Washington

Meg Greenfield, the illustrious long-time editorial page editor of the Washington Post, has written an instant classic that is as wise as it is wry. Greenfield came to Washington in 1961 at the beginning of the Kennedy administration and joined the Washington Post in 1968. Her editorials at the Post and her columns in Newsweek were universally admired in Washington for their insight and style. Here Greenfield provides a portrait of the United States capital at the end of the American century.

Washington is an eccentric, tribal, provincial place where the primary currency is power. For all the scandal and politics of Washington, its real culture is surprisingly little known, and Meg Greenfield explains the place with an insider's knowledge and an observer's cool perspective. She likens the political scene to a high school, where the inhabitants are completely self-absorbed in the peculiar life of the place, freshman congressmen undergo the rituals of indoctrination, and most individuals may be categorized as teacher's pets, hall monitors, or big men on campus. And the biggest shock for all of these over-achievers? When they finally "arrive" in Washington, they are surrounded by equally qualified and talented people and the competition is relentless.