Best of
Microhistory

2017

Wild Horse Country: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang, America's Horse


David Philipps - 2017
    Popularly known as the mustang, the wild horse is the enduring icon of America. But in modern times it has become entangled in controversy and bureaucratic mismanagement, and now its future is imperiled.In Wild Horse Country, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Philipps traces the rich history of wild horses in America and investigates the shocking dilemma they face in our own time.

A Short History of Drunkenness


Mark Forsyth - 2017
    But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. It can be religious, it can be sexual, it can be the duty of kings or the relief of peasants. It can be an offering to the ancestors, or a way of marking the end of a day's work. It can send you to sleep, or send you into battle.A Short History of Drunkenness traces humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, answering every possible question along the way: What did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? On the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Romans got rat-arsed, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never quite like in the movies.This is a history of the world at its inebriated best.

It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan


Tristan Donovan - 2017
    But what is it about this pastime that continues to captivate us well into the age of smartphones and instant gratification?In It’s All a Game, British journalist and renowned games expert Tristan Donovan opens the box on the incredible and often surprising history and psychology of board games. He traces the evolution of the game across cultures, time periods, and continents, from the paranoid Chicago toy genius behind classics like Operation and Mouse Trap, to the role of Monopoly in helping prisoners of war escape the Nazis, and even the scientific use of board games today to teach artificial intelligence how to reason and how to win. With these compelling stories and characters, Donovan ultimately reveals why board games have captured hearts and minds all over the world for generations.

Eat Like Walt: Disney's Love of Food and Flavors


Marcy Carriker Smothers - 2017
    Although Disneyland opened in 1955, its culinary history dates back to 1923 when Walt Disney first arrived in Hollywood. Walt was a simple eater yet a big dreamer. By 1934, four years before his first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, would be released, Mickey Mouse had made him famous enough to have a recipe published in Better Homes & Gardens magazine. Ask fans what Walt's favorite food was and most will say, "Chili." Chili has a cult status at Disneyland. People want to eat what Walt ate, the way he ate, where he ate it.

Walt's Disneyland: It's Still There If You Know Where to Look


Jim Denney - 2017
    He lived in his apartment over the Disneyland Fire House for weeks at a time. He was planning Disneyland years before he released his first feature film, Snow White. He was focused on improving the Park in the final days of his life. Disneyland was truly his passion. Before Walt died in December 1966, he promised that Disneyland would keep changing and continue growing - and it has. Walt also promised that the optimistic, adventurous spirit of Disneyland would never change - another promise kept. WALT'S DISNEYLAND uncovers those parts of Disneyland that have remained essentially unchanged since he left us. If you know where to look, Walt's pristine, unchanged Disneyland is still there, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. By uncovering the hidden history of Disneyland, this book will make your next Disneyland adventure a richer, more enjoyable, more meaningful experience. Author Jim Denney (the co-author of the classic Disney biography HOW TO BE LIKE WALT) takes you on a tour of Disneyland as it is today - from Main Street USA to Tomorrowland - and shows you where to find Walt's original Disneyland of 1955 to 1966. It's a journey into the heart and soul of one of the greatest innovators of all time, Walt Disney.

The Chinese Typewriter: A History


Thomas S. Mullaney - 2017
    Through the years, the Chinese written language encountered presumed alphabetic universalism in the form of Morse Code, Braille, stenography, Linotype, punch cards, word processing, and other systems developed with the Latin alphabet in mind. This book is about those encounters -- in particular thousands of Chinese characters versus the typewriter and its QWERTY keyboard. Thomas Mullaney describes a fascinating series of experiments, prototypes, failures, and successes in the century-long quest for a workable Chinese typewriter.The earliest Chinese typewriters, Mullaney tells us, were figments of popular imagination, sensational accounts of twelve-foot keyboards with 5,000 keys. One of the first Chinese typewriters actually constructed was invented by a Christian missionary, who organized characters by common usage (but promoted the less-common characters for "Jesus" to the common usage level). Later came typewriters manufactured for use in Chinese offices, and typewriting schools that turned out trained "typewriter girls" and "typewriter boys." Still later was the "Double Pigeon" typewriter produced by the Shanghai Calculator and Typewriter Factory, the typewriter of choice under Mao. Clerks and secretaries in this era experimented with alternative ways of organizing characters on their tray beds, inventing an input method that was the first instance of "predictive text."Today, after more than a century of resistance against the alphabetic, not only have Chinese characters prevailed, they form the linguistic substrate of the vibrant world of Chinese information technology. The Chinese Typewriter, not just an "object history" but grappling with broad questions of technological change and global communication, shows how this happened.

