Newcastle has a long and distinguished history through two millennia: a Roman fortress at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall; an important centre of monasticism; a 'royal' bulwark against attacks and invasion from Scotland; and the principal centre for the export of coal to London. In the 19th century it was transformed into an elegant Georgian townscape with dramatic streets and handsome public buildings. It and other towns on the Tyne - Gateshead, Jarrow, Wallsend, Tynemouth, North and South Shields - developed important industries: shipbuilding, glass and heavy engineering. Tyneside suffered severe contraction in the 20th century as heavy industry declined, but it has begun to reinvent itself and create new growth shoots, not least its vibrant cultural industries including music and art. This book takes an innovative approach to telling the story of the area's history by focusing on the historic maps and plans that record the growth and development of Newcastle and Tyneside over many centuries.

Arran is an archaeological and geological treasure trove of stunning scenic beauty. Its history stretches back to the great stone circles, more than 5,000 years old, whose remnants still decorate the plains of Machrie. Runic inscriptions tell of a Viking occupation lasting centuries. Later, in 1307, King Robert the Bruce began his triumphant comeback from Arran. Subsequently, the island was repeatedly caught up and devastated in the savage dynastic struggles of medieval Scotland. After the 1707 Parliamentary Union, came a new and strange upheaval - unwarlike but equally unsettling: Arran became a test-bed for the new theories of the ideologists of the Industrial Revolution. The ancient 'runrig' style of farming gave way to enclosed fields and labour-saving methods, which eventually lead to the socially disastrous Highland Clearances to Arran, and the misfortune of the times was culminated by the Great Irish Potato Famine of 1845. At last, the area began to settle down through an increasingly stable mixture of agriculture and tourism in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this book, Thorbjorn Campbell gives an original, fascinating and comprehensive account of Arran's long and eventful history.

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.

St Andrews is without doubt one of Scotland's most historic and beautiful cities. Once the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland, it played a prominent role in the nation's political life until the seventeenth century. In addition, it is also home of the nation's oldest university; and whilst claims that it is the birthplace of golf may remain controversial, there is no doubt it is regarded as world capital of the game today. This fascinating and comprehensive account of St Andrews traces its history from Pictish times to the present day. It is based not only on a huge amount of original research, but also on an intimate knowledge of the town which Raymond Lamont-Brown accumulated in over twenty years' residence there. In addition to facts and figures, the book also introduces many of the people who have featured prominently in the story of St Andrews - from doughty residents such as Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair and Cardinal Archbishop David Beaton to illustrious visitors like Mary, Queen of Scots, John Knox and Samuel Johnson.

For the first six centuries from the institution's foundation, Latin was the language spoken and written at the University of Oxford. It's no surprise, then, to find that the inscriptions carved into the monuments, colleges and municipal buildings of the city are for the most part also in Latin. It is also a language which lends itself to compression, so an inscription in Latin uses fewer characters than English, for example, saving space and money. But what do they all mean? For this book Reginald Adams has assembled, translated and explained a wide selection of Oxford's Latin inscriptions (and a few Greek ones). These can be found in many accessible places in both city and university, dating from the medieval period to the present day. Their purposes range from tributes and memorials to decorations and witty commentaries on the edifice that they adorn. The figures commemorated include Queen Anne, Roger Bacon, Cardinal Wolsey, Cecil Rhodes, T. E. Lawrence and a kind landlady who provided 'enormous breakfasts', as well as other eminent scholars and generous benefactors. These evocative mementos of the past bring insight to the informed observer of their surroundings and also vividly illustrate the history of Oxford.

Nation's Metropolis describes how the national capital region functions as a metropolitan political economy. Its authors distinguish aspects of the Washington region that reflect its characteristics as a national capital from those common to most other metropolitan regions and to other capitals. To do so, they employ an interdisciplinary approach that draws from economics, political science, sociology, geography, and history. Royce Hanson and Harold Wolman focus on four major themes: the federal government as the region's basic industry and its role in economic, physical, and political development; race as a core force in the development of the metropolis; the mismatch of the governance and economy of the national capital region; and the conundrum of achieving fully democratic governance for Washington, DC. Critical regional issues and policy problems are analyzed in the context of these themes, including poverty, inequality, education, housing, transportation, water supply, and governance. The authors conclude that the institutions and practices that accrued over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are inadequate for dealing effectively with the issues confronting the city and the region in the twenty-first. The accumulation of problems arising from the unique role of the federal government and the persistent problem of racial inequality has been compounded by failure to resolve the conundrum of governance for the District of Columbia. They recommend rethinking the governance of the entire region. While many books are concerned with the city of Washington, DC, Nation's Metropolis is the only book focused on the development and political economy of the metropolitan region as a whole. It will engage readers interested in the national capital, metropolitan development more generally, and the growing comparative literature on national capitals.

