Washington Burning: How a Frenchman's Vision for Our Nation's Capital Survived Congress, the Founding Fathers, and the Invading British Army

Washington Burning transports us in time to the very founding of our nation and its capital. We learn that the Washington we know might never have come to be had it not been for the destruction of the young city by British troops in 1814 or for Pierre Charles LEnfant the eccentric passionate difficult architect who fell in love with his adopted country. LEnfants sweeping vision of a grand Federal City inspired President George Washington but earned the enmity of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson who hated the idea of an imperial city. So was the capital born of feuding personalities and located on the banks of the Potomac only after great political struggle. Master storyteller Les Standiford has once again written a compelling quintessentially American story of hubris and achievement. MasterfulFor the lover of U.S. history or Washingtonian architecture or even basic political intrigue this marvelous new history probably the best to date on LEnfant and his troubled life is essential. Miami Herald "Scrupulously researchedStandiford has a novelists gift for engaging briskly paced narration." Library Journal