Capital Days: Michael Shiner’s Journal and the Growth of Our Nation’s Capital

This book tells about events in Washington D.C. from Michael Shiner’s perspective. The information is taken from his detailed journals. He started his journal when he was a child in the early 1800s. In his journal he mentioned how he went through the War of 1812, living as a slave, the building of the Washington Monument, and many other things. He started off as a slave and he went through many hard things in his life. He wrote in his journal until he died in 1880.

This book is a very hard book to read because it overloads you with facts. I really like history facts, but this is too much. Also, it is a little difficult to read because much of the book was written using language of the 1800s. I am only ten and this book is probably better for an older kid. It would be a good book to read a little at a time as you study each event in history. One of the most interesting parts of the book was reading Michael Shiner’s story as an African American in the 1800s. Overall it was a good book.