The History Press [New Releases]

High country cooking fit to grace any table.

Southern Appalachia has a rich culinary tradition. Generations of passed down recipes offer glimpses into a culture that has long been defined, in considerable measure, by its food. Take a journey of pure delight through this highland homeland with stories of celebrations, Sunday dinners and ordinary suppers. The narrative material and scores of recipes offered here share a deep love of place and a devotion to this distinctive cuisine. The end result is a tempting invitation, in the vernacular of the region, to “pull up a chair and take nourishment.”

Authors Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley, both natives of the region, are seasoned veterans in sharing the culinary delights of the southern highlands.

War of Empires/

The colonial frontier of Western Pennsylvania set the stage for the fight over control of North America and the promise of the American West. The war began in the Commonwealth and the defenses, roads and skirmishes fought in the Western part of the state defined the war and the early career of George Washington. Join author Robert M. Dunkerly as he reveals the harrowing history of the French and Indian War in Western Pennsylvania. 

Learn more about the Father of the Franchise Industry in this illuminating history about the Howard Johnson restaurant franchise and the man behind it all.

Howard Johnson created an orange-roofed empire of ice cream stands and restaurants that stretched from Maine to Florida, and all the way to the West Coast. With a reputation for good food at affordable prices, hungry customers would regularly return for more. The attractive white Colonial Revival restaurants, with eye-catching porcelain tile roofs, illuminated cupolas and sea blue shutters, were described in Reader's Digest in 1949 as the epitome of eating places that look like New England town meeting houses dressed up for Sunday. Highlighted in television shows such as Mad Men and films Netflix's 2019 The Irishman, it's obvious that Howard Johnson's occupies an indelible and pleasant place popular culture. Boston historian and author Anthony M. Sammarco recounts how Howard Johnson introduced twenty-eight flavors of ice cream, the Tendersweet clam strips, grilled frankforts and a menu of delicious and traditional foods that families eagerly enjoyed when they traveled.

Author Foxx Nolte gives readers a glimpse behind the curtain of the most magical place on earth.

Millions of people a year visit Walt Disney World, but few would consider it to be a place with any real history. But hidden just below the surface, past the blanket of pixie dust, is a story as vivid and bizarre as any. It is a history of corporate politics, urban planning, crazy ambitions, and failed schemes. The Hidden History of Walt Disney World takes you on a journey that stretches from "Old Florida" to the events that made Walt Disney World what it is today. There's birds made of citrus, horizontal elevators, a ghost town, and tennis ball factories. And that's just the start. Whether you've visited one or one hundred times, your vacation will never be the same again. Yep, the castle is fake. But the stories are not .

Much of Western Maine reads like a Stephen King novel.

The dense dark woods and backcountry ponds. The century-old houses with gravel driveways and immense flower gardens, acres of farmland miles from a highway. Serpentine country roads dotted with farmstands, and picturesque main streets lined with battered pickups. Places where-especially during the dark and rainy days of October and November—things can get downright spooky. 

Author Sharon Kitchens identifies the locations that serve as the basis for King’s fictional towns of Castle Rock, Jerusalem’s Lot, Derry, and Haven. Drawing on historical materials and conversations with locals and people who know King, the author sheds light on daily life in places that would become the settings for Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Dead Zone, Cujo, IT, and 11/22/63.

In the Steel City, "Yinzer" is a term of endearment, reserved for the city's most beloved and embraced by locals as a symbol of the grit and determination that Pittsburgh endows anyone from there.

The city's undeniable impact on the character and life of those who grew up there has shaped iconic figures of American sports, entertainment and culture. Legends of the gridiron such as Jim Kelly, Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino and Joe Namath forged their football prowess in Western Pennsylvania. Business pioneers including Mark Cuban, Ray Werner and Bill Strickland were ingrained with the value of hard work in the Steel City. Music and movie stars like Jeff Goldblum, George Benson and Billy Gardell found creative inspiration in Pittsburgh that led to new heights. Author Dick Roberts presents profiles, interviews and memories from some of the most famous and adored Pittsburghers.

Michigan is home to an amazing array of food and drink brands, each with a fascinating story behind it.

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals like Kellogg’s and Post changed how the world eats, and Gerber first made baby food commercially available. But the Wolverine State is bursting with many other notable edibles, such as Faygo, American Spoon, Jiffy, Sanders and Vernors. Better Made uses Michigan potatoes for its chips. Fudge, pasties and anything made with cherries are also local standards. Others are gone but not forgotten, like Awrey’s and Twin Pines.

Authors Gail Offen and Jon Milan explore the history and stories behind all of these and many, many more.

Cursed awards, haunted estates, and deadly sets.   Hollywood is supposed to be the place where dreams come true, but it's also where nightmares come to life. Spirits haunt the halls of renowned studios, legendary cafes, and lavish estates, while rumors of curses lurk in the shadows of the rich and famous. It's said that stars like James Dean, Carrie Fisher, and Prince once predicted their own deaths, while slain screenwriter Paul Bern tried in vain to warn Sharon Tate about her own fate. Ghosts reportedly linger in the corners of the El Coyote Café and the Falcon Lair boasts sightings of Rudolph Valentino long after his death./ Join author and paranormal historian Brian Clune for a star-studded tour of the dark side of Hollywood.

