American Biographies - History Books

Name: South Carolina Blues
Brand: Clair DeLune
SKU: 9781467114721
Price: 18.74 USD
Availability: InStock

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South Carolina Blues

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Theatres of Oakland

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Swiss in Greater Milwaukee

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Onondaga County Sheriff's Office

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Irish St. Louis

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Greater Boston Community Theater

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The Polish Community of Worcester

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The Music Hall, Portsmouth

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Napa County Police

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The Italian Home for Children

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Swedish Seattle

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The Polish Community of New Britain

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Manhattan Beach Police Department

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The Shakers of Union Village

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Auburn Police

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Arabs of Chicagoland

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South Carolina Blues

9781467114721

$24.99 $18.74 Save 25%

The history of South Carolina blues is a long, deep—and sometimes painful—story. However, it is a narrative with aspects as compelling as the music itself. Geographical differences in America led to variations in the styles of music that developed from African rhythms. The wet, marshy landscape and hot, muggy weather of the Carolina Lowcountry combined to cultivate not only rice, but a Gullah-based style of South Carolina blues. In drier climates, toward the Midlands and the Upstate, the combination of European influences led to the emergence of Piedmont blues, which in turn spawned country music as well as bluegrass. Those same Gullah roots resulted in four major dance crazes, starting with the Charleston.

Theatres of Oakland

9780738546810

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Oakland has a rich theatre history, from the amusements of a gas-lit downtown light opera and vaudeville stage in the 1870s to the ornate cinematic escape portals of the Great Depression. Dozens of neighborhood theatres, once the site of family outings and first dates, remain cherished memories in the lives of Oaklanders. The city can still boast three fabulous movie palaces from the golden age of cinema: the incomparable art deco Paramount, which now offers live performances and films; the stately Grand Lake gracing the sinuous shores of Lake Merritt; and the magnificently eccentric Fox Oakland, with its imposing Hindu gods flanking the stage. The Paramount and Grand Lake still stir the heartstrings of patrons with showings preceded by interludes on their mighty Wurlitzer organs.

Swiss in Greater Milwaukee

9780738583778

$21.99 $16.49 Save 25%

A few men and women, mostly from German-speaking cantons, pioneered this remarkable Swiss community in the mid-1830s. Thousands who followed in their footsteps participated actively in the development of a vibrant new city, branding it with a unique style of efficiency and progressivism. The immigrants and their progeny prospered and distinguished themselves in various fields of science, commerce, art, and industry. They helped launch Charlie Chaplin's career, produced coumarin used in flavorings and perfumes, wrote a popular guide for 19th-century immigrants, and helped shape the nation's banking industry. Among their finest were Milwaukee's first archbishop, a world-renowned surgeon, an elected governor, an influential radical "free-thinker," a kindergarten pioneer, a wine grower, a successful whiskey distiller, and a prolific architect.

Onondaga County Sheriff's Office

9781467134538

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The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office was formed on March 5, 1794. At that time, its jurisdiction covered what had previously been known as the Military Tract, a 1.75 million–acre stretch of land made available as bounty to soldiers of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Since then, the episodes that sketched the history of Onondaga County and Central New York have painted an exciting historical portrait of the sheriff's office and the role it has played in the development of its communities. Intriguing theaters of the office's history include promoting peace with the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, maintaining jails, conducting early legal hangings, suppressing insurrections, policing the storied Erie Canal, and keeping pace of the ever-changing trends in crime, technology, and strategy.

Irish St. Louis

9780738532226

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It's quite unlikely that Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau could have comprehended the scope of their undertaking in 1764 when they laid out the settlement on the western banks of the Mississippi that was to become the metropolis of St. Louis. Founded by the French, governed by the Spanish, and heavily populated by the English and Germans, the role that the Irish had in making St. Louis what it is today is often overlooked. The Irish are steeped in tradition, and that trait did not leave the Irish immigrants when they arrived in St. Louis and called this place home. Like many other cities in America, the heritage of Ireland is alive and well in St. Louis. This book visually captures their Irish spirit, and portrays a few of the Irish movers and shakers alongside the Irish commoner in their new and challenging lives here in St. Louis.

The Polish Community of Worcester

9780738513386

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Near the beginning of the twentieth century, thousands of Polish immigrants embarked upon the American Dream in Worcester as the city's lowest-paid mill workers. Slowly, they carved out their own "Polonia," with Millbury Street as the center. By the 1920s, Worcester's Polish community had built a parish with the largest parochial school in the county, established several civic associations, and become an influential group in the city's economy and ethnic composition. The Polish Community of Worcester celebrates the resilient and patriotic spirit of Worcester's Polonia from 1870 through 1970, with rare photographs from private collections and family albums.

The Music Hall, Portsmouth

9780738512495

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On Christmas Eve 1876, Portsmouth citizens watched flames reduce their largest meetinghouse and entertainment hall to ashes. During the following year, local families, businessmen, and craftsmen combined their resources to build a new auditorium with state-of-the-art lighting, rigging, staging, and seating-a comfortable venue for public addresses, charity functions, and international entertainment. The Music Hall, Portsmouth, was born.

Twain spoke from her stage, Sousa's brass echoed from her walls, and Edison's films brought her silver screen to life. Enduring war, depression, and multiple threats of destruction, this grand hall today stands as New Hampshire's oldest operating theater. Showcasing the world's finest stage and screen talent, offering artistic education to young and old, and hosting fundraisers and private events, the Music Hall is a testament to the necessity of arts in local culture and the strength of a community's resolve.

