A fantastic trip through the nation’s capital, led by one of my favorite humorists, Christopher Buckley (he of Thank You For Smoking and The White House Mess, among others). Actually, I don’t think this works nearly as well as a walking tour as it does a history lesson. Buckley walks us through some fascinating stories behind the famous landmarks of DC — occasionally weaving in his own experience as speechwriter for then-Vice President Bush — and, best of all, shows the eerie interconnectedness of it all.
You’d be absolutely fascinated, for instance, to find out how many Presidential assassinations the son of Abraham Lincoln witnessed first-hand. Or the strange tales told by the dead men in Arlington Cemetary. Buckley’s dry (though occasionally snobbish) wit delivers these facts entertainingly and leaves you wishing DC was bigger, if only to increase the size of the book.