As settlements and civilization moved West to follow the lure of mineral wealth and the trade of the Santa Fe Trail, prostitution grew and flourished within the mining camps, small towns, and cities the nineteenth-century Nevada and Utah. Whether escaping a bad home life, lured by false advertising, or seeking to subsidize their income, thousands of women chose or were forced to enter an industry where they faced segregation and persecution, fines and jailing, and battled the other hazards of their profession. Some dreamed of escape through marriage or retirement, and some became infamous and even successful, but more often found relief only in death. An integral part of western history, the stories of these women continue to fascinate readers and captivate the minds of historians today. Nevada and Utah each had their share of working girls and madams who remain notorious celebrities in the annals of history, but Collins also includes the stories of lesser-known women whose roles in this illicit trade help shape our understanding of the American West.

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.

Duddingston is less than two miles from central Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Yet it has its own identity, and in 2019 it celebrates 60 years of its own conservation society. It has several outstanding grade-A Listed Buildings, including 12th century Duddingston Kirk and 18th century Duddingston House, and a raft of human stories about its residents. Duddingston is also home to Scotland's oldest pub the Sheep Heid, Dr Neils 'secret garden' and Edinburgh's oldest railway, the Innocent. Visitors can enjoy the wildlife of Duddingston Loch and its backdrop Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano. This book shows you how easily it can be explored on foot and by public transport. With over 180 photographs, a self-guided walking tour map and concise, readable text, this short book will reveal hidden secrets of a part of Edinburgh known to few.

Among the greatest of tragedies of the American frontier-the Donner Party, the Alamo, Wounded Knee-a little known but no less tragic event was the Texas Mier Expedition. Originally part of a 1,200-man invasion to retaliate against Mexican incursions on Texas soil in 1842, the Expedition unfolded when several hundred fighters stubbornly defied President Sam Houston's orders to disband and return home at once. Fiercely independent and recently reorganized under new leadership, this motley mix of Texas volunteers and militia turned south and proceeded to invade Mexico, determined to avenge past humiliations at the hands of Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Drawing from over a dozen first-hand accounts, the author extracts this exciting narrative recounting in compelling detail the pathos of these fighting men--from the blood-soaked Battlefields of Mier and the subsequent surrender to their harrowing 1,300-mile forced march to Perote Prison. It was a march of attrition during which many Texans were executed or died from exposure, disease, or starvation. Once in Perote, they were forced to sleep on stone floors in chains and put to hard labor. Of the original three hundred and eight members of the rogue expedition who survived, only half eventually left the prison alive. After two years in captivity, the prisoners were finally released only to be ignored and forgotten by their own countrymen upon their return home.

Unleashed by ancient geologic forces, a magnitude 8.25 earthquake rocked San Francisco in the early hours of April 18, 1906. Less than a minute later, the city lay in ruins. Bestselling author Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities to this extraordinary event, exploring the legendary earthquake and fires that spread horror across San Francisco and northern California in 1906 as well as its startling impact on American history and, just as important, what science has recently revealed about the fascinating subterranean processes that produced it--and almost certainly will cause it to strike again.

The builder of the White House, the hero of Aboukir Bay, a murderer who inspired Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, a decadent society hostess... Set in 66 Queen Street, a townhouse in Edinburgh's New Town, this book tells the story of people and events associated with the house for 210 years from 1790 and whose lives were empowered by the Scottish Enlightenment. The diverse characters range from heroes to villains, and from people of conscience to subjects of tabloid scandal and moral prurience. Edinburgh emerges from its past to become the intellectual, banking and professional capital of an enlightened Scotland. The story reflects how our modern world is shaped but above all it is about its people; some masters of their circumstances and others prisoners

For more than three centuries Oxford has been the subject of fine illustrated books and engraved prints. These exquisitely made illustrations have become part of the historical record, showing how Oxford's identity is rooted in the past and tracing a history of the city's development through the architecture of its most beautiful colleges and university buildings. Prints made by David Loggan in the seventeenth century show us a university where the medieval origins are already largely overlaid by Tudor and Stuart rebuilding. The engravings in the eighteenth-century Oxford Almanacks illustrate a city dominated by neo-classical ideas, while those of the nineteenth century show an increasingly romantic feel for the architecture against its natural background of sky, trees and river. Hand-coloured etchings published by Ackermann in the nineteenth century and Ingram's Memorials of Oxford of 1837 offer a nostalgic portrait of Oxford before development changed it into the modern city it is today. The best of these historic prints are reproduced here to create a panorama of classical Oxford, with an accompanying text describing the origin of each building, institution or public event, together with the salient features of their history. Together they offer an instructive and captivating view of Oxford through the ages.

