Best of
Local-History

2013

Wolves in the Land of Salmon


David Moskowitz - 2013
    Humans are the adult wolf’s only true natural predator; its return to the old-growth forests and wild coastlines of the Pacific Northwest renews age-old questions about the value of wildlands and wildlife.      As the vivid stories unfold in this riveting and timely book, wolves emerge as smart, complex players uniquely adapted to the vast interdependent ecosystem of this stunning region. Observing them at close range, David Moskowitz explores how they live, hunt, and communicate, tracing their biology and ecology through firsthand encounters in the wildlands of the Northwest. In the process he challenges assumptions about their role and the impact of even well-meaning human interventions.

Haunted Savannah: America's Most Spectral City


James Caskey - 2013
    This fully-revised and updated book details over forty of Savannah’s most infamous ghost stories, resulting in a paranormal compilation unlike any other. Discover the truth about Savannah’s haunted history as you explore spine-chilling tales about the Hostess City’s shadowy “Other Side,” as told by a master storyteller. This volume combines exhaustive searches of historical archives, detailed analysis, and engaging first-hand accounts of spectral activity as experienced by eyewitnesses, even by the author!Haunted Savannah: America’s Most Spectral City is not a collection of dry facts, dates and folklore; it is an enlightening and entertaining journey for anyone interested in the paranormal, from magical mystery tourist to serious ghost hunter. Containing over 50 photos and a detailed map of Savannah’s Historic District, this book is the perfect ‘pocket tour guide’ for the do-it-yourself ghost seeker.

4:09:43: Boston 2013 Through the Eyes of the Runners


Hal Higdon - 2013
    The book's title refers to the numbers on the finish-line clock when the first bomb exploded.In "4:09:43," Higdon views Boston 2013 through the eyes of those running the race. You will meet George, a runner from Athens, birthplace of the modern marathon, who at sunrise joins the eerie march of silent runners, all aimed at their appointments in Hopkinton, where the marathon starts. You will meet Michele, who at age 2 helped her mother hand water to runners, who first ran the marathon while a student at Wellesley College, and who decided to run Boston again mainly because her daughter Shannon was now a student at Boston University. You will meet Tracy, caught on Boylston Street between the two explosions, running for her life. You will meet Heather, a Canadian, who limped into the Medical Tent with bloody socks from blisters, soon to realize that worse things exist than losing a toenail.In what may be a first, Hal Higdon used social media in writing "4:09:43." Sunday, not yet expecting what might happen the next day, Higdon posted a good-luck message on his popular Facebook page. "Perfect weather," the author predicted. "A 'no-excuses' day." Within minutes, runners in Boston responded. Neil suggested that he was "chilling before the carb-a-thon continues." Christy boasted from her hotel room: "Bring it!"Then, the explosions on Monday! Like all runners, Higdon wondered whether marathoners would ever feel safe again. Beginning Tuesday, runners told him. They began blogging on the Internet, posting to his Facebook page, offering links to their stories, so very similar, but also so very different. Over the next several hours, days, and weeks, Higdon collected the tales of nearly 75 runners who were there, whose lives forever would be shadowed by the bombs on Boylston Street.In" 4:09:43," Higdon presents these stories, condensing and integrating them into a smooth-flowing narrative that begins with runners boarding the buses at Boston Common, continues with the wait at the Athletes' Village in Hopkinton, and flows through eight separate towns. The story does not end until the 23,000 participants encounter the terror on Boylston Street. "These are not 75 separate stories," says Higdon. "This is one story told as it might have been by a single runner with 75 pairs of eyes."One warning about reading "4:09:43" You will cry. But you will laugh, too, because for most of those who covered the 26 miles 385 yards from Hopkinton to Boylston Street, this was a joyous journey, albeit one that ended in tragedy. This is a book as much about the race and the runners in the race as it is about a terrorist attack. In future years as people look back on the Boston Marathon bombings, "4:09:43" will be the book that everyone will need to have read.

