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Washington Goes to War
This book of the just-retired newsman's reminiscences of Washington at the dawn of America's involvement in World War II is no mere historical curiosity shop. It's very instructive about the way Washington still works. For instance, Brinkley tells us that in September 1941, while FDR was still wavering about where to put the military's new headquarters building, an Army general told the contractor to get started. By the time Roosevelt found out about this a month later, the foundations for the Pentagon had already been put in place.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
David Brinkley
27 books11 followersFull name: David McClure Brinkley
*ABC and NBC newscaster
*Co-anchored the Huntley–Brinkley Report
*NBC Nightly News co-anchor and correspondent
*Sunday This Week with David Brinkley
Received:
*ten Emmy Awards
*three George Foster Peabody Awards
*Presidential Medal of Freedom
*ABC and NBC newscaster
*Co-anchored the Huntley–Brinkley Report
*NBC Nightly News co-anchor and correspondent
*Sunday This Week with David Brinkley
Received:
*ten Emmy Awards
*three George Foster Peabody Awards
*Presidential Medal of Freedom
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
October 22, 2022
Washington, D.C., grows at a moderate rate in time of peace, but grows very quickly in time of war. It happened during the American Civil War, when the “sleepy Southern town” of antebellum days became a well-fortified, confident, and forward-looking Union capital; and it happened more recently, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when an entirely new homeland security apparatus had to be formed, virtually from scratch. Perhaps most famously, it happened during the Second World War. The profound changes brought to Washington by the city’s, and the nation’s, participation in the Allied war effort are well chronicled by David Brinkley in his 1988 book Washington Goes to War.
Brinkley, a distinguished journalist best known for decades of achievement at NBC News, on The Huntley-Brinkley Report, NBC Nightly News, and This Week With David Brinkley, provides a fast-moving and pleasing portrait of this time of change in the history of the Nation’s Capital -- The Extraordinary Story of the Transformation of a City and a Nation, as the book's cover-page descriptor puts it.
Among other things, Brinkley captures the way in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt exercised his “almost magical talent for persuading and manipulating the American people” through “his ability to state his thoughts in simple homely phrases” -- as when, in the time before Pearl Harbor, he explained "Lend-Lease," a military program designed for aiding embattled Great Britain, to a skeptical and largely isolationist U.S. public by saying, “Suppose my neighbor’s home catches on fire, and I have a length of garden hose four or five hundred feet away….I want my hose back after the fire is over. All right. If it goes through the fire all right, intact, without any damage to it, he gives it back to me and thanks me very much for the use of it” (pp. 50-51).
Roosevelt’s defense of what Brinkley describes as frankly a “fraudulent” program, one that abandoned all pretense of U.S. neutrality in World War II, worked -- in spite of U.S. Senator Robert Taft’s acid rejoinder that “Lending arms is like lending chewing gum. You don’t want it back” (p. 51).
Once the United States of America was officially in the war, much changed in Washington. The thousands of people who came to Washington to assist in and/or profit from the war effort caused an acute housing shortage – a problem that was sufficiently well-known that Hollywood released two wartime comedies, George Stevens’s The More the Merrier (1943) and Sidney Lanfield’s Standing Room Only (1944), both set in D.C. and taking as their subject the District’s housing shortage. Portions of Washington Goes to War take the reader back to the time when government workers “slept in shifts” in shared housing -- when temporary housing proliferated in trailer parks throughout the area, and equally temporary office buildings popped up on the National Mall itself.
The day Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Republican minority leader of the House of Representatives met with President Roosevelt and declared, “In the hour of danger there is no partisanship”; but as Brinkley points out, “unity meant different things to different people”, as when a Democratic boss from the Bronx stated his belief that “the Republicans should suspend operations for the duration and leave the Democrats in charge” (p. 200). In many of the political controversies of the time, Aristotle would no doubt have seen justification for his well-known claim that ὁ ἄνθρωπος φύσει πολιτικὸν ζῷον (“Humankind is by nature a political species”).
War or no war, Washington’s social scene continued to sparkle, albeit with some alterations: “Before the war, the Latin American embassies had been of little interest to Washington socialites, but with so many European countries occupied by the Germans and their embassies suffering, the South and Central American embassies assumed with a new seriousness the task of keeping social Washington amused at night” (p. 151).
