In 1981 the suspended walkways-or "skywalks"-in Kansas City's Hyatt Regency hotel fell and killed 114 people. It was the deadliest building collapse in the United States until the fall of New York's Twin Towers on 9/11. In Skywalks R. Eli Paul follows the actions of attorney Robert Gordon, an insider to the bitter litigation that followed. Representing the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against those who designed, built, inspected, owned, and managed the hotel, Gordon was tenacious in uncovering damaging facts. He wanted his findings presented before a jury, where his legal team would assign blame from underlings to corporate higher-ups, while securing a massive judgment in his clients' favor. But when the case was settled out from under Gordon, he turned to another medium to get the truth out: a quixotic book project that consumed the rest of his life. For a decade the irascible attorney-turned-writer churned through a succession of high-powered literary agents, talented ghost writers, and New York trade publishers. Gordon's resistance to collaboration and compromise resulted in a controversial but unpublishable manuscript, "House of Cards," finished long after the public's interest had waned. His conclusions, still explosive but never receiving their proper attention, laid the blame for the disaster largely at the feet of the hotel's owner and Kansas City's most visible and powerful corporation, Hallmark Cards Inc. Gordon gave up his lucrative law practice and lived the rest of his life as a virtual recluse in his mansion in Mission Hills, Kansas. David had fought Goliath, and to his despair, Goliath had won. Gordon died in 2008 without ever seeing his book published or the full truth told. Skywalks is a long-overdue corrective, built on a foundation of untapped historical materials Gordon compiled, as well as his own unpublished writings.

The Royal Hospital Haslar was the first of three hospitals built in the 18th century for sick and wounded sailors and marines and was the last to remain in service. Following submissions to King George II by the Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, sites were identified at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Chatham, and building commenced at Haslar farm in 1745. Designed by Theodore Jacobsen FRS in the manner of his Foundling Hospital in London, the hospital, reputed at one time to be the largest red brick building in Europe, was completed in 1762. Haslar was grand in concept, elegant in design and robust of build, and provided medical attention and nursing care to the sick and wounded of both Fleet and Army. This may not have been of the highest order in the early years, but the standards achieved during the Peninsular and Crimean Wars earned the hospital a reputation among military authorities that was unequalled. Sir John Richardson, eminent Arctic explorer and physician at Haslar, even corresponded with Florence Nightingale when the nursing reformer was campaigning for changes in the way casualties of war were treated. Described as the noblest of institutions by Queen Victoria, the Royal Hospital Haslar has provided medical care to the Royal Navy for over 250 years and Sick Berth staff for service in all areas of global conflict. In more recent times it treated patients from all three services and since the 1950s has made the professional and technological expertise contained within its walls accessible to civilian patients. The photographs in this fascinating illustrated history will stir the memory of all those who have entered Haslar, as either staff or patients, and provide a unique record of a singular and celebrated institution.

Looking over the vast open plains of eastern Colorado, western Kansas, and southwestern Nebraska, where one can travel miles without seeing a town or even a house, it is hard to imagine the crowded landscape of the last decades of the nineteenth century. In those days farmers, speculators, and town builders flooded the region, believing that rain would follow the plow and that the "Rainbelt" would become their agricultural Eden. It took a mere decade for drought and economic turmoil to drive these dreaming thousands from the land, turning farmland back to rangeland and reducing settlements to ghost towns.

David J. Wishart's "The Last Days of the Rainbelt" is the sobering tale of the rapid rise and decline of the settlement of the western Great Plains. History finds its voice in interviews with elderly residents of the region by Civil Works Administration employees in 1933 and 1934. Evidence similarly emerges from land records, climate reports, census records, and diaries, as Wishart deftly tracks the expansion of westward settlement across the central plains and into the Rainbelt. Through an examination of migration patterns, land laws, town-building, and agricultural practices, Wishart re-creates the often-difficult life of settlers in a semiarid region who undertook the daunting task of adapting to a new environment. His book brings this era of American settlement and failure on the western Great Plains fully into the scope of historical memory.

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in The Potteries during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of The Potteries' recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the appearance of The Potteries, and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what The Potteries has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

The Abermule railway disaster is still the worst single line rail disaster the UK has ever known. It occurred on the Cambrian railway in 1921, killing thirty-four and injuring sixty-five people. The railway operational ramifications of this terrible accident were felt as far away as India.This detailed book focuses on the Abermule disaster, telling the story using reports and testimonies, photographs and diagrams. The book covers the accident itself, the people involved, passengers, workers, the railway company, the wreckage, the witnesses, the casualties, the press, the inquest, the verdict, and presents original theories on how the incident happened, backed up by information from the son of one of the principal players.

