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• ISBN13: 9780520256545
• Condition: New
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Product Description

The National Mall in Washington, D.C., is a great public space, as essential a part of the American landscape as the Grand Canyon, according to architecture critic Paul Goldberger, but few realize how recent, fragile, and contested this achievement is. In Monument Wars, Kirk Savage tells the Mall’s engrossing story–its historic plan, the structures that populate its corridors, and the sea change it reveals regarding national representation. Central to this narrative is a dramatic shift from the nineteenth-century concept of a decentralized landscape, or ground-heroic statues spread out in traffic circles and picturesque parks-to the twentieth-century ideal of space, in which authority is concentrated in an intensified center, and the monument is transformed from an object of reverence to a space of experience. Savage’s lively and intelligent analysis traces the refocusing of the monuments themselves, from that of a single man, often on horseback, to commemorations of common soldiers or citizens; and from monuments that celebrate victory and heroism to memorials honoring victims. An indispensable guide to the National Mall, Monument Wars provides a fresh and fascinating perspective on over two hundred years of American history.

Customer Reviews

Adept History of Washington’s Landscape, July 5, 2010
By Z. Wimmer
Kirk Savage’s “Monument Wars” was a much welcomed surprise to me. I was hesitant to read this book. I was expecting a dry, tedious history of our nation’s capital and its monuments. Nevertheless, I began to read the book and was unable to put it down until I was done. This book is extremely gripping and poignant. Savage took me through the process of how the “Mall” of D.C. transformed from a desolate, barren landscape into an artificial forest and finally into what we see today. Along the way architects, sculptors, and designers had to face harsh out-spoken critics, budgets, and of course red tape.

According to Savage, the process to redefine the landscape was a formidable task and the end result was usually contradictory to the intentions. For example, during the opening ceremony of the Lincoln Memorial the organizers made sure to segregate the audience by forcing blacks in the back.

Furthermore, Savage devotes a solid portion of the book to the history of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. His descriptions of these two commemorations were beautifully poetic. I was in awe at how Kirk was able to describe seemingly two simple pieces in such an elegant manner. I must say his depiction of the Grant Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were quite moving as well.

I feel confident in saying anything you want to know about the history of D.C. monuments, memorials, and the Mall is in this book. The book is very easy to read and I hope reading it will be as much of a pleasure for you as it was for me.

Moratorium on permanent public monuments in Washington; experimentation with temporary memorials, March 3, 2010
By ROROTOKO
“Monument Wars” is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Savage’s book interview ran here as the cover feature on March 3, 2010.

GOod seller, February 11, 2010
By Kyle R. Deremer
The book came quickly and is in very good condition. Good seller to work with.

A highly intelligent and entirely accessible study of the Mall, January 21, 2010
By E. Thomas
Reading “Monument Wars,” has completely altered the way I see and think of the Washington Mall (and memorialization in general). Instead of seeing the Mall as a static and inevitable landscape, I now see the layers of the Mall’s past, shaped by men and politics, and understand what it has lost and what it has gained as it has changed over time. Savage’s prose is lucid and accessible, his arguments are well reasoned and convincing, and his knowledge of Washington impressive. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better and deeper understanding of the history and landscape of Washington D.C., the National Mall, and also of the changing ways we think about and perceive them both.

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “A TEXT BOOK OF WASHINGTON D.C. MONUMENTS”, December 27, 2009
By Rick Shaq Goldstein
The author Kirk Savage has written a detailed historical book that not only describes the planning and construction of Washington D.C. monuments but also discusses the actual original planning of the city. Any potential reader should be aware that this book is presented (whether the author intended to or not) almost exactly like a high school or college text book. If you’re looking for a breezy reading experience this is not the book for you. That does not mean that there aren’t utterly amazing facts about American monuments that most people wouldn’t even think about… facts such as these are abundant throughout the book… but… you really have to “work” to get them. At times the book seems to be (and may very well have been) geared for architects and engineers… because after all… the author is Professor and Chair of the Department of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh. Personally, I didn’t know that when I ordered the book. The early going was extremely hard for an average layman reader (non-engineer-non-architect) like me to persevere through the voluminous discussions regarding the Washington Monument. “Spatial terminology”… “visual cues”… “haptic” experience… et al… along with more information regarding obelisk’s than an average person would encounter in a lifetime.

If a layman decides to persevere there are many interesting discussions regarding monuments such as Grant’s Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial… and as an honorably discharged Vietnam Veteran… the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was of utmost interest to me. What is also thought provoking is the battle in early America against any monuments at all… when the original beliefs were “THAT WORDS ALWAYS OUTLIVED THE GRANDEST HANDIWORKS OF SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE.” The author also points out how the creation of monuments such as Lincoln’s had to be created with great trepidation so as not to offend the southern confederates… and the monument committees had to tip toe around the fact that Washington and Jefferson were slave owners.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1982 and has “SINCE BECOME THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT, MOST WRITTEN-ABOUT MONUMENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY.” This Memorial was different in that the purpose was intended to be therapeutic. “THE MONUMENT WAS INTENDED TO RALLY AMERICANS AROUND THE SIMPLE IDEA THAT THE VETERANS OF THE WAR NEEDED RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT.” “THE UNIQUE NATURE OF THE WAR… SUBJECTED THE VIETNAM SOLDIER TO UNIMAGINABLE PRESSURES… WHILE EXPERIENCES IN COMBAT AREAS WERE BRUTAL ENOUGH IN THEMSELVES, THEIR ADVERSE EFFECTS WERE MULTIPLIED BY THE MALTREATMENT RECEIVED BY VETERANS UPON THEIR RETURN HOME.” “NEVER BEFORE HAD STATEMENTS LIKE THIS BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY A WAR MEMORIAL.” (*Amen!*)

The second half of this book has a better flow than the first half… but a potential reader needs to decide if they want a book that fits into the usual literary-enjoyable-entertainment-genre… or a text book that is seeded with some tremendous facts.

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