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Books > History > History of specific subjects > Local history
Geoffrey Fletcher's London was not the big landmarks, but rather 'the tawdry, extravagant and eccentric'. He wrote about parts of the city no-one ever had before. This could be an art nouveau pub, a Victorian music hall, a Hawksmoor church or even a public toilet in Holborn in which the attendant kept goldfish in the cisterns. He was drawn to the corners of the city where 'the kids swarm like ants and there are dogs everywhere'. This classic book was originally published in 1962 and has been in and out of print ever since. In 1967 it was turned into an acclaimed documentary film starring James Mason. Following a series of sold out screenings at the Barbican and the ICA, the film was re-released on DVD in 2008. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in London, and will surprise even those who think they know it well.
People love hearing about a grisly murder; gasping at the gory details, wondering about the motives, deducing who did it. This macabre fascination is nothing new. In the past racehorses, greyhounds and even a ship have been named after some of the most notorious murderers, and it doesn't look like our interest is waning any time soon. London Murders is a unique guidebook that explores the darker side of London's history, pinpointing the exact locations of the bloodiest, most intriguing and sinister murders. It describes in detail the events, the characters involved and the eventual fates of the perpetrators, which include playwrights and politicians, celebrities and spies, royalty, aristocrats and, of course, countless ordinary Joes. Featuring infamous names such as Crippen, Kray, Haigh, Christie and Ellis, whose terrible crimes shocked the world, London Murders matches crimes to locations as David Long walks the reader through the city's streets, whilst revealing their tragic and awful histories.
In Russian Colonization of Alaska: Baranov's Era, 1799-1818, Andrei Val'terovich Grinev examines the sociohistorical origins of the former Russian colonies in Alaska, or "Russian America." The formation of the Russian-American Company and the concentration in the hands of Aleksandr Baranov of all the power in south and southeast Alaska's Russian settlements marked a new stage in the history of Russian America. Expanding and strengthening Russian possessions in the New World as much as possible, Baranov acted in favor of his country before himself, in accordance with the principle "people for the empire, and not the empire for the people." Russian Colonization of Alaska is the first comprehensive study to analyze the origin and evolution of Russian colonization based on research into political economy, history, and ethnography. Grinev's study elaborates the social, political, spiritual, ideological, personal, and psychological aspects of Russian America, accounting for the idiosyncrasies of the natural environment, competition from other North American empires, and challenges from Alaska Natives and individual colonial diplomats. Rather than being simply a continuation of Russians' colonization of Siberia, the colonization of Alaska was instead part of overarching Russian and global history.
Buffalo at the Crossroads is a diverse set of cutting-edge essays. Twelve authors highlight the outsized importance of Buffalo, New York, within the story of American urbanism. Across the collection, they consider the history of Buffalo's built environment in light of contemporary developments and in relationship to the evolving interplay between nature, industry, and architecture. The essays examine Buffalo's architectural heritage in rich context: the Second Industrial Revolution; the City Beautiful movement; world's fairs; grain, railroad, and shipping industries; urban renewal and so-called white flight; and the larger networks of labor and production that set the city's economic fate. The contributors pay attention to currents that connect contemporary architectural work in Buffalo to the legacies established by its esteemed architectural founders: Richardson, Olmsted, Adler, Sullivan, Bethune, Wright, Saarinen, and others. Buffalo at the Crossroads is a compelling introduction to Buffalo's architecture and developed landscape that will frame discussion about the city for years to come. Contributors: Marta Cieslak, University of Arkansas - Little Rock; Francis R. Kowsky; Erkin OEzay, University at Buffalo; Jack Quinan, University at Buffalo; A. Joan Saab, University of Rochester; Annie Schentag, KTA Preservation Specialists; Hadas Steiner, University at Buffalo; Julia Tulke, University of Rochester; Stewart Weaver, University of Rochester; Mary N. Woods, Cornell University; Claire Zimmerman, University of Michigan
In this collection, local experts use personal narratives and empirical data to explore the history of Mexican American and Puerto Rican education in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) system. The essays focus on three themes: the historical context of segregated and inferior schooling for Latina/o/x students; the changing purposes and meanings of education for Latina/o/x students from the 1950s through today; and Latina/o/x resistance to educational reforms grounded in neoliberalism. Contributors look at stories of student strength and resistance, the oppressive systems forced on Mexican American women, the criminalization of Puerto Ricans fighting for liberatory education, and other topics of educational significance. As they show, many harmful past practices remain the norm--or have become worse. Yet Latina/o/x communities and students persistently engage in transformative practices shaping new approaches to education that promise to reverberate not only in the city but nationwide. Insightful and enlightening, Latina/o/x Education in Chicago brings to light the ongoing struggle for educational equity in the Chicago Public Schools.
