The Grand Idea; George Washington's Potomac and the Race to the West
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. [12], 367, [3] pages. Maps. Notes. Index. Signed by the author on bookplate affixed to fep. DJ has slight wear and soiling. Front board interior as a slight bulge near the hinge. Chronicles retired general George Washington's adventurous 680-mile trek down the Potomac River, a journey during which he endeavored to prevent disunion, collected key frontier and real-estate data, tangled with squatters and the natural elements, and inspired engineering achievements. Joel LeRoy Achenbach (born December 31, 1960) is an American staff writer for The Washington Post and the author of seven books, including A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea, The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens, It Looks Like a President only Smaller, and three compilations of his former syndicated newspaper column "Why Things Are". He is a contributor to many publications, including Slate and National Geographic. Achenbach has been a commentator on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and does occasional speaking engagements. In addition to his work in the print version of The Washington Post, Achenbach was one of the first Post writers to have a significant presence on the Internet. He graduated with an A.B. in politics from Princeton University in 1982.] Prior to his tenure with The Washington Post in 1990, Achenbach was a staff writer for the Miami Herald from 1982–90, where he worked with Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Barry. Achenbach was awarded the Philip J. Klass Award for outstanding contributions in promoting critical thinking and scientific understanding for 2011, by National Capital Area Skeptics (NCAS). Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: A spritely book about a river and horseback trip more than two centuries ago? Hard to pull off, but Achenbach has done so with enough authority to satisfy historians and in a lively style sure to please general readers. His tale is about George Washington's fixation with the West—not today's Far West but the lands inland of the Appalachians—and about what that single-minded interest came to mean for the nation. The author uses that trip to unroll a large canvas of subjects, chief among them how a single man's "personal issues had a way of becoming national ones." Fleshing out a day-to-day itinerary with excursions into the land's geography, politics, farmers and backwoodsmen,and Indians, Achenbach also unwraps Washington's personality, at once magisterial and rough, obsessive yet realistic, accepting of the people but disdainful of those who got in his way. The Potomac, whose successful development as grand route to the interior would greatly benefit Washington, also plays a central role. Achenbach explains how the river's intractable geography kept the nation's capital from becoming the great metropolis of Washington's dreams. The story of Washington's fixation on a dream impossible to realize is a good tale. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Surveyor, Potomac, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, William Crawford, Albert Gallatin, Land Speculation, Great Falls, Alexander Hamilton, Harpers Ferry, James Madison, Mount Vernon, Patowmack, Trade, Transportation
ISBN: 0684848570
[Book #87975]
Price: $125.00