Wicked

The Wicked American history book series introduces the wicked, notorious history of our towns, states, and local communities. Meet the Red Light women of Death Valley, discover the bloody mining disputes of Coeur D’Alene, and gamble your way through Kentucky’s Sin City. From scandalous Newport, Rhode Island to the misdeeds in Jurupa Valley, this wicked history series covers the most salacious and sordid in stories, coast to coast! [View all Wicked Series books]

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Wicked Western Kentucky

$12.99

Wicked Seattle

$16.99

Wicked Victorian Boston

$16.99

Wild Women of Washington, D.C.

Wicked Crescenta Valley

Wicked Ridgefield, Connecticut

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Wicked Erie

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Wicked Bisbee

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Wicked Hartford

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Mobile

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Vermont

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Muncie

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Greenville

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Wilmington, Delaware

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Columbus, Ohio

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Spokane

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Wicked Albuquerque

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Wicked Columbus, Indiana

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

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Wicked Bisbee

9781467154956

$24.99 $12.50 Save 50%

Nicknamed the "Queen of Copper Camps" for having the richest copper mining operations in the world, Bisbee also was the scene of dastardly crimes. From drunken shootouts in saloons to strikers clashing with mining executives, the town's past is filled with stories of vengeance and street justice. The aftermath of an 1885 lynching led directly to the establishment of the Copper Queen Library, too late to deter the infamous Bisbee Massacre of 1883. In Lowell, an argument about an alleged affair ended in murder, while the Fly-Swatting Contest of 1912 encouraged a different kind of killing. Author, journalist and historian Francine Powers uncovers the real-life dramas of Wild West Bisbee.

Wicked Hartford

9781467137348

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

One of the oldest cities in America, Hartford holds plenty of sinful stories. Famed inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt sold arms to both the North and South in the buildup to the Civil War. The notorious Seyms Street jail was the subject of national criticism and scandal for its deplorable conditions. Local journalist Daniel Birdsall fought to expose corruption in the powerful insurance industry and local government at the expense of his own printing presses. Tension between unions and "robber barons" such as Jay Gould spilled into the streets during the Gilded Age. Author Steve Thornton takes readers on an exciting journey through the seedy underbelly of Hartford's past.

Wicked Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand

9781626198050

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

The Grand Strand has a long tradition of hardworking independence and the enthusiastic pursuit of leisure activities. Myrtle Beach is known as a hotbed of hearty partiers, and its chronicles include bordellos, bootleggers, rumrunners, gamblers and a variety of indulgent practices. From Civil War deserters to the excesses of the disco era, the area has a wicked streak running parallel to its beaches. Join author and historian Becky Billingsley as she uncovers the naughty side of the Grand Strand.

Wicked Mobile

9781626199132

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Local author Brendan Kirby revives Mobile's history of gangsters, gambling, theft and arson.

Since its founding in 1702 as the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana, Mobile has witnessed all manner of salacious scandals. An 1847 murder resulted in the hanging of Charles Boyington, who maintained his innocence to the very end, and a great oak tree near his grave site seems to support him. Many believe the notorious Copeland gang started one of the city's worst fires as cover to escape with stolen loot. A 1932 murder case involved a slaying at the landmark Battle House Hotel and proved that Mobile juries could not always be trusted.

Wicked Vermont

9781467138741

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Author Thea Lewis takes a revealing ride through the unique and colorful history of the Green Mountain State.

Vermont is a picturesque landscape, but the idyllic setting hides a sometimes dark and desperate past. H.H. Holmes, America's first serial killer, may have been the University of Vermont's deadliest student. A Burlington resident made an empire partly by carrying contraband goods to and from Canada. The first United States president subject to a birther movement wasn't 44, but a much lower number. A Burlington schoolboy ran away with the circus and became an international sensation under the big top.

Wicked Muncie

9781467136655

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Explore the notorious and unusual side of Muncie's history.

Muncie is the classic small American city. But for much of the past two centuries, the city fell victim to murder, corruption and the bizarre. Mayor Rollin Bunch went to prison for mail fraud, while his police commissioner faced a murder rap. Viola "Babe" Swartz ran a brothel out of a truck stop that was raided by police at least a dozen times but ran for sheriff in the 1974 primary election. June Holland, of the locally famous Holland triplets, killed her neighbor for refusing to sell her house.

