History

Wisconsin troops fought and died for the Union on Civil War battlefields across the continent, from Shiloh to Gettysburg. Wisconsin lumberjacks built a dam that saved a stranded Union fleet.

The Second Wisconsin Infantry suffered the highest percentage of battle deaths in the Union army. Back home, in a state largely populated by immigrants and recent transplants, the war effort forced Wisconsin's residents to forge a common identity for the first time. Drawing on unpublished letters and new research, Ron Larson tells Wisconsin's Civil War story, from the famous exploits of the Iron Brigade to the heretofore largely unknown contributions of the Badger State's women, African Americans and Native Americans.

Join author and comedian Mike Bridenstine for a show business story unlike any other. In 2001, an aspiring comedian in Kansas City named Kyle Parris performed what can be described as the most infamous open mic set of all time. And it took place at one of the most infamous clubs in the history of stand-up—Stanford & Sons—which was owned by one of the most notorious and colorful families in comedy history. This book tells the story of that set, as well as the story of the Kansas City comedy scene, from the boom times of the ’80s, when comics like Sinbad and Eddie Griffin got their starts, to the 2000s, when Nikki Glaser got hers. There are a lot of twists, turns and wild characters along the way, including some recent headlines in the Hollywood trades.

Located almost dead center along the Gulf Coast, Mobile has seen a thing or two in its long history. The Port City has survived the ravages of hurricanes and yellow fever epidemics. It has been handed down from one nation to another not once but several times. The last major battle of the Civil War roared only miles away across its namesake bay, a few short years after the last slave ship, the Clotilda, arrived with its human contraband. But this city has had much to celebrate, as well. Mobile gave our nation its greatest party—Mardi Gras. It was also the birthplace of five Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famers. Author Joe Cuhaj serves as docent to the twists and turns of Mobile and the Alabama Gulf’s fascinating past.

From the outbreak of the Revolutionary War to the summer of 1777, Loyalists and Patriot forces wove their way through the mountains and valleys of the Adirondacks, vying for land and control of the key waterways of the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, the St. Lawrence River and the New York Harbor.  

The majority of New Yorkers, particularly those who occupied the Adirondack Mountain Region and other wilderness frontier regions, were either Loyalist or neutral throughout the war. Their stories, motivations and actions are often overlooked out of a false impression that most colonists were unifed in favor of American independence.

Author Marie Williams recounts the harrowing efforts, battlefield endeavours and conflicted hearts and minds of the forgotten British and Loyalists during the revolutionary era in the Adirondacks.

The Battle of Piedmont has long been considered a small battle with massive consequences. A must-have for Shenandoah Valley and Civil War enthusiasts.

In 1864, General Grant tasked General David Hunter with raiding the breadbasket of the Shenandoah Valley and destroying the Confederate factories and supply lines. General Lee dispatched General William E. ""Grumble"" Jones, and the forces collided up the fertile fields of eastern Augusta County. It was a bloody day--the Battle of Piedmont saw more men killed and wounded than in any of Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley encounters. Sweeping on to victory, Federal forces then occupied Staunton and laid waste to the railroad and Confederate workshops.

Join Civil War historian Scott C. Patchan, a leading authority on the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign and sitting member of Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation's Resource Protection Committee, as he chronicles the campaign and sheds light on its place in the war.

Culinary Traditions Preserved, Stories Never to be Forgotten/

This vital collection of survivor stories uplifts and inspires alongside recipes that nourish your soul. Read about daring partisans who fought in the woods, hidden children who sought comfort from strangers and those who endured unimaginable internment. For Holocaust survivors, food was a way to connect their lives before the war with the homes they created after. Their kitchens were filled with the aromas of familiar foods like chicken soup and brisket while unfamiliar delights they adopted, like arroz con pollo and gnocchi, became part of their repertoire. These are the recipes they share with you. Culinary icons such as Michael Solomonov, Jonathan Waxman, Ina Garten and more contribute their own recipes as tribute to the remarkable survivor community. Author June Hersh gives readers a taste of history and a life-affirming message that honors the legacy of Holocaust survivors. 

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book will benefit organizations committed to Holocaust education.

Discover what life was like in the heyday of the abandoned mines that dot the Nevada landscape, now host to the spirits of those who lost their lives in pursuit of gold, silver, and salt.

Step into the Silver State’s past, where the echoes of once-thriving boomtowns and mining operations reverberate through the desert to this day. Explore the remnants of a drowned town exposed by the receding waters of Lake Mead, and an abandoned pet cemetery sure to send chills down your spine. The bones of prehistoric creatures lie beside the former residents of Berlin, and in Goodsprings, reports of ghostly celebrity sightings stir up excitement.

Join author Heather Leigh on a journey through the eerie history of Nevada’s ghost towns.

The vast mountains and deserts of Arizona hide a multitude of buried treasures and forgotten mines just waiting to be rediscovered.

The Aztecs reportedly hid gold and other valuables worth millions across the Southwest to keep it from the Spaniards hundreds of years ago, but nothing has ever been recovered. The famous Lost Dutchman mine has captured attention and claimed multiple lives since its discovery in the Superstition Mountains, and it’s just one of many mines lost to history and shifting landscapes. More recently, rumors spread that more than $1 million in cash from the 1977 robbery of Marjorie Jackson is still hidden somewhere north of Phoenix.

