The History Press

Smashing the Glass Ceiling

Women in Alabama have made an outsized contribution to both the state and the nation. Before Rosa Parks, fifteen-year old Claudette Colvin challenged segregation laws on a bus in Montgomery. Georgia Gilmore used her cooking skills to empower and support protestors during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. Singer “Big Mama” Thornton became the bridge between rock ‘n roll and the blues. After being crowned Miss America in 1951, the “Basque Spitfire” Yolande Betbeze took a defiant stand for women, forcing changes in the pageant industry. Author Joe Cuhaj profiles the unique journeys, challenges and triumphs of these and many more women who have helped shape the cultural and social landscape of not only Alabama but the world as well.

Witness the Darker Side of the Hawkeye State

The farmlands and rural areas of Iowa are no stranger to the weird, dark and mysterious. Learn about a terrestrial sighting from 1903, a creepy cryptid that terrorized the town of Van Meter. Find out about Bigfoot sightings in Calhoun County. Peer under the waters of Lake Okoboji to find a huge lake monster. Read the history of a frightening sculpture based on a story by Franz Kafka and hear a premonition that predicted a devastating fire. Five-time Bram Stoker Finalist author Michael McCarty and Professor Emeritus Bruce Walters forge a twisted path through shadowy, Gothic Iowa. Do you dare follow?

Come along for a haunted treck through New Orleans, where evil ghosts horrify, and good ghosts inspire. New Orleans thrums with ghosts, some so strong they terrify holy Voodoo priests. This guide, for the truly intrepid, leads you to ancient ghosts who patrol the French Quarter. Reveals the spirits who dine at Antoine’s and Commander’s Palace. Introduces you to the eternal residents of the Hotel Monteleone. Lures you under the shade of giant oaks to the undead duelling nearby. Teases you with mirages of vampires climbing from flooded caskets in Lafayette Cemetery. Fuels you with the power of Voodoo to call on your departed ancestors. Warns you to sneak past ruptured tombs and wicked mansions like Madame LaLaurie’s, where tortured spirits wail. 

Those Who Fought for Liberty On Both Sides

In 1775, the people of Charleston were on the verge of eight years of revolution and war. They were bitterly divided. For Charlestonians, the War for Independence was a civil war, as some favored independence and some were Loyalists. Many on both sides contributed greatly to the war effort. They were famous and obscure, rich and poor, women and men, Black and white. Contrary to popular opinion, people on both sides appealed to patriotism and fought for liberty. For the enslaved majority, the war represented an opportunity to gain their freedom—by siding with the British. In telling the stories of a spectrum of participants, Peter McCandless recovers a history at odds with public memory, encrusted with layers of forgetfulness and myths.

On April 30, 1962, voters in the port city of New London, Connecticut, approved by a large margin a bulldozer approach to urban renewal in an area along Main Street stretching from downtown State Street to Hodges Square by Interstate 95, roughly one mile to the north. The plan required the relocation of more than two thousand people and the demolition of nearly five hundred structures, some dating back to the 1750s. Among the losses were the Neptune Building, the Victory Theater along the Parade, sea captains’ homes on and off Main Street, settlement houses, family-run businesses, the colonial homes of slave traders and the newer homes of freed slaves. New London native and old house enthusiast Bill Morse shares the images and stories from these events that changed a community forever.

Before there was a Los Angeles or a San Francisco, there was Spain’s first colony in upper California, El Presidio de San Diego.

Founded in 1769, this small fortress and mission was the seedling for the twenty-one missions and four presidios that followed. It was here that Franciscan priest Junípero Serra planted the first Catholic cross in what became Alta California. The nearby harbor provided a safe port for sailing ships from all over the world, ensuring a steady stream of goods and supplies. Over its many decades, the San Diego Presidio was home to Spaniards, Mexicans, Native people and, toward the end, Anglo-Americans. Its cemetery became the final resting place for many of them.

Author and historian Richard Carrico provides insights into San Diego’s beginnings.

The murders that shocked Michigan

In the early morning of Tuesday, August 11, 1931, a Washtenaw County farmer found the smoldering remains of a car. Inside were the bodies of four teens, burned almost beyond recognition. Police immediately began an investigation, even tapping Harry Bennett, head of the Ford Motor Company Service Department, for assistance. Three killers stood trial two days later as a mob gathered outside the Ann Arbor Courthouse clamoring for a lynching. With the mob held back by the Michigan National Guard, Bennett delivered the killers to Jackson Prison by midnight Thursday. At the time, the so-called Torch Murders were deemed the most gruesome act of homicide in Michigan’s history—and perhaps the nation’s.

Peeling away myth from truth, author James Mann tells the story in full for the first time ever.

Today, Athens County is known for its peaceful and idyllic character, but in days gone by, the area was far less sedate.

Small towns like Redtown, Hebbardsville or Eclipse got their names from early settlers and coal barons who brought ambition and industry with them. The area’s deep history of coal mining is well known, but salt manufacturing, railroads and canals also thrived—for a time. Albany, Amesville and Athens all played a part in leading freedom seekers north on the Underground Railroad, and John Morgan Hunt set barns and bridges ablaze during his Civil War raid.

Athens County native and Local History Department Librarian Lorinda LeClain unearths these little-known stories and many more.

Haunted Hoaxes of the Hoosier State

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, newspapers were a major source of ghost stories. Paranormal experiences, no matter how mundane, were newsworthy and entertaining—even when they turned out not to be ghosts after all. A coffin holding a “talking corpse” on a train turned out to be a box of bullfrogs. An overturned automobile carrying white paint resulted in a paint-covered “ghost” wandering the streets, and a spiritualist tackled a phantom haunting a cemetery only to find that it was a fraternity pledge all along.

Revealing that the truth can sometimes be as amusing as the legend, author Ashley M. Watson gathers newspaper clippings about Indiana ghost stories that were not ghosts at all.

Northern Ohio’s past is rich and deep, but it also has a darker and odder side.

A police chase for a UFO began in Portage County and stretched eighty-five miles from Ohio into Pennsylvania. Gangster Pretty Boy Floyd met his end in East Liverpool, and infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer began his murderous career in Medina County. The region is also home to peculiar beings such as Orange Eyes, the Melonheads and the armless Charles Mill Lake Monster.

Join author James A. Willis as he forges a trail across Northern Ohio in search of all things eerie, inexplicable and just plain weird.

The Story Behind the City    

Settlers in Kinsley, Kansas, predicted that their home would be the next “great metropolis.” Booms and busts came and went, and Kinsley never realized this dream. Instead, this town, once described as “Wild and Woolly,” much like its neighbor, the infamous Dodge City, fostered the cultural activity of a city many times its size. Its poets and artists intermingled with vagabond entertainers, snake oil swindlers, hypnotists, multilingual automatons, elocutionists and Shakespeareans. By the 1910s, there was a published poet on every street and an aspiring actor around every corner. Local stars even went on to Hollywood and New York. Historians Joan Weaver and William Wolfgang explore how this remote community earned its recently rediscovered title, the “Drama Capital of the West.”

From the foggy northern coasts to an inland agricultural empire, Northern California has a little bit of everything—including its fair share of the paranormal.

In the state capital of Sacramento, a haunted steamboat sits, a home to spirits that never returned from their merry voyages. Not far away, a B-29 bomber from World War II returned from duty with a ghostly crew member. In San Jose, a woman with a tragic family history built a house meant to deter the spirits haunting her every step, while deep in the mountains, the restless shades of miners linger at the sites of their doom.

Author Brian Clune explores the spooky side of Northern California.

Join author Heather Woodward as she breathes life into Arkansas’s derelict places, weaving tales of pioneer grit, oddball history and paranormal whispers. Wander into the neglected corners of Northwest Arkansas, where forgotten towns, crumbling ruins and eerie legends converge. Explore ghostly locales like Rush’s empty mines, the long-forgotten history of War Eagle Mill and East Calico Rock’s “ghost town within a town.” Step into the haunting past of Monte Ne, a sunken resort swallowed by Beaver Lake, or feel the residual chill of the Boone Tuberculosis Sanitarium. From the relics of Dinosaur World to the quirky remains of Dogpatch USA, uncover the weird, tragic and unexplained.