It Happened in Northern California takes readers on a rollicking, behind the scene look at some of the characters and episodes from the state's storied past. Including famous tales, famous names as well as little known heroes, heroines, and happenings. Northern California is well known for its towering redwoods, Spanish missions, and gold mines, but few know about the two-year-long Native American occupation of Alcatraz, efforts by some northern Californians to establish the US's fifty-first state, or that John Sutter never capitalized on the gold rush that began on his land. It Happened in Northern California goes behind the scenes to tell these stories and many more, in short episodes that reveal the intriguing people and events that have shaped the Golden State.

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 book provides a comprehensive history of the third-largest Jewish community in Britain and fills an acknowledged gap in both Jewish and urban historiography. Bringing together the latest research and building on earlier local studies, the book provides an analysis of the special features which shaped the community in Leeds. Organised in three sections, Context, Chronology and Contours, the book demonstrates how Jews have influenced the city and how the city has influenced the community. A small community was transformed by the late Victorian influx of poor migrants from the Russian Empire and within two generations had become successfully integrated into the city's social and economic structure. More than a dozen authors contribute to this definitive history and the editor provides both an introductory and concluding overview which brings the story up to the present day. The book will be of interest to both historians and general readers. -- .

"Our Liverpool" is an oral history about the real Liverpool--about the city before its slick transformation to European City of Culture and about the spirit that remains at its heart. Here, at last, is Liverpool's grievous and glorious past. And here, through the people's voices, we find old Liverpool, without the gift-wrap. Its stories pulsate with the rhythms of an alternately funny, flippant, belligerent, stubborn, and warm heart, and they broadcast the values of a community, which are the city's true legacy to the modern world. Piers Dudgeon has listened to dozens of people who remember the city as it was, and who have lived through its many changes. They talk of childhood and education, of work and entertainment, of family, community values, health, politics, religion, and music. Their stories will make you laugh and cry. It is people's own memories that make history real and this engrossing book captures them vividly.

In 1914, the East London Federation of Suffragettes, led by Sylvia Pankhurst, split from the WSPU. Sylvia's mother and sister, Emmeline and Christabel, had encouraged her to give up her work with the poor women of East London - but Sylvia refused. Besides campaigning for women to have an equal right to vote from their headquarters in Bow, the ELFS worked on a range of equality issues which mattered to local women: they built a toy factory, providing work and a living wage for local women; they opened a subsidized canteen where women and children could get cheap, nutritious food; and they launched a nursery school, a creche, and a mother-and-baby clinic. The work of the Federation (and 'our Sylvia', as she was fondly known by locals) deserves to be remembered, and this book, filled with astonishing first-hand accounts, aims to bring this amazing story to life.

Western Isles Folk Tales is a representative collection of stories from the geographical span of the long chain of islands known as the Outer Hebrides. Some are well-known tales and others have been sought out by the author, but all are retold in the natural voice of a local man. You will find premonitions, accounts of uncanny events and mythical beings, such as the blue men of the stream who test mariners venturing into the tidal currents around the Shiant Islands. Also included are tales from islands now uninhabited, like the archipelago of St Kilda, in contrast to the witty yarns from bustling harbours. The author was the inaugural winner of the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship (1995) and his Acts of Trust collaboration with visual artist Christine Morrison won the multi-arts category in the first British Awards for Storytelling Excellence (2012). Both author and illustrator live in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis.

Zen and the Art of Local History is an engaging, interactive conversation that conveys the exciting nature of local history. Divided into six major themes the book covers the scope and breadth of local history: * Being a Local Historian * Topics and Sources * Staying Relevant * Getting it Right * Writing History * History Organizations Each chapter features one of Carol Kammen's memorable editorials from History News. Her editorial is a "call." Each is followed by a response from one of more than five dozen prominent players in state and local history. These Respondents include local and public historians, archivists, volunteers, and history professionals across the kaleidoscopic spectrum of local history. Among this group are Katherine Kane, Robert "Bob" Richmond, Charlie Bryan, and Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko. The result is a series of dialogues on important topics in the field of local history. This interactivity of these conversations makes Zen and the Art of Local History a unique offering in the public history field.

Fifteen years after its hardcover debut, the FSG Classics reissue of the celebrated work of narrative nonfiction that won the National Book Award and changed the American conversation about race, with a new preface by the author
The Ball family hails from South Carolina--Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people were born into slavery under the Balls or were bought by them. In "Slaves in the Family, "Edward Ball recounts his efforts to track down and meet the descendants of his family's slaves. Part historical narrative, part oral history, part personal story of investigation and catharsis, "Slaves in the Family" is, in the words of Pat Conroy, "a work of breathtaking generosity and courage, a magnificent study of the complexity and strangeness and beauty of the word 'family.'"