Chilling Tales of the Hudson Valley

Nestled on the banks of the Hudson River, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are steeped in history and ghost lore. Famous for Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the storied Westchester region also has a dark history of witches, spies, and pirates. Rumors of Headless Horseman sightings surge during spooky season while visitors flock to the Valley’s haunted hot spots like the Old Dutch Church and the famed writer’s Sunnyside home. Join author and journalist Sam Baltrusis on a bone-chilling journey through the streets of Sleepy Hollow as he breathes new life into the legendary village’s long-departed souls.

A Thrilling Lost Chapter of Mob Rule

Western Pennsylvania’s New Kensington was in the grips of Mafia control throughout the 1950s, with a bevy of bookie joints, gambling casinos and brothels. An outgrowth of the Pittsburgh mob, New Kensington’s Costa Nostra ordered a group of Mafiosi to break into a National Guard station in Ohio and steal a shipment of weapons. The guns were destined for Fidel Castro, who was waging guerrilla war in Cuba. The Pittsburgh Mafia was hoping to get on Castro’s good side if he won the war to secure the reopening of gambling casinos. From a daring heist in Canada to Swiss bank accounts and CIA informants, this infamous gunrunning scheme was a high-speed saga of international intrigue. Join author Richard Gazarik as he presents a harrowing historical narrative of the criminal underworld of Western Pennsylvania.

The Civil War never left South Carolina, from its beginning at Fort Sumter in 1861 through the destructive, harrowing days of Sherman's march through the state in 1865.

Included here are the stories of Confederate civilians and soldiers who remained true to their cause throughout the perilous struggle. An English aristocrat risked his life to run the blockade and become one of the defenders of Charleston. The Haskells of Abbeville sent seven sons into Confederate service. Many South Carolina women made heart-rending sacrifices, including a disabled woman from Laurens County whose heroic efforts preserved Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, from wartime ravages. Author Karen Stokes details the lives of men and women whose destinies intertwined with a tragic era in Palmetto State history.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Irish citizens on both sides of the Mason-Dixon answered the call to arms.  This was most evident at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Louisiana Irish Rebels charged with the cry We are the Louisiana Tigers! Irish soldiers of the Alabama Brigade and the Texas Brigade launched assaults on the line's southern end at Little Round Top. During Pickett's Charge, Gaelic brothers fought each other as determined Irishmen of the Sixty-Ninth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry repelled Irish of the Virginia Brigade in one of the most decisive moments in American history. Author Phillip Thomas Tucker reveals the compelling story.

The most famous Civil War name in Northern Virginia, other than General Lee, belongs to Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost.

The most famous Civil War name in Northern Virginia, other than General Lee, belongs to Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Gray Ghost. His early life characterized by abuse of childhood bullies, a less-than-outstanding academic career, and even a brief incarceration, Mosby stands out among nearly one thousand generals who served in the war. Even though Mosby was opposed to secession, he joined the Confederate army as a private in Virginia, he quickly rose through the ranks and became celebrated for his raids that captured Union general Edwin Stoughton in Fairfax and Colonel Daniel French Dulany in Rose Hill. By 1864, he was a feared partisan guerrilla in the North and a nightmare for Union troops protecting Washington City. After the war, his support for presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant forced Mosby to leave his native Virginia for Hong Kong as U.S. consul. A mentor to young George S. Patton, Mosby's military legacy extended far beyond the War Between the States and into World War II. William S. Connery brings alive the many dimensions of this American hero.

In 1980, a record-breaking thunderstorm unleashed a disastrous amount of water on the tiny town of Brady’s Bend.

In a mere forty minutes, the community was annihilated by a catastrophic flash flood. Residents ran for their lives, and nine people drowned. Although rescue and recovery soon followed, the harrowing experience left a mark on the survivors that remains decades later.

Author and Brady’s Bend native Lisa Olszak Zumstein tells this community’s story in full and reveals how this devastating storm mirrors numerous others in the Appalachian corridor.

During the early twentieth century, Sicilian and Southern Italian immigrants poured into New York City.

Looking to escape poverty and persecution at home, they soon discovered that certain criminal enterprises followed them to America. Before any codes of honor were established in the New World, violent bosses wreaked havoc on their communities in their quest to rule the underworld. It took several decades for the Mafia to mature into a contemporary organized crime syndicate. Some names and places from both eras are still infamous today, like Frank Costello and the Copacabana, while some have remained hidden in absolute secrecy until now. Walk in their footsteps as New York City author Eric Ferrara explores the myths and realities of one of America's most feared and fascinating subjects.

In 1755, Major General Edward Braddock and two army regiments set out from Alexandria with the objective of capturing Fort Duquesne, near present-day Pittsburgh.

