New & Coming Soon

Pirate history, costumes, and decorated boats and ships have been the center of the famed Gasparilla Pirate Festival for over a century.

Since 1904, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has staged an annual mock pirate invasion of Tampa, Florida, a tradition that has become known as Gasparilla. The name of the event originated from stories and tales regarding Gasparilla, a legendary pirate who reportedly roamed the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s west coast in the early 1800s.

The sound of cannon fire heard for miles across the Tampa Bay area signals the arrival of the José Gasparilla ship and the beginning of the piratical invasion of Tampa. Thousands of spectators line the waterways to watch the ship and massive boat flotilla make their way to dock at the Tampa Convention Center.

Following the traditional demand for the keys to the city, a parade is staged, the third-largest one-day parade in the country. Tampa’s iconic Bayshore Boulevard is lined with several hundred thousand spectators, krewes, and other participants who produce a spectacular parade.

The history committee of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has provided the historical references for the book, and photographic materials have been obtained from leading institutions, including the Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System, the State of Florida Archives, and the University of South Florida Library Special Collections.

Discover the South's Most Notorious Murders, Mysteries, and Criminal Masterminds

Journey from Texas to Virginia in this gripping collection of haunting criminal cases. Follow a relentless serial killer as he leaves a bloody trail across Louisiana and beyond, witness a cunning lonely-hearts swindler terrorize Texas, and uncover Arkansas's bizarre wave of strychnine poisonings that baffled investigators. Experience the supernatural when a West Virginia murder is revealed through dreams and meet a one-armed conjure-man whose murder-for-hire schemes shocked North Carolina.

Watch forensic science evolve as crimefighters expand their arsenal of detection tools in this compelling tour of the South's most notorious crimes, where fact proves stranger than fiction.

Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist’s eye to the sinister South and its defining—and quirky—crime stories.

From farmers to pastors, teachers to sailors, and everything in between, the Black history of Hanover County reflects the dedication and values of the community.

Freedwoman Betsy Hogg Tinsley, in time, became one of the largest landowners in Ashland. Founded in 1870, Brown Grove Baptist Church has been the center of its neighborhood for more than 150 years.

During the time of segregation, Lucian Hunter of Mechanicsville worked to make sure that Black students could get to school. The Barksdale Theatre in the Hanover Tavern produced Virginia’s first professional play based on the African American experience. Tracing their history back to 1796, the Brooks family boasts military service across five generations.

Author and local social studies teacher Joe Gorman celebrates the rich history and proud heritage of Hanover County African Americans.

Authors Cary O’Dell and Richard L. Sprehe lead a literary investigation of a brutal cold-case murder. 

In May 1975, in the small Southern Illinois town of Centralia, the body of one of its best-known residents, John Shakespeare, was found nearly nude, bound, and shot, execution-style, in the basement of his home. Shakespeare, sixty-nine, was a wealthy bachelor, an eccentric, an heir to the Shakespeare fishing fortune, a world-renowned collector of vintage cars, and, maybe, a possessor of a few secrets.

Despite the victim being well liked in the community, state and local police, and eventually even the FBI and Interpol, found a plethora of suspects while investigating the crime. Could it have been his longtime business associate? Or the mysterious hitchhiker seen in town just days before his body was found? Or a long-ago name from his past?

With the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, Staten Island was changed forever.

Sewers, schools, roadways, and even the politicians of New York City were not prepared for the onslaught of relocating Brooklyn residents who sought a rural lifestyle. Houses were bought as quickly as they were built. Schools were scrambling to find seats for thousands of newly arriving students. The antiquated sewer system of Staten Island could not handle the overload and there simply wasn't enough room for all of the septic tanks needed.

Who were the allies or adversaries of development? Who sought to make a meaningful plan for Staten Island's future?

Author Patricia Salmon examines the preparation, design, and opening of "The Bridge," as well as how it impacted the citizens of Staten Island during the next decade. 

Brimming with the heart of Portland's Chinese American culture, Portland's Chinatowns demonstrates resilience, family, and the importance of the history behind the community of immigrants that made Oregon their home.

