Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Christopher Buckley (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2003

The father of our country slept with Martha, but schlepped in the District. Now in the great man’s footsteps comes humorist and twenty-year Washington resident Christopher Buckley with the real story of the city’s founding. Well, not really. We’re just trying to get you to buy the book. But we can say with justification that there’s never been a more enjoyable, funny, and informative tour guide to the city than Buckley. His delight as he points out things of interest is con-tagious, and his frequent digressions about his own adventures as a White House staffer are often hilarious.

In Washington Schlepped Here, Buckley takes us along for several walks around the town and shares with us a bit of his “other” Washington. They include “Dante’s Paradiso” (Union Station); the “Zero Milestone of American democracy” (the U.S. Capitol); the “Almost Pink House” (the White House); and many other historical (and often hysterical) journeys. Buckley is the sort of wonderful guide who pries loose the abalone-like clichés that cling to a place as mythic as D.C. Wonderfully insightful and eminently practical, Washington Schlepped Here shows us that even a city whose chief industry is government bureaucracy is a lot funnier and more surprising than its media-ready image might let on.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Buckley (No Way to Treat a First Lady) presents an engaging introduction to the highlights of monumental Washington in this collection of walking tours. While some readers might have appreciated a stroll through some of the capital's less-visited quarters (his tours barely venture beyond the Mall), Buckley digs up enough historical tidbits about even greatest hits stops like the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and Washington Monument to let veteran tourists see them freshly. His approach-combining the stories of those who built Washington and the stories of those who ruled it-pays off in rich anecdotes about, for instance, Pierre L'Enfant, the city's designer, who died in poverty, and James McNeill Whistler, who created the Freer Gallery's Peacock Room in a defiant act of artistic license. It's useful, too, to have a guide who's a former Washington insider (Buckley worked as a speechwriter to Vice-president Bush during Reagan's first term) and actually knows what it's like to steal stationery from Air Force One. Buckley's tendency to let jokes tell the stories is occasionally confusing: for instance, he writes, "Congress immediately passed a law prohibiting vice-presidents from speaking in verse; it remains on the books today." If he's not kidding he should elaborate, and if he is, well, he should be funnier. This isn't a critical guide to Washington-Buckley wears his conservative and patriotic credentials on his sleeve-and it is unlikely to appeal to anyone looking for insight into the Washington its residents actually inhabit, but its anecdotes, alternately frivolous and solemn, make a good companion to D.C.'s best-known attractions.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Semireverent, semisatirical, this perambulation of the monuments of Washington, D.C., takes readers from Union Station, down the Mall, and across the Potomac to Arlington National Cemetery. Your guide yearns to be buried there, but, stymied by the military-service regulation for interment, civilian Buckley confides his plot to have his ashes scattered on the grounds, preferably near the tombstone of Pierre L'Enfant, the designer of the city. Is Buckley's wish a gesture of solidarity with L'Enfant, who moldered in a pauper's grave until a guilt-wracked posterity in 1909 restored his sepulchral dignity? Probably not, since Buckley has prospered with a string of humorous novels mocking Washington's ways, and Washington does nothing if not take itself seriously. So no monuments to writers, please: mostly generals, presidents, and war casualties are honored here. Buckley recaps their deeds, and the deed of getting a particular memorial built, admitting chagrin for conducting "Buckley's Death March." No apology is needed, for Buckley has restored Washington, D.C., as our object of both awe and laughter. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio Voices; Abridged edition (August 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739306839
• ISBN-13: 978-0739306833
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,741,244 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Christopher Buckley is the author of fourteen books, including "Supreme Courtship," "Boomsday," and "Thank You For Smoking." He is editor-at-large of "ForbesLife" magazine, and was awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor and the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence. He lives on the Acela train between Washington, D.C. and New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great concept, slim execution, June 5, 2003

By 

bensmomma "bensmomma" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (Crown Journeys) (Hardcover)

This book is part of the "Crown Journeys" series, in which the publisher convinces local literary lights to write a book to show armchair tourits around their 'native' town. So Christopher Buckley, former White House staffer, seems like a natural for a walking tour of Washington D.C.