These reflective essays about Deon's life and experiences in the west of Ireland describe the colourful and varied personalities that the French novelist has come across since he and his family moved there in the mid 1970s. From his friendship with John McGahern and Ulick O'Connor to Tim, the sturdy old postman who prefers his wind-blown country round to retirement in sunny California, Horseman, Pass By! is peopled with fascinating characters and encounters. Taking its title from Yeats, this work is an affectionate portrait of the Irish and a lament for a fading country that has been changed by new wealth and altered values. Deon's Horseman, Pass By! is an elegant memoir about a beautiful landscape and its inhabitants and forms a touching and amusing tribute to his adopted country.

The island of Anglesey has a wonderful variety of natural history and landscape. In this beautifully illustrated guide to the flora and fauna of Anglesey, wildlife painter and author Philip Snow guides the reader through the glorious landscape of Anglesey and its natural history, from cliffs, estuaries, dunes and beaches, its lakes, rivers, marshes and fens, to pastures, woods and heaths. Each of Anglesey's nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are covered, with walks and maps, accompanied by the author's beautiful illustrations of the wildlife, plants and landscape of the island. This attractive nature guide to Anglesey will appeal to all those interested in the wildlife and natural history of the island, whether they live on Anglesey or are visiting.

People have lived and died in Chester for over 2,000 years, and stories of ghosts have swirled around the city all that time. What is unusual about the city is the frequency of new sightings - fresh examples of paranormal activity. Chester, City of Ghosts is a handy guide to these hauntings, both past and present, and clearly shows why Chester is in the running for most actively haunted settlement in the country. Read the stories, follow the maps, visit the buildings and soon you will agree - and you might even experience some ghostly activity yourself...

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.

Authoritative and comprehensive account of one of Somerset's leading towns. Castle Cary is a relatively unspoilt town deep in the Somerset countryside, its narrow streets rich in high-quality late eighteenth and nineteenth-century buildings. Its most famous industry, horsehair weaving, still flourishes. This volume explores its history from the original castle and its lords to its rebirth as an industrial town. It also covers many villages, among them Ansford, early home of Parson Woodforde; Kingweston, virtually recreated bythe Dickinson family; Keinton Mandeville, once famous for its paving stone quarries and as the birthplace of Henry Irving; tiny Wheathill, almost obliterated by a golf course; and West Lydford, the family home of the early eighteenth-century diarist John Cannon. Other places of note include Barton St David, home of Henry Adams, the reputed ancestor of two American Presidents, and Lovington, whose small primary school traces its origins back to an eighteenth-century charity school. M.C. Siraut is a historian and archivist; she is the county editor for the Victoria History of Somerset.

The diary of a clerical wife during the Second World War provides fascinating insights into life at the time. War had an impact on even genteel civilians in unraided cities like Oxford (though safety was never assured), among them Madge Martin (born 1899), wife of the vicar of St Michael at the North Gate, Oxford. Her pre-war life, full of travel, theatre visits, walks, books and films, was jolted into very different realities: she found herself undertaking more housework (by 1943 she had lost both her maids), volunteering with the Red Cross, and housing her two sisters' families, who self-evacuated at different times to Madge's home to escape London's air raids. Her private diary, engagingly and accessibly written, discloses much about her thoughts and feelings and social relations; some tribulations (she endured serious and frequent headaches); and her ambivalences concerning her role as a parson's wife. It shows both the persistence of comfortable, established lifestyles and necessary adaptations to theconstraints of existing in wartime. It is presented here with notes and introduction. PATRICIA and ROBERT MALCOLMSON are social historians with a special interest in Mass Observation, women in World War Two, and Englishdiaries written between the 1930s and the 1950s.

A history of Stocksbridge

Presents a pictorial history of Minehead through a series of photographs and images.

