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See the story of Western Pennsylvania Homestead and the Steel Valley, home to the great furnaces of America that supported the nation in wars and the immigrants that provided labor and build the area's proud heritage.

Western Pennsylvania is dotted with what are known locally as mill towns, but few of these communities epitomize this definition more than the municipalities of Homestead, West Homestead, and Munhall. Commonly referred to as the Steel Valley, these towns were home to some of the greatest steel-producing operations in the world. As the Mon Valley's steel production answered the nation's call during two world wars, so did the workers who unloaded countless barges of coal and fed the mills' great furnaces that produced the material needed for weapons, armament, and tanks. Workers emigrated from every country in Europe to make their mark in America. Many of these people spoke little or no English and endured long hours of labor in often hazardous conditions. Their families brought with them the traditions of their varied European cultures, filling their communities with ethnic diversity. Through 200 photographs, Homestead and the Steel Valley conveys the proud heritage of three communities and their role in the nation's history.

A fishing village that started its life as Fort Johnston, the town changed its name to Smithville, and then Southport, as it is known today, read the town's long and watery history.

Southport is a small seaside village whose rich history began as early as 1754, when Fort Johnston was built. In 1792, it was incorporated as the town of Smithville, but in 1887, with their busy fishing village growing, the citizens decided to rename it Southport in hopes it would bring a port to their town. Much to their disappointment, however, the port was located in Wilmington. In 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall, and the storm surge delivered to Southport was the greatest in North Carolina's recorded history. Like most seaside villages, Southport recovered and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places today. Observing Independence Day since 1795, Southport annually hosts the official North Carolina Fourth of July celebration.

Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont has an extensive and legendary tradition of automobile racing. Soon after 1904, when the first car was registered in Charlotte, autos became a part of everyday life.

Car racing was just around the bend: an open-road race was run through Charlotte as early as 1908. Many drivers themselves have hailed from the area, and some are said to have received early training by running moonshine and outrunning authorities. Probably the best-known aspect of Carolina racing is the Queen City's involvement since 1949 with NASCAR, which hosts many of its big names and operations. Auto Racing in Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont explores the story behind the various forms of the sport, the kinds of people who have raced, and the reasons why they have done so. Historic photographs-many never before published-trace the history of NASCAR and look beyond the professional aspect to include the dragracers, wannabees, kids, and just plain amateurs participating in this cultural phenomenon. The story includes the first formal oval track, constructed entirely of wooden planks and opened in 1925. Other famous Charlotte locations, including professional dirt tracks, drag strips, and even a paved track dedicated to Soap Box Derby, are also revisited. Images of fans, mechanics, and hangers-on round out this singular journey of racing in the Carolinas.

A destination for many tourists eager for sun, sand, and a simpler way of life, and a far distant cry from the glitter and neon of more traditional, commercial oriented beaches, the Outer Banks of North Carolina is a natural wonder sheltering and buffering Eastern North Carolina from the volatile temperament of the Atlantic Ocean.

Beaufort, South Carolina, the Palmetto State's second-oldest town, is a paradigm of the Low Country.

Historic mansions overlook the bay with century-old oaks standing sentinel. Visitors to Beaufort feel right at home, and those with a love of history have a true appreciation of the area. Since its discovery by the Spaniards in the early 1500s, Beaufort has experienced numerous personalities and ways of life, from plantations to war, phosphate mining, hurricanes, and large-scale truck farming. Gullah, a culture and dialect spoken by ex-slaves and their descendants, is kept alive at Penn Center, the first school for the newly emancipated. Three military installations are here: Marine Corps Recruit Parris Island, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, and the U.S. Naval Hospital Beaufort. Various forts, churches, and schools served the area in their specific ways. Today, some lie in ruins offering peaceful repose while others remain intact and are well preserved. Beaufort's quaint downtown is a National Historic Landmark District.

Take a virtual ride on the Staten Island Ferry, back when the fare was just 5 cents. With over 200 rare and historic images, the curious story of Staten Island comes to life, revealing a fascinating history.

Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, is still remembered fondly for the 5¢ Staten Island Ferry ride to Manhattan. The rolling hills of Staten Island greet ships as they enter the Narrows of New York Harbor and sail beneath the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The island's ever-evolving history dates back to days as a hunting ground of the Lenape Indian tribe. Today, it is a thriving suburban community. In this volume, the reader will explore the roots of this historic island, tour its streets, and meet some memorable Staten Islanders—Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of one of the largest fortunes in America; Governor Daniel Tompkins, who served as vice president of the United States under President Monroe; and Alice Austen, one of the pre-eminent women photographers of the nineteenth century. Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and inventor Antonio Meucci created a legacy on the island, as did the oystermen from Snow Hill, Maryland, who founded Sandy Ground. The reader also glimpses historic charitable organizations such as Sailors' Snug Harbor and Mount Loretto and visits the living village known as Historic Richmondtown.

Prior to the Civil War, thousands escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad. Untold others failed in the attempt.

These unfortunate souls were dragged into bondage via the Reverse Underground Railroad, as it came to be called. With more lines on both roads than any other state, the Free State of Ohio became a hunting ground for slavecatchers and kidnappers who roamed the North with impunity, seeking “fugitives” or any person of color who could be sold into slavery. And when they found one, they would kidnap their victim and head south to reap the reward.

David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker, authors of Historic Black Settlements of Ohio, reveal not only the terror and injustice but also the bravery and determination born of this dark time in American history.

Vintage photographs explore the rich history and the wonderful neighborhoods of Northwest Bronx and it's legacy of well-known denizens.

New York City is comprised of five distinct boroughs, and each borough is made of dozens of neighborhoods. Northwest Bronx has a particularly rich history and is home to Wave Hill, Van Cortlandt Park, Woodlawn Cemetery, the New York Botanical Garden, and a variety of colleges and universities. Famous Americans from all walks of life took up roost here-- Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt's family, and Arturo Toscanini once lived at Wave Hill, while John F. Kennedy's boyhood home is only steps away, and George Washington slept at the Van Cortlandt Mansion. Northwest Bronx features an array of vintage photographs of the borough's neighborhoods, from Spuyten Duyvil, Kingsbridge, Riverdale, and Woodlawn to the neighborhoods north of Fordham Road and west of the Bronx River.

A Story of Hard Spirits and Defiant Souls

Franklin County, Virginia has long been known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. That history can seem romantic, but the county has a dark and violent past. The descendants of the Scots-Irish who settled its rugged mountains openly defied the law and employed their own notions of justice to defend their traditions and livelihood. During Prohibition, the production of moonshine skyrocketed, but the liquor didn’t stop flowing from the mountains when the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed. County and state officials struggled to maintain order in a region where unsolved murders, strange disappearances, and senseless killings were a way of life. The peak came in 1978, with nine murders linked to moonshine and drugs in the county.

Historian and Virginia native Phillip Andrew Gibbs tells story of that horrific year and the history behind it.

Once the largest farm population center in what was then Fairfax County, Falls Church has slowly evolved over the past three centuries into the unique town it is today.

Fertile soil and abundant streams at former Native American cross trails provided ideal farmland to early settlers, and though the first known home was built in 1699, it wasn’t until 1875 that Falls Church was incorporated into a town, taking its name from the prominent 18th century Anglican church built at these old cross trails. The town has seen the coming of Revolutionary independence and a mere seven miles from downtown Washington, DC, Falls Church sat close enough to witness the nation's capital burn during the War of 1812, and was transformed by the effects of the Civil War. Since 1900, residents have experienced the growth of the post–World War II suburban ideal and felt the impact of the civil rights movement, ultimately developing Falls Church into a small town with established religious, educational, and civic institutions amidst urban sprawl.

Steel Pier details the history of this historic Showplace of the Nation in America's Playground--Atlantic City.

