With this powerful, evocative new book, St. Petersburg residents Jon Wilson and Rosalie Peck present an informative narrative that explores the history of St. Petersburg, Florida's most vibrant African American neighborhood: 22nd Street South or ?the deuces.? Throughout the city's history, no other area has personified strength for the African American community like this segregation-era thoroughfare. A haven during the brutal Jim Crow years, 22nd Street South was a place where prominent businessmen and community leaders were the role models and residents and neighbors looked out for one another. The close-knit community encouraged strong, positive values even as its members were treated as second-class citizens in the wider world. Authors Wilson and Peck tell the story of this unique district and how its people and events contributed to and helped to shape the history of St. Petersburg in the context of the greater South and the Civil Rights Movement.

The resilient people who lived in these neighborhoods established strong businesses, raised churches, created vibrant entertainment spots and forged bonds among family and friends for mutual well-being. After integration, the neighborhoods eventually gave way to decay and urban renewal, and tales of unquenchable spirit in the face of adversity began to fade.

In this companion volume to "St. Petersburg's Historic 22nd Street South," Rosalie Peck and Jon Wilson share stories of people who built these thriving communities, and offer a rich narrative of hardships overcome, leaders who emerged and the perseverance of pioneers who kept the faith that a better day would arrive.

'The product of many years of detailed archival research, Wilson's book is without question the best one-volume history of the Raj currently in print.' - William Dalrymple, The Guardian 'The core of the book is a virtuoso takedown of cherished shibboleths of Raj mythology' Financial Times 'A forceful reminder that Britain has its own messy past to come to terms with' Guardian In the nineteenth century, imperial India was at the centre of Britain's global power. But since its partition between India and Pakistan in 1947, the Raj has divided opinion: some celebrate its supposed role in creating much that is good in the modern world; others condemn it as the cause of continuing poverty. Today, the Raj lives on in faded images of Britain's former glory, a notion used now to sell goods in India as well as Europe. But its real character has been poorly understood. India Conquered is the first general history of British India for over twenty years, getting under the skin of empire to show how British rule really worked. Oscillating between paranoid paralysis and moments of extreme violence, it was beset by chaos and chronic weakness. Jon Wilson argues that this contradictory character was a consequence of the Raj's failure to create long-term relationships with Indian society and claims that these systemic problems still affect the world's largest democracy as it navigates the twenty-first century. 'This is a brave and long overdue riposte to Raj romanticists' John Keay

The history of the development of the unique vessels built for the New England fishing industry from colonial days to the first third of the twentieth century is here recounted by the leading authority on the subject. Mr. Chapelle gathered material from numerous sources over many years for this book, bringing together a vast amount of important information on the beautiful American fishing schooners, now extinct, built at Essex and other shipbuilding areas of New England. This book traces the evolution of the American fishing schooner from the eighteenth century to the last working and racing schooners of the mid-1930s. The designers, builders, and crews are also discussed. There are 137 plans of schooners which graphically show the development of the type. An important feature of the book is its illustrated glossary-appendix based on Mr. Chapelle's notebooks. It covers scores of items of hull construction and equipment, rigging and gear, color and carving, and includes notes by the builders and riggers themselves, in fact, everything that could be recorded about these crafts, then fast-disappearing.

Several years ago, Jon Wilson, editor of acclaimed WoodenBoat magazine, decided he'd had enough of the constant barrage of violence and misery in the media. His answer was the magazine Hope, dedicated to stories by and about uncelebrated people who make a positive difference in their communities and the world. Signs of Hope gathers the best of that journal, and restores our faith in the power of individual acts. For instance: a widow writes about the death of her husband and her struggle to endure; a counselor describes the transformative power of summer camp for children with a fatal blood disease; a psychologist discovers the vital human beings behind his patients' diagnoses; a father reveals what his newborn daughter taught him about men, women, and family. This is a collection to remind us of our common humanity and our capacity to give and to love. The magazine Hope is the winner of Utne Reader's 9th Annual Alternative Press Award and was named one of the "10 Best Magazines" by Library Journal.