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The 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg: Like Ripe
Apples in a Storm Originally dubbed a shoolteacher's Regiment, the 151st Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Lt. Col. George McFarland arrived at Gettysburg well trained and disciplined, but with little combat experience. They soon distinguished themselves in the opening rounds of the war's decisive battle. Author Michael Dreese pored over diaries, letters, and official records to tell, for the first time, the story of this group of Pennsylvanians who participated in the repulse of Pickett's charge.
In "1776," acclaimed historian David McCullough tells the intensely human story of the Revolutionary War during the nation’s tumultuous beginning, and the ragtag army on whose shoulders the fate of the war and the revolution rested. It is a story of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear. It is also a story of phenomenal courage, bedrock devotion, unparalleled sacrifice, and perseverance on the brink of disaster. David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize for "Truman" and "John Adams," and twice received the National Book Award, for "The Path Between the Seas" and "Mornings on Horseback."
In May of 1889, following days of rain, the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River burst, sending 20,000,000 tons of water and countless tons of debris through the middle of Johnstown PA. When the water receded, the city counted more than 2,000 dead. Michael McGough, professor in the Department of Education at York College, tells the history, the causes, and the human tragedy that resulted from the greatest flood ever created by the bursting of a dam.
Robert Gordon has been covering the Philadelphia sports scene for 13 years, including five years as sports editor of Delaware Valley Magazine. He tells the story of Buck Shaw, Norm Van Brocklin, Ted Dean, Tom Brookshier, Tommy McDonald, Pete Retzlaff, Clarence Peaks, Sonny Jurgensen, and the last of the 60-minute men, Chuck Bednarik. The 1960 Philadelphia Eagles were a team that had grit, heart, and old-time football characters who compensated for their lack of glitz with a remarkable group dynamic, and a leader who transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Board of Education, which was decided in early 2006, had all the elements of a movie. There were heroes and villains, opportunists and the innocent, and a judge who rendered a strong verdict against the teaching of creationism (renamed more benignly as “intelligent design” by its proponents) in one Pennsylvania school district. The case had national repercussions, all the way up to President Bush’s statement in August of 2005 that intelligent design should be taught as “an alternative theory” to evolution. Author Matthew Chapman is the author of Trials of the Monkey. He is a film director, with credits including “Consenting Adults” and “The Color of the Night” and co-wrote the film “Runaway Jury.” Chapman is the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin.
Acres of Skin The author discusses his story about human experiments conducted on inmates at Philadelphia's Holmesburg Prison between the early 1950's until the mid-1970's.
Writer of the National Geographic Magazine underground railroad story as well as eleven books, Charles L. Blockson, presents the culmination of forty years of historical research and collection of African American documents. Well known as a leading authority on African American history, Blockson has accumulated one of the nation's largest private collections of black history artifacts, photographs, maps and over 150,000 books and manuscripts. Blockson is curator of Temple University's Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, a founding member of the Pennsylvania Black History Committee, and the co-founder of the African American Museum in Philadelphia.
Trotter, a history professor at Carnegie Mellon University and Smith, a historian for the PA Historical and Museum Commission discuss their collection of articles tracing African American history in the state from the 1680's to the present.
In "After the Smoke Clears" author Steve Mellon draws from his own experiences, grappling with what happens to one's sense of self when a job is lost. The book is a cautionary tale about the hidden costs of corporate economic policies when they abandon the towns that made them strong. Mellon takes readers on an unforgettable trip through five communities, including Braddock and Homestead, PA, which had staked their fortunes on a single company. Author Steve Mellon, a staff photographer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been a journalist for more than twenty years. He has been named National Newspaper Photographer of the Year Runner-up, PA Newspaper Photographer of the Year, and Indiana Newspaper Photographer of the year.
The Allegheny National Forest exists on what
might have been the most heavily exploited landscape in the
history of civilization. Careful stewardship over the last
eight decades has transformed it into a beautiful forest that
contains countless wildlife species and some of the world's
most valuable timber. Unfortunately, the Allegheny is now
the focus of a caustic new timber war that will ultimately
test the limits of American environmentalism. No longer satisfied
with protecting the pristine old growth that captured the
national imagination in the early 1990s, activists have embarked
on campaign to put an end to the Allegheny timber program.
Litigation and protests have shaken the region for a decade.
More recently, it has become a hotbed of eco-terrorism.
Air Wars is the story of how the author and a group of local activists fought the management of WQED-TV, the public television station in Pittsburgh, over the station's plans to sell its second station, WQEX to cover the stations debt of $14 million. According to Starr, the stations' debt was the result of a widely publicized financial scandal involving excessive salaries, payoffs, and the skimming of travel accounts. Starr is founder and executive director of Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting, an organization established to promote non-commercial broadcasting in the service of the public interest.
Terry Bradshaw came back to Pittsburgh and appealed to everyone to forgive him and welcome him back into the Steelers family. The prodigal son sought forgiveness from the fans, Coach Chuck Noll, the Rooneys and anyone else he might have offended for staying away for so long, only to learn that he was still one of Pittsburgh's most popular sports performers. “Always a Steeler” is a collection of stories that provide insight into the Pittsburgh Steelers and the world of pro football, from the comeback of Tommy Maddox, the tragic death of Mike Webster, and other challenges that reverberated the Steelers' family. Author Jim O'Brien is a Pittsburgh native. This is his 18th book, his 15th celebrating Pittsburgh sports history. He is a member of the advisory board for the Sports Museum of the Heinz History Center, and has been a sportswriter with various newspapers. He is married to Kathleen Churchman O'Brien and has two daughters.
The book is about the trials and tribulations of life in a Pennsylvania coal town (Richeyville, Washington County) during the Great Depression and World War II, as seen through the eyes of the author and 60 miners and their families.