Author W. Craig Gaines maps out the potential paths leading to lost fortunes.

Home to the largest open pit copper mine in North America, Greenlee County boasts a colorful and fascinating history.

Mining, ranching, and farming have sustained generations of area families, including Blue River rancher Freddie Fritz, once the head of the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, and Robert Hannagan, who lent his name to the popular Hannagan Meadow along the Coronado Trail. Discover the fate of Metcalf, a town no longer standing, and the devastating Clifton flood of 1906. Learn about the labor strike of 1903, one of the most violent conflicts in Greenlee's history.

Join area natives Robert A. Chilicky and Gerald D. Hunt as they explore the past of one of the most interesting places in Arizona.

Author Keri Watson guides readers on a tour through New Deal era Sunshine State parks and post office murals. Even before the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, the Florida economy was depressed from two major hurricanes, a citrus export embargo, and the collapse of the real estate market. Florida desperately needed the relief promised by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal and actively participated in and benefited from a number of federally sponsored initiatives during the Great Depression. These programs were aimed at what the president termed “Relief, Recovery, and Reform,” and they impacted every sector of society from banking and farming to art and architecture. This collection offers a detailed look at the state parks and post offices built in Florida between 1931 and 1946. Looking at Florida’s Depression-era parks and post offices in concert elucidates the ways in which the natural and built environments work together to constitute the cultural landscape and provides insight into the role of the federal government in Florida’s construction as an exotic and tropical paradise.

A road trip along spooky shores and treacherous waters.

Despite its idyllic setting, the coast of the Pacific Northwest has another, darker name by which it is known: "The Graveyard of the Pacific.'? Two thousand ships and countless lives have been lost to the waters of the Pacific Ocean and, the Columbia River claimed many more. The spirits of early settlers, Native Americans and drowned mariners are said to linger near the shores. From ghostly treasure hunters eternally searching for buried gold to a graveyard filled with souls who met violent ends, legends abound.

Join author Ira Wesley Kitmacher as he uncovers mysterious tales and guides readers through this most haunted place in America.

Peter F. Stevens offers an entertaining and compelling portrait of the Irish immigrant saga and pays homage to the overlooked episodes of the Boston Irish experience.

When it comes to Irish America, certain names spring to mind - Kennedy, O'Neill, and Curley testify to the proverbial footsteps of the Gael in Boston. However, few people know of Sister Mary Anthony O'Connell, whose medical prowess carried her from the convent to the Civil War battlefields, earning her the nickname the Boston Irish Florence Nightingale, or of Barney McGinniskin, Boston's first Irish cop, who proudly roared at every roll call, McGinniskin from the bogs of Ireland - present! Along with acclaim or notoriety, many forgotten Irish Americans garnered numerous historical firsts.

The Buckeye State is rich in buried treasure stories, but what’s true and what’s not? /

Wild yarns and plausible legends cling to a number of historical events, including the French and Indian War, Confederate general John Morgan’s raid into Ohio, Prohibition, John Dillinger’s bank robbing career, and the California Gold Rush. The hope of finding these riches has inspired treasure hunters since Ohio became a state. But enthusiasm has its drawbacks, for many an Ohioan has been duped by con artists toting everything from divining rods and magic tomes to dubious devices like the “scientific gold compass.”/

Author Mark Strecker dives deep into historical record to test the credibility of these tales and others.

Explore the spirits of Michigan’s watering holes/

From the picturesque shores of Manistique to the crystalline waters of Diamond Lake in Cassopolis, Michigan overflows with pubs and bars swirling with chilling legends. The decrepit ghost of Wattie Mullins welcomes visitors into Coonan’s Irish Hub. The spirit of a black-eyed girl has been spotted playing on the steps of the C-Pub at Canterbury Village, and her appearance has left many feeling shaken and stirred. A mysterious soul inhabits a bizarre doll at The Agitated Grape and comes alive when you least expect it.

Local author and paranormal investigator Nicole Beauchamp leads this eerie literary road trip perfect for anyone who likes to eat, drink and be scary.

Northeast Ohio high school football has always been known for its drama, intensity and rivalries. For more than a century, McKinley and Massillon have met on the gridiron every fall in one of the state’s most evenly matched contests. Since 1971, the St. Ignatius Wildcats yearly clash with the St. Edwards Eagles in the Cleveland Holy War. More recently, Avon and Avon Lake have kicked off a border war for bragging rights and hardware in the Silver Rail Rivalry, and Olmsted Falls and Berea-Midpark face each other in the heated Battle of Bagley Road.

Join author and founder of McKee on Sports Vince McKee for a thrilling look under the Friday night lights in the Buckeye State.

A Legacy of Conservation/

Every year thousands flock to the Pennsylvania Wilds to be among nature and its famous elk herd. In the past, dangerous levels of hunting and industrial development forever altered Pennsylvania's natural landscape and drove its native elk to near extinction. In response, concerned sportsmen and conservationists pushed the state legislature to create a game commission in the late 1800s to enforce game laws and protect the herd. The Pennsylvania Game Commission then sought to reintroduce the once mighty elk herd in the early twentieth century, shipping fifty elk via train from Jackson Hole and Yellowstone. Conservation movements continued to enhance the state's environmental landscape that faced new threats from logging and mining industries and by the 1980s, the Wilds was on a path to full restoration. Author Mario Chiappelli reveals the history of how the Pennsylvania Wilds and its elk herd remain as vibrant as ever today.