The social segregation that had existed in Washington, D.C., since the post-Civil War era continued, but was challenged during World War II by brave African Americans who pointed out, correctly, that it was absurd for the U.S.A. to expect African-American soldiers to fight for American democracy abroad, but to put up with undemocratic, racist social practices at home.
In April of 1943, for example, black students asked politely to be served at Thompson’s Restaurant at 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, while picketers marched outside in support. The picketers’ efforts received some reinforcement when “six black soldiers (unconnected with the demonstrators) joined the students at tables inside and refused to leave even when M.P.’s arrived and warned them that the incident might ‘embarrass’ the army. Finally, the restaurant management gave in, and for several days – as local reporters watched – blacks were served without incident” (pp. 250-51).
While the restaurant was re-segregated once reporters were no longer watching, the incident demonstrated the determination of D.C.’s African-American community to fight for their rights, and looked ahead to the more lasting successes of the Civil Rights Era.
As a Washington native who grew up in the D.C. area, I found that Washington Goes to War helped me to look at the life of the city in new ways. For example, when driving through upper Northwest Washington in my younger years, I was often struck by the attractive campus of the Office of Naval Intelligence, near Ward Circle at Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues, and wondered: how did the U.S. Navy acquire such a prime piece of real estate?
Simple, as it turns out: the Navy took a look at the campus of a women’s college called Mount Vernon Seminary, and “decided it wanted the school and its Georgian brick buildings, classrooms, dormitories, its land, its chapel, everything; and while the girls were home for the Christmas holidays, the navy just took it. It offered $800,000 for property easily worth $5 million and finally agreed to pay $1.1 million” (p. 117).
Such is the way things change in a society at war, and Washington Goes to War captures those changes well. With helpful photographs (no footnotes or index, but a useful list of sources at the end), it is a fine work of popular history.
Brinkley, a distinguished journalist best known for decades of achievement at NBC News, on The Huntley-Brinkley Report, NBC Nightly News, and This Week With David Brinkley, provides a fast-moving and pleasing portrait of this time of change in the history of the Nation’s Capital -- The Extraordinary Story of the Transformation of a City and a Nation, as the book's cover-page descriptor puts it.
Among other things, Brinkley captures the way in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt exercised his “almost magical talent for persuading and manipulating the American people” through “his ability to state his thoughts in simple homely phrases” -- as when, in the time before Pearl Harbor, he explained "Lend-Lease," a military program designed for aiding embattled Great Britain, to a skeptical and largely isolationist U.S. public by saying, “Suppose my neighbor’s home catches on fire, and I have a length of garden hose four or five hundred feet away….I want my hose back after the fire is over. All right. If it goes through the fire all right, intact, without any damage to it, he gives it back to me and thanks me very much for the use of it” (pp. 50-51).
Roosevelt’s defense of what Brinkley describes as frankly a “fraudulent” program, one that abandoned all pretense of U.S. neutrality in World War II, worked -- in spite of U.S. Senator Robert Taft’s acid rejoinder that “Lending arms is like lending chewing gum. You don’t want it back” (p. 51).
Once the United States of America was officially in the war, much changed in Washington. The thousands of people who came to Washington to assist in and/or profit from the war effort caused an acute housing shortage – a problem that was sufficiently well-known that Hollywood released two wartime comedies, George Stevens’s The More the Merrier (1943) and Sidney Lanfield’s Standing Room Only (1944), both set in D.C. and taking as their subject the District’s housing shortage. Portions of Washington Goes to War take the reader back to the time when government workers “slept in shifts” in shared housing -- when temporary housing proliferated in trailer parks throughout the area, and equally temporary office buildings popped up on the National Mall itself.
The day Pearl Harbor was bombed, the Republican minority leader of the House of Representatives met with President Roosevelt and declared, “In the hour of danger there is no partisanship”; but as Brinkley points out, “unity meant different things to different people”, as when a Democratic boss from the Bronx stated his belief that “the Republicans should suspend operations for the duration and leave the Democrats in charge” (p. 200). In many of the political controversies of the time, Aristotle would no doubt have seen justification for his well-known claim that ὁ ἄνθρωπος φύσει πολιτικὸν ζῷον (“Humankind is by nature a political species”).
War or no war, Washington’s social scene continued to sparkle, albeit with some alterations: “Before the war, the Latin American embassies had been of little interest to Washington socialites, but with so many European countries occupied by the Germans and their embassies suffering, the South and Central American embassies assumed with a new seriousness the task of keeping social Washington amused at night” (p. 151).