American
Aurora The author discusses his history of the Philadelphia Aurora, America's leading opposition newspaper from 1790 through 1800. The Aurora, published by Benjamin Franklin Bache, grandson of Benjamin Franklin, provided daily attacks on the administrations of presidents Washington and Adams, and suffered persecution under the Adams administration's Sedition Laws. The book's cover announces: "200 years ago a Philadelphia Newspaper claimed George Washington wasn't the 'father of his country.' It claimed John Adams really wanted to be king. Its editors were arrested by the federal government. One editor died awaiting trial. The story of this newspaper is the story of America."
Amish Enterprise: From
Plows to Profits
Editor Brad Igou pored over 25 years of issues of Family Life, a magazine published by Amish which tells in their own words, why they drive buggies, wear plain clothes, and do not pose for photographs. Igou discusses Amish history, theology, and church practices, as well as the challenges faced by the Amish in dealing with a modern world.
Amp'd: A Father's Backstage Pass Set against a backdrop of aggressive rock, frenzied fans, moshing, stage diving, crowd surfing, security brutality, and occasional outright violence, “Amp’d: A Father’s Backstage Pass” follows four years in the life of Gary Fincke’s son Aaron, a rock-and-roll guitarist. From Strangers With Candy (winner of MTV’s Ultimate Cover Band Prize in 2000), to Lifer (signed with Universal/Republic Records and released a national CD in 2001, to Breaking Benjamin (signed with Hollywood Records and released CDs in 2002 and 2004), Fincke Provides a unique perspective to the bizarre and fantastical world of commercial rock and roll. Aaron’s rock life is chronicled first-hand by his father, who attends more than fifty shows, spends time with the bands before and after shows, follows them to national tour sites, and talks intimately with his son as well as the members of the bands and some of their fans and managers. Gary Fincke, winner of the 2003 Flannery O’Connor Award, is the Writers’ Institute Director and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Susquehanna University. He has written fourteen books. He is the recipient of the 2003 George Garrett Fiction Prize, and his writing has been recognized with two Pushcart Prizes.
For the first time, the entire range of amphibians and reptiles, the herpetofauna of Pennsylvania has been assembled in a book. Complete with more than 130 color photos, Amphibians and Reptiles of Pennsylvania and the Northeast gives a description of each species including color and pattern variations, range, habitat, and reproduction. Arthur Hulse is professor of Biology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania is home to many classic amusement parks, several of which began operating as early as the 1880's. Some of the parks maintain rides and amusements from their early years, preserving an atmosphere of nostalgia. Others have evolved with new trends in the industry, adding high-tech rides and water parks. Author Jim Futrell, director and historian of the National Amusement Park Historical Association offers a close look at 13 of Pennsylvania's largest amusement parks and a number of smaller ones, giving complete information on rides, attractions, and tips about getting the most out of a day at the park.
Andrew Wyeth is probably America’s best-known living artist. His paintings are enormously popular but his achievement is controversial. Over his long career, he has mostly stood apart- sporadically celebrated, often taken for granted, sometimes ignored, seldom studied in depth. It has been more than three decades since Wyeth’s huge body of work has received concentrated scholarly attention. As the artist approaches his ninth decade, “Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic” considers his work anew. Anne Knutson is guest curator for the exhibition Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic. Kathleen Foster is the Robert L. McNeill, Jr. Curator of American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
For more than fifty years, Dr. Robert Spencer practiced medicine in the small coal mining town of Ashland, PA. As the only town doctor, he was known as a dedicated professional who worked long hours, charged a modest fee, and never turned anyone away who could not pay. At the same time, Dr. Spencer ran an illegal abortion practice, in his career performing an estimated 100,000 abortions. Free lance writer Vincent Genovese tells the story of this controversial physician whose death in 1969 made headlines in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report.
"The Angry Child: Regaining Control When Your Child Is Out Of Control" breaks new ground on the roots of anger and how to help children. The book outlines the traits of angry children, family influences, school, and media concerns. Dr. Murphy, a Pennsylvania State Senator, steps the reader through the four stages of anger, and includes suggestions about how to react at each interval. Dr. Murphy, in addition to his duties with the Senate, is a child psychologist affiliated with many children's hospitals in the Pittsburgh area.
In his fifty year career as a veterinarian on
Philadelphia's Main Line, Dr. Edward Scanlon counted
Anna Sunday is the story about a twelve-year-old girl in Civil War-era New Oxford, PA who learns that her father, a Union soldier, has been wounded in Virginia and is not expected to live. Along with her nine-year-old brother she undertakes a daring journey across rebel lines with the goal of finding her father and bringing him safely home. Sally Keehn, who writes novels for young readers, is the author of three previous books, The First Horse I See, Moon of Two Dark Horses, and the now-classic I Am Regina.
Every day during a recent Summer, nature writer Marcia Bonta walked around her 648-acre property near Tyrone, PA, and wrote down what she saw: the flowers, ferns, deer, bears, weasels, birds, insects, and all manner of living things. The result is her book, Appalachian Summer, a chronicle of a Pennsylvania Summer in nature. Appalachian
Winter Winter is the season that most tests our mettle. The challenges of the weather, such as freezing rain, wind chill, deep snow, and dangerous ice, can make winter feel like a burden and a chore. There is plenty of beauty and life to be found, though, if only we know where to look. The stark, white landscape of the woods sparkles in the sunshine and glows beneath the moon on crisp, clear nights; a hush falls as leaves drop and the forest transforms into an open landscape and even animals that should be hibernating make surprise visits from time to time. In Appalachian Winter- the fourth and final volume of her seasonal meditations on the natural history of the northern Appalachian Mountains- acclaimed naturalist Marcia Bonta breathes new warmth into the coldest months of the year with her accounts of the vibrant flora and fauna she finds in the woods and fields near her home. Marcia Bonta is the author of nine books, including Outbound Journeys in Pennsylvania. A popular lecturer, whose column” The Naturalist’s Eye” appears regularly in Pennsylvania Game News, she lives in Tyrone, Pennsylvania.
