With a new afterword covering the two decades since its first publication, two of Washington, D.C.’s most respected journalists expose one of America’s most tragic ironies: how the nation’s capital, often a gleaming symbol of peace and hope, is the setting for vicious contradictions and devastating conflicts over race, class, and power. Jaffe and Sherwood have chillingly chronicled the descent of the District of Columbia—congressional hearings, gangland murders, the establishment of home rule and the inside story of Marion Barry’s enigmatic dynasty and disgrace. Now their afterword narrates the District’s transformation in the last twenty years. New residents have helped bring developments, restaurants, and businesses to reviving neighborhoods. The authors cover the rise and fall of Mayors Adrian Fenty and Vince Gray, how new corruption charges are taking down politicians and businessmen, and how a fading Barry is still a player. The “city behind the monuments” remains flawed and polarized, but its revival is turning it into a distinct world capital—almost a dream city. Harry Jaffe has been a national editor at The Washingtonian magazine since 1990. He has received a number of awards for investigative journalism and feature writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He has taught journalism at Georgetown University and American University. His work has appeared in Esquire, Regardie's, Outside, Philadelphia Magazine, National Geographic Traveler, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and other newspapers. Jaffe was born and raised in Philadelphia and began his journalism career with the Rutland (Vermont) Herald. He is the co-author of Dream City: Race, Power and the Decline of Washington, D.C. He lives in Clarke County, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughters. Tom Sherwood is a reporter for NBC4 in Washington, specializing in politics and the District of Columbia government. Tom also is a commentator for WAMU 88.5 public radio and a columnist for the Current Newspapers. Tom has twice been honored as one of the Top 50 Journalists in Washington by Washingtonian magazine. He began his journalism career at The Atlanta Constitution and covered local and national politics for The Washington Post from 1979 to 1989. He is the co-author of Dream City: Race, Power and the Decline of Washington, D.C. A native of Atlanta, he currently resides in Washington, D.C. and has one son, Peyton.

Breathing life into the men and women who struggled to help the city realize its full potential, he introduces us to the mercurial French artist who created an ornate plan for the city 'en grande'; members of the nearly forgotten anti-Catholic political party who halted construction of the Washington monument for a quarter century; and the cadre of congressmen who maintained segregation and blocked the city's progress for decades. In the twentieth century Washington's Mall and streets would witness a Ku Klux Klan march, the violent end to the encampment of World War I 'Bonus Army' veterans, the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and the painful rebuilding of the city in the wake of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.

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.

Washington, D.C. Then and Now presents a fascinating portrait of the evolution and history of the city since the dawn of photography in the mid-nineteenth century. It pairs vintage black-and-white photographs—including those of pioneers of American and commercial photography such as John Plumbe and Mathew Brady—with splendid color photographs taken from the same vantage points today. The book includes all the tourist must-see places of the capital city. Sites include, the Capitol, White House, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Treasury Building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Smithsonian Museum, Union Station, Ford's Theatre, Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, Folger Shakespeare Library, Old Post Office and the offices that Mark Twain described as "the ugliest building in America."It also features some breathtaking vintage panoramas taken from the Washington Monument showing the nascent capital in glorious detail.

"Completely updated and revised."--Cover.

Washington, D.C. Then and Now presents a fascinating portrait of the evolution and history of America's capital city since the dawn of photography in the mid-nineteenth century. It pairs vintage black-and-white photographs—including those of pioneers of American photography such as John Plumbe and Mathew Brady—with splendid color photographs taken from the same vantage points today.The book includes all the tourist must-see places of the capital city. Sites include, the Capitol, White House, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Treasury Building, Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Smithsonian Museum, Union Station, Ford's Theatre, Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, Folger Shakespeare Library, Old Post Office and the offices that Mark Twain described as "the ugliest building in America."It also features some breathtaking vintage panoramas taken from the Washington Monument showing the nascent capital in glorious detail.

Renowned Dayton, Ohio photographer Dan Cleary blends his passion for photography with a fascination for the Wright Brothers' legacy. In his book, Wright Brothers: Then and Now, Cleary seamlessly blends historical images of the Wright Brothers with current images he has taken at the same locations. The result is a compelling visual tribute to the pioneers of flight. The Wright Brothers were accomplished photographers and used photography in their process of discovery. Cleary obtained digital photographs by and about the Wright Brothers for this project. He then traveled to Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, New York, and France to capture current-day photographs at locations where the Wright Brothers made their early test experiments and flight demonstrations. Using his artistry as a photographer and his mastery of Photoshop, he superimposes the old and new images into captivating new combinations where the past and present interweave. He also includes a written narrative in each picture about the people behind the history, helping to bring life to each photograph. The image in the book "Bishop's First Flight" references the day in May 1910 when Bishop Milton Wright, the Wright Brothers' father, flew for the first time. He and Orville traveled to a height of about 350 feet and flew for six minutes over Huffman Prairie in Dayton, Ohio. The Bishop is said to have exclaimed, "Higher, Orville, Higher!" The Huffman Prairie Flying Field National Historical Park is adjacent to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. While at Huffman Prairie taking photographs with this historical image in mind, a C-17 Globemaster III transport took off from the Air Force Base and flew into Cleary's camera's frame. Cleary states, "The C-17 and Orville and Bishop Wright's plane lined up perfectly! It seemed to me that "Higher, Orville, Higher" was an appropriate metaphor for where aviation was soon to be." About the image titled "Kite Flying," Cleary recounts, "While at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Park Rangers started to pass out kites to visitors. It was the perfect opportunity to photograph, especially knowing the Wright Brothers used kites in their testing. Later in PhotoShop, I playfully inserted Orville and Wilbur with their kite into the scene." This photograph of Cleary's is one of the more playful images in the book. Wright Brothers: Then and Now is a must-have book for the Wright Brother history buff. This book is available from Dan's website, www.ClearyFineArtPhoto.com, and at many aviation and history museum bookstores.