"Bienville's Dilemma" presents sixty-eight articles on the historical geography of New Orleans, covering the formation and foundation of the city, its urbanization and population, its "humanization" into a place of distinction, the manipulation of its environment, its devastation by Hurricane Katrina, and its ongoing recovery.

    In striking counterpoint to these analyses, Lisa Brooks demonstrates the ways in which Native leaders-including Samson Occom, Joseph Brant, Hendrick Aupaumut, and William Apess-adopted writing as a tool to reclaim rights and land in the Native networks of what is now the northeastern United States.

     In addition to its comprehensiveness, the book’s size makes it a wonderful working field guide that fits comfortably in a glove compartment or backpack.  Numerous diagrams and photographs reveal the inner workings of a typical lighthouse, including its light, fog horn, generator sources, and more.  Fascinating historical background accompanies the images, and exciting true stories tell of the battles between man and nature, which sometimes ended in glory but other times in human tragedy.

    Louis in the summer of 1917—which paved the way for the civil rights movement.In the 1910s, half a million African Americans moved from the impoverished rural South to booming industrial cities of the North in search of jobs and freedom from Jim Crow laws. But Northern whites responded with rage, attacking blacks in the streets and laying waste to black neighborhoods in a horrific series of deadly race riots that broke out in dozens of cities across the nation, including Philadelphia, Chicago, Tulsa, Houston, and Washington, D.C. In East St. Louis, Illinois, corrupt city officials and industrialists had openly courted Southern blacks, luring them North to replace striking white laborers. This tinderbox erupted on July 2, 1917 into what would become one of the bloodiest American riots of the World War era. Its impact was enormous. "There has never been a time when the riot was not alive in the oral tradition," remarks Professor Eugene Redmond. Indeed, prominent blacks like W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and Josephine Baker were forever influenced by it.Celebrated St. Louis journalist Harper Barnes has written the first full account of this dramatic turning point in American history, decisively placing it in the continuum of racial tensions flowing from Reconstruction and as a catalyst of civil rights action in the decades to come. Drawing from accounts and sources never before utilized, Harper Barnes has crafted a compelling and definitive story that enshrines the riot as an historical rallying cry for all who deplore racial violence.

    But we dug a little deeper and found all kinds of local legends, bizarre beasts, surprising cemeteries, and uncovered the best kept secrets from all over the Bay State. Our state certainly celebrates more than just tea parties, the Red Sox and Patriots; folks from Massachusetts cherish their weird history too. Our brave and valiant author, Jeff Belanger, toured the state with camera and notepad in hand as he waded through cranberry bogs and trudged up the Berkshires to uncover the state's odd and offbeat. If it's unusual or unexplainable or fantastic, and in the Bay State, you'll find it all here in Weird Massachusetts. See how the world's biggest elephant now fits into a peanut butter jar and why it brings good luck to students, listen for those unexplained booms in Nashoba, discover the hidden secrets at Wizard's Glen and Altar Rock, escape from the Sea Witch and the Cape Cod Mermaid, check out the Museum of Burnt Food, or eat an apple from one of Isaac Newton's famous apple trees';but whatever you do, don't pick up a red-headed hitchhiker on Route 44. With so many places named after the devil, it's a wonder we're not called the Devil State or the Witch State, but see for yourself at the Witch Museum, dedicated to educating the public on what witchcraft was, and is today; for the really daring, unlock some of the spooky secrets at the Houghton Mansion or stay a night at the Concord's Colonial Inn. Look out for the Pukwudgees, circle around haunted trees in cemeteries, and enjoy one of the longest-named lakes in the world, or try climbing Dighton Rock and unravel the messages in its centuries-old carvings. It's all here. It's all weird and it's all in Massachusetts. A brand-new entry in the best-selling Weird U.S. series, Weird Massachusetts is packed with all that great stuff your history teacher wouldn't teach you. So get ready to join our author on his great adventure. It's a journey you'll never forget!

