Paperback
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English
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Description
With Alexander Robey Shepherd, John P. Richardson gives us the first full-length biography of his subject, who as Washington, D.C.’s, public works czar (1871–74) built the infrastructure of the nation’s capital in a few frenetic years after the Civil War.
“John Richardson's lucid biography of the central figure in Washington’s municipal history before the 1970s will benefit Washingtonians but also historians of all American cities. Through painstaking research, Richardson reveals common themes in the two seemingly disconnected segments of Shepherd’s storied career: as the visionary but imperious public works official who made Washington a modern city in the 1870s, and then as the imperialistic operator of American-owned mines in Díaz-era Mexico.”
“This fascinating study of Shepherd—a kind of proto-Robert Moses—belongs on any bookshelf devoted to the evolution of the American cityscape. The strength of Richardson’s research and writing is in the care and balance he brings to the tale. Washington, D.C., comes alive here, and so does Shepherd: sometimes hero and sometimes villain, he is always compelling and utterly human.”
“With skill, nuance, and the mining of primary sources, John Richardson brings visionary and/or corrupt political hack Alexander ‘Boss’ Shepherd, the remarkable ‘New Washington,’ and the heady early years of the Gilded Age to life.”
“The controversy surrounding Shepherd’s legacy can be reduced to a single question: Do the ends justify the means? Richardson concludes that the physical development that Washington experienced during Shepherd’s leadership of the Board of Public Works did indeed justify the exorbitant financial costs, the questionable business practices, and the loss of self-government.…It is a tribute to Richardson’s careful research and balanced narrative that many readers may disagree with his assessments of this fascinating but flawed man.”
“Shepherd’s story, told [here] with skill and confidence, is at once the story of a great American character, with all his great achievements—bold, visionary, pragmatic, entrepreneurial; and notable flaws.… It’s also the story of a great and complex American city’s recovery from the Civil War, growth in the industrial age, and implementation of one of the world’s greatest urban plans. In short, it’s how Washington became a city.”
John P. Richardson is a retired intelligence officer, Middle East specialist, and author of a previous study on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is an officer of two Washington area historical organizations and lives with his wife in Arlington, Virginia.
“John Richardson's lucid biography of the central figure in Washington’s municipal history before the 1970s will benefit Washingtonians but also historians of all American cities. Through painstaking research, Richardson reveals common themes in the two seemingly disconnected segments of Shepherd’s storied career: as the visionary but imperious public works official who made Washington a modern city in the 1870s, and then as the imperialistic operator of American-owned mines in Díaz-era Mexico.”
“This fascinating study of Shepherd—a kind of proto-Robert Moses—belongs on any bookshelf devoted to the evolution of the American cityscape. The strength of Richardson’s research and writing is in the care and balance he brings to the tale. Washington, D.C., comes alive here, and so does Shepherd: sometimes hero and sometimes villain, he is always compelling and utterly human.”
“With skill, nuance, and the mining of primary sources, John Richardson brings visionary and/or corrupt political hack Alexander ‘Boss’ Shepherd, the remarkable ‘New Washington,’ and the heady early years of the Gilded Age to life.”
“The controversy surrounding Shepherd’s legacy can be reduced to a single question: Do the ends justify the means? Richardson concludes that the physical development that Washington experienced during Shepherd’s leadership of the Board of Public Works did indeed justify the exorbitant financial costs, the questionable business practices, and the loss of self-government.…It is a tribute to Richardson’s careful research and balanced narrative that many readers may disagree with his assessments of this fascinating but flawed man.”
“Shepherd’s story, told [here] with skill and confidence, is at once the story of a great American character, with all his great achievements—bold, visionary, pragmatic, entrepreneurial; and notable flaws.… It’s also the story of a great and complex American city’s recovery from the Civil War, growth in the industrial age, and implementation of one of the world’s greatest urban plans. In short, it’s how Washington became a city.”
John P. Richardson is a retired intelligence officer, Middle East specialist, and author of a previous study on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is an officer of two Washington area historical organizations and lives with his wife in Arlington, Virginia.