Washington Goes to War - Hardcover

Brinkley, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0896211908 ISBN 13: 9780896211902

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 1988

Synopsis

David Brinkley, one of America's most respected and celebrated news commentators, turns his journalistic skills to a personal account of the tumultuous days of World War II in the sleepy little Southern town that was Washington, D.C.

Carrying us from the first days of the war through Roosevelt's death and the celebration of VJ Day, Brinkley surrounds us with fascinating people. Here are the charismatic President Roosevelt and the woman spy, code name "Cynthia." Here, too, are the diplomatic set, new Pentagon officials, and old-line society members -- aka "Cave Dwellers" We meet the brashest and the brightest who actually ran the government, and the countless men and women who came to support the war effort in any way they could -- all seeking to share in the adventure of their generation.

About this title

Review:

This book of the just-retired newsman's reminiscences of Washington at the dawn of America's involvement in World War II is no mere historical curiosity shop. It's very instructive about the way Washington still works. For instance, Brinkley tells us that in September 1941, while FDR was still wavering about where to put the military's new headquarters building, an Army general told the contractor to get started. By the time Roosevelt found out about this a month later, the foundations for the Pentagon had already been put in place.

From the Back Cover:

"[Brinkley] is an excellent raconteur, and his book--a combination of memoir and popular history--consists of an amiable, extraordinarily readable anecdotal narrative, running from the late 1930s through V-J Day."--Henry Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times Book World

"Astonishing. . . Told with endearing detail . . . He knows his Washington well."--The New York Times Book Review

"HILARIOUS AND INSTRUCTIVE . . . Brinkley has written an impressionist history, comparable to a pointillist painting composed of small points of color that, seen whole, comprise a remarkably truthful record of reality."--George F. Will, The Washington Post

"EVOCATIVE . . . One gets the sense that he was everywhere in Washington, with a bird's-eye view of the show from start to finish. . . . A grand and moving drama."--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times

"A wonderful read for those of us who lived through it. It should be even better for those who are too young to remember."--The Washington Monthly

About this edition

• Publisher: Thorndike Pr
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0896211908
• ISBN 13: 9780896211902
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 561