How many of us have a desire to make a home of a neglected building that is begging to be restored to its former splendour? This is just such a story - the renovation of a derelict windmill and in the process the discovery of a fascinating history. It charts the realization of a young boy's dream and, despite the numerous obstacles and problems, the successful culmination of many hopes and plans. The reader is invited to share with the author his hopes, worries, triumphs and setbacks as he strives to make the dream a reality. The saying "to throw one's cap over the windmill" means to act recklessly and provides an apt title for the book, reflecting Kenneth's impetuous pursuit of the propety which he secured and restored, seemingly against the odds.
One of the Daily Telegraph's 20 Books Perfect for Travel Scotland has its rugged Hebrides; Ireland its cliff-girt Arans; Wales its Island of Twenty Thousand Saints. And what has England got? The isles of Canvey, Sheppey, Wight and Dogs, Mersea, Brownsea, Foulness and Rat. But there are also wilder, rockier places - Lundy, the Scillies, the Farnes. These islands and their inhabitants not only cast varied lights on the mainland, they also possess their own peculiar stories, from the Barbary slavers who once occupied Lundy, to the ex-major who seized a wartime fort in the North Sea and declared himself Prince of Sealand. Ian Crofton embarks on a personal odyssey to a number of the islands encircling England, exploring how some were places of refuge or holiness, while others have been turned into personal fiefdoms by their owners, or become locations for prisons, rubbish dumps and military installations. He also describes the varied ways in which England's islands have been formed, and how they are constantly changing, so making a mockery of human claims to sovereignty.
Lifting the lid on London, Spectacular Vernacular reveals the stories behind its 100 strangest and most enigmatic buildings. Some are open to the public, if you know who to ask. Others remain strictly off-limits, thus heightening the sense of mystery surrounding them. But many are so familiar that few of us ever stop to consider just how curious they are. In the heart of Kensington, for example, a 300ft tower attracts few glances that even most locals don't know it's there. South of the river the city's widest building at nearly 1,000ft has been favourably compared to the Winter Palace at St Petersburg. And in Chelsea a medieval hall, once home to a king and moved brick by brick from the City to escape demolition, is now being remodelled as London's largest private house. Elsewhere one finds an arts centre built of old shipping containers, a Victorian explorer lying dead in a tent, literally acres of secret underground government offices, even a private tunnel used for running cable-cars under the Thames. Think you know London? Well, it's time to reconsider.
Leicester History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this East Midlands city. Local author Stephen Butt guides us through the streets and alleyways, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they've changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known places and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of Leicester.
This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.
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.
Prodigies, revolutionaries, defiers of the patriarchy; drunks, rebels and impassioned immigrants; queer pioneers, paint-spattered punks and proto-feminists: there have always been artists in London. Some were celebrated in their lifetime, others were out-of-step with the spirit of their age: too radical, too subversive, too modest, too female, too foreign. Art London is more than a guidebook. It will accompany you on a journey through this great city, telling stories, uncovering histories, sharing insights into those who have made, collected and influenced art past and present. Moving neighbourhood by neighbourhood, Art London travels the streets with you, revealing art in museums, galleries and beyond, from palace to pub to studio. Anish Kapoor, Grayson Perry, Mona Hatoum, John Akomfra, Rasheed Araeen, Sunil Gupta, Tracey Emin and Yinka Shonibare were among the artists who agreed to have their portraits taken for this book, while at work in their studios. Alex Schneiderman's exclusive photographs reveal the human element behind contemporary art, while pictures of streetside galleries place London's art scene within an ever-expanding cosmopolitan world. Fascinating, entertaining, full of anecdote and insights, Art London reflects the city itself: energetic, diverse, resilient, occasionally outrageous, and never short of fresh ideas. Also in the series: Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156 Rock 'n' Roll London ISBN 9781788840163 London Peculiars ISBN 9781851499182
"Good evening, I'm Ric Cottom. Welcome to Your Maryland ." Since 2002, when he first delivered his now-classic radio segment on Maryland history, Ric Cottom has narrated hundreds of little-known human interest stories. Collected here are 72 of his favorite on-air pieces, enhanced with beautiful papercut illustrations by Baltimore artist Annie Howe. From accused witches and the murderous career of gunsmith John Dandy in the earliest days of the colony through tales of Johnny U and the greatest game ever played, Your Maryland covers nearly four centuries of the Free State's heroes and scoundrels. Entertaining listeners of all ages while sparking their interest in the past, Cottom's beloved Your Maryland is a unique blend of carefully researched regional history and narrative nonfiction. He deftly emphasizes the human dimension of Maryland's colorful past: its athletes (two- and four-legged), beautiful spies, brilliant writers, misunderstood pirates, and ghosts. All of that color, suspense, and humor-as well as the author's unusual talent for discovering interesting historical facts and personages-is part of your Maryland.