The Seeds of Life: From Aristotle to da Vinci, from Sharks' Teeth to Frogs' Pants, the Long and Strange Quest to Discover Where Babies Come From


Edward Dolnick - 2017
    People knew the basics: men and women had sex, and sometimes babies followed. But beyond that the origins of life were a colossal mystery. The Seeds of Life is the remarkable and rollicking story of how a series of blundering geniuses and brilliant amateurs struggled for two centuries to discover where, exactly, babies come from. Taking a page from investigative thrillers, acclaimed science writer Edward Dolnick looks to these early scientists as if they were detectives hot on the trail of a bedeviling and urgent mystery. These strange searchers included an Italian surgeon using shark teeth to prove that female reproductive organs were not 'failed' male genitalia, and a Catholic priest who designed ingenious miniature pants to prove that frogs required semen to fertilize their eggs. A witty and rousing history of science, The Seeds of Life presents our greatest scientists struggling-against their perceptions, their religious beliefs, and their deep-seated prejudices-to uncover how and where we come from.

Sneakers


Howie Kahn - 2017
    This gift-worthy book features 320 pages of photos and interviews with industry gurus, sports legends, and celebrities in a stunning package created by celebrated designer Rodrigo Corral.The book's carefully-curated list of participants takes readers to the center of the action. Edson Sabajo, owner of Amsterdam's seminal sneaker boutique, Patta, leads a sneaker hunt that starts in the back-alleys of Philadelphia and ends in the Middle East. Jeff Staple, designer of a pair of sneakers that resells for $6000, recalls the sneaker riot his design kicked off on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2005. Jim Riswold dishes on making commercials with Michael Jordan. Ronnie Fieg explains the collaborative magic of KITH. Adidas's Rachel Muscat and Jon Wexler get philosophical about their star collaborator, Kanye West. Nike's legendary Tinker Hatfield takes a glimpse into the future. Professional tennis player Serena Williams shares an exclusive reveal. And much, much more. From its arresting cover design and thought-provoking interiors to the unprecedented depth of its first-person accounts, Sneakers is an absolute must-have for sneaker lovers and anyone who is interested in design, creative process, street culture, branding, entrepreneurship, art and fashion.

Smile Stealers: The Fine and Foul Art of Dentistry


Richard Barnett - 2017
    It charts the changing social attitudes toward the purpose and practice of dentistry from the crude and painful endeavors of early civilizations to the fluoridated water, cosmetic surgery, and heightened expectations of today.Organized chronologically, The Smile Stealers interleaves beautiful and gruesome 3D objects, technical illustrations, and paintings from the Wellcome Collection’s unique medical archive of material from Europe, America, and the Far East with seven authoritative and eloquent themed articles from medical historian Richard Barnett. Including previously unseen illustrations, this comprehensive review of the development of the trade and discipline of dentistry covers topics as diverse as the very first dentures, the smile revolution in eighteenth-century portraiture, and the role of dentistry in forensic science.The Smile Stealers is guaranteed to appeal to those who see the beauty in medicine and biology as it probes the growth of dentistry.

Finally Got the News: The Printed Legacy of the U.S. Radical Left, 1970-1979


Brad DuncanEmily K. Hobson - 2017
    It uses original printed materials--from pamphlets to posters, flyers to record albums--to tell this politically rich and little-known story. The dawn of the 1970s saw an explosion of interest in revolutionary ideas and activism. Young people radicalized by the antiwar movement became anti-imperialists, veterans of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements increasingly identified with communism and Pan-Africanism, radical groups sent members into factories to organize the working class, and women were building for autonomy and liberation. Across movements with different roots, an incredible overlap and intermingling of activists, ideologies, and hybrid organizations emerged.These diverse movements used printed materials as organizing tools in every political activity, creating a remarkable array of publishing styles, techniques, and formats. Through the lens of printed materials we can see the real nuts and bolts of political organizing in an era when thousands of young revolutionaries were attempting to put their beliefs into practices in workplaces and neighborhoods across the US.Finally Got the News uses this agitational material to shine a light on the full breadth of organizations and collectives that were a part of the '70s radical renaissance. The book features original materials from Amiri Baraka's Congress of African People, radical broadsides distributed in factories, queer socialist pamphlets, and agitational newspapers from Puerto Rican revolutionary groups like the Young Lords Party.These materials were made to be ephemeral and disposable, making collecting and preserving the paper legacy of '70s radical activism especially difficult. But many materials have survived and offer an irreplaceable insight into this period. Finally Got the News highlights many essential issues that are still resoundingly contemporary: from community responses to police brutality, to battles for better wages and working conditions, to opposition to US imperialism in the Middle East. Radical movements of the '70s attempted to confront concerns that are still central to today's campaigns for social justice.The full-color book that accompanies the exhibition will collect almost 100 images of materials included in the show, original essays by 14 contributors, and a round table discussion amongst a broad collection of producers of propaganda in the 1970s. The majority of this exhibition is from the archive of Brad Duncan, amassed over twenty years of collecting and activism. Additional items are from the collection of Interference Archive.