Drawn to the potential riches hidden in the rocks they mined, the first dreamers and drifters of Leadville arrived to stake their claims—and some never left.

The Tabor Opera House once hosted séances that filled every seat, and rumor has it that the Delaware Hotel hosts ghostly guests that never checked out. The first city graveyard was later abandoned for Evergreen Cemetery, but not all the residents were moved before the railroad was built over top of them. And in a shack near the Matchless Mine, the shade of the infamous Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor waits for good fortune to come again. The mine she bet her life on never produced more silver.

Author Erin Taylor brings to life the history behind the supernatural stories of Leadville.

Author Jeffrey Alan John explores the history, theories and fundamental Serpent Mound questions: What culture made it? Why? And when? Thousands of years ago, people in what would become southern Ohio encountered a vista they recognized as special. They couldn’t know that their view overlooked a 300-million-year-old crater, but as time passed, they made the plateau a resting place for generations of societies that eventually raised—with considerable planning and effort—the Great Serpent Mound, a place where history and mystery coincide. Uninhabited and overgrown when early Ohio settlers found it, the preserved effigy inspired pioneering archaeology and continues to prompt increasingly elaborate thinking. Scientists say that it measures the calendar, while theologians and mystics ponder its spiritual meaning.

Delve into ghost stories pulled from century-old headlines and reported anew with author and investigative historian William G. Krejci. There was a time when ink-stained scribes would head into the community to report on ghostly visitations—many of their stories have been forgotten until now. At a Lorain County farmhouse, spectral women were said to manifest in the darkness of night. A haunted mansion was replete with the unexplained in Akron’s North Hill neighborhood. Rumors of a haunting at Cleveland’s Grays Armory have long circulated. New evidence reveals the site to have been the scene of two mysterious deaths and possibly a haunted house. Does a peddler who went missing two centuries ago drag chains across the attic floor at a Portage Lakes tavern?

From colorful characters like Cato Alexander, New York’s first celebrity bartender, to sad and disturbing stories about Jack Daniel’s heirs, Makers & Shakers has a little bit of everything for everyone. 

Join Washington, D.C.–based author and producer of ardent spirits Troy Hughes on a historical romp through booze-infused tales about Black Americans. Discover the stories of pioneering Montana moonshiner Bertie Brown and the ill-fated partnership of Diddy and Diageo. Find out about Ripple, the national drink of Watts, and learn how cognac became the unofficial drink of Black America.

The Shady Side of the Lowcountry    

South Carolina’s Lowcountry is a picturesque location for vacations and fun, but it comes with a sinister side. Bootleggers in Hell Hole Swamp supplied illegal liquor to Al Capone, while a local man became one of the FBI’s most famous crimefighters. A murder mystery was solved on a gravestone. Tales feature a spree killer, serial killers, poisoners (and a man who could cure poisoning), love triangles gone wrong and a swamp creature called Lizard Man. Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist’s eye to the crime stories that define the sinister—and quirky—side of the Lowcountry.

The murder that still haunts a Pennsylvania city

On the morning of August 8, 1975, sixteen-year-old Debbie Gama disappeared after leaving her home in Erie, only to be found dead days later in a creek nearly thirty miles from her home. What followed was an investigation that lacked suspects or even evidence pointing to a viable suspect. That is, until a private investigator named Dan Barber uncovered evidence leading directly to her killer: her English teacher, Raymond Payne. After Payne’s arrest, Debbie’s mother, Betty Ferguson, embarked on her own quest for justice, which unexpectedly led her on an incredible journey of forgiveness.

Utilizing newspaper articles, court documents and investigative files never before revealed, Justin Dombrowski presents a gripping narrative of one investigator’s pursuit of justice and a mother’s search for the truth.

Author Noel B. Poirier takes readers into darkest reaches of Tuscarawas County history. Tranquility is the norm amid these rolling hills, but normal doesn’t mean always. In this version of county history, the Black Hand Syndicate whacks those they can’t extort, a Midvale man takes a hatchet to the head (a dozen times) and four teenagers happen upon a murder victim along Dover railroad tracks. From grave robbers looting the dead in New Philadelphia to a mutilated body turning up in Dennison and a bomb going off at Bolivar State Bank in 1910, author Noel B. Poirier takes readers on a harrowing journey into T-County’s unsettling past.

Author David Schneider takes readers into the crime history of colonial New Orleans. 

The French colonial empire was a brutal money-making machine. And French society, which was carefully organized by the Church and the Crown, broke down in the environment of the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans to Biloxi. The Catholic church lost control of social morals. The colonial regime was unable, or altogether disinterested, to provide for the basic needs of colonists. In this environment, things were very tense, and very wild, but the stories are fascinating, invigorating tales of life on the edge of empire.

When the police caught up with Johann Hoch, he’d already proposed to what they believed would have been wife number fifty-five.

For a decade, he traveled the country, marrying and deserting desperate women—and five of his wives were lying in their graves. He married Marie Walcker in Chicago in 1904, and when Marie died five weeks later, he proposed to her sister while the corpse lay on the bed. The sister agreed, only to be swindled out of her savings. Adam Selzer trails jovial, big-talking Hoch through a twisting tale of Chicago journalism, Chicago justice and the coming together of some of most daring and corrupt characters the city had to offer.

Oakland County boasts an impressive history of women who have excelled in business, education, the arts, philanthropy and more.

Martha Baldwin, an educator and community leader, left an indelible mark on Birmingham through her lifelong service and leadership. Mary Barra, who grew up in Waterford Township, became the first female CEO and chair of General Motors. Madonna was raised in Rochester Hills. Annemarie Roeper and her family fled from Germany to the United States in 1939 to establish the highly respected Roeper School, which uses an educational model dedicated to social justice and gifted education.

Local author Christine Blackwell tells the stories of these amazing women and others who broke barriers, improved their communities and increased opportunities for future generations.

Uncover the true stories behind some of West Virginia’s most famous haunts.

West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle holds a rich legacy of folklore and ghostly legends firmly rooted in the region’s history. In Harpers Ferry, rumor has it that fiery abolitionist John Brown still haunts the scene of his notorious siege, and reports of otherworldly encounters in Harpers Cemetery abound. Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia, draws in those fascinated by the paranormal with tales of haunted crime scenes and even an infamous exorcism. The historic Apollo Theater in Martinsburg hosts the town’s famous cigar-smoking ghost, George, and the little village of Middleway overflows with bewitching tales of specters and odd happenings.

Author Justin Stevens explores the haunted side of historic landmarks in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Explore history, nature, and community.

Acequias, the ancient irrigation ditches first carved into the soil of New Mexico hundreds of years ago, are the lifeblood of Albuquerque. From the Native Americans who first cultivated the soil to the Spanish invaders who expanded on their efforts, these waterways reflect the history and impact of settlers on the natural landscape. They also provide the perfect place for a quiet walk. Protected since 1986, the acequia system provides a refuge for native plants and animals like cottonwood trees, coyotes and porcupines, while Spanish imports like vineyards, sheep and horses have found their place along them.

Join historian Joyce Salisbury and trail guide Kim Hafermalz as they share the wonders of the acequias that shape and sustain the city of Albuquerque.

In the early hours on a rainy autumn night in 1955, on a lavish country estate in Oyster Bay Cove, esteemed New York socialite Ann Woodward fired both barrels of her custom-made shotgun into the head of her husband, multimillionaire William J. “Billy” Woodward Jr., killing him. She mistook him for a notorious prowler who preyed on the privileged class. At least that was what the official reports stated. The police focused on catching the prowler, as they cast an impenetrable dragnet around the “Playhouse” for the elusive intruder. However, as with many other aspects of Billy and Ann’s social circle, things were not always as they appeared. Local author and retired detective Jerry Aylward uncovers the uncomfortable truths behind one of the Gold Coast’s most notorious murders.