To transport their sizable train of artillery and wagons, they first had to build a road across the rugged Appalachian Mountains. It was almost 289 treacherous miles from Alexandria, Virginia, by way of Fort Cumberland in Maryland and on to the French fort; the road they built was one of the most impressive military engineering accomplishments of the eighteenth century. Historian Norman L. Baker chronicles the construction of the road and creates the definitive mapping of those sections once thought lost. Join Baker as he charts the history of Braddock's Road until the ultimate catastrophic collision with the combined French and Indian forces.

In 1988, Judge Joe O'Kicki was regarded by his peers as one of the most brilliant legal minds in the United States. He was newly re-married, sworn in as the president judge of a Pennsylvania county and on the fast track to a federal bench....

Silently, however, a state police vice unit was in the midst of covert operation into O'Kicki's personal affairs. The judge would be accused of soliciting bribes, frequenting brothels and running the county as if he were a "battleship commander.'? Later he'd concoct a plan to flee the country and exact revenge on his enemies.

Set in the aftermath of the 1977 Johnstown flood and including courtroom testimony, the memos of whistleblowers, contemporary interviews and excerpts from O'Kicki's unfinished tell-all memoir, "Jailing the Johnstown Judge'? is a fresh examination of the extraordinary Western Pennsylvania case that attained international infamy.

In 1864, six hundred Confederate prisoners of war, all officers, were taken out of a prison camp in Delaware and transported to South Carolina, where most were confined in a Union stockade prison on Morris Island.

They were placed in front of two Union forts as ""human shields"" during the siege of Charleston and exposed to a fearful barrage of artillery fire from Confederate forts. Many of these men would suffer an even worse ordeal at Union-held Fort Pulaski near Savannah, Georgia, where they were subjected to severe food rationing as retaliatory policy. Author and historian Karen Stokes uses the prisoners' writings to relive the courage, fraternity and struggle of the ""Immortal 600.""

Beginning in the early 1990s, Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood began to transform from the post-industrial morass it had been suffering for the last few decades. Artists began to rent empty apartments, what were once shot-and-a-beer bars became hip dive bars and entrepreneurs found inexpensive real estate to follow their visions. It was in this landscape that the Beehive Coffeehouse began to attract a new 90s alternative crowd.

East Carson Street was soon home to not just coffeehouses but Slacker, Dee's Cafe, Culture Shop, Club Laga and the Lava Lounge. Across a bridge, in the university community of Oakland, The Upstage, Electric Banana and another Beehive catered to the new youth culture. Cappuccinos, thrift shop culture, grunge music, local alternative bands, artists, writers and creative denizens of all stripes would soon enter the city's collective conscious. The South Side Beehive though was where the night often began, and weekends ended.

Gettysburg is America's most famous battle. Fought on the first three days of July 1863, it was one of the largest and by far the bloodiest of the Civil War.

Yet the importance of this great conflagration cannot be measured in numbers alone, for Gettysburg also represented a pivotal moment in the war. The battle ended General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of Union soil, and never again did a Confederate army reach that far north. Join historian John Hoptak as he narrates the fierce action between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac at such places as McPherson's Ridge, the Railroad Cut, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, Devil's Den, Little Round Top and on Culp's and Cemetery Hills.

Did the phrase “That’s what I was wondering…” solve a murder?

In the morning hours of July 16, 1936, Helen Clevenger’s uncle discovered her bloodied body crumpled on the floor of her small room in Asheville’s grand Battery Park Hotel. She had been shot through the chest. Buncombe County Sheriff Laurence Brown, up for reelection, desperately searched for the teenager’s killer as the public clamored for answers. Though witnesses reported seeing a white man leave the scene, Brown’s focus turned instead to the hotel’s Black employees and on August 9 he arrested bell hop Martin Moore. After a frenzied four-day trial that captured the nation’s attention, Moore was convicted of Helen’s murder on August 22. Though Moore confessed to Sherriff Brown, doubt of his guilt lingers and many Southerners feared that justice had not, in fact, been served.

Author Anne Chesky Smith weaves together varying accounts of the murder and investigation to expose a complex and disturbing chapter in Asheville’s history.

Gear up for a frightful jaunt into the darkest reaches of the ancient Appalachians.

Folk deep within Appalachian hollers lean close to share stories of the inexplicable with hushed awe. Monsters rumbling in the hills. Strange lights darting through the pitch-black night sky. Horrible occurrences, almost ineffable in their bizarre tragedy. "Tall tales," you might say. But tell that to the Flatwoods monster in Braxton County, West Virginia. Or the Goat Man of Louisville--look into his humanoid eyes and let him know you don't believe. And what of those apparitions in Mammoth Cave's Corpse Rock, or the Satan-spawn known as the Jersey Devil? How do you respond when those mysteries confront? From metaphysical energy that swirls near the Serpent Mound in Ohio to Point Pleasant's Mothman legacy, Mark Muncy and Kari Schultz explore the dark history lurking in the shadows of Appalachia..

