'Whitstable is a stirring little town, with strong business proclivities, and a history stretching far back into the remote past.' So wrote a Kentish Gazette correspondent in 1873, although he could have been describing the north Kent seaside town today. Over the years, the lives of townspeople have been sustained by sea salt production, diving, smuggling, shipbuilding and fishing, along with copperas mining and tourism. In this pocket-sized guide, author Kerry Mayo takes readers on a fascinating tour around Whitstable's streets and buildings, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they have changed over the years, as well as exploring some of its lesser-known sights and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to discover for themselves the history and the changing face of the town.

The county borough of Wrexham is rich in folklore, with an abundance of tales to capture the wonders of the Welsh landscape and all its denizens, both real and imaginary: animal, human and even superhuman. This collection, which includes both traditional tales - passed down through generations by word of mouth - and archive material, brings to life the local legends, mysteries and stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things that make Wales so magical. A speaker of both languages of Wales, the author has collected some unusual material sure to enchant both Welsh and non Welsh speakers. Beautifully illustrated by local artist Ed Fisher, these tales bring to life the ancient wisdom of Wrexham.

Mary Beth Rogers has led an eventful life rooted in the weeds of Texas politics, occasionally savoring a few victories-particularly the 1990 governor's race when, as campaign manager for Ann Richards, she did the impossible and put a Democratic woman in office. She also learned to absorb her losses-after all, she was a liberal feminist in America's most aggressively conservative state. Rogers's road to a political life was complex. Candidly and vulnerably, she shares both public and private memories of how she tried to maintain a rich family life with growing children and a husband with a debilitating illness. She goes on to provide an insider's account of her experiences as Richards's first chief of staff while weaving her way through the highs and lows of political intrigue and legislative maneuvering. Reflecting on her family heritage and nascent spiritual quest, Rogers discovers a reality at once sobering and invigorating: nothing is ever completely lost or completely won. It is a constant struggle to create humane public policies built on a foundation of fairness and justice-particularly in her beloved Texas.

At the dawn of the seventeenth century, immigrants to this country arrived with dreams of conquering a new frontier. Families were willing to embrace a life of strife and hardship but with great hopes of achieving prominence and wealth. Such is the case with the Hambleton family. From William Hambleton's arrival on the Eastern Shore in 1657 and through every major conflict on land, sea, and air since, a member of the Hambleton clan has participated and made a lasting contribution to this nation. Their achievements are not only in war but in civic leadership as well. Among its members are bankers, business leaders, government officials, and visionaries. Not only is the Hambleton family extraordinary by American standards, it is also remarkable in that their base for four centuries has been and continues to be Maryland. The blood of the Hambletons is also the blood of Maryland, a rich land stretching from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the tidal basins of the mighty Chesapeake to the mountains of the west, a poetic framework that illuminates one truly American family that continues its legacy of building new generations of strong Americans.

'Reg Fearman is the man who knows all of speedway's secrets ... and is prepared to reveal them. He has taken a unique, full-throttle, white-knuckle ride to the top as an international rider, a world-class team manager, a successful promoter and a formidable administrator. He has never ducked a confrontation, on or off the speedway track; he knows the glamorous and the murky side of a tough, fabulously exciting and sometimes cruel sport, and he spares no one's blushes ... not even his own' - John Chaplin, speedway's leading historian 'From humble origins in London's East End, this is the story of how Reg Fearman became a local hero with West Ham, the cockney giants of speedway, and went on to represent his country, first as a rider at the tender age of 17, and then as an international manager. A captivating mixture of sporting achievement, politics and business and social history, it also looks at how speedway was resurrected from the doldrums of the late 1950s and dragged into a new 'Jet Age' golden era, a time which paved the way for the heights that the sport has enjoyed in the twenty-first century as a global phenomenon. Including a plethora of untold truths, revelations and a rich treasure trove of photographs, Reg lays bare for the first time the sensational inside story of the resurrection of speedway ... warts and all!' - Dr Brian Belton, JP and author

This fascinating and beautifully photographed guidebook follows Cambridgeshire's waterways from leafy Huntingdon to the wide-sky Fens, along the lovely Nene Valley down to the busy port town of Wisbech and travels beside the gentle stream of the Cam into the architectural glories of the university city of Cambridge. The narrative explores the history of Cambridgeshire through its vanished castles and abbeys, and traces the draining of the wild marshes. Cambridgeshire is a county that is different to any other in England, and the watery landscapes of the Fens are unique. From the bizarre Straw Bears that lead the hosts of morris dancers through the heart of Whittlesey every January, to the sedate Rose Fair that graces Wisbech church and gardens every June, Cambridgeshire has something to offer everyone.