Atlantic City has worn the tag of America's Playground since its earliest days, so it is only natural that its biggest and most well-known icon, the Steel Pier, would be known as the Showplace of the Nation. Over the course of 80 years, from 1898 to 1978, Steel Pier developed from a quiet, genteel amusement that featured light classical music and cakewalks to a vast entertainment complex that offered movies, big-name vaudeville acts, exhibits, big bands, rock bands, and the Water Circus with its famed diving horse. What makes this even more compelling is that one could spend the entire day on the pier and take all of this in for one small admission fee.

Rare and vintage photographs document the daily lives of coal miners and the citizens of Pottsville.

The photographs in this book bring to life a bygone era, when Coal was King, and almost everyone who lived between Pottsville, Hazelton, Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton was affected by the daily activity of coal mining. The development of the anthracite coal industry began in 1822 causing the Coal Rush of the 1820s and '30s and drawing thousands of new people to the area. The outstanding images contained in this visual history have been mined by Leo Ward and Mark Major from the rich seam of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County. These images—many of them rare and previously unpublished—take us back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, and capture the harsh conditions of collieries such as Maple Hill, Sherman, and Wadesville: the toughness and humor of the miners; the grit and determination of the young boys who worked as breaker boys; and the solidarity and stoicism of the miners' wives. They also document a fascinating aspect of our social history by giving us an intimate glimpse into the everyday lives of Pottsville people, from the hustle and bustle of Market and Center Streets to the cherished summer days at Tumbling Run.

“Seldom-told tales of the ‘lively and unusual cast of historic figures’ who helped shape the Florida Keys from the 1820s through the 1960s.”—Keys News

The Florida Keys have witnessed all kinds of historical events, from the dramatic and the outrageous to the tragic and the comic. In the nineteenth century, uncompromising individuals fought duels and plotted political upsets. During the Civil War, a company of “Key West Avengers” escaped their Union-occupied city to join the Confederacy by sailing through the Bahamas. In the early twentieth century, black Bahamians founded a town of their own, while railway engineers went up against the U.S. Navy in a bid to complete the Overseas Railroad. When Prohibition came to the Keys, one defiant woman established a rum-running empire that dominated South Florida. 

Join Laura Albritton and Jerry Wilkinson as they delve into tales of treasure hunters, developers, exotic dancers, determined preservationists and more, from the colorful history of these islands.

On February 5th, 1946, the Ferguson brothers were concluding a night out celebrating Charles Ferguson’s reenlistment in the Army...

Charles, wearing his military uniform, walked with his brothers Alphonso, Joseph, and Richard towards the Freeport Bus Terminal to go home. A provisional Freeport police officer named Joseph Romeika stopped the brothers over a disorderly conduct complaint. Words were exchanged, and Officer Romeika killed Charles, Alphonso and shot Joseph within minutes of the initial stop. Following the unarmed shooting, Romeikia was acquitted despite changing stories of eyewitnesses.

Discover how the shooting became a catalyst for civil rights efforts and immortalized in a Woody Guthrie protest song.

Explore the eccentric side of yesterday’s Queen City

Cincinnatians today wrap themselves in a comforting blanket of serene conformity, soothed by the myth that the Queen City has always been a bland, somewhat Germanic, little backwater. History tells us otherwise. Old Cincinnati was a pretty strange place. UFOs? Witchcraft? Sea Monsters? Occult societies? Public executions? All very common in Old Cincinnati. Over its history, this burgeoning river metropolis pursued the unusual, the sensational and the controversial. Cincinnati was big – among the ten largest U.S. cities. And it was rude and crude, still shaking off the dust from its years as a frontier outpost. Much of the popular nightlife then would be illegal today.

Buckle up as author Greg Hand leads a rambunctious tour through the old, weird Cincinnati.

Robert Sengstacke Abbott had a vision, purpose, and a slogan that said it all: American race prejudice must be destroyed.

