The founder of the nonprofit Classical America, author of The Golden City
and former curator of the New York City parks, Reed is an eminence on classicism as taken up in the U.S. He offers an old school, detail-by-detail look at the Capitol's exterior and room-by-room (including the closed ones) at its interior that will have readers searching for the acanthus leaves on every ancone (or cornice support), and the echinus (or convex molding) on every Doric column on their next visit. Reed covers the major mural work, square-headed versus arched doorframes, the bust of Martin Luther King Jr., the Brumidi frieze, "giant consoles between the secondary attic and the cupola," precursor buildings in Europe and much more in a stately narrative enriched by well-diagrammed illustrations. There are 150 color photos in all, some of which are archival, others of which look stock. (Some of the exterior shots feature foregrounded cars.) The appendix of "Identifications" of architectural details is beautifully done, and the architectural history is clear and straightforward, making this a book for the serious amateur student of the legislative branch's dwelling place. (Mar.)
