The History Press

Follow Archaeologist Darla Spencer as she discovers the history and habits of 16 Native American sites in West Virginia.

Once thought of as Indian hunting grounds with no permanent inhabitants, West Virginia is teeming with evidence of a thriving early native population. Today's farmers can hardly plow their fields without uncovering ancient artifacts, evidence of at least ten thousand years of occupation. Members of the Fort Ancient culture resided along the rich bottomlands of southern West Virginia during the Late Prehistoric and Protohistoric periods. Lost to time and rediscovered in the 1880s, Fort Ancient sites dot the West Virginia landscape. This volume explores sixteen of these sites, including Buffalo, Logan and Orchard. Archaeologist Darla Spencer excavates the fascinating lives of some of the Mountain State's earliest inhabitants in search of who these people were, what languages they spoke and who their descendants may be.

Amid the devastation left in South Carolina by the War Between the States, one of the few intact remnants of the pre-war life was a tiny cotton textile industry. For decades prior to the Civil War, the upstate textile industry rested unobtrusively near Greenville, its center of production, surrounded by former plantation fields of cotton. Now, when its state needed it the most, the textile industry, empowered by the vision of Greenville's Henry P. Hammett, rallied for its critical role in the resurrection of the Palmetto State's economy.

Building upon the state's position as a major cotton grower, savvy entrepreneurs of the "New South" jumped at the chance to take cotton production from plantation fields to factories, which eventually became a large-scale industry. Greenville's Piedmont Manufacturing Company set the pace and became one of the chief models for southern mill builders for a half century. With the mill companies leading the way, allied industries and agencies rapidly expanded into the county, already known as the Textile Center of the South by 1914. Further textile development combined with the permanent addition of a world-class trade show earned the city the title of "Textile Center of the World" - a name brandished proudly by the citizens of Greenville during the 1960s.

Able to weather two world wars, the Great Depression and one of the bloodiest strikes in textile history, Greenville's textile heyday waned after 1970 in the wake of an influx of foreign imports. The impact of the industry on Greenville and South Carolina is hard to overestimate; many mills still stand, and street names honor past mill owners, builders and

Without the efforts of inspiring, brave women of the past, the progressive and individualistic Oregon we know today might not exist. From native tribes and Oregon Trail pioneers to Victorian suffragists and unlikely politicians, strong female leaders give profound meaning to the state motto, alis volat propriis—she flies with her own wings. Writer and activist Julia Ruuttila fought for the rights of the citizens of Vanport, the largely African American town lost to a disastrous flood in 1948. Others broke stereotypes to serve their communities, like women who helped build ships during World War II and the nation's first female police officer, Portland's own Lola Baldwin. Similarly, Laura Stockton Starcher unseated her husband as mayor of Umatilla. Author Jennifer Chambers tells these and many more stories of progressive, radical women who fought for change within their state.

This title from Charles Spencer recounts the history of Edisto Island from the Civil War to present day.

The Civil War hit Edisto Island hard. Between the mandated evacuation, Union occupation and the eventual emancipation of the slaves, the cotton plantation economy that had sustained the island fell to ruin. But this phoenix was to rise from the ashes of war to become one of the premier destinations for fun and sun on the South Carolina coast. Charles Spencer, in his second volume of Edisto history, recounts the events of the Civil War, the struggles of Reconstruction, the effects of the new freedman class and the island's rebirth as a favorite vacation spot and modern community in the twentieth century. Each chapter offers an enjoyable excursion into the past and a detailed look at the remarkable history of Edisto.

The Hudson Highlands launched revolutions of independence, industry and creativity, and have long enchanted artists and hikers with countless mysteries that still thrive in the area.

Leni-Lenape legend told of an ancient giant slumbering between Storm King and Breakneck Ridge. During the Revolution, George Washington saved the new nation from a military coup by donning glasses. The ghost of the twice-hanged pirate William Kidd returns to secluded caves and hamlets in the Highlands to guard his treasure. Professional storyteller Jonathan Kruk unveils a treasure of stories of the historic, mysterious and colorful Hudson Highlands.

A Wyoming historian shares an in-depth look at the historic storm and its devastating aftermath through the stories of those who survived.

The Blizzard of 1949 took Wyoming and neighboring states by surprise. In January of that year, snow, wind and frigid temperatures devastated the northern plains. The storm stranded hundreds of motorists on the highways and stalled nearly two dozen trains at depots throughout the state. For nearly two months, towns and ranches were marooned by enormous drifts, some reportedly eighty feet tall.