“Art Held Hostage” is the first full account of the secrecy-enshrouded Barnes Foundation and its art collection, how it was born, and how it became hostage to those who ran it. The Barnes collection houses scores of Matisses, Picassos, and Cezannes, yet it sits along an unlikely side street in suburban Philadelphia. Due to a racial and political battle between corporate Philadelphia and an impoverished black institution, the fate of the $6.5 billion collection is left to the courts. Author John Anderson is a contributing editor to “The American Lawyer.” He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Yale University and lives in Ossing, New York, with his wife and son.
The Civilian Conservation Corps was one of the most popular programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Over the nine years of the program, from 1933 to 1942, over two and one-half million unemployed young men found work on conservation projects across Depression-stricken America. “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” as the CCC men were sometimes called, planted billions of trees, fought forest fires, did historic preservation work, and constructed recreational facilities in state and national parks. At Work in Penn’s Woods offers a portrait of Pennsylvania’s CCC program. Joseph M. Speakman is Professor of History at Montgomery County Community College near Philadelphia. Speakman’s father served in Pennsylvania’s CCC in 1933–34.
The Baldwin
Locomotive Works The largest maker of heavy machinery in Gilded Age America and an important global exporter, the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia achieved renown as one of the nation's most successful and important firms. Relying on gifted designers and skilled craftsmen, Baldwin built thousands of standard and custom steam locomotives, ranging from narrow gauge 0-4-0 industrial engines to huge mallet compounds. John K. Brown analyzes the structure of railroad demand; the forces driving continual innovation in locomotive design; Baldwin's management systems, shop floor skills, and career paths; and the evolution of production methods. The author teaches the history of engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.
Barbaro, the charismatic 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, thrilled racing fans with his brilliant victories. But he won hearts the world over with his gallant and courageous fight for life after his breakdown in the Preakness Stakes. Barbaro: The Horse Who Captured America's Heart chronicles Barbaro's early days, his life at bucolic Fair Hill and journey down the Triple Crown trail, and the heroics of his trainer, former Olympic show jumper Michael Matz. Award-winning writer Sean Clancy details Barbaro's surgery and ensuing complications, bringing the reader close to the cutting-edge veterinary science and dedicated surgeon who nearly pulled off the impossible. Sean Clancy, a critically acclaimed author and former champion jockey, has had a lifelong association with horses. Clancy rode steeplechase races professionally for 13 years, and won a total of 152 races and a national championship in 1998. He was the 10th highest winner of all time upon his retirement in 2000. Clancy is the author of Saratoga Days and co-author of The Best of the Saratoga Special. He also has written for Daily Racing Form, The Blood-Horse, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, and Newsweek among others.
Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus is John Theodore's true account of the slick-fielding first baseman who played for the Cubs and Phillies in the 1940s and became an immortalized figure in baseball lore as the inspiration for Roy Hobbs in the Robert Redford film The Natural. One night, while playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, Waitkus's bright career took a tragic turn. He received a note summoning him to meet a young fan, Ruth Steinhagen. When Waitkus entered her hotel room, she proclaimed, “I have a surprise for you.” She then she produced a gun and shot him in the chest. Waitkus survived the shooting, made an inspirational return to baseball in 1950, and led the Phillies to the World Series. Baseball's Natural chronicles Waitkus's remarkable comeback as well as the difficult years following his eleven-year major league career. Currently a freelance writer, Chicago native John Theodore has served as a reporter, writer, editor, and television and radio producer for United Press International, WGN and WGN-TV.
In September of 1777, a Continental Army force of 1500 under the direction of General Anthony Wayne were dispatched by George Washington to harass the British army near Paoli, PA. In the ensuing fight, the British attacked by night with bayonets fixed. The defeat of the Americans was so total that the battle has come down in history as “the Paoli Massacre”. Thomas McGuire, a teacher of history at the Malvern Preparatory School, tells the story of the encounter and its aftermath, when the words “Remember Paoli!” became the Continentals' battle cry. Celeste Morello, a criminologist and historian in Philadelphia discusses her book, the first study of the history of the Sicilian American Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia before 1959, the year Angelo Bruno became boss of the local family.
The author, a member of the Communist Party in the 1950's, tells the story of his experiences with the Communist Party and the McCarthy era, his arrest under the "Smith Act", and his trial. Benjamin
Franklin and His Gods
by Kerry Walters University of Illinois Press, 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820 Kerry Walters, professor of philosophy at Gettysburg College discusses the religious beliefs of Philadelphia's First Citizen. Franklin has been called a Calvinist, a Deist, a Polytheist, and even an Atheist. Professor Walters examines this fascinating Philadelphian and compares the various religions of the colonial era.
Benjamin Franklin is known as America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist. This biography follows Franklin's entire 84-year-life, from his poor days as a runaway printer, to his triumphs as a statesman, scientist, and Founding Father. Author Walter Isaacson notes that the most interesting thing that Franklin invented, and continually reinvented, was himself. Walter Isaacson, the president of the Aspen Institute, has been the chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time magazine. He is the author of Kissinger: A Biography and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughter.
Benjamin
Franklin: In Search of a Better World
by Page Talbott Yale University Press, P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040 January 17, 2006 marks the tercentenary of Franklin’s birth, a cause for celebration and fresh consideration of his amazing legacy. Both ends are beautifully accomplished in Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, edited by Page Talbott. The book combines new scholarship with more than 265 color images, many of which have never been seen before: portraits, manuscripts, drawings, maps, paintings, engravings, and a trove of Franklin’s possessions, from teacups to printing equipment. The book examines the many facets of America’s most extraordinary founding father. Politician, diplomat, scientist, printer, and civic improver, Franklin influenced every aspect of American life, from his own time to the present. Page Talbott is associate director of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary and chief curator of the exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World. Benjamin Rush: Patriot and Physician by Alyn Brodsky St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010 One of the earliest crusaders for independence from Great Britain, Dr. Benjamin Rush was a vocal dissenter of the Stamp and Declaratory Acts, a contributor to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, a co-signer of the Declaration of Independence, a member of the First Continental Congress, and a leading surgeon of the Continental Army. Often called the Father of American Psychiatry, Rush was also a major figure in the development of the American medical community. As a major reformer of medical teaching methods, it was said that every notable physician until the Civil War was either directly or indirectly a student of Rush. Author Alyn Brodsky is a university trained historian and author of “The Great Mayor and Grover Cleveland.” He currently lives and works in Florida.
