Washington

"Narrated in Greenfield's unforgettable voice, created in secret before her death in 1999, hidden from almost all of her friends and family, Washington is an exploration of a subculture that is both fabled and notorious. Like an anthropologist, Greenfield uses her famous wit, her eye for detail, and her understanding of how political people behave to show us why so many Americans hate Washington, D.C. - and how some who live there manage, despite all the obstacles, to do some good.". "Greenfield identifies the principal species in the Washington subculture, using terms that will immediately become part of our political language - the good child, the head kid, the prodigy, the protege, the maverick, the image-maker. She shows us the Washington history she saw close-up - the hostility to professional women, the fall of the Southern oligarchy, eight Presidents (John Kennedy to Bill Clinton) and some surprising heroes.". "Washington is a primer for those who wonder what life inside the capital is really like. It is also a window on the extraordinary, elusive woman who wrote it. Adorned with anecdotes and observations from her forty years near the center of power, the book shows us that, while functioning as one of the leading journalists of her time, Meg Greenfield managed to remain a human being."--BOOK JACKET.