Communities pulled together to assist not only their neighbors but also anyone unable to escape the snowstorm. Drawing on meticulous research and numerous in-person interviews, author and historian James Fuller recounts these harrowing stories of tenacity and fortitude.

The fascinating story behind California’s mid-twentieth century obsession with all things Polynesian and Hawaiian.

After World War II, suburbs proliferated around California cities as returning soldiers traded in their uniforms for business suits. After-hours leisure activities took on an island-themed sensuality that bloomed from a new fascination with Polynesia and Hawaii. Movies and television shows filmed in Malibu and Burbank urged viewers to escape everyday life with the likes of Elvis, Gidget, and Hawaiian Eye. Restaurants like Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s sprang up to answer the demand for wild cocktails and even wilder décor.

A strange hodgepodge of idols, lush greenery and colorful drinks, Tiki beckoned men and women to lose themselves in exotic music and surf tunes. Authors Jason Henderson and Adam Foshko take a trip back in time to the scene of Polynesian pop and three decades of palm trees, Mai Tais, and torches with this informal guide to the rise, fall, and resurgence of Tiki culture.

Wild Edento Cotton Aristocracyis an impeccably researched and superbly written must-read for all whose hearts call Edisto home.

Beautiful Edisto Island has not always been a vacationers' haven in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Before European settlement, it was home to the Edisto Indians, who had seasonal fishing camps in the area, and a wide variety of wildlife. By the beginning of the Civil War, the wealthy planters had largely abandoned the area. What happened between those two periods is a must-read for fans of coastal South Carolina.

Author Charles Spencer chronicles Edisto's history, from the early days when English and Scottish planters and their African slaves settled the lush island paradise and established plantations that flourished until the Civil War.

Known for The Fest, Less Than Jake and Hot Water Music, Gainesville became a creative hub in the 1980s and '90s for many of punk rock's greats.

Whether playing at the Hardback or wild house parties, earnest acts like Against Me!, Spoke and Roach Motel all emerged and thrived in the small northern Florida city. Radon burst onto the scene with chaotic energy while Mutley Chix helped inspire local torchbearers No Idea Records. Through this succinct history, author Matt Walker traces each successive generation's contributions and amplifies the fidelity of the Gainesville scene.

Hurricane Michael may have taken away some of the landmarks, but these images reveal the history of Florida's Mexico Beach, once known as the Unforgettable Coast.    

As French interests in the Americas dwindled, records indicate very little activity around Mexico Beach until rumors of buried riches and sunken ships brought treasure hunters to the coast.  In the early 1900s, businessman Felix du Pont purchased the land known today as Mexico Beach. Resin to make turpentine was harvested from the native pine trees, and fishermen could not resist the migratory fish passing through the area's waters. By the 1930s, US Highway 98 was completed, and visitors could finally reach the sugar-soft sand beaches of the Unforgettable Coast. By 1941, Tyndall Field was constructed and became a training site for Air Force pilots. In 1946, a group of farsighted businessmen, led by Gordan Parker, W.T. McGowan, and J.W. Wainwright, purchased 1,850 acres along the beach for $65,000. Parker's son Charlie moved to the area in 1949 with his wife, Inky, and their family. He soon took over development responsibilities for the Mexico Beach Corporation and laid the groundwork for the beach town known and loved today. Charlie went on to become the city's first mayor and a lifelong advocate of the family-friendly community.

Go beyond the historic Johnstown flood and explore the in-depth history of this quintessential Pennsylvania community that has endured and prospered through generations.

The flood of 1889 has often taken center stage in the history of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, but the history of this community is greater than this tragedy. In this first installment of a two-volume set, local author Randy Whittle chronicles this town's past. Beginning with the aftermath of the 1889 flood, Whittle describes the key events and issues that the community's institutions and many of its leading personalities have wrestled with from the mid-1890s. The result is an accessible and entertaining narrative that not only recounts the community history, but also the topical histories of many civic organizations, the local government and leading businesses.

New York's Finger Lakes region is filled with compelling characters, tragic disasters and fascinating mysteries.

