Best of
Local-History

2007

The Imagineering Field Guide to Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World


Alex Wright - 2007
    You'll never spend time at Walt Disney World the same way again.Each spread contains fascinating textual information and related images (drawings, photos, graphics) such as: Set-up, backgrounds, and origins of each park/land/mini-land Concept art to compare to the finished show Timeline information (opening dates, previous shows in the same venue, alterations and updates)- Photography of the details and big pictures being discussed Special props, design sources, artistic inspirations, nomenclature gags

Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign


Michael K. Honey - 2007
    Wretched conditions, abusive white supervisors, poor education, and low wages locked most black workers into poverty. Then two sanitation workers were chewed up like garbage in the back of a faulty truck, igniting a public employee strike that brought to a boil long-simmering issues of racial injustice.With novelistic drama and rich scholarly detail, Michael Honey brings to life the magnetic characters who clashed on the Memphis battlefield: stalwart black workers; fiery black ministers; volatile, young, black-power advocates; idealistic organizers and tough-talking unionists; the first black members of the Memphis city council; the white upper crust who sought to prevent change or conflagration; and, finally, the magisterial Martin Luther King Jr., undertaking a Poor People's Campaign at the crossroads of his life, vilified as a subversive, hounded by the FBI, and seeing in the working poor of Memphis his hopes for a better America.

Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul


John W. Diers - 2007
    Plans for additional lines progress, and our ways of shopping, dining, and commuting are changing dramatically. As we embrace riding the new Hiawatha light rail line, an older era comes to mind—the age when everyone rode the more than 500 miles of track that crisscrossed the Twin Cities.In Twin Cities by Trolley, John Diers and Aaron Isaacs offer a rolling snapshot of Minneapolis and St. Paul from the 1880s to the 1950s, when the streetcar system shaped the growth and character of the entire metropolitan area. More than 400 photographs and 70 maps let the reader follow the tracks from Stillwater to University Avenue to Lake Minnetonka, through Uptown to downtown Minneapolis. The illustrations show nearly every neighborhood in Minneapolis and St. Paul as it was during the streetcar era.At its peak in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT) operated over 900 streetcars, owned 523 miles of track, and carried more than 200 million passengers annually. Recounting the rise and fall of the TCRT, Twin Cities by Trolley explores the history, organization, and operations of the streetcar system, including life as a streetcar operator and the technology, design, and construction of the cars.Inspiring fond memories for anyone who grew up in the Twin Cities, Twin Cities by Trolley leads readers on a fascinating and enlightening tour of this bygone era in the neighborhood and the city they call home.John W. Diers has worked in the transit industry for thirty-five years, including twenty-five years at the Twin Cities Metropolitan Transit Commission. He has written for Trains, and has served on the board of the Minnesota Transportation Museum.Aaron Isaacs worked with Metro Transit for thirty-three years. He is the author of Twin City Lines—The 1940s and The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line. He is also the editor of Railway Museum Quarterly.

40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania


Matthew Chapman - 2007
    Dover Board of Education, decided in late 2005, a Republican judge rendered a surprising verdict in a case that pitted the teaching of intelligent design (sometimes known as "creationism in a lab coat") against the teaching of evolution. Taking place in a small Pennsylvania school district, the case had national repercussions, all the way up to President Bush, who said he believed intelligent design should be taught as "an alternative theory" to evolution.Matthew Chapman, the great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin, spent several months covering the trial from beginning to end. Through his in-depth encounters with the participants—creationists, preachers, teachers, scientists on both sides of the issue, lawyers, theologians, the judge, and the eleven parents who resisted the fundamentalist proponents of intelligent design—Chapman tells a sometimes terrifying, often hilarious, and above all moving story of ordinary people doing battle in America over the place of religion and science in modern life.Written with a filmaker's eye for character and detail, and including insights only a descendent of Darwin could bring forth, Chapman paints an entertaining, yet disturbing picture of America today.

AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul


Larry Millett - 2007
    Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites—from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance—this invaluable reference has it all:   •Illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings •Behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects •Lively information about local history and regional styles •Highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time •Sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure •Dozens of planned walking and driving tours  •Over 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features Retired Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett has spent more than two decades researching and exploring the architectural heritage of the Twin Cities. Millett’s AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is your ticket to the best tour in town. Sponsored in part by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota.  Larry Millett has written extensively about Twin Cities architecture. His books include Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights (all MHS Press), as well as a series of mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.

