Best history of Washington, DC

What is the best history of Washington, DC? I've lived here for a while, but I've never actually read a history of the city. Are there any that people think are terrible? Thanks

I wouldn't say this is the best history, but I was surprised at how much interesting local history there was in Carl Bernstein's Loyalties. It's a memoir of growing up in Washington and Silver Spring during McCarthyism, but has some great descriptions of Adams-Morgan when his grandparents had a tailor's shop there in the early part of the 20th century and that kind of thing.