Best of
Local-History

2010

The Ruins Of Detroit


Yves Marchand - 2010
    city. Its buildings were monuments to its success and vitality in the first half of the twentieth century. At the start of the twenty-first century, those same monuments are now ruins: the United Artists Theater, the Whitney Building, the Farwell Building and the once ravishing Michigan Central Station (unused since 1988) today look as if a bomb had dropped on Motor City, leaving behind the ruins of a once great civilization. In a series of weekly photographic bulletins for Time magazine called "Detroit's Beautiful, Horrible Decline," photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre have been revealing to an astonished America the scale of decay in Detroit. "The state of ruin is essentially a temporary situation that happens at some point, the volatile result of change of era and the fall of empires," write Marchand and Meffre. "Photography appeared to us as a modest way to keep a little bit of this ephemeral state." As Detroit's white middle class continues to abandon the city center for its dispersed suburbs, and its downtown high-rises empty out, these astounding images, which convey both the imperious grandeur of the city's architecture and its genuinely shocking decline, preserve a moment that warns us all of the transience of great epochs.

The Poor Had No Lawyers: Who Owns Scotland (And How They Got It)


Andy Wightman - 2010
    From Robert the Bruce to Willie Ross and from James V to Donald Dewar, land has conferred political and economic power. Have attempts to redistribute this power more equitably made any difference and what are the full implications of the recent debt fuelled housing bubble? For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, The Poor Had No Lawyers provides a fascinating and illuminating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland - who owns Scotland and how did they get it?

Bayshore Summer: Finding Eden in a Most Unlikely Place


Pete Dunne - 2010
    Sixty million people live within a tank of gas of this environmentally rich and diverse place, yet most miss out on the region’s amazing spectacles. Bayshore Summer is a bridge that links the rest of the world to this timeless land. Pete Dunne acts as ambassador and tour guide, following Bayshore residents as they haul crab traps, bale salt hay, stake out deer poachers, and pick tomatoes. He examines and appreciates this fertile land, how we live off it and how all of us connect with it. From the shorebirds that converge by the thousands to gorge themselves on crab eggs to the delicious fresh produce that earned the Garden State its nickname, from the line-dropping expectancy of party boat fishing to the waterman who lives on a first-name basis with the birds around his boat, Bayshore Summer is at once an expansive and intimate portrait of a special place, a secret Eden, and a glimpse into a world as rich as summer and enduring as a whispered promise.

The West Plains Dance Hall Explosion


Lin Waterhouse - 2010
    And while the story inspired a popular country song, the firestorm that claimed thirty-nine lives remains an unsolved mystery. In this first book on the notorious catastrophe, Lin Waterhouse presents a clear account of the event and its aftermath that judiciously weighs conflicting testimony and deeply respects the personal anguish experienced by parents forced to identify their children by their clothing and personal trinkets.

White Man's Heaven: The Lynching and Expulsion of Blacks in the Southern Ozarks, 1894-1909


Kimberly Harper - 2010
    Kimberly Harper explores events in the towns of Monett, Pierce City, Joplin, and Springfield, Missouri, and Harrison, Arkansas, to show how post–Civil War vigilantism, an established tradition of extralegal violence, and the rapid political, economic, and social change of the New South era happened independently but were also part of a larger, interconnected regional experience. Even though some whites, especially in Joplin and Springfield, tried to stop the violence and bring the lynchers to justice, many African Americans fled the Ozarks, leaving only a resilient few behind and forever changing the racial composition of the region.

The English Lakes: A History


Ian Thompson - 2010
    Author Ian Thompson, who grew up nearby and hiked the region's hills from an early age, proves the perfect guide to the Lake District's storied past.Thompson's elegant cultural history... Full description

Prospero's America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676


Walter W. Woodward - 2010
    Woodward examines the transfer of alchemical culture to America by John Winthrop, Jr., one of English colonization's early giants. Winthrop participated in a pan-European network of natural philosophers who believed alchemy could improve the human condition and hasten Christ's Second Coming. Woodward demonstrates the influence of Winthrop and his philosophy on New England's cultural formation: its settlement, economy, religious toleration, Indian relations, medical practice, witchcraft prosecution, and imperial diplomacy. Prospero's America reconceptualizes the significance of early modern science in shaping New England hand in hand with Puritanism and politics.