In 1905, Abbott created the Chicago Defenderwith 25¢ and a dream in his landlady's kitchen. The Defender was a platform and voice for talents such as Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and W.E.B. DuBois. What began as a humble weekly grew into the largest and most influential Black newspaper in the country, inspiring roughly a million African Americans to leave the oppressive South for a better life in the North. Born in 1868 on the heels of the Reconstruction Era, Abbott—the son of former slaves—managed to influence the first two decades of the 20th century and was a major contributor to the prolific movement known as the Great Northern Migration. Boasting a circulation of over 300,000 nationally, the Defender was secretly delivered by Pullman porters across the United States. By 1920, the paper's tagline read, The World's Greatest Weekly. The story of the Defender is one of inspiration, struggle, triumph, and irreversible pathways being forged.

Take a fascinating tour of the influential art deco movement and its manifestations in and around Detroit.

Since the 1920s, Art Deco, or The Modern Style, has delighted people with its innovative use of materials and designs that capture the spirit of optimism to create the style of the future. Although the Detroit metro area is primarily known as an industrial region, it boasts some of the finest examples of Art Deco in the country.

Through a panorama of photographs,Art Deco in Detroit explores the wide-ranging variety of these architectural marvels, from world-famous structures like the Fisher and Penobscot Buildings, to commercial buildings, theaters, homes, and churches. The grandeur evident in some of the major buildings reflects a time when artisans and architects collaborated to craft structures that transcend functionality - they endure as standing works of art.

From the Lawrence Institute to hydroelectricity and paper, this Fox City's rich history is chronicled through vintage images.

Appleton's beginnings found their source at the Lawrence Institute, the university in the woods, on the Fox River. Rev. Henry Colman and Rev. William Sampson chose the bluff on the river for the site of the institute. Amos A. Lawrence donated $10,000, and the building began in July 1848. The city was made up of three villages: Martin (Grand Chute), Appleton, and Lawesburg. In 1857, the villages joined together to form the city of Appleton with Amos Story as its first mayor. Appleton's industry grew on the banks of the Fox River.

Chicago was once the second-largest Bohemian city outside the Czech lands. The Czechs first settled, serendipitously, behind the notorious O'Leary barn.

Spared the Great Fire of 1871, they were displaced several blocks south by the ensuing land crush. There they built more permanent quarters in the community that became known as Pilsen, a neighborhood whose name and architecture survive to recall its Bohemian origins. The thriving Czechs soon began a century-long move westward from Lawndale to Cicero to Berwyn, and today they flourish across the western suburbs. From the desolation of the 1915 Eastland disaster, in which hundreds of victims were of Czech descent, to the triumphant Depression-era election of Czech-born mayor Antonín Cˇermák, Czechs of Chicagoland depicts how the Czech community and its great leaders, benevolent societies, and charitable and social organizations have shaped and continue to shape the course of Chicago's history.

Around Hornell tells the tale of western New York's Maple City and its neighbors, the rural towns of Canisteo, Dansville, Fremont, Hartsville, Hornellsville, and Howard.

The region is set in the dramatic countryside between the Finger Lakes and the Appalachian Mountains, home to the deep gorges of Stony Brook State Park. Great arks floated down the Canisteo River to markets in Baltimore, and for more than a century, Hornell roared with round-the-clock work in the Erie Railroad shops. Hornell is a musical city of community bands, high-school operettas, and barbershop quartets, and its famous residents include radio star and pioneer pilot Blanche Scott, aspiring major leaguer Don Zimmer, and New York's longest-serving mayor, Shawn Hogan, who has graciously provided the introduction to Around Hornell.

This collection of historic photographs and illustrations will guide you through quaint  Narragansett's early years into its peak in the late 19th century.

