The History Press

Join author Christopher Andrews on a delectable romp through the long food history of Mobile, Alabama .

From its founding in 1702 by the French, Mobile has had a lot on its plate. Indeed, the story of food itself is a rich gumbo--a dish created in Mobile--tracing the city's rich history, albeit in far more filling fashion. Native, European and African traditions met and blended here. From the colonial days through the Civil War and up to the present, this history serves up a full menu for foodies and history buffs alike.

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.

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.

An Auburn University alumna explores the long-buried, mysterious and fascinating stories, lore and traditions behind the history of the treasured Alabama town and university.

Auburn is not just the home to a world-class university; it is also the home of a storied community with deep roots in Alabama history. Join author and Auburn University alumna Kelly Kazek as she tracks the lesser-known history of both the city and the school. In this diverse collection of lost, forgotten or just plain strange history, Kazek uses her decades of experience as a journalist to dig deep and cast a wide net, revealing stories sure to surprise even the most seasoned Auburn experts. From the mysterious origins of some of AU's most hallowed traditions to tales that stretch back to the very founding of the city, Hidden History of Auburn is an unprecedented collection that unearths the long-buried stories of this Alabama treasure.

Local author Brendan Kirby revives Mobile's history of gangsters, gambling, theft and arson.

Since its founding in 1702 as the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana, Mobile has witnessed all manner of salacious scandals. An 1847 murder resulted in the hanging of Charles Boyington, who maintained his innocence to the very end, and a great oak tree near his grave site seems to support him. Many believe the notorious Copeland gang started one of the city's worst fires as cover to escape with stolen loot. A 1932 murder case involved a slaying at the landmark Battle House Hotel and proved that Mobile juries could not always be trusted.

Uncover the details of the most murderous times in Birmingham Alabama's history.

A reign of terror swept the streets of Birmingham in the 1920s. Criminals armed with small axes attacked immigrant merchants and interracial couples, leaving dozens dead or injured over the course of four years. Desperate for answers, police accepted clues from a Ouija board, while citizens clamored for gun permits for protection. The city's Italian immigrants formed their own association as protection against the Black Hand, an organized band of brutal criminals. Eventually, the police turned to a dangerous and untested truth serum to elicit confessions. Four black men and a teenage girl were charged and tried, while copycat killers emerged from the woodwork. Journalist Jeremy Gray tackles one of the most curious and violent cases in Magic City history.

Join author Wil Elrick as he explores the history behind some of the Cotton State's weird and legendary tales.

Mysterious 1989 UFO sightings brought more than 4,000 visitors to the tiny town of Fyffe, population 1,300. Legends of the Alabama White Thang - an elusive, hairy creature with a shrill shriek - persisted in the state for a century. Just outside Huntsville's historic Maple Hill Cemetery lies an eerie playground where the ghosts of departed children are rumored to play in the dead of night. After hundreds of unexplained sightings, the town of Evergreen declared itself the Bigfoot Capital of Alabama. Alabama is a weird and wonderful place with a colorful history steeped in folk tales passed from generation to generation.

With fewer than a thousand remaining in the United States, the covered bridges of Alabama are an important relic of the paths our ancestors took.

Alabama's covered bridges are reminiscent of a more romantic time, when people rode in horse-drawn buggies and couples stole kisses beneath their roofs. But they are also keepers of history - structures built by former slaves and Civil War soldiers. Such places are steeped in legend, including tales of ghostly children and the hanging of a sheriff turned outlaw. Just eleven historic covered bridges survive in Alabama - the oldest dating to the 1850s - but dozens of more recently constructed spans dot the landscape. Wil Elrick and Kelly Kazek provide photos and detailed information on more than fifty Alabama bridges, reveal the fate of the state's lost bridges and delve into the haunting legends surrounding these nostalgic structures.

Mysterious creatures, strange happenings and ghost stories. Alabama has them all and more - despite its glorious depictions.

Alabama claims an abundance of fascinating mysteries and legends despite being known for its antebellum mansions and sunny beaches, . The White Thang is a Sasquatch-like creature that has terrorized Alabamians for generations. For a brief period in the 1980s, Needham gained national attention because of its "crying pecan tree." In 1854, a farmer named Orion Williamson simply vanished in a field in Selma. From the aquatic beast known as the Coosa River Monster to the story of the Leprechaun of Mobile, these stories have evolved over generations. Author and ghost-story guru Alan Brown presents some of the strangest stories from this collective tradition.

While legislators were writing the first laws in Alabama, some miscreant citizens were already breaking them, causing disorder and fleeing the hands of justice.