Autobiography of Andrew T. Still


Andrew Taylor Still - 2010
    This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Old Homes of New England: Historic Houses In Clapboard, Shingle, and Stone


Geoffrey Gross - 2010
    Cherished for its intimate, community-centered spirit, New England lays claim to some of the most wonderful architecture of the country—and, significantly, its buildings are among the nation’s very oldest. Featured here are twenty-five of the most beautiful examples, ranging from the storied House of the Seven Gables of 1668, in its magnificent colonial splendor, to the Corwin House of 1675, nicknamed the "Witch House" for its direct association to the infamous Salem witch trials, to the bucolic Cogswell farmhouse of 1728. Each house exemplifies its style, which range from early colonial Pilgrim, Puritan, and Shaker, to later Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival. With richly crafted interiors formed from old woods, fine plasterwork, thoughtfully set beams, brick, and stonework, the houses return us to a more gracious time when the simple pleasures of staying at home were paramount, a time to which many of us, even now, long to return.

Freeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War


Scott Christianson - 2010
    Scott Christianson follows Nalle from his enslavement by the Hansborough family in Virginia through his escape by the Underground Railroad and his experiences in the North on the eve of the Civil War. This engaging narrative represents the first in-depth historical study of this crucial incident, one of the fiercest anti-slavery riots after Harpers Ferry. Christianson also presents a richly detailed look at slavery culture in antebellum Virginia and probes the deepest political and psychological aspects of this epic tale. His account underscores fundamental questions about racial inequality, the rule of law, civil disobedience, and violent resistance to slavery in the antebellum North and South.  As seen in New York Times and on C-Span’s Book TV.

Beat Cop to Top Cop: A Tale of Three Cities


John F. Timoney - 2010
    Timoney moved to New York with his family in 1961. Not long after graduating from high school in the Bronx, he entered the New York City Police Department, quickly rising through the ranks to become the youngest four-star chief in the history of that department. Timoney and the rest of the command assembled under Police Commissioner Bill Bratton implemented a number of radical strategies, protocols, and management systems, including CompStat, that led to historic declines in nearly every category of crime. In 1998, Mayor Ed Rendell of Philadelphia hired Timoney as police commissioner to tackle the city's seemingly intractable violent crime rate. Philadelphia became the great laboratory experiment: Could the systems and policies employed in New York work elsewhere? Under Timoney's leadership, crime declined in every major category, especially homicide. A similar decrease not only in crime but also in corruption marked Timoney's tenure in his next position as police chief of Miami, a post he held from 2003 to January 2010.Beat Cop to Top Cop: A Tale of Three Cities documents Timoney's rise, from his days as a tough street cop in the South Bronx to his role as police chief of Miami. This fast-moving narrative by the man Esquire magazine named America's Top Cop offers a blueprint for crime prevention through first-person accounts from the street, detailing how big-city chiefs and their teams can tame even the most unruly cities.Policy makers and academicians have long embraced the view that the police could do little to affect crime in the long term. John Timoney has devoted his career to dispelling this notion. Beat Cop to Top Cop tells us how.

Cleveland School Gardens


Joel Mader - 2010
    The organization and beauty of the gardens attracted horticulture educators from all over the United States, South America, and as far away as Japan. From its humble beginnings in 1904 as a project to beautify vacant lots in Cleveland, it grew into an educational tool that taught thousands of children the respect for nature and its bounty. At the tract gardens’ height, the amount of land under cultivation in the middle of the Cleveland urban landscape approached 100 acres. By 1970, there were 27 horticultural centers servicing all Cleveland schools. Centers were located next to schools, in housing estates, at fairgrounds, at a home for the aged, and on museum property. A few of the centers are now neighborhood gardens. The photographs in Cleveland School Gardens show that the Cleveland Public Schools knew the importance of being “green” 100 years before it was politically fashionable.

Lost Cleveland: Seven Wonders of the Sixth City


Michael DeAloia - 2010
    Author Michael DeAloia recounts the histories of seven culturally significant and iconic architectural gems that defined Cleveland's position of wealth and importance during the industrial age. Inspired by noble visions of Cleveland's most elite residents, these structures reflect the vigor and imagination that suffused city leaders. From Severance Hall, still home to the Cleveland Orchestra and the only structure in this collection that remains standing, to "Andrew's Folly," the grandest house built on legendary Millionaire's Row, Lost Cleveland provides a revealing historical retrospective on the growth, development and ultimate decline of the North Coast's greatest city.