Famed daredevil Sam Patch, known as the Yankee Leaper, thrilled audiences at Niagara Falls but took his last jump into the Genesee River with his pet black bear, plummeting to his death. The first ever Memorial Day was celebrated in Waterloo in 1866 and inspired a nation to adopt the holiday. Seneca Lake claims its fair share of ships, including the Onondaga, which was blown up with dynamite as part of a spectacle to commemorate the sinking of the USS Maine. Author Patti Unvericht reveals the forgotten history of the Finger Lakes region.

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.

For more than 50 years, there was no more iconic Florida tourist attraction than Silver Springs.

Its sheer popularity meant that the surrounding area—indeed, the entirety of Marion County—serviced the entertainment, gas, food, and lodging needs of millions of tourists annually. Visitors flocked to places like Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute, Tommy Bartlett’s Deer Ranch, and natural attractions like Rainbow Springs and Ocala Caverns. Sadly, as Florida tourism moved into the theme park era, scores of smaller attractions and their related businesses were abandoned. Author Tim Hollis revisits these once-thriving tourist spots and what happened when those tourists stopped coming.

Leslie Pielack tells the story of those whose lives intertwined with the Saginaw Trail, the ancient path that transformed early Michigan.

The Saginaw Trail led from the frontier town of Detroit into the wilderness, weaving through towering trees and swamps to distant Native American villages. Presenting a forbidding landscape that was also a settlers' paradise, the road promised great riches in natural resources like lumber and agriculture, and a future of wheeled vehicles that would make Michigan the center of a global industry.

Detroit Free Press journalist Robert Allen sifts through these advertising fossils, exposing the gripping stories connected to the Motor City's historic rises, falls and eccentricities.

Across Detroit, fleeting symbols of the past hide in plain sight, behind weeds and under veneers of paint. Demolishing a vacant building among empty storefronts on the west side uncovered the telltale gold and green of a Vernors Ginger Ale sign, preserved almost as vibrantly as the artist intended. In faded red, white and blue, Mac-O-Lac Paint makes an expired pitch to passersby on Gratiot near Eastern Market. On the east side, Mohawk Rock and Rye still declares itself the World's Finest! Carhartt, Stroh's and Faygo appear in odd, deserted places.

The history of the city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is a testament to the strength of the people that call it home.

In the second volume of history for this stalwart Pennsylvania city, Randy Whittle shows how Johnstown pulled together, even after the devastation of a flood in 1936 that wrought massive damage throughout the community. Following World War II, the community struggled to rise above adversity in the economy and to establish civil rights for all. Johnstown is a true American city, as strong as the steel that is forged in its famous mills. From Johnstown's enormous contribution in steel and coal to the war effort to its recovery after the monumental flood of 1977, Whittle's book shows how the people of Johnstown made it the modern city it is today.

This South Carolina sea island, which once flourished and folded under the bondage of slavery, is now a place where all races live and celebrate its rich heritage.

Today, James Island is a bustling community seven miles west of Charleston, South Carolina, but the island’s past wasn't always something you’d see on a billboard to entice you to visit. Beginning in the 18th century, James Island was the destination for hundreds of enslaved Africans who were tortured with unimaginable hardships while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In James Island: Stories from Slave Descendants, Eugene Frazier Sr. compiles narrative interviews from firsthand accounts with slaves and their descendants, as well as the descendants of plantation owners. The stories Frazier gathered give us a singular perspective on the lives of African Americans from 1732-1950, following the James Island community for more than 130 years of slavery to decades of sharecropping and farming while slavery’s long shadow survived in segregation. An excellent resource for historians, teachers or those interested in the journey from slavery to integration, James Island: Stories from Slave Descendantswill be an enlightening and meaningful addition to any library.

Cape Cod has a rich tradition of local lore, stretching back to a time before the Pilgrims arrived.

Ancient Wampanoag legends like Granny Squannit and Princess Scargo are as familiar as tales of pirates and explorers, including Black Sam Bellamy and Donald Baxter Macmillan. Felines often blocked Cat's Alley in pursuit of food from fishermen's boats. The remnants of Billingsgate Island can be seen at low tide, and visits from Jenny Lind and Helen Keller contrast with the mysterious stories of the Lady of the Dunes and New England's Dark Day. Author Robin Smith-Johnson shares historic tales of shipwrecks, murders, hauntings and more from the Cape.

Discover the history of an era lost to generations in this collection of personal stories by author and Hilton Head resident Fran Heyward Marscher.

