NONICTION

SPEAKING OF WASHINGTON: Facts, Firsts and Folklore by John L. Moore (Congressional Quarterly: $14.95, paper, $26.95 hardcover; 307 pp.) How does it work, this cumbersome government of ours? How did it evolve from a handful of brilliant, dedicated men playing it by ear to a Congress that had to create five new regulatory agencies just to deal with the consequences of bank de- regulation? Or, symbolically, from a White House with no plumbing (John and Abigail, the original Adams family, used an outhouse) to an executive mansion with 32 bathrooms and a staff of 97, including five calligraphers?

In a book at once amusing and informative--no mean feat--John Moore takes us on a quick-step tour down the boulevards and back alleys of our heritage. Along with Teapot Dome, Watergate and the folly of the PAC, we’re treated to a variety of factoids we either never knew or have long forgotten: The first monarch to visit the White House (1874) was David Kalakaua, king of the Sandwich Islands. The first coins minted bore the admonition to “Mind Your Business.” In the early 1800s, the Supreme Court met for a year at Long’s Tavern. Way ahead of her time was Victoria Claflin Woodhull, who ran for President in 1872 (with a black running mate: Frederick Douglass).

Along with the difference between civil rights and civil liberties, between Mugwumps and Whigs, Moore answers questions we never dreamed of asking: What were the White House “petticoat wars”? Which First Lady was called “Lemonade Lucy” and why? Who was “His Rotundity”? Why is there still an electoral college? Finally, a timeless bon mot from Sen. Simon Cameron (R-Pa.): “An honest politician is one who, once he is bought, stays bought.”