Weird Arizona: Your Travel Guide to Arizona's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets


Wesley Treat - 2007
    Well…uninhabited by humans, at least. Reports abound of such creatures as flying dinosaurs, goblins, shape shifters, and vicious bloodsuckers. Whether it’s the Mogollon Monsters or the weird Ninimbe (tiny elves anywhere from two inches to three feet tall) Arizona seems to have them, along with killer cacti and the Can Can Merman. Now, that’s weird!

Spitfire: A North Country Adventure


Kate Messner - 2007
    She's desperate to find her uncle, her only living relative and her only hope for a real home. Young Pascal De Angelis is on board an American ship awaiting battle with the British when Abigail climbs aboard. When the British ships approach and the first shots are fired, Abigail and Pascal forge a fast friendship, see things no child should see, and grow up more quickly than either of them could have imagined.

Silent City on a Hill: Picturesque Landscapes of Memory and Boston's Mount Auburn Cemetery


Blanche M.G. Linden - 2007
    Inspired by developments in England and France, and founded in 1831, Mount Auburn became the prototype for the "rural cemetery" movement and was an important precursor of many of America's public parks, beginning with New York City's Central Park.This new edition has been completely redesigned in a larger format, with new photographs and a new epilogue that carries the story forward into the twentieth century. Published in association with Library of American Landscape History: http://lalh.org/

Historic Photos of St. Louis


Adele Heagney - 2007
    Louis is the largest city in Missouri and the Gateway to the West, a moniker symbolized since 1965 by the mighty Gateway Arch fronting the Mississippi River. Historic Photos of St. Louis is a photographic history of this important American city spotlighting photographs collected from the area's top archives. Included here are the Eads Bridge, the St. Louis World s Fair of 1904, Busch stadiums 1 and 2, Union Station and the Milles Fountain, yesterday's Olive Street, aftermath of the 1896 tornado, Grant's Hardscrabble, the Admiral, the Southern Hotel, Forest Park, and much more. In stunning black-and-white photography, this handsome coffee-table book details the historical growth of St. Louis from the early days of the camera up to recent times. Spanning two centuries and nearly 200 images, the book follows life, government, and the building of this history-rich city, offering a compelling look into the past for any longtime resident and every history buff of St. Louis.

Hunters at the Margin: Native People and Wildlife Conservation in the Northwest Territories


John Sandlos - 2007
    John Sandlos argues that the introduction of game regulations, national parks, and game sanctuaries was central to the assertion of state authority over the traditional hunting cultures of the Dene and Inuit. His archival research undermines the assumption that conservationists were motivated solely by enlightened preservationism, revealing instead that commercial interests were integral to wildlife management in Canada.

Remember the Alamo: Texians, Tejanos, and Mexicans Tell Their Stories


Paul Robert Walker - 2007
    The story has been told countless times in everything from comic books to feature films. Always it is the brave Americans—Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, William Travis, and others—fighting the overwhelming forces of a cruel dictator for the right to live in a Texas independent of Mexican rule. Too often, little mention is made of the Tejanos—Mexican Texans—who put their lives on the line to fight alongside the other defenders at the Alamo. And what about Santa Anna? Was he so wrong in trying to keep Americans from taking over his country? Clearly there is more to the story. Paul Robert Walker has studied the evidence—messages sent out from the Alamo before the battle, reports written by Tejano and Texian leaders, eyewitness accounts from a slave and the handful of women and children who were spared by Santa Anna, and stories told by Mexican officers and soldiers. He has consulted with experts, examined the historic sites, and read the most recent scholarly theories to present the story of the Alamo through the eyes of Texians, Tejanos, and Mexicans as you've never heard it before.National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Winetrails of Washington: A Guide for Uncorking Your Memorable Wine Tour


Steve Roberts - 2007
    Most WineTrails can be experienced in a day or two. Profiles of each winery include a winery description, winemaker philosophy, photos, contact information, hours, maps and driving directions. Bonus material includes tasting room etiquette and wine tasting tips. The guide also reveals the best destination wineries for lodging, eating, shopping, picnicking and hosting the perfect wedding.

Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Bath


Kirsten Elliott - 2007
    Take a journey through centuries of local crime and conspiracy, meeting villains of all sorts along the way—cut-throats and poisoners, murderous lovers, assassins, prostitutes and suicides. Among the many tales of wickedness and despair the author records in this fascinating book are: Robbery and revenge in Roman timesThe brutal uncertainties of Bath in the dark agesThe highwaymen, gamblers, and duelists of the Georgian periodThe Victorian underworld and its notorious cases of prostitution, infanticide, and murderOutbreaks of mob violencePolitical corruption Kirsten Elliott’s chronicle of the history the town would prefer to forget is compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the dark side of human nature.

