Washington, DC: A Historic Walking Tour (Images of America) [Paperback]

Thomas Carrier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 1999

When it was passed in 1789, the Constitution set out the boundaries not only for a new government but for a new capital city as well. At the time, the new District of Columbia covered 5,000 acres, dominated by marshland on the south, pastureland on the area that is now the Mall, farms near the White House and Capitol Hill, and undeveloped woods throughout. Covering Capitol Hill, the Mall, the Old Downtown area, the Ellipse, Lafayette Square, and Foggy Bottom, this engaging photographic history and walking tour documents how the Federal City grew from farmland to world capital. Striking images and detailed captions tell the fascinating stories behind many of the famous and the not so famous buildings and monuments that cover the D.C. landscape, from Union Station and the Capitol to the White House and the Watergate Hotel and many important sites in between.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Longtime Washington, D.C. tour guide Thomas J. Carrier has compiled an entertaining and informative pictorial journey through the city, taking readers through historic neighborhoods, memorials, office buildings, and private homes and providing the details that bring the city's unique heritage to life. Both visitors and residents alike are sure to enjoy this remarkable visual tour.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (July 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738500496
• ISBN-13: 978-0738500492
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #859,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Carrier has had an interest in American history ever since insisting on holding an American flag for a family portrait at about 7 years old. Born in Cleveland in 1956, he moved to Washington, DC in 1982 shortly after leaving the U.S. Army as an 82nd Airborne paratrooper. Working and living among the national capital provided a unique background to create an in depth series of walking tours that focused not only what was obvious, but also helping others to experience the history that lay undiscovered.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tourist guide to historical Washington, June 26, 2005

By 

Christopher P. Cavas (Bethesda, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Washington, DC: A Historic Walking Tour (Images of America) (Paperback)

The Images of America series features a wide range of topics by numerous authors. Some are quite good, others more mediocre, and a few are downright bad. This book falls at the lower end of the mediocre category.

The book covers only the area from Capitol Hill to Foggy Bottom, stopping short even of Georgetown. Generally, those are the areas out-of-towners stick to on their vacations, so this book will be relevant to them. Thomas Carrier, the author, virtually ignores the rest of the city and metropolitan area.

Dates are provided only for some of the photographs and illustrations, lessening their value. Quixotically, many of the captions go on at length about some building, then say that the illustration depicts the site before all that happened - leaving out anything about what you're actually looking at. The illustrations are keyed to maps at the beginning of each chapter - that's fine, but no street address is provided in most of the captions, which would have been useful. There also are a great many statues illustrated - again, fine for tourists, but not having much to do with the life of the city.

One example of the book's lack of focus: On page 105 is a fine photograph of the Watergate band barge, a fixture of Washington life for several decades until the advent of loud jet planes forced its removal in the early 1960s; the nearby Watergate complex of the 1960s got its name from this location. The foreground of the picture shows dozens of canoes filled with people crowding close to the barge early on a summer evening. Steps for people to listen to the free concerts are still by the river today - for no apparent reason until one understands the original purpose. Yet Carrier's caption is concerned completely with Memorial Bridge, seen only dimly in the background. His only comment on the barge is it's a "floating band stand."

The absence of Carrier's understanding of social events and context and his focus on simplistic touristy features underscore the tone of the entire book.