I Never Knew That About the River Thames


Christopher Winn - 2010
    Discover the Thames's literary heritage at Pangbourne, near Reading, famous as the home of The Wind in the Willows's Kenneth Grahame, then explore Mapledurham House, the inspiration for its famous Toad Hall. Explore Henley-on-Thames, where the first Oxford and Cambridge boat races were held, then marvel at Southend Pier, the longest pleasure pier in the world. As he follows the river from source to sea, visiting its towns, villages and places of interest, Winn unearths a fascinating array of facts, folklore, landmarks and legends that are guaranteed to have you exclaiming 'I Never Knew That!'. Illustrated with line drawings this charming gem of a book is guaranteed to inform and delight in equal measure.

Philadelphia Railroads


Allen Meyers - 2010
    The railroad boom in the 19th century was made possible by the development of rural communities surrounding the city, the Industrial Revolution, excellent access to raw materials, and an influx of European immigrants. Philadelphia manufactured locomotives, railroad track, and other rail components and exported them around the world. The ability to move agricultural goods, manufactured products, and people commuting from home to work helped to unite the 27 boroughs, districts, and townships into one metropolis by 1854. Philadelphia Railroads features many unseen images and rare photographs documenting the leaders of Philadelphia's transportation world.

Silver Seasons and a New Frontier: The Story of the Rochester Red Wings


Jim Mandelaro - 2010
    The many greats who played for the Rochester Red Wings--Stan Musial, Cal Ripken, Jr., Bob Gibson, Boog Powell, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, and Justin Morneau--are among those brought to life in this story rich with quirky performances and poignant moments.This updated edition of Silver Seasons: The Story of the Rochester Red Wings includes three new chapters covering the team's record-setting tenth International League champion- ship, the distinction of being named top minor-league franchise by Baseball America, and its new affiliation with the Minnesota Twins. Read about the longest game in pro baseball history; learn about one of the greatest teams in minor-league history, the 1971 Junior World Series champion Red Wings; relive the miracle homers hit by Estel Crabtree in 1939 and Jim Finigan in 1961; and reminisce about the closing of fabled Silver Stadium and the opening of glorious Frontier Field in downtown Rochester, which was capped by an unlikely championship in the Red Wings' first season at their new park in 1997.

Larry Gets Lost in New York City


Michael Mullin - 2010
    Along the way he loses Pete and his family in the city's famous subway system. Finally after an exhausting day of adventures, Larry is reunited with his family at the top of the Empire State Building. This book takes young readers on a dog's-eye view of the greatest city in the world. Sidebar entries enhance the story, offering fascinating factoids about the places Larry visits.

Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King


Michael D. Morgan - 2010
    In the 1870s, OTR was comparable to the cultural hearts of Paris and Vienna. By the turn of the last century, the neighborhood was home to roughly three hundred saloons and had over a dozen breweries within or adjacent to its borders. It was beloved by countless citizens and travelers for the exact reasons that others successfully sought to destroy it. This is the story of how the heart of the "Paris of America" became a time capsule.

Ireland: A Smithsonian Natural History


Michael Viney - 2010
    A place of legendary beauty, it is also a land with a rich natural history. Michael Viney invites us to discover the geologic forces that created the island, peer into the famous bone caves that hold unique clues about animals from long ago, and experience the dramatic scenes of the cliff-lined coast and tempestuous seas.Viney begins deep in the past, when rivers of molten rock and enormous glaciers stripped the land bare. Soon after the glaciers retreated, the island was transformed into a fresh, new landscape, home to an intriguing variety of plants and animals, and an environment that has cultivated a rich human history and inspired countless myths. Infused with the lyricism of Irish prose, Ireland: A Smithsonian Natural History is indispensable for anyone seeking to understand the natural beauty of the Emerald Isle.

Hell's Only Half Full


Kerry Clarke - 2010
    

The Boy in the Picture: The Craigellachie Kid and the Driving of the Last Spike


Ray Argyle - 2010
    Surrounded by the railway dignitaries of the time, his young face peers out amid their frosty beards. Edward had just turned eighteen when he left his home in Victoria, British Columbia, to join the Canadian militia to fight Louis Riel in the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Hired to ride dispatches over the unfinished stretch of railway in British Columbia, he meets highway men, high officials, men of the North-West Mounted Police, and the denizens of saloons hidden away in mountain passes. He survives the lawlessness of remote towns and railway camps, rubs shoulders with Chinese labourers struggling to blast a right-of-way through the towering peaks of Eagle Pass, and makes a freezing midnight ride by railway flatcar to reach the outpost of Craigellachie just in time.