The social segregation that had existed in Washington, D.C., since the post-Civil War era continued, but was challenged during World War II by brave African Americans who pointed out, correctly, that it was absurd for the U.S.A. to expect African-American soldiers to fight for American democracy abroad, but to put up with undemocratic, racist social practices at home.
In April of 1943, for example, black students asked politely to be served at Thompson’s Restaurant at 11th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, while picketers marched outside in support. The picketers’ efforts received some reinforcement when “six black soldiers (unconnected with the demonstrators) joined the students at tables inside and refused to leave even when M.P.’s arrived and warned them that the incident might ‘embarrass’ the army. Finally, the restaurant management gave in, and for several days – as local reporters watched – blacks were served without incident” (pp. 250-51).
While the restaurant was re-segregated once reporters were no longer watching, the incident demonstrated the determination of D.C.’s African-American community to fight for their rights, and looked ahead to the more lasting successes of the Civil Rights Era.
As a Washington native who grew up in the D.C. area, I found that Washington Goes to War helped me to look at the life of the city in new ways. For example, when driving through upper Northwest Washington in my younger years, I was often struck by the attractive campus of the Office of Naval Intelligence, near Ward Circle at Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues, and wondered: how did the U.S. Navy acquire such a prime piece of real estate?
Simple, as it turns out: the Navy took a look at the campus of a women’s college called Mount Vernon Seminary, and “decided it wanted the school and its Georgian brick buildings, classrooms, dormitories, its land, its chapel, everything; and while the girls were home for the Christmas holidays, the navy just took it. It offered $800,000 for property easily worth $5 million and finally agreed to pay $1.1 million” (p. 117).
Such is the way things change in a society at war, and Washington Goes to War captures those changes well. With helpful photographs (no footnotes or index, but a useful list of sources at the end), it is a fine work of popular history.
September 3, 2018
I'm a former Washingtonian and I found this book to be fantastic!
August 17, 2022
I read this book years ago, when it first came out and I was a relatively recent immigrant to Washington, DC. It is a wonderful, intimate overview of how this city was changed, forever, by the demands of World War II.
February 5, 2009
This is a fantastic book. David Brinkley wrote about the changes that took place in Washington, DC as a result of WWII, how it went from basically a sleepy little burg where visitors walked into the president's office and bounced on his chair, to the sprawling bureaucratic machine we all know today. He writes about it directly and vividly because he was there and saw it, what the people were like as people (Alice Roosevelt, eeew!), what the town was like, snapshots of things that make it come alive - fearing shortages after Pearl Harbor, people stocked up on sugar and pineapples, so much so that one car's truck was so overfull it was dragging on the ground; or the festering cesspool of backbiting gossip that was the hotel the Japanese, German and Italian diplomats were kept in, along with their wives AND mistresses! I tell everyone to read it, not enough people do. A great book and fun to read.
Want to read
January 13, 2009"... i am a journalist, not a historian, and while this book is an effort to describe a moment in the past, it is less of history than of personal reminiscence and reflection...."
June 21, 2022
I found this book to be so informative and fascinating. I love DC history, particularly since I grew up in Northern VA, and I learned so many new things. In addition to local history, I also learned a lot about the changes to the federal government and federal legislation during WW2 (for example, new tax laws). It was interesting to read about the nation’s thoughts about FDR and Truman, and I really enjoyed Brinkley’s style of writing. He is very knowledgeable but engaging and easy to understand. I would definitely recommend this book to others!
March 16, 2017
Reading goodreads reviewer and close personal friend Nolan Crabb's review of this masterpiece caused me to immediately add it to my "to read" list and I'm very glad I did. Brinkley's chronicle of an incredibly dysfunctional World War II Washington, D.C. is extremely troubling, extremely readable , and, as Nolan points out, in a strange way comforting.
All of the rhetoric about how broken Washington is, how dysfunctional government has become etc. is, and should be, of great concern. This book serves as a reminder that things may not have been so much better in the "good old days." Brinkley provides numerous examples of governmental inefficiency and waste. He shows us a Washington where partying was the norm even at a time when our world was in crisis. His account is quite readable and left me scratching my head and wondering how we managed to get anything done during those pivotal years in US history. Of course, it can be argued -- correctly, I think -- that the current administration is leading us down a very dangerous path and that this was not true under FDR. I agree, but that's not what this book addresses. It shows that Washington, DC was no more functional 76 years ago than it is today (a sad comment indeed) and yet we are here to tell about it.