Heart-shaped beds, champagne glass Jacuzzis, and artificial snow made the Poconos a premier vacation destination, one of the most diverse tourist and recreation areas on the East Coast. “Better in the Poconos” tells the story of the innkeepers, souvenir sellers, laborers, families, singles, and newlyweds who shaped the resort. Lawrence Squeri is Professor of History at East Stroudsburg University.
The American Revolution played out not just in Philadelphia, but across Pennsylvania. Penn State professors John Frantz and William Pencak tell the story of Pennsylvania's pivotal role in the state's rural areas to the north and west. They are the editors of the book Beyond Philadelphia: The American Revolution in the Pennsylvania Hinterland.
At its formation in 1901, the US Steel Corporation was the world's largest industrial organization. Within its first year, it was producing two-thirds of America's raw steel, and soon supported the manufacturing supestructure of practically every other industry in the country. Granted unprecedented access, author Kenneth Warren examines the inner workings of this company at the center of so much of the nation's twentieth-century industrial life. Kenneth Warren, an Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, is widely recognized as a leading scholar of American and British heavy industry. He is the author of numerous books, including “Triumphant Capitalism: Henry Clay Frick and the Industrial Transformation of America” and “Wealth, Waste, and Alienation: Growth and Decline in the Connellsville Coke Industry.” Biggest Brother In every band of brothers, there is always one who looks out for the rest. For the Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Army Airborne, the legendary fighting unit of World War II, the one man every soldier in Easy Company looked up to was Major Richard D. Winters. “Biggest Brother” is the story of an ordinary man who became an extraordinary hero-from Winters' childhood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, through the war years in which his natural skill as a leader elevated him through the ranks in combat, to now, decades later, when he may finally be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on D-Day. Larry Alexander has been a journalist and columnist for the Intelligencer Journal newspaper in Lancaster, PA for more than a decade, winning numerous awards for excellence in journalism. He grew up on the same street in the same town as Major Dick Winters, three decades later.
Twenty-seven-year-old Billy Heath was an immigrant coal miner from Pennsylvania, on the run from death threats in his hometown of Girardville. In a few short months he found himself among the U.S. Army's Seventh Cavalry in the Battle of Little Bighorn. Virtually every book on Custer literature agrees that not a single soldier survived the battle; the Seventh was completely wiped out by Indians. However, recent facts uncovered by author Vincent Genovese brings the universally accepted conclusion of no survivors into doubt, presenting evidence that Pvt. William (Billy) Heath did manage to escape the carnage at Custer's Last Stand. Vincent Genovese is a retired high school guidance counselor from Minersville, PA. He has also practiced as a marriage counselor and personnel consultant. He previously authored “Angel of Ashland: Practicing Compassion and Fate- A Biography of Robert Spencer, M.D. This exhaustive study looks at all 428 species of birds seen in Pennsylvania, including breeding and wintering birds, migrants, and vagrants. The authors provide both the professional ornithologist and amateur birder with an abundance of information about each species. Black Brothers Inc. The Black Mafia is one of the bloodiest crime syndicates in modern US history. From its roots in Philadelphia’s ghettos in the 1960’s, it grew from a rabble of street toughs to a disciplined, ruthless organization based on fear and intimidation. Known in its “legitimate” guise as Black Brothers Inc, it held regular meetings, appointed investigators, treasurers, and enforcers, and controlled drug dealing, loan-sharking, numbers rackets, armed robbery, and extortion. Police say the Black Mafia was responsible for over forty killings, the most chilling being the massacre of two adults and five children in a feud between rival religious factions. Despite the arrests that followed, they continued their rampage, exploiting their ties to prominent lawyers and civil rights leaders. Sean Patrick Griffin is an Associate Professor in the Administration of Justice at Penn State, Abington. He received his Ph.D. from Penn State University in 2000. Prior to his graduate education, Griffin was a Philadelphia Police Officer for four years.
"Blood and Honor" tells the inside story about the rise and fall of Philadelphia’s notorious Scarfo organization. Author George Anastasia delivers a firsthand account of murder, money, and corruption, told from the perspective of wiseguy-turned-witness Nick Caramandi. It was Caramandi who helped Nicky Scarfo get his hooks into the legitimate world of politicians, judges, unions, entertainment, and casinos. Caramandi’s testimony resulted in more than fifty convictions, bringing down Scarfo as well as launching wide-ranging investigations into the broader Mafia underworld. The author's new book, "The Last Gangster" tells the story of the last days of the rule of Philadelphia mob boss "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Author George Anastasia is a veteran reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has authored five books of nonfiction, including four about the Philadelphia mob. He has won many awards for investigative journalism and magazine writing. "Blood and Honor" published by Camino
Books, P.O. Box 59026, Philadelphia, PA 19102
On September 11, 1780, a detachment of 41 Northampton County militiamen were surprised by a force of 30 Seneca warriors and Tories. When the fighting was over, 15 American patriots lay dead. Three more were taken prisoner, and the remainder scattered throughout what is today the Sugarloaf Valley of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Author Rogan Moore discusses his book about the violent interactions between the Iroquois and white settlers on the Susquehanna frontier during the American Revolution.
Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of best-sellers Tumbling and Tempest Rising discusses her new novel, Blues Dancing. The story revolves around Verdi, the pampered daughter of a Southern preacher, who moves to Philadelphia in the 1970's and enters a world very different from the one in which she grew up.