Portland’s early Chinese Americans faced exclusion laws, racial discrimination, and forced relocation, leading to the New Chinatown/Japantown Historical District in downtown Portland. From modest beginnings in labor intensive industries such as hand laundries, restaurants, and agriculture, many were able to eventually own property when the city laws changed, and their children had opportunities to pursue higher education and other professions. Chinese and Chinese Americans proudly served in every US conflict since the Civil War despite the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which limited citizenship. Historic photographs document their challenges, successes, and contributions, enriching our understanding of the American immigrant experience from the 1850s to the present day. These images celebrate the resiliency of Portland’s Chinese community as they have helped create a vibrant multicultural city.

Dr. Kristin Wong is a clinical pharmacist and a fourth-generation Chinese American whose family has been actively involved in the Portland Chinese community. These vintage photographs from the Portland Chinatown Museum, along with public archives and private collections, reveal the fascinating history that dates back over 175 years of what was America’s second-largest Chinatown in 1900.

Preserving Appalachian Heritage Through Traditional Crafts

Explore the heart of Southern Appalachia through its master artisans. The Artistic Preservation of Tradition highlights a tight-knit community of craftspeople, ages 32 to 92, who keep centuries-old techniques alive. From woodworking and pottery to music and storytelling, their work honors Appalachian history and culture. Meet legends like Willard Watson and Stanley Hicks, and discover modern innovators like Cory Plott and William Ritter. Author and artist Bob Plott brings these powerful stories to life in a heartfelt tribute to tradition and creativity. Perfect for readers who love local history, folk art, and handmade heritage, this book is a must-read for anyone drawn to the spirit of the mountains.

Nineteenth-century Chinese pioneers voyaged across the vast oceans to reach the last steamboat stop in the 旄舝 Gold Mountain, bringing centuries of wisdom from China’s ancient civilization.

Tehama County played a crucial role in shaping California’s early statehood. Its fertile terrain presented ample opportunities to succeed. Despite harsh discriminatory laws and racially driven tunnel folklore to perpetuate a negative narrative, five original families— Foey (Wong), 謯 Chew (Yuen), 鄺 Fong, 衒 On (Liu), and 蠊 Chin—made Red Bluff their permanent home, thriving as merchants and productive citizens. Individuals like Dr. Chew Yuen and Bo Do Hong operated traditional Chinese medicine practices throughout America with Red Bluff as their headquarters. Tehama County blended cultures, with its most distinguishable townsmen attending an annual Chinese and American banquet in Red Bluff’s Chinatown, merging the two cultures together. The deep bonds formed would culminate into a powerful petition by 20 influential leaders in support of the Chew family, who were detained at Angel Island in 1916, proving that Tehama County valued the Chinese community. This single act of kindness set the stage for a 20th-century Chinese American pioneer to be born, Dr. Kenneth Kendall Chew, and his research in aquaculture would change the world.

The Helen and Joe Chew Foundation has selected rare images from its collection and invited Chinese American descendants to narrate their origin stories, preserving the legacy of these pioneering families for future generations.

Tarheel Quakers and the Fight Against Slavery

Quakers settled the Carolina Colony in the 1650s, bringing their slaves and servants with them. Industrious coastal Quakers soon rose to prominence on the backs of their enslaved men and women, and Piedmont Quaker lives were enriched by the people they enslaved as well. Sparked by the observations of John Woolman, Carolina Quakers took up the battle against slavery in the 1700s, beginning with themselves. Legal conflicts, the Free Negro program, colonization, the North Carolina Manumission Society and the Underground Railroad were the results. Combining North Carolina slave narratives, runaway slave ads, digital archives, local histories and internet blogs, Tim Allen re-creates the inspiring story of Tarheel Quakers who fought each other and the state to abolish enslavement in antebellum North Carolina.

Forgotten History in the Tar Heel State

Take an adventure through ruins of ghost towns and lost communities in the Old North State. Explore isolated settlements like Lost Cove, hidden so deep in the mountains that no roads reach it. Ferry out to Portsmouth Island, where a ghost town has withstood multiple wars and generations of hurricanes. Explore the ruins of Brunswick Town, a port community of secret rebels destroyed in the Revolutionary War as punishment for “treason” against the British. Visit decaying remains in Snow Camp, a community that sheltered freedom seekers in the Underground Railroad.