Storyteller and author Adam Bushnell brings together stories from the rugged coastlines, limestone cliffs, remote moorland, pastoral dales and settled coalfields of County Durham. In this treasure trove of tales you will meet the evil fairies of Weardale, the shape-changing witch from Easington, the Bishop Auckland boar, the Dun Cow from Durham City and many other characters - all as fantastical and powerful as the landscape they inhabit. Retold in an engaging style, and richly illustrated with unique line drawings, these humorous, clever and enchanting folk tales are sure to be enjoyed and shared time and again.

The Green London Way is an alternative approach to the exploration of London. The book describes a hundred mile walk circling the capital, but, uniquely, also offers insightful histories of London's people and a commentary on its abundant local wildlife. The walk, divided into manageable sections, each with maps by Graham Scrivener (the 'urban Wainwright'), traverses London's tow paths, woodlands and commons, examining links between local human history and the landscape on which it is founded. This updated version of the text also incorporates discussion of the rapid developments in London in the past twenty years, analysing the features which have recently changed the face of the city. Bob Gilbert provides a wealth of information about the plant and animal life of London, including some surprising instances of rare species. In terms of wildlife, landscape and history, The Green London Way is full of discoveries for any walker or reader, and provides a new awareness of Greater London.

A modern-day explorer's guide to the Old West From the famed Oregon Trail to the boardwalks of Dodge City to the great trading posts on the Missouri River to the battlefields of the nineteenth-century Indian Wars, there are places all over the American West where visitors can relive the great Western migration that helped shape our history and culture. This guide to the states Along the Mississippi, including Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota--one of the five-volume Finding the Wild West series--highlights the best preserved historic sites as well as ghost towns, reconstructions, museums, historical markers, statues, works of public art that tell the story of the Old West. Use this book in planning your next trip and for a storytelling overview of America's Wild West history.

Do you think that legends are all about princes and princesses, knights and heroes, giants and monsters? Well, they aren't always. The stories in this book are about girls like you and girls you might know: clever, strong, brave and resourceful. Here you can read the story of Vasilisa, who wasn't afraid of the deep dark forest; Mollie Whuppie, who knew how to trick a giant; Tipingi, who was able to call on her friends to help her get out of trouble; Seren, who used her love of singing to help others; and many more fearless characters. Storyteller Fiona Collins has chosen the best of the old tales from all around the world and reworked them into new and exciting versions to be enjoyed by everyone, accompanied by magical illustrations by talented artist Ed Fisher.

What do the credit card, Oreo, school nurse, and crossword puzzle have in common? All originated in New York City. These and about 300 other New York originals fill the pages of New York City Firsts. From colonial times through the present day, first-of-their-kind achievements occurred in New York in every imaginable field, from the arts to sports, from business to social welfare. These firsts ranged from life-changing accomplishments, such as the invention of air conditioning, to the downright silly. Cronuts, anyone? The book provides a broad picture of the social history of America in general. What problems of the day cried out for solutions by daring individuals and bold ideas? How did people enjoy themselves at various points in history? In this most densely populated American city, where did residents live, and how did they get around? New York City Firsts is for history lovers and trivia buffs regardless of where they live. It's a fun read, a great gift, and a tantalizing diversion.

"I am here. You will never be alone. We are dancing for you." So begins Cutcha Risling Baldy's deeply personal account of the revitalization of the women's coming-of-age ceremony for the Hoopa Valley Tribe. At the end of the twentieth century, the tribe's Flower Dance had not been fully practiced for decades. The women of the tribe, recognizing the critical importance of the tradition, undertook its revitalization using the memories of elders and medicine women and details found in museum archives, anthropological records, and oral histories. Deeply rooted in Indigenous knowledge, Risling Baldy brings us the voices of people transformed by cultural revitalization, including the accounts of young women who have participated in the Flower Dance. Using a framework of Native feminisms, she locates this revival within a broad context of decolonizing praxis and considers how this renaissance of women's coming-of-age ceremonies confounds ethnographic depictions of Native women; challenges anthropological theories about menstruation, gender, and coming-of-age; and addresses gender inequality and gender violence within Native communities.