Archive and contemporary photographs of the same landmark sit side-by-side to show how "Gate City" became the bustling capital of the New South. Atlanta blends the old-Southern charm and hospitality of its history with the energy of the modern millennial city. Staked out in the 1837 wilderness of northeast Georgia, the site that became Atlanta was identified as the termination point for the as-yet unbuilt railroad line. Since that time, transportation has been key to the city's growth, from its declaration as the Gate City of the South in 1857, its prominence as a distribution center during the Civil War, to its current designation as home of the nation's busiest airport. At the end of the 19th century, Atlanta presented itself to the world in a grand international exposition; it closed the next century by bringing the world to Atlanta as it hosted the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Throughout this drive from rural terminal to urban metropolis, Atlanta has witnessed incredible growth. The scenes in this book document this change as the city's tree-lined avenues and country crossroads gave way to high-rises, busy city intersections, and community growth. Atlanta: Then and Now is a captivating chronicle of history and change since the dawn of the camera age. It pairs historic photographs, many more than a century old, with specially commissioned views of the same scene as it exists today to show the evolution of Atlanta from its early years to the very different city that it is today. Sites include: Ellis, Hunter, Alabama, Marietta, Peachtree and Decatur Streets, Train Gulch, Cabbage Town, Inman Park, Georgian Terrace, Terminal Station, The Castle, and Margaret Mitchell Square

This is John Hannavy's reflective look at how Scotland was depicted in photographs and postcards 100 - 170 years ago. In many ways, it redefines our view of Scotland's past as we are familiar with seeing Victorian and Edwardian people and views in sepia, but these are in colour, adding a warmth and realism to the scenes which photographers immortalized. The subject matter of the pictures was as wide and varied as Edwardian life and work itself and it is here that the reader meets eccentrics and worthies, sees people going about their daily work, catching buses and trains, embarking on steamers, and simply enjoying Scotland's spectacular scenery. Many aspects of Scottish life are explored from people's jobs to the many ways in which they occupied their limited holiday and leisure time between 1840 and the outbreak of the Great War.These include Creating Tourist Scotland - how Victorian and Edwardian Scotland was sold to the world and the birth of Scotland's tourist industry; Scotland's Railways - the development of the railway network and some of the splendid photographs and postcards which were sold to travellers; Industrial Might; The Ubiquitous Steamer; Gateways to the World; Fisherfolk; Working the Land; The Textile Industry; Taking to the Road; The Scots at War - from the Crimean War, the first to be photographed, to the skirmishes leading up to the Great War; Out in the Scots Fresh Air; On Scotland's Canals; Village Life; Family Life; That's Entertainment; Town and City Life; What we did on Holiday and Sports and Outdoor Pursuits. Included are fine studies of the hardy Scotch Fisher Lassies who worked their way down the east coast of Britain gutting and pickling the herring; the people who lived and worked on Scotland's canals; the men who crewed the country's trains, trams and ferries, together with a host of others. In effect, it opens the book on what was perceived as an almost mystical and mysterious landscape, 'north of the border'.With almost 270 photographs, many of them previously unpublished, The Way We Were brings Scotland's colourful past to life.

Between 1942 and 1945, tens of thousands of young American servicemen arrived in Britain. This book is an examination of the way their presence affected them and the local people during the Second World War. It is a social history and studies the various relationships forged between the British public and their American guests.

Urban Villages and Local Identities examines immigration to the Great Plains by surveying the experiences of three divergent ethnic groups-Volga Germans, Omaha Indians, and Vietnamese-that settled in enclaves in Lincoln, Nebraska, beginning in 1876, 1941, and 1975, respectively. These urban villages served as safe havens that protected new arrivals from a mainstream that often eschewed unfamiliar cultural practices. Lincoln's large Volga German population was last fully discussed in 1918; Omahas are rarely studied as urban people although sixy-five percent of their population lives in cities; and the growing body of work on Vietnamese tends to be conducted by social scientists rather than historians, few of whom contrast Southeast Asian experiences with those of earlier waves of immigration. As a comparative study, Urban Villages and Local Identities is inspired, in part, by Reinventing Free Labor, by Gunther Peck. By focusing on the experiences of three populations over the course of 130 years, Urban Villages connects two distinct eras of international border crossing and broadens the field of immigration to include Native Americans. Ultimately, the work yields insights into the complexity, flexibility, and durability of cultural identities among ethnic groups and the urban mainstream in one capital city.

