The effective end of the American Civil War on April 9, 1865, had hardly sunk in when, only five days later, another disaster stunned the battered and bloodied nation. On the night of April 9, Pres. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. There would be time for vengeful thoughts later, but first the Great Emancipator was going to get a royal send-off. At the center of what would become a three-week national funeral was a spectacular train that would carry Lincoln's remains, and those of his deceased son, from Washington, DC, to Springfield, Illinois. "The Lincoln Special" steamed slowly out of spring mists, allowing thousands of mourners lining the tracks a lingering view. It was a logistics miracle; a romantic pageant of sorrow and wonder, carried off flawlessly. Through the tears, however, was a sense that America's identity had turned a corner and was about to enter a dynamic and hopeful future. Author of nine books, Michael Leavy is an avid Civil War and railroad historian. Leavy has searched through archives to locate rare photographs and new details and dispel some lingering myths surrounding this tragic but formative American event.

Coastal South Carolina was among the first places in the New World to be settled. Among the plantations in the Charleston District, part of which was to become Berkeley County, were four overlapping the area that was later to be established as the city of Hanahan. Following the Civil War, as the plantations were broken up into many small farms and the city of Charleston expanded, a search began for a nearby, new source of fresh water to replace water from contaminated wells. That search led to Goose Creek, where, in 1903, a dam was built and a pumping station established, named Hanahan for the chairman of the Charleston Water Commission. Military installations and housing, thriving businesses, and schools began to meet the needs of the developing community. Hanahan would grow over the years and incorporate into a city in 1973, known for its beautiful landscape and community culture. Today, Hanahan is the heart of the Lowcountry in location and, most importantly, in spirit. Despite its growth, it maintains the original small-town feel, drawing and keeping people into this community that they love.

Southern California was the birthplace of organized drag racing, with the first organized race held at the Santa Ana airport in 1949 and the subsequent founding of the National Hot Rod Association in 1950. Over the next decade and a half, the dragster became the king of the quarter mile on Southern California drag strips. In 1964, veteran dragster owner/driver Jack Chrisman had an idea for something different to grace Southern California's drag strips. It was not a dragster but a stock-bodied race car using nitromethane for fuel in a supercharged engine. With the help of Gene Mooneyham, Mercury's Fran Hernandez, and sponsor Helen Sachs, Chrisman put together the world's first nitro-burning "funny car." It was a steel stock-bodied Mercury Cyclone with a supercharged 427 Ford engine running on pure nitromethane. Chrisman started the evolution that soon turned stock steel-bodied cars into fiberglass-bodied tube chassis funny cars. Southern California drag racers began to lead the way for racers all over the United States in the new funny car class.

More Than Just a Game tells the story of the 100-year football rivalry between NCA&T and NCCU through never-before-seen photographs and images. The work seeks to honor the many coaches, players, and participants in this storied rivalry. These vintage images illustrate the importance of the schools’ rare and special rivalry, something students and alumni already know. Written with the fans of both institutions in mind, this book seeks to recount the jubilant victories and heartbreaking losses of each school. It is the story of HBCUs at their best and documents their contributions to the state of North Carolina and the nation. It is a story of perseverance, accomplishment, and pride.

Located within the Des Plaines River valley in Illinois, Lemont became a village in 1873. The Illinois and Michigan Canal opened transportation opportunities and led to the discovery of dolomite limestone (known locally as Athens marble). Quarrying limestone became Lemont's leading industry, and it was used for buildings throughout the region, including Chicago's famous Water Tower. Canal workers made Lemont a capital of vice in the 1890s with bars and brothels located in the area known as Smokey Row. Downtown Lemont boasts well-preserved commercial buildings from this period. Historic homes and church steeples are nestled into the valley bluff, reflecting the community's devotion to faith, civic pride, and traditions such as the Keepataw Parade. Today, the area's industrial past is being rediscovered and repurposed for recreational uses in its quarries and along miles of trails that connect Lemont to the rest of the region.