Sad Topographies. A Disenchanted Traveller's Guide


Damien Rudd - 2017
    Dispirited travellers rejoice as Damien Rudd journeys across continents in search of the world’s most joyless place names and their fascinating etymologies. Behind each lugubrious place name exists a story, a richly interwoven narrative of mythology, history, landscape, misadventure and tragedy. From Disappointment Island in the Southern Ocean to Misery in Germany, across to Lonely Island in Russia, or, if you’re feeling more intrepid, pay a visit to Mount Hopeless in Australia – all from the comfort of your armchair. With hand drawn maps by illustrator Kateryna Didyk, Sad Topographies will steer you along paths that lead to strange and obscure places, navigating the terrains of historical fact and imaginative fiction. At turns poetic and dark-humoured, this is a travel guide quite like no other.   Damien Rudd is the founder of the hugely popular Instagram account @sadtopographies.

The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens: Beetles, Microbuses, Things, Karmann Ghias, and More


John Gunnell - 2017
    The classic air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is regarded as one of the most important and well-engineered vehicles of the twentieth century. It was the most popular imported car in America in the 1960s, and before that it enjoyed a humble beginning as "the people's car" in its native Germany.The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens encompasses the evolution of the popular Beetle as well as other variations of Volkswagen's air-cooled cars, vans, and trucks. Thoroughly illustrated, this is an invaluable reference to Volkswagen's collectible and iconic cars.The history of VW automobiles is just as colorful as the hues they were manufactured in, and this book illustrates the full story. German automakers originally sought to supply their countrymen with an automobile that was easy to mass produce. By 1938, they finalized the design for the VW "Bug"--the first rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive configured car. In its heyday, the rounded Beetle was produced at a rate of more than one million per year. Today, with more than 23 million cars built, the Beetle holds the record as the most-produced passenger car of all time. But the Beetle is only one part of The Complete Book of Classic Volkswagens. The rest--from Type 2 vans, pick-ups, and campers to the Type 113 "Super Beetle"--is included here. If you're the owner of a Volkswagen or if you just love their iconic look and you're interested in their evolution, this book deserves a place on your bookshelf.

Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present


Steven D. Lubar - 2017
    Collecting captures the past in a way useful to the present and the future. Exhibits play to our senses and orchestrate our impressions, balancing presentation and preservation, information and emotion. Curators consider visitors' interactions with objects and with one another, how our bodies move through displays, how our eyes grasp objects, how we learn and how we feel. Inside the Lost Museum documents the work museums do and suggests ways these institutions can enrich the educational and aesthetic experience of their visitors.Woven throughout Inside the Lost Museum is the story of the Jenks Museum at Brown University, a nineteenth-century display of natural history, anthropology, and curiosities that disappeared a century ago. The Jenks Museum's past, and a recent effort by artist Mark Dion, Steven Lubar, and their students to reimagine it as art and history, serve as a framework for exploring the long record of museums' usefulness and service.Museum lovers know that energy and mystery run through every collection and exhibition. Lubar explains work behind the scenes--collecting, preserving, displaying, and using art and artifacts in teaching, research, and community-building--through historical and contemporary examples. Inside the Lost Museum speaks to the hunt, the find, and the reveal that make curating and visiting exhibitions and using collections such a rewarding and vital pursuit.

Teeth: Beauty, Inequality, and the Struggle for Oral Health in America


Mary Otto - 2017
    Otto’s subjects include the pioneering dentist who made Shirley Temple and Judy Garland’s teeth sparkle on the silver screen and helped create the all-American image of “pearly whites”; Deamonte Driver, the young Maryland boy whose tragic death from an abscessed tooth sparked congressional hearings; and a marketing guru who offers advice to dentists on how to push new and expensive treatments and how to keep Medicaid patients at bay.In one of its most disturbing findings, Teeth reveals that toothaches are not an occasional inconvenience, but rather a chronic reality for millions of people, including disproportionate numbers of the elderly and people of color. Many people, Otto reveals, resort to prayer to counteract the uniquely devastating effects of dental pain.Otto also goes back in time to understand the roots of our predicament in the history of dentistry, showing how it became separated from mainstream medicine, despite a century of growing evidence that oral health and general bodily health are closely related.Muckraking and paradigm-shifting, Teeth exposes for the first time the extent and meaning of our oral health crisis. It joins the small shelf of books that change the way we view society and ourselves—and will spark an urgent conversation about why our teeth matter.This is an alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781620971444.