In the hundred years separating the Civil War and the 1950s, the Lowcountry was a world unto itself. The big plantations were gone, and for those remaining life had to be wrenched from the soil and the creeks. But for some, these isolated barrier islands offered heaven on earth: virgin maritime forest, pristine saltwater, sand roads and plentiful wild game. This fascinating collection of stories speaks to us of life in a simpler time, of raising hogs, guineas and children on abandoned plantations; growing sweet potatoes, okra and sugar cane; trapping mink and picking oysters; pulling 12-pound flounder and 79-pound drum from the creeks; making feasts of Loggerhead turtle eggs, crab and conch meat; picking musk; and taking the steamer to Savannah to see the big city lights. Our narrators were born between 1881 and 1941, and, though their stories overlap and intertwine, each has a unique perspective on life in the Lowcountry. Author Fran Heyward Marscher, a Hilton Head journalist, grew up hearing these precious memories and sought out the storytellers when she realized that the way of life they described was in danger of dying out with each generation. Our narrators were born between 1881 and 1941, and, though their stories overlap and intertwine, each has a unique perspective on life in the Lowcountry. Author Fran Heyward Marscher, a Hilton Head journalist, grew up hearing these precious memories and sought out the storytellers when she realized that the way of life they described was in danger of dying out with each generation.

Thomas White spins a beguiling yarn with tales that reach from the misty hollows of the Alleghenies to the lost islands of Pittsburgh.

Oppaymolleah's Curse. General Braddock's buried gold. The original man of steel, Joe Magarac. Such legends have found a home among the rich folklore of Western Pennsylvania. White invites readers to learn the truth behind the urban legend of the Green Man, speculate on the conspiracy surrounding the lost B-25 bomber of Monongahela and shiver over the ghostly lore of Western Pennsylvania.

Discover the growth and transformation of Sarasota, Florida from deserted land of milk and honey to the thriving, charming community it is today.

Sarasota, Florida was not always the thriving urban community that residents know today. This popular tourist destination on the Gulf Coast began its course of modern development with the Homestead Act of 1862 and a promise to the inhabitants of Scotland that the land awaiting them in Florida was one of milk and honey where gold grew on trees. Little did the first settlers know that within a hundred years the deserted land they then called home would transform itself not only into a bustling real estate and tourism hub, but also into a charming community with a personality all its own. From the 1920s to the 1960s, the Gulf Coast town was described as a community where no one was a stranger. In the 1920s, however, a clairvoyant full-page ad in the Sarasota Herald predicted, Sarasota's Growth Cannot Be Stopped. Indeed it couldn't. Sarasota soon became nationally known for its connection to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, its famous art museum, and its celebration of modern architecture. A long time resident of Sarasota, Florida, Jeff LaHurd's ninth published work is his most comprehensive account of Sarasota's history to date. In this precise exploration of the city's history, LaHurd masterfully chronicles the lives lived and the fluctuating growth of Sarasota.

Venture off the beaten path down forgotten roads and discover where a hidden South Carolina exists.

Time-travel and dead-end at a ferry that leads to wild islands. Cross a rusting steel truss bridge into a scene from the 1930s. Behold an old gristmill and imagine its creaking, clashing gears grinding corn. See an old gas pump wreathed in honeysuckle. Drive through a ghost town and wonder why it died. When's the last time you saw a country store's cured hams hanging from wires? How about a vintage Bull Durham tobacco ad on old brick? Author Tom Poland explores scenic back roads that lead to heirloom tomatoes, poke salad, restaurants that were once gas stations, overgrown ruins and other soulful relics.

Author Margaret Shiels Konitzky reveals the stories of local heroes and the relentless spirit of midcoast Maine.

While World War II raged overseas, the people of midcoast Maine responded with remarkable achievements on the homefront. The shipyard at Bath Iron Works launched a new destroyer every seventeen days. Bowdoin College had more military than civilian students and held three commencements per year. Boothbay Harbor, Bailey Island and Damariscotta all had military bases, and anyone who owned or sailed a boat was recruited for coastal defense. Women worked at machine shops, registered their neighbors for rationing and volunteered for the Civil Defense and Red Cross. Author Margaret Shiels Konitzky reveals the stories of local heroes and the relentless spirit of midcoast Maine.

From City Hall to the Pabst Theater, reminders of the past are part of the fabric of Milwaukee. Yet many historic treasures have been lost to time.

