Maryland has been called "America in miniature," because the state embodies a wide range of our nations landscape features. From sandy beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, across flat fields of the Coastal Plain on the Eastern Shore, to the rolling hills and tumbling rivers of the states central counties, and concluding with the mountainous terrain of Western Maryland, the Free States diverse scenery is a result of eons of geological activity. Written for the interested layman or student with no specialized training, this book explains the basics of geological processes, and then shows how they worked to create Marylands beautiful and fascinating landforms. A wealth of diagrams and maps clarify further a text peppered with enlightening analogies. Whether the discussion concerns the different types of weathering, for instance, or the basic kinds of faults or events of plate tectonics, the text and figures combine to help the reader understand how long-ago events produced what we see today. The author not only focuses on the actual landforms and their underlying geology, but also describes the patterns of settlement, farming, mining, manufacturing, and transportation that are all results of the states unique underlying structures.

Kentucky Illustrated brings together a substantial portion of the pictorial scenes published during Kentucky's first century, many of them rare prints reproduced here for the first time since their original publication. From the frontier days of Daniel and Squire Boone to the rise of the railroads that opened the state to visitors who toured its landmarks and bathed in its springs, more than two hundred views offer a picture of Kentucky's growth and civilization. Until the 1890s, Kentucky was sketched in the words of adventurers, travelers, and journalists, but all most Americans knew of the face of Kentucky was the occasional engraving that appeared in popular publications such as Harper's Weekly and Scribner's Monthly. The camera was not widely used and photographs could not yet be reproduced for mass distribution, so each illustration was captured by an artist and translated by an engraver before it reached the imagination of the viewer. Readers will enjoy chapters on the frontier, the Civil War, education and religion, urban and rural life, making a living, the natural world, and roads, rivers, and rails. State historian James C. Klotter provides an overview of Kentucky history that enhances the illustrations, and Joe Nickell's description of early print methods allows readers to appreciate fully the art form as it was practiced in the nineteenth century. Captions include both historical background and information on artists, lithographers, and printers. This handsome collection of rare early views will delight all Kentuckians as well as historians, teachers, librarians, and students.