In September 1883 Thomas Sidwell opened a new school in a back room in Washington, DC’s Quaker meetinghouse. In the next one hundred and twenty-five years, Sidwell Friends School carved a unique place in American education, becoming the largest Quaker day school in the country and a leading force for Friends values, academic excellence, diversity and environmental stewardship. Delving deep into Sidwell Friends’ incomparable archives and interviewing hundreds of alumni and current and former faculty and staff, James Zug described the riveting personalities and rich traditions that formed the backbone of the school’s special history.

The Long Conversation, featuring hundreds of archival and contemporary photographs, was the landmark centerpiece of Sidwell Friends’ quasquicentennial celebration. A 336-page, four-color, coffee-table book with special features like an appendix, chronology, endnotes and index, the book was professionally designed and published in a 2,500 edition in May 2008.

For more information, visit Sidwell Friends School online.