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Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation's Capital

Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation's Capital

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Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation's Capital

by John P. Richardson

  • Used
  • Fine
  • Paperback
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Fine
ISBN 10
0821422502
ISBN 13
9780821422502
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Washington, District of Columbia, United States
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About This Item

First edition paperback, which is in fine condition and signed and inscribed by the author. Please see photos for condition. Seller will carefully wrap book in bubble wrap, box it, and ship it with tracking.

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. The story of Shepherd is also the story of his hometown after that cataclysm, which left the city with churned-up streets, stripped of its trees, and exhausted.

An intrepid businessman, Shepherd became president of Washington's lower house of delegates at twenty-seven. Garrulous and politically astute, he used every lever to persuade Congress to realize Peter L'Enfant's vision for the capital. His tenure produced paved and graded streets, sewer systems, trees, and gaslights, and transformed the fetid Washington Canal into one of the city's most stately avenues. After bankrupting the city, a chastened Shepherd left in 1880 to develop silver mines in western Mexico, where he lived out his remaining twenty-two years.

In Washington, Shepherd worked at the confluence of race, party, region, and urban development, in a microcosm of the United States. Determined to succeed at all costs, he helped force Congress to accept its responsibility for maintenance of its stepchild, the nation's capital city.

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Details

Bookseller
Book Nook US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
D-404
Title
Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation's Capital
Author
John P. Richardson
Book Condition
Used - Fine
Quantity Available
1
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10
0821422502
ISBN 13
9780821422502
Publisher
Ohio University Press
Date Published
2016

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About the Seller

Book Nook

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2021
Washington, District of Columbia

About Book Nook

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Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Inscribed
When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...

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