Narragansett By-the-Sea is a narrow strip of land along the southwestern shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. A sparsely populated agricultural society in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Narragansett was transformed in the nineteenth century into one of America's busiest and most popular seaside resorts. A remarkable collection of historic photographs and illustrations will guide the reader through Narragansett's early years into its golden age at the end of the nineteenth century. See the growth of great wooden hotels, the establishment of a railroad, and the summer cottage period. Share the excitement of the rich and the famous as they were drawn to the finest beach in the northeast and the unique Narragansett Casino, which offered dining, dancing, theater, lawn tennis, and bowling. The quaint charm of Narragansett is what sets it apart from other seaside resorts.

Twenty-five miles north of New York City lie two scenic villages: Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. These villages, bordering the majestic Hudson River, are rich in the charm and mystery of their shared historic past.

From the era of Weckquaesgeek to the close of World War II, Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow depicts scenes of area residents' mothers, fathers, grandparents, and ancestors at work, home, school, and play. Treasured images of Revolutionary War sites, the growing villages, and stately mansions and castles bring the past of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow to life. Also vividly brought to life is the location Washington Irving made famous with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Syracuse Television features the zaniness of Baron Daemon, lessons from the Magic Toy Shop, and live fun from Jim Deline and the Gang and The Markert Place.

Central New Yorkers have been treated to many memorable television moments since December 1, 1948, when WHEN-TV Channel 8 signed on the air for the first time. In a record 16 days after equipment arrived at its 101 Court Street site, the station was miraculously up and running. Syracuse's pioneer broadcasters were eager to explore this bold, new world with programs that would entertain, educate, and inform.  Over the years, personalities and programs became familiar to Central New Yorkers. There was news coverage from Fred Hillegas, Ron Curtis, Rod Wood, and Carrie Lazarus and weather forecasts from Stormy Meredith, Big Al Roker, Dave Eichorn, and Wayne Mahar.

Long Island City captures the unique flavor of a former city (1870-1898) nestled between Manhattan and Queens that retains its unique identity to this day.

Created by consolidating Old Astoria Village, Steinway, Ravenswood, Dutch Kills, Blissville, Sunnyside, and the Long Island Rail Road terminal in Hunters Point, it has been an industrial dynamo since the Civil War. It is home to creative people and innovative ideas, the Steinway piano factory, the movie industry, the Information Age, and a growing list of museums and galleries. Minutes from midtown Manhattan, it is again a magnet for new generations seeking the charms of a small town with the advantages of a great city.

A notorious case of terror and extortion in the Buckeye State

In the early 1900s, a criminal society known as the Black Hand became feared across the United States as it extorted hard-working immigrants. In 1908, Agostino Iannarino received a series of threatening letters and when he refused to pay, a bomb exploded at the entrance of his Columbus home. His family fled to Sicily only to continue receiving threats. The following year, U.S. Post Office Inspectors learned that a Black Hand gang called the Society of the Banana was headquartered in Marion, Ohio, and authorities attempted to put an end to the violent outrages occurring across the Midwest.

Revealing twenty-four extortion letters written by members of the Society of the Banana, author Shane W. Croston details factual and fatal accounts of the Black Hand.

Around Houlton documents the history of this town with Yankee pioneer spirit from potato farming to Market Square.

Since the development of photography in the mid-19th century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our picture of the past in a way that other historic relics cannot, and they tell us much more than at first appears. Houlton, Maine, is a town still infused with the Yankee pioneer spirit, an independence that can be traced back to Houlton's roots at the beginning of the 19th century. This is reflected in nearly every face in this delightful selection of images of the people of Houlton and its surrounding communities in the century between 1850 and 1950. Some of the best photographs are those that simply show how things used to be—pictures of potato farming, of industry, of lively activity in Market Square, and of peaceful summer recreation at cottages at Nickerson, Grand, and Drew's Lakes.

Biloxi is the peninsula city picturesquely situated between the Gulf of Mexico's Mississippi Sound and the calm waters of Biloxi's Back Bay.