Author Heather Leah details the lost and forgotten towns of North Carolina.

How the U.S. law targeting Chinese laborers impacted families for generations.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, after the railroads were completed and the gold mines exhausted, an economic downturn stirred up anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States. Capitalizing on this prejudice, the government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to limit immigration and naturalization for people of Chinese descent. By 1892, Chinese were required to obtain certificates of residency or identity and carry them at all times. Those who did not could be deported or imprisoned. As the law became stricter, interrogations, affidavits, and Caucasian witnesses were required to prove Chinese people’s right to remain in America. The act wouldn’t be repealed until 1943.

From the National Archives at Seattle, certified genealogist emeritus Trish Hackett Nicola brings to life the case files of Chinese immigrants.

Revel at the tales of these locals boys from Southwestern Pennsylvania going west to seek their Sin City dreams.

As turmoil rocked New Castle in the 1970s, a group of young men completed their military service and came home to a bleak future. Without college degrees or marketable skills, they found few options in Western Pennsylvania. Looking for a better life, they turned their eyes west.

Las Vegas promised women, gambling, excitement, and the chance to make a buck. Over their decades on the floors of Sin City’s casinos, they would rub shoulders with gangsters and stars and keep a sharp eye out for opportunity—and for card counters.

Based on hours of exclusive interviews, author Dale Perelman unfolds this cavalier group’s frolicking adventures as they navigated their way from the belly of the downtown Golden Gate to some of the Strip’s premier casinos, all while teetering along the right side of the law.

Quotes from America's Beloved Architect and Iconoclast

This elegant pocket-sized hardcover gift book, part of Applewood's Quotations of Great Americans series, contains nearly one hundred quotes from builder, Architect, political commentator and cultural rabble-rouser, Frank Lloyd Wright.

A Louisiana twist on the classic Gingerbread Man story!

On a whim, an old Cajun couple named Marcelle and Dumas use their famous boudin recipe to make a boy. After they batter up the mixture and fry it up like a boudin ball, the boy magically comes to life and is taught all about swamp life. Follow Boudin Boy on his wild adventures throughout Louisiana and beyond in this Cajun spin on the Gingerbread Man.

Six groundbreaking essays by Sons of the American Revolution reveal the significance of New Hampshire's role in the Revolution

New Hampshire is one of the oldest American colonies and one of the tiniest, but its small size obscures the mighty importance of its role in the American War of Independence. New Hampshire was one of the first colonies to assert control over its own militia and seize gunpowder from imperial control. It sent more men to Bunker Hill than any other colony, created a state constitution, and declared independence months before the rest of America. The Granite State provided heroes and generals in every major military campaign and cast the decisive votes for the ratification of the country’s new constitution.

William Fahey reveals six penetrating and inspiring essays from the archives and records of the Sons of the American Revolution to bring this rousing tale to life.

New paperback edition from Pelican Publishing!

"Robert Tallant speaks with authority . . ."

—New York Times

"Straightforward handling of sensational

times and tricksters, of the cult of voodooism in all its manifestations. From its first known appearances in New Orleans of 200 years ago, here are the . . . rites and dances, the cures, charms and gris-gris. Here were the witchdoctors and queens, and in particular Doctor John . . . and Marie Laveau.”

—Kirkus Reviews

"Much nonsense has been written about voodoo in New Orleans. . . . Here is a truthful and definitive picture."

—Lyle Saxon

The word “voodoo” elicits reactions from fear to fascination; thoughts of pins stuck in dolls, hexes, and strange rites immediately come to mind. But few people know the true origin of voodooism or anything about its practice in America, particularly New Orleans. This examination of voodoo rites and beliefs is sure to fascinate every reader.

Originally published in 1946, this intriguing book examines the rites and beliefs associated with voodoo through the legends of the art—its charms, trances, rituals, and difficult-to-explain occurrences.