In Yaphank, New York, hid the greatest threat to the United States war effort during World War II: the American Nazi.

Building on racial and ethnic biases, lack of trust in government and a dose of conspiracies, the German American Bund was able to contribute to a growing American fascist movement. Fueled partially by Nazi Germany’s financing of propaganda, thousands of New Yorkers embraced the ideals of an American Reich through retreats such as Yaphank’s Camp Siegfried, which groomed Nazi sympathizers to be ready for the fascist overthrow of the American republic. In opposition to Nazism, multiple local citizen groups fought to combat the Bund’s organized efforts to undermine America. Author Christopher Verga brings to life the often-overlooked history of New York’s World War II era through a story of Nazi sedition, espionage and citizen resistance to preserve the American republic.

The Untold Story of a Model Town

Consistently ranked as one of the best places to live in the country, Cary, North Carolina, holds a rich and surprising history. Founded in 1871 by Allison Francis Page as a dry town—a status it maintained until 1964—Cary has been the backdrop for pivotal moments and notable firsts. From Civil War events to its claim as the Gourd Capital of the World, the site of North Carolina’s first public school and even the supposed location of buried treasures, Cary’s past is far more intriguing than most realize. Author Dr. Katherine Loflin details this and more history that shaped Cary into the second-largest town in America.

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.

Murder, mystery and misdemeanors in Solano County’s seat.

From the very beginning, Fairfield hosted its fair share of criminal activity. City founder Robert Waterman, a famed sea captain accused of beating his own crew during the “hellship trials,” walked away a free man, but the fallout paved the way for seamen’s rights. A spree killer set the state mass murder record in the 1920s, and several decades later, Fairfield was chosen as the location for serial killer Juan Corona’s trial. Mass murders, missing children, political scandals and even a case involving an Armijo High School graduate turned Russian spy all have their roots in this California town.

Author and accidental historian Tony Wade shines a light on the dark past of Fairfield, California.

A Massacre, a Hellhound and Billy the Kid’s Many Victims.

Thanks to its bloody range war, Lincoln County hosts a wide array of restless spirits. La Llorona glides across the Bonito River and stalks the streets of Carrizozo. Old Ruidoso, the ghost steer, bellows from the mountains, sparking tales of ill omens and the relocation of an entire town. The clang of the shackles that restrained Billy the Kid reverberates through the Lincoln County Courthouse. Shadow people inhabit dark corners of Fort Stanton, while the ghosts of Aztec mummies guard a treasure in the Capitan Mountains. And the clear waters of Bonita Lake hide the blood-soaked history of Bonito City.

Author John LeMay explores the dark side of Lincoln County.

The charming adobe walls of Old Town hide a dark past rife with vice and violence.

These same streets were once home to the city’s first red-light district, where prostitution thrived behind closed doors, and hosted public hangings that drew morbid crowds. Rumors of riches hidden beneath the dusty streets lured treasure-seekers, and opium dens flourished. Confederate cannons from the Civil War were found beneath a chile patch in the late 1800s, but the unmarked graves of Confederate soldiers who died during the short-lived occupation remain a mystery.

Author Cody Polston reveals the fascinating and disturbing history of Albuquerque.

Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley have a rich and varied history, but some of its darker chapters have remained hidden. These include an abandoned road guarded by an invisible entity, factory ghosts, a monstrous serpent, unnerving cemetery lore, demonic houses and a haunted restaurant. Once declared dead due to decades of being inundated with industrial and chemical pollutants, the Naugatuck River has been brought back to life by environmental stewardship, which has been a welcome benefit to residents. However, the river’s cleanup has also awakened supernatural stories that carve a paranormal path from the stream’s source in northwest Connecticut to its confluence with the Housatonic. Local author and historian Michael Bielawa reveals the eerie dark side of the river and this fabled valley.

The Spooky Side of Paradise

Travel a few miles from the beaches and resorts of Southwest Florida and a darker, different side of the Sunshine State surfaces. In Arcadia, the spirits of tormented children rise from the grave to play tag near their headstones. A murdered fisherman walks on water near Marco Island, screaming with the voice of a hog. Walking through downtown Fort Myers may mean walking into the ghost of man in a top hat who hops from building to building. And it all might be caused by a curse on an old Spanish tyrant. Join author Christopher Balzano as he explores some of the creepiest ghostly legends and chilling hauntings of the Gulf Coast.

Join world-renowned paranormal researcher and author Nicole Beauchamp on a tour of ten of the most haunted hotels in the Quarter. The French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood, brims with eerie history and supernatural lore, drawing those intrigued by the unexplained. Explore the legend of Maurice Bergere at the Hotel Monteleone, the sinister spirit in Room 208 at the Andrew Jackson Hotel, the restless souls haunting the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, the phantom Axeman lurking in the shadows of the Haunted Hotel and the spirits that crawl into bed with guests at the Olivier House Hotel—and many more.

Punctuated by quaint towns, historic tourist sites, rolling farmland, recreational areas and picturesque lakeside escapes, Lenawee County also has its darker side.

A ghostly woman in white is said to haunt the Clinton Inn, and specters at the Adrian’s Croswell Opera House refuse to give up the limelight. Around Cambridge Township, Native American spirits cannot rest due to a disturbed grave. The former Mineral Springs Hotel of Adrian is haunted by guests that never checked out. A shadowy creature lurks around the small village of Ridgeway, and an evil spirit cursed a lake near Manitou Beach.

Join Dr. Julieanna Frost as she delves into the history and folklore behind some of Lenawee County’s best-loved spooky legends.

Born Free & Equal

The 1st Michigan Colored Regiment was the state’s first and only African American regiment during the Civil War. Courageously enlisting amid societal turmoil, these determined men fought valiantly, on the battlefield and off, in the struggle for liberty and equality. Many hundreds of them were born in the South, yet they returned there to fight for the freedom of others. Embracing the call to duty, they defied prejudice, and their collective sacrifice not only helped to preserve the Union but also paved the way for future generations.

Weaving together personal accounts and historical context, author Maurice Imhoff vividly recounts the extraordinary journey of this unit and honors the legacy of those who stood firm in the face of adversity.

A legendary Coast Guard hero, Jack Downey saved more than 700 lives in 5,000 daring New England rescues.

During a storied forty-two-year Coast Guard career, John “Jack” Downey, a Rhode Island native, would be credited with saving more than 700 mariners in distress during five thousand rescues in New England waters. Across thousands of missions, Downey and his crews rescued 11 passengers from the ferry Sea Comet and 108 elderly passengers from the Pilgrim Belle, and he participated in search-and-rescue efforts for the air crashes of JFK Jr. and EgyptAir 990.

A natural-born leader, Downey was named the Coast Guard’s first Ancient Keeper for his lifetime commitment to keeping people safe on the seas.

Authors Captain Russ Webster and Captain Michael Cicalese recount the extraordinary career of this lifesaver and how he honored the old ways of the sea while serving in three different government departments.

Author Sharon Pajka guides readers a spine-tingling journey through the Old Dominion’s haunted cemeteries. An eerie din provides the soundtrack at Arlington Cemetery, while the gauzy visage of a lady in red flits among heroes’ gravestones. Civil War soldiers meet in perpetual conflict at Mount Hebron Cemetery, and Thomas Jefferson’s restive spirit makes itself known at Monticello. From the ghost that haunted Hollywood Cemetery for months after the Capitol disaster in 1870 to multiple presidential tombs throughout the state where visitors routinely catch a chill, souls find eternal rest to be a fleeting notion in Virginia. Join author Sharon Pajka on a spine-tingling journey of haunted cemeteries throughout the Old Dominion.

A haunted legacy on the Lynnhaven.

On the banks of the Lynnhaven River stands Ferry Plantation, former home of several prominent Virginia Beach families—and one of the most haunted places in the state. A spectral nanny is said to still care for ghosts of children, and an upstairs landing hosts the spirit of an artist that continues to paint for all eternity. The lingering presence of a young woman mourning the death of a fallen soldier haunts the halls, along with other mysterious sightings. The house has witnessed tragedy, death and celebrations, and all have left their mark.