Puritan Witch: The Redemption of Rebecca Eames


Peni Jo Renner - 2013
    Suddenly, Salem Village is turned upside down as everyone fears that witches may be involved.Six months later, as news of the girls’ strange behavior becomes known, fear and suspicion overwhelm a nearby farming community, pitting neighbors against neighbors and turning friends into enemies. When Rebecca Eames makes one careless utterance during a verbal attack on her family, she is falsely accused of witchcraft. After her fate is decided by three magistrates, Rebecca must endure a prison sentence during which she and her fellow captives have no choice but to valiantly struggle to find humanity and camaraderie among dire conditions.In this novel based on a true story, a woman wrongly imprisoned during the seventeenth-century witchcraft trials comes full circle where she must determine if she can somehow resume her life, despite all she has endured.

Peggy Sue Got Pregnant


Deanna R. Adams - 2013
    After one reckless night with the boy she loves, sixteen-year-old Peggy Sue Lawrence's life changes forever. It is 1957. "Nice" girls don't have sex before marriage, and if they do and it leads to pregnancy, they are whisked out of town. In Peggy Sue's case, she's put on a bus in Hereford, Texas, headed for Cleveland, knowing she'll probably never see Frankie London again. She gives birth to a daughter, Charlee, and hands the baby over to an aunt and uncle, who adopt her with the agreement that the truth never be revealed. But it's too late. Someone knows. And that person will haunt Peggy Sue for years. When a teenaged Charlee forms an all-girl rock band, and gets international press, Peggy Sue is confronted with the realization that keeping secrets is sometimes worse than the secret itself.

Elwha: A River Reborn


Lynda V. Mapes - 2013
    It was the beginning of the largest dam removal project ever undertaken in North America—one dam was 200 feet tall—and the start of an unprecedented attempt to restore an entire ecosystem. More than 70 miles of the Elwha and its tributaries course from the mountain headwaters to clamming beaches on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Through interviews, field work, archival and historical research, and photojournalism, The Seattle Times has explored and reported on the dam removal, the Elwha ecosystem, its industrialization, and now its renewal. Elwha: A River Reborn is based on these feature articles. Richly illustrated with stunning photographs, as well as historic images, graphics, and a map, Elwha tells the interwoven stories of this region. Meet the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, who anxiously await the return of renowned salmon runs savored over the generations in the stories of their elders. Discover the biologists and engineers who are bringing the dams down and laying the plan for renewal, including an unprecedented revegetation effort that will eventually cover more than 700 acres of mudflats. When the dam started to come down in Fall 2011—anticipated for more than 20 years since Congress passed the Elwha Restoration Act—it was the beginning of a $350 million project observed around the world. Elwha: A River Reborn is inspiring and instructive, a triumphant story of place, people, and environment striving to come together.

Calamity at Chancellorsville


Mathew W. Lively - 2013
    Stonewall Jackson led his Second Corps around the unsuspecting Army of the Potomac on one of the most daring flank marches in history. His surprise flank attack launched with the five simple words You can go forward, then collapsed a Union corps in one of the most stunning accomplishments of the war. Flushed with victory, Jackson decided to continue attacking into the night. He and members of his staff rode beyond the lines to scout the ground while his units reorganized. However, Southern soldiers mistook the riders for Union cavalry and opened fire, mortally wounding Jackson at the apogee of his military career. One of the rounds broke Jackson s left arm, which required amputation. A week later Old Jack was dead.Calamity at Chancellorsville: The Wounding and Death of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson is the first full-length examination of Jackson s final days. Contrary to popular belief, eyewitnesses often disagreed regarding key facts relating to the events surrounding Jackson s reconnaissance, wounding, harrowing journey out of harm s way, medical care, and death. These accounts, for example, conflict regarding where Jackson was fatally wounded and even the road he was on when struck. If he wasn t wounded where history has recorded, then who delivered the fatal volley? How many times did he fall from the stretcher? What medical treatment did he receive? What type of amputation did Dr. Hunter McGuire perform? Did Jackson really utter his famous last words, "Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees"? What was the cause of his death?Author Mathew W. Lively utilizes extensive primary source material and a firm understanding of the area to re-examine the gripping story of the final days of one of the Confederacy s greatest generals, and how Southerners came to view Jackson's death during and after the conflict. Dr. Lively begins his compelling narrative with a visit from Jackson s family prior to the battle of Chancellorsville, then follows his course through the conflict to its fatal outcome.Instead of revising history, Dr. Lively offers up a fresh new perspective. Calamity at Chancellorsville will stand as the definitive account of one of the most important and surprisingly misunderstood events of the American Civil War.REVIEWS "The definitive book on the last days of Stonewall Jackson." Frank A. O Reilly, author of The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War on the Rappahannock "The fatally wounded body of Stonewall Jackson has generated more controversy among historians than any of his famous military campaigns, and Mathew Lively dissects the events surrounding the general s wounding and his medical care with surgical precision. Much of the established knowledge about Stonewall Jackson s final days comes under question because of Lively s microcosmic inspection of remarkable source material and research. Calamity at Chancellorsville gives us new angles from which to observe a deadly moment in Confederate history, one that is infused with high drama and intense action." Peter S. Carmichael, Fluhrer Professor, Gettysburg College "Stonewall Jackson's wounding at Chancellorsville is one of the pivotal dramas of the Civil War. Dr. Mathew Lively is uniquely qualified to explore this tragic tale. Blending meticulous research and sparkling prose with the eye of a physician, Lively offers a fresh and compelling account of Jackson s last days in Calamity at Chancellorsville. In the process he humanizes the blue-eyed warrior, revealing valuable new insight on the cause of his death." W. Hunter Lesser, author of Rebels at the Gate

