The Capitol

The Surprising Biography of an American Building

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On sale Jun 02, 2026 | 11 Hours and 0 Minutes | 9798217285631

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An in-depth exploration of the design and construction of the US Capitol building, from New York Times bestselling author of Jim Henson and Becoming Dr. Seuss

The Capitol is a unique biography of a place, encompassing architecture, history, politics, popular culture, and race in a fascinating exploration of our Capitol's secret history; a history rife with political intrigue, assassination attempts, thwarted bombings, and gunmen on the run.

Spanning across three centuries of American history, it focuses on iconic and easily recognizable names and personalities from the past—from George Washington to Fiorello LaGuardia—as well as countless colorful characters readers may not have heard of before, with a focus on restoring the stories of enslaved people. As The Capitol will make clear, even as the building itself was slowly rising from the swamps of Washington, DC, the conflicts were just getting started.

The story of the Capitol is the story of America itself, and, for the first time, that story will be told in this sweeping, aspirational biography of the building at the very heart of the American experiment.
Brian Jay Jones is the critically-acclaimed, bestselling biographer of four books on some of the world’s most iconic creative figures, including Jim Henson: The Biography and George Lucas: A Life. For nearly three decades, he has served as a speechwriter for thought leaders and elected officials at all levels of government, including ten years in the United States Senate. He presently lives in New Mexico. View titles by Brian Jay Jones

About

An in-depth exploration of the design and construction of the US Capitol building, from New York Times bestselling author of Jim Henson and Becoming Dr. Seuss

The Capitol is a unique biography of a place, encompassing architecture, history, politics, popular culture, and race in a fascinating exploration of our Capitol's secret history; a history rife with political intrigue, assassination attempts, thwarted bombings, and gunmen on the run.

Spanning across three centuries of American history, it focuses on iconic and easily recognizable names and personalities from the past—from George Washington to Fiorello LaGuardia—as well as countless colorful characters readers may not have heard of before, with a focus on restoring the stories of enslaved people. As The Capitol will make clear, even as the building itself was slowly rising from the swamps of Washington, DC, the conflicts were just getting started.

The story of the Capitol is the story of America itself, and, for the first time, that story will be told in this sweeping, aspirational biography of the building at the very heart of the American experiment.

Author

Brian Jay Jones is the critically-acclaimed, bestselling biographer of four books on some of the world’s most iconic creative figures, including Jim Henson: The Biography and George Lucas: A Life. For nearly three decades, he has served as a speechwriter for thought leaders and elected officials at all levels of government, including ten years in the United States Senate. He presently lives in New Mexico. View titles by Brian Jay Jones