All of the rhetoric about how broken Washington is, how dysfunctional government has become etc. is, and should be, of great concern. This book serves as a reminder that things may not have been so much better in the "good old days." Brinkley provides numerous examples of governmental inefficiency and waste. He shows us a Washington where partying was the norm even at a time when our world was in crisis. His account is quite readable and left me scratching my head and wondering how we managed to get anything done during those pivotal years in US history. Of course, it can be argued -- correctly, I think -- that the current administration is leading us down a very dangerous path and that this was not true under FDR. I agree, but that's not what this book addresses. It shows that Washington, DC was no more functional 76 years ago than it is today (a sad comment indeed) and yet we are here to tell about it.
May 6, 2025
Very disappointing book -- as in I expected lots more than it delivered. Perhaps my expectations were to blame.
I was expecting a memoir, and in the preface Brinkley says the book is ". . . personal reminiscence and reflection. Essentially, it is an account of my own observations and experiences . . . supplemented by material drawn from interviews and other sources." So was I wrong to expect a memoir? Don't think so.
In any event, Brinkley is missing in action here . . . there are a few mentions of "a young reporter," obviously him, but there's no personality showing. This book could have been written by anyone "from interviews and other sources."
Also, there's a terrible case of not being able to see the forest for the trees, to coin a cliche. Lots of details, which is GOOD, but not much synthesis -- the "so what?" rarely shows up.
Finally, (because why go on and on for a two-star book?), the overall picture painted is negative. How could we possibly have won WW II if the thing were so badly managed? The answer never comes.
5/6/25: Just read a review by someone much enamored with this book -- and the guy's ratings usually are similar to mine and his reviews are pithy and perceptive. So I looked at my review again. Yep, still two stars. And made me wonder if I still own this book. If so, perhaps time to donate!
I was expecting a memoir, and in the preface Brinkley says the book is ". . . personal reminiscence and reflection. Essentially, it is an account of my own observations and experiences . . . supplemented by material drawn from interviews and other sources." So was I wrong to expect a memoir? Don't think so.
In any event, Brinkley is missing in action here . . . there are a few mentions of "a young reporter," obviously him, but there's no personality showing. This book could have been written by anyone "from interviews and other sources."
Also, there's a terrible case of not being able to see the forest for the trees, to coin a cliche. Lots of details, which is GOOD, but not much synthesis -- the "so what?" rarely shows up.
Finally, (because why go on and on for a two-star book?), the overall picture painted is negative. How could we possibly have won WW II if the thing were so badly managed? The answer never comes.
5/6/25: Just read a review by someone much enamored with this book -- and the guy's ratings usually are similar to mine and his reviews are pithy and perceptive. So I looked at my review again. Yep, still two stars. And made me wonder if I still own this book. If so, perhaps time to donate!
May 24, 2009
If you love the city of Washington DC, are preparing to visit, or recently visited, this is a fun read. Brinkley writes about the incredible period during Roosevelt's 3rd term when the number of buildings and the city's population exploded. The cast of real-life characters are more exciting than some of the best fiction you'll ever encounter. Brinkley's style is candid and honest. A great read for your flight into our nation's grand Capitol! Then, you'll want to visit Embassy row, the Pentagon, and the old hotels.
March 30, 2008
Funny at times, Brinkley really tells you the way it was in Washington DC during WWII. Detailed and well written, it’s a must read for anyone that has the slightest interest in history or Politics
August 22, 2025
“ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, SAME KIND OF CITIZENS”
The late Mr. Brinkley (1920-2003) stated in the book’s preface, “I am a journalist, not a historian and while this book is an effort to describe a moment in the past, it is less a work of history than of personal reminiscence and reflection.” It is observations and experiences in wartime Washington D.C. The sardonic reporter was a young man when the city was called to meet the challenge of Hitler’s and Japan's aggressiveness. If you understand even a bit about U.S. history, we were initially not up to the challenge. Isolationism was the predominant mindset, and it took the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor in December 1941 for most Americans to make a dramatic pivot on going to war. Mr. Brinkley stressed that the book is not a recap of some grand strategy, but what he saw, heard and learned during that time. He succeeds in a big way. The book was published in 1988.
