lived here, with a brief period in suburban Maryland, ever since. For most of that time, I have not been a practicing Jew, but this book struck deep chords with me.
I had a similar reaction to another book in the Images of America Series, "Jewish Milwaukee" by Martin Hintz, which is a photographic documentary of the city in which I grew up. But Dr. Martin Garfinkle's book, "The Jewish Community of Washington, D.C." has, somehow, a tougher, livelier feel. It brought the Washington Jewish community to life and, equally important, it brought Washington D.C. to life.

Dr Garfinkle is a fourth-generation Washingtonian who currently holds an academic position in New York City. The many pictures of his family give this book a highly personal touch. Although some Jews, such as the Garfinkles, have deep roots in the city, most have come to the city from somewhere else, just as I have done, and lack long generational ties to Washington D.C.

The book focuses on Washington D.C. itself rather than the subtantial Jewish communities that have arisen in recent years in suburban Maryland and Virginia. The book is in ten chapters, the first three of which are comparatively lengthy with the remaining seven chapters short and particularized. There is much emphasis in the book on American patriotism within the Jewish community which I found gratifying and important.

The first chapter of the book describes, appropriately, Jewish worship in Washington D.C. I particularly enjoyed seeing the photographs of the earliest synagogues in what is today a part of the city near Chinatown and the Martin Luther King library. Many of these old buildings are still functional houses of worship for Christian churches. Garfinkle also offers photographs of former Jewish synagogues in Southwest D.C. and along the Georgia Avenue and 16th Street corridors, areas I know well.

In the second chapter of the book, "Making a Living", Garfinkle offers some wonderfully rare old photographs of small shops, grocery stores, "bargain" stores, clothing and jewelry stores, gas stations, auto parts stores, book stores, liquor stores, and restaurants. He offers a portrait of a striving, vibrant people and community. We see the inside of shops and small storefronts on Georgia Avenue and downtown Washington that are no more. The book offers a fascinating portrayal of the everyday life of newcomers to the city and of middle-class people. The photos date from the pre-New Deal era in which Jewish people were not a large presence in the Federal Civil Service.

The third chapter of the book discusses the many organizations and activities in which the D.C. Jewish community has been engaged over the years. Family activities, such as a home seder, and community activities, such as athletic activities, confirmations and groundbreakings for new buildings are featured. Presidents including Grant, McKinley, Coolidge, Hoover, Truman and Eisenhower took an active part over the years in activities involving the dedication of buildings and institutions of Jewish life in Washington D.C. Surprisingly to me, Calvin Coolidge appeared particularly and sincerely interested in these ceremonial functions.

The remaining sections of the book deal with interesting specific themes. Garfinkle, sharing the passion of many Jewish people for baseball, discusses three Jewish players on the old Washington Senators. Further chapters focus on Al Jolson, the son of a famous Rabbi in Southwest D.C, an early Jewish avaiation pioneer, Washington D.C. Jews who gave their lives in WW II, Jews and African-Americans, a subject that deserves further exploration, U.S. Presidents, and individual moments, such as the unsolved murder of Rabbi Philip Rabinowitz of the Orthodox Kesher Israel Congreation in Georgetown in 1984.

I loved this book with its focus on the city and on the diverse and active lives of Jews in Washington D.C. Garfinkle offers an eloquent, individualized portrayal of a Jewish community in urban America.

Robin Friedman

Crossword puzzles, cartons, and clever artwork make this book a great way to entertain and educate your kids about one of the greatest places to visit in the country. Each review reveals fun facts and an opportunity for kids to write, draw, or just play on the page.

This guide was incredibly helpful when I was in Washington, DC. It let me know the best places to go on a tight budget (that I have as a student,) and was incredibly well written and edited.

I bought this after looking through a dozen maps at the bookstore to use during a the few weeks that I visited DC.
It is basically a nice map with a 40 page booklet stapled to it.

I read the "guide"/booklet part of it which includes concise descriptions of the major highlights of DC; the depth of this guidebook is appropriate for those who are only going to spend a day or two touring or those that are supplementing with another guidebook (I liked DK's Eyewitness book with pictures). When I was done reviewing the "guide" part, I separated it from that map and travelled around with just the map part.

This map is very user friendly & informative: Words/colors are easy to read. It includes the Metro stops, famous buildings, & parks all superimposed on one easy to use folding map. I have been all over the city and found the location of these sites to be accurately marked on the map. Also, Adams-Morgan (north) and Rosslyn(west) are included. On the back side of the map is a schematic diagram of the entire Metro train system as well as a Washington DC regional road map.
Several people that live in DC have commented that it's a useful map.
Also, the map is laminated and very sturdy.

The stunning, mostly color photographs in this splendid book facilitate a highly rewarding vicarious visit to one of the world's truly great Beaux Arts settings, the interior of the 1896 Library Of Congress, located just behind the U.S. Capital. What's more, punctuating the glimpses of the library's grand entrance hall, dazzling white and colored marbles, majestic staircases and wide, open balconies, arches, columns, carved relief work, painted murals and the huge, lavishly ornamented dome towering above the octagonal main reading room, is an alphabetically arranged glossary of architectural terms. Each photo provides a visual of description of the term cited. The colorful, often fantastic typography used for the alphabet letters themselves is an unexpected bonus in this nifty bargain-priced volume.

Like the other Lonely Planet Condensed books this one is a day pack must have. It's small enough to be able to stick in a pack or a back pocket but is filled to the brim with useful information on what to see in DC, where to eat, how to get there (excellent maps including details on the Metro), and where to lay your head at the end of the day. We picked this up on a whim but found that it helped us narrow down the best sights and points of interest for Washington, DC when we only had a few days to stay. Well worth the very reasonable price and you'll have no trouble finding the highlights and the hidden treasures of the capital.