It seems painfully obvious on reading the result, however, that Buckley is writing for hire. There's nothing actually wrong with it; Buckley is his usual entertaining self. BUT he doesn't have much original to say and he really seems to be padding to reach the book's finish at a scant 143 small pages of text. You don't need him to tell you what there is to see in walking from the Capital to the Washington Monument, for example.

Surely Buckley has some favorite neighborhoods or haunts that you can't get from Fodors or the like, but he is keeping them to himself. The best parts are in Walk 3, when he talks about his days in the Old Executive Office Building, and takes a commercial walking tour of the old Lafayette Square neighborhood. But I can't bring myself to give him credit for the Lafayette Square bits, as he is so clearly just repeating the stories of his tourguide.

Go on THAT tour (the guide's name is Anthony Pitch) rather than fork over the big bucks for this little book.

P.S. If you need an actual 'guide book' - addresses, phone, hours of operation, that sort of thing - this is DEFINITELY NOT for you; it's just not that kind of book. In fact, since the book has no index, it's not even possible to look particular things up.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I laughed out loud, April 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (Crown Journeys) (Hardcover)

First of all, I NEVER buy tour books. I avoid them like the plague in fact. I wouldn't have touched this one if it hadn't been written by C. Buckley, who happens to be a riot to read anyhow, so why the heck not?

I loved it. He even managed to not offend my (admittedly swing-voter-ish) Democratic sensibilities. I actually really enjoyed his personal, insider reminiscences, although I am now dying to find out who Mr Code is/was. Call it Buckley's own version of "deep throat," although, of course, Mr Code didn't intend to share his info with anyone. (If you want to know what I'm talking about-read the book). It's thoroughly enjoyable even if you aren't planning on hitting DC any time soon. I basically walked around the Capital, snorting like a coke addict, except without the illegal substance high.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who (1) hates tourist books (2) hates tourist buses and matching T-shirts and fanny packs (3) loves being outside and active and (4) has a sense of humor.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buckley being Buckley...always a good thing, November 29, 2003

By 

Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital (Crown Journeys) (Hardcover)

I am neither ardent Republican nor Democrat. But, I am an ardent Christopher Buckley fan. I've read most of his books and find him to be unfailingly witty and insightful. And, if you've ever seen him doing his schtick in person, you'd realize that he doesn't take himself that seriously.

So, if you scrutinize this book looking for evidence of partisanship, you're surely going to find it. But consider the way Buckley presents it: screaming across the room to get Dick Cheney's attention, he is self-aware enough to acknowledge that his behavior is a source of embarrassment to his children. And as for those who might criticize his penchant for name-dropping, consider the following passage:

"For two years I had a White House pass that allowed me everywhere except, of course, the second-floor residence. One time, hearing that Jimmy Cagney was about to get the Medal of Freedom in the East Room - where Abigail Adams hung her wash out to dry, where Lincoln's body lay in state, and where I once sat behind Dynasty star Joan Collins while she and husband number four (I think it was) spelunked in each other's mouths with their tongues while Andy Williams crooned 'Moon River' - I rushed over from the Old Executive Office Building just in time to see President Reagan pin it on the man who had tapped out 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and was now a sad, crumpled, speechless figure in a wheelchair. I remember Reagan putting his hand on Cagney's shoulder and saying how generous he had been 'many years ago to a young contract player on the Warner Brothers lot.'"

That's typical of the book and of Christopher Buckley's personal style. Just the right combination of name-dropping, humor and reverence. He's silly when can be, and respectful when he needs to be. His 'Washington Schlepped Here' demonstrates a child-like enthusiasm for museums, an insatiable willingness to learn from Park Rangers and other tour guides, and a respectful reverence for George Washington and (especially) Abraham Lincoln.

And despite growing up in a family where Franklin Roosevelt was known only as 'that man,' he pays tribute to the enormity of FDR's achievements when visiting both the FDR Memorial and the Holocaust Museum.

For Christopher Buckley fans and newcomers alike, this book is a great read.