Robert Tallant was one of Louisiana’s best-known authors. Born in New Orleans in 1909, he attended the city’s local public schools. Before “drifting” into writing, Tallant worked as an advertising copywriter, a bank teller, and a clerk. It was his friendship with Lyle Saxon that led Tallant to his position as editor on the Louisiana WPA Writers’ Project during the 1930s and 1940s. In that position, he coauthored Gumbo Ya-Ya: Folk Tales of Louisiana with Lyle Saxon and Edward Dreyer.

By 1948, Tallant’s career had launched, and over the next eleven years he produced eight novels, six full-length works of nonfiction, and numerous short stories and articles on subjects of local interest. He is also known to have corresponded with, as well as applied to, the Julius Rosenwald Fund for a fellowship in creative writing. During the last years of his life, he was a lecturer in English at Newcomb College as well as a reporter for the New Orleans Item. Robert Tallant died in 1957.

Centuries of American Significance

In the mid-1700s, the James River intersection of the Great Western Road and the Great Wagon Road embodied the crossroads of America. Abolitionist and Quaker John Lynch began a ferry service, and in 1754, the area became Bedford County. The county seat in New London welcomed Patrick Henry for his famous “Beef! Beef!” speech. Thomas Jefferson built a home nearby in 1808 and enrolled his grandson in New London Academy, chartered in 1795 and still in operation. The county has since seen tales of farm life, American music, industry, and heroism. The National D-Day Memorial, dedicated in 2001 by George W. Bush, was placed in the town of Bedford to honor the unequaled sacrifice made on June 6, 1944. Author James Siddons chronicles notable moments and lesser-known sagas in the annals of Bedford County.

Hidden History of Black Cincinnati reveals the untold stories that shaped a city and defined a people. 

Long before the Civil Rights Movement or the Harlem Renaissance, Black Cincinnatians were building communities, owning businesses, and resisting injustice in bold and brilliant ways. B.F. Howard and Pullman Porter Arthur J. Riggs co-founded the international organization now known as the Black Elks, and Margaret Garner’s tragic flight to freedom inspired Toni Morrison’s Beloved and ignited national debates on slavery. Celebrated painter Robert S. Duncanson rose to international acclaim in the nineteenth century despite the limitations of race.

Writer, historian, and cultural advocate Kareem A. Simpson unearths these powerful stories and more with clarity and care, offering a rich portrait of a city’s soul and the Black lives that shaped it.

Fascinating tales from the territories of Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

From its earliest days to the dawn of the twentieth century, the Southwest was known as a place for dreamers, heroes, and lonesome drifters. People were drawn to places like Tombstone, where notorious events left a lingering legacy, and Taos Pueblo, with centuries of history contained within its adobe walls. Across the territories, the blending of cultures and conflicts that arose turned common people into legends. Names like Geronimo, Billy the Kid, Doña Tules, and Olive Oatman survive in story, along with other, wilder tales, like those of the Lost Dutchman mine and the Mogollon Monster.

Join author and illustrator Jessica Laughlin as she takes you on a journey through the wild frontier of the Southwest.

Step back in time to one of Wisconsin’s oldest cities

Green Bay has seen numerous landmarks and industries come and go over the centuries. Built during a tuberculosis epidemic, the Hickory Grove sanatorium nobly served its purpose, and then its ruins sat empty for years, tempting local youth to explore them. Henry’s Hamburgers, a chain that once rivaled McDonald’s, fed Green Bay’s east side for a decade before shuttering. The Port Plaza Mall and the Brown County Arena created memories for several generations before they were both torn from the landscape.

From beaver pelts to paper, from trading posts to the first businesses, journalist and author Kris Leonhardt chronicles the structures that once called the Greater Green Bay area home.

Lovers of true crime and Ohio history will find themselves riveted by these crimes of passion.

There is a thin line between love and hate, and when intense passion threatens that border, blood will flow. Northern Ohio has had its share of people who felt that line snap. In Canton, the Phantom-Flapper Killer shot down her lover in cold blood after he threatened to expose her infidelity to the world. In Toledo, Dorothy Brown’s married boyfriend brutally attacked her when he learned that she was expecting. Max Amerman of Medina was willing to kill for the girl of his dreams, and when Cleveland’s Matilda Waldman believed that her husband was cursed by a witch, she took out the she-devil by way of a pistol.

