Washington's Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk - Tapa dura

[An] engaging history of the memorial . . . More than the history of a specific obelisk, Mr. Gordon's book is an account of the form itself . . . Shifting effortlessly over three continents and four millennia, Mr. Gordon's account moves briskly despite copious digressions, ranging from the history of the Know-Nothing Party to the conductive properties of aluminum. It's a measure of the author's roving curiosity that there are more than 100 footnotes packed into the brief--and appropriately vertical--volume. (The Wall Street Journal)

Do yourself a favor by examining John Steele Gordon's Washington's Monument, everything you need to know--and some things you thought you'd never need to know--about one of the capital's most iconic landmarks . . . Even though historian Gordon's work is a short book on a tall subject, he has told it in rewarding detail. [A] thorough account. (Washington Post)

A delightful book that is just plain fun to read, packed with all kinds of curious facts and oddities. (starred review Kirkus Reviews)

Filled with fascinating facts and interesting anecdotes, this is a book that will delight history and architecture buffs and enrich both past and planned visits to Washington, D.C., and its sights. (Carolyn Mulac Booklist)

This is a story of intrinsic drama, but in Washington's Monument, John Steele Gordon successfully interweaves it with two others--that of the ancient Egyptian origins of the obelisk and of the much later mania for moving and re-erecting obelisks for reasons of political prestige. In his telling, the Washington Monument is only the latest episode in the 4,000-year history of the obelisk. These three stories are essentially independent of one another, but Gordon artfully cuts back and forth between them. His book itself is a marvel of ingenious construction. (Commentary)

This is one of those books where you pursue every footnote, study each illustration, pick up and put down a dozen times over the course of a week. Washington's Monument is too well-researched and too well-written to be called a divertissement, but it's the kind of specialized, quietly elegant little history (narrower and taller than most books, suggestive of its subject) that surprises us with its wealth of detail and the richness of the panorama it unfolds. (Dallas Morning News)