5015 Connecticut Ave. NW
202/364-1919
www.politics-prose.com

HOURS: Mon.-Sat. 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

As an institution, political book stores tend to lean red or blue, with very few attempting to strike a balance. Politics and Prose is the rare exception, a place where local authors like Seymour Hersh and Jim Lehrer speak and sign books, where well-known public servants Condoleezza Rice and Bill Clinton have met with patrons, where more than half the 2011 Pulitzer Prize winners visited within the year.

Founded in 1984 by Washington residents Barbara Meade and Carla Cohen, Politics and Prose is a top destination, where the city’s cognoscenti stock their libraries, enjoy a cappuccino, and mingle with writers on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Politics and Prose will start a new chapter this year: Following the death of Cohen in 2010, it was purchased by Washington Post journalist Bradley Graham and his wife, Lissa Muscatine, who have promised to uphold the store’s mission as a gathering ground for debate and exploration.