Join author Kristen P. Ellis as she explores the history and haunts of Virginia’s Ferry Plantation.

A captivating tale of corruption and crime

In need of cash to finance the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln turned to the nation’s leading counterfeiters, including a band of enterprising criminals based in Monroe, Wisconsin. Operating under the nose of Allan Pinkerton, the Bonelatta Gang worked alongside the Kentucky Colony, who formed Chicago’s corrupt Democratic Machine and nurtured the Levee Lords all the way down to Al Capone. Even Salmon P. Chase helped this ring of Monroe crooks, but this did not stop the Secret Service from throwing them under the bus when Republican scandals became too hot for President Grant to handle.

Historian and Monroe native Andrea Nolen reveals this fascinating and little-known story of an obscure gang in rural Wisconsin that helped birth not only the Chicago mob but also the Ziegfeld Follies and the New Age movement.

In Portage, the past is present in the strangest ways.

Every night at 8:15 p.m., a homeowner watched a transparent man wearing a stovepipe hat and carrying a suitcase walk through her living room. A child playing with a dowsing rod in her grandmother’s house communicated with the spirit of a boy lingering in the attic. A young lady looking at an old, empty house saw an old woman move a curtain and peek at her, but when she blinked, the curtain and the old woman were gone.

Shelley Mordini, founder of Baraboo Tours and coauthor of Haunted Baraboo, and Sharon Hart Addy share these and other spine-tingling stories from Where the North Begins.

Noble County boasts small-town charm and attractions all year long.

And ghosts. The county’s only movie theater is patrolled by the well-known manager, who died in 1995. Two of the highest hills in the state are haunted, one after a hanging and another because of a murder immortalized by Indiana’s poet laureate. The sprawling Kneipp Sanitarium received a visit from the Virgin Mary herself and became a battleground of good versus evil. Former residents of the county poor farm still roam the building. Then there’s the “Thing in the Basement.”

Join authors and historians Mark and Emily Hunter as they tour the dark and spooky corners of Noble County.

It has been four centuries since the first Roosevelt arrived in New Amsterdam as a humble farmer.

The Roosevelts became one of America’s most distinguished families—one with ties to many sites in New York City. A brownstone on East 20th Street where Theodore Roosevelt was born and developed his love of nature. A twin brownstone next door where his uncle Robert instilled in the future president an interest in conservation, while having multiple affairs and even starting a second secret family with a mistress. And the double townhouse on East 65th Street built by Sara Delano Roosevelt so the growing family of her son, Franklin, would have a suitable place to live while she meddled in their lives. Historian Bill Bleyer details the unique places in the city where family members lived and worked and unveils the private interactions behind this famous American family.

Mayhem on the Mat in Memphis

For most of the twentieth century, professional wrestling was the most popular sport in Memphis. It not only had great entertainment value but also reflected the city’s culture of cruelty, kindness and violence. The vibrant professional wrestling culture that developed in Memphis—with its emphasis on elaborate promotions, strong characters and wild performances—transformed the sport and made the Bluff City one of the most significant wrestling centers in the United States. Join author G. Wayne Dowdy as he chronicles Sputnik Monroe’s successful battle against segregation and the Jerry Lawler/Andy Kaufman feud and introduces wrestling legends like Jackie Fargo, Tojo Yamamoto, Bill Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, Kamala the Ugandan Giant and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

In the nineteenth century, heinous, bloody crimes shocked Michigan’s emerging western frontier.

A farmer, intent on marriage, disappeared after leaving a Leonidas tavern in 1853, culminating in the conviction of three men even though the body was undiscovered. A shooter fatally wounded a beloved sheriff during an 1867 Kalamazoo midnight jailbreak attempt, sparking a nationwide manhunt. The 1897 shooting of a couple in their Van Buren County home famously remains unsolved today. A brutal murder opposite the iconic train depot mortified Niles in 1892, and in 1894, an Okemos woman went mad after losing her husband, poisoned her son and tossed his body down a well.

Author Michael Delaware unfolds these and other true crime stories and mysteries from Victorian western Michigan.

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.

The Greatest Generation of the Keystone State

The Pennsylvania Wilds comprise a tiny fraction of the state’s population, but when the United States entered World War II, the Wilds responded with characteristic courage and determination. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, young men rushed to recruitment centers to serve. Many returned as heroes. Many never returned, paying the ultimate sacrifice. Not to be left out, numerous women filled the ranks of Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps or became navy nurses overseas. On the homefront, workers bused in to fill vacancies left by those who went to war flooded the small towns of the Wilds, and all across the region, people stepped up to provide defense services and to plant victory gardens.

Compiling contemporary news accounts, letters and firsthand accounts, historian Kathy Myers celebrates and commemorates the region’s intrepid war efforts at home and abroad.

Recipes that Have Survived Generations 

Pensacola was one of the first European settlements in the United States. The city’s culinary history encompasses a range of diverse cultures and peoples, forming a contemporary melting pot. Weave your way through each era and learn how to create dishes that have been consumed in Pensacola throughout its entire history. Historic Native American, Spanish, French, British, Creole, early American and twentieth-century recipes are all represented on the pages within. Explore dishes like early Native American stews and corn cakes, Spanish pork and wine cuisine and British oyster pye and mushroom catsup, as well as modern fine dining treats like grouper picata and the ubiquitous fried mullet. Join author and chef Duel Christian as he takes you on a culinary journey through the history of the City of Five Flags.

Specters and apparitions roam the badlands of New Mexico, where the law was scarce but criminals were plenty.

Ruthless outlaws like Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum and Billy the Kid met their end here but left a legend, and possibly vengeful spirits, behind. The worst prison riot in the United States occurred just outside of Santa Fe at the New Mexico State Penitentiary, and rumor has it that the abandoned complex is haunted by the horrors that occurred. In Taos, the graves of three suspected witches lie under a layer of cement to keep them from rising again.

Author Donna Blake Birchell explores the dark side of justice in the Land of Enchantment.

The revolutionary Battle of Monmouth signaled the end of major combat in the North. Centuries later, reminders of the conflict remain. The Covenhoven House, the Village Inn, Marlpit Hall, the Craig House and the homes of Thomas Seabrook and the murdered Joseph Murray stand open to the public today. Visitors can also behold safehouses for the wounded—such as Old Tennent Church, St. Peter’s and Old First Church—and tread along the same ground as George Washington, General Sir Henry Clinton, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette. Devoting attention to these sites and to the Battle Monument in Freehold, the Revolution’s most prominent and enduring symbol, historian Randall Gabrielan leads a tour through Monmouth County’s revolutionary heritage.

A Florida Home to Baseball Stars

Pinellas County is known for hosting spring training for Major League Baseball teams, as well as the hometown Tampa Bay Rays. Yet there is another side to the county’s baseball history—its local people and teams. Some made it to the Majors, such as Howard Johnson, Casey Kotchman and Toby Hall. Several coached or scouted in the pros, including Tom Kotchman, Tom Zimmer and Tim Wilken. Hundreds of Pinellas ballplayers have been drafted by Major League Baseball, forty-four alone out of Seminole High School. And then there is the tragic tale of Steve Georgiadis, whose life ended during routine surgery. Author Dan Hirshberg brings the heroes of Pinellas County baseball to the forefront.

Dutch, Irish and Native American residents of New York State have long told tales about mysterious Little People occupying the region’s hills and forests. An exhausted man in 1880s Brooklyn reported to the police that dancing fairies on his roof were keeping him up at night. Irish immigrants in Hell’s Kitchen claimed that banshees in trailing white gowns mourned the deaths of their loved ones. Hordes of goblins on Bannerman Island emerged after nightfall to terrorize navigators of the Hudson River. And in the Genesee Valley, waterfall-dwelling Little People taught a sacred dance to a Haudenosaunee boy. From the noisy metropolis to upstate’s rolling hills, Andrew Warburton roams New York in search of tales of the enchanting Fair Folk.