The history of the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is a testament to the strength of the people that call it home.

In the second volume of history for this stalwart Pennsylvania city, Randy Whittle shows how Johnstown pulled together, even after the devastation of a flood in 1936 that wrought massive damage throughout the community. Following World War II, the community struggled to rise above adversity in the economy and to establish civil rights for all. Johnstown is a true American city, as strong as the steel that is forged in its famous mills. From Johnstown's enormous contribution in steel and coal to the war effort to its recovery after the monumental flood of 1977, Whittle's book shows how the people of Johnstown made it the modern city it is today.

Explore the lesser-known stories that make up New Jersey's compelling hidden history.

Explore the lesser-known stories that make up New Jersey's compelling hidden history. Uncover the meaning of Jersey Blues, celebrate some of the state's bravest Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers and investigate Jersey City's most infamous ghost. From the inferno that engulfed Asbury Park, to the benevolent side of Frank Hague, to the equestrienne who plunged forty feet into a pool of water on horseback in Atlantic City, rediscover these and many other events from New Jersey's storied past.

Just off the coast of the Bronx in Long Island Sound sits Hart Island, where more than one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves.

Beginning as a Civil War prison and training site and later a psychiatric hospital, the location became the repository for New York City’s unclaimed dead. The island’s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of the AIDS epidemic. Important artists who died in poverty have been discovered, including Disney star Bobby Driscoll and playwright Leo Birinski. Author Michael T. Keene reveals the history of New York’s potter’s field and the stories of some of its lost souls.

Learn the exciting story of the rise and fall of Gimbels, one of America's most beloved department stores.

In 1842, Adam Gimbel opened a small storefront in Vincennes, Indiana and unknowingly set forth the groundwork for an American retail icon. His fair trade practices encouraged him to leave Vincennes and open up the largest store ever in 1887 in the city of Milwaukee. After getting his Milwaukee on firm ground, Adam Gimbel left for Philadelphia, his wife's hometown, with his seven sons and opened the world's largest store in 1894. Like every major department store, Gimbels began to follow its customer into the suburbs, and the family became less involved in the running of the store. With sales and profits falling, Gimbels was purchased by British-American Tobacco. The company struggled to right itself in the challenging and changing retailing world. It built a new controversial flagship store in Philadelphia but it failed to draw its traditional shopper. By June 1986, Gimbels was going out of business and the 36 Gimbels stores located from Philadelphia to Milwaukee permanently shut their doors

Author Holly Sprinkle unveils the secrets hidden within Florida’s aquatic wonders. Florida’s springs swirl a spectrum of greens and blues with a crystal clarity seen nowhere else in the world. “Springhunting” is a cherished regional pastime, but these ancient oases have served as a beacon for humans and beasts alike since time immemorial. Giant sloths, mammoths and armadillos once centered their lives around these springs—the endangered West Indian Manatee still seeks refuge in the relatively warm springs during the winter months. These enchanting waters sustain ecosystems and inspire everything from feelings of deep serenity to legends involving curses, ghosts and alien visitation. 

Authors Joseph Bilby and Harry Ziegler chart the brief rise of the Ku Klux Klan and how New Jersey collectively stood up to bigotry.

The state, though, was not immune to the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan in the first half of the twentieth century. Former vaudevillians Arthur H. Bell and his wife used the tactics of public theater to advertise and recruit for the organization. At a massive riot in Perth Amboy, thousands of immigrants besieged a few hundred Klansmen, tossed them out of building windows, burned their cars and ran them out of town. The allying of pro-Nazi German Bund groups and the Klan in the lead-up to World War II marked the end of the Klan’s foothold. Authors Joseph Bilby and Harry Ziegler chart the brief rise of the Ku Klux Klan and how New Jersey collectively stood up to bigotry.

From the Age of Discovery and the earliest settlement of America, Midcoast Maine has played surprising roles in America's history.

Europeans might not have survived in the New World without the Kennebec beaver trade, the lessons of the Popham Colony and the friendships Maine's first settlers built. Experience the storied survival of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's military grandfather in precarious Revolutionary Maine and meet resilient, creative, noteworthy and notorious Midcoasters. Pat Higgins recounts Puritan power plays, the sea fight between the Boxer and the Enterprise, duels, U-boats and much more. Discover the fascinating and quirky bits of history that have remained hidden along the rocky coast from Portland to Acadia--until now..

Meet the Hoosier Generals of America’s Conflict

When the Civil War erupted, the Union and the Confederacy faced the challenge of organizing huge armies of volunteers with little or no military experience. Crucial to this task was finding generals, and Indiana answered this call with approximately 120 of them. Though a competent division and corps commander, Ambrose E. Burnside’s leadership of the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg proved disastrous. Jefferson Columbus was a relentless commander but murdering his superior in a Louisville hotel halted his probable rise to major general. As commander of the Louisville Legion, Lovell H. Rousseau was the only Civil War general commissioned by a city.

Compiling years of research, historian Carl E. Kramer provides biographical sketches of every identifiable Indiana general who attained full-rank, brevet, and state-service status in the tragic struggle.