Author Wendy Koile examines these relationships once bound by love, unraveled by lies, and cut off by murder.

Author Mike Butler has included over 180 photographs depicting the rich history of Taos and the Enchanted Circle Byway in this stunning collection.

New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment, so it is appropriate that the state has an Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway. The 84-mile circular route crosses the Sangre de Cristo Mountains twice and is anchored in Taos. While the creation of the byway is a modern-day tourist development, the history of the area goes back at least 1,000 years to the creation of Taos Pueblo. The ancient Puebloans built a five-story adobe structure on the banks of the Rio Pueblo, still standing today just north of the present town of Taos. The village of Taos hosted trade fairs in the early 1800s with attendance by the Puebloans, fur traders, and other native tribes of the area. The 1900s witnessed the arrival of artists drawn by the beautiful scenery and native culture. Other historic towns of the Enchanted Circle grew up around short-lived gold and silver mines. 

Mike Butler has sourced images from the Library of Congress, the Huntington Library, and local collections. He is also the author of High Road to Taos, Around the Spanish Peaks, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Southern Colorado: O.T. Davis Collection, and Littleton. 

Notable Quotations from Ida B. Wells

This pocket-sized hardcover book contains dozens of quotations from American journalist, educator, civil rights leader, women's rights leader and co-founder of the NAACP, Ida B. Wells.

Welcome to the wild, true history of Black baseball in Alabama.

From the gritty fields of Birmingham and Montgomery to the national stage of Cooperstown, Black Baseball in Alabama uncovers the real-life drama, danger, and determination that built one of America’s most important sports legacies. Author Shane Earnest explores how Black players, managers, and entrepreneurs navigated racism, segregation, and economic hardship. They transformed baseball into a thriving entertainment business alongside politicians, musicians, gamblers, gangsters, and bootleggers. These men and women took baseball from Alabama’s cotton fields and coal mines all the way to Cooperstown. Whether you’re a Negro Leagues historian, a Black sports history buff, or a fan of Alabama baseball heritage, this book is packed with powerful, rarely told stories that shaped the soul of American baseball, complete with many rare photos of a historic era in baseball.

In Yavapai County, the Wild West way of living never died.

Fatal tales of jealousy, corruption, and organized vengeance swept across the landscape all the way through to the early twentieth century. In Prescott, a man with a grudge killed a fellow worker and led the sheriff on a roundabout chase before being sentenced for the murder and then, inexplicably, released and appointed to the position of constable. Near Jerome, a land deal gone wrong triggered an attempted murder, while a union dispute left the rail depot in ashes and several men dead.

Join author Drew Desmond as he brings to life the waning days of the Old West in Yavapai County with these never-before-told stories of vigilante justice and revenge.

History You Didn’t Learn in School

Discover powerful stories left out of most history books. Author Jeffrey Bennett reveals the hidden legacy of Black Virginians. From 1865 to 1877, over 80 Black politicians served across the state. Learn about a brave Black woman who spied on Confederate President Jefferson Davis while disguised as an enslaved worker.

See the history of more than seventy Black communities lost in Virginia. Read the story of a 135-year-old church and the meaning behind land passed down through generations. These stories show the strength and impact of Black families before and after slavery. Perfect for history lovers and older readers, this collection brings forgotten voices back to life.

Archie Dare is not a troublemaker, no matter what the filing folder in the principal’s office says. But it’s hard to shake a peculiar reputation when living with an eccentric, bookworm grandfather whose favorite obsession is Jean Lafitte, a famous New Orleans pirate.

After attending a fancy Mardi Gras party at his one-and-only friend Lou’s mansion, a break-in occurs at Archie’s house, and Papa is taken. Archie receives little support from police officers and decides to investigate on his own. He is joined by Lou and his precocious, quick-witted neighbor Drea. The three discover the first of several clues Papa seemingly left behind. As Archie pieces together the first clues—a library call number that leads to a rhyme in a book about Jean Lafitte’s lost treasure—he realizes the reason his grandfather was taken: he knows the location of Jean Lafitte’s lost treasure.

Three kids spark Christmas hope for a family that needs it most.

