Fifty State Capitols:

The Architecture of Representative Government

by Jim Stembridge

128 pages 12 x 9 inches

Full color, trade paperback

276 photographs by the author

ISBN: 978-0-9830292-0-5

US $27.95

State governments, headquartered in their iconic capitol buildings, have been governing continuously—and largely democratically, peacefully, and openly—for more than two centuries, a record difficult to match in the history of civilization. Fifty State Capitols shows how the architecture of state capitols contributes to the success of representative government.

The formality, timelessness, and public grandeur of representative government are on public display at every one of America’s fifty state capitols. Fifty State Capitols describes the majesty and stateliness of each state capitol’s exterior form and selected interior details, in words and photographs, including a brief history of the building.

Reviews:

“What author Stembridge has done—for he is a geographer—is take focus on a traditional day trip of American families.”
“The author has made this into a three-year field assignment and through his travel, research, prose, and photography given two strong meanings to the phrase: Geography is concerned with state capitals. He has very deftly added the second spelling—capitol.”
“This is a book that is beautiful enough to be a classic Coffee Table Book, but the content, spirit, and highly varied inclusions of place-specific features makes it a great read as well. This book ought to be in all schools, all offices of American politicians, and in public libraries in every state that has a state capitol!”

“Like Little Bear’s porridge, this book is Just Right. You will enjoy reading it, and you will be satisfied with the logistics and consistency of it.”
“You cannot look at Stembridge’s photos without instantly getting a feel for what that capitol represents, the history behind it, the thinking of the citizens of that particular state, at that particular time.”
“I recommend this book for every library, school, and household. It is a good read, but not only that, it is an important read.”

Fifty State Capitols: The Architecture of Representative Government by Jim Stembridge “is an especially recommended addition to school and community library American History and Architectural Studies instructional reference collections and supplemental reading lists.”

—The Midwest Book Review

“It’s well done and the soft cover is very reader-friendly… and, the price is right!!”

—Heritage Store, Pierre, South Dakota

• Capitol idea: Tours offer history, architecture and civics lessons; feature article in the Travel Section, Oregonian, January 15 2012

• Book Release and Signing, June 6, 2011 at the Oregon State Capitol

• Read the highlight in Independent Publisher

More info:

Please visit also the author’s webpage for more information: www.fiftystatecapitols.com

The book is available in Salem at the Oregon Capitol Gift Shop and at The Mail Depot.