A Town Imbued with the Pioneering Spirit

Visionaries like Wentzville founder William Allen saw that the railroad not only would aid in the transportation of goods and people but also would be instrumental in the development of the interior of the county and state. Rugged pioneers like Catherine Thompson, Mary Louise Dalton and generations of the Cannon family infused the city with an enduring grit. From the men and women who helped Allen’s vision take shape to the Civil War skirmish at Wentzville and the postwar rise of tobacco and the great wealth it brought to some, a trio of Wentzville authors open a time capsule on the city’s fascinating early days.

Tucked along the north bank of the Columbia River lies Pearson Field, thought to be the nation’s oldest continuously operating airfield.

The golden age of aviation in the Pacific Northwest began at this spot with the touchdown of a dirigible bearing airmail letters, but that was only the first of many remarkable moments. From its conversion into a sawmill to provide spruce for World War I warplanes to hosting unexpected Russian airmen, Pearson Field adapted to serve the region through wars and peace alike. The Army Air Corps called it home for decades, and it attracted aviators like daredevil Silas Christofferson and Tex Rankin, who ran his own flight school.

Author Martin Middlewood dives into the stories of the men and women who turned a grassy field into the historic site it is today.

Author Keven McQueen proposes a new suspect in the famous 1904 attempted poisoning of local poet Judge Mulligan’s family. Join him on a sordid trip through the Horse Capital of the World. From a mayhem-filled day at the county fair in 1854 to the lynching of William Barker at the courthouse a few years later, old-timey Lexington was no place for the faint of heart. This was an age when Lexingtonians sought justice in extralegal ways and sometimes inspired mobs of fellow citizens to join in the villainy, like the assemblage that wreaked awful recompense on adulterous George Grigg for killing his lover’s husband. In 1873, Montgomery Hobbs Parker shot his young farmhand John Wills just outside city limits, but the details remain in dispute, just like the unsolved 1908 murder of traveling circus employee Stephen Diesback at the Bluegrass Fairgrounds.

Join author Joseph Buga on an exploration of this working-class and indefatigable city. Passaic has a history that stretches the imagination. Back when the place was called Acquackanonk, it played a crucial role in the American Revolution. Later, its hospitable attitude toward immigrants established Passaic as a beacon of both stability and innovation. By the late 1800s, the city was becoming a national leader in all things textile and rubber—Edison used Passaic wire to electrify Lower Manhattan. Allen B. Dumont established WABD in Passaic, the fourth national TV network alongside ABC, CBS and NBC. The Passaic High School “Wonder Team” boasted the longest high school winning streak in any sport, and a Passaic athlete became the “world’s fastest man.” Passaic pop legends the Shirelles and Joey Dee and the Starlighters made it big and influenced an upstart British group, the Beatles.

While Antietam remains one the most famous engagements of the Civil War, history largely overlooks the lower end of the battlefield.

Only here did the Confederates use Antietam Creek as a barrier, so it was the only place where Union troops had to force their way across. Here the Union army waged its final attack, and the Confederates launched their last counterattack led by A.P. Hill’s division. It might as well have been a different battle entirely from the more famed northern field.

Using dozens of journals, diaries, newspaper accounts and reports, author Robert M. Dunkerly examines the action in detail and explores the gradual preservation of this oft-neglected portion of America’s bloodiest battle.

Author Robert Redd dives into the stories you won’t find in any orange juice–dispensing Florida Welcome Center. Swaying palms, sandy beaches and the promise of a good life have beckoned generations to Florida. But the Sunshine State’s allure is appealing to the upstanding and vile in equal measure. A key member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy moldered in Florida soil—the same goes for the failed assassin of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Henry Flagler pushed the Florida legislature to alter divorce law so he could extricate himself from one marriage and start anew with a woman nearly four decades his junior. The Ashley Gang left a trail of bank robberies, stolen cars and dead bodies across South Florida. And from bootleggers to land boom con men to especially aggressive insurance fraudsters, Floridians have a history of making money the dirty way.

“Prince of the American Turf and Mining King of the World”—P.A. O’Farrell

With business savvy honed in the West’s rowdy mining camps, Marcus Daly rose from poor Irish immigrant to Gilded Age magnate. From the mines of Butte, Montana, to America’s largest smelter in a town he also named Anaconda, Daly’s Anaconda Copper Company made a fortune. He used it to build his dream—a Bitterroot Valley ranch and a horse racing empire that stretched from California to New York. Meanwhile, his gregarious and generous façade hid a sly manipulator, one locked in a battle for political dominance with rival copper king W.A. Clark.

With detailed research and more than one hundred photographs, historian Brenda Wahler peels back the layers of a complex industrialist, revealing his historic influence and legacy.

On July 26, 1981, eight-year-old Cheryl Ziemba and her four-year-old brother, Christopher, disappeared from their backyard in Old Forge, Pennsylvania.

Within hours, hundreds of neighbors, police and firefighters were engaged in a frantic search, praying that they were not a town “snakebitten,” or cursed to misfortune. Two days later, all hope was lost when firefighters discovered the bodies of the children in an abandoned strip-mining pit. Pennsylvania State Police arrested their fifteen-year-old neighbor, Joey Aulisio, who was tried as an adult and sentenced to death by electric chair. Forty-three years later, Joey Aulisio still sits in prison.

Author Brian W. Kincaid presents a definitive account of one of the most infamous crimes and sensational trials in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

A chocolate mill opened in Boston in the late 1700s, setting the stage for New England’s enduring love affair with sweets. Over the following centuries, the region has become home to an extraordinary variety of baked, fried, dipped, sugared and frozen confections. Massachusetts gave us candy classics like Necco Wafers, Sky Bars and Junior Mints, and Connecticut claims lollipops and Almond Joy. New Hampshire boasts the world’s longest candy counter, and Maine puts a homespun twist on its doughnuts and chocolates by blending in a touch of potato. Rhode Islanders sip ice cream shakes called cabinets, while Vermonters prefer smooth maple creemees. From Fluffernutters to whoopie pies, Susan Mara Bregman explores this sugary legacy, uncovering the stories behind the treats that sweetened New England’s culinary landscape.

When the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Salem longed for a time of tranquility.

However, that conflict left England deeply in debt and determined to reduce its obligations by taxing America. Salem’s citizens initially opposed parliamentary taxes because they believed that the English were profiting from them. As Britain levied new taxes and pressed local officials to collect them, divisions erupted in town. In 1774, Salem became the capital of Massachusetts. By then, its citizens were being taxed from abroad, governed by an English general and tried before judges and juries appointed by royal officials. Join historian Richard J. Morris as he explores how the struggle for independence changed the town of Salem.

From Scantily Clad Women to Impassioned Suffragist Speeches

Virginia City boomed in the nineteenth century, with thousands coming to try their luck in the mines. The entertainment industry boomed with it. Piper’s Opera House became one of the most well-known theaters in America, attracting actors from the East and West Coasts for lauded performances. The Alhambra Theater took a different approach, advertising acts with women in scanty clothing to bored, restless miners. The vibrant scene drew in big names like renowned actors John McCullough and Lawrence Barrett, William Cody (better known as Buffalo Bill) and even Mark Twain.

Author Carolyn Grattan Eichin takes a deep dive into Virginia City’s theatrical history and its importance for the stars of the day.

There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places. -  Wendell Berry

This is the story of a dramatic landscape in an improbable location. Since the last continental glacier receded, the rollicking falls of the Big Sioux River were exposed as a geographical anomaly. Early inhabitants of the Northern Plains were amazed that a stair-stepping series of waterfalls existed in the midst of vast, rolling prairie. Today’s visitors marvel that this rugged, dynamic setting survives in the heart of thriving, bustling Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Environmental author Peter Carrels recounts the human activities and inclinations that first disfigured and then later rescued this distinct, unexpected landmark known today as Falls Park.