Toby Greely’s family faces a bleak Christmas because of his father’s serious illness. Kelsi, Ampara, and Toby devise a plan called Operation Merry Greely Christmas to brighten the holiday, and it is a wonderful plan—until things begin to go wrong.

Welcome to the Twin Cities!

Parent and child Loons visit the museums, parks, and favorite places in Minneapolis and St. Paul in best-selling author-illustrator Martha Day Zschock's Hello! board book series. In Hello, Twin Cities! Readers join the pair as they explore Minnehaha Falls and Como Park Zoo, the State Capitol and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, and more, as they celebrate what makes the Twin Cities so great.

Too few know of the screen legends from Ohio and the outsized impact the state had in establishing Hollywood as the filmmaking capital of the world.

Hollywood and Ohio are much closer than one might assume. Indeed, it could be argued that Hollywood is Ohio’s offspring. The original settlement was founded as a Christian community by a young lady from Ohio. That community was pushed aside when the fledgling New York City movie industry relocated to California to find refuge from Ohio’s own Thomas Edison and his monopoly on motion picture production. Native Ohioans such as Lillian Gish, Theda Bara, and Clark Gable also stepped into the early Hollywood spotlight. And the movie industry truly became that—an industry—when the Warner brothers from Youngstown introduced sound to films, making movies a significant form of entertainment worldwide.

Author Conrade C. Hinds unspools the deep and little-known connection between Hollywood and the Buckeye State.

Unearth the Hidden History of Nashville Sports

Long before the Titans arrived, Nashville’s sports story was already rich with unforgettable moments—many lost to time, now revived through deep research and rare interviews. Bill Traughber brings to light the city’s forgotten athletic past. From Tennessee’s first pro football team in 1938 to how events like Pearl Harbor and President Kennedy’s assassination shaped the local sports landscape, this book is a must-read for sports history lovers and Nashville natives alike. Read about Chuck Connors, star of The Rifleman, hitting a home run at Sulphur Dell Ballpark, and enjoy personal stories from entertainer Pat Boone and U.S. Senators Fred Thompson and Lamar Alexander. Packed with little-known facts, historic photos, and vivid storytelling, this book is perfect for readers who crave the golden era of American sports and its impact on Nashville’s cultural history. A treasure trove of memories, moments, and milestones—rediscovered and retold.

A Century of Murder Upstate

Nestled in the heart of upstate New York, Steuben County’s rural scenery belies a sinister past.

Since the hanging of Robert Douglass in 1825, the county has been the center of a series of murders that resulted in controversial outcomes. Seaman Simons, part of an alleged love triangle, cheated his death sentence after killing his rival. “The Wayland Murderess” Mary Hess inexplicably shot her neighbor and brother within minutes of each other. David Dunn became the only person from the county to die in Auburn Prison’s electric chair, and Hugh Bray’s delusions about a young man breaking up his landlord’s home climaxed in a fatal scene.

R. Marcin, author of Murder and Mayhem in the Finger Lakes, presents a century of this picturesque county’s darkest history.

Discover the history of Philadelphia's Quakers as they rose to power and prosperity and fell into peril.

Fleeing political upheavals in England for settlement in the New World, Quakers rose to unprecedented economic and political power in the Pennsylvania colony. However, the failure of the Quaker-dominated government to provide for defense in the wars from the 1730s into the 1760s was the beginning of their downfall. By the Revolution, their fortunes had waned, and they were brutally suppressed by their political foes. Seventeen influential Friends and three others were exiled to Virginia without so much as a hearing, and Quaker farms and businesses were subject to depredations. Labeled dissenters by Loyalist and Patriot alike, they stood their ground, alone and isolated.

Through the words of those who were there, author and historian Jeff Denman vividly describes the precipitous rise of the Philadelphia Quakers and their fall during the American Revolution.