‘Washington Goes to War’ gives an excellent recreation of the times and place. There are amusing anecdotes, and the writing has a hint of Mr. Brinkley’s sarcasm. There are things people did back then that are inconceivable in today’s culture, despite humans having an almost limitless ability to do idiotic things. The author covers such things as D.C. being a deeply segregated town where racism was boldly practiced; how the city was crawling with foreign diplomats and spies; the extremely poor condition our military was right before the war; the massive buildup of military and civilian agencies attracted all kinds of unsavory types; and how entrenched bureaucracies were involved in daily fights for power. The book also shows that our nation had just as many imbecilic and showboat elected officials and administrators back during the 1930s and 40s as we do today. Even during wartime, petty politics was active. Because of the sudden massive growth of departments, often the right bureaucratic hand did not know what the left bureaucratic hand was doing and contradicted each other.
Many politicians were especially greedy and demanded special privileges when it came to rationed resources. Also, like today, the ultra-rich lived in a very different world. Opulence and social climbing as well as social competition involved trench warfare in D.C. Us common folks were viewed by the powerful and powerful wannabes as worthy of attention and compassion as the dog crap they scrape off their shoes. They loathed The New Deal. Mr. Brinkley describes the relationship between FDR and the press. In the nineteen-thirties and forties, wealthy, egomaniacal, conservative press lords were still a cultural force. Radio was starting to develop into a reputable news source and television had not yet altered the landscape. The city’s rapid increase in population was a seismic disruption. There was an acute housing crisis, especially for displaced blacks.
The myth that Americans have embraced is one in which all U.S. stateside citizens united during the war effort. The reality is there was an unhealthy amount of laziness, carelessness, stupidity, delays, errors and theft were rampant, especially in government departments. Many citizens hoarded items such as cigarettes when there was no need to do so. Nothing’s changed. We mimicked the pattern during Covid when greedy citizens started stockpiling toilet paper and other essentials. Some people are truly out only for themselves. Like all wars, profiteers saw it as a huge opportunity to make some serious moolah, hook or by crook. While FDR first attempted to call for citizens better angels to sacrifice for a larger cause, the administration had to resort to passing laws that forced stateside citizens to toe the line to help win the existential threat of World War II. The author also explains the conversion to a pay-as-you-go tax system and the book concludes with the ending of World War II.
Humans have an unhealthy habit of whitewashing past events to tailor them as purely noble actions with only a few unethical outliers. It is a child-like mindset. Jingoism is especially strong when reminiscing about past wars. Mr. Brinkley saw what was happening in Washington D.C. before and during World War II. People enamored of suppressing negative evidence of past actions will likely hate ‘Washington Goes to War.’ The book shows that we humans still are very much driven by our base needs, some are admirable, and a lot are not. Anyone who believes we can attain some Barney & Friends world where I love you and you love me need to get their friggin’ head examined. While Mr. Brinkley stated he was not a historian, the reporter documented in a manner that paints a more complex picture of that time period’s zeitgeist. ‘Washington Goes to War’ is great history.
The late Mr. Brinkley (1920-2003) stated in the book’s preface, “I am a journalist, not a historian and while this book is an effort to describe a moment in the past, it is less a work of history than of personal reminiscence and reflection.” It is observations and experiences in wartime Washington D.C. The sardonic reporter was a young man when the city was called to meet the challenge of Hitler’s and Japan's aggressiveness. If you understand even a bit about U.S. history, we were initially not up to the challenge. Isolationism was the predominant mindset, and it took the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor in December 1941 for most Americans to make a dramatic pivot on going to war. Mr. Brinkley stressed that the book is not a recap of some grand strategy, but what he saw, heard and learned during that time. He succeeds in a big way. The book was published in 1988.
‘Washington Goes to War’ gives an excellent recreation of the times and place. There are amusing anecdotes, and the writing has a hint of Mr. Brinkley’s sarcasm. There are things people did back then that are inconceivable in today’s culture, despite humans having an almost limitless ability to do idiotic things. The author covers such things as D.C. being a deeply segregated town where racism was boldly practiced; how the city was crawling with foreign diplomats and spies; the extremely poor condition our military was right before the war; the massive buildup of military and civilian agencies attracted all kinds of unsavory types; and how entrenched bureaucracies were involved in daily fights for power. The book also shows that our nation had just as many imbecilic and showboat elected officials and administrators back during the 1930s and 40s as we do today. Even during wartime, petty politics was active. Because of the sudden massive growth of departments, often the right bureaucratic hand did not know what the left bureaucratic hand was doing and contradicted each other.