Same Crime, Different Time

Oregon gained statehood in 1859, but law and order had a harder time gaining a foothold in the West. Born and raised near Eugene, popular Lane County Sheriff W.W. Withers was shot while investigating a horse theft. The trial for his murder would end in the county’s last official hanging. Convicted killer Claude Branton, desperate to escape prison, went so far as to try to hold up the guards with a potato carved into the shape of a gun. The risk of death in the logging industry was high, and even technological advancements like electric streetlights posed a hazard for locals.

Author Jennifer Chambers brings to life the love, greed and madness of early Eugene.

New York City is blessed with an incredible array of public sculptures.

One overlooked aspect of this collection is its monuments of Black Americans, each with its own remarkable story. The first appearance of a Black person in a city monument came in the Civil War Soldiers’ Monument in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery in 1876, but this was a nameless symbolic figure. It wasn’t until 1945 that Booker T. Washington became the first identifiable Black American honored in a New York City monument. In 2007, the city dedicated its first monument to a Black woman, Harriet Tubman. Behind every first is a story of triumph over adversity and exclusion. Local author David Felsen reveals the stories behind thirty inspiring monuments that have endured, as well as how they found their place in the city’s history.

Midwestern aviators changed the trajectory of flight itself—from barnstormers and military pilots to hot air balloonists and NASA engineers.

When Mother Nature made American prairies, she created one vast airfield. It’s not mere chance that so many aviation pioneers are from the Midwest—farm kids, small-town kids—who grew up accustomed to vast expanses of earth and sky. Barnstormers, flight attendants, NASA engineers, crop dusters, World War II bombers and Vietnam helicopter pilots were dispatched from areas of the heartland, places like Central Illinois. Their stories, big and small, bear testimony to America’s enduring fascination with flying machines, a fascination that has taken prairie flyers to every corner of the world. Edith Brady-Lunny, Denis Hambucken and John Warner offer a ground-level view of aviation history in the nation’s heartland, including personal stories of the flyers and the global legacy of the Flying Farmer organization. 

Los Angeles’s dizzying array of attractions can easily overwhelm visitors and locals alike, but now there’s a better way to explore the city.

Enjoy a glimpse of the history behind the most prestigious museums and discover sites better known for their part in international scandals. Peek into California’s colonial past, visit sites from the golden age of film or explore the urban legends surrounding the Black Dahlia. With tips from the best times to visit to where to park, experience the best of Los Angeles like a local.

Join author Adam Papagan, experienced tour guide and true California character, for a tour of Los Angeles you’ll never forget.

On November 5, 1976, twenty-seven-year-old Dorothy Milliken left her rural home in Sabattus, Maine, to go to an all-night laundromat. The following morning, her body was found slumped against the outside wall.

Despite various leads, there were no arrests for her murder. Dorothy Milliken became a name typed on an index card filed at state police headquarters, her crime scene displayed in grainy black-and-white photos in the evening newspapers. Nearly five decades later, author Sharon Kitchens examines the cold case, interviewing more than forty people, including Dorothy’s family, friends, former neighbors, law enforcement and forensic specialists. Who was Dorothy? Why has her killer never been found? Did she know her murderer, or was her death due to a random, frenzied attack?

A portion of the profits from the sale of the book are being donated to the Forensic Anthropology Identification and Recovery (FAIR) Lab at the University of New Hampshire. The FAIR Lab trains students to excavate, recover and identify human remains.

Acclaimed author June Hersh presents the iconic dishes, fascinating stories and mouthwatering history behind Upstate New York’s culinary heritage, featuring delicious recipes of reinvented classics.

The heart of New York State’s food culture isn’t found on busy Manhattan avenues—it exists within the country kitchens, historic farms and neighborhood spots beyond the environs of New York City. Chicken riggies, salt potatoes and beef on weck aren’t just local foods—they reveal the vibrant Italian, Irish and German immigrant histories that shaped the region. From the Borscht Belt to the Finger Lakes, New York’s Upstate has diverse and exciting flavors all its own. The Empire State’s picturesque apple orchards, Concord grape vineyards and dairies have been feeding the nation for centuries.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of this book benefit the Catskills Borscht Belt Museum.

In the early twentieth century, an interconnected web of men and women, led by Dr. V.E. Vivian, fought for a better future in Whitesbog Village, a forgotten town in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. And they won.

Before their heroic efforts, air, land and sea were riddled with pollution, with few protections. Hope for a better tomorrow seemed unlikely. When they were done, the 1.1 million acres of the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve became the largest protected and preserved open space on the East Coast.

With the help of numerous color images dedicated to Dr. Vivian, author William J. Lewis chronicles and celebrates the educators and historians who started New Jersey’s conservation movement and successfully crusaded for a better, cleaner world.

“I picked a microcosm on the edge of the circle—a place where many manifestations were occurring simultaneously—and I hit the jackpot immediately.” –John Keel

The Hatchet Lady of Red Rocks, the ghostly Stanley Hotel and the terrifying Slide-Rock Bolter are just some of astonishing legends, eerie locations and strange monsters that compose Colorado’s supernatural folklore. Stories of Bigfoot, UFOs and lake monsters vex the state’s history. Haunted houses lurk throughout the state, as do cursed roads and bridges. Folklorist and award-winning author Jack Daly guides us on an odyssey through the uncanny, with a quest of unraveling the mysteries of the preternatural in Colorado.

Marblehead’s fishermen, merchants, slaves and heroes are buried in graveyards throughout this historic town.

There are thirteen burial sites, including large cemeteries and small family tombs. Old Burial Hill was established in 1638, and the “new” Waterside Cemetery was opened in 1859.

Revolutionary War hero General John Glover, famous for rowing General Washington across the Delaware River in 1776, is buried at Old Burial Hill. The final resting place of an enslaved woman, marked simply “Agnis Negro” was recently reproduced and rededicated. Green Street holds the graves of Elisha Story, who took part in the Boston Tea Party, along with Josiah Cressy, record-breaking captain of the Flying Cloud clipper ship. Mary Alley, who left property to establish the town’s first hospital, is buried at Harborview Cemetery. Local author Pam Matthias Peterson reveals five centuries of history behind these markers of the past.

Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study and the passionate possession of all Texans. —John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America

Although occasionally long and roughly paved, roads less traveled reveal cultural gems in every region of the state. From the peaks of the Guadalupe Mountains to the valleys of the Rio Grande, find the best food you’ve ever indulged in, the kindest people you’ve ever met and stories that’ll last a lifetime. Make time for Texas’s wineries and historic churches. Explore true crime and paleontology specific excursions, and relish natural wonders and landmarks of human ingenuity. Author Raegan Scharfetter leads a tour through some of the most rewarding destinations in the Lone Star State.

Cleveland’s neighborhood taverns are more than just places to grab a drink—they’re snapshots of the city’s history, rich with tales of community, celebration and even scandal.

Built by hardworking immigrants chasing the American Dream, these taverns were where workers cashed their paychecks, swapped stories, celebrated victories and sometimes witnessed late-night crimes. Family-run bars were often passed down through generations, becoming intertwined with the ever-changing face of the city. Although many did not survive the 1960s and ’70s, their memory lives on.

Native Clevelander and founder of My Cleveland History Tom Kaschalk honors the legendary watering holes that shaped Cleveland’s communities, hosted vibrant music scenes and served as the backdrop to both good times and life-changing events.

Searing Heat and Torrents of Rain

As the nation’s future hung in the balance, the Weather Gods delivered a wrath of fury on Union and Confederate forces throughout the Gettysburg Campaign. First, record-breaking heat and humidity wore down the warring armies during ungodly forced marches. Next, relentless storms plagued the soldiers with resultant muddy slogs on nearly impassable roads. As the armies met in mortal combat, soul-crushing heat turned the bucolic fields of Gettysburg into a sanguinary and barren expanse. Finally, torrential rains haunted the Confederate retreat and narrow escape across a swollen Potomac River. Authors Jeffrey J. Harding and Jon M. Nese present firsthand accounts, harrowing narratives and groundbreaking meteorological research that reshapes how we view the Civil War’s Gettysburg Campaign.