How did a tiny wren manage to be crowned King of the Birds? Why did giant Finn McCool's favourite dogs change into mountains? What happened to turn a friendly cat into a cruel fiend who plotted to destroy mankind? Irish Animal Tales for Children is packed with ghostly goings-on, weird characters and wonderful animals. Irreverently told by award-winning storyteller Doreen McBride, these stories are not for the faint of heart!

Providing a comprehensive history of the Baltimore Black Sox from before the team's founding in 1913 through its demise in 1936, this history examines the social and cultural forces that gave birth to the club and informed its development. The author describes aspects of Baltimore's history in the first decades of the 20th century, details the team's year-by-year performance, explores front-office and management dynamics and traces the shaping of the Negro Leagues. The history of the Black Sox's home ballparks and of the people who worked for the team both on and off the field are included.

A New York Times bestseller! "Lively and absorbing. . ." - The New York Times Book Review "Engrossing." -Wall Street Journal "Entertaining and well-researched . . . " -Houston Chronicle Three noted Texan writers combine forces to tell the real story of the Alamo, dispelling the myths, exploring why they had their day for so long, and explaining why the ugly fight about its meaning is now coming to a head. Every nation needs its creation myth, and since Texas was a nation before it was a state, it's no surprise that its myths bite deep. There's no piece of history more important to Texans than the Battle of the Alamo, when Davy Crockett and a band of rebels went down in a blaze of glory fighting for independence from Mexico, losing the battle but setting Texas up to win the war. However, that version of events, as Forget the Alamo definitively shows, owes more to fantasy than reality. Just as the site of the Alamo was left in ruins for decades, its story was forgotten and twisted over time, with the contributions of Tejanos--Texans of Mexican origin, who fought alongside the Anglo rebels--scrubbed from the record, and the origin of the conflict over Mexico's push to abolish slavery papered over. Forget the Alamo provocatively explains the true story of the battle against the backdrop of Texas's struggle for independence, then shows how the sausage of myth got made in the Jim Crow South of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As uncomfortable as it may be to hear for some, celebrating the Alamo has long had an echo of celebrating whiteness. In the past forty-some years, waves of revisionists have come at this topic, and at times have made real progress toward a more nuanced and inclusive story that doesn't alienate anyone. But we are not living in one of those times; the fight over the Alamo's meaning has become more pitched than ever in the past few years, even violent, as Texas's future begins to look more and more different from its past. It's the perfect time for a wise and generous-spirited book that shines the bright light of the truth into a place that's gotten awfully dark.

From eyewitness accounts of unexplained sightings to the search for evidence of ghosts, this book features over fifty chilling tales of ghostly encounters from around Wearside. Featuring the ghostly nuns of Franklin Street, a headless horseman in Newcastle Road, and the phantoms who haunt the Royal Infirmary, Haunted Wearside is guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Richly illustrated and drawing on historical and contemporary sources, this collection will delight everyone interested in the paranormal.

His name conjures images of the Wild West, of gunfights and gambling halls and a legendary friendship with the lawman Wyatt Earp, and he is probably most famous for his time in Tombstone. But Doc Holliday's story is a much richer than that one sentence summary allows. His was a life of travel across the west-from Georgia to Texas, from Dodge City to Las Vegas, across Arizona and from New Mexico to Colorado and Montana. Revealed from contemporary newspaper accounts and records of interviews with Doc himself and the people who knew him, The World of Doc Holliday offers a real first-hand accounting of his life of adventure.

Mention Staffordshire to most people and they immediately think of a county dominated by heavy industry. While it certainly has a rich industrial heritage - with the Potteries in the north and the iron ore, limestone and coal of the Black Country in the south - there are many more treasures to discover. This north Midlands county has a wealth of natural beauty; sweeping hills and valleys shape its magnificent landscape, which includes moorland, heathland and the Staffordshire Peak District. In this book, professional photographer Noel Bennett captures Staffordshire's diverse and dramatic landscapes. From the cities of Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford to the scenic villages, and the industrial heritage to the breathtaking countryside, Staffordshire in Photographs is an exceptional portrait of the county by a photographer who knows it well. Readers will discover the endless variety of scenery, the hidden delights and the well-loved places that make Staffordshire special.