Named for the Native American tribe originating on the Mississippi and shaped by European exploration, Biloxi boasts many colorful stories and personalities. Images of America: Biloxi showcases the city's history, including tales about the seafood and canning industries, immigration, religion, centuries of tourism, gambling, and diversity, as well as the Keesler Air Force Base. Explore the birthplace of Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, celebrated potter George E. Ohr, and Barq's Root Beer. The images presented in this book offer a glimpse into why Biloxi is a destination place for people near and far.

In this vivid and captivating new photographic history, readers are transported back to an exciting time in Brooklyn history.

Photographs often hold mysteries and memories of our past. Page by page the reader will see the transformation of when the town of Gravesend, Brooklyn was one of the six original towns to later become part of the great City of Brooklyn. Originally an isolated English-speaking community amidst many other Dutch areas in the region, Gravesend developed into a thriving seaside resort, with Coney Island becoming the playground of the world, and Sheepshead Bay an important fishing community with fabulous places to dine and enjoy the fruits of the sea.

The Great Boston Fire of 1872was a spectacular conflagration that destroyed Old Bostonand allowed a phoenix to arise from the ashes.

Few events can be said to have changed the face of Boston forever. Eventually destroying 775 buildings and causing millions of dollars in damage to the commercial section that we now know as Boston's business district. This conflagration ranks among the most destructive fires in American history

This exciting new pictorial history brings to life the drama that began one Saturday evening in 1872 when a fire started in an empty hoop-skirt factory on the corner of Summerand Kingston Streets. At the time, Boston was in the throes of an epizootic disease that caused all horses in the area to be ill. This caused a virtual shutdown of transportation and city services and delayed the fire department's response to calls for help. By the time the breathless firemen arrived, the fire had already consumed the granite five-story factory and burst through the mansard roof, which acted as a flue and spread the fire. Within an hour, much of Summer Streetwas engulfed in flames and firemen from near and far were being summoned to combat the spread of the deadly blaze. By midnight, the fire had spread through Summer Streetto Arch Streetand was attacking Winthrop Square.Old Trinity Church, at the corner of SummerandHawley Streets, had given itself up to the flames.

With this moving new work, author Anthony Mitchell Sammarco has artfully combined images and text to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the awesome fire. A well-known lecturer and local historian, Mr. Sammarco has created an entertaining and educational look at a critical and unsteady moment in Boston's past.

The Old Dominion is filled with the unexplained…

With a history stretching back to the 1607 Jamestown settlement, Virginia is rich in mystery. There are ghost towns, fake towns, a vampire in Richmond, a Bunnyman in Clifton and secret government sites all over. Colonists buried gold along the James River and Sir Francis Bacon’s plan for a “New Atlantis” lies in a vault in Williamsburg. Fabled pirates Captain Kidd and Blackbeard stashed treasure along the Virginia coast. A ghost light appears at a railroad crossing near West Point and mysterious booms rattle windows from central Virginia to the Eastern Shore. Cryptid creatures stalk the forests from Fairfax County to the Great Dismal Swamp. A devil monkey lurks in Goochland, Bigfoot roams Marine Corps Base Quantico, and a sea serpent swims through the Chesapeake Bay.

Join Virginia native Denver Michaels as he explores these legends and many more.

Capturing much of what life was like in the rapidly growing city of Durham, North Carolina, during the first half of the 20th century.

This rare collection of postcards represents many aspects of Durham, especially the bustling downtown district. In the early 1900s, Durham was a small but budding town with a population of less than 7,000. However, a tremendous number of people began to pour into the city, and by 1930 the population had increased to more than 50,000.

That explosion of growth was attributable in large measure to the rapid expansion of the tobacco and textile industries, as well as to the endowment of nearby Trinity College (1924) by tobacco magnate James B. Duke, which led to the institution's renaming as the now-renowned Duke University. In only a few years, the town's skyline began to be transformed with the construction of modern office buildings and grand mansions.

Hoboken's history as a link to Manhattan and a town rich in Italian-American and immigrant culture, industry, and families is revealed here in pictures and anecdotes.