Blocks of homes and apartments replaced the Wonderland Amusement Park. A quiet bike path now stretches where some of fastest trains in the world previously thundered. Today's Estabrook Park was a vast mining operation, and Marquette University covers the old fairgrounds where Abraham Lincoln spoke. Author Carl Swanson recounts these stories and other tales of bygone days.

Connecticut's history is full of engaging and fascinating stories, rocks that are national monuments, the "people's sculptor," football players on chapel finials, moons on the Travelers calendars, artists Frederic Church and Eric Sloane and even a Thanksgiving Day touch football game with a future president.

These are tales from Greenwich to Enfield, from Sharon to Old Lyme and so much in between. Follow along with historian Wilson Faude in this "must-have" Connecticut book as he traverses the state in search of hidden history.

From January to July 1942, more than seventy-five ships sank to North Carolina's Graveyard of the Atlantic off the coast of the Outer Banks. A Standard oil tanker sank just sixty miles from Cape Hatteras.

German U-boats sank ships in some of the most harrowing sea fighting close to America's shore. Germany's Operation Drumbeat, led by Admiral Karl Donitz, brought fear to the local communities. The U-85 was the first U-boat sunk by American surface forces, and local divers later discovered a rare Enigma machine aboard. Author Jim Bunch traces the destructive history of world war on the shores of the Outer Banks.

Quirky and little-known true stories of one of America’s most historic cities.

Boston may play a big role in American history textbooks, but it also has quite a bit of forgotten past. For example, during the colonial era, riotous mobs celebrated their hatred of the pope in an annual celebration called Pope’s Night. In 1659, Christmas was made illegal, a ban by the Puritans that remained in effect for twenty-two years. William Monroe Trotter published the Boston Guardian, an independent African American newspaper, and was a beacon of civil rights activism at the turn of the century. And in more recent times, a centuries-long turf war played out on the streets of quiet Chinatown, ending in the massacre of five men in a back alley in 1991.

Author and historian Dina Vargo shines a light into the cobwebbed corners of Boston’s hidden history in this riveting read, complete with illustrations.

Arizona has stories as peculiar as its stunning landscapes, full of colorful characters, peculiar places and eccentric events.

The Lost Dutchman's rumored cache of gold sparked a legendary feud. Kidnapping victim Larcena Pennington Page survived two weeks alone in the wilderness, and her first request upon rescue was for a chaw of tobacco. Discover how the town of Why got its name, how the government built a lake that needed mowing and how wild camels ended up in North America. Author Marshall Trimble unearths these and other amusing anomalies, outstanding obscurities and compelling curiosities in the state's history.

Read the history of Mystic, Connecticut, from quiet farming village to wartime shipbilding powerhouse, to the charming nautical- themed destination it is today.

Tucked away in a natural port, Mystic has long been home to seagoing adventure. In A History of Mystic, Connecticut, author and former Mystic Seaport librarian Leigh Fought relates the compelling story of this picturesque coastal community. Forged from the brutal Pequot War, for years Mystic was a quiet little farming village. Then came the War of 1812. Mystic's upstart venture capitalists seized on the war's dislocations to transform the settlement into a shipbuilding powerhouse. The shipyards launched vessels by the hundreds and an industry was born. The Civil War, steam-powered ships and the decline of commercial whaling halted Mystic's shipbuilding boom. Yet the town recovered, transforming itself into the charming nautical-themed tourist destination that has enchanted millions. Read Fought's comprehensive narrative to discover Mystic's role in New England's thrilling maritime saga.

Local historian Yance Marti uncovers the rough and rowdy blackguards who once made Milwaukee infamous.

The Cream City of yesteryear was a dingy haven for scofflaws and villains. Red-light districts peppered downtown's landscape, but none had the enduring allure of River Street, where Kitty Williams and Mary Kingsley operated high-class brothels. Chinese opium dens flourished in the backrooms of laundries. The demise of the Whiskey Ring brought down local distillers in a nationwide scandal that nearly reached the Oval Office. As a result, Police Chief John Janssen and the Committee to Investigate White Slavery and Kindred Vice waged a protracted battle to contain the most brazen offenses.

Critically acclaimed author Joe Guy serves up a stout batch of East Tennessee history in this latest collection of articles from his popular newspaper column.

From Chattanooga up to Knoxville, and every town and holler in between, Guy recounts the absorbing and oft-forgotten history of this great region with stories of revenuers, Overmountain Men, Confederate cavalry girls, and the lost tribe of the Hiwassee, just to name a few. Discover how easy it is to get lost in The Hidden History of East Tennessee.

