The 1928 explosion that transformed a West Plains dance hall into a raging inferno sparked feverish national media attention and decades of bitterness in the Missouri town it tore apart. 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.

The story begins in the fall of 1915, on the cusp of America's entry into World War I. Aviation giant Glenn Curtiss sought a location where pilots could train and aircraft could be tested year-round, and he found it in the warm winds and waters of Newport News, Virginia. There, daring young men and women in their flying machines flew on to fame and into history with their record-breaking flights and the tragic losses that were inevitable in early flight. Join military historian Amy Waters Yarsinske as she uses rare vintage photographs and a deft hand to narrate this astounding and often forgotten period in aviation history.

During World War II, thousands of Axis prisoners of war were held throughout Nebraska in base camps that included Fort Robinson, Camp Scottsbluff and Camp Atlanta. Many Nebraskans did not view the POWs as "evil Nazis." To them, they were ordinary men and very human. And while their stay was not entirely free from conflict, many former captives returned to the Cornhusker State to begin new lives after the cessation of hostilities. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and Nebraska residents, as well as archival research, Melissa Marsh delves into the neglected history of Nebraska's POW camps.

By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt took his first oath of office, the Great Depression had virtually gutted the nation's agricultural heartland. In Kentucky, nearly one out of every four men was unemployed and relegated to a life of poverty, and as quickly as the economy deflated, so too did morality.

'The overwhelming majority of unemployed Americans, who are now walking the streets...would infinitely prefer to work,' FDR stated in his 1933 appeal to Congress. So began the New Deal and, with it, a glimmer of hope and enrichment for a lost generation of young men.

From 1933 up to the doorstep of World War II, the Civilian Conservation Corps employed some 2.5 million men across the country, with nearly 90,000 enrolled in Kentucky. Native Kentuckian and CCC scholar Connie Huddleston chronicles their story with this collection of unforgettable and astonishing photographs that take you to the front lines of the makeshift camps and through the treacherous landscape, adversity and toil. The handiwork of the Kentucky forest army stretches from Mammoth Cave to the Cumberlands, and their legacy is now preserved within these pages.

The Christmas season is a time for traditions, and in Richmond, one particular custom reigned supreme: a family outing to Miller & Rhoads department store. There, thousands of smiling faces would be waiting to enter the kingdom of Santaland- an enchanted world marked by glittering snow and intricate train displays. From visits to area hospitals to a young man who demanded only a box of raisins, former Snow Queen Donna Strother Deekens shares her touching and humorous holiday memories from her twenty years in the gown. Kids from one to ninety-two will enjoy reminiscing with characters like the elves, Bruce the Spruce and, of course, Miller & Rhoads's legendary 'real Santa.' Discover behind-the-scenes drama and learn firsthand what it was like to partake in this unforgettable event.

Following the stock market crash of 1929, the rising unemployment rate and widespread depression made it necessary for the city of New York to provide more commodious quarters for the city's homeless. New York City in the Great Depression: Sheltering the Homeless is a pictorial history of the shelters provided by the city during the Great Depression, including the Municipal Lodging House and its annexes in Manhattan, the farm colony at Camp LaGuardia, and the rehabilitation center at Hart Island. Archival photographs and documents depict the famous Great Depression breadlines, Mayor Jimmy Walker, Gov. Al Smith, and Tammany Hall, as well as the city's immigrants and tenement housing.

By 1900, downtown Pittsburgh, known as the Golden Triangle, had become a classic central business district at the confluence of three rivers: the Allegheny, the Monongahela, and the Ohio. The valleys of the three rivers were lined with the factories and mills that made Pittsburgh the aforge of the nation.a Great industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie and George Westinghouse made Pittsburgh the center of the American iron, steel, aluminum, glass, and oil industries. With their success, money poured into Pittsburghas banks, providing means for the cityas growth. The years between 1900 and 1945 witnessed the peak of Pittsburghas commercial development and industrial might. Pittsburgh: 1900a1945 features postcard views taken during this period and illustrates the power, wealth, and beauty of the city of Pittsburgh during its era of industrial greatness.

At a time when our country struggled with a deep financial depression, the United States began to see incredible numbers of men and women who could not find work. During the first days of his administration, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to create opportunities for this country's uneducated and undereducated young men to find work, help support their families, and receive training in a variety of fields. President Roosevelt's own vision brought about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Images of America: Georgia's Civilian Conservation Corps examines the role these young men played in developing three national forests, three national monuments, a national battlefield, 10 state parks, and four military installations. This book illustrates and gives voice to the CCC's rich contribution to Georgia's landscape and history and allows us to understand how the creation of this social employment program was once seen as the shining example of FDR's New Deal.

