As "animal factories" go, the Ohio Penitentiary was one of the worst. For 150 years, it housed some of the most dangerous criminals in the United States, including murderers, madmen and mobsters. Peer in on America's first vampire, accused of sucking his victims' blood five years before Bram Stoker's fictional villain was even born; peek into the cage of the original Prison Demon; and witness the daring escape of John Hunt Morgan's band of Confederate prisoners. Uncover the full extent of mayhem and madness locked away in one of history's most notorious maximum-security prisons.

In Historic Columbus Crimes, the father-daughter team of David Meyers and Elise Meyers Walker looks back at sixteen tales of murder, mystery and mayhem culled from city history. Take the rock star slain by a troubled fan or the drag queen slashed to death by a would-be ninja. Then there's the writer who died acting out the plot of his next book, the minister's wife incinerated in the parsonage furnace and a couple of serial killers who outdid the Son of Sam. Not to mention a gunfight at Broad and High, grave-robbing medical students, the bloodiest day in FBI history and other fascinating stories of crime and tragedy. They're all here, and they're all true

During the late nineteenth century, Ohio was reeling from a wave of lynchings and most reasonable people felt something had to be done. But it wasn't just lynchings, there were organized floggings, tar and featherings, and even large scale riots. They were acts born of anger, frustration, distrust of law enforcement, and, of course, racial and ethnic intolerance. In 1892, Ohio-born Benjamin Harrison was the first U.S. President to call for an anti-lynching legislation. Four years later, his home state responded with the Smith Act - "an Act for the Suppression of Mob Violence." It was a major step forward and the most severe anti-lynching law in the country, but it did nothing to address the underlying causes. During the period 1771-1938, hundreds of acts of mob violence took place within the bounds of Ohio. Cities burned and innocent people died. Many of these acts were attributed to well-known and respected men-and women-in the community, but few were ever prosecuted. And some were even lauded for taking the law into their own hands. While times have changed, many hearts have not. This is the first book to take a detailed look at mob violence in Ohio.

For half a century, the mission of Columbus State Community College has remained essentially unchanged - to provide skilled men and women to meet the workforce needs of Central Ohio employers. What has changed, however, is the way it goes about fulfilling that mission. Columbus State Community College: An Informal History is the story of how this remarkable institution grew from a handful of classes in a high school basement into the largest two-year college in Ohio. It is also the story of the community it replaced and the community it is helping to create by action and example. Profusely illustrated and packed with fascinating facts, this highly readable book provides an entertaining introduction to the development of higher education in the Buckeye State.