Politics and Prose Turns 30

Each week in our Saturday Supplement we re-post an entry of interest to both residents of the Washington area and visitors to DC that first appeared in another publication's web site.

Politics and Prose, the Connecticut Avenue bastion where Washington’s literate dependably turn out for the world’s literati, turns 30 this month. For an independent retailer, the run is astonishing—and increasingly so for a business depending on the teetering book industry.

The trick to sticking around long enough to be beloved, of course, is to change constantly while extending the illusion of familiarity. P&P’s customers still come and go, browsing, arguing, listening, eating, drinking, and recommending, all the while joining in the evolution of Bradley Graham and his wife, Lissa Muscatine—who took the lead from founders Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 2011—from booksellers to literary impresarios.

“The key has been to strike a balance between preserving the store’s ethos and adjusting to new industry challenges,” says Muscatine.

To continue reading this story, which 1st appeared in The Washingtonian, click here.

Friday Flashback: Dave Barry Goes 'Insane'

Each Friday, we repost an entry that previously appeared in The Prices Do DC. Last night, author and humorist Dave Barry appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book You Can Date Boys When You Are Forty. Here, we capture Dave when he appeared at Politics and Prose in February of last year.

Dave Barry has long been called the funniest man in America. And while that title could be debated, there's no doubt that Barry was the funniest man in Washington D.C. last night as he appeared at Politics and Prose to promote his new novel, Insane City, the story of a Miami destination wedding gone horribly and hilariously wrong.

Whether he was talking about the Miami that serves as his fictional book setting and also his real-life home or answering questions from the audience, Barry kept his fans in fits of convulsive laughter.

"I have a theory about book tours and why publishers want you to go on them," Barry said. "Your book will be worth more if you are dead." But despite his tongue-in-cheek claim to the contrary, Barry appeared to be enjoying his night with his fans, many of whom have been reading his books and humor column for decades.

Speaking of Miami, Barry said he "moved there in 1986 from the United States." He said polls such as one that revealed that 67% of Americans view Miami as a dangerous place bother local residents. "It hurts," he says. "We want to track those people down and kill them."

One of his favorite Miami pastimes is watching local drivers. "They appear to be observing the driving rules of their individual country of origin," Barry noted. He said he is particularly fascinated by the legions of New York City residents who now make Miami their home. "They come from New York where they never drove a car. Then they retire to Miami and after they have lost most of their sight, hearing, and the rest of their senses, they decide to start driving. Of course, it's pretty easy to get a driver's license in Miami; it comes with a Happy Meal."

He said every week there is a story about an elderly driver crashing into a building or a swimming pool. And the reason is always the same - the driver confused the gas pedal with the break. "Now, we've all had that happen to us, but how long does it take you to figure it out," Barry said.

He said his favorite real-life driving adventure involved a 78-year-old man in a Chevy Cobalt who was ...... wait for it ... discovered driving on the runways of the Miami International Airport. "That's not something you want to find at an airport," Barry said. "I can't get near a plane with a bottle of shampoo and this guy is driving between 747s."

Barry just started his book tour and already 2 only-in-Miami stories have hit the headlines. The 1st focuses on the 10-year-old daughter of a narcotics officer who submitted a science project determining which of 3 dogs was the best at sniffing out cocaine. "The school officials were upset, but apparently there was no prohibition against using cocaine in a science project," Barry said. "I don't think that would happen in Cleveland."

And then there is the ongoing story of the Python Challenge. It seems that some people (and by these people "I mean idiots," Barry says) believe that pythons make great pets. When they realize the error of their ways, they dump the snakes in the Everglades, which, since there are no predators for them, has become "Disney World  for pythons. I mean, they eat alligators. There are probably 100,000 pythons out there now."

The situation became so dire that authorities came up with the idea of the Python Challenge - a contest where people could be licensed to hunt pythons after they took (and here Barry is not making this up) an online course in how to kill pythons humanely. More than 1,000 hardy hunters signed up. To date, a whopping 37 pythons have been killed. "Basically, the pythons are winning the Python Challenge," he said.

Barry says the wild times in Miami made it relatively easy to come up with the situations inInsane City. "There really isn't much of a stretch anywhere in the book," he claimed. Barry cited his friend and fellow humor writer Carl Hiassen who claims "you don't need an imagination to write a novel about Miami. You just need a subscription to The Miami Herald."