From May 1 through October 31, 1982, Knoxville hosted the world's fair based on the theme "Energy Turns the World." Expo '82 was the first world's fair to be held in the southeastern United States in 97 years, hosting 22 countries and more than 11 million people. Once referred to as the "scruffy little city by the Tennessee River," Knoxville provided one big party for people to visit from all over to witness the live entertainment, parades, displays, exhibits, musical and sporting events, food, costumes, rides, games, and arcades. The news reports of the day declared the "World Came to Knoxville" as it hosted the official international exposition, fully licensed and sanctioned by the Bureau des Expositions Internationales in Paris, France.

Few would have believed in the late 1930s that Depression-wracked Marietta and Cobb County, where cotton was still king, would later be the site of the largest industrial complex south of the Mason-Dixon line, or that it would be churning out hundreds of the largest and most technically advanced airplanes ever built to that point. Images of America: The Bell Bomber Plant uses more than 200 photographs to recount how opportunistic local leaders persuaded the federal government to build an airfield in Marietta and then parlayed it into the plant. It tells the story of how a workforce of undereducated farmers and thousands of "Rosie the Riveters" proved surprisingly adept at mastering the technical challenges of building bombers, and of how the plant jump-started the transformation of Cobb County from a semi-rural backwater to a suburban Southern powerhouse.

When the gates of the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair swung open on April 24, 1964, the first of more than 51 million lucky visitors entered, ready to witness the cutting edge of worldwide technology and progress. Faced with a disappointing lack of foreign participants due to political contention, the fair instead showcased the best of American industry and science. While multimillion-dollar pavilions predicted colonies on the moon and hotels under the ocean, other forecasts, such as the promises of computer technology, have surpassed even the most optimistic predictions of the fair. The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair: Creation and Legacy uses rare, previously unpublished photographs to examine the creation of the fair and the legacies left behind for future generations.

The Hurricane of 1938 was one of the most devastating storms to strike New England's Atlantic coast. It forever changed the landscapes of cities and towns in its path. Throughout the hurricane, the Coast Guard worked tirelessly to provide aid to countless displaced residents. Entire communities were leveled by the hurricane's powerful winds and waves. After the storm subsided and the destruction was evident, the enormous task of rebuilding began. The historic images in The 1938 Hurricane along New England's Coast document the hurricane's destruction and the ways in which victims who were uprooted by the storm united to rebuild their communities.

During World War II, an unprecedented number of women took jobs in the defence industry. Thousands of these "Rosie the Riveters" came to the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Long Beach, the largest wartime aircraft manufacturer. In this collection of vintage-photograph postcards, Gerrie Schipske explores Rosie the Riveter's past.

In the midst of the Depression, a government agency was created that changed the lives of thousands of Americans. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was more than a program that put the unemployed to work, it was a revolutionary concept that sought to improve the lives of Americans through the physical improvement of their surroundings and the physical and intellectual improvement of themselves. For the people of Detroit, the WPA built schools and libraries, provided clothing and shelter, and enriched their lives through literacy, health, and educational programs. It brought art, theater, and music to the masses through groundbreaking cultural programs and created the infrastructure necessary to allow Detroit to blossom into the aArsenal of Democracya and one of Americaas greatest cities.

Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, torrential rains across the Midwest dropped a record three months of rainfall in four days. Floodwaters funneled down Ohios Miami Valley into the heart of the vibrant industrial city of Dayton. Levees burst, houses were swept away, and downtown was gutted by fires blazing from broken gas mains. At the end of Easter week, nearly 100 Daytonians had perished, and tens of thousands more were left homeless and destitutea tragedy that made banner headlines in newspapers nationwide. Out of Daytons ashes and mud rose fierce public resolve never again to suffer such destruction. The Great Dayton Flood of 1913 reproduces some 200 astounding photographs from the collections of the Dayton Metro Library and the Miami Conservancy District and the archives of the National Cash Register Company at Dayton History. They portray the terrifying flood, monumental destruction, heroic rescues, and compassionate leadership that occurred during the disaster and its immediate aftermath, as well as the pioneering flood-control engineering that has kept Dayton safe ever since.

The great blizzard of 1978 is an event seared in the memory of anyone who lived through it. Most of Greater Boston was quickly overwhelmed by the storm, which shut down all forms of transit, stranded thousands of cars and motorists along Route 128, and virtually shut down most of the state for a week. But for many coastal communities, the impact of the storm, which brought record high tides and pounding surf, was pure devastation. The common thread shared by almost everyone in the region was positive memories of neighbors and strangers helping each other and finding new bonds of community. Greater Boston's Blizzard of 1978, illustrated with approximately 200 photographs from government archives and private collections, brings alive the fading experiences of February 1978 for those who were there and those who can only imagine.