Many politicians were especially greedy and demanded special privileges when it came to rationed resources. Also, like today, the ultra-rich lived in a very different world. Opulence and social climbing as well as social competition involved trench warfare in D.C. Us common folks were viewed by the powerful and powerful wannabes as worthy of attention and compassion as the dog crap they scrape off their shoes. They loathed The New Deal. Mr. Brinkley describes the relationship between FDR and the press. In the nineteen-thirties and forties, wealthy, egomaniacal, conservative press lords were still a cultural force. Radio was starting to develop into a reputable news source and television had not yet altered the landscape. The city’s rapid increase in population was a seismic disruption. There was an acute housing crisis, especially for displaced blacks.
The myth that Americans have embraced is one in which all U.S. stateside citizens united during the war effort. The reality is there was an unhealthy amount of laziness, carelessness, stupidity, delays, errors and theft were rampant, especially in government departments. Many citizens hoarded items such as cigarettes when there was no need to do so. Nothing’s changed. We mimicked the pattern during Covid when greedy citizens started stockpiling toilet paper and other essentials. Some people are truly out only for themselves. Like all wars, profiteers saw it as a huge opportunity to make some serious moolah, hook or by crook. While FDR first attempted to call for citizens better angels to sacrifice for a larger cause, the administration had to resort to passing laws that forced stateside citizens to toe the line to help win the existential threat of World War II. The author also explains the conversion to a pay-as-you-go tax system and the book concludes with the ending of World War II.
Humans have an unhealthy habit of whitewashing past events to tailor them as purely noble actions with only a few unethical outliers. It is a child-like mindset. Jingoism is especially strong when reminiscing about past wars. Mr. Brinkley saw what was happening in Washington D.C. before and during World War II. People enamored of suppressing negative evidence of past actions will likely hate ‘Washington Goes to War.’ The book shows that we humans still are very much driven by our base needs, some are admirable, and a lot are not. Anyone who believes we can attain some Barney & Friends world where I love you and you love me need to get their friggin’ head examined. While Mr. Brinkley stated he was not a historian, the reporter documented in a manner that paints a more complex picture of that time period’s zeitgeist. ‘Washington Goes to War’ is great history.
October 31, 2023
David Brinkley’s masterful volume chronicles the immense changes, at every level, wrought upon Washington D.C. by the advent of World War Two, transforming it from a relatively quiet Southern-oriented town where the business of government proceeded at a usually leisurely pace into a (or perhaps THE) center of world power.
Fully illustrated are the many ways old values and manners of running the government clashed with new; the strains placed upon the city’s infrastructure by the influx of thousands of new government workers to man (perhaps a misnomer, since most of them were young women) newly-created federal bureaucracies, and especially their need for housing; the explosive resulting growth of the government as reflected in these many new agencies needed to organize and administer the war effort; how the city’s moneyed old “social elite” strove to maintain its status and position; how race relations were in certain ways both improved and worsened; and how, sadly, even in the midst of world war, political infighting and jockeying for power, privilege and position continued unabated.
Many saw the war as a golden opportunity to pursue their own agendas in pursuit of wealth and influence under the collective nose of a government, too constrained to prosecute the war effort by any means necessary, to implement any oversight—or willing to look the other way if that’s what was required to meet production quotas for food, gasoline, uniforms, housing, weapons, or other war needs both at home and abroad.
Perhaps best exemplifying the frenzied atmosphere pervading wartime Washington was the way the Pentagon, largest building in the world, was rushed to completion in 1942 with workers toiling in three shifts, 24 hours a day. So desperate was the military for additional office space that office workers were moved into the lower floors before the upper floors were even completed and had to cope with dust, noise, lack of office furniture, and other distractions even as they pounded away at their Royal manual typewriters (which were also in short supply!). The Mall was also filled with temporary wooden structures which were (thankfully!) demolished after war’s end.
The narrative also sheds additional light on why President Roosevelt aged so visibly and catastrophically as the war progressed. Not only did he have to deal with Churchill and Stalin—a difficult task at best—he also faced constant vilification from enemies in the media—particularly certain newspapers—and foes in Congress. His death in April 1945as he sought a temporary respite at his refuge in Warm Springs, Georgia, came as no surprise to those who had witnessed his health and vigor decline for years.
Both Washington’s outward appearance, and the ways the business of government was conducted within its imposing edifices both old and new, were drastically metamorphosed by the war—many of the changes persisting to this day, and anyone desiring insight into the functioning of government in its seat of power would do well to read this book. Highly recommended!