Going Deep: John Philip Holland and the Invention of the Attack Submarine


Lawrence Goldstone - 2017
    Yet the riveting story behind the invention of the submarine—an epic saga of genius, persistence, ruthlessness, and deceit—is almost completely unknown.Like Henry Ford and the Wright brothers, John Philip Holland was completely self-taught, a brilliant man raised in humble circumstances, earning his living as a schoolteacher and choirmaster. But all the while he was obsessed with creating a machine that could successfully cruise beneath the waves. His struggle to unlock the mystery behind controlled undersea navigation would take three decades, during which he endured skepticism, disappointment, and betrayal. But his indestructible belief in himself and his ideas led him to finally succeed where so many others had failed.Going Deep is a vivid chronicle of the fierce battles not only under the water, but also in the back rooms of Wall Street and the committee rooms of Congress. A rousing adventure—surrounded by an atmosphere of corruption and greed—at its heart this a story of bravery, passion, and the unbreakable determination to succeed against long odds.

The Oldest House in London


Fiona Rule - 2017
    The histories of some, such as the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, are well documented. However, these magnificent, world-renowned attractions are not the only places with fascinating tales to tell. Down a narrow, medieval lane on the outskirts of Smithfield stands 41–42 Cloth Fair – the oldest house in the City of London. Fiona Rule uncovers the fascinating survival story of this extraordinary property and the people who owned it and lived in it, set against the backdrop of an ever-changing city that has prevailed over war, disease, fire and economic crises.

America's First Great Eclipse: How Scientists, Tourists, and the Rocky Mountain Eclipse of 1878 Changed Astronomy Forever


Steve Ruskin - 2017
    and, like us, were willing to travel thousands of miles to see it. The upcoming total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017 is being called the Great American Eclipse. But it is not the first eclipse to deserve that title. In the summer of 1878, when the American West was still wild, hundreds of astronomers and thousands of tourists traveled by train to Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas to witness America's first "Great Eclipse."America's First Great Eclipse tells the story of a country, and its scientists, on the brink of a new era. Near the end of the nineteenth century, when the United States was barely a hundred years old, American astronomers were taking the lead in a science that Europeans had dominated for centuries. Scientists like Samuel Langley, Henry Draper, Maria Mitchell, and even the inventor Thomas Edison, were putting America at the forefront of what was being called the "new astronomy."On July 29, 1878, having braved treacherous storms, debilitating altitude sickness, and the threat of Indian attacks, they joined thousands of East-coast tourists and Western pioneers as they spread out across the Great Plains and climbed to the top of 14,000-foot Pikes Peak, all to glimpse one of nature's grandest spectacles: a total solar eclipse.It was the first time in history so many astronomers observed together from higher elevations. The Rocky Mountain eclipse of 1878 was not only a turning point in American science, but it was also the beginning of high-altitude astronomy, without which our current understanding of the Universe would be impossible.22 illustrations.

Typewriters: Iconic Machines from the Golden Age of Mechanical Writing


Anthony Casillo - 2017
    From the world's first commercially successful typewriter—the Sholes & Glidden Type Writer of 1874—to the iconic electric models of the 1960s, eighty vintage devices are profiled in elegant photographs and fascinating text that highlights the design modifications, intricate details, and peculiar quirks that make each typewriter unique. From functional advances like noiseless machines to luxurious details such as mahogany covers and inlaid mother-of-pearl, a century of design innovation and experimentation is charted in these pages. Packed with visuals and rich with history, Typewriters is the essential story of a writing invention that changed the world.

Twisted True Tales from Science: Insane Inventors


Stephanie Bearce - 2017
    He invented the idea for cell phones in 1893, discovered alternating current, and invented a death ray gun. Of course, he also talked to pigeons, ate only boiled food, and was scared of women who wore jewelry. He was an insane inventor. So was Henry Cavendish, who discovered hydrogen, calculated the density of the Earth, and was so scared of people that he had to write notes to communicate. Sir Isaac Newton discovered the laws of gravity, believed in magic, and thought he could make a potion to create gold. These stories may sound twisted, but they're all true tales from science!