Wicked Greenville

9781467151047

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

The Wild West of the Blue Ridge

#YeahThatGreenville is the official slogan of a city with a Southern Charm and congenial reputation. But the beauty of the Reedy River Falls cannot cover up its secret past. Theodosia Burr Alston regularly summered in Greenville prior to being "lost at sea'? in 1812. Rival newspaper editors Benjamin Perry and Turner Bynum, faced off in a fatal duel in 1832.Hugh Bramlett murdered his mother-in-law in 1919, before it was revealed that insanity populated his family tree. Genealogical researcher, Jennifer Stoy presents uncovered tales of mayhem, insanity, and a side of Greenville you didn't know existed.

Wicked Wilmington, Delaware

9781467148566

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Take a journey through crime and vice in twentieth-century Wilmington, from a Tatnall Street bawdy house to the corporate boardrooms of the DuPont Company. Visit the old New Castle County Workhouse, scene of a break-in by a lynch mob and the daring escape of a notorious murderer. A police chief trying to keep his corrupt practices under wraps, agents raiding political headquarters and a detective murdered on the street were all part of city life in the early twentieth century. In later years, stories of a professional killer pleading self-defense, hiding his connections to a mobbed-up Teamsters boss, and runaway lovers caught up in an international extortion scheme show the city's darker side. Local historian Kevin McGonegal chronicles tales of Wilmington's infamous past.

Wicked Columbus, Ohio

9781626199224

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Ohio's capital city once teemed with crime bosses, rampant corruption and unpunished perversion. The Bad Lands of Columbus was a nationally recognized slum controlled by "Smoky" Hobbs. Columbus native Dr. Samuel B. Hartman, the world's most successful snake oil salesman, was almost single-handedly responsible for the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act. Local gambler "Pat" Murnan had an unlikely love affair with Grace Backenstoe, the madam of the most popular brothel in town. The two were a symbol of the area's salaciousness. Authors David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker explore the heyday of Columbus's most notorious fiends, corrupt politicians and con men.

Wicked Spokane

9781467151818

$23.99 $12.00 Save 50%

Spokane's early years were marked by an unchecked underworld of greed and sinister dealings.
Houses of ill-repute and homebrewed whiskey abounded, and hidden tunnels beneath the streets helped to stoke the lawlessness. Famous cowgirl Calamity Jane loved to deal faro when visiting the city and it's rumored that outlaw Butch Cassidy¬¬, after a bit of plastic surgery, chose the city to live out the rest of his life in relative peace. A corrupt police department did little to curb the influence of the wealthy and those seeking to make their fortune through bootlegging, prostitution or gambling.
Join author Deborah Cuyle as she uncovers the colorful past of the Lilac City.

Wicked Albuquerque

9781467137980

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Albuquerque's early lawless reputation rivaled that of Dodge City and Tombstone. Its red-light district was known as Hell's Half Acre. Brothel owner Lizzy McGrath once had a local church demolished to build her new bordello. Milt Yarberry, the town's first marshal, was hanged for murder. And the controversial Elfego Baca, who had the gall to face Pancho Villa, survived a thirty-six-hour gunfight unscathed. Author Cody Polston presents the tales of those who slipped through the cracks of morality.

Wicked Columbus, Indiana

9781625858719

$21.99 $11.00 Save 50%

Every city has its secrets and Columbus, Indiana is no exception. Sit back and enjoy the murder and mayhem!

Dubbed the Athens of the Prairie for its array of stunning modern architecture and abundance of public art, Columbus still endured its share of unsavory citizens, crime-ridden neighborhoods and tales of woe. Many residents avoided the infamous slums of Smoky Row and Death Valley, while others gave in to the allure of Lillian ""Todie"" Tull's famed house of ill repute on North Jackson Street. Two different father-and-son hoodlum partnerships, the McKinneys and the Bells, terrorized the area in the 1800s. And a brutal fistfight between a newspaper editor and the mayor sparked a scandal in 1877.

Join author, journalist, and historian Paul J. Hoffman as he takes you on a wild ride through the salacious side of Columbus. A must-read for fans of true crime and Indiana history.