<DIV>First published in the dark days immediately before World War II, <I>Capital City</I> is Mari Sandoz's angriest and most political novel. Like many important American novels of the 1930s—John Steinbeck's <I>The Grapes of Wrath</I>, Jack Conroy's <I>The Disinherited</I>, Robert Cantwell's <I>Land of</I> <I>Plenty—Capital City</I> depicts the troubles of working people trapped in the Great Depression. A unique portrayal of how the Depression affected the Great Plains, it examines the forces that bitterly contended for wealth and power. Sandoz researched the daily life and behind-the-scenes operations of several state capitals in the thirties before synthesizing them in this novel, which is part allegory, part indictment, part warning. Famous for her passionate writing, Sandoz imbued <I>Capital City</I> with the full measure of her outrage.</DIV>