The History Press [New Releases]

Centuries ago, Europeans desperate for gold and a route to the East found a lush, green paradise populated by native tribes in the New World.

Subsequent violence and disease all but wiped out the native population. The land nurtured Charlton Heston and Ernest Hemingway in their youths and spawned the assassin of President William McKinley. Northern Michigan also bore witness to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, one of the worst shipwrecks in Great Lakes history, and to the bizarre kidnapping of Gayle Cook, an ill-fated attempt to save the Perry Hotel in Petoskey from bankruptcy. Author and storyteller Dave Rogers recounts these and other historical tales from Up North.

Two Centuries of Victoria’s History

While Stephen F. Austin often receives sole credit as the founding father of the Lone Star State, there was another successful empresario, Don Martin De Leon, who established the only predominantly Mexican colony in the state. Founded on the Guadalupe River, Victoria’s rich heritage has often been set aside, just as the De Leon family itself endured an unjust period of exile after the success of a revolution they helped support. From the origin of the Street of Ten Friends and the advent of the streetcar to more recent triumphs and tragedies, Tamara Joy Diaz chronicles the influential figures and pivotal events of Victoria’s past.

When asked about the greatest accomplishment of his 34-year congressional career, Mike Mansfield, one of America’s revered political figures, offered a simple reply— “Saving Flathead Lake.”

The largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River has centuries of oral and written history. Much like the towns dotting the shore, even the islands of Flathead Lake, such as Wild Horse Island and Melita Island, harbor rich histories. Expectedly, contentious battles over projects arose, including the construction of the Kerr Dam and “The Flathead Lake Fight of 1943.” From the sinking of the Big Fork to the still visible remains of the Helena, the lake has been site to numerous nautical disasters. And unexplained plane crashes, creatures and occurrences have confounded locals throughout the years. Author Butch Larcombe presents factual, well-researched stories that paint a picture of the lake’s colorful people, historic events and lingering mysteries. 

The rich history of St. Clair County has been shaped by the colorful people of its past.

From the Kerley Lot to the City Flats Hotel, the corner of Military and Water Street in Port Huron is forever etched with the spirit of diverse and passionate citizens like Daniel B. Harrington and James W. Sanborn. The bankruptcy of John Johnston & Co. shaped the fortunes of a local family. Local lumbermen influenced the lumber industry not just in the county but across Michigan. The Radical Republicans contributed to the rise and fall of Congressman Omar D. Conger, and the controversial John P. Sanborn played an outsized role in local politics. Author Brenda L. Williams leads a historical journey into the captivating lives of early local luminaries.

Author William Thibodeaux shares a bevy of Cajun Country tales.

From shocking one offs to delightful immersion into the quotidian lives of Cajuns long deceased, we find ourselves with a satisfying grab bag of Cajun history. A murder becomes a case that winds its all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. A feud erupts into a shootout on election day 1924 with three dead and four injured. One ordinary Cajun is torn between two passion—photography and railroading. Another young man rises to the rank of postmaster. Cajun music is reborn in these pages, and the university in Lafayette is founded. The legality of the Louisiana Purchase comes under scrutiny here, and communities lost to the great floor of 1927 are remembered, as is the once unthinkable banning of the French language on public-school grounds. During the yellow fever epidemic, one town tries to save itself by banning all inbound trains from NOLA. Another city in the region is befallen by a curse placed on its boundaries.

An interesting cast of characters and stories reveal Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, also known as the center of Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Fiery Patriots, resourceful inventors and brilliant artists have all hailed from Lancaster County. The lives and deeds of such famous and ordinary folk of Pennsylvania Dutch country are chronicled by Jack Brubaker in this collection of fascinating vignettes drawn from his Lancaster New Era column, ""The Scribbler."" From tales of President James Buchanan's youthful antics to the attempted delivery of the nation's first airmail by hot-air balloon, Brubaker creates a compelling and entertaining narrative of the history of Lancaster City and County. Memories of the original Brunswick Hotel's shoofly pie and the Horse Thief Association of Intercourse will transport readers to a Lancaster from days gone by.

In this new book, historian D. Michael Ryan illuminates acts of uprising of Patriots and Loyalists during the first action of the Revolutionary War in and around Concord. Through a series of compelling essays, Ryan debunks historical myths and salutes those who fought for the recognition of our nation and became the first heroes of the fledgling United States. What was romanticized and changed in the generations since the Revolution is presented here directly through the voices of the people who faced the shocking facts of war and rebellion.