Federal District Judge D. Brooks Smith was considered by his peers of Pittsburgh Democrat, Republican, Conservative, and Liberal attorneys and colleagues alike to be a “sterling” judge with an unmarred reputation. That is, until President George W. Bush nominated him to the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Smith’s personal and professional life was turned upside down during the height of a judicial crisis in the Pennsylvania District Court. In 1987, Reagan-nominated judge Robert Bork found himself entrenched in a virtual smear campaign by the US Senate Judiciary Committee and certain special interest groups standing in the shadows who opposed his nomination to a vacant seat on the US Supreme Court. Since then, the “borking” process, like a malignant cancer, has trickled down to the lower courts confirmation process. Author Jeffrey Lord was in the Reagan White House while it was transpiring. Jeffrey Lord is a former White House Political Director who worked under President Ronald Reagan. Lord has been published in a number of major newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Weekly Standard, The National Review Online, The Washington Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. This is his first book.
In the first half of the twentieth century, as smokestacks filled the sky and blast furnaces roared day and night, local and national artists sought to capture the raw energy and visual spectacle of the industrial landscape. The tools and fruits of industry became the glorified subjects of art—railroads, skyscrapers, bridges, steel mills, factories, forges, and laborers are among those portrayed. The collection is also significant for its broad range of artistic styles, and includes a variety of media: pencil drawings, etchings, lithographs, pastels, oil paintings, watercolors and photographs. Among the artists represented are Thomas Hart Benton, Reginald Marsh, Aaron Harry Gorson, Emil Bott, Otto Kuhler, Hayley Lever, Ernest Lawson, and Johanna Knowles Woodwell Hailman. Born of Fire catalogs a monumental period in the history of both art and industry, and provides a widely varied collection of artists and images that ennobled the spirit of human achievement. Barbara Jones is curator of the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where the exhibition Born of Fire: The Valley of Work was shown from June to September 2006. She is the author of Samuel Rosenberg: Portrait of a Painter and Nature Staged: The Landscape and Still Life Paintings of Levi Wells Prentice. Edward Muller is Professor of History and Director of the Urban Studies Program at the University of Pittsburgh. He is author of Before Renaissance: Planning in Pittsburgh, 1889-1943 and co-editor of The Atlas of Pennsylvania.
The Civil War brought to a climax the country’s bitter division. But the beginnings of slavery’s denouement can be traced to a courageous band of ordinary Americans, black and white, and slave and free, who joined forces to create what would come to be known as the Underground Railroad, a movement that occupies as romantic a place in the nation’s imagination as the Lewis and Clark expedition. The true story of the Underground Railroad is much more morally complex and politically divisive than even the myths suggest. Against a backdrop of the country’s westward expansion arose a fierce clash of values that was nothing less than a war for the country’s soul. Author Fergus Bordewich has written for the New York Times, Smithsonian, American Heritage, the Atlantic Monthly, and Reader’s Digest. He is the author of “Killing the White Man’s Indian” and “My Mother’s Ghost.”
Brandywine, PA is the site of a devastating Revolutionary War encounter, in which British forces led by Sir William Howe defeated George Washington's Continental troops in September of 1777, paving the way for British occupation of Philadelphia. Thomas McGuire, author of “Battle of Paoli” and “The Surprise at Germantown” describes how the two armies met, their strategies, and how the outcome effected the fight for independence.
In "A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution" author Carol Berkin brings to life the summer of 1787. The men who ventured to Philadelphia to establish a more stable government had no great expectations for the document they were fashioning. The book presents the Constitutional Convention delegates as men, not just historical figures, and reveals the process behind their closed-door meetings to save the Confederation. Author Carol Berkin is a professor of American History and Deputy Executive Officer in the History Ph.D. program at the City University of New York and Baruch College. She lives in New York City.
The subtitle for this book is: "The Completely True and Hilarious Misadventures of a Good Girl Gone Broke." Nissel recounts her senior year at the University of Pennsylvania, where she struggles to get a degree in medical anthropology at the same time she is trying to scrounge up 35 cents, the price of a tasty meal of Ramen noodles. While in college, Angela launched her "Broke Diary" (www.thrbrokediaries.com) an on-line journal that developed a cult following that had readers consoling, empathizing, and laughing. She is co-founder and site manager for Okayplayer.com, a popular on-line community that also houses the official sites of several hip-hop and soul musical artists. She is no longer broke.
A Villanova University professor, Richard Juliani examines Italian settlement in Pennsylvania from pre-Revolutionary times to the eve of the mass migration of the 1870's.
The author, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Hershey Museum tells the story of the rise of the Hershey chocolate company and chocolate magnate Milton Hershey in his lavishly illustrated book.
After the French and Indian War, the British claimed control of the Forks of the Ohio. The Indians of the area felt threatened by hard-fisted British control and began seizing forts in the Ohio Valley. This guidebook focuses on the turning point of the resulting Pontiac's War, the Battle of Bushy Run, fought near Jeanette, Pennsylvania, in August 1763, between several Indian nations and three British regiments led by Col. Henry Bouquet. Author David Dixon is a professor of history at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, and author of “Hero of Beecher Island: The Life and Military Career of George A. Forsyth” which won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for Best Biography. Born in South Carolina to a wealthy white father and mixed race mother, Robert Purvis (1810–1898) was one of the nineteenth century’s leading black abolitionists and orators. In this first biography of Purvis, Margaret Hope Bacon uses his eloquent and often fierce speeches to provide a glimpse into the life of a passionate and distinguished man, intimately involved with a wide range of major reform movements, including abolition, civil rights, Underground Railroad activism, women’s rights, Irish Home Rule, Native American rights, and prison reform. Citing his role in developing the Philadelphia Vigilant Committee, an all black organization that helped escaped slaves secure passage to the North, the New York Times described Purvis at the time of his death as the president of the Underground Railroad. Voicing his opposition to a decision by the state of Pennsylvania to disenfranchise black voters in 1838, Purvis declared “there is but one race, the human race.” But One Race is the story of one of the most important figures of his time. Margaret Hope Bacon is an independent scholar and the author of many books, including Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott and Abby Hopper Gibbons: Prison Reformer and Social Activist, also published by SUNY Press.
Temple University History Professor Ella Forbes discusses her study of the 1851 “Christiana Resistance”, a clash between free blacks and slave catchers in pre-Civil War Lancaster County.