The author says he never knows how much to reveal about a new book at a book talk because "I am here to sell the things." However, after reading a short passage from the novel, Barry said an orangutan is intricately involved in the plot. "When they make the movie, I think the orangutan should be played by somebody important like Brad Pitt," he said.

During the extended question-and-answer period, Barry was almost upstaged by 10-year-old Neil, who had 2 questions for the author, who after hearing both questions, said he was sure Neil's parents would be putting him up for adoption soon.

"You said you are proud of Miami and yet you called your book Insane City. So which one is it?," Neil asked.

"Well, it's called sarcasm which is something you will learn about right after sex," Barry, who couldn't contain his own laughter, said. "In fact, those 2 things are close."

But Neil wasn't finished. "My parents told me you used to be a comedian (howls of laughter from the crowd). Do you have any advice for a young comedian?," he asked

"You're doing pretty well right now," Barry responded. "I wouldn't change a thing."

One woman asked how he continued to be funny. "The key to humor writing," Barry deadpanned, "Is - if you can't think of another joke, then you might have to get a job"

Another woman asked him if he had always been funny. "I know this is going to come as surprise to you, but I've always been something of a wise-ass. If I could say something that would make kids laugh, I would say it. Some teachers liked it; some didn't. I had 2 different teachers who told me the same thing in pretty much the same words - 'that's funny, David, but you can't joke your way through life."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips

Two Daves together.

I think Dave Barry is uproariously funny. In fact, my wife has banned me from reading Barry in bed because I laugh too loudly. Obviously, I was excited to see him at Politics and Prose. But in addition to being a wildly popular writer, Barry was also a founding member of The Rock Bottom Remainders, the greatest (and indeed the only) rock band every made up of best-selling authors. In addition to Barry, the group also included such writers as Stephen King, Mitch Album, Ridley Pearson, and Amy Tan. A few years ago, Judy and I saw the Remainders at the Electric Factory just before they decided to retire. After his book presentation, I got a chance to talk to Barry about his 2nd career as a 3-chord rock and roll guitarist. I asked him if there was any truth to the story that jealousy between Album and him over Tan had led to the break-up. "No, really it was just a lack of talent," he said. "Amy put it best - 'some bands sing to save the whales; our singing would kill the whales.' We were a different kind of band. Some bands rehearse a lot before they play. We didn't. We would get together at the bar after and talk about how we should have played. We used the rumor method. There were rumors that some of the songs contained chord changes. And sometimes we would change chords. But we didn't usually change to the same chords at the same time." For a long period of time, Warren Zevon played with the Remainders. Zevon, who died in 2003, is one of my favorite song writers. So I was interested to know about Zevon's time with Barry. "Warren was, how shall I put this, crazy," Barry said. "The thing I remember most is that Warren could never find anything. He would be driving and he would be lost and he would call us and I would put my wife on the phone and she would ask 'Warren, where are you?' and Warren would tell her the street and she would say 'you're going the wrong way; turn around and then call us.' And, in a few minutes, he would call back and my wife would ask "what street are you on now?' and he would tell her and she would say "Warren, you're still going the wrong way." I told Barry I knew his musical career began with a band - Federal Duck -that he was in when he attended Haverford College on Philadelphia's Main Line. "There were people in Federal Duck who could really play. I wasn't one of them." I told him I attended Villanova University, which is located just down the road from Haverford. "We played at Villanova a lot," Barry said. "Those Villanova frat boys could vomit better than anyone else." I asked him if there was any chance the Rock Bottom Remainders would reunite. "We're waiting for a groundswell or even one request," Barry said. I said, if the reuniting was a question of money, I would contribute a quarter to the effort. "That might do it," Barry said. "That's about what we got for every job."

Hillary Clinton on the Rise

First Lady of the United States for 8 years. The most successful failed female presidential nominee candidate in history. One of only 3 women to serve as Secretary of State. The most likely Democratic presidential candidate for 2016 should she choose to run.

Obviously, all these factors combined make Hillary Rodham Clinton one of the most reported on women in the world.