Through a fascinating narrative and stunning vintage photographs, readers will discover the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans of Hampton Roads.

It was in Hampton Roads, Virginia, that hundreds gained their freedom. The teeming wharves were once a major station on the Underground Railroad, and during the Civil War, escaped slaves such as Shepard Mallory, Frank Baker and James Townsend fled to Fort Monroe to become contrabands under the protection of General Benjamin Butler. Upon arrival in the region, many took up arms for the Union, and the valiant deeds of some placed them among the first African American Medal of Honor recipients. Join Professor Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander as she charts the history of this remarkable African American community from the Civil War to Reconstruction.

Authors David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker separate fact from fiction in the story of Ohio’s Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a macabre sort of dance between good and evil in which each side was trying to steal away the other’s partner. However, in the upside-down-world of pre-Civil War America, the law was firmly on the side of evil and the dance often ended in death. It was a time when the newly formed country was deeply divided on the question of slavery and its fate hung in the balance. Just how long could a house divided against itself be expected to stand?

Often relegated to a footnote, the Archive War almost plunged the Republic of Texas into civil war. Houston’s Archive War began with the Texas Revolution, as the spoils of the battlefield gave way to bitter political strife. Sam Houston didn’t expect a two-year standoff with Austin residents over the location of the new republic’s capital. But if a few things had gone differently, his attempt to shift the seat of government back to the city named after him could have ended with Austin residents in outright rebellion. As it was, the feud between Lamar and Houston over the seat of government escalated into cannon-fire and continued until Texas was a Republic no more. Author Lora-Marie Bernard thumbs through the incendiary files of the Texas Archive War.

Murder and mystery haunt the shadowy corners of the Victorian Era in Southwest Michigan.

Decades after his supposed death in 1846, a litigious bachelor was discovered to have been buried alive. In 1865, a Battle Creek woman, yearning for her lover, used Spiritualism to conceal poisoning her three children. An 1883 unsolved quadruple homicide near Jackson caused two suicides, one attempted suicide and two assassination attempts. In 1891, a ten-year-old girl adopted from the State School in Coldwater one morning was found dead in an icy river two counties away that same afternoon.

Researcher and author Michael Delaware unfurls these and other stories that shocked Michigan and the nation over a century ago.

Before there was Route 66, there was the iconic Lincoln Highway. A symbol of limitless potential, America’s first coast-to-coast highway spanned Iowa from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River. When you travel U.S. 30 across Iowa today, you’re never far from the historic Lincoln Highway, if not right on top of it. Learn the history of an Iowa landmark.

1775 belonged to Boston but after April of 1776, the Revolutionary War’s focus became New York City and the highly strategic Long Island, from Brooklyn’s terminal moraine high ground to Queens’s Hell Gate.

1776 was the year when revolution came to Long Island, and in particualr the future Long Island City. The failures, defeats and eventual occupation of the area at the hands of the British forged the resolve and strength of character that would later ensure Patriot victories on distant battlegrounds throughout the rest of the colonies. The British did not evacuate western Queens county until November of 1783, but the events of 1776 would not soon be forgotten during the seven long years of occupation afterword. Join author Richard Melnick as he charts the military, political and cultural history 1776 in Long Island City.

Bomber Mountain's Namesake Tragedy

June 1943 saw forty-one heavy bombers lost within the continental United States, including a B-17 that went missing over Wyoming late during the night of June 28. That aircraft had ten young men on board destined for World War II. They had been ordered overseas to participate in the intense and constant bombing raids being conducted in Europe, but they never made it out of America. Two years later, area cowboys discovered the wreckage strewn across an otherwise picturesque landscape. U.S. Air Corps Captain Kenneth G. Hamm noted in his personal diary, “The plane was so completely demolished that we were almost on top of it before we saw it.” Author Sylvia A. Bruner shares the stories of the men who lost their lives deep in the Bighorn Mountains and recounts the events of the crash, search and U.S. Air Corps accident investigation.

Told through a collection of first-person soldier accounts, the history of this Civil War battle and how the South’s dubious chances of victory were overcome with grit and determination.

Nestled between the Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley enjoyed tremendous prosperity before the Civil War.

This valuable stretch of land--called the Breadbasket of the Confederacy due to its rich soil and ample harvests--became the source of many conflicts between the Confederate and Union armies. Of the thirteen major battles fought here, none was more influential than the Battle of Cedar Creek. On October 19, 1864, General Philip Sheridan's Union troops finally gained control of the valley, which eliminated the Shenandoah as a supply source for Confederate forces in Virginia, ended the valley's role as a diversionary theater of war and stopped its use as an avenue of invasion into the North.

Civil War historian, preservationist, and author Jonathan A. Noyalas explains the battle and how it aided Abraham Lincoln's reelection campaign and defined Sheridan's enduring legacy.

Experience the personal accounts of Marine Corp recruits as they recall their experiences of their time and training at Parris Island in South Carolina.

Here, for the first time, author and former Parris Island drill-instructor Eugene Alvarez records the training and tough physical and mental challenges that have helped to churn thousands of Marines out of Parris Island, South Carolina for nearly a century. Drawn from first-hand accounts of recruits themselves, the memories and recollections in these pages are humorous, sad, profane and enlightening—describing a training program that, on first encounter, often appears insane. But the results are clear: a disciplined Marine with a proud history that he or she carries proudly in peace time or war.

