At Least He Didn't Call It "Das Capital"

That is what he was going to call it, according to the introduction.

Yes, it's really narrative texts for four walking tours of Washington, D.C. Not my standard reading material. But then, Christopher Buckley (only son of the author of my last selection, the funniest writer active today, and editor of Forbes FYI) isn't your typical travel/tour writer.

A friend is headed to DC with his family for their first trip ever to the nation's capital next week; they'll hit the mall for the Independence Day fireworks, among other things. Quite the experience, I'm sure, with two hundred thousand of your closest friends. But not what it once was -- at the first celebration in 1801, featured attractions included gunfire, cockfights and dogfights. (Walk Three, Page 125.) At least my friend will have Christopher Buckley to guide him.