From Dr. Samuel Prescott, who joined Paul Revere on his famous ride and left fiancée Lydia Mulliken behind, to the mystery of the Bedford Flag unfurled on April 19, these stories reveal the truths of our founding fathers and mothers. As their lives were interrupted by the birth of a country, the citizens of Concord saw their friends and neighbors engaged in acts of bravery and of depravity. Ryan's account of the "shot heard 'round the world," provides a glimpse at the realities of the American Revolution.

The history of Dubuque is as important to the nation as it is Iowa. Look into the life of railroad-attorney Abraham Lincoln as he pays a visit to a prominent railroad engineer in Dubuque prior to becoming president. Follow congressional debate on whether U.S. Rep. William Vandever (R-IA) had the right to simultaneously hold a seat in Congress and a commission in the U.S. military during the Civil War. View some of the more popular Americans photographed by famed Dubuque photographer Samuel Root, including an image of Frederick Douglass captured while in Dubuque for one of three lectures the “Self-made Man” made in the Key City. Author and historian John T. Pregler sheds light on these rediscovered facets of American history and many others.

Discover many of the unknown oddities of Chucktown - from its people to its foods.

To escape death the slaves hid. So begins ""Insurrection on the Stono,"" the story of a 1739 slave rebellion on the outskirts of the city. Charleston's violent and varied history emerges in the retelling of this dramatic event. In Charleston Curiosities: Stories of the Tragic, Heroic and Bizarre, South Carolina Historical Society's Michael Coker describes several centuries' worth of little-known wonders from the Holy City. Whatever happened to Osceola's head? What was it like to walk the streets of Charleston just after secession was declared? Whether presenting the colonial struggle among European powers for control of Charles Towne or the real story of the birth of she-crab soup, this eclectic and engaging volume will delight seasoned historians, residents and visitors alike.

Preserved in these pages are the rich and storied history of the scenic waterfront town of Panama City Beach.

In a collection of nostalgic and lighthearted vignettes, local author Jeannie Weller Cooper recounts the history of Panama City Beach, the barrier islands and beach for old Panama City. First inhabited by Native Americans in the years before the Spanish arrived in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Panama City Beach has always proved a good hideout for fugitives, from Native Americans fleeing from European invaders to runaway slaves, Civil War soldiers, outlaws and rumrunners. In 1929, the first Hathaway Bridge was completed; connecting Greater Panama City to the beach, but the lagoon and the beach remained a sleepy curiosity until the bombing of Pearl Harbor mobilized the United States to war. Now Panama City Beach is home to thousands of residents, as well as being a renowned tourist destination.

The Spirit of Springfield Mountain 

The natural beauty and fertile lands of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, first attracted the Algonquin people, followed by English settlers. The town’s history is rich with fascinating tales, including Reverend Noah Merrick’s love for his wife, Abigail, immortalized in the poem “The Parson’s Rose.” Other stories recount the tragic drowning of six young people in Nine Mile Pond in 1799 and the heroic citizens who helped save the Federal Armory in 1787. Historian David Bourcier brings these and other captivating stories to life, tracing the town’s journey from its roots as Springfield Mountain to present-day Wilbraham.

Make a crossing of the storied Pecos River.

The arid Pecos River Country of Texas is rich with stories, the crooked path of its alkaline waters defining the lives of any who dared venture here. Native peoples, Spanish explorers, soldiers, travelers, cattlemen, wildcatters, and just plain folks, passed by, struggled, sojourned, and perished. From the oldest book in North America to the great rock of the Jumano, their traces remain in the ruins, the records and the earth itself. Native West Texan James Collett catalogues architectural masterpieces, lonely gravestones, fanciful cowboy tales and other bits of history caught in the currents of a legendary river.

For over one hundred years people have been coming to Atlantic City to swim in the ocean, walk on the boardwalk, and get away from their day-to-day lives.....

Return to the halcyon days of the sand and sun as local writers and long-time locals present stories from Atlantic City's heartwarming past.

Revisit your Elyria youth with your very own time-travel guide. Author Marci Rich combines journalism, historical research, and memoir to look back at midcentury Elyria.

Brimming with postwar optimism and prosperity, mid-twentieth-century Elyria seemed like Camelot and was, indeed, a brief passage on a beloved president's campaign trail. You could visit the bears at Cascade Park and play on the slides. See a movie at the Capitol Theatre and enjoy a cherry Coke at the Paradise. Run an errand for Mom at Hales Market and then walk up to the old Reefy mansion to check out a book at the library. Shop at Merthe's and Harry's Men's Wear, then admire the groovy clothes at New Horizons East. Based on her award-winning articles for the Chronicle-Telegram, author Marci Rich brings you back to Elyria.