One of the nation's most colorful leaders, Confederate general John Hunt Morgan, took his cavalry through enemy-occupied territory in three states in one of the longest offensives of the Civil War.

A military operation unlike any other on American soil, Morgan's Raid was characterized by incredible speed, superhuman endurance and innovative tactics.The effort produced the only battles fought north of the Ohio River and reached farther north than any other regular Confederate force. With twenty-five maps and more than forty illustrations, Morgan's Raid historian David L. Mowery takes a new look at this unprecedented event in American history, one historians rank among the world's greatest land-based raids since Elizabethan times.

New York City is blessed with an incredible array of public sculptures.

One overlooked aspect of this collection is its monuments of Black Americans, each with its own remarkable story. The first appearance of a Black person in a city monument came in the Civil War Soldiers’ Monument in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery in 1876, but this was a nameless symbolic figure. It wasn’t until 1945 that Booker T. Washington became the first identifiable Black American honored in a New York City monument. In 2007, the city dedicated its first monument to a Black woman, Harriet Tubman. Behind every first is a story of triumph over adversity and exclusion. Local author David Felsen reveals the stories behind thirty inspiring monuments that have endured, as well as how they found their place in the city’s history.

One candy heiress, two bullets and three suspects.

The small Southern California island of Coronado rarely makes news for violent crime. But in the spring of 1975, World War II widow and retired librarian Ruth Quinn was murdered, execution-style, in her cottage. Her death sent a shock wave through the community. The granddaughter of Jujubes and Jujyfruits creator Henry Heide, Ruth was found fully clothed with her shoes on, in her bed, dead from two gunshot wounds. To this day, her murder has never been solved, but whispers about her brother, her son and even a local petty thief still swirl.

Author Taylor Baldwin Kiland sifts through the dirt for the facts about Ruth’s life and her untimely end in Coronado.

Explore humanity through what haunt us in Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah!

From the fanciful and revelatory to the horrifying and sorrowful, the folklore of Southern Utah hints at a complex history. Whether spiritual or spooky, home-grown legends are a window to understanding local culture. Visit Grafton, Utah’s most haunted ghost town. Explore what haunts Southern Utah University in Cedar City, the St. George Temple and Touquerville’s “murder house.” Learn about skinwalkers and the theft of Native American beliefs. Examine the numerous urban legends surrounding Route 666, “The Devil’s Highway.” Uncover the secrets of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the curse of Escalante Petrified Forest. Drawing on information from over two hundred interviews, Darren M. Edwards investigates the tales and myths that permeate and persist in communities throughout red rock country.

Trace the haunted heritage of America’s Mother Road across Oklahoma. Route 66 may seem like a quieter thoroughfare than it was in its heyday, but the ghosts of Oklahoma’s past bustle along unabated. When the sun sets on the Road of Dreams, the shadows of its roadside attractions take on a nightmarish cast. British airmen disappear into the mist above Miami. Phantoms stir in the Dust Bowl’s shallow grave. A westbound Frisco train hops the rails outside Kellyville. Author Tanya McCoy expertly weaves amongst the spirits still traveling along Oklahoma’s historic Route 66

The Derby City's Dark Side

Louisville has a long history of violence and murder. Editor Godfrey Pope shot Leonard Bliss over a political joke. A hanged man was allegedly revived with electricity. Josephine Lawrence was a sex worker bent on revenge with unfortunate bad aim. Two locals engaged in a feud that resulted in one man’s death and the other’s marriage to the dead man’s widow. A United States president had a direct descendant arrested for committing a murder near the city. Author Keven McQueen details twenty-four little known homicides that rocked the city from the 1840s to the 1920s.

Explore the international headlines and the little-known crimes, the solved and the wrongly solved, in these tales of the North Carolina mountains.

Western North Carolina is known for mountain vistas and wild, rocky rivers, but remote wilderness and quaint small towns can have a dark side. Learn the truth behind the famous murder ballad Tom Dooley. Delve into the criminal history of moonshine, and the tales of two unexpected bombers in idyllic Mayberry.

Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist’s eye to Western North Carolina’s crime stories that define the sinister—and quirky—side of the mountains.

FAME Publishing first opened in 1959 and produced hits for great musicians like Etta James, Clarence Carter and Aretha Franklin.

ot long after, the city of Muscle Shoals became known as the Hit Recording Capital of the World. FAME was the foundation that produced Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the Nutthouse and Sundrop Sound at Single Lock Records - studios that gave a voice to artists like Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and John Paul White. A new generation, including the Pollies and Doc Dailey & the Magnolia Devil, today carries the tradition of great music. Through extensive research, and enriched with interviews from those who lived it, local author Blake Ells chronicles the epic story that started with FAME.

From its earliest days, Charleston was a vital port of call and center of trade, which left it vulnerable to seafaring criminals.

The Golden Age of Piracy, encompassing roughly the first quarter of the eighteenth century, produced some of the most outrageous characters in maritime history. The daring exploits of these infamous plunderers made thievery widespread along Charleston's waterfront, but determined citizens would meet the pirate threat head-on. From the Gentleman Pirate, Stede Bonnet, to Edward Blackbeard Teach and famed pirate hunter and statesman William Rhett, the waters surrounding the Holy City have a history as rocky and wild as the high seas. Join author and tour guide Christopher Byrd Downey as he tells the tales of Charleston during piracy's greatest reign.

