The History Press [New Releases]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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..

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.

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.

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>

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.

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

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.

Above and Beyond the Call of Duty/

In early summer, 1863 Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia began moving northward. As Lee moved toward Maryland, the Union army followed, taking a parallel path on the opposite side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. From June 9 to the beginning of July the two armies skirmished at various locations along the route. Then, from July 1 through July 3, they clashed in the epic Battle of Gettysburg. Throughout the Gettysburg Campaign, seventy-two men earned the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the American military. Discover the harrowing narratives of those who served to keep a nation united with the highest valor. Including the story of the unknown soldiers awarded the medal, these profiles showcase some of the most intense moments of the most important battle in the Civil War.  Author James Gindlesperger presents the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg.

Fifty-seven Irish immigrant laborers arrived in the port of Philadelphia in June 1832 to work on Pennsylvania's Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. They all perished within six weeks.

Contractor Philip Duffy hired them to work a stretch of track in rural Chester County known as Duffy's Cut. For more than 180 years, the railroad maintained that cholera was to blame and kept the historical record under lock and key. In a harrowing modern-day excavation of their mass grave, a group of academics and volunteers found evidence some of the laborers were murdered. Authors and research leaders Dr. William E. Watson and Dr. J. Francis Watson reveal the tragedy, mystery and discovery of what really happened at Duffy's Cut.

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.

During the winter of 1753, George Washington accepted the first, and potentially most dangerous, mission of his life, at only twenty-one. Through trial and triumph, a man was defined, and a legend was born.

The resulting tale is one of international intrigue and heartbreaking disappointment that set the stage for the French and Indian War and forever changed Washington's destiny. The untried major faced a daunting task and was twice nearly killed, first by a treacherous guide and later as he tried to cross the icy Allegheny River. Using firsthand accounts, including the journals of George Washington himself, historian Brady Crytzer reconstructs the complex world of eighteenth-century Pittsburgh, the native peoples who inhabited it and the empires desperate to control it.

Affectionately called "Woodies" by loyal Washingtonians, the beloved department store Woodward & Lothrop stood at the heart of downtown for over a century.

Crowds flocked to the flagship store on the F Street shopping corridor to find better service and the season's fashions. The store and its employees shared in the best moments in the lives of Washingtonians, from the elaborate holiday window displays to the Wedding Service department that helped countless brides choose their china patterns. For weary shoppers, the Bake Shop and seventh-floor Tea Room offered city favorites such as Wellesley Fudge Cupcakes and Chicken Pot Pie. Department store historian Michael J. Lisicky brings readers back to the store's golden age, chronicling the enterprise that made it a retail giant and the missteps that brought the store to its much lamented closing in 1995. Through interviews with store insiders, vintage images and a selection of recipes, Lisicky reveals the magic and the memories behind Woodward & Lothrop. With an introduction by Tim Gunn, American fashion icon and television personality.

Take a tour of Buffalo, NY's mobster and mafia history. Local mob expert reveals gangsters' stories, hangouts and more.

Buffalo has housed its fair share of thugs and mobsters. Besides common criminals and bank robbers, a powerful crime family headed by local boss Stefano Magaddino emerged in the 1920s. Close to Canada, Niagara Falls and Buffalo were perfect avenues through which to transport booze, and Magaddino and his Mafiosi maintained a stranglehold on the city until his death in 1974. Local mob expert Michael Rizzo takes a tour of Buffalo's mafia exploits everything from these brutal gangsters' favorite hangouts to secret underground tunnels to murder.