Best known for its movie industry, surfing, and amusement parks, Southern California boasts an environment of glamour, both natural and manmade. It Happened in Southern California tells the stories of intriguing people and events from the history of this region-from the first ships to arrive in San Diego in 1769 to the Watts Riots of 1965. Follow a brave little band of multiracial settlers in 1781 up the California coast to a new frontier town today known as Los Angeles. Go back to the Chinatown war of 1871, which some say was sparked by love, but others knew for what it was: a battle over race and money. Learn about the "puppet show" in 1988, performed not for kindergartners but for a baby condor destined to fly wild and free over Southern California's skies. It Happened in Southern California describes everything from the efforts of the first Spanish colonialists to the reintroduction of endangered condor.

The astonishing story of a unique missionary project--and the America it embodied--from award-winning historian John Demos.
Near the start of the nineteenth century, as the newly established United States looked outward toward the wider world, a group of eminent Protestant ministers formed a grand scheme for gathering the rest of mankind into the redemptive fold of Christianity and "civilization." Its core element was a special school for "heathen youth" drawn from all parts of the earth, including the Pacific Islands, China, India, and, increasingly, the native nations of North America. If all went well, graduates would return to join similar projects in their respective homelands. For some years, the school prospered, indeed became quite famous. However, when two Cherokee students courted and married local women, public resolve--and fundamental ideals--were put to a severe test.
"The Heathen School" follows the progress, and the demise, of this first true melting pot through the lives of individual students: among them, Henry Obookiah, a young Hawaiian who ran away from home and worked as a seaman in the China Trade before ending up in New England; John Ridge, son of a powerful Cherokee chief and subsequently a leader in the process of Indian "removal"; and Elias Boudinot, editor of the first newspaper published by and for Native Americans. From its birth as a beacon of hope for universal "salvation," the heathen school descends into bitter controversy, as American racial attitudes harden and intensify. Instead of encouraging reconciliation, the school exposes the limits of tolerance and sets off a chain of events that will culminate tragically in the Trail of Tears.
In "The Heathen School," John Demos marshals his deep empathy and feel for the textures of history to tell a moving story of families and communities--and to probe the very roots of American identity.

"From the Hardcover edition."

In his six previous books, William O'Shaughnessy, one of the nation's best known and most beloved community broadcasters, has told the tales of the power brokers and visionaries of politics, government, business and industry, the arts, fine living-world famous figures like Joe DiMaggio, Fred Astaire, Nelson Rockefeller, the Bushes, Kennedys, and so many others. He elevated each encounter with his wisdom, wit, insight ... and compassion, and what emerged through words that carried the weight of authority as they danced with the delight of Nijinsky was nothing less than transformative for both subject and reader. In O'Shaughnessy, we have our modern day Plutarch, whose prose has run across the decades like a power strip illuminating the lives of the nation's most incandescent leaders from every arena. Henry Kissinger, Rush Limbaugh, Mario Cuomo, Jacob K. Javits, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, John V. Lindsay, Dan Rather, President Richard Nixon, President Donald J. Trump, Jimmy Breslin, Pope Francis-his list of on-air guests and from-the-notebook subjects is the broadcasting world's premier who's who list. A "vivid man about town" known for his blazers, Belgian loafers, and the Yankees World Series ring given to him in appreciation by George M. Steinbrenner, O'Shaughnessy shared the gift of vividness not only with the great and powerful but also with the local characters who made their mark "about town," the "Townies" of Westchester, a/k/a the "Golden Apple," and beyond. Folks who may have been touched by fame, they were devoutly invested in the fortunes of their home heath, and O'Shaughnessy amplified their passions, priorities, quests, hurdles, and triumphs as a friend and champion who wielded the most respected and influential "megaphone" in the Eastern Establishment ... and far beyond. He shared the counsel and companionship of political influencers, and leading lights from the media, the arts, the sporting world, and the constellation of fine living ... who all were blessed with the heart and soul of a Townie. The Townies derives its power to inform and captivate from the radiance of these good people, their good will, and their good deeds, which shine brighter than the lights of Broadway on a Saturday night. Enjoy!

From the momentous to the outlandish, this little book brings together past and present to offer a taste of Leeds. Learn about the movers and shakers who shaped this fantastic city. The great and the good; the bad and the ugly. Small wonders, tall stories, triumph, and tragedy. Best places, worst places. Origins, evolution, future. Written by a local who knows what makes Leeds tick.