More than four decades after the great aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown last served her country, the ghosts of battle are still heard and felt onboard.

Staff members and visitors claim to have experienced disembodied voices, uniformed apparitions, shadowy masses and other unexplainable occurrences since the Fighting Lady first docked at Patriots Point. Join local author, investigator and “ghostorian” Bruce Orr as he examines the history, haunting and heritage of the National Historic Landmark and home of Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum.

Colorful tales of the MS Gulf Coast from specters to sodas and from buccaneers and pioneers.

The story of the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast can't be told without a few tall tales--pirates, buried treasure, ghosts and colorful characters pepper its diverse past. From incredible stories of the pirate Jean Lafitte to iconic legends like Barq's Root Beer, travel from Bay St. Louis to Biloxi and every nook and cranny in between to discover the legends and lore of Mississippi's Golden Gulf Coast. Local historian Edmond Boudreaux explores this exciting history, recounting the fantastic tales that launch the reader into the past and create a truly captivating history.

Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley have a rich and varied history, but some of its darker chapters have remained hidden. These include an abandoned road guarded by an invisible entity, factory ghosts, a monstrous serpent, unnerving cemetery lore, demonic houses and a haunted restaurant. Once declared dead due to decades of being inundated with industrial and chemical pollutants, the Naugatuck River has been brought back to life by environmental stewardship, which has been a welcome benefit to residents. However, the river’s cleanup has also awakened supernatural stories that carve a paranormal path from the stream’s source in northwest Connecticut to its confluence with the Housatonic. Local author and historian Michael Bielawa reveals the eerie dark side of the river and this fabled valley.

Cape Cod has always been in the path of deadly hurricanes and ferocious storms.  Unwelcome summer visitors include the “Long Island Express” Hurricane of 1938, the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, the twin Hurricanes Carol and Edna in 1954, and Hurricane Bob in 1991.

These storms destroyed countless homes and left several coastal communities under several feet of water. Surging tides carried away houses with residents inside who didn't survive and sank the Coast Guard lightship Vineyard in Buzzards Bay, killing all 12 crew members. Fall and winter brought the benchmark Blizzard of 1978, the nor’easter of January 1987, and the infamous “Perfect Storm” of October 1991 which delivered some of the highest tides ever seen on the Outer Cape.

Local author Don Wilding revisits the Cape’s most severe weather events and their devastating impact. 

Wrecks and disasters have been part of New England’s railroad history since the 1830s. Derailments, head-on collisions, equipment failures, and human error all contributed to the tragic list of events between 1853 and 1966.

Forever etched in the public's memory is the horrific bridge disaster at South Norwalk, Connecticut - the deadliest railroad event to occur in the region that claimed forty-six lives. The catastrophic rear-end collision at Revere, Massachusetts, and the head-on crash of the Quebec Express in West Canaan, New Hampshire are among the eighteen wrecks explored herein.

Renowned railroad author Gregg M. Turner details the deadliest rail disasters across six states, their causes and some of the safety improvements they inspired. 

Visitors and New England natives alike will see a new side of the region through Thomas D'Agostino's eerie road trip guidebook.

He captures the reader's imagination with folklore and anecdotes, plus recommendations useful for any traveler. This guide uncovers lingering spirits across all six states in the region, from the victims of alchemy gone awry in the White Mountains, to wraiths in the Berkshires, to the ghosts of drowned sailors in Mystic, Connecticut. Enjoy these retellings of classic New England ghost stories and discover obscure ones, and then go visit the spooky sights for yourself.

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A history of the Narragansett Tribe of RI from early European encounters to the tribe's return to sovereignty in the 20th Century.

Before Roger Williams set foot in the New World, the Narragansett farmed corn and squash, hunted beaver and deer, and harvested clams and oysters throughout what would become Rhode Island. They also obtained wealth in the form of wampum, a carved shell that was used as currency along the eastern coast. As tensions with the English rose, the Narragansett leaders fought to maintain autonomy. While the elder Sachem Canonicus lived long enough to welcome both Verrazzano and Williams, his nephew Miatonomo was executed for his attempts to preserve their way of life and circumvent English control. Historian Robert A. Geake explores the captivating story of these Native Rhode Islanders.

The surpsing story of the Cog Railway on Mount Washington, and how one eccentric man's dream paved the way.

On July 3, 1869, the three-and-one-third-mile track leading to the summit of picturesque Mount Washington opened for public use. Once, only those daring enough to scale the 6,288 feet could enjoy the splendor of the scenery, but now everyone could journey to the summit using the invention of retired businessman Sylvester Marsh, who dreamed of this mountainous mode of transportation. Created at the height of the age of rail, the Cog Railway continues to chug up the mountain and into the hearts of tourists each year. Local historian Bruce D. Heald ties the history of its construction together with the grand romance of the railway as they triumphantly converge at the top of Mount Washington.

This chronicle of ghastly frights from the Motor City is not for the faint of heart.

Founded on the legend of the Nain Rouge, Detroit has haunted hotspots aplenty, each with its own blood-curdling tale. Music from pianos that play by themselves and crying apparitions echo throughout The Whitney mansion. Beginning at the time of its construction, the Leland Hotel has been the site of an unusually high number of murders, suicides, and freak accidents. It has even been described as Detroit’s portal to Hell. Various shadowy figures have been spotted darting throughout the former Detroit Police 6th Precinct building, including a mysterious boy.

