Attorney Philip Howard is the author of the 1995 best-seller The Death of Common Sense. His most recent book is The Lost Art of Drawing the Line.

Democracy by Henry Adams (Modern Library, $13). This 1880 novel, published anonymously, is a deft exposé of the cynicism of Washington, slowly revealed through the eyes of a young widow. Arthur Schlesinger’s introduction sets the perfect context—that is to say, things in D.C. haven’t changed much.

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