Boca Raton, Florida, was a tiny farming community on
the southeastern coast of Florida when the states 1920s real estate boom grew into a national phenomenon. Investors and new residents were drawn to the state from all over the country, a time Floridians referred to as the Boom. In April 1925, well-known Palm Beach society architect Addison Mizner revealed his plans for an ambitious new
development in Boca Raton. The plans included a gigantic oceanfront hotel, elegant mansions, golf and polo grounds, and palm-lined boulevards. The popularity of Mizners projects stimulated many similar developments within the region, increasing the population of the town from 100 to several hundred residents. By the fall of 1926, however, the
Florida land boom came to an end. Boca Raton returned, for the most part, to its small-town agricultural heritage by 1930. By the end of the 20th century, boomtime dreams were fully realized and Boca Raton became one of Floridas most prestigious addresses.

Cincinnati's Great Disasters explores catastrophes from 1905 to 1937, featuring floods, tornadoes, fires, explosions, winter storms, and crashes. Although tragic, disasters became popular postcard subjects in the early 1900s, with many of these photograph postcards being taken by professional photographers. The postcards documenting the 1907 and 1913 floods make up the bulk of this book, as these disasters dramatically affected Cincinnatians' lives and led to innovative flood prevention planning and health initiatives. Flooding ultimately determined where businesses and residences were located in the city and was a driving force behind urban renewal of the riverfront.

By 1963, the African American community's demand for equality could not be ignored. Following the 1954 Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools, those who were oppressed took their place at lunch counters for sit-in demonstrations, participated in freedom rides, and refused to give up their seats on public buses. In August 1963, some 200,000 people converged on the nation's capital to heed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s call for the country to change its policy of institutional discrimination. The photographs contained in Black America: Washington, D.C.: 1963-2006 chronicle that journey, from the struggle of the civil rights era to triumphs of African Americans in the most politically powerful city in the United States.

For everyone?fans, players, staff and media? there's nothing like spring training in Clearwater, the true winter home of the Phillies. -Larry ?The Baron? Shenk Alejandro de Quesada's chronicle of baseball superstars and hardcore statistics careens Philadelphia Phillies and Clearwater Threshers fans from the early days of professional baseball to today's Grapefruit League. Accompanied by over seventy-five action-packed pictures, de Quesada describes the stories of the All-Girls Professional Baseball League, the first appearance of the Phillie Phanatic and the Tiki Bar at Bright House Networks field as well as the detailed exploits of Tug McGraw, Mike Schmidt and Paul ?Pope? Owens.

Toledo began the 20th century as it had ended the 19th -- with a rapid expansion in industrialization, urbanization, and immigration. The titans of industry who shaped Toledo's early history continued to expand their fortunes and were joined by others who took advantage of the city's potential. A new industry emerged from the bicycle factories and wagon works of the 19th century -- the automobile industry. It would dominate Toledo's economy in the 20th century. In addition to Jeeps, scales, glass, spark plugs, and transmissions, Toledo was also known for its civic reforms, strong labor unions, and fine cultural institutions during the 20th century. While Toledo never became "The Future Great City of the World" that Jesup Scott envisioned or even the futuristic "Toledo Tomorrow" that Norman Bel Geddes imagined, by the end of the 20th century, it was a successful city with an interesting past and a hopeful future.

The Great Depression transformed Delaware more than any other event in the modern history of the state. Through vintage photographs, this volume records both the gentle philanthropy of the people and the crushing poverty experienced by 11,000 citizens left chronically unemployed for more than a decade. It portrays the balance between agriculture and industry that defines Delaware as a state. These images show a generation that was born during the 1918 flu epidemic, lived through the worst economic slump of the 20th century, and fought and won war against German fascism and Japanese imperialism. Images of America: Delaware in the Great Depression records the story of the extraordinary people who fundamentally changed the way politics, industry, conservation, and agriculture combine to build a society and how the technological revolutions in this small state helped lay the foundation for the modern world.

Spartanburg County gave generously and selflessly to World War II. Local men and women participated in almost every significant engagement, in almost every imaginable capacity, and in every branch of service. Distinguishing themselves with bravery, dignity, and loyalty, county veterans received every commendation, including the Medal of Honor. At Pearl Harbor, Carpenter's Mate Wayne Alman Lewis and Seaman Vernon Russell White died on the USS Arizona and Fire Controlman First Class Hubert Paul Clement died on the USS Oklahoma. Such sacrifices continued from December 7, 1941, through 1945. At home, window banners displayed blue stars for each person who served in the military. Many of the stories of these heroes from Spartanburg County have never before been told.

Perinton and Fairport in the 20th Century documents the transformation of this upstate New York community into a suburban center. The change began with the arrival of a high-speed electric train in 1906. After that, the era of building and invention was under way. Pictured are some of the first housing subdivisions and period buildings-which survived most of the twentieth century but were razed for urban renewal-and the people of the time, including inventors Willis Trescott and Robert Douglas, whose patents for apple processing and Certo revolutionized the fruit industry.