Lost Birmingham


Beverly Crider - 2013
    This book takes a look at this lost history and brings it back to life.Birmingham has many notable historic landmarks today, but so many more are all but forgotten. The Bangor Cave Casino was once a world-renowned speakeasy. The Thomas Jefferson Hotel featured a zeppelin mooring station, drawing lots of attention from tourists. Other significant sites from the past, such as Hillman Hospital and the buildings on the "Heaviest Corner on Earth," are unknown even to natives now. Local author Beverly Crider presents an intriguing and educational tour through these and more hidden treasures.

The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America


Brian P. Levack - 2013
    During these years witches were thought to be evil people who used magical power to inflict physical harm or misfortune on their neighbours. Witches were also believed to have made pacts with the devil and sometimes to have worshipped him at nocturnal assemblies known as sabbaths. These beliefs provided the basis for defining witchcraft as a secular and ecclesiastical crime and prosecuting tens of thousands of women and men for this offence. The trials resulted in as many as fifty thousand executions.These essays study the rise and fall of witchcraft prosecutions in the various kingdoms and territories of Europe and in English, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies in the Americas. They also relate these prosecutions to the Catholic and Protestant reformations, the introduction of new forms of criminal procedure, medical and scientific thought, the process of state-building, profound social and economic change, early modern patterns of gender relations, and the wave of demonic possessions that occurred in Europe at the same time. The essays survey the current state of knowledge in the field, explore the academic controversies that have arisen regarding witch beliefs and witch trials, propose new ways of studying the subject, and identify areas for future research.

The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes


Conevery Bolton Valencius - 2013
    For decades, people puzzled over the causes of the quakes, but by the time the nation began to recover from the Civil War, the New Madrid earthquakes had been essentially forgotten.           In The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes, Conevery Bolton Valencius remembers this major environmental disaster, demonstrating how events that have been long forgotten, even denied and ridiculed as tall tales, were in fact enormously important at the time of their occurrence, and continue to affect us today. Valencius weaves together scientific and historical evidence to demonstrate the vast role the New Madrid earthquakes played in the United States in the early nineteenth century, shaping the settlement patterns of early western Cherokees and other Indians, heightening the credibility of Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa for their Indian League in the War of 1812, giving force to frontier religious revival, and spreading scientific inquiry. Moving into the present, Valencius explores the intertwined reasons—environmental, scientific, social, and economic—why something as consequential as major earthquakes can be lost from public knowledge, offering a cautionary tale in a world struggling to respond to global climate change amid widespread willful denial.                Engagingly written and ambitiously researched—both in the scientific literature and the writings of the time—The Lost History of the New Madrid Earthquakes will be an important resource in environmental history, geology, and seismology, as well as history of science and medicine and early American and Native American history.