While Middlesex County is one of the most historic communities in the nation, some of its past is little known.

Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth, and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America's oldest continuously run family business. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories.

Discover the Motor City before the motor: a muddy port town full of grog shops, horse races, haphazard cemeteries and enterprising bootstrappers from all over the world.

Meet the argumentative French fugitive who founded the city, the tobacco magnate who haunts his shuttered factory, the gambler prankster millionaire who built a monument to himself, the governor who brought his scholarly library with him on canoe expeditions and the historians who helped create the story of Detroit as we know it: one of the oldest, rowdiest and most enigmatic cities in the Midwest.

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.

A tour of the Queen City’s rich heritage

One of the oldest cities in the Midwest, Cincinnati has history in its bones. In the 1800s, the city was often styled the “Paris of America” due in part to ambitious architectural projects like the Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel, and city hall. Many of these historical structures still exist. The city also has sundry links to American presidents, whose stories can still be seen if you know where to look. Thriving destinations like Over the Rhine and Findlay Market provide glimpses of Cincinnati as it once was and how it is today.

Offering something for native and visitor alike, author Robert Schrage leads a trip through the past and present of one of the nation’s most historic cities.

Hampton Roads is an iconic destination, but the "birthplace of America" has a nefarious past.

Dive into the story of cannibalism in the Jamestown colony and learn the gory details of the tale of the Witch of Pungo. Blackbeard and his men wreaked havoc in Hampton Roads before Virginians brought them to justice. Explore rarely told stories of lynchings, riots and a hoax involving none other than famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. Join author and historian Nancy E. Sheppard as she explores some of the darkest moments in Hampton Roads' vibrant history.

Temperance workers had their work cut out for them in the Upper Peninsula. It was a wild and woolly place where moonshiners, bootleggers and rumrunners thrived.

Al Capone and the Purple Gang came north to keep Canadian whiskey passing through Sault Ste. Marie to Chicago and Detroit. Federal enforcement agent John Fillion double-crossed both his office and the bootleggers. The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island survived due to gambling and fine Canadian whiskey brought in by rumrunners, sometimes assisted by the Coast Guard. Author Russell M. Magnaghi dives into the raucous history of Yooper Prohibition.

Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the thrilling tales of Detroit's most violent, clever and misunderstood female criminals.

Queen of the Underworld Sophie Lyons faced off with detective Teresa Lewis in court three times, and twice in the street, rendering both women battered and bloodied. Nellie Pope goaded her lover to axe her husband in what the press called one of the most atrocious, cold-blooded, and deliberately-planned murders in city history. Mother Elinor L. Mason, High Priestess of the Flying Roller Colony, was no holy roller but a criminal chameleon who changed personas as easily as some people change clothes. And a feud between Delray madams Julia Toth and Annie Smith exposed widespread graft in the thriving red-light industry and led to one of the worst police scandals in Motor City history. These stories and more await in this deliciously entertaining collection.

Join author Richard Gazarik as he reveals the wicked history of the Steel City.

Muckraking journalist Walter Liggett dubbed Pittsburgh the Metropolis of Corruption in 1930 when he reported the city had more vice per square foot than New York, Detroit, Cleveland or Boston. Decades earlier, the Magee-Flinn political machine ruled public officials, and crooked police helped racketeers protect brothels and gambling dens. Mayor (later Governor) David Lawrence was indicted several times for graft but acquitted each time. Even Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. colluded with gangsters, according to FBI reports.

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.

Settled in the 1640s and originally a part of Charlestown, Malden grew over two centuries into a thriving residential and manufacturing city.

Meet fiery revolutionary Peter Thacher and Malden industrialist and philanthropist Elisha Converse. Explore the details of the first bank robbery homicide in the United States. Learn about Malden's instructions for independence, which predated the Declaration of Independence. Delve into the suspicion and intrigue surrounding the infamous murder of Frank Converse. Author Frank Russell brings to life the first 250 years of Malden history.

Armed with curiosity and a desire to piece together the story of the world's only seven-masted schooner, Tom Hall spent several years researching on both sides of the Atlantic, diving on the Lawson wreck and interviewing the relatives of those involved in the rescue efforts. The result of his work is the most complete account of the T. W. Lawson's story, ranging from her building and launch to her fated wreck off the Scilly Isles.