A
Capitol Journey The last half of the 20th century was a time of great social and economic change for Pennsylvanians. It was also a tumultuous time in state politics. Vincent Carocci lived through these years, spending the last four decades of the century as a journalist and political insider, rising to the post of Press Secretary to Governor Robert P. Casey in 1989. In "A Capitol Journey," this veteran journalist and political insider offers a colorful and honest look at the ups and downs of state politics, Pennsylvania-style. Carocci’s story is the story of a professional lifetime in and around Pennsylvania state government. He was part of the State Capitol press corps during an era that is now long gone, and never likely to return. He describes the characters who covered the news in the State Capitol, their work habits, their character, their strengths, and their foibles. Vincent Carocci covered state politics in Harrisburg during the 1960s for UPI and AP and then again in the early 1970s for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He then served on the Democratic staff of the Pennsylvania Senate for thirteen years. From 1987 to 1995 he was a senior staffer for Governor Robert Casey during his two terms in office. From 1995 to 2003 he was Director of Government Affairs for Capital Blue Cross. Now retired, he lives near Harrisburg.
One of the major figures in American history, Andrew Carnegie was a ruthless businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry and ultimately gave most of it away. He used his wealth to ascend the world's political stage, influencing the presidencies of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. In retirement, Carnegie became an avid promoter of world peace, only to be crushed emotionally by World War I. In this biography, Peter Krass reconstructs the complicated life of this titan who came to power in America's Gilded Age. He transports the reader to Carnegie's Pittsburgh, where hundreds of smoking furnaces belched smoke into the sky and the air was filled with acrid fumes . . . and mill workers worked seven-day weeks while Carnegie spent months traveling across Europe. "Carnegie" explores the contradictions in the life of the man who rose from lowly bobbin boy to build the largest and most profitable steel company in the world. Krass examines how Carnegie became one of the greatest philanthropists ever known–and earned a notorious reputation that history has yet to fully reconcile with his remarkable accomplishments. Author Peter Krass lives in Hanover, New Hampshire, but his family roots are in Pittsburgh. Krass has written other books, including "The Book of Business Wisdom", "The Book of Leadership Wisdom", and "The Book of Investing Wisdom."
Rich Westcott, reviews Philadelphia's twentieth century players, coaches, teams, stadiums, announcers, and fans in his book “A Century of Philadelphia Sports.” The survey includes looks at not only the Phillies, ‘76ers, Eagles, and Flyers, but also lesser-known or now departed teams like the Tapers, Ukranian Nationals, Frankford Yellowjackets, Atoms, Blazers, and the city's first NHL entry, the Quakers (lasting only one season, 1933). Athlete profiles include Bill Tilden, one of the world's greatest tennis players; Temple sprinter Eulace Peacock, who raced and beat Jesse Owens many times during the 1930s; Willie Mosconi, 15-time world pocket billiards champion; and field hockey sensation Betty Shellenberger, who was name first team All-American 15 times. Westcott is also author of “Philadelphia's Old Ballparks” and “The Phillies Encyclopedia.”
The Chief:
Art Rooney and His Pittsburgh Steelers The year 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Art Rooney, the owner and patriarch of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rooney, who bought the franchise in 1933 for $2500, was always called "Mr. Rooney" by his players, and "The Chief" by his friends and family. Rooney was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964, and saw the Steelers win four Super Bowl before his death in 1988. His statue now graces Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the new home of the Steelers. Jim O'Brien has covered sports for the Pittsburgh Press, the New York Post, the Miami News, and was, for nine years, a columnist for The Sporting News. He is the author of 16 books, 13 of them about Pittsburgh sports. Originally published in 1959, Christmas in Pennsylvania is a classic work which examined the folk traditions of the holiday celebration in the Keystone State. Included are looks at the Philadelphia Mummers, Belsnickels, Moravian pyramids, and Pittsburgh firecracker celebrations. Written by the late Alfred Shoemaker, a pioneer in American folklife studies, the book will be discussed by Don Yoder, retired Professor of Folklife Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, who prepared this new edition.
In 1919 the victors of World War I gathered in Paris to negotiate the peace and determine the fate of the world. Among the American delegation was Vance McCormick (1872-1946), a member of a prominent family from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After studying at Yale, where he was noted for his prowess on the football field, McCormick pursued an illustrious career in business and politics, including mayor of Harrisburg, publisher of the Patriot newspaper, manager of Woodrow Wilson's 1916 re-election campaign, and director of the War Trade Board. McCormick's diaries chronicle his diplomatic duties in London and Paris, and other documents highlight aspects of his diverse life. Michael Barton is professor of American Studies at Penn State Harrisburg and author of An Illustrated History of Greater Harrisburg: Life by the Moving Road.
William Martin, best-selling author of Back Bay, Cape Cod, and Annapolis, turns his attention to the nation's first President in his historical novel, Citizen Washington. While born in Virginia, most of the major events of George Washington's career took place in Pennsylvania: Fort Necessity and the French and Indian War, the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, the encampment at Valley Forge, his crossing of the Delaware, the writing of the US Constitution, and his term as President of these United States.
Code of
the Street In his book, Code of the Street, University of Pennsylvania Professor Elijah Anderson explains the rigid rules that make up every aspect of life in the inner-city black community of Philadelphia: dress, speech, behavior, and body language. Professor Anderson discusses how the "code of the street" has replaced the rule of law in the urban ghetto, why the police are ineffective, and why "respect" is the most cherished currency.
A Cold, Bleak Hill A work of historic fiction, “A Cold, Bleak Hill” follows George Washington and the Continental Army through the Summer of 1777, the most discouraging period of the American Revolution. Defeats at the battles of Germantown and Brandywine, the Paoli massacre, the British occupation of Philadelphia, and the fleeing of the government to York are a prelude to Washington's decision to settle his army in for the Winter at Valley Forge. Ron Carter published his first work in 1988. This book is volume five in the “Prelude to Glory” series, which uses fictional characters to portray the hardships, disappointments, struggles, and triumphs that were part of America's fight for independence.
