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Shepherd's story, told [here] with skill and confidence, is at once the story of a great American character, with all his great achievements-bold, visionary, pragmatic, entrepreneurial; and notable flaws... It's also the story of a great and complex American city's recovery from the Civil War, growth in the industrial age, and implementation of one of the world's greatest urban plans. In short, it's how Washington became a city. - From the foreword by Tony Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C., 1999-2007 Richardson's lucid biography will benefit historians of all American cities. Through painstaking research, Richardson reveals common themes in the two seemingly disconnected segments of Shepherd's storied career: as the visionary but imperious public works official who made Washington a modern city in the 1870s, and then as the imperialistic operator of American-owned mines in Mexico. -Alan Lessoff, author of The Nation and Its City: Politics, Corruption, and Progress in Washington, D.C, 1861-1902 This fascinating study of Shepherd-a kind of proto-Robert Moses-belongs on any bookshelf devoted to the evolution of the American cityscape. The strength of Richardson's research and writing is in the care and balance he brings to the tale. Washington, D.C., comes alive here, and so does Shepherd: sometimes hero and sometimes villain, he is always compelling and utterly human. -Scott W. Berg, author of Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French Visionary Who Designed Washington, D.C. With skill, nuance, and the mining of primary sources, John Richardson brings visionary and/or corrupt political hack Alexander 'Boss' Shepherd, the remarkable 'New Washington,' and the heady early years of the Gilded Age to life. -Kathryn Allamong Jacob, author of King of the Lobby: The Life and Times of Sam Ward, Man-about-Washington in the Gilded Age

Shepherd s story, told [here] with skill and confidence, is at once the story of a great American character, with all his great achievements bold, visionary, pragmatic, entrepreneurial; and notable flaws. It s also the story of a great and complex American city s recovery from the Civil War, growth in the industrial age, and implementation of one of the world s greatest urban plans. In short, it s how Washington became a city. From the foreword by Tony Williams, mayor of Washington, D.C., 1999 2007

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John P. Richardson is a retired intelligence officer, Middle East specialist, and author of a previous study on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is an officer of two Washington area historical organizations and lives with his wife in Arlington, Virginia.

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