When readers think of the destructive nature of tornadoes, they often think of Kansas. The Sunflower State has certainly earned the nickname, "The Cyclone State," on and off since territorial times. The movie, the Wizard of Oz, has not helped the state's image of wild weather in the heart of tornado alley and the subsequent widespread death and destruction. Now, Sound and Fury provides a comprehensive look at the many tornadoes that visited Kansas. Over a hundred of the best-known tornado events are documented here, including the famous Irving tornado of 1879; the Udall tornado that killed dozens of residents while they were sleeping; the first $100,000,000 tornado-the Topeka tornado-of 1966; and recently, the famous Greensburg tornado which wiped out the entire community in 2007. Sound and Fury is four hundred pages of stories with over a hundred illustrations and maps of significant tornado paths.

This is the new 2nd Edition of the popular Sound and Fury: A History of Kansas Tornadoes, 1854-2012. This volume documents the history of the most significant tornadoes that occurred within Kansas. The new edition adds recent tornado events that have occurred within the last few years, including additional tornadoes in Chapman, Reading, and elsewhere. Thanks to the Weather Channel and a sudden increase in tornado events, readers have become fascinated with the most violent force of nature known to man. This book combines a history of significant tornado events with common scientific logic on how we viewed and understood tornadoes in the Midwest. The 342 page book is packed with over 100 images and maps. This is the primary resource for anyone wanting a history of Kansas disasters or tornado events.

The steamboat was the great civilizer of the West. This transportation source was responsible for moving emigrants, settlers, and freight from the edge of the frontier. The Missouri River was the highway. For twenty years, 1840-1860, the frontier line of settlement moved up the Missouri River to the Kansas-Missouri border. Here it stopped briefly. In those two decades, a boom occurred that was fuelled by a variety of factors. Towns were established along every bend of the Missouri River that catered to the whims of everyone that stopped at their banks. This was the Golden Age of steamboat navigation. Everyone speculated in town lots and real estate. Some became wealthy but everyone tried. Then, almost as quickly as the boom hit, the Panic of 1857 took everything away. Towns, people, dreams, even the steamboat itself, came and went, leaving an empty void. The railroad took over, and any town built on a narrow line of track suddenly took over the boom. This book documents a fascinating age, a time that came and left in two decades, never to return. Using primary accounts and sources, historican Dan Fitzgerald documents this boom and bust era---the dreams, the fortunes, the profit, and the eventual loss. Come aboard for the ride.

The book that started the series: Ghost Towns of Kansas Volume One was the enormously successful first release of a six volume series that spanned four decades. This book was produced in 1976 when the author, Daniel Fitzgerald, was a senior in high school. It documents the histories of 115 different Kansas ghost towns that prospered and died in the state's history. This release is lovingly edited and restored, and it includes 19 ghost towns that were pulled from the author's unpublished notes and released here for the first time. Ghost Towns of Kansas Volume One has been out of print for over twenty years. The book also includes a brand new foreword and an extensive index.

This is the third volume in the original Ghost Towns of Kansas series. Originally published in 1982, this 28th anniversary reissue documents the histories of a hundred exciting Kansas ghost towns that grew, prospered, and died across the state. These hundred ghost town histories are organized by topic, such as boom towns, mining towns, free state/ pro-slavery towns, county seat towns, and railroad towns. This series won numerous awards and accolades, including several news emmys. This third volume has been lovingly edited and restored with a new foreword by the author.

Over 6,000 ghost towns have existed in the history of Kansas. Many of these were boom towns that evolved into major communities overnight, and disappeared just as fast. Some of these fascinating places were mining towns, steamboat towns, trail stops, railroad hubs, and county seat contenders. Their stories are all exciting, and many of their locations are mostly forgotten. Daniel Fitzgerald revisits over a hundred of these mysterious ghosts. Like a detective sorting through the dusty, dark corners of the state's history, he brings them back to life in his sixth and last volume of all new material. Ghost Towns of Kansas: 6 is an epic finale spanning 35 years. It is one of the longest-running and most successful Kansas history series ever created. It promises to be Fitzgerald's most exciting chapter yet.

This is the second volume in the Ghost Towns of Kansas series. Originally published in 1979, this 30th anniversary reissue documents the histories of a hundred exciting Kansas ghost towns that grew, prospered, and died. This volume received numerous awards and accolades after it was released, including six related news emmy nominations and a rock album. The 30th anniversary reissue has been lovingly edited and it includes a brand new introduction by the author. The book has been out of print for over twenty years.