The California Snatch Racket: Kidnappings During the Prohibition and Depression Eras


James R. Smith - 2010
    Exposing a spree of kidnappings referred to as the “snatch racket,” true accounts of the crimes and the unfortunate victims are revealed. Driven by greed, desperation, or sheer stupidity, this detailed discussion explains that the ransom artists preyed indiscriminately on Hollywood socialites, wealthy heiresses, and even the poor—while each new disappearance brought new headlines and sales to the newspaper companies. Illustrating the manner in which even the simplest capers would often run tragically awry, 15 bizarre and often ironic tales are presented, including how a modern city rose to lynch a pair of kidnappers, the college kids who chose to imitate Leopold and Loeb, and the famed evangelist who faked her own abduction to cover up an affair. Early forensic techniques are described, including the first documented call tracing using a bevy of operators in a phone chain, as well as the birth of the modern symbiotic relationship between the news media and high-profile crime, demonstrating how the sensationalism of personal tragedy became a source for increased media sales.

The Last Days of Cleveland: And More True Tales of Crime and Disaster from Cleveland's Past


John Stark Bellamy II - 2010
    . . West Park sisters Helen, 11, and Marguerite, 10, who died after eating Rough-on-Rats brand poison in their grandmother's basement--were they victims of a genetic "suicide mania," or of the cruelest caretaker since Hansel and Gretel's stepmom? . . . The wealthy but oh-so-unlucky Corrigan family, whose turn for the worse only began with the sinking of their luxury yacht on Lake Erie . . . and many other gripping tales.

Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories: Our Veterans Remember


Sarah Larsen - 2010
    From barely-legal sons of Wisconsin to seasoned soldiers, the men and women in these pages make up a diverse collection of voices: an army chaplain who led services at Khe Sanh but never picked up a weapon; identical twin brothers who discover they are stationed at the same South Vietnam base; a Hmong refugee who fought the Secret War at age 12 in the jungles of Laos and later moved to Milwaukee; two prisoners of war whose years in captivity total almost 14; a Medal of Honor recipient; and dozens more. The stories in these pages expand beyond the borders of the war to include personal accounts of the events leading up to it, as well as the experiences of veterans as they return home to civilian life at the height of antiwar protest. Supported by original maps, photographs from the veterans' own collections, historical chapter introductions, biographies, and a comprehensive "honor roll" of Wisconsin-born soldiers who died or remain missing, Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories is an unforgettable collection and lasting tribute to our veterans.

Winthrop's Journal, History of New England, 1630-1649: Volume 1


John Winthrop - 2010
     Arriving on the eastern seaboard in June they eventually decided to base their Massachusetts Bay Colony around Boston, where Winthrop would build his house and aid in the building of the settlement. Over the course of the next ten years a further twenty-thousand immigrants, the majority of whom held puritanical beliefs, arrived in New England and established themselves under the leadership of the colony. Despite the fact that these Puritans had escaped religious persecution in England, their lives in the Americas were frequently plagued with disease, crop failures and conflicts with the natives. Yet, the Massachusetts Bay Colony survived and thrived through the early seventeenth century. Winthrop, who became governor of the colony three times, records fascinating details of colonial life, from minor everyday moments through to the wider religious and political events that shaped their new world in the Americas. Winthrop’s Journal is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of New England and how the early settlers of America survived their first trials and tribulations. John Winthrop (12 January 1587 – 26 March 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England, following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led the first large wave of immigrants from England in 1630 and served as governor for 12 of the colony's first 20 years. Winthrop kept a journal of his life and experiences, starting with the voyage across the Atlantic and continuing through his time in Massachusetts, originally written in three notebooks. The first two notebooks were published in 1790 by Noah Webster. The third notebook was long thought lost but was rediscovered in 1816, and the complete journals were published in 1825 and 1826 by James Savage as The History of New England from 1630–1649. By John Winthrop, Esq. First Governor of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay.

Paddington Station Through Time


John Christopher - 2010
    Revel in the selection of images of Paddington Through Time and see how Brunel's masterpiece has stood the test of time. 'I am going to design, in a great hurry, and I believe to build, a station after my own fancy,' stated Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1851. That station, the second to bear the name 'Paddington', was to be another Brunel masterpiece. His delight at the prospect of building a replacement and permanent station at Paddington is self-evident. The new station was to be built on the plot of land just south of the Bishop's Road Bridge, defined by Eastbourne Terrace and Praed Street on two sides, and by London Street and the canal on the northeast side. Because the new station would be located almost entirely within a cutting, there would be no grand exterior, and instead, Brunel impressed with his immense roof of iron and glass. Paddington is currently in the middle of a huge redevelopment that has seen it retain much of its nineteenth-century design, but updated to suit traffic flows of today. Millions pass through the station weekly, both to the West and Wales and to Heathrow on the Heathrow Express.