Join Michigan-based author and paranormal investigator Nicole Beauchamp as she leads you down some of Detroit’s darkest corridors and into its tragic past.

On December 26, 1910, Oscar Chitwood lay lifeless on the courthouse lawn in Hot Springs, his wrists shackled together, and his body torn by bullets. The deputies on the scene claimed that masked men had lynched their prisoner and that the lawmen were innocent bystanders to the carnage. Newspapers everywhere proclaimed this killing another example of vigilantism run rampant. Within days, however, the official story fell apart, and these deputies were charged with cold-blooded murder. Authors Guy Lancaster and Christopher Thrasher tell the little-known story of accused outlaw Oscar Chitwood, the authorities he dared defy, and the mysterious resort town of Hot Springs, a place where the Wild West met the epitome of civilization, and where the boundaries between lawman and outlaw were never all that clear.

Enigmatic mediums, murders, monsters, and more are all part of Michigan’s mysterious and sometimes supernatural history.

The will of Detroit’s first millionaire, Eber B. Ward, was hotly contested because he took the financial advice of spirits. Marian Spore Bush, Bay City’s first female dentist, moved to New York City, where she became a psychic wonder—and a secret philanthropist. Old witchcraft superstitions drove a Mount Morris family insane and caused another man to murder his godmother in Trenton.

Researcher Amberrose Hammond brings to light strange and unusual tales from Michigan’s colorful and exciting past.

Catering to all the folks

In business for more than a century, Kewpee is the second oldest hamburger chain in the United States. Beginning with the Kewpee Hotel in Flint, Michigan, founder Samuel “Old Man Kewpee” Blair soon opened his original hamburger stand. That location served the world’s first deluxe hamburger, crafted from fresh, never-frozen beef and topped with tomatoes, lettuce and mayo. By licensing the Kewpee name, Blair and Ohio Kewpee Hotel operator Edwin Adams expanded into a chain of hundreds of hamburger stands and restaurants, mainly in the Midwest. A small number of Kewpee locations survived competition and still serve Olive Burgers, fries, malts and pie to lucky customers.

Author Gary Flinn tells the full story of Kewpee, its many locations long gone and its spinoff, Halo Burger.

Local historian Seth Bate tells the story of the Walnut Valley Festival with reflections from staff, emcees, performers, campers, and characters from throughout its history.

The Festival was launched in 1972 when a guitar maker, a farmer, and a businessman built their own music festival from the ground up. It has made the small town of Winfield into an annual destination for acoustic musicians and music lovers from around the world and it has always been participatory, with the informal campsite pickin’ as much a part of the event as the stage shows and instrumental contests. The Walnut Valley Festival has always been proud of its deep-rooted traditions, but most of all, it is a community celebration.

One Hundred stories from the last century that salute the legacy of Wrigley Field and its beloved Cubs.

Charge through the turnstiles of this collection of personal stories about baseball's greatest ballpark and the sacred space it occupies in the hearts of Cubs fans and the soul of Wrigleyville. With contributors like Bob Costas, Rick Sutcliffe and Steve Stone, these 100 stories reflect the variety of millions of Cubs fans around the world, from those whose relationship with the Friendly Confines has lasted a lifetime to those who are taking their seats up close to the ivy for the very first time.

Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt changed America with a government on the side of the people that put Americans back to work and inspired confidence that the nation could overcome the Great Depression.  This is the story of their progressive legacy when FDR was Governor during the era of Prohibition and the advent of radio in the Roaring Twenties, a decade that ended with the Great Depression upending life for most Americans. This is the story of how as Governor of New York he tried the programs that became the New Deal that transformed America. It was the place where his warm, easily relatable voice heard on the radio for the first time created a bond of trust with the public that inspired confidence at a time of great fear.Author Michael J. Burgess reveals the often overlooked history of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in Albany at the helm of the Empire State.

Baseball’s Mr. Sunshine/

A beloved son of Western Pennsylvania, Chuck Tanner spent a career in baseball both as a player and manager. He lead the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1977 to 1985 and helped capture the 1979 World Series. Tanner was key in developing the relief pitcher through his work with Goose Gossage and he played a role in the careers of numerous players such as Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and more.  Through extensive research and interviews, author Dale Perelman presents the life and career of Chuck Tanner.

Did you know a town can vanish? Discover the curious history of five towns nearly lost to history...

This is the story of five towns located in New York's Hudson River Valley that met their demise as quickly as they were established. From the icehouses of Rockland Lake to the Ashokan Reservoir towns to the brick quarries of Roseton, only traces of these once vibrant settlements can now be found. Camp Shanks, one of World War II's most significant military compounds, was erected in 1942 but was quickly abandoned at the war's end. Last Stop USA, as it was known, played host to over one million soldiers and welcomed patriotic visitors like Frank Sinatra and Shirley Temple. In this collection of images, local authors Wesley and Barbara Gottlock revive the spirits of these bygone communities and celebrate a lost way of life.

Bucks County was an original county in William Penn’s newly formed Pennsylvania province and has carried the weight of history ever since. Join author Jennifer Rogers as she recounts the lesser-known history of Bucks County.