Incorporated as a city in 1855, Hoboken's history as a ferry terminus dates back to the eighteenth century, with the first horse-powered ferries to lower Manhattan. The city's history is entwined with that of Col. John Stevens and his family. He was the inventor of the t-rail and a pioneer in steam-generated power and navigation. Prior to the city's growth as a transportation hub, it was a scenic locale favored by city dwellers who could arrive by ferry and enjoy a riverside promenade, partake of water drawn from a natural spring, and watch a cricket or baseball game. Hoboken eventually grew to become a bustling city, with an active waterfront as well as a home and place of work for tens of thousands of immigrants and families. In Hoboken, the pattern of early development is described, giving the reader a sense of the city in the mid-nineteenth century. Landmarks of the terminal area, downtown (Washington Street), and ferry terminals are highlighted in this photographic tour of the city. Chapters are devoted to the great rail, ferry, and trolley terminal at Hudson Place, the commercial center, the waterfront before and after industrialization (including boat and yacht clubs), and the memory of some of Hoboken's residents.

Discover the untold story of the Windy City’s Ghost Shadows.

Even in a town notorious for gangsters like Al Capone, much of Chicago’s lawless lore has remained uncharted. Chicago’s Chinatown, in particular, was home to a vast criminal enterprise, strictly bound by old country rituals, rules and traditions. Few know of Moy Dong Chew, aka “Opium Dong,” one of Chinatown’s original godfathers, much less Frank Moy, his fedora-wearing predecessor. While incidents like the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre dominated newspaper headlines, the Tong Wars were being waged in the shadows. Author Harrison Fillmore relates the long and sordid history of Chinatown’s underbelly from the early 1880s to the late 1980s when a Federal Indictment essentially ended organized crime’s grip on their good citizens

Journey along with the king of nostalgia, Tim Hollis, for a tour of lost attractions of northern, central and southern Alabama.

Alabama has had an enviable success rate when it comes to tourist attractions, with some that date back to the 1930s still drawing crowds today. But many others have come and gone, sometimes leaving little evidence of their existence. Join Alabama native Tim Hollis as he revisits iconic attractions such as Canyon Land Park and Sequoyah Caverns, the floral clock at Birmingham’s Botanical Gardens and the traffic safety torch held aloft by Vulcan, the iron man. Many Gulf Coast attractions are gone, including Styx River Water World and Spooky Golf, but the memories remain.

In rare photographs, the book reveals the history of the people and places in the communities of Franklin, Hamburg, Ogdensburg, and Hardyston.

Franklin, Hamburg, Ogdensburg, and Hardyston chronicles the settlement and life of the Wallkill Valley area of northern New Jersey.  Beginning entirely as Hardyston Township, the area developed into four communities, each with distinctive qualities. Franklin is the Fluorescent Mineral Capital of the World, as declared by the U.S. Congress, and with its zinc mines, is known as the Model Mining Town of America. Hamburg from early times was a crossroads and business district. Ogdensburg possessed several mines and Thomas Edison interests. Hardyston, with its lakes for summer visitors and still-thriving farmland, retains the beauty of its natural surroundings.

Journalist and historian Chuck McShane traces the triumphs and troubles of Lake Norman from the region's colonial beginnings to its modern incarnation.

On a muggy September day in 1959, North Carolina governor Luther Hodges set off the first charge of dynamite for the Cowan's Ford Dam project. The dam channeled Catawba River waters into the largest lake in North Carolina: Lake Norman. The project was the culmination of James Buchanan Duke's dream of an electrified South and the beginning of the region's future. Over the years, the area around Lake Norman transformed from a countryside of cornstalks and cattle fields to an elite suburb full of luxurious subdivisions and thirty-five-foot sailboats.

From the driver's seat, author and guide Edward Morris provides a diverse collection of biographical sketches that reveal the outrageous and opulent lives of some of America's leading entrepreneurs.