Napa County Police

9780738547527

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The story of organized law enforcement in Napa County begins with the very first meeting of the board of supervisors in 1850 and the appointment of a county sheriff and marshals for each township. The
foundations for progress and prosperity in place, Napa County grew from a remote agricultural outpost to the preeminent wine-growing region in the United States and a booming tourist destination--and policing
has kept pace. Today, in addition to the Napa Sheriff's Department, the county is protected by the California Highway Patrol and three police departments: Napa, St. Helena, and Calistoga. Specialized police agencies have also grown out of unique needs, including the Napa State Hospital Police, Railroad Police, and Community College Police.

The Italian Home for Children

9780738538273

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As it ravaged the world, the influenza epidemic of 1918 devastated Boston's congested North End and left hundreds of orphans in its wake. Touched by this crisis, a Roman Catholic priest and a group of Italian Americans founded the first home for Italian children in Massachusetts. Franciscan Sisters devoted 24 hours a day to providing the children with a safe, loving, and spiritual environment. In addition, the home provided educational support for its residents. Over time, the changing needs of children mandated that the agency change the nature of its services from custodial care to treatment. In 1974, in response to the changing political and social climate, the agency became the Italian Home for Children. Today, it is a nonprofit, nonsectarian residential treatment facility with a capacity for 61 children of all races, nationalities, and religions. The images in The Italian Home for Children document milestones in the organization's history: the devastating influenza epidemic, the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas plays, a visit from Joe DiMaggio, trips to Canobie Lake Park in the summer, the Tony Martin benefit performance at Boston Garden, and the home as it is today--a refuge for children in the most severe crises.

Swedish Seattle

9780738548081

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Swedish immigrants began arriving in Seattle in the 1880s, and by 1900 had formed a thriving community of churches, businesses, social clubs, labor organizations, choruses, and dance groups, as well as a Swedish-language press. Their civic accomplishments are exemplified by well-known Seattle institutions founded by Swedish immigrants, including a national department store chain and a world-class medical facility, which began as Swedish Hospital. The story of the Swedish community in Seattle is also a personal history of families and friends building a new life as Americans. Swedish culture is perhaps most publicly visible in annual celebrations such as Midsummer and Lucia. A lively local interest in Swedish music and dance suggests that "Swedish" Seattle is not limited to residents who happen to be of Swedish descent.

The Polish Community of New Britain

9780738537658

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Factory jobs in "the Hardware City of the World" began attracting Polish immigrants to New Britain in the 1890s. The Poles soon became the city's largest ethnic group, centering their family, business, social, cultural, and spiritual life on Broad Street. Their Polonia was unparalleled in New England. Three parishes and dozens of organizations shared a strong commitment to Polish education, military service, political representation, and "Dozynki" and "Dzien Zaduszny" traditions. Continuing waves of immigration contributed to Polonia's ceaseless self-renewal. The Polish Community of New Britain celebrates this magnetic vitality and cultural continuity with rare photographs drawn from family albums and local archives.

Manhattan Beach Police Department

9780738520896

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The small community of Manhattan Beach, located in the county of Los Angeles, is situated on the shore of the Santa Monica Bay. Late in the 1800s, there was little need for law enforcement: this unspoiled terrain along the ocean coastline with its shifting sands, scrub brush, and native wildflowers had yet to be cultivated. By 1912, the sparsely populated area had been incorporated and the city fathers appointed the first peace officer, Fred W. Petway, who was one of three marshals to serve the new town. In 1924, the position of police chief was created with the appointment of Fred Garvin. However, it would be many years before a first-class police department would oversee the safety and security of the growing community. This volume tracks a century of social change and dramatic episodes that challenged a long line of dedicated men and women in law enforcement. Each of these professionals raised the bar on the high standard of police department service that operates in this seaside municipality today.

The Shakers of Union Village

9780738551234

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Founded in 1805, Union Village began as a religious and communal experiment. Eventually it became one of America's largest and most productive Shaker communities, its members achieving many firsts in education, equality, music, horticulture, and animal husbandry. Their unique faith influenced every aspect of their lives, from making furniture to raising children. They welcomed the leading figures of the period, including Native American chiefs, politicians, and abolitionists, while they continued to open other Shaker settlements in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia. These vintage images--including many never published before--trace the Shakers" progress as they worked toward creating an earthly paradise. Although Union Village dissolved in 1912, some Shakers remained there for almost another decade. Today Union Village's heritage is still shared with the public at OtterbeinLebanon Retirement Community and in neighboring Lebanon.

Auburn Police

9780738550350

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Auburn Police traces the history of the Auburn Police Department, which dates back to the mid1800s. It portrays many of the faces of those people who have devoted 20, 30, or more years of service to their community. Although a number of aspects of law enforcement have changed over the years, the very principle of the police officer interacting with the public remains the same.

Arabs of Chicagoland

9780738534176

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Arabs first settled in Chicagoland in the mid-19th century, when immigrants from all parts of the world were flowing steadily into the U.S. As tensions in the Arab world flared, immigration increased--the first to arrive were Lebanese Christians, followed by Muslim Palestinians. Today, there are more than 250,000 Arabs in the Chicago area, with equal numbers of Christians and Muslims. A part of the fabric of Chicago, Arabs serve in many roles, from business leaders to elected officials to judges, doctors, engineers, journalists, and more. In the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001, Arab Americans have come under great scrutiny and have suffered much misunderstanding. Now, this book, which explores their integral role in Chicagoland's growth, is especially important.