Swamp, Suits, and Shenanigans

An Irreverent History of Washington, D.C.

Every empire has its capital. Ours happens to be built on a swamp.

In Swamp, Suits, and Shenanigans, cultural essayist Jordan Blake Carter digs through two centuries of ambition, hypocrisy, and hope to reveal the real Washington, D.C. From its mosquito-ridden origins to its modern brunch-and-barricade reality, this is the capital as you have never seen it: brilliant, broken, and always under renovation.

Carter brings the past to life with sharp humor and vivid detail, unearthing the scandals, reforms, and resilience that have defined Washington for more than two centuries. It is a story of fire and faith, of monuments and mistakes, of ordinary citizens who kept showing up even when the system did not.

Smart, irreverent, and irresistible, Swamp, Suits, and Shenanigans reminds us that the swamp was never drained. It learned to bloom.

©2025 Jordan Blake Carter (P)2026 Jordan Blake Carter

Excellent!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this detailed history of Washington DC. Very informative and beautifully written. Highly recommend!!