But Washington DC political reporters Jonathan Allen and Aimee Parnes were convinced a need still existed for a comprehensive book detailing a sense of how Clinton makes decisions and how she might govern if she were to become president of the United States in 2016.

Last night, Allen and Parnes appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss their new book HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton."

And obviously, judging by the large crowd that attended last night's presentation, there is an audience definitely interested in Clinton. In fact, Allen began the book talk this way: "I hate to disappoint all those of you who came to see Hillary Clinton," his remark eliciting loud chuckles.

The new book actually tells 2 stories - the political battles between the Clinton and Obamas camps and Clinton's tenure as Obama's Secretary of State.

"This is not a foreign policy treatise, but we wrote through the lens of her decision making and how government works." Allen said.

Parnes said she originally wanted a different book title. "I wanted to call the book The Phoenix," she said. "She (Clinton) always kinds of plunges and then rises higher than ever."

Obama had long considered Clinton for the Secretary of State job despite the brutal campaign the 2 camps waged in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary and objections from many of his advisers, Parnes noted.

"He fought and fought and fought to get her. He felt it very strongly. He knew it would help him bring her set of Democrats back and he believed she was right for the job," Allen said. "It was a shot-gun wedding, but a very close one."

However, it was clear from their reporting that the Clintons and Obamas shared a work relationship, not a deep personal friendship. "I don't expect to see them socializing together any time soon," Allen said.

Allen said Clinton's time as Secretary of State altered the perception of the American government. "The footprint of American democracy was a combat boot. But she presented a different picture of America. There was an elevation of perception, especially in Europe," he explained.

Not surprisingly, the majority of the questions from the audience dealt with the probability of a Clinton run for the White House in 2 years.

Both reporters said her time as Secretary of State had changed Clinton. "I think she is a little bit more liberated. She learned to let some people in that are outside the circle. There is willingness to try to address deficiencies," Allen said.

Sometimes DC's Most Repeated Tales Lack a Key Element - The Truth

For Robert Pohl, his latest book came from his job as a licensed DC tour guide who spends a lot of his time "chasing 8th graders around DC."

"I knew exactly how 8th graders operate - I was one of them once," Pohl says with a chuckle. "I had some great facts, but I needed something to make them more palatable."

So Pohl began mixing in stories about some of the capitol's most famous sites. For example, there was one he would tell about the Washington Monument. When it was first opened, elevators were new and considered dangerous. Only men were allowed to ride up to the top of the monument. The members of the fairer sex and their children had to struggle up the steps to get a view from the top.

"This was a perfect story. It brought the Washington Monument alive to the people," Pohl explained.

However there was a big problem - the story wasn't true, even though it had been told and repeated for decades. It was the DC version of an urban legend - a story that "exists somewhere in between horror stories, jokes, and morality tales," said Pohl, who appeared recently at Politics and Prose to discuss his new book Urban Legends & Historic Lore of Washington, DC.

In the book, Pohl used meticulous research to find the truth (and the falsehoods) behind more than 30 of the most-often repeated stories about historic DC. Take the idea that the word lobbyist was created in this city. The version of that tale goes like this: When he was president, Ulysses S. Grant would walk over to the Willard Hotel and sit in the lobby. There, people who wanted a favor from the president would present their case as he sat.  However, both parts of that tale appear untrue. First, in the 25 books of his memoir, Grant only mentioned the Willard 4 times, even though it is only down the street from the White House. In fact,  there is no proof that he spent evenings there. And there are mentions of the word lobbyist in 17th Century England, long before Grant took up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Then there is the case of another great story involving a President, this time the massive chief executive William Howard Taft. In the various versions of this story, Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub prior to his inauguration and was only able to be freed with a pound of butter and the strength of 4 or more strong men. Good story, but again not true. First of all, Taft couldn't have been bathing in the White House prior to his swearing in. However, as there often is in such tales, there was a kernel of truth mixed in with fanciful elements. Taft, at more than 300 pounds, did have a special bathtub installed in the White House that was large enough to accommodate 4 normal-sized men.

But Pohl's research did not lead him to debunk all the questionable stories. For example, the Lincoln Memorial really is the only building struck by gunfire during World War II. However, it was shots from an errant machine gun, not anti-aircraft fire that damaged the building. Pohl found confirmation in several newspaper accounts from the time.