Industrial power in the region expanded in the late 1700s as Irish laborers sacrificed life and limb to construct a section of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Durham Furnace. In 1921, a gruesome train wreck claimed the lives of twenty-seven people, forever leaving its tragic mark on the busy rail lines emerging from Philadelphia. Raised a Quaker in Doylestown, James A. Michener went from local English teacher to Pulitzer Prize–winning author, leaving his philanthropic mark at the art museum named for him.

Four decades after Jeannette DePalma's tragic death, authors Jesse P. Pollack and Mark Moran present the definitive account of the shocking Springfield township cold case.

As Springfield residents decorated for Halloween in September 1972, the crime rate in the quiet, affluent township was at its lowest in years. That mood was shattered when the body of sixteen-year-old Jeannette DePalma was discovered in the local woods, allegedly surrounded by strange objects. Some feared witchcraft was to blame, while others believed a serial killer was on the loose. Rumors of a police cover up ran rampant, and the case went unsolved - along with the murders of several other young women.

On a cold morning in December 1960, sixty-year-old Laura Mutch was found strangled behind a house in downtown Erie....

The city was reaching new heights, including a triumphant run for the coveted “All-American City” award, yet the incident created pandemonium. As investigations progressed, attacks on women continued, sending citizens and seasoned investigators to the brink of chaos. Seventy-two-year-old Clara Carrig was brutally stabbed, and Helen Knost narrowly survived an attempted killing. Mary Lynn Crotty, Eleanor Free and Marian Graham were found murdered, all by strangulation. Women throughout the region locked their doors and avoided the streets at night. The case attracted nationwide attention after the arrest of truck driver John Howard Willman in 1963 yet many questions remain unanswered.

Author Justin Dombrowski charts the harrowing attacks, investigations and mystery surrounding Erie’s 1960s reign of terror.

Take a culinary journey through the foods, restaurants and businesses that define the cuisine of New York City and the Jewish immigrant experience...

No trip to New York’s five boroughs is complete without a hand sliced pastrami sandwich at Katz's deli or a bagel and lox with a schmear of cream cheese from Russ and Daughters.  Any true New Yorker can tell you where to get the savoriest bowl of matzo ball soup or the crispest kosher dill pickle. Manischewitz wine became the icon it is today after Sammy Davis Jr. became its offical spokesperson.

Join author June Hersh as she reveals the iconic Jewish foods, establishments and products that left their imprint on the taste buds of New Yorkers and the world.

Author and journalist Cody McDevitt tells the story of one of the worst civil rights injustices in Western Pennsylvania history.

In 1923, in response to the fatal shooting of four policemen, the mayor of Johnstown ordered every African American and Mexican immigrant who had lived in the city for less than seven years to leave. They were given less than a day to move or would face crippling fines or jail time and were forced out at gunpoint. An estimated two thousand people uprooted their lives in response to the racist edict. Area Ku Klux Klan members celebrated the creation of a “sundown town” and increased their own intimidation practices. Figures such as Marcus Garvey spoke out in Pittsburgh against it as newspapers throughout the country published condemnations.

Author Alan Brown leads readers on a stomach-churning turn through Florida’s dark side.  Florida sunshine beckons, but in can be unrelenting, too. And in the shadows, tragedy strikes. Ted Bundy leads a cast of serial killers who wrought havoc on the state. Storms spin onto its shores with landscape altering fury. Sharks lurk in the sea, and snakes and alligators lie wait in the swamps. Gangsters like Al Capone hit Miami Beach for a respite, but gangsters like Al Capone take no breaks from their trade. A woman spontaneously bursts into flames in St. Petersburg. Anthrax claims a life in Palm Beach. The Bermuda Triangle disappears vessels off the coast. Indeed, Florida knows boundless leisure, but it’s just as familiar with catastrophe.

Tales from North Carolina’s high country. The Toe River winds its way past the peaks of Mount Mitchell and into the valley that bears its name. Mineral mines go back to the earliest days of Yancey County and encouraged some of the first settlers to come to the region. Mitchell County’s Bakersville experienced violent unrest, with a riot and a lynching, in 1892—but did it actually happen? The section of the Blue Ridge Parkway that runs through Avery County was left incomplete for years because of a property dispute with the owner of Grandfather Mountain. Take a journey along forgotten rail lines, through abandoned communities and past sites whose histories have shaped this valley’s story just as the river has shaped its landscape. /North Carolina historian and author Michael C. Hardy explores the hidden historical gems of the region.

Author Lee Lancaster retraces the movement of a remarkable time in our nation’s agricultural history.  In 1976, America sent a peanut farmer from Plains to Washington, D.C. Farmers throughout the nation, especially in Georgia, had high hopes for President Jimmy Carter, but those dreams vanished when he seemingly disregarded their problems—historic drought and embarrassing commodity prices. Peach State farmers took to the streets, slow rolling a tractorcade on I-75 toward Atlanta. The result was the largest ever farmer-led demonstration in the United States. The farmers pledged not to sell, plant or buy anything until “100% parity” was obtained. The farmers eventually steered their tractorcade to D.C., trying to prevent the foreclosure of dozens of farms with help from an armed group in Middle Georgia and a real estate tycoon from New York who would become the forty-fifth president.