Porsche 70 Years: There Is No Substitute


Randy Leffingwell - 2017
    Fasten your seatbelt and hit the gas. Porsche is one of the most important and iconic automotive manufacturers in history. From its first 356 to today's technical tour de force, the 918, Porsche has advanced from strength to strength for nearly seven decades. In Porsche 70 Years: There is No Substitute, author Randy Leffingwell offers a richly illustrated and detailed book that captures the full story of one of the world's leading automotive companies. Beautiful, contemporary photos and rare historical images accompany in-depth analyses of milestone cars and events.  Created with Porsche's cooperation, the book brings to light the engineering anddesign stories behind Stuttgart's most famous cars--such as the 356, 904, 917, 911, 928, 935, 956 and others—as well as its key players. Comprising the most comprehensive overview of the company's entire history, Porsche 70 Years truly has no substitute.

Steam Titans: Cunard, Collins, and the Epic Battle for Commerce on the North Atlantic


William M. Fowler Jr. - 2017
    Steam travel transformed the Atlantic into a pulsating highway, dominated by ports in Liverpool and New York, as steamships ferried people, supplies, money, and information with astounding speed and regularity. American raw materials flowed eastward, while goods, capital, people, and technology crossed westward. The Anglo-American “partnership” fueled development worldwide; it also gave rise to a particularly intense competition.Steam Titans tells the story of a transatlantic fight to wrest control of the globe's most lucrative trade route. Two men—Samuel Cunard and Edward Knight Collins—and two nations wielded the tools of technology, finance, and politics to compete for control of a commercial lifeline that spanned the North Atlantic. The world watched carefully to see which would win. Each competitor sent to sea the fastest, biggest, and most elegant ships in the world, hoping to earn the distinction of being known as “the only way to cross.”Historian William M. Fowler brings to life the spectacle of this generation-long struggle for supremacy, during which New York rose to take her place among the greatest ports and cities of the world, and recounts the tale of a competition that was the opening act in the drama of economic globalization, still unfolding today.

Ford Mustang: America's Original Pony Car


Donald Farr - 2017
    In the early 1960s, Lee Iacocca - then director of the Ford division at Ford Motor Company - convinced Henry Ford II to produce a sporty four-seat car aimed at the emerging youth market. That car, essentially a reconfigured and re-skinned Falcon economy car, became the Ford Mustang, and it changed the automotive world like no other car before or since. In Ford Mustang: America's Original Pony Car, acclaimed Mustang writer Donald Farr celebrates this unbroken lineage of muscle. He chronicles the car's phenomenal first-year sales, the new pony car category it pioneered, and subsequent models that include the Mustang GT, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500, Super Cobra Jet, Boss 302, and Boss 429 - all part of a line of American performance cars that continues to this day. Created in cooperation with Ford Motor Company and featuring some 400 photos from its historic and media archives, Ford Mustang is a must on the bookshelf of any muscle car or Ford aficionado.

My Dad Had That Car: A Nostalgic Look at the American Automobile, 1920-1990


Tad Burness - 2017
    With more than 1,300 pages and 12,500 illustrations covering 70 years, this may be the most complete visual history of the American automobile ever published. Nowhere else are there so many collector, luxury, sporting and every day cars assembled with fascinating information about original prices, engine sizes, horsepower, and other specifications. The pages are packed with genuine, factory-fresh photographs and drawings taken from contemporary advertisements, catalogs, and brochures. More than 250 manufacturers and hundreds of individual models trace the evolution of the American automobile, from the millions of Model Ts that rolled off Ford's assembly line through the art deco streamliners of the '30s, to the tail-finned land yachts of the '50s and muscle cars of the '60s and '70s up to the early SUVs of the '90s. Throughout author Tad Burness adds handwritten details not found anywhere else, including pointing out unusual options and differences found within a model. Automotive journalist Matt Stone provides a new general introduction and one to each era within the book.