Toledo's Three Ls: Lamson's, Lion Store and Lasalle's (Landmark Department Stores)


Bruce Allen Kopytek - 2013
    Reminisce with author Bruce Allen Kopytek about a time whenthese three great department stores dominated Toledo’s retail scene and offeredtheir customers anything they could want. Revisit their downtown competitorslike Tiedtke’s, B.R. Baker, Milner’s and Stein’s, which also added their own touchto Toledo’s life. Through written history, photographs and personalrecollections a lost era comes to light—an era when business was personal andlocal and shopping was more of a cherished event rather than a chore.

The First Thanksgiving


Nathaniel Philbrick - 2013
    In this selection from the New York Times bestseller Mayflower Nathaniel Philbrick recounts in riveting detail the truth about relations between Plymouth Colony and the British crown and between the colonists and Native American tribes, shining a light on the courage, communities, and conflicts that shaped one of our country’s most celebrated national holidays.

The Boy from Glin Industrial School


Tom Wall - 2013
    This book takes you inside the walls of the Industrial School - run by a Catholic Religious Order - and describes in detail the daily routine of the harsh regime which the boys had to submit to on a day to day basis.Over the years, more than 35,000 Irish children were detained in a network of Industrial Schools where they had little chance of developing a normal childhood this leaves an appalling legacy on the social history of Ireland. It is more than an autobiography (the facts of which are in no dispute) but is a shocking indictment of the collusion of the Irish State and the Catholic Church to remove vulnerable children from society on a whim and leave them to their fate.

From My Seat on the Aisle: Movies and Memories


Jack Garner - 2013
    His book compiles the best of his essays, reviews, and interviews with many Hollywood celebrities, such as Audrey Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Jimmy Stewart, Woody Allen, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Garner offers a unique perspective into the world of film that is humorous, anecdotal, and insightful.

The Hub's Metropolis: Greater Boston's Development from Railroad Suburbs to Smart Growth


James C. O'Connell - 2013
    From its proto-suburban village centers of 1800 to its far-flung, automobile-centric exurbs of today, Boston has been a national pacesetter for suburbanization. In The Hub's Metropolis, James O'Connell charts the evolution of Boston's suburban development.The city of Boston is compact and consolidated--famously, "the Hub." Greater Boston, however, stretches over 1,736 square miles and ranks as the world's sixth largest metropolitan area. Boston suburbs began to develop after 1820, when wealthy city dwellers built country estates that were just a short carriage ride away from their homes in the city. Then, as transportation became more efficient and affordable, the map of the suburbs expanded. The Metropolitan Park Commission's park-and-parkway system, developed in the 1890s, created a template for suburbanization that represents the country's first example of regional planning.O'Connell identifies nine layers of Boston's suburban development, each of which has left its imprint on the landscape: traditional villages; country retreats; railroad suburbs; streetcar suburbs (the first electric streetcar boulevard, Beacon Street in Brookline, was designed by Frederic Law Olmsted); parkway suburbs, which emphasized public greenspace but also encouraged commuting by automobile; mill towns, with housing for workers; upscale and middle-class suburbs accessible by outer-belt highways like Route 128; exurban, McMansion-dotted sprawl; and smart growth. Still a pacesetter, Greater Boston has pioneered antisprawl initiatives that encourage compact, mixed-use development in existing neighborhoods near railroad and transit stations.O'Connell reminds us that these nine layers of suburban infrastructure are still woven into the fabric of the metropolis. Each chapter suggests sites to visit, from Waltham country estates to Cambridge triple-deckers.

The Enchanted Forest: Memories of Maryland's Storybook Park


Janet Kusterer - 2013
    When it first opened in 1955, Ellicott City's storybook land became the first children's theme park on the East Coast. Young visitors could climb aboard rides like the Little Toot tugboat, Mother Goose and Ali Baba or encounter animals like peacocks and burros. Upon its closing in 1989, Marylanders who cherished memories of the Enchanted Forest were deeply disappointed. However, many of the park's beloved figures were moved to nearby Clark's Elioak Farm, where they were restored and displayed to the delight of new generations. Even today, the farm is a popular destination that evokes the whimsical spirit of the iconic park. Local author Janet Kusterer and Martha Anne Clark of Elioak Farm trace the park's history through vintage images and interviews with the Harrison family, former employees and visitors. Join Kusterer and Clark to rediscover the magic of the Enchanted Forest.