Gone but not Forgotten in the Electric City

The unrelenting passage of time inevitably brings dramatic physical change. Thus, many of Great Falls’ iconic figures and landmarks persist only in memory. Internationally famous “cowboy artist” Charles M. Russell favored socializing at the Mint and Silver Dollar Saloons. The Ozark Club broke down racial barriers, where African American businessman Leo LaMar presented the hottest jazz acts touring the West. Mark Twain and other luminaries graced the Grand Opera. City-sanctioned brothels littered the infamous 10th Alley South. The Big Stack, once the world’s tallest structure, stood as a testament of industry and progress. Award-winning historian Ken Robison turns back the clock for a nostalgic tour of the city’s lost architectural, social and cultural heritage.

Lost in the Flames

On October 21, 1836, a bustling crowd gathered at the docks in Saint John, New Brunswick, to witness an extraordinary spectacle. The steamship Royal Tar was embarking on yet another voyage from New Brunswick to Portland, Maine, laden with a cargo of peculiar passengers. For this fateful voyage, the Royal Tar had been transformed into a circus ship. Onlookers watched as cages slowly rolled past—exotic birds in one, two lionesses in another and the regal striped Bengal tiger in a third. Then the star of the show slowly made his way across the gangplank. Mogul, the mighty Asian elephant, took his spot on the upper deck of the ship as it steamed out of the port.

After four days of stormy weather, a devastating fire engulfed the ship. The ensuing chaos left thirty-two people dead, and many of the animals were pushed overboard into the frigid waters of Penobscot Bay in a last-ditch effort to save them. The rest died in their cages. Jane Parks Gardner reveals how this tragic event left an indelible mark on Maine’s maritime history.

This final posthumous publication from beloved regional poet, naturalist and writer George Ellison presents lovely poetry from an icon of the Smokies alongside gorgeous paintings and photography from Elizabeth Ellison and Quintin Ellison.

As Western North Carolina rebuilds in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, these ruminations and scenes from life at the edge of the Smoky Mountains will take readers on an inspirational, hopeful and artistic journey into the heart of the Blue Ridge.

Nestled outside Bryson City, on the doorstep of the Great Smoky Mountains, lies the home of George and Elizabeth Ellison. For more than forty years, their permanent camp was more than a homestead—it was the inspiration for a world of beauty found within their poems and paintings. In this posthumous tribute to George, the legacy of his poetry is presented alongside special galleries of Elizabeth’s breathtaking paintings and daughter Quintin Ellison’s stunning photography. As the region continues to rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, these ruminations on living among the Smokies, depictions of Western North Carolina culture and interpretations of its untamed natural domain reveal life in the land of blue shadows through the work of some of the region’s most cherished artists.

Guardian Dams. Today, most people remember Johnstown for a cataclysmic flood, but the city was also once known for steel.

From the early 1900s through much of the 1970s, millions of gallons of water per day were necessary to keep the city’s main industry alive. This is the story of the dams that didn’t fail, safely keeping the people of Johnstown and its steel industry prosperous for decades. It is also the story of transformation, for the dams built by an extinct steel company still stand and now safeguard areas of great natural resources and ecological importance in the highlands of Northern Appalachia. Surveying more than a century of wars, labor strife and economic catastrophe, author Joshua Penrod interweaves the story of these dams with the history of Johnstown itself.

Capturing Montana’s Most Elusive Fugitive

During an intense spring blizzard in 1951, affable Clarence Pellett picked up a teenaged hitchhiker along Montana’s Hi-Line. Soon, blood from seven bullet holes in Pellett’s back stained the snow-covered prairie. Following a brief manhunt and confession, a heated debate ensued over capital punishment as Communist attorneys swooped in “to save this poor friendless boy.” Frank Dryman, twice sentenced to hang, escaped the noose when a sympathetic Montana Supreme Court stayed each execution. The “permanently insane and mentally deficient” killer was paroled into the custody of his brother in California after serving thirteen years of a life sentence. Eighteen months later, he vanished. Using a series of aliases, Dryman hid in plain sight for forty years despite state and federal warrants. Clem Pellett recounts the enthralling twists and turns of his hunt for his grandfather’s absconded murderer—the longest in state history.

The Saga of a Brutal Murder

Janet Siclari, a beautiful 35-year-old visitor to the Outer Banks, was found raped and fatally stabbed on the early morning of August 28, 1993, behind the iconic Carolinian hotel at Nags Head. After a long and intriguing probe, two investigators ultimately charged a suspect, thanks to advances in DNA testing. Defense attorneys, trying to save that defendant’s life, argued another suspect could have killed Janet. In this moving narrative, based on exclusive interviews with case insiders, investigative author John Railey reveals for the first time all the twists and turns that led to the killer’s conviction.

Though originally hailing from the East, twenty-two revolutionaries moved to Jackson County in their sunset years.

These brave men made various and sometimes surprising contributions to the war effort. Thomas Swartout served as a spy for George Washington, and Jabez Mosher Jr. drove cattle across New England to feed hungry Continental troops. Swift Woodworth got his first taste of combat at the famous Battle of Bunker Hill. Logging enough war experience for many men, John Wall fought in major battles with the militia, participated in raids as a ranger, helped capture British vessels as a sailor and was a prisoner of war.

Exploring the lives of these men before and after this pivotal conflict, local authors Linda Hass and David Van Hoof tell the surprising stories of these unsung heroes.

The vast mountains and deserts of Arizona hide a multitude of buried treasures and forgotten mines just waiting to be rediscovered.

The Aztecs reportedly hid gold and other valuables worth millions across the Southwest to keep it from the Spaniards hundreds of years ago, but nothing has ever been recovered. The famous Lost Dutchman mine has captured attention and claimed multiple lives since its discovery in the Superstition Mountains, and it’s just one of many mines lost to history and shifting landscapes. More recently, rumors spread that more than $1 million in cash from the 1977 robbery of Marjorie Jackson is still hidden somewhere north of Phoenix.

Author W. Craig Gaines maps out the potential paths leading to lost fortunes.

 A Town and its People

Bennington was the first town chartered in Vermont and has played a vital role in both the American Revolution and the founding of the state of Vermont. The town was also home to some very unique individuals who shaped the Green Mountain State.

Ethan Allen, Robert Frost, Grandma Moses, Norman Rockwell, Shirley Jackson and William Lloyd Garrison have all called this area home at one time or another. The economic base of the town is rooted in the mills that once lined the banks of its rivers. Bennington pottery became one of the most popular styles of early American ceramics and is revered by antiquarians to this day. The Kiddie Car was invented and built in Bennington, and a large percentage of the stereoscopes used in every home a century ago came from factories in the area. A car beautiful enough to be driven by Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford was designed and built in town. Even one of the victims of the tragic Titanic disaster was a local man.

No wonder that writers like Bernard Malamud and Dorothy Canfield Fisher were proud to spend their lives creating wonderful books here. Authors Bill Morgan and Tom Fels reveal the stories behind the names.

A Town Like No Other

Once called the “wicked city of the Plain,” Plainville grew from underestimated beginnings to become a robust manufacturing center by the twentieth century. It is one of the United States’ earliest railroad junctions and was once a major port along the Farmington Canal. The town was home to unique characters and creations, including ornate carriages, a “Flying Governor” and the beginnings of ESPN. Discover the forgotten railroad feud that led to Plainville’s incorporation in 1869 and nearly united it as a single town with Forestville. Meet the people who have called this town home, including inventors, bootleggers and the Blue Devils. Remember lost town landmarks like Trask School, Appell Drug and Plainville Stadium.

Join local historian Todd Jones as he explores the rich history of this Connecticut town.

A portion of this book’s royalties will go to the Plainville Historical Society.