What really happened on the circus train in 1918? Read the story of this tragedy for the entertainment industry of the time.

In the cool, pre-dawn hours on a June night in 1918, a train engineer closed his cab window as he chugged toward Hammond, Indiana. He drifted to sleep, and his train bore down on the idle Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Train. Soon after, the sleeping engineer's locomotive plowed into the circus train. In the subsequent wreckage and blaze, more than two hundred circus performers were injured and eighty-six were killed, most of whom were interred in a mass grave in the Showmen's Rest section of Chicago's Woodlawn Cemetery. Join local historian Richard Lytle as he recounts, in the fullest retelling to date, the details of this tragedy and its role in the overall evolution and demise of a unique entertainment industry.

Most know Detroit as the hometown of Motown legends like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. And they’re all here! But beyond the well-known list of famous Detroiters awaits a veritable who’s who of pop culture, sports, TV, movies and more.

Christie Brinkley, Robin Williams, Sonny Bono, Lucille Ball, Charles Lindbergh, Robert Wagner, Lizzo, Tom Selleck, Ty Cobb, the creator of Gumby, the guy who portrayed Jaws in the James Bond films, and many more.

Compiling over 100 names and places, author Steve Platto leads a celebrity tour of the Motor City that readers can take with them on their own travels or explore from the comfort of home.

Yuletide in the Motor City

No city seems to love Christmas as much as Detroit. Whether at Hudson’s, or sitting at the Fox Theatre, or seeing the hundreds of dolls and live reindeer at the famous Rotunda, the city can’t get enough of the holiday season. Detroiters have been celebrating Christmas for over 300 years, when the city was French and children waited for Pere Noel. As holiday traditions evolve, some endure, like Christmas trees and children writing letters to Santa. Some, such as meat pie and saying 1,000 Hail Marys for good luck, fade, and new ones—Santa at the Thanksgiving Day Parade—take their place.

Local history writer Bill Loomis leads a very merry jaunt through the happiest days of Christmas in Detroit.

Exploring Pittsburgh's Ups and Downs

In Pittsburgh, the elevation varies wildly, fluctuating 660 feet from highest to lowest points throughout the area and making it one of the hilliest cities in the United States. Throughout this unruly and physically challenging landscape, the city's first mass transportation system was built – a steadily expanding network of public stairways, locally referred to as city steps, these flights of stairs are a throwback to a very different time in history and a very different Pittsburgh. Authors Laura Zurowski, Charles Succop and Matthew Jacob present the history of the Steel City steps and a walking guide to their scenic locations today.

Tales of fairies and bewitching Little People have amazed and horrified New Englanders for over four hundred years. 

In the nineteenth century, residents of Marblehead, Massachusetts, reported malicious pixies leading them in circles at dusk. In Aroostook County, Maine, elves called lutins exasperated farmers with their mischievous tricks and games. In Uncasville, Connecticut, beguiling creatures emerged for centuries at twilight to collect corn-filled baskets from members of the Mohegan Tribe. And in Harrisville, Rhode Island, a vision of fearful banshees augured death to an Irish seer.

From the ancient tales of Algonquian elders to the fireside stories of European immigrants, Andrew Warburton scours New England folklore to uncover the secrets of the region's Fair Folk and the storytellers who've encountered them through the years.

A Cubs dynasty founded on fastballs and fisticuffs.  Unlike today's Chicago Cubs, the Cubs of 1906-1910 were not at all lovable, and certainly did not always display traits customarily linked with a winning team. Their manager would brawl with his own players, and the players brawled with each other. Their second baseman and shortstop hated each other and didn't speak for years. Their best pitcher pitched with a mutilated hand. Their star catcher got into a spat with management and left the team for a year to play professional billiards. Their manager over time grew to despise the team owner. Yet, this group of brawlers, bickerers, and battlers dominated the National League and established a baseball dynasty, winning four National League pennants and two world championships in 5 years. Author Gary D. Santella follows the story of a team whose toughness and tenacity was a fitting reflection of early twentieth-century Chicago.

Explore the dark and mysterious past of New Orleans with this riveting collection of tales that devle into the most haunted city in America.

New Orleans--the Big Easy, the birthplace of jazz, home of Cafe du Monde and what some call the most haunted city in America. Beneath the indulgence and revelry of the Crescent City lies a long history of the dark and mysterious. From the famous "Queen of Voodoo," Marie Laveau, who is said to haunt the site of her grave, to the wicked LaLauries, whose true natures were hidden behind elegance and the trappings of high society, New Orleans is filled with spirits of all kinds. Some of the ghosts in these stories have sordid and scandalous histories, while others are friendly specters who simply can't leave their beloved city behind. Join supernatural historian Troy Taylor as he takes readers beyond the French Quarter and shows a side of New Orleans never seen.

Walk in the footsteps of Virginia’s earliest hikers.