Among these were cult-leader-turned-murderer "Bloody" Bob Sims, social-activist-turned-anarchist Albert Parsons, the mysterious hobo bandit Railroad Bill and the nefarious outlaw sheriff Steve Renfroe, who was credited with countless prison escapes, thefts and arson. Legendary Wild West figures Frank and Jesse James also appeared in Alabama, along with numerous other well-known gunslingers, pirates, crooks and desperados. Bushwhackers caused widespread chaos during the Civil War and were considered outlaws depending on which side you supported. Join real-life partners in crime Kelly Kazek and Wil Elrick as they recount the atrocities of some of Alabama's most infamous lawbreakers.

The tranquil waters of the Tennessee River hide a horrible tragedy that took place one steamy July day when co-workers took an excursion aboard the SCItanic.

Lawrence County resident Jenny Brooks used the skull of one of her victims to wash her hands, but her forty-year quest for revenge cost more than she bargained for. Granville Garth jumped to his watery grave with a pocketful of secrets--did anyone collect the $10,000 reward for the return of the papers he took with him? Historian Jacquelyn Procter Reeves transports readers deep into the shadows of the past to learn about the secret of George Steele's will, the truth behind the night the "Stars Fell on Alabama" and the story of the Lawrence County boys who died in the Goliad Massacre. Learn these secrets--and many more--in Hidden History of North Alabama.

Haunted Mobile is a chilling collection of ghostly tales from this Alabama city.

What unknown spirits lurk among the living in the Azalea City? Mobile native Elizabeth Parker brings together the spookiest of her Mobile Ghosts: Alabama's Haunted Port City and Mobile Ghosts II: The Waterline to create an updated version guaranteed to send shivers down the spine. How do priceless heirlooms at the Mobile Carnival Museum mysteriously disappear and then reappear just in the nick of time? Who still protects Oakleigh from intruders, years after the Yankee occupation? Who is the little girl who keeps watch over the city from her attic window? Complete with an eerie new story, Haunted Mobile: Apparitions of the Azalea City is a chilling read that no ghost enthusiast should miss.

Alabama tales that have existed only in rumor, legend and lore are uncovered in this volume of strange, funny, far-fetched, unique and gripping stories from Muscle Shoals to Mobile.

From Muscle Shoals to Montgomery to Mobile, there's just no place quite like Alabama. Take a journey off the beaten path through the Cotton State with author Kelly Kazek as she uncovers the stories that make Alabama one of a kind. Kazek, a longtime Alabama resident, unearths tales that have existed only in rumor, anecdote, legend and lore. This collection is packed with little-known stories of strange sites, like the world's largest Nehi bottle; curious critters, like the first monkey in space; and colorful characters, such as the outlaw Tom Clark. Whether funny, far-fetched, gripping or grisly, Forgotten Tales of Alabama is filled with stories you won't soon forget.

Before Las Vegas, there was Phenix City, Alabama--the original sin city.

Once the sprawling capital of the Muscogee Indian Empire, the region took a sinister turn when a holy war engulfed the southern territories in 1812, leading to the murder of the infamous Chief William McIntosh. Later, atrocities continued at Fort Mitchell, the killing grounds for early Georgia politicians who fought to the death over rival politics and bitter feuds. By the 1950s, Phenix City was home to the "Dixie Mafia," and crime and corruption ruled over the little riverfront city. Take a walk with author Faith Serafin as she travels through the darkest recesses of Phenix City's past.

In the South, mystery comes heaped with added richness. And in this collection of comfort food for the curious mind, author Alan Brown guides readers into the most delightful medley of mystery the South has on offer. Witches in Tennessee. The devil's hoof prints in North Carolina. Voodoo in New Orleans. In this South, meat rains from the sky in Bath, Kentucky. A professor's thigh makes the case for spontaneous combustion in Nashville. UFO-induced radiation sickness befalls Hufman, Texas. From bluesman Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil in Arkansas to the oak tree that defends the innocence of a man executed in Mobile, sometimes the inexplicable is truly the most satisfying.

Author Billy J. Singleton sets readers on a captivating course through the history of Cotton State aviation.

From the dreamers who envisioned flight decades before the Wright Brothers achieved it at Kitty Hawk to the international space race, Alabama has been at the forefront of aviation. Delve into the obscure and forgotten stories of the state's aeronautical heritage, including an encounter over Montgomery that initiated an investigation by the Air Force, Eleanor Roosevelt's aerial tour of the Tuskegee Institute in a two-seat training aircraft and the miracle of Eastern Flight 002. Recall the lost squadron of Gunter Field, the Alabama pilot recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most experienced aviator in history and the college administration that constructed an airport to obtain a gymnasium .