The First Tour de France: Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris


Peter Cossins - 2017
    Full of adventure, mishaps and audacious attempts at cheating, it was a race to be remembered. Cyclists of the time weren't enthusiastic about participating in this "heroic" race on roads more suited to hooves than wheels, with bikes weighing up to thirty-five pounds, on a single fixed gear, for three full weeks. Assembling enough riders for the race meant paying unemployed amateurs from the suburbs of Paris, including a butcher, a chimney sweep and a circus acrobat. From Maurice "The White Bulldog" Garin, an Italian-born Frenchman whose parents were said to have swapped him for a round of cheese in order to smuggle him into France as a fourteen-year-old, to Hippolyte Aucouturier, who looked like a villain from a Buster Keaton movie with his jersey of horizontal stripes and handlebar moustache, the cyclists were a remarkable bunch. Starting in the Parisian suburb of Montgeron, the route took the intrepid cyclists through Lyon, over the hills to Marseille, then on to Toulouse, Bordeaux, and Nantes, ending with great fanfare at the Parc des Princes in Paris. There was no indication that this ramshackle cycling pack would draw crowds to throng France's rutted roads and cheer the first Tour heroes. But they did; and all thanks to a marketing ruse, cycling would never be the same again.

The Complete Book of Classic Chevrolet Muscle Cars: 1955-1974


Mike Mueller - 2017
    See it all here, in The Complete Book of Classic Chevrolet Muscle Cars: 1955-1974. Chevrolet didn't invent the overhead-valve pushrod V-8 engine, but without question Ed Cole and Chevy perfected it. And General Motors' Bowtie division wasn't the first to put the engine design in a production car, but it was the first to put the engine design in an affordable production car and make it available to the average driver.No other automobile in history so clearly demarcates a before-and-after line in the sand like the 1955 Chevrolet. This was the birth of the affordable performance car, and from the moment the car hit the streets, the experience of driving would never be the same.The impact that an affordable American sedan with a powerful performance engine had on American society was so great that it not only changed the experience of driving; it changed the psychology of a generation. Prior to the introduction of the 1955 Chevrolet with its V-8 engine, cars had been considered necessary appliances, like refrigerators or vacuum cleaners. With a single stroke, Chevrolet turned American culture into a car culture.Chevrolet dominated the muscle-car scene throughout the classic era. The Impala SS, with its 409 engine popularized by the Beach Boys, ruled America's drag strips. The Z16 Chevelle Malibu SS396 became the every man's muscle car. The Camaro turned the pony car genre into genuine muscle cars. The LS6 engine was the most powerful of the classic era.The Complete Book of Classic Chevrolet Muscle Cars: 1955-1974 chronicles the all-conquering cars of this incredible 20-year period.

Chevrolet Trucks: 100 Years of Building the Future


Larry Edsall - 2017
    In 1917 Chevrolet introduced its first truck, the Series 490, marking the company’s official entry into the dedicated truck business. During the century that has passed since that first Chevy truck, Chevy (and later GMC-brand trucks) have become some of the most ubiquitous and recognizable brands around the world. Every year the company sells over 1 million trucks worldwide. From the very beginning of the story to today's modern global brand, Chevrolet Trucks: 100 Years of Building the Future covers the entire Chevrolet truck saga, from the early Series 490, to the medium and heavy-duty models, to the light-duty C-series pickups, right up to today’s contemporary Silverado and Colorado. Officially licensed with Chevrolet and created with their full cooperation for imagery as well as interviews with key figures involved with today’s truck program, this thorough history covers the full array of Chevy models since 1917 and is a must have for any truck fan whose heart beats with a V-8 rhythm.

Maverick: The American Name That Became a Legend


Lewis F. Fisher - 2017
    Of all the words that originated in the Old West and survive to the present day, author Lewis Fisher notes, maverick has been called the least understood and most corrupted. But where did the word come from?The word’s definition is still such a mystery that Merriam-Webster lists it in the top 10 percent of its most-looked-up words. All of the origin stories agree it had something to do with Samuel A. Maverick and his cattle, but from there things go amok rather quickly. Was Sam Maverick a cattle thief? A legendary nonconformist who broke the code of the West by refusing to brand his calves? A Texas rancher who believed branding cattle was cruelty to animals? A runaway from South Carolina who branded all the wild cattle he could find and ended up with more cattle than anyone else in Texas?Samuel A. Maverick was a notable landholder and public figure in his own time, but his latter-day fame is based on the legend that he was a cattle rancher. No amount of truth-telling about the word maverick seems to have slowed the tall tales surrounding the word’s origination. Maverick: The American Name That Became a Legend is a whodunit, a historical account of the man who unwittingly inspired the term, the family it’s derived from, the cowboys who embraced it as an adjective meaning rakish and independent, the curious inquirers intrigued by the stories, and the appropriators who have borrowed it for political fame.Lewis Fisher has combed through Maverick family papers along with cultural memorabilia and university collections to get at the heart of the truth behind the far-flung Maverick legends. Maverick follows the history of the word through the “Maverick gene” all the way to Hollywood and uncovers the mysteries that shadow one of our country’s iconic words. Taken as a whole, the book is a fascinating portrayal of how we form, use, and change our language in the course of everyday life, and of the Maverick family’s ongoing relationship to its own contributions, all seen through the lens of a story featuring cowboys, Texas Longhorns, rustlers, promoters, movie stars, athletes, novelists, lawyers, mayors, congressmen, and senators—to say nothing of named maverick brands ranging from Ford cars and air-to-ground missiles to computer operating systems, Vermont maple syrup, and Australian wines. Ironically, given its literal meaning as unbranded, maverick is a brand name that represents the ideal of being true to oneself.