For more than two decades hikers on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia walked through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the southern mountains. Then, in 1952, the Appalachian Trail Conference moved the trail more than 50 miles to the west. Lost in that move were opportunities to scramble over the Pinnacles of Dan, to sit on Fisher’s Peak and gaze out over the North Carolina Piedmont, or to cross the New River on a flat-bottomed boat called Redbud for a nickel.

Historian and lifelong hiker Mills Kelly tells the story of a 300-mile section of the Appalachian Trail that is all but forgotten by hikers, but not by the residents of the Southwestern Virginia counties that the trail used to cross.

Become Part of the Store Family

From its flagship store on Market Street in the heart of Philadelphia, Strawbridge & Clothier strove to meet the needs of its customers for over a century. Built on a foundation of integrity and character, the store and its founders, Justus Strawbridge and Isaac Clothier, made sure the customer was always right and the price just. The department store later branched out to nearby New Jersey and Delaware in the mid to late Twentieth Century. At the time of its sale in 1996, Strawbridge & Clothier was the oldest department store in the country with continuous family ownership.

Author Margaret Strawbridge Butterworth charts the history of Philadelphia’s Strawbridge & Clothier through vivid stories from past employees and customers alike as she invites readers to join the “store family./p>

Colonial Sudbury, Massachusetts, was designated the Puritan Village by author Sumner Chilton Powell in his 1964 Pulitzer Prize–winning history of the founding of this quintessential New England town in 1638. Yet this quiet rural village also had a darker history that is often overlooked. Sudbury’s Puritan inhabitants, including some of the most prominent citizens in town, held and sold enslaved Black people throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Stories gleaned from preserved records highlight the lives of men, women and children held in bondage, including a court case involving an enslaved boy repeatedly beaten and left scarred by his master less than thirty years after the town’s founding, as well as the bill of sale of Phebey, age two, to a woman in another town. Local author Jane Sciacca uncovers the hidden side of suffering in this New England town.

Island Escapes, South Seas Adventures, and Musical Surf Parties of Midcentury Cinema

Tiki Culture arose as the defining expression of American pop culture during World War II and its influence continued through the 1960s. The essence of Tiki featured heavily in films of the era, depicting palm-tree and cocktail-laden escapes that captivated audiences nationwide. Films like South Pacific and The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit were a hodgepodge of jungle imagery and World War II Pacific theater memories. A fascination with the new State of Hawaii was reflected in Elvis's Blue Hawaii, while balmy youth flicks like Beach Blanket Bingo and Gidget showcased surf, sun and fun.

Join authors Jason Henderson and Adam Foshko as they explore films about the experiences of war filtered through the tropical splendor that defined an era.

The South’s high command traveled dramatically divergent paths after the dissolution of the Confederacy.

Their professional reputations were often rewritten accordingly, as the rise of the Lost Cause ideology codified the deification of Lee and the vilification of James Longstreet. The irascible Jubal A. Early, Robert E. Lee’s “bad old man,” went to Canada after the war and remained an unreconstructed Rebel until his death. Lee became president of Washington College and urged reconciliation with the North. Braxton Bragg never found solid economic footing and remained mournful of slavery’s demise until his own, when a heart attack took him in Galveston.  Allie Povall shares the stories of nineteen of these former generals, touching briefly on their antebellum and wartime experiences before richly detailing their attempts to salvage livelihoods from the wreckage of America’s defining cataclysm.

“With previously unknown details, The West Virginia University Co-Ed Murders is a page-turning murder mystery.” --Hoppy Kercheval, Host, Talkline

Some said the killer couldn’t be a local. Others claimed he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a Satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: “You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move.” Investigators didn’t find too few suspects, they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the “harmless” delivery man who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the “girlish” laugh who threatened to cut off people’s heads.

Local authors Geoff Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the WVU co-ed murders for the first time.

Author D. Michael Thomas presents the previously untold story of the Iron Scouts for the first time.

Serving from late 1862 to the war's end, Wade Hampton's Scouts were a key component of the comprehensive intelligence network designed by Generals Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Wade Hampton. The Scouts were stationed behind enemy lines on a permanent basis and provided critical military intelligence to their generals. They became proficient in unconventional warfare and emerged unscathed in so many close-combat actions that their foes grudgingly dubbed them Hampton's Iron Scouts.

Author Janis Thornton reveals the stories of a day in Indiana like no other.

Palm Sunday 1965 started as the nicest day of the year, the kind of weather that encouraged Hoosiers to get out in the sun, fire up the grill, hit the golf course, or roll down their car windows and take a leisurely drive. That evening, however, throughout northern and central Indiana, the sky turned an ominous black, and storms moved in, quickly manifesting as Indiana's worst tornado outbreak. Within three hours, twisters, some a half-mile wide, ripped through seventeen counties, devastating communities and leaving death and destruction in their wake. When the tornadoes were finished with Indiana, 137 people were dead, hundreds were injured, and thousands more were forever changed.