One of the most significant industrial states in the country, with a powerful radical tradition, Pennsylvania was, by the early 1950's, the scene of some of the fiercest anti-Communist activism in the United States. Philip Jenkins, Professor of History at Penn State, examines the political and social impact of the Cold War across Pennsylvania.
“Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania” is designed to collect in one place the documentary history of the Old Swedes churches of Pennsylvania during the colonial period up to 1786. The volume marks the birth of Sweden’s “American Mission” under King Carl XI in 1696, designed to provide ministers and Swedish religious books to the Swedes living on the Delaware. One of these ministers was Andreas Rudman, who as the eldest of the ministers, chose the congregation at Wicaco to be his congregation. Under Rudman’s inspired leadership, the first masonry church in Pennsylvania, Gloria Dei Church, was constructed to serve the congregation formerly served by old Jacob Fabritius, who died in 1696 as the new ministers started their perilous journey to America. The new church is today the oldest historic structure in Philadelphia. Peter Craig is a Historian and Genealogist with the Swedish Colonial Society. Kim-Eric Williams serves as Governor of the Swedish Colonial Society.
In the summer of 1863, as Union and Confederate armies marched on southern Pennsylvania, the town of Gettysburg found itself thrust onto the center stage of war. The three days of fighting that ensued decisively turned the tide of the Civil War. “The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History- Immigrants, Women, and African-Americans in the Civil War’s Defining Battle,” shows Gettysburg from the viewpoint of three unsung groups- women, immigrants, and African Americans- and reveals how wide the battle’s dimensions were. With the arrival of the Confederate army in Pennsylvania’s borderland, African Americans, free and fugitive alike, faced the real possibility of capture and enslavement. In Gettysburg itself, civilian women were caught in the crossfire, as the homefront became the battlefront. Author Margaret Creighton is a professor of history at Bates College. The author of “Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling,” and co-editor of “Iron Men, Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700-1920” she lives in Yarmouth, Maine.
Over the years, Pennsylvania has been graced with an abundance of writers whose work draws imaginatively on the state’s history and culture. Common Wealth sings the essence of Pennsylvania through contemporary poetry. Whether Pennsylvania is their point of origin or their destination, the featured poets ultimately find what matters: heritage, pride, work, inventiveness, struggle, faith, beauty, hope. Marjorie Maddox is Director of Creative Writing and Professor of English at Lock Haven University. A resident of central Pennsylvania since 1990, she has published several award-winning poetry collections, including Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation (2004), When the Wood Clacks Out Your Name: Baseball Poems (2001), and Perpendicular as I (1994). Jerry Wemple is Associate Professor of English at Bloomsburg University. He is the author of You Can See It from Here (2000), which won the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award, and The Civil War in Baltimore (2005). He grew up in the Susquehanna Valley.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a unique colonial town. It was the first permanent outpost of the Moravians in North America and served as headquarters for their extensive missionary efforts. It was also one of the most successful communal societies in American history. Bethlehem was founded as a “congregation of the cross” where all aspects of personal and social life were subordinated to the religious ideal of that community. In “Community of the Cross” Craig Atwood offers a convincing portrait of Bethlehem and its religion. Craig Atwood is Theologian in Residence at Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and is on the faculty of Wake Forest Divinity School.
In the annals of American criminal history, there has never been anything quite like Philly’s K&A Gang. For more than 25 years, from the early 1950’s to the late 1970’s, this group of predominately Irish hoodlums from the working-class Kensington section of Philadelphia ran roughshod over hundreds of affluent communities along the East coast. From Bar Harbor to Boca Raton, ragtag crews of K&A second-story men, led by Junior Kripplebauer, burgled wealthy suburban residences with assembly line precision and an uncanny sense for where the loot was hidden. Long an urban legend in the Philadelphia area, the elusive Irish mob is pinned down for the first time in the pages of Confessions of a Second Story Man. Allen Hornblum is a Professor of Urban Studies at Temple Univesity. He has served as a member o the PA Crime Commission and the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia System, and was Chief of Staff of the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office. He is also author of Acres of skin: Human Experiments at Holmesburg Prison.
The greatest team in the history of baseball may not have been the 1927 Yankees or the 1961 Yankees or even the 1998 Yankees. In his book Connie Mack's ‘29 Triumph, author Bill Kashatus makes a convincing case that Mr. Mack's Philadelphians deserve that honor. Fielding a team that included hall-of-famers Mickey Cochrane, Jimmy Dykes, Jimmy Foxx, Lefty Grove, and Al Simmons, the A's won three straight American League pennants and the 1929 and 1930 World Series.
Conrad
Richter: A Writer's Life "Conrad Richter: A Writer's Life" is the story of an aspiring writer who failed and then, desperate for money, tried again and wrote himself out of penny-a-word pulp magazines and into a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. Based upon unrestricted access to all of Richter's letters, journals, notebooks and private papers, this biography offers an intimate account of Richter's personal struggle to achieve success in his own and in other people's terms. Born and raised in the small Pennsylvania town of Pine Grove, Conrad Richter is best known for his books "The Sea of Grass", "The Trees," and "The Light in the Forest." David Johnson is Professor of English at Lafayette College. This is his first book.
The Contemporary
Pennsylvania Legislature John Kennedy, Professor of Political Science at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, investigated the workings of the PA House and Senate, showing how social and technological changes have affected the legislature. He compares the legislature in the 1950's with today's legislature, and discusses party loyalty, candidate recruitment, and party ideology.
Could the next September 11 be nuclear? This is no theory, says Congressman Curt Weldon, in “Countdown to Terror.” It is a fact as real as the arrest of Muslim terrorists who planned to crash a plane into the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire in 2004. Congressman Weldon tried to warn American intelligence about the attack—but no one in America’s intelligence community would listen. Congressman Weldon discusses his secret source, an intelligence contact code-named Ali who has been a treasure trove of reliable intelligence—intelligence that, despite Congressman Weldon’s strenuous efforts, has been routinely ignored by the CIA and the rest of America’s intelligence services. But in “Countdown to Terror,” Congressman Weldon reveals what the CIA doesn’t want to know. Congressman Curt Weldon has represented Pennsylvania in Congress for nearly twenty years. A graduate of West Chester University in Russian Studies, he is a long-standing expert on defense, intelligence, and terrorism. He founded the Homeland Security Caucus, is vice chair of the Homeland Security Committee, and serves as vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee. He divides his time between Washington, DC, and Thornbury Township, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his family.