Aston Martin DB: 70 Years


Andrew Noakes - 2017
    Stylish design, lavish illustration and meticulously researched text come together in this large-format, 224-page book to create a superb celebration of the 70th anniversary of DB Aston Martins in 2017. There’s a wealth of detail on the Aston Martin DB road and race cars, both from the David Brown era of 1947-1972 and the modern DB era from 1993 onwards, together high quality images and specification tables for all the key models. Aston Martin DB 70 Years is a fitting celebration of one of the world's most enduring sports cars. The fast, beautiful sports cars that Aston Martin built under Brown’s ownership ­won the Le Mans 24-hour race and the World Sports Car Championship, and provided James Bond with his most famous transport: the ejector-seat equipped DB5 that won acclaim in Goldfinger. Though the DB era ended when Brown sold the company in 1972, its influence continued to be felt. James Bond’s most recent car, the specially-made DB10, and Aston Martin has just launched its most complete car ever, the DB11. ‘DB’ means as much to Aston Martin now as ever.

Shelby American Up Close and Behind the Scenes: The Venice Years 1962-1965


Dave Friedman - 2017
    Prepare for a ride like none other. In 1962 retired racing great Carroll Shelby was looking for his next big move. He'd started a racing school at Riverside Raceway in California, but he really wanted to build his own sports and racing car. He found a promising platform in the British AC Ace, and set about stuffing an American V-8 between the AC's dainty fenders. Thus was born the Shelby Cobra.Shelby set up shop in Venice, California, later in 1962, marking the beginning of the classic Cobra era. It was a near supernatural combination of brilliant designers and wrenches, ever-faster cars, championship-winning teams and drivers, and sheer chutzpah.The Venice shop spawned the 289 Cobra, Daytona Coupe, 427 Cobra, Mustang GT350, Sunbeam Tiger, and more. Eventually the Venice facility could not handle the work, especially when Ford tapped Shelby to create a high-performance version of its new and wildly successful Mustang. Moving to a larger facility and the closer relationship with Ford seemed to diminish the fast and loose nature of the original enterprise. Some of the mojo was lost.Shelby American Up Close and Behind the Scenes takes the reader inside the Venice shop in the critical 1962-1965 period. Author/photographer Dave Friedman was Shelby's official shooter, and he documented everything from Cobra construction to paddock wrenching to race wins. Shelby American Up Close and Behind the Scenes is an insider's look via Friedman's documentary photography and first-person stories from Shelby's key players. It's a must-have review of this critical period in both Shelby's history and the history of American racing.

Pontifex Maximus: A Short History of the Popes


Christopher Lascelles - 2017
    Lascelles has an engaging prose style and an amazing eye for detail and apposite anecdote. Surely only purblind Catholic zelanti will object to this outstanding analysis.” – Frank McLynn, author of Genghis Khan, Napoleon and 1066 “Lascelles has taken an overwhelming subject, and not been overwhelmed by it in any way. A highly enjoyable read.” – Paul Strathern, author of The Medici “Pontifex Maximus is a subtle and convincing explanation of how the successors of an impoverished fisherman from Galilee became a globally powerful monarch - all without getting lost in the bewildering historical weeds. Lascelles writes with both verve and humor; once started it’s hard to put down.” – Lars Brownworth, author of The Normans and The Sea Wolves BOOK DESCRIPTION For many people, the popes are an irrelevance: if they consider them at all, it may be as harmless old men who preach obscure sermons in Latin. But the history of the popes is far from bland. On the contrary, it is occasionally so bizarre as to stretch credulity. Popes have led papal armies, fled in disguise, fathered children (including future popes), and authorised torture. They have been captured, assaulted and murdered. While many have been admired, some have been hated to such a degree that their funeral processions have been disrupted and statues of them torn down after their deaths. Many have been the enemies of freedom and progress – divisive rather than unifying figures. In a fascinating read for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Christopher Lascelles examines the history of the popes through the ages, laying bare the extent to which many of them fell so very short of the Christian ideals they supposedly represented. He explains how it was that, professing to follow a man who said ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ and 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth’, they nevertheless became heads of a rich state that owned more land in Europe than any king, relying on foreign military aid to keep power; and how pride, greed and corruption became commonplace in an institution founded on love, faith and forgiveness. This book is aimed at the general reader who is short on time and seeks an accessible overview unencumbered by ecclesiastical jargon and scholarly controversies.

