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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.… (más)
Entertaining and acerbic look at Washington, D.C. in the 1939-1945 period. Brinkley was there for a portion of the time, from 1943 as a White House correspondent for NBC News. Much of what he didn't see first-hand comes from contemporary accounts and memories by those he interviewed. Congress does not come off at all well in this analysis, with the possible exception of Speaker Sam Rayburn. One interesting angle explored in the book is the massive bureaucratic muddle that engulfed the government as it went on to war, and how it was never really resolved. ( )
2159 Washington Goes To War, by David Brinkley (read 21 Aug 1988) This was given me as a gift, and since I read (eventually) all the books I own, I decided to read it. I found it much more enjoyable than I expected. While I do not particularly like David Brinkley--generalizer and non-meticulous as he is--I found this account supremely readable. It is the story of Washington from 1940 to 1945--those of course are prime years in my dawning consciousness. My sister went to Washington in 1942. I went there in 1950--when it had not changed all that much. Brinkley is sardonic and funny, and all that, but I could not help but be tremendously moved by his account of FDR's death and funeral. He makes those years seem such distant simple times--and I guess they were. What seems so odd now seemed so obvious then. A great book! ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Washington in wartime is a combination of Moscow (for over-crowding), Paris (for its trees), Wichita (for its way of thinking), Nome (in the gold-rush days) and Hell (for its livability). -- Malcolm Cowley, "Washington is like Hell," The New Republic, June 1942
Home of the brave, land of the free I don't want to be mistreated by no bourgeoisie, Lord, it's a bourgeois town! Tell all the colored folks to listen to me Don't try to buy no home in Washington, D.C. 'Cause it's a bourgeois town! -- Song by Leadbelly, black folk singer of the 1940s
Washington the Capital is a symbol of democracy and America. Washington the city is a symbol of almost everything that sincere and thoughtful men know is wrong with democracy and America. Washington the Capital is the hope of world freedom; Washington the city is overcrowded, badly housed, expensive, crime-ridden, intolerant, with inadequate transportation, schools, and health facilities. It staggers under a dilapidated and hopeless governmental organization, and its problems are rapidly getting worse. -- Alden Stevens, "Washington: Blight on Democracy," Harper's, December 1941
If the war lasts much longer, Washington is going to bust right out of its pants. -- Life magazine, January 1943
Dedicatoria
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
To Alan, Joel, John and Alexis
Primeras palabras
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
I am a journalist, not a historian, and while this book is an effort to describe a moment in the past, it is less a work of history than of personal reminiscence and reflection. (Preface)
In 1783, the British defeated and the American Revolution ended, the new Congress was already irritated at being forced to moved its deliberations from one city to another for the previous six years to escape the British army. (Prologue)
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.
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