Settled by successive waves of incomers, Northamptonshire is a typical English shire county with prehistoric camps, Roman towns, Saxon burhs, castles and fortified houses, representing fortification over the centuries, a process punctuated by momentous events including the birth of Richard III and the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, both at Fotheringhay Castle; King John's sieges at Northampton, Rockingham and Fotheringhay; the Battle of Northampton placing Edward IV on the throne; and the decisive defeat of Charles I at Naseby. The great ordnance depot at Weedon was (allegedly) chosen as a bolt-hole for George III in the place furthest from Napoleon's likely invasion. The Victorian period saw the army reorganized and the Volunteer Force develop. Both world wars mobilized the population and the county filled up with army camps, airfields and munitions plants. In the Cold War, nuclear missiles were pointed towards Russia. Many signs of all these events are still visible: Northampton's militia armoury in the guise of a mediaeval castle; the genuine castles of Barnwell and Rockingham: the launch-pads of Harrington's THOR missiles; the Ordnance Stores at Weedon Bec; and the banks and ditches of Hunsbury Camp or Little Houghton. This book illustrates and explains these sites.

For fans all over the world the thrilling partnership of Silverstone and Formula 1 has long represented one of the pinnacles of motor sport. Here the broad sweep of Silverstone's Formula 1 history, a kaleidoscopic pageant of great cars and drivers, is explored in a new and highly accessible way through nine specific eras, each one delightfully and freshly illustrated: * The First Grand Prix and International Trophy (1948-49) * Forza, Alfa! Forza, Ferrari! (1950-51) * The Front-Engined Finale (1952-59) * Clark's Dark Golden Age (1960-68) * The Stewart Dominance (1969-73) * The Hunt-Lauda Epoch (1973-79) * Three Titans: Prost, Mansell and Senna (1981-93) * The Schumacher Era (1994-2006) * New Heights: Hamilton and The Wing (2007 onwards) This photographic history of Silverstone and Formula 1 should appeal to motor racing fans everywhere, as it neatly captures the essence of what the highest level of a most demanding sport has meant to this very special venue.

This enchanting collection of stories gathers together legends from across Scotland in one special volume. Drawn from The History Press' popular Folk Tales series, herein lies a treasure trove of tales from a wealth of talented storytellers. From the Spaeman's peculiar advice and a laird who is transformed into a frog, to a fugitive hiding in a dark cave and the stoor worm battling with Assipattle, this book celebrates the distinct character of Scotland's different customs, beliefs and dialects, and is a treat for all who enjoy a well-told story.

A history of Catholics in Cardiff

In Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger, the veteran journalist Justin Murphy makes the compelling argument that the educational disparities in Rochester, New York, are the result of historical and present-day racial segregation. Education reform alone will never be the full solution; to resolve racial inequity, cities such as Rochester must first dismantle segregation. Drawing on never-before-seen archival documents as well as scores of new interviews, Murphy shows how discriminatory public policy and personal prejudice combined to create the racially segregated education system that exists in the Rochester area today. Alongside this dismal history, Murphy recounts the courageous fight for integration and equality, from the advocacy of Frederick Douglass in the 1850s to a countywide student coalition inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement in the 2010s. This grinding antagonism, featuring numerous failed efforts to uphold the promise of Brown v. Board of Education, underlines that desegregation and integration offer the greatest opportunity to improve educational and economic outcomes for children of color in the United States. To date, that opportunity has been lost in Rochester, and persistent poor academic outcomes have been one terrible result. Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger is a history of Rochester with clear relevance for today. The struggle for equity in Rochester, like in many northern cities, shows how the burden of history lies on the present. A better future for these cities requires grappling with their troubled pasts. Murphy's account is a necessary contribution to twenty-first-century Rochester.

A case study about the formation of American pluralism and religious liberty, The Spires Still Point to Heaven explores why-and more importantly how-the early growth of Cincinnati influenced the changing face of the United States. Matthew Smith deftly chronicles the urban history of this thriving metropolis in the mid-nineteenth century. As Protestants and Catholics competed, building rival domestic missionary enterprises, increased religious reform and expression shaped the city. In addition, the different ethnic and religious beliefs informed debates on race, slavery, and immigration, as well as disease, temperance reform, and education. Specifically, Smith explores the Ohio Valley's religious landscape from 1788 through the nineteenth century, examining its appeal to evangelical preachers, abolitionists, social critics, and rabbis. He traces how Cincinnati became a battleground for newly energized social reforms following a cholera epidemic, and how grassroots political organizing was often tied to religious issues. He also illustrates the anti-immigrant sentiments and anti-Catholic nativism pervasive in this era. The first monograph on Cincinnati's religious landscape before the Civil War, The Spires Still Point to Heaven highlights Cincinnati's unique circumstances and how they are key to understanding the cultural and religious development of the nation.