This folded map (890mm 1000mm when unfolded) is an ideal souvenir for tourists to Liverpool and also a valuable reference resource for local and family history research. The larger Plan of Liverpool from 1824 is by Sherwood, reproduced in full colour for the first time working from the rare antique original. It shows in detail the layout of streets, buildings and the famous docks.. The Plan includes the Environs of Liverpool, with Everton at the time on the edge of the town surrounded by fields. The other three detailed plans of Liverpool are dated 1650, 1725 and 1795, and visually show the rapid growth of Liverpool over this period. All the maps have been meticulously re-produced from antique originals and printed on 90 gsm "Progeo" paper which was specially developed as a map paper. It has high opacity to help reduce show through and a cross grain giving it greater durability to as the map is being folded.
London was once a city awash with watercourses. Most of these streams and small rivers have long since disappeared underground and their void has been filled by myth, legend and an enduring yet uncertain fascination. The River Effra was one of these vanishings. In its earlier existence above ground it could only ever have been a modest tributary of the Thames, but through a vivid subterranean afterlife it has continued to impose itself on South London's development history and local mythology. Once fringed by willows and water meadows, it was the haunt of salmon, eels and herons until it fell victim to the unregulated development of suburban South London. The Victorian housebuilder and his tenants enthusiastically transformed it from a small river into a large sewer until finally in desperation it was covered up. Yet it still flows...and occasionally floods.River Effra: South London's Secret Spine is the first comprehensive account, beginning with its underlying geology and pre-history and continuing through to the river's ongoing significance today.The machinations of medieval landowners seeking to divert its course are uncovered along with some of the more absurd legends concerning Canute, Queen Elizabeth and others. For the Victorians it was a public health disaster in waiting and its ignominious disappearance underground into London's main drainage system in the 1860s was seen as a triumph of nineteenth-century civil engineering. In the twenty-first century its legacy is being approached anew.Richly illustrated with archival images and crisp contemporary black and white photographs, which combine to reveal its vanished stream, River Effra combines geography and geology with social, environmental and engineering history and sets this alongside a detailed walker's itinerary for anyone needing to follow the ghost of this watercourse from Norwood, through Herne Hill, Dulwich and Brixton to Kennington and Vauxhall.
The Little Book of Herefordshire is a compendium full of information that will make you say, 'I never knew that!' Contained within is a plethora of entertaining facts about Herefordshire's famous and occasionally infamous men and women, its literary, artistic and sporting achievements, transport, battles, ghostly appearances and customs both ancient and modern. A reliable reference and a quirky guide, this book can be dipped into time and again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the county. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.
Donegal (or Dun an nGall in Irish, meaning 'the fort of the stranger') is the name given to the most northerly county in Ireland. Strange things have happened, and continue to happen, in this wild and beautiful place and ghost stories are part of the fabric of life here. This spooky selection features the goblin child of Castlereagh, the Blue Stacks Banshee, the ghostly swans of Burt Castle, the Wraiths and Dunlewy Bridge, the legend of Stumpy's Brae, the Bridgend Poltergeist and many more. Drawing on historical and contemporary sources and including many first-hand experiences and previously unpublished tales, Haunted Donegal will enthrall anyone interested in the unexplained.
What are monuments for? and why are the inscriptions so often in Latin? What on earth is the point of communicating in a language so few understand? Peter Kruschwitz, a Classics scholar and specialist in the Latin language and its history uses these questions as his starting point in The Writing on the Wall: Decoding Reading's Latin Inscriptions. In it he reveals a fascinating range of texts chosen from the wealth of Reading's Latin inscriptions. Starting from the statue of King Edward VII outside the station, the reader embarks upon a journey of discovery through the remarkable and chequered history of this town, uncovering some of Reading's hidden treasures and recalling the individuals whoa have made the town what it is today. Whom or what should we remember? And why? Knowledge, true or false, that passes on from one generation to another, forms part of a tradition, of a legacy. We need to understand that legacy in order to preserve and appreciate the rich heritage we have been left.
