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From floating brothels to post-war celebrations to civil-rights demonstrations, the history of the nation's capital is chronicled by Washington Post columnist Bob Levey, AB'66, and his wife, Jane Fruendel Levey, editor of Washington History: Magazine of the Historical Society of Washington D.C., in their new book. Washington Album: A Pictorial History of the Nation's Capital (Washington Post Books) offers more than 350 illustrations of the city's renowned buildings and monuments, from blueprints to historical backdrops.

In addition to the capital's architecture, the authors concentrate on the metropolis of individuals who compose the ever-changing city. With some rarely seen and never before published photos, the Leveys' collection depicts the city as a spot that grew far beyond George Washington's dream of a "thriving commercial center on the Potomac," to become a political locus and a colorful, active community. --B.C.