The Bread and Roses Strike of 1912


Julie Baker - 2007
    A historical account of the 1912 industrial workers strike in Lawrence, MA

Boston's Fire Trail: A Walk Through The City's Fire And Firefighting History


Boston Fire Historical Society - 2007
    Members of the Boston Fire Historical Society trace the history of fire in the city of Boston and create an intriguing retrospective of the compelling facet of the city’s past. Daring rescues, conflagrations, arson, accidents and human courage - all are here, along with historic details of the circumstances and locations of more than forty-five fires and sites significant to the history of Boston’s fire department.

Blue Valley


Luanne Armstrong - 2007
    How does a lifelong experience of the ecology of a place shape a person? In Blue Valley, Luanne Armstrong illustrates and expands our understanding of what it means to belong to a place.

Democratizing Cleveland: The Rise and Fall of Community Organizing in Cleveland, Ohio 1975-1985


Randy Cunningham - 2007
    Originally published in 2007 by Arambala Press, this important work is being reprinted by Belt Publishing for a new generation of activists, planners, urbanists, and organizers.

El Paso in Pictures


Frank Mangan - 2007
    Each era is fascinating, from the arrival of the conquistadores, through the coming of the railroad in the 1880s, the turn of the century with the establishment of more businesses and the move toward permanent residences, the Mexican Revolution, the war years, the rapid changes of the fifties and, finally, the sophistication of the seventies. Many of the photographs, especially those of the Mexican Revolution, are extremely rare and had not been public before the 1971 publication of El Paso in Pictures.First published by The Mangan Press/El Paso.

The Lighthouses of Massachusetts


Jeremy D'Entremont - 2007
    New England's foremost lighthouse authority continues his state-by-state series, focusing on the human drama in Massachusetts lighthouse history.

Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice


Maureen Faulkner - 2007
    Mumia Abu-Jamal was unanimously convicted of the crime by a racially mixed jury based on: the testimony of several eyewitnesses, his ownership of the murder weapon, matching ballistics, and Abu-Jamal’s own confession.After his conviction, however, a national anti-death penalty movement was started to “Free Mumia;” Mike Farrell, Ed Asner, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jesse Jackson rallied on his behalf, and led the charge.  For his part, while on death row, Abu-Jamal published several books, delivered radio commentaries, was a college commencement speaker, found himself named an Honorary Citizen of France, and had his defense coffers enhanced by ticket sales from a sold out (16,000-person) concert featuring Rage Against the Machine.Here, from Maureen Faulkner and acclaimed talk show host / journalist Michael Smerconish, is the first book to carefully and definitively lay out the case against Abu-Jamal, and those who’ve elevated him to the status of political prisoner. Smerconish, a lawyer, has provided pro bono legal counsel to Faulkner for over a decade and knows both the legal intricacies and personal subtleties of the case like no other person.  He’s personally acquainted himself with the more than five thousand pages of trial transcript.  “My reading starkly revealed that Abu-Jamal murdered Danny Faulkner in cold blood and that the case tried in Philadelphia in 1982 bore no resemblance to the one being home-cooked by the Abu-Jamal defense team.”As Abu-Jamal’s lawyers contemplate their final appeal, Faulkner and Smerconish weave a compelling, never-before-told account of one fateful night and the 25-year-long rewriting of history.

Botetourt County


Debra Alderson McClane - 2007
    At the time of its establishment, Botetourt's boundaries stretched westward from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. This area now encompasses 23 counties in Virginia as well as portions of West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Located at the fork of the Great Valley Road and the Wilderness Road, Botetourt served as the last outpost for many settlers moving into the western territories. Settled predominantly by Scots-Irish, German, and English immigrants, the county still reflects the influences of these strong cultures, and many original family names remain prominent. Botetourt is known for its agricultural production, as well as its natural resources: over the centuries, visitors have been drawn to the area's scenic beauty, healing springs, and trout-filled streams. This volume contains images of the towns, farms, homes, industries, people, events, and institutions that have contributed to the rich tapestry of the county's history.

Rappahannock County


Kathryn Lynch - 2007
    The abundance of rich soil and pastureland attracted settlers to the area in the 1800s. As the population grew, small communities and mill towns sprang up throughout the county, becoming centers for business and social interaction. These early settlers left an indelible mark on the landscape, and their legacy defines the region. The county retains its rich architectural history through its representation of period homes and buildings, many dating to the early 1800s. Barns, mills, stone walls, and farmhouses are common sights along the miles of rural roads. The county is quickly earning a reputation as a culinary destination due to the growing number of superb vineyards and sumptuous dining establishments that dot the landscape. Rappahannock County remains a rural gem where descendants of those early settlers cherish their heritage.