Washington, D.C.: Our Nation’s Capitol from A-Z

Want a cute book filled with random facts about Washington, D.C.? Then this could be your book.

The trivia is arranged alphabetically by a word or phrase heading. There are from two to six of these for each letter. Some headings are straightforward, while some seem a bit of a stretch, like “micromanage” and “quadruple.” A few of the facts are about the previous U.S. capital in Philadelphia.

The historical facts were some of my favorites. I also enjoyed learning about activities I can do on my next trip, such as rubbing the nose of the Albert Einstein Memorial, finding the Darth Vader grotesque on Washington’s National Cathedral, and viewing the zorapteran at the National Museum of Natural History.

The book is well laid-out. The pictures are quirky, sometimes a little too quirky. Most of the time they distract from the text.

I wish more had been written about some of the facts. I was left wanting more. Additional information or resources in the back would have been nice. I hope the author writes another book about all the odd items kept at the National Archives because that sounds like it would make a great read.