Baking Powder Wars: The Cutthroat Food Fight that Revolutionized Cooking


Linda Civitello - 2017
    For nearly a century, brands battled to win loyal consumers for the new leavening miracle, transforming American commerce and advertising even as they touched off a chemical revolution in the world's kitchens. Linda Civitello chronicles the titanic struggle that reshaped America's diet and rewrote its recipes. Presidents and robber barons, bare-knuckle litigation and bold-faced bribery, competing formulas and ruthless pricing--Civitello shows how hundreds of companies sought market control, focusing on the big four of Rumford, Calumet, Clabber Girl, and the once-popular brand Royal. She also tells the war's untold stories, from Royal's claims that its competitors sold poison, to the Ku Klux Klan's campaign against Clabber Girl and its German Catholic owners. Exhaustively researched and rich with detail, Baking Powder Wars is the forgotten story of how a dawning industry raised Cain--and cakes, cookies, muffins, pancakes, donuts, and biscuits.

Eclipse: History. Science. Awe.


Bryan Brewer - 2017
    Discover how these rare and dramatic celestial events have influenced culture throughout the ages, from Stonehenge and ancient Egypt to Shakespeare and Mark Twain. Follow the sagas of scientists who traveled the globe to glimpse precious minutes of totality to study our solar system. Learn the simple secrets of how eclipses occur, and why they continue to rivet the human imagination.This background lays the foundation for your breathtaking appreciation of this beautiful spectacle on the day of the eclipse. This generously illustrated, full-color book includes a complete viewing guide, with tips on selecting a location and knowing what to look for. Over the centuries, observers have described the delicate solar corona - visible only during a total solar eclipse - as a sublime and otherworldly sight. Few ever get the chance to experience totality, and those who do never foget it.

Know It All Medicine: The 50 Crucial Milestones, Treatments Technologies in the History of Health, Each Explained in Under a Minute


Gabrielle M. Finn - 2017
    Find out even more about the direction of medical technology and more in Know It All: Medicine!  Grab some scrubs and prepare yourself for an intriguing visit to the world of illness and those who treat it. Know It All: Medicine takes you on an engrossing journey that starts with history's very first "medicines" and moves on to today's keyhole surgery, bionic limbs, and breakthrough drug treatments. It's an essential and engaging read for anyone who wants to know more about the contemporary state of medicine, and what the future may hold for medicine and its practitioners. Excellent for those curious about technology, and those in the medical field alike! The Know It All series takes a revolutionary approach to learning about the subjects you really feel you should understand but have never gotten around to studying. Each book selects a popular topic and dissects it into the 50 most significant ideas at its heart. Each idea, no matter how complex, is explained in 300 words and one picture, all digestible in under a minute. Other titles in this series include: Know It All Anthropology, Know It All Chemistry, Know It All Classical Music, Know It All Energy, Know It All Fashion, Know It All Great Inventions, Know It All Jazz,  Know It All Shakespeare, Know It All Whiskey, Know It All Wine, Space In 30 Seconds, Sports in 30 Seconds.

Jim Crow Terminals: The Desegregation of American Airports


Anke Ortlepp - 2017
    It is essential to add airplanes and airports to this narrative, says Anke Ortlepp. Air travel stands at the center of the twentieth century's transportation revolution, and airports embodied the rapidly mobilizing, increasingly prosperous, and cosmopolitan character of the postwar United States. When segregationists inscribed local definitions of whiteness and blackness onto sites of interstate and even international transit, they not only brought the incongruities of racial separation into sharp relief but also obligated the federal government to intervene.Ortlepp looks at African American passengers; civil rights organizations; the federal government and judiciary; and airport planners, architects, and managers as actors in shaping aviation's legal, cultural, and built environments. She relates the struggles of black travelers-to enjoy the same freedoms on the airport grounds that they enjoyed in the aircraft cabin-in the context of larger shifts in the postwar social, economic, and political order. Jim Crow terminals, Ortlepp shows us, were both spatial expressions of sweeping change and sites of confrontation over the renegotiation of racial identities. Hence, this new study situates itself in the scholarly debate over the multifaceted entanglements of "race" and "space."