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> There are so many titles missing from the list of 50 books considered > essential reading on the history of Washington, D.C. > > How could they even think of leaving out Bill Allen's monumental > "History of the United States Capitol: A Chronicle of design, > construction and politics."? > This 2001 publication is, and likely will remain, the definitive book on > the history of the U.S. Capitol. > > And what about Barbara Wolanin's "Constantino Brumidi: Artist of the > Capitol."? This inspired immigrant spent the better part of his creative > life beautifying the U.S. Capitol as an expression of joy in having > found liberty in the U.S.A. > > The most startling omission is any book about the British capture of the > city in 1814, when they burned the Capitol, White House, State > Department, Treasury, Navy Yard, and other buildings. The President of > the United States escaped across the Potomac. The First Lady delayed her > flight to Virginia - even as White House male guards fled their posts - > to save a portrait of George Washington for future generations. Steven > Pleasonton at the State Department defied the Secretary of War and saved > the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the > Constitution by hustling them out of the city before the enemy arrived. > Congress then spent months fiercely debating a motion to move the > capital to Philadelphia or elsewhere to save the cost of rebuilding the > ruined city. > Neither Walter Lord's magnificent book, "The Dawn's Early Light" nor my > own History Book Club selection, "The Burning of Washington: The British > Invasion of 1814" are included in the list, even though we both wrote > about all of the events mentioned above. > > Placing these titles in the next 50 would be wrong and misleading to > readers unaware of major events in the city's history. They belong in > the top 50. > > Anthony S. Pitch > > -- Matthew Gilmore H-DC list co-editor, web editor dc-edit@mail.h-net.msu.edu http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~dclist/ [list website] http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/lists/subscribe.cgi?list=H-DC [subscribe to H-DC] Remember to check http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=lm&list=h-dc for past list messages.
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