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
Fully illustrated are the many ways old values and manners of running the government clashed with new; the strains placed upon the city’s infrastructure by the influx of thousands of new government workers to man (perhaps a misnomer, since most of them were young women) newly-created federal bureaucracies, and especially their need for housing; the explosive resulting growth of the government as reflected in these many new agencies needed to organize and administer the war effort; how the city’s moneyed old “social elite” strove to maintain its status and position; how race relations were in certain ways both improved and worsened; and how, sadly, even in the midst of world war, political infighting and jockeying for power, privilege and position continued unabated.
Many saw the war as a golden opportunity to pursue their own agendas in pursuit of wealth and influence under the collective nose of a government, too constrained to prosecute the war effort by any means necessary, to implement any oversight—or willing to look the other way if that’s what was required to meet production quotas for food, gasoline, uniforms, housing, weapons, or other war needs both at home and abroad.
Perhaps best exemplifying the frenzied atmosphere pervading wartime Washington was the way the Pentagon, largest building in the world, was rushed to completion in 1942 with workers toiling in three shifts, 24 hours a day. So desperate was the military for additional office space that office workers were moved into the lower floors before the upper floors were even completed and had to cope with dust, noise, lack of office furniture, and other distractions even as they pounded away at their Royal manual typewriters (which were also in short supply!). The Mall was also filled with temporary wooden structures which were (thankfully!) demolished after war’s end.
The narrative also sheds additional light on why President Roosevelt aged so visibly and catastrophically as the war progressed. Not only did he have to deal with Churchill and Stalin—a difficult task at best—he also faced constant vilification from enemies in the media—particularly certain newspapers—and foes in Congress. His death in April 1945as he sought a temporary respite at his refuge in Warm Springs, Georgia, came as no surprise to those who had witnessed his health and vigor decline for years.
Both Washington’s outward appearance, and the ways the business of government was conducted within its imposing edifices both old and new, were drastically metamorphosed by the war—many of the changes persisting to this day, and anyone desiring insight into the functioning of government in its seat of power would do well to read this book. Highly recommended!
***** review by Chuck Graham *****
August 4, 2019
We knew David Brinkley as an award winning TV journalist/broadcaster but not as a writer, but with this book we learn he was a remarkable writer indeed, an "old school" journalist. Brinkley's account of pre-war, parochial DC is priceless, particularly his accounting of the staid Washington society who saw everything change with the advent of the second World War. Equally interesting is his accounting of a rather chaotic government, in spite of it being led by the incomparable FDR. In the end, America, led by its sometimes bungling and in-fighting bureaucrats in Washington, comes through to successfully mobilize and prosecute the war, in spite of themselves, which says something about our "can-do" spirit that prevailed at the time. DC changed forever with the war, and DC today barely resembles what it was 70 years ago, but thankfully, Brinkley takes us back to a time. The District frankly is a better place now, largely absent of the slums and the difficulty of finding a good meal, and regardless of what people may think about some of its current leading inhabitants. However, the war gave rise to a military industrial complex that now is a grotesque and highly expensive monstrosity, with ever increasing budgets in the multi-billions. One of our greatest war heroes, Ike, warned us about it. How can it ever be wound down with so many DC politicos feeding from the same trough?
December 29, 2019
As a long-time resident of Washington, D.C. and a student of WWII, I began this story with great excitement. It is a story that depicts a city not by its great critics or proponents but rather as it was. Like most periods of history, the war years in Washington were neither singularly good nor bad but rather a testament to a city that bumbled into a historic position and made it work.
In race relations and the treatment of women, it made some improvements alongside the country at large, growing the share of African Americans in the federal workforce from 8 to 18% and occupying more positions of responsibility than before. However, many of these gains were immediately retracted after the war when the soldiers returned. Despite our perception of a nation singularly devoted to change from a peacetime to a wartime economy, industry took much coaxing to stop making so many toasters and begin making rifles. And partisanship, while not very effective given the president’s popularity and exercise of greater executive powers, persisted nonetheless to oppose Roosevelt’s new deal initiatives.