Newport, Rhode Island, was the summer playground of the Gilded Age for the Astors, Belmonts and Vanderbilts. They built lavish villas designed by the best Beaux Arts-style architects of the time, including Richard Morris Hunt, Charles McKim and Robert Swain Peabody. America's elite delighted in referring to these grand retreats as summer cottages, where they would play tennis and polo and sail their yachts along the shores of the Ocean State. The coachman had an important role as the discreet outdoor butler for Gilded Age gentlemen--not only was he in charge of the horses, but he also acted as a travel advisor and connoisseur of entertainment venues.

Eureka Springs has a lively and colorful past, peppered by one-of-a-kind characters drawn to the town for its soothing waters.

And while Eureka Springs is known today as one of the most well-preserved towns in the nation, some of its most interesting history hides in plain sight. Join local author Joyce Zeller as she uncovers the remarkable and often forgotten history of this natural wonder of the Ozarks. With tales of the 1922 bank robbery, the residency of notorious prohibitionist Carry A. Nation and how a beloved cat named Morris became general manager at the historic Crescent Hotel, this is a side of the Eureka Springs story that won't be found anywhere else.

Over the years, Bobby Mackey's Music World has played host to countless real-life horror stories and a string of criminal activity. Illegal gambling and liquor abounded when it later served as the Bluegrass Inn.

The site has been the location of death and destruction since the nineteenth century, including illegal lynchings and a bridge collapse killing forty-one men. In more recent years, mafia bosses turned it into a mafia-controlled nightclub known as the Latin Quarter. Beginning with the caretaker who fell under a demonic possession to more recent encounters between patrons and the paranormal, author Dan Smith revives the chilling stories that make it the most haunted nightclub in America.

Read the stories of freedom seekers as they passed through Delaware in the decades before the Civil War.

Countless men and women traveled to freedom on an informal network of back roads and friendly houses that comprised the Delaware Underground Railroad. Traveling at night and guided by the North Star, Harriet Tubman journeyed through the First State on her initial escape from enslavement, and she heroically retuned here more than ten times to lead others out of the prison of slavery. Frederick Douglass, the eloquent spokesman for abolition, traveled the Delaware Underground Railroad on his escape from bondage. Often assisted by the Quaker businessman Thomas Garrett, these freedom seekers blazed an unmatched trail of cunning and bravery.

Local author Michael Morgan tells the remarkable story of this dark and neglected chapter in Delaware history.

The stories, folklore, and history surrounding Maryland’s most haunted places. A must-read for fans of the supernatural and Maryland history.

The demon car of Seven Hills Road, the ominousHell Houseabove the Patapsco River, the mythical Snallygasterof western Maryland--these are the extraordinary tales and bizarre creatures that color Maryland's folklore.

The Blue Dog of Port Tobaccofaithfully guards his master's gold even in death, and in Cambridge, the headless ghost of Big Lizwatches over the treasure of Greenbriar Swamp. The woods of Prince George's County are home to stories of the menacing Goatman, while on stormy nights at the nearby University of Maryland, the strains of a ghostly piano float from Marie Mount Hall.

From the storied heroics of the First Maryland Regimentin the Revolutionary Warto the mystery of the Poe Toaster, folklorists Trevor J. Blank and David J. Puglia unravel the legends of Maryland.

Since its founding in 1899, the Blue Band has become a beloved part of the history and tradition of Pennsylvania State University.

Respected by students and alumni, faculty and administrators, the Blue Band is one of the most visible representations of the dedication, pride, and honor in the hearts of all who are associated with “Dear Old State.” From its humble beginnings as a six-member all-male drum and bugle corps to its current membership of over 300 instrumentalists, silks, and majorettes, the Blue Band has provided the soundtrack to the Penn State experience. From marching its trademark “Floating Lions” drill at football games in Beaver Stadium, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia to performing in concerts, field shows, and parades everywhere from the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the Blue Band has proudly served as Penn State’s musical ambassador throughout Pennsylvania and across the United States. And since joining the Big Ten Conference in 1993, the Blue Band has embraced opportunities to perform alongside many of the other premier collegiate band programs in the nation.