For the Texas Rangers, the Mexican-American War was an opportunity for vengeance.

When the United States declared war on Mexico in 1846, the Texas Rangers were eager to settle scores with their familiar foe and quickly became the eyes and ears of the US army. Commanded by established legends like Samuel H. Walker, Benjamin McCulloch, and John Jack Coffee Hays, Texas Rangers led the American charge at Monterrey and saved General Taylor's army at Buena Vista. However, their depredations on Mexican citizenry were often excessive, and their behavior, along with other volunteers, sparked Mexican resistance. However crucial they were to US victory, it is also indisputable that they earned a reputation for brutality even in a vicious war.. Author William Nelson Fox follows these larger than life figures into stories of heroism and villainy at the heart of the Mexican-American War.

Philadelphia was once the proud home of Wanamaker's, a department store of many firsts founded by the retail giant John Wanamaker in 1861.

Its name was synonymous with service, and Philadelphians still fondly remember the massive bronze eagle in the Grand Court, concerts from the world's largest pipe organ and the spectacular Christmas festivities. Philadelphia native Michael J. Lisicky takes a nostalgic journey through the history of the store, from its beginnings as a haberdashery to its growth into New York and Delaware and the final poignant closing of its doors. Lisicky brilliantly combines interviews with store insiders, forgotten recipes and memories from local celebrities such as Trudy Haynes and Sally Starr to bring readers back to the soft glow of the marble atrium and the quiet elegance of the Crystal Tea Room that was Wanamaker's

Forgotten Gems of Gatlinburg

When the Great Smoky Mountains was dedicated a national park in 1934, tourists flocked to the area. Ray Bohanan, who owned Bohanan’s Craft Shop and Cabins, stood by the road shouting, “Cabins for rent!” The Frost Lodge reminded tourists of the days when a room cost five dollars. Residents at the LeConte Creek Cottages and Motel were treated to a “woodland wonderland.” Parkway Motor Inn was a haven for weary drivers for decades. The Mountain View Hotel boasted a list of famous residents like Eleanor Roosevelt. Guests at the Terrace Motel remembered waters from the Roaring Fork Creek lulling them to sleep. Brian McKnight relives the simpler times and the city’s finest, long-forgotten lodging.

Author Kathy Benjamin accompanies the pioneering women of the Lone Star State's funeral business.

The intimate task of caring for the dead had long fallen under women's sphere of responsibilities. But after the Civil War, the sudden popularity of embalming offered new financial opportunities to men who set up as undertakers, pushing women out of their traditional role. In Texas, from the 1880s to the 1930s, women slowly regained their place by the bier. Many worked while pregnant or raising children. Most shouldered the additional weight of personal tragedies and persistent sexism. All brought comfort to the bereaved in the isolation of the Texas frontier, kept its cities free of deadly disease and revolutionized an industry that was just coming into its own.

An estimated four hundred gold records have been recorded in the Muscle Shoals area. Many of those are thanks to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, dubbed the Swampers.

Some of the greatest names in rock, R&B and blues laid tracks in the original, iconic concrete-block building--the likes of Cher, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Rolling Stones and the Black Keys. The National Register of Historic Places now recognizes that building, where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded the original version of Free Bird and the Rolling Stones wrote Brown Sugar and Wild Horses. By combing through decades of articles and music reviews related to Muscle Shoals Sound, music writer Carla Jean Whitley reconstructs the fascinating history of how the Alabama studio created a sound that reverberates across generations.

Journey through the mountains with North Carolinian Alice Sink as she investigates the history of life in western North Carolina that traditional accounts have overlooked.

Hidden History of the Western North Carolina Mountains reveals the people, customs and folklore of the region, exploring bygone traditions, fascinating real-life characters and tales so tall they rival the peaks that shape the landscape. What was life like for workers in the gristmills? Was Abraham Lincoln actually born in Bostic in Rutherford County? Who was Amos Owens, and why was he known as the "Cherry Bounce King"? Buried deep within the hills and hollers of North Carolina's majestic Appalachian Mountains are stories, traditions and a proud cultural heritage unlike any other.

Meet one of Richland County's most colorful citizens.

There are those who thought Phebe Wise was a witch. More thought that the cranky old lady was "tetched," meaning crazy. And she was crazy--like a fox. An eccentric who outwitted violent robbers, a mad stalker, and a society that expected her to marry and raise children, Phebe alternated between dressing up in men's clothes and strutting to town in an antique ball gown, the trail dragging behind her in the dirt. If anyone had the gall to stare, she'd cuss them out. She was in touch with a different world, and she used it to help launch the career of a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Louis Bromfield.

Local author and historian Mark Sebastian Jordan unravels the myth and history of Phebe Wise.

Read the missing stories of DC’s precolonial history. Native Americans lived on the land that is now Washington, DC for several thousand years before English settlers arrived in the early 1600s. The Native people had villages, quarries and burial grounds throughout the city, ranging from what is now Rock Creek Park to the grounds of the White House. These sites speak of the history of the Anacostans and the preceding tribes who once walked the land under historic sites and museums that now neglect them. Local author Armand Lione details the record of the Native tribes of the District and deals with the complex question of why these stories have not been offered to the public.