"This story stuck in people minds as if it were an urban legend," he noted.

Pohl said the urban legends he investigated shared many of the components from similar stories spread in other parts of America. "They tend to erupt, be localized, change over time, and have a moral" he said. "They are all good stories and we all like good stories. As human beings, we love patterns and we want to see patterns even when they may not exist."

Pohl did acknowledge there is one story that he loves so much that he refuses to look into it. That tale involves the Jefferson Memorial. At some point, officials were going to remove some of the famed Cherry Blossom trees that surround that memorial. A group of elderly civic-minded ladies, irate at that plan, decided to cling to the trees to save them. The local police chief was summoned. Realizing that "knocking old ladies on the noggin would't be good for anyone," the chief came up with a more subtle plan. He began plying the ladies with free coffee. Within half an hour, nature was calling and the protesters had to abandon their position for the nearest restrooms.

"At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it," Pohl said with a laugh.

A Short History of Nuclear Folly

Sometimes, the title of a book is so compelling that it almost forces you to read the work. Take, for example, the new book by Rudolph Herzog entitled A Short History of Nuclear Folly: Mad Scientists, Dithering Nazis, Lost Nukes, and Catastrophic Coverups.

Herzog appeared at Politics and Prose to discuss his work, telling his audience that over the nuclear age more than 40 nuclear weapons have been reported as lost, most from airplane crashes or sunken submarines. "A lot of the book will sound like fiction, but it isn't," Herzog said.

The author said he first became intrigued with the nuclear idea as a youngster growing up in the 1970s and 1980s in Germany, which before the fall of the Berlin Wall had long been viewed as the possible site of a nuclear battleground in the event the Cold War suddenly heated up. Herzog remembers his uncle who kept a bottle of sleeping pills in his refrigerator in case nuclear war became a reality and the family of a wealthy friend who dug a bomb shelter under their garden. "At the time this was quite serious," Herzog said.

Herzog talked at length about 2 of the episodes in his book. The 1st occurred in 1957 to an Australian aborigine family during a walkabout in the remote Outback. Approaching an area, they discovered a sign that    read in English: "Warning! You Are Entering a Radioactive Zone." The site had been used for testing a British atomic bomb. The family had no idea what the sign said because none of them could read a word of English. They camped out that night in a crater the bomb had made. Suddenly, they wore swept up by a swarm of men in white suits who had arrived in all-terrain vehicles. The family was rushed to a nearby army barrarcks, where they were repeatedly forced to shower; then be checked by a geiger counter. It was the 1st shower of their lives. Although the family lived, the mother was plagued with defects on all her subsequent attempts at childbirth.

The 2nd story involved an example of a Broken Arrow, the code name used whenever a nuclear weapon goes missing. In 1958, Greg, a South Carolina railroad conductor, was outside his house with 2 daughters and a niece when he noticed 3 B47 bombers flying overhead. Suddenly, there was a horrific explosion which created a scene of devastation and left a 22-meter wide crater in the ground. Sticking out of the crater was the top of an atomic bomb similar to the one used on Nagasaki which had been accidentally dropped from one of the passing planes. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident.

In the 1950s, there was "incredible optimism" about nuclear power, Herzog said.. "There was the belief that it could change the world," he noted. The author then conducted a brief slide-show through some of the more scary, but never realized, plans for atomic energy including a Ford nuclear car, a nuclear-powered plane, and a nuclear space ship. One scientist even proposed and tested using 300 hydrogen bombs to create a 2nd Panama Canal.

Herzog said that while the events he wrote about are now history, he has great fears about the future. "Pandora's box is open. Nuclear technology is here to stay. So this (his book) is just the 1st volume of who knows how many?" he said.

"Asia and the Middle East seem to be heralding a new age of nuclear proliferation," he said. "As more countries go nuclear, other countries will want to hedge their bets. I'm worried about it. It's becoming very messy."

Tales, Tidbits, and Tips
During a question-and-answer period, Herzog was asked if we should be concerned about the 40 reported missing nuclear weapons. His short answer was no. He explained that nuclear weapons need a huge amount of maintenance and degrade extremely quickly. "And if the military couldn't find the weapons, most of which are at the bottom of the ocean, I don't think terrorists can," he said. "We have much more to fear from what is going on today in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and North Korea."