Taking a stand for equality in the Land of Enchantment

Veterans returning to New Mexico after World War II found a home altered by more than just the explosion of the first atomic bomb. Former ranchers were forced to eke out a living in zinc mines, leading to protests of conditions that were memorialized in the movie Salt of the Earth, which both the film industry and the government tried to suppress. As the civil rights movement swept across the country in the 1960s, New Mexico found its own champions in activists like Reies López Tijerina, who denounced the widespread mistreatment and abuse of the helpless. Ray John de Aragón follows the heritage of protest in New Mexico, from folk heroes like Padre Don Antonio José Martínez to more contemporary battles against racism and prejudice.

Travel back in time on more than thirty thoughtfully curated hiking routes in the Blue Ridge Mountains, chosen for their rich natural and human history as well as their beauty.

Ascend to the state’s highest point, surrounded by ancient forests and historical controversies. Explore the ruins of homesteads and isolated cemeteries of former settlers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and honor the legacy of the Cherokees and their connection to the land. Encounter sweeping vistas at one of the four routes that lead to lookout towers and marvel at thundering waterfalls featured in major films such as The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunger Games.

Local author and experienced hiker Nancy East includes helpful maps and comprehensive information about each route, ensuring adventures that are both safe and enjoyable.

Author Dave Westrick shares the forgotten stories of the defenders, invaders and all the people caught in the middle. On a hot, humid August morning in 1794, an army representing fifteen quarreling states met an alliance of Native American tribes at a place called Fallen Timbers. The battle lasted less than two hours, with fewer than one hundred killed. For the United States, it was the beginning of greatness and the birth of a proud military tradition. For the Native Americans, it was the end of the life they had led for thousands of years.

Those who Saved South Carolina

In May 1780, Charlestown surrendered to the British army, and an ominous, dark cloud descended over the spirit of independence in South Carolina. More than five thousand Patriots of the Continental army and militias conceded their arms and declared an oath as true and faithful subjects to His Majesty, the king of Great Britain, or otherwise faced prison or exile. That left the volunteers of the state’s militia as the best line of defense for the state. More than two hundred skirmishes and battles in the state provide testament to the passion and dedication with which South Carolinians defended their state. Brian Eleazer details the behind-the-scenes story of how South Carolina survived.

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.

Join author Caroline Eubanks on a behind-the-scenes look at the people, places and drinks behind the city. Even when it was still called Terminus, Atlanta was earning a raucous reputation as a hub for hard-drinking railroad workers. The first mayor, a saloon owner from the appropriately named Free and Rowdy Party, only cemented the town’s party credentials. What followed was more than a century of moonshiners, dollar bill–covered dives, exotic dancers, speakeasies and underground taverns, wild parties on both land and water and, of course, drinks. These spaces—like the all-night Backstreet club, the storied Manuel’s Tavern and futuristic Polaris—became launching pads for political campaigns, musical groups and drag superstars while also serving as a respite for everyday locals.

“They neither need defense nor eulogy but only just recognition." - Nathanael Greene monument plaque

Despite their contributions in the late period of the American Revolution, the Virginia Line did not garner the same publicity as other units. What was written down often contained errors or misunderstandings regarding the nature of the battalions and their service. Consequently, much of that service has been forgotten. Following the disasters of Charleston and Waxhaws, officers such as Peter Muhlenberg, Nathanael Greene and the Baron de Steuben were left with the difficult task of rebuilding the ranks. This proved to be challenging. Uniformed in blue jackets and later called “the regiment of Hell-fired-blues of the Virginia Line,” the reformed Continentals would reinforce that name in campaigns such as Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse and Yorktown. Using primary sources and firsthand accounts, author John Settle gives a voice to those honorable veterans who many have forgotten.

It started flowing during the gold rush, when saloons were much more than just a place to grab a drink. They were post offices, restaurants, hotels, social clubs, union halls, and more. But then, Colorado banned alcohol—four years before Prohibition hit the rest of the country—and a state born in a saloon ran dry for almost twenty years. Beer led the way back, and by the 1970s, brewing was big business again—really big business. Now, homebrewers have gone pro, and Colorado is one of the best places in the world to grab a brew. Join historians Sam Bock and Jason Hanson on a tour of Colorado history as seen through a pint glass. More than just a tale of ale, this is Colorado’s story—told over a few beers.

“This isn’t just a book about beer. It's a book about us. The beauty of beer is that it intertwines with so many other aspects of life—history, cultural significance, and economic impact. Bock and Hanson explore those threads offering a unique understanding as to why Colorado has become a thriving hub for beer culture! The stories, insights, as well as the connection to present day and the future of brewing is the perfect read for anyone. Bonus—you have permission to enjoy a cold brew while reading!” —Karen Hertz, Chief Brewista and Founder, Holidaily Brewing Company

They Didn’t Need to be There

It was a calm, moonless night in late April 1865. Robert E. Lee had surrendered. Abraham Lincoln was dead. Assassin John Wilkes Booth and accomplice David Herold, previously hiding in the swamps of Southern Maryland, had crossed the Potomac River to safety. The barge Black Diamond was anchored with the Potomac Flotilla near Blackistone Lighthouse, hoping to prevent that crossing and catch the perpetrators. All onboard were unaware that they were too late. The steamer Massachusetts was running downriver carrying U.S. soldiers back to their regiments. By dawn, the Black Diamond was on the bottom of the river, the Massachusetts was crippled and eighty-seven men were dead. Author Karen E. Stone reveals the story of a heroic pursuit turned tragic.

Melting Pot Memories

Lorain County attracted people from all around the globe in search of a better life, and these intrepid immigrants brought their culinary traditions with them. From the late nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries, Lorain’s steel mill recruited workers from southern, eastern and western Europe. Later, the mill welcomed workers from Mexico and Puerto Rico, while local quarries offered immigrants work in Grafton, Elyria and Amherst. From these diverse cultures sprang an incredible range of meat and fish main dishes, side delicacies and desserts still found on Lorain tables today—including Cullen skink, Irish stew, chile rellenos, koulourakia, sugo and many more. Lorain’s International Festival highlights these culinary traditions in mouthwatering ways. Author and lifelong Lorainite Kelly Boyer Sagert shares the incredible migration stories and the delicious recipes that make Lorain County such a wonderful place to live—and eat.

The Life of a Trailblazer

Matilda Arabella Evans was born four years after the abolition of slavery and raised on a family farm in eastern Aiken County. She was the first African American woman in South Carolina to obtain a medical license and fervently championed better healthcare for African Americans, with a particular focus on children. Her early life experiences, academic accomplishments, strong religious beliefs and innovative medical approaches made her a crucial figure in enhancing healthcare accessibility for families in South Carolina, especially during the difficult era of racial segregation, when she also served as a civic advocate to uplift her local community. Authors Dr. Walter B. Curry, Beverly Aiken Muhammad and Anusha Ghosh reveal the inspirational story of Dr. Evans and her remarkable journey throughout her career.

Since the 1930s, two valleys nestled amid California’s High Sierra peaks have enraptured explorers, skiers and winter sport enthusiasts worldwide.

Olympic Valley made a name for itself as the host of the 1960 Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, just over a high ridge, Alpine Meadows was developed by devoted local skiers and Bay Area families. In spite of avalanches, fires, floods, public opinion and the whims of mountain weather, determined entrepreneurs Wayne Poulsen, John Reily and Alex Cushing persevered to lay the foundation for two ski resorts, now known collectively as Palisades Tahoe.

In this updated edition, local award-winning author and ski historian Eddy Ancinas shares tales of the colorful characters whose exploits and imagination contributed to the unique history of these two valleys. 

Explore and Learn LFK

Lawrence was founded in 1854 by the New England Emigrant Aid Company, and it has a bevy of historical locations for visitors. Downtown’s infamous Mass Street was nearly destroyed twice by warmongering guerrillas like William Quantrill. It was central to the era of John Brown and Bleeding Kansas and the site of the Wakarusa War. From famous beat writer William Burroughs to poet Langston Hughes, vaudeville actor George “Nash” Walker and basketball inventor James Naismith, the city has been home to a great slice of American historical figures and events. Uncover some familiar landmarks as well as some hidden gems as Tristan Smith, with the help of the Watkins Community Museum, takes readers through Lawrence’s unique landscape.