Washington's Harrowing Escape from the Hudson Valley

In October 1776 central Westchester witnessed a critical episode in the early campaign of George Washington’s ragtag Continental Army and its quest for American independence. Often overlooked as just an interval between the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn and victory at Trenton, the Battle of White Plains showcased Washington’s sly strategy of perseverance.  Poor decision making and ignorance of the area’s hilly terrain among British leadership gave the patriot army a chance to secure a path to safety despite being on the run and outmanned. Though British General Howe claimed victory, the battle’s lessons informed Washington’s cat and mouse strategy that ultimately brought success later in the war.  

Author Stephen Paul DeVillo presents just how close the American cause for independence came to being extinguished at the Battle of White Plains.

In April 1938, Swift River Valley residents held a farewell ball to mark the demise of the quintessential New England town of Enfield and its three smaller neighbors, Greenwich, Dana, and Prescott.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sacrificed these three towns to build the Quabbin, a massive reservoir of drinking water for residents of Boston. Three prominent residents attended the somber occasion. Marion Andrews Smith was the last surviving member of an important manufacturing family. Willard "Doc" Segur was the valley's beloved country doctor and town leader. And Edwin Henry Howe was Enfield's postmaster and general store proprietor. They helped build their beloved community for decades, only to watch grief-stricken as it was destroyed by 400 billion gallons of water.

Author and historian Elena Palladino recounts the story of these communities as seen through eyes of those who lived there until the end.

In 1948-49, Nebraska experienced a winter like never before. Brutal cold, unbearable winds and record snowfall made roads impassable and life difficult for locals. Farmers and ranchers struggled with hunger due to a dwindling supply of coal and food. The governor requested federal aid, and the U.S. Air Force dropped bales of hay into pastures for animals. Many locals perished in the weather, and icy roads forced the state to redesign and rebuild highways. Author Barry Seegebarth details the tragedy and courage of the Nebraska winter of 1948.

The Battle of Brandy Station was the largest cavalry battle ever fought on North American soil. A must-read for Civil War and Virginia history enthusiasts.

Just before dawn on June 9, 1863, Union soldiers materialized from a thick fog near the banks of Virginia's Rappahannock River to ambush sleeping Confederates. The ensuing struggle, which lasted throughout the day and included some 20,500 soldiers, was to become known as the Battle of Brandy Station. By the end, Union casualties were 907 (69 killed, 352 wounded, and 486 missing, primarily captured) and Confederate losses totaled 523. Meticulously captured by historian, preservationist, and author Eric J. Wittenberg, these events marked a major turning point in the Civil War: the waning era of Confederate cavalry dominance in the East gave way to a confident and powerful Union mounted arm.

This fascinating volume features a GPS guided tour of the battlefield with illustrations and maps by master cartographer Steven Stanley.

This book reveals the battles and events that shaped the history of 'The Heart of Dixie' during the Civil War.

Alabama's role in the Civil War cannot be understated. Union raids into northern Alabama, the huge manufacturing infrastructure in central Alabama and the Battle of Mobile Bay all played significant parts. A number of important Civil War figures also called Alabama home. Major General Joseph Wheeler was one of the most remarkable Confederate cavalry commanders in the west. John ""the Gallant"" Pelham earned the nickname for his bravery during the Battle of Fredericksburg. John Semmes commanded two of the most famous commerce raiders of the war--the CSS Sumter and the CSS Alabama. Author Robert C. Jones examines the people and places in Alabama that shaped the Civil War.

Although several people had considered constructing a railroad to Key West beginning in the early 1800s, it took a bold industrialist with unparalleled vision to make it happen.

In 1902, Henry Flagler made the decision to extend the Florida East Coast Railway to "the nearest deepwater American port." In this book, renowned Florida historian Seth H. Bramson reveals how the Key West Extension of the Flagler-owned FEC became the greatest railroad engineering and construction feat in U.S., and possibly world, history, an accomplishment that would cement Flagler's fame and legend for all time. Join Bramson as he recounts the years of operation of this great railroad, what it did for the Florida Keys and what it meant to the resident conchs.

During World War II, Michigan became a temporary home to six thousand German and Italian POWs.

At a time of homefront labor shortages, they picked fruit in Berrien County, harvested sugar beets in the Thumb, cut pulpwood in the Upper Peninsula and maintained parks and other public spaces in Detroit. The work programs were not flawless and not all of the prisoners were cooperative, but many of the men established enduring friendships with their captors. Author Gregory Sumner tells the story of these detainees and the ordinary Americans who embodied our highest ideals, even amid a global war.

Steubenville Ohio, a mecca of murder was nicknamed Little Chicago with gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging running rampant for over one hundred years.

