Description: His work is a rare instance of original research told in an engaging and compelling voice.
Brief description: Blair A. Ruble is director of the Kennan Institute and co-chair of the Comparative Urban Studies Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He is the author, most recently, of Second Metropolis: Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka.
Review Quotes: Complete with personal profiles of past and present DC luminaries, known locally and nationally, in more than 300 pages of text Ruble takes the reader on a journey of U Street's history from its initial development following the arrival of runaway slaves to the city during the Civil War to President Obama's visit to the landmark Ben's Chili Bowl.
--John Muller, H-Net