"Washington Black is nothing short of a masterpiece. Esi Edugyan has a rare talent for turning over little known stones of history and giving her reader a new lens on the world, a new way of understanding subject matter we arrogantly think we know everything about. This book is an epic adventure and a heartfelt tale about love and morality and their many contradictions. I loved it." - Attica Locke, author of Blue Bird, Blue Bird A splendid and eminently readable account of both the seamy and idealistic impulses that placed our nation's capital where it is, and an excellent reminder of the importance of land speculation in our political history from the very beginning to today. - Michael Korda, author of IKE and ULYSSES S. GRANT "[A] captivating narrative of the national's capital." - Wall Street Journal "What [Bordewich] does here is not revisionism in the name of political correctness; it is setting the historical record straight.

" - Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post Book World (cover review) "Washington is a must-read for anyone fascinated by politics and the backroom story of American history. Bordewich's work reads like a political thriller as it reveals the political scheming, deal making, greed--and yes, idealism--that drove the creation of America's capital." - Senator Charles Schumer "In his magnificent new book Fergus M. Bordewich brings to life the history of our nation's capital." - New York Amsterdam News.