Melville's Inspiration

The Berkshires have long attracted artists and writers, drawn to the mountains, rivers, forests, and lakes of Western Massachusetts. Herman Melville first came here as a young boy but was so inspired by the surroundings that he returned to live here for thirteen years during one of the most productive writing periods of his life. He finished his masterpiece, Moby-Dick, in his first year, seated in his study with a view of Mount Greylock. “His first love,” is the way his cousin described his relationship to his adopted home. Here, he wandered on foot and horseback to all corners of the county, tapping into the Berkshires in his art. The places he explored are sprinkled through the pages in his stories. John Dickson, a volunteer guide both at Arrowhead and in the Berkshire woods, reveals the connections between Melville’s writing and the beauty of the landscape that inspired him.

More than a century later, a grisly Ohio cold case murder gets new life.

The night before Easter 1905, Miranda Bricker left her sister’s house and made her way through the darkness. Her destination was her living quarters and place of employment, the Maplehurst mansion, the home of Mount Vernon, Ohio’s leading industrialist. Within sight of her destination, an attacker emerged from the darkness, rushing her from behind. Their battle cut across the Maplehurst lawn, ending in Bricker’s death before witnesses could be sure what was happening. The killer melted away into the night. The hasty investigation that followed almost resulted in an innocent Black man’s lynching before the case went cold and was forgotten.

Mark Sebastian Jordan has uncovered the roots and ripples of a story that crosses the continent and points out the possibility of a suspect 120 years later.

The state of Michigan is home to Great Lakes and greater mysteries.

What made Paige Renkoski abandon her running car on the side of the freeway in broad daylight? Who murdered Eddie Hollman while he slept at his parents’ home? Greg McRoberts died in a hit-and-run accident. Will a mysterious letter writer with knowledge of the crime ever come forward? Ten-year-old Valerie Bishop was murdered after visiting the corner store. Could untested evidence reveal the identity of her killer? Why did Connie Royce walk away from a busy nightclub never to be seen again?

Nina Innsted, host of the Already Gone podcast, leads a journey through the missing, the mysterious, and the unsolved in a quest for answers and justice.

Bucolic hamlets or festering cesspools? The fledgling towns of Jay County were touted by early newspapers as both.

As populations thrived, so did crime and disorder. Tempers flared. Romance bloomed and faded. Political and social lines were drawn and crossed. Sensational accounts of robbery, assault, and murder grabbed the headlines. Criminals were hunted by an overworked and undertrained police force. When, and if, they were caught, alleged offenders were tried not only by the judicial system but also by the press and public opinion.

Looking beyond the headlines at the impact of crime on a small community, local author Chris Kennedy Nixon examines criminals and their victims and provides a snapshot in time of social ideals about gender, politics, wealth, and poverty.

The story of one of America's greatest natural treasures.

Once an unknown spot on the world map, the Oregon Coast has been the site of both inspiration and tragedy over the course of its history. A driving force of America’s Western migration, the rise of logging and fishing industries that sustained new settlers also contributed to the devastating decline of Native people and their way of life. The industrial age brought steamboats, railroads, and roads for automobiles to the area and, along with them, a blossoming tourism industry. Preservation efforts rose to the forefront as visitors and locals sought to save the unique facets of the coast for future generations.

Join author Gary Hayes as he explores the maritime heritage of one of the most spectacular places on earth, the Oregon Coast.

History Enshrined

Within months of its founding, Denver required places to bury its deceased. They were initially interred at today’s Cheesman Park and Denver Botanic Gardens. As the city matured, its leaders established beautifully manicured and lushly irrigated garden cemeteries, graced with elegant funerary monuments and mausolea. Everyone being equal in death, mining millionaires, governors and senators are buried alongside prostitutes, gangsters and murderers. Journalists, lawmen and war heroes rest in peace together among stately trees. The intrepid cemetery explorer will find musicians, merchants and various eccentrics—even an Apollo astronaut and a storied cannibal.

Join Denver historian Mark A. Barnhouse and longtime Fairmount Cemetery employee and historian Jim Cavoto to explore more than a dozen Denver-area burial grounds and learn how the departed shaped today’s Colorado.

Boyle County was formed from portions of Lincoln and Mercer Counties in 1842. Named after Judge John Boyle, the county covers 182 square miles. Danville, the county seat, was the location of the first courthouse in Kentucky, the first US Post Office west of the Alleghenies, and the first state-supported school for the deaf, which opened in 1823.

