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June Bug's Grocery and the Cornfield Jook: A South Albany Oral History 

The vibrant South Georgia scene was pure Americana—a picturesque, old-fashioned grocery store next to a thriving jook joint in the heart of a South Albany African-American community. Originally more secluded, this nucleus of the neighborhood became a familiar sight to all Albany residents with the opening in the 1980s of a roadway that passed by the scene and across a new bridge over the nearby Flint River. The waters of the Flint proved to be much too near in 1994, when a catastrophic flood damaged beyond repair the grocery, jook, and hundreds of homes along the river.

Deeply touched by that enormous community loss, Mary Sterner Lawson used her own 1987 photographs to paint a watercolor of the once-flourishing South Albany scene. She never imagined how overwhelming the public response would be when the painting was exhibited in the main lobby of a busy local hospital in 1996. A veritable flood of reminiscences came her way—tales of childhood memories, community gatherings, friendships, brotherhood, families, prostitution, moonshine, and murder. Inspired by the community members who encouraged and aided her efforts, Lawson began recording the rich recollections. June Bug’s Grocery and the Cornfield Jook registers these voices of the community, the voices behind the painting.

Mary Sterner Lawson has taught humanities, literature, and composition at Albany State University since 1973. A natural extension of her longtime involvement with people, art, oral history, and community development, this volume will find a treasured place on Albany bookshelves and will be embraced by young and old, black and white, for generations to come.

Searching for the Spirit of '76

With America's 250th founding anniversary upcoming, it is opportune to reflect upon the cultural impact and history of America's Bicentennial celebration of 1976. The early 1970s was dominated by economic and political turmoil, and the nation looked to the Bicentennial to provide an outlet for moving past difficult times by defining the American ethos through a celebration of its past. Though the celebration sought to recycle many of the nation's mythologies, both good and bad, it was successful in reinvigorating the country by reminding them of what made America exceptional. Author Lawrence Samuel explores the cultural history of the American Bicentennial and helps us to ponder the very same questions of who we are as a people and a nation, as we look ahead to America at 250.

Author Lynn Arave gathered rare historic photographs to capture the majestic Wasatch Mountains - the rugged backbone of northern Utah.

Stretching some 160 miles, from Nephi on the south to Grace, Idaho, on the north, their elevations rise to nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Mount Nebo, at the range’s south end, is a mammoth, triple-peaked monolith at a top elevation of 11,928 feet, the Wasatch’s highest. Dozens of densely vegetated and narrow canyons cut through the Wasatch. Thirteen public ski resorts, plus hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, bisect the Wasatch and offer world-famous recreation. These mountains were the centerpiece of the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games and will also be for the Salt Lake 2034 Olympic Games. This book contains more than 125 historic photographs, including dozens of vintage pictures from the Wasatch Mountain Club’s collection.

In the heart of the Pacific Northwest sits the Palouse, and at its core is Moscow, Idaho.

Throughout its history, Moscow has been known as the home of the University of Idaho and various agricultural businesses. As the town has grown and evolved, Moscow has become the commercial hub of the area, and it took on a new slogan, the “Heart of the Arts.”

The Latah County Historical Society explores over 130 years of Moscow’s history through photography and traces its roots back to the Latah County Pioneer Association, founded in 1891.

Author Robert Redd dives into the stories you won’t find in any orange juice–dispensing Florida Welcome Center. Swaying palms, sandy beaches and the promise of a good life have beckoned generations to Florida. But the Sunshine State’s allure is appealing to the upstanding and vile in equal measure. A key member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy moldered in Florida soil—the same goes for the failed assassin of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Henry Flagler pushed the Florida legislature to alter divorce law so he could extricate himself from one marriage and start anew with a woman nearly four decades his junior. The Ashley Gang left a trail of bank robberies, stolen cars and dead bodies across South Florida. And from bootleggers to land boom con men to especially aggressive insurance fraudsters, Floridians have a history of making money the dirty way.