Another City upon a Hill: A New England Memoir


Joseph A. Conforti - 2013
    Growing up, Joseph Conforti's world was defined by rolling hills, granite mills, and forests of triple-deckers. Conforti, whose mother was Portuguese and whose father was Italian, recounts how he negotiated those identities in a city where ethnic heritage mattered. Paralleling his own account, Conforti shares the story of his family, three generations of Portuguese and Italians who made their way in this once-mighty textile city.

From Storefront to Monument: Tracing the Public History of the Black Museum Movement


Andrea A. Burns - 2013
    Many of these institutions trace their roots to the 1960s and 1970s, when the struggle for racial equality inspired a movement within the black community to make the history and culture of African America more "public." This book tells the story of four of these groundbreaking museums: the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago (founded in 1961); the International Afro-American Museum in Detroit (1965); the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in Washington, D.C. (1967); and the African American Museum of Philadelphia (1976). Andrea A. Burns shows how the founders of these institutions, many of whom had ties to the Black Power movement, sought to provide African Americans with a meaningful alternative to the misrepresentation or utter neglect of black history found in standard textbooks and most public history sites. Through the recovery and interpretation of artifacts, documents, and stories drawn from African American experience, they encouraged the embrace of a distinctly black identity and promoted new methods of interaction between the museum and the local community.Over time, the black museum movement induced mainstream institutions to integrate African American history and culture into their own exhibits and educational programs. This often controversial process has culminated in the creation of a National Museum of African American History and Culture, now scheduled to open in the nation's capital in 2015.

Black Print with a White Carnation: Mildred Brown and the Omaha Star Newspaper, 1938-1989


Amy Helene Forss - 2013
    Known for her trademark white carnation corsage, Brown was the matriarch of Omaha’s Near North Side—a historically black part of town—and an iconic city leader. Her remarkable life, a product of the Reconstruction era and Jim Crow, reflects a larger American history that includes the Great Migration, the Red Scare of the post–World War era, civil rights and black power movements, desegregation, and urban renewal.Within the context of African American and women’s history studies, Amy Helene Forss’s Black Print with a White Carnation examines the impact of the black press through the narrative of Brown’s life and work. Forss draws on more than 150 oral histories, numerous black newspapers, and government documents to illuminate African American history during the political and social upheaval of the twentieth century. During Brown’s fifty-one-year tenure, the Omaha Star became a channel of communication between black and white residents of the city, as well as an arena for positive weekly news in the black community. Brown and her newspaper led successful challenges to racial discrimination, unfair employment practices, restrictive housing covenants, and a segregated public school system, placing the woman with the white carnation at the center of America’s changing racial landscape.

The Missed: Tales of Spirit and Tragic End at Niagara Falls


Michelle Ann Kratts - 2013
    This famous city, perched at the edge of the world, though a place of great beauty, has also been the scene of terrible tragedy. Unlike any other history of Niagara, The Missed, is a collection of strange and mystical stories conceived by the river, herself. Beginning with a unique tale of spiritual awakening, The Missed, is a compendium of ghost stories and death sketches of those who were destined to end their lives in Niagara.

The Gateway Arch: A Biography


Tracy Campbell - 2013
    Louis, the competing agendas of its supporters, and the mixed results of their ambitious planRising to a triumphant height of 630 feet, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis is a revered monument to America’s western expansion. Envisioned in 1947 but not completed until the mid-1960s, the arch today attracts millions of tourists annually and is one of the world’s most widely recognized structures. By weaving together social, political, and cultural history, historian Tracy Campbell uncovers the complicated and troubling history of the beloved structure. This compelling book explores how a medley of players with widely divergent motivations (civic pride, ambition, greed, among others) brought the Gateway Arch to fruition, but at a price the city continues to pay. Campbell dispels long-held myths and casts a provocative new light on the true origins and meaning of the Gateway Arch. He shows that the monument was the scheme of shrewd city leaders who sought to renew downtown St. Louis and were willing to steal an election, destroy historic buildings, and drive out local people and businesses to achieve their goal. Campbell also tells the human story of the architect Eero Saarinen, whose prize-winning design brought him acclaim but also charges of plagiarism, and who never lived to see the completion of his vision. As a national symbol, the Gateway Arch has a singular place in American culture, Campbell concludes, yet it also stands as an instructive example of failed urban planning.