    Author Keven McQueen dissects some of Kentucky's more bizarre aspects of death, pulled directly from the history pages. Discover the reaper's creative side, meet the disgusting ghosts of Louisville and find out more than you wanted to know about old-fashioned embalming techniques. You will find it quite engrossing and just plain gross.

    Donna's first session asrepresentative of the Penobscot Nation was a difficult one a personalstruggle to have a voice, but also because of the issues: changingoffensive names, teaching Native American history in Maine schools,casinos and racinos, and the interpretation of sovereign rights fortribes. Some of the struggles and issues remain as she continues toserve, and the perspective she offers as a Native American and as alegislator is both valuable and fascinating.

    Harris soon finds himself preaching the Mormon gospel as one of the first missionaries to West Germany following the devastation of World War II. Little does he know that his own war horrors await him upon his return home, when he is drafted into the Korean War. Starting out in the same 1940s-era Provo, Utah, that Thayer brought to life in his memoir Hooligan: A Mormon Boyhood, this novel deepens and darkens as Harris is drawn into his harrowing Korean ordeal. Will he survive the war, not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually? And if he does survive, what other trials does death hold in store?

    Containing all you need to know whether you’re a new beginner or more experienced researcher.Covering all access levels, from the new beginner to the more experienced researcher, the Encyclopedia of Genealogy is a comprehensive master class in solving the mysteries of your personal heritage. Begining with advice on the very first steps, before providing a detailed explanation of the range of sources you will encounter when trying to flesh out your ancestor's lives.The Encyclopedia is divided into sections, each a fascinating standalone reference article so that you can easily pick and mix the relevant information according to the route your journey through your family history takes you.The Encyclopedia of Genealogy guides you through:Getting started, including research planning, sources, how to construct a family tree and working onlineGoing further, combining historical context (from military history to migration and family secrets) with practical advice on sourcesTroubleshooting the most common problems such as common surnames and missing ancestorsSurname databasesUse of DNA such as DNA profiling servicesOrganisational tools such as designing a website and information about software and community projects.Everything you need to bring alive your family tree.

    This intriguing book explores eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Philadelphia through the findings of archaeological excavations, sharing with readers the excitement of digging into the past and reconstructing the lives of earlier inhabitants of the city. Urban archaeologist Rebecca Yamin describes the major excavations that have been undertaken since 1992 as part of the redevelopment of Independence Mall and surrounding areas, explaining how archaeologists gather and use raw data to learn more about the ordinary people whose lives were never recorded in history books. Focusing primarily on these unknown citizens—an accountant in the first Treasury Department, a coachmaker whose clients were politicians doing business at the State House, an African American founder of St. Thomas’s African Episcopal Church, and others—Yamin presents a colorful portrait of old Philadelphia. She also discusses political aspects of archaeology today—who supports particular projects and why, and what has been lost to bulldozers and heedlessness. Digging in the City of Brotherly Love tells the exhilarating story of doing archaeology in the real world and using its findings to understand the past.

    Kensington was the epicenter of the American vegetarian movement, and a decade later the area's shipyards gave birth to the U.S. Navy's first submarine. In Kensington & Fishtown, native son Kenneth W. Milano presents a collection of fascinating and diverse articles from his column The Rest is History. Relive the golden age of Kensington and Fishtown as you learn about learn about their fascinating pasts.

    Yet Maxey managed to make a national name for himself, first as an NCAA championship boxer at Gonzaga University, and then as eastern Washington's first prominent black lawyer and a renowned civil rights attorney who always fought for the underdog.During the tumultuous civil rights and Vietnam War eras, Carl Maxey fought to break down color barriers in his hometown of Spokane and throughout the nation. As a defense lawyer, he made national headlines working on lurid murder cases and war-protest trials, including the notorious Seattle Seven trial. He even took his commitment to justice and antiwar causes to the political arena, running for the U.S. Senate against powerhouse senator Henry M. Jackson.In Carl Maxey A Fighting Life, Jim Kershner explores the sources of Maxey's passions as well as the price he ultimately paid for his struggles. The result is a moving portrait of a man called a "Type-A Gandhi" by the New York Times, whose own personal misfortune spurred his lifelong, tireless crusade against injustice.