Steubenville's Water Street red-light district drew men from hundreds of miles away, as well as underage runaways. The white slave trade was rampant, and along with all the vice crimes, murders became a weekly occurrence. Law enforcement seemed to turn a blind eye, and cries of political corruption were heard in the state capital. This scenario replayed itself over and over again during the past century as mobsters and madams ruled and murders plagued the city and county at an alarming rate.

Violent bank heists, bold train robberies and hardened gangs all tear across the history of the wild west--western Pennsylvania, that is.

The region played reluctant host to the likes of the infamous Biddle Boys, who escaped Allegheny County Jail by romancing the warden's wife, and the Cooley Gang, which held Fayette County in its violent grip at the close of the nineteenth century. Then there was Pennsylvania's own Bonnie and Clyde--Irene and Glenn--whose murderous misadventures earned the trigger blonde and her beau the electric chair in 1931. From the perilous train tracks of Erie to the gritty streets of Pittsburgh, authors Thomas White and Michael Hassett trace the dark history of the crooks, murderers and outlaws who both terrorized and fascinated the citizenry of western Pennsylvania.

For over 400 years, the mystery of Roanoke's "Lost Colony" has puzzled historians and spawned conspiracies--until now.

New discoveries link the lost colony of Roanoke to Hatteras Island.

The legend of the Lost Colony has been captivating imaginations for nearly a century. When they left Roanoke Island, where did they go? What is the meaning of the mysterious word Croatoan? In the sixteenth century, Croatoan was the name of an island to the south now known as Hatteras. Scholars have long considered the island as one of the colonists' possible destinations, but only recently has anyone set out to prove it. Archaeologists from the University of Bristol, working with local residents through the Croatoan Archaeological Society, have uncovered tantalizing clues to the fate of the colony.

Hatteras native and amateur archaeologist Scott Dawson compiles what scholars know about the Lost Colony along with what scholars have found beneath the soil of Hatteras.

What do Vincent Price, Harrison Ford, Jackie Chan, and Uma Thurman all have in common with Frank Lloyd Wright? Answer: The Movies.

The influence of Frank Lloyd Wright on architecture can’t be overstated, and his unique creations have also left a lasting impression on movie audiences.

From the Marin County Civic Center’s starring role in George Lucas’s first feature film to the famous Ennis House appearing in multiple movies, eight of Wright’s California buildings have served as dramatic settings for stories about power, wealth and dystopian futures. Inspiring generations of filmmakers, these sites—both public and private—remain some of the most iconic places captured on film. With behind-the-scenes production facts and a peek into Wright’s design process, author Mark Anthony Wilson recounts the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture in the movies.

This book features:

• 120 color and black and white images, including scenes from popular Hollywood films such as Blade Runner, Black Rain and A Summer Place, as well as cult favorites like House on Haunted Hill, Permanent Midnight, and Cannibal Women in The Avocado Jungle of Death.
• Little known facts about how Frank Lloyd Wright's work influenced Alfred Hitchcock and about Wright's friendship with Walt Disney and his comments about some of Disney's most famous films.
• Detailed information about how to visit those Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in this book that are open to the public.
• The controversies created by several of these films that caused members of some audiences to leave the theater in moral outrage and caused other audiences to scream in horror.
• Behind-the-scenes comments by Hollywood directors and producers about why they chose to use Frank Lloyd Wright buildings or design features in their films.
• A look at how Frank Lloyd Wright's design philosophy influenced the style of Hollywood films and how some of his strong-willed female clients got him to change the design of their homes.
• Why Frank Lloyd Wright was accused of being a "communist sympathizer" and "un-American" near the end of his career, and why this nearly derailed the construction of one of his most famous buildings.

Explore the city of yesteryear

East Chicago, Indiana, was a melting pot. The Indiana Harbor neighborhood drew comparisons to Ellis Island as immigrants flocked from all over the world to work at its steel mills. Once home to more than a hundred nationalities, the “Workshop of America” made metal and many other products. Despite issues like pollution and political corruption, it earned the nickname “City of Champions,” winning state titles, sustaining a historic high school rivalry, and producing greats like Gregg Popovich and Junior Bridgeman.

Award-winning Region journalist and Lost Hammond author Joseph S. Pete explores bygone landmarks like Washington and Roosevelt High Schools, Inland Steel Christmas parties, the zoo, Taco Joe’s, the Mademoiselle Shoppe, movies palaces, the gym where Michael Jordan played his first Bulls game, and more.

Navigate the often-overlooked history of the resolute defense of the Texas coast during the Civil War. With volumes written on the Civil War, little attention has been given to the defense of the Texas coast. Most military-aged Texans had been dispatched across the Mississippi, but those left behind resolutely weathered naval bombardments and repulsed invasion attempts. It was only at the end of the conflict that Federal troops were able to make their way into South Texas, as the Confederacy prepared its last stand at Caney Creek and the Brazos River. From famous battles to obscure skirmishes, William Nelson Fox provides an account of the Lone Star State’s defensive strategies during the Civil War.