Local History

Rising from the waters of the Pacific off the Southern California coast, Santa Cruz Island captures the imagination. Once home to a large Chumash population, in the 19th century it became a self-sufficient island rancho. As with all islands of beauty and size, it attracted people from the coastline.

During the last thousand years Scarborough has been birthplace, home, refuge, playground, hospital and cemetery for pirates, kings, nobles, merchants, soldiers, seamen, physicians, engineers, artists, missionaries and mountebanks. Chosen for their outstanding courage, villainy or individuality, here are only a few, long-dead men and women whose deeds and misdeeds contributed significantly to the town's eventful history. Jack Binns was born in Keighley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was educated at the local grammar school and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. Before taking early ...

Called by Sam Houston at its founding "the most unfortunate site upon Earth for the seat of government", the infant community struggled for three decades against political enemies and competing towns before winning recognition as the permanent capital. The founding of the University of Texas turned the seat of politics into the seat of education, but Austin's 19th-century dreams of becoming a river port and a factory town came to naught.

Alaska statehood - a historic 25 years! This fifth audiobook in the Aunt Phil’s Trunk Alaska History series highlights the first 25 years of statehood through short stories. Not only did the optimistic citizens of the Great Land create a government from scratch in just a few years, they also dealt with many challenges.

The University of California, Berkeley—widely known as "Cal"—is admired worldwide as a bastion of innovation and a hub for progressive thought. Far less known are the university's roots in plunder, warfare, and the promotion of white supremacy. As Tony Platt shows in The Scandal of Cal, these original sins sit at the center of UC Berkeley's history.

One week in late 1999, more than 50,000 people converged on Seattle. Their goal: to shut down the World Trade Organization conference and send a message that working-class people would not quietly accept the runaway economic globalization that threatened their livelihoods. Though their mission succeeded, it was not without blowback. In the oral history One Week to Change the World, award-winning journalist DW Gibson pieces together a complex and compelling account of what really went down in Seattle.

The cowboy, America's most popular folk hero, appeals to millions of readers of novels, histories, biographies, and folk tales. Cowboys command a vast audience on country radio, television, and at the movies, but what exactly is a cowboy? Authors Joe B. Frantz and Julian Ernest Choate, Jr., reveal the real, dyed-in-the-wool cowboy as a heroic being from the American past, who richly deserves to be understood in terms of reality, instead of myth.

This comprehensive account of California’s numerous and perilous natural disasters explores how a unique combination of forces has affected Californians throughout the state's history and carries a sobering message about our short disaster memories. California has more natural hazards per square mile than any other state, but this hasn’t deterred people from moving here. Entire California towns and regions frequently contend with destruction caused by earthquakes, floods, landslides and debris flows, and sea-level rise and coastal erosion.

The Short History of Basketball leads readers through the fascinating history of the sport of basketball. The book includes a history of the game and Indiana basketball sports highlights. Readers will discover a complete listing of Indiana high school championship winners and Mr. and Miss Basketball awards. The book also covers the Kentucky/Indiana High School All Star Series as well as some of the iconic high school gymnasiums in the state.

Drawing from a wealth of historic documents and personal papers, William Warren Rogers, Jr., provides a fascinating and detailed political, economic, social, and commercial history of Montgomery from 1860 to 1865. His account begins with an examination of daily life in the city before the war began - how slaves outnumbered whites, how an unvarnished frontier atmosphere prevailed on the streets despite citizens' claims to refinement, how lush crops of corn and cotton grew in fields right up to the city limits, and how class divisions were distinct and immovable.

The Federalist Frontier traces the development of Federalist policies and the Federalist Party in the first three states of the Northwest Territory - Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois - from the nation’s first years until the rise of the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s. Kristopher Maulden argues that Federalists originated many of the policies and institutions that helped the young United States government take a leading role in the American people’s expansion and settlement westward across the Appalachians.

A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to DeLand Whether you're a thrill-seeker, a history buff, or an armchair traveler, Gently Haunted will unlock the haunted history of DeLand, Florida—where the past is always present, and the veil between this world and the next is whisper-thin. This is far more than an ordinary book of ghost stories: it's a full-featured guidebook that will take you to some of DeLand's most haunted hotspots. From the echoing corridors of old Victorian mansions to the eerie calm of historic graveyards, you'll visit a wide range of storied sites, many untouched by time. What's more,...

Auf der Jagd nach dem Mörder Santer wird Old Shatterhand von Winnetou getrennt und macht die Bekanntschaft eines alten Scout, mit dem er gegen den Ku-Klux-Klan kämpft. Als er seinen Blutsbruder wiedertrifft, erfährt er etwas über das tragische Schicksal von Winnetous großer Liebe. Gemeinsam mit Old Firehand wollen sie dem Mörder von Ribanna das Handwerk legen - und erleben eine unerwartete Überraschung.

Border Bandits is an account of the many, many stories of back-and-forth skirmishes between the Mexicans and Texans during the late 1800s and early 1900s. There practically wasn't a border, which caused a lot of problems and thievery between the two countries. These 17 tales in this book re-create border raids that originated from both sides of the fluid and much contested line and tells the stories of colorful characters - Mexican and American - that have since secured their place in history.

British demands to move the northern border as far south as the Ohio River put New York on the first line of defense. But it was the leadership of Governor Daniel D. Tompkins that distinguished the state’s contribution to the war effort, effectively mobilizing the considerable human and material resources that proved crucial to maintaining the nation’s sovereignty. New York’s War of 1812 shows how, despite a widespread antiwar movement and fierce partisan politics, Tompkins managed to corral and maintain support—until 1814, when Britain agreed to peace.

Dear Traveler, Welcome to the WanderStories™ tour of the Pantheon in Rome. We are now ready to take you on your personal tour of this world famous landmark. We, at WanderStories™, are storytellers. We don’t tell you where to eat or sleep, we don’t intend to replace a typical travel reference guide. Our mission is to be the best local guide that you would wish to have by your side when visiting the sights. So, we meet you at the sight and take you on a tour. WanderStories™ travel guides are unique because our storytelling style puts you alongside the best local guide who tells you ...

Hollywood and Christianity often seem to be at war. Indeed, there is a long list of movies that have attracted religious condemnation, from Gone with the Wind with its notorious "damn," to The Life of Brian and The Last Temptation of Christ. But the reality, writes William Romanowski, has been far more complicated - and remarkable. In Reforming Hollywood, Romanowski, a leading historian of popular culture, explores the long and varied efforts of Protestants to influence the film industry.

G.C. "Red" Jones' classic memoir of growing up in rural eastern Kentucky during the Depression is a story of courage, persistence, and eventual triumph. His priceless and detailed recollections of hardscrabble farming, of the impact of Prohibition on an individualistic people, of the community-destroying mine wars of "Bloody Harlan", and of the drastic dislocations brought by World War II are essential to understanding this seminal era in Appalachian history.

The Stafford-Townsend feud began with an 1871 shootout in Columbus, Texas, followed by the deaths of the Stafford brothers in 1890. The second phase blossomed after 1898 with the assassination of Larkin Hope, and concluded in 1911 with the violent deaths of Marion Hope, Jim Townsend, and Will Clements, all in the space of one month.

The most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to Texas historiography of the past quarter-century, this volume of original essays will be an invaluable resource and definitive reference for teachers, students, and researchers of Texas history. Discovering Texas History focuses on the major trends in the study of Texas history since 1990.