Perryville, located nine miles west of Danville, was established in 1817 and known for the largest battle during the Civil War in the state of Kentucky. Junction City was originally founded as Goresburg in 1858 but was renamed Junction City when the Cincinnati Southern Railroad reached the town and the tracks intersected with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. Parksville had a major railroad depot for the county from 1866 until 1970. The railroads brought prosperity to Boyle County, along with hemp and tobacco. 

Bryan S. Bush has a master’s degree in history from the University of Louisville and has written over 17 books and numerous articles. He is the park manager for the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site and a member of the US Semiquincentennial Commission for Boyle County.

Cleveland's Ohio City Neighborhood is a testament to unity and resilience, and the ability of neighbors to come together and live in harmony despite their differences, creating a thriving urban melting pot.

Ohio City’s story begins with conflict. The 1836 “Battle of the Bridge” pitted neighbor against neighbor, yet the story evolved into one of connection, symbolized by the grand bridges that would later unite Cleveland’s east and west sides. Following its 1854 annexation to Cleveland, Ohio City developed into a remarkable urban tapestry where immigrant workers’ homes and mansions shared the same neighborhood. The iconic West Side Market has anchored a vibrant commercial district through generations, its clock tower standing sentinel over a neighborhood shaped by breweries like Leisy and Schlather that reflected the area’s strong German heritage. Franklin Boulevard emerged as the west side’s “Millionaire’s Row,” home to industrialists and civic leaders, including the Rhodes family and Marcus Hanna. Through decades of change—from urban renewal to today’s thriving craft brewery scene—Ohio City’s historic architecture and cultural landmarks have endured.

Thomas Kaschalk, founder of My Cleveland History and volunteer researcher for the Cuyahoga County Archives, brings Ohio City’s rich heritage to life through vintage photographs. Drawing from the Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection, the Cleveland Memory Project, and various historical archives, this visual history captures the spirit of one of Cleveland’s most distinctive neighborhoods.

Admirers of the power of trains and process of logging will revel in the images included in Southwest Washington Railroads, which features the progress of railways in the northwest and the developments made by this prolific era.

Southwest Washington was famous for its old-growth trees and rich timber resources during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The logging railroad marks the era between logs being dragged out with horses or oxen and the introduction of truck and road transport. These railroads provided logging companies with greater opportunity to reach inland areas and access larger timber resources. Logging companies such as Ostrander, B.F. Brock, Doty Lumber and Shingle, and Polson Logging Company required railroads to transport harvested timber to mills or to rivers, where logs would float to mills downstream. Railroads carried the labor, equipment, and camp materials to work locations. Though most of these logging businesses are gone, many roads and place names are attributed to these companies. Over time, the farmed tree and logging truck took over. Today, stacks of these smaller farmed trees are seen near the Western Washington ports of Longview and Kalama, replacing the giant trees of the past. Images of America: Logging Railroads of Southwest Washington is filled with images of the timber harvesting past and the golden age of railroad logging.

The photographs in this book are courtesy of resources at county museums and archives that comprise Southwest Washington. Joseph Matthew Govednik is the museum director of the Cowlitz County Historical Museum in Kelso, Washington.

The businesses are mostly gone, but these Indiana ads still beckon

Indiana’s vintage brick wall advertisements—also known as ghost signs—still cling to life in small towns like Redkey and Alexandria and big cities like Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. From tobacco ads to early automotive services, these fading layers of paint in Logansport, Gary, Terre Haute, South Bend, and beyond reveal a bygone era of local industry and bold graphic design. Through striking photographs and engaging commentary, author and photographer Joey B. Lax Salinas captures the artistry, history, and resilience of the slowly vanishing landmarks that continue to whisper Indiana’s commercial legacy from weathered walls across the state.

Bursting with delightful colors and bright illustrations, Local Baby Pittsburgh engages babies’ attention and encourages families to explore what makes their beautiful city so great.

Families can experience all that Pittsburgh, PA, has to offer: see three rivers combine at Point State Park; ride the Monongahela Incline; explore history and culture at the Cathedral of Learning; or cheer on the championship home teams!

Explore Pittsburgh with this joyfully grabbable and wonderfully local board book that is sure to bring generations together.