    But those in Gisborne and the East Coast merely cast their minds back to the Ruatoria Troubles. From 1985 until 1990 the township was terrorised by a cannabis-growing Maori sect calling itself the Rastafarians. Their story is one of the most bizarre chapters in modern New Zealand history. Yet most people have never heard of The Rastas or their reign of terror... until now. The first book in the series, Footsteps of Fire covers the philosophies and roots of the Rastas and the early crimes that cemented their fearsome reputation, such as “beating the devil out” of an acquaintance, the beheading of Lance Kupenga, the dragging of a horse which later died, and the kidnapping of a police officer.

    

    Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham's former sign companies, as well as other private collections, to compile some of the best remembered or most obscure signs that dotted the urban and suburban landscape. Here readers will again see the Buffalo Rock bottle pouring its ginger ale into a glass, the Golden Flake clown smiling down at passersby, the Barber's milk clock at the Five Points South intersection, and many more. Through these vintage photographs, readers can once again visit such once-thriving destinations as Eastwood Mall, Burger in a Hurry, and the Kiddieland amusement park.

    The park's remarkable history reaches back as far as the last ice age. From the Portage Gorge to the mighty highbanks at Mount Morris, Letchworth State Park follows the flow of the Genesee River, exploring the natural and human events that have shaped this inspiring landscape. Drawing on historical images and regional folklore from the collections of the authors, the park, and various local sources, the reader is invited into the past of a park that has been called the "Grand Canyon of the East."

    In Liberated Territory, they turn their attention to local manifestations of the organization, far away from the party’s Oakland headquarters. This collection’s contributors, all historians, examine how specific party chapters and offshoots emerged, developed, and waned, as well as how the local branches related to their communities and to the national party. The histories and character of the party branches vary as widely as their locations. The Cape Verdeans of New Bedford, Massachusetts, were initially viewed as a particular challenge for the local Panthers but later became the mainstay of the Boston-area party. In the early 1970s, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, chapter excelled at implementing the national Black Panther Party’s strategic shift from revolutionary confrontation to mainstream electoral politics. In Detroit, the Panthers were defined by a complex relationship between their above-ground activities and an underground wing dedicated to armed struggle. While the Milwaukee chapter was born out of a rising tide of black militancy, it ultimately proved more committed to promoting literacy and health care and redressing hunger than to violence. The Alabama Black Liberation Front did not have the official imprimatur of the national party, but it drew heavily on the Panthers’ ideas and organizing strategies, and its activism demonstrates the broad resonance of many of the concerns articulated by the national party: the need for jobs, for decent food and housing, for black self-determination, and for sustained opposition to police brutality against black people. Liberated Territory reveals how the Black Panther Party’s ideologies, goals, and strategies were taken up and adapted throughout the United States.Contributors: Devin Fergus, Jama Lazerow, Ahmad A. Rahman, Robert W. Widell Jr., Yohuru Williams

    Rich collection of essays and short stories from Farewell to Manzanar co-author James Houston exploring the concept of bioregionalism

    Immigrants from all over Europe, particularly Slavs and Italians, worked with African Americans from the South at the Bethlehem Steel Company and gave Steelton its reputation for ethnic diversity, second only to its fame for industrial productivity. Catholics, Protestants, and Jews filled the town s various houses of worship, but the taverns on Front Street, across from the mill, were crowded too. The town s powerful athletes were often state champions, beating schools many times larger. The townsmen were all proud as well of their loyal service in U.S. forces in the two world wars. The vintage images in Steelton chronicle the history of this exceptional and diverse community."