In race relations and the treatment of women, it made some improvements alongside the country at large, growing the share of African Americans in the federal workforce from 8 to 18% and occupying more positions of responsibility than before. However, many of these gains were immediately retracted after the war when the soldiers returned. Despite our perception of a nation singularly devoted to change from a peacetime to a wartime economy, industry took much coaxing to stop making so many toasters and begin making rifles. And partisanship, while not very effective given the president’s popularity and exercise of greater executive powers, persisted nonetheless to oppose Roosevelt’s new deal initiatives.
February 13, 2021
I remember David Brinkley being a news host when I was a kid, and had no idea he was such a good storyteller as a writer. Taking long looks at various and sundry elements of life in Washington, D.C. during World War II - including race issues, housing difficulties, huge expansion of government, society parties, military life, the ways and means of Congress, the changes in the press, and others. Brinkley uses anecdotes to paint his pictures, though he's not averse to dropping in facts and figures here and there. He captures the gravity of the times, and more than a few examples of hypocrisy, while keeping a sardonic sense of humor at his beck and call as necessary. I also learned something I never knew before - until 1943, Americans paid income taxes for the previous year out of money they had (or often didn't have) lying around this year. There were no paycheck withdrawals until then. What a change that made in American life.
September 6, 2025
It's an older book, with fascinating details of the evolution of what appears to be 'small-town' Washington D.C. that changes rapidly during the years of World War II. Society evolves as those wealthy folks want some power in decisions, an airport with only one runway must be renovated, and the vast needs for government workers becomes the Pentagon we know today. There is much more, often hard to believe how those government workers were housed as thousands poured in! I enjoyed it very much!
December 2, 2025
This book took a unique and focused view of WWII and was written in an excellent way. It focused on various areas (bureaucracy, armed forces, Congress, etc.) in a concise and deliberate manner, with one chapter leading well into the next.
Even though this book was written in the ‘80s and focused on the ‘30s and ‘40s, it really is fascinating how similar politicians and the government are today.
Brinkley also has a great sense of humor and included some great, under the radar nuggets (e.g., Sam Rayburn and his chili)
Even though this book was written in the ‘80s and focused on the ‘30s and ‘40s, it really is fascinating how similar politicians and the government are today.
Brinkley also has a great sense of humor and included some great, under the radar nuggets (e.g., Sam Rayburn and his chili)
September 13, 2019
If you want to read a great book about Washington DC written by an incisive, intelligent observer of our nation's capitol, check out David Brinkley's book, "Washington Goes to War." He became persona non grata aka Washingtonian Without Portfolio - after his book was published. Why? Because he told the truth in true journalistic fashion. Nothing could cause more offense in DC today as this book did when published.
January 24, 2021
This is a really fun book to read. It is the story of Washington, D.C. during WWII and how it was transformed to support the war and expansion of the federal government. David Brinkley was a new journalist just arriving in town and this book shares his observations and insights as to what was taking place. The story does now focus on just the politics, but talks about the social conditions and how the influx of new workers lived. It is a very easy read and I really enjoyed the book.
December 30, 2020
I read this book more than ten years ago. I Thought the idea of writing a book about what Washington DC was like during WW2 was an interesting and an original idea. I never knew for example that the city of Washington was growing at such fast rate during WW2 for example. There's a lot of interesting stories in this book, though I think there could have been more personal stories based on the authors experiences. Nonetheless this book is very much worth reading.
June 1, 2017
More a memoir than a history book, journalist Brinkley conveys a feeling through anecdotes and newspaper clippings just what it was Like as Washington DC grew from a sleepy southern city to a true international capital during WWII. There are definitely some interesting and amusing stories here.
March 15, 2019
Sheds a bright light upon the nefarious, often-corrupt & always ego-ridden actions of our government in Washington-DC! Interesting to see the actual machinations of the processes involved in getting ready & then going to war..!
July 4, 2019
Wonderful read! Typical sardonic Brinkley style. Informative as well as entertaining. Quick read and a real eye opener. Has some really humorous anecdotes. You will be glad you picked it up and won't want to put it down, even when you finish.
December 24, 2022
Brinkley's journalistic skills come through in his telling of D.C. before and during WW II. I was amazed to learn how ill-prepared we were at the onset. In writing this book, Brinkley may have preserved nuggets of history that would otherwise have been lost.?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2017
A very entertaining history.
September 11, 2018
David Brinkley describes how air conditioning, payroll withholding and WWII gave us big government.
June 19, 2019
I read this book many years ago. It was informative, but not riveting.
August 29, 2021
Best book I have ever read about the changes DC undergoes during WWII.
November 10, 2021
Time flies when you read a well written book.
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