To Keep the Land for My Children's Children is a collection of primary documents about the Salish and Kootenai tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana between 1890 and 1899. The 1890s witnessed the heartbreaking climax of the struggle of Chief Charlo and the Salish Indians to develop a self-supporting community in the Bitterroot Valley. The period also saw the doleful impact of a biased white-controlled justice system and predatory economic interests in western Montana. Four Indians were hung for murder in Missoula in 1890, but whites who murdered Indians escaped punishment. In the 1890s tribal leaders labored to hold the agency-controlled Indian police and Indian court accountable. Serious crimes were tried in off-reservation courts with varying degrees of justice. In the early part of the decade government agent Peter Ronan and Kootenai leaders tried and failed to protect Kootenai farmers just north of the reservation boundary. A predacious Missoula County government developed new and novel legal theories to justify collecting county taxes from the "mixed blood" people on the reservations. Duncan McDonald and Charles Allard Sr. ran a hotel and a stage line on the reserve. Sources describe a community that actively looked out for its interests and fought to protect tribal independence and assets.
From cedar totem poles to high-tech video installations, downtown Seattle sparkles with hundreds of artworks adorning plazas, lobbies, parks, and waterfront piers and paths. This impressive collection, comprising works by artists with regional or international reputations (and often both), has expanded rapidly as Seattle's urban core has grown. The explosive development of South Lake Union in recent years has brought major works by Jaume Plensa, Julie Speidel, Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, Buster Simpson, Jenny Heishman, and more. The Seattle Art Museum's ten-year-old Olympic Sculpture Park provides a breathtaking setting for Richard Serra's monumental Wake and Beverly Pepper's ever-changing Perre's Ventaglio III, and links the downtown waterfront to Myrtle Edwards Park, which features Michael Heizer's once-maligned and now beloved Adjacent, Against, Upon. To tell the lively stories of those who commissioned and created these artworks, James Rupp interviewed and corresponded with more than ninety artists, also drawing from newspaper reviews, books, catalogs, and artist statements. Photographs by Miguel Edwards, all new to this book, showcase the pieces' street-level presentation and help the reader understand the larger impact of each work in its neighborhood context. This comprehensive guide offers detailed information about the individual works of art, organized by downtown neighborhood, and featuring: More than 350 artworks Over 300 color photographs 9 detailed area maps for self-guided tours Unique descriptions of each artwork Biographies of all the artists Perfect for art and architecture lovers, as well as visitors and newcomers to the city, Art in Seattle's Public Spaces showcases the wealth of urban art to be freely enjoyed by all. A Michael J. Repass Book
Now in paperback! Documenting Localities is the first effort to summarize the past decade of renewed discussion about archival appraisal theory and methodology and to provide a practical guide for the documentation of localities. This book discusses the continuing importance of the locality in American historical research and archival practice, traditional methods archivists have used to document localities, and case studies in documenting localities. These chapters draw on a wide range of writings from archivists, historians, material culture specialists, historic preservationists, librarians, and other professionals in considering why we need to continue to stress the systematic documentation of geographic regions. The heart of the book is the presentation of a practical series of steps and tools archivists and manuscript curators can use in documenting localities. The final part of the book considers the need for the better education of archivists and manuscript curators in appraisal theory and methodology, with a description of the primary writings on new macroappraisal approaches forming the crux of how archivists need to consider documenting localities and regions. Useful to all archivists and manuscript curators grappling with how to contend with the increasing quantity and complexity of local records, recordkeeping systems, and other documentary forms.
This updated edition of Defining Memory: Local Museums and the Construction of History in America's Changing Communities offers readers multiple lenses for viewing and discussing local institutions. New chapters are included in a section titled "Museums Moving Forward," which analyzes the ways in which local museums have come to adopt digital technologies in selecting items for exhibitions as well as the complexities of creating institutions devoted to marginalized histories. In addition to the new chapters, the second edition updates existing chapters, presenting changes to the museums discussed. It features expanded discussions of how local museums treat (or ignore) racial and ethnic diversity and concludes with a look at how business relationships, political events, and the economy affect what is shown and how it is displayed in local museums. |
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