Best-selling author Lisa Scottoline draws on her insider's experience as a former trial lawyer, her judicial clerkships in the state and federal court systems, and her years of practicing law in one of Philadelphia's most prestigious firms to create legal thrillers which feature an all-female Philadelphia law firm. Scottoline, who has been called “the female John Grisham” by People magazine, is also the author of “Mistaken Identity”, “Moment of Truth”, and “The Vendetta Defense.”
“Crime Scene Investigation” takes readers inside the daily activities of a forensic pathologist and a forensic photographer, revealing exactly how the experts sort through the minutiae of a murder to build an airtight case against a killer. The book follows investigators as they secure a crime scene, identify the time of death, lift fingerprints, trace evidence from firearms and explosives, examine hair and fibers, match DNA, and prepare a case for trial. The book goes on to follow investigators into the autopsy room, where they discover clues that help paint a picture of the killing.
Jim Fisher, professor of criminology at Edinboro
University of Pennsylvania tells the story of Edward Gingerich,
the only Amish man ever convicted of homicide in criminal
court. Gingerich, who lived near Mill Village in Crawford
County, PA was charged with the murder of his wife in a true
story that received national attention. Crossroads of Commerce No Railroad in America was more aware of its importance than the Pennsylvania Railroad. For a third of a century, beginning in 1925, the Pennsylvania Railroad published large wall calendars with railroad art so striking and distinctive, they were sought by bankers and brakemen alike. Each year an oil painting was commissioned to serve as the centerpiece of the calendar, which was distributed by hundreds of thousands to customers. “Crossroads of Commerce” examines how the company's calendar program reflected what railroading meant to its time. The book describes the evolution of the calendar series, including subtle changes in perspective or subject that often mirrored company politics or attitudes. Author Dan Cupper is a journalist and historian whose family roots run deep in the railroad industry: he is the grandson and great-grandson of Pennsylvania Railroad men, and his father once worked for a subsidiary of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. He is a graduate of Penn State University, and spent over a decade as a newspaper reporter and editor. He is currently a full-time freelance writer and editor, speaker, and transportation history consultant.
With the Seven Years’ War, Great Britain decisively eliminated French power north of the Caribbean- and in the process destroyed an American diplomatic system in which Native Americans had long played a central, balancing role- permanently changing the political and cultural landscape of North America. Author Fred Anderson reveals the clash of inherited perceptions the war created when it gave thousands of American colonists their first experience of real Englishmen and introduced them to the British cultural and class system. Colonists who assumed that they were partners in the empire encountered British officers who regarded them as subordinates, and who treated them accordingly. Thus, the war taught George Washington and other provincials profound emotional lessons, as well as giving them practical instruction in how to be soldiers. Fred Anderson is Associate Professor of History at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is the author of “A People’s Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years’ War”, as well as articles, essays, and reviews.
The
D-Day Bank Massacre: The True Story of the Martin Appel Case June 6, 1986, on the 42nd anniversary of D-Day, Martin Appel robs a bank in East Allen, Pennsylvania, slaughtering three employees. He confesses to the crime and begs to be sentenced to death, but when he gets his wish, he has a change of heart. “The D-Day Bank Massacre” is the shocking true story of murder, lies, and twisted justice, written from the eyes of the chief prosecutor on the Martin Appel case. John Morganelli is the District Attorney of Northampton County, PA and Past President of the PA District Attorneys Association. Morganelli has successfully prosecuted murder cases, and has argued capitol cases before the state and federal appellate courts.
Damn Dutch is the first work to highlight the contributions at the Battle of Gettysburg of regiments of Pennsylvania Dutch- descendents of eighteenth-century German Speaking immigrants who had developed their own dialect and culture in Pennsylvania- and post-1820 German-born immigrants. On the first day of the battle, the Union Army’s 1st Corps, in which many of the Pennsylvania Dutch regiments served, and the half-German 11th Corps, which had five regiments of either variety in it, bought with their blood enough time for the federals to adequately prepare the high ground-a sacrifice that proved critical in the end for the Union victory. On the second day, they participated in beating back Confederate attacks that threatened to crack the Union defenses on Cemetery Hill and in other strategic locations. The book focuses on the distinctions and tensions between the two groups- then lumped together and sometimes referred to as the “Damn Dutch”- and how their ethnic identities shaped their behavior before, during, and after the battle. David Valuska is Fryberger Professor of Pennsylvania German Studies and professor of military history at Kutztown University. He serves as executive director of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center. Christian Keller is assistant professor of American History at Dickinson College.
The Day the Earth Caved In accounts the nation’s worst mine fire, beginning on Valentine’s Day, 1981, when twelve-year-old Todd Domboski plunged through the earth in his grandmother’s backyard in Centralia, Pennsylvania. Author Joan Quigley, the granddaughter of Centralia miners, ushers readers into the dramatic world of the underground blaze-from the media circus and back-room deal-making spawned in the wake of Todd’s sudden disappearance, to the inner lives of every day Centralians who fought a government that wouldn’t listen. Drawing on interviews with key participants and exclusive new research, Quigley paints portraits of Centralia and its residents, from Tom Larkin, the short-order cook and ex-hippie who rallied the activists, to Helen Womer, a bank teller who galvanized the opposition, denying the fire’s existence even as toxic fumes invaded her home. Here, too, we see the failures of major political and government figures, from Centralia’s congressman, “Dapper” Dan Flood, a former actor who later resigned in the wake of corruption allegations, to James Watt, a former lawyer-lobbyist for the mining industry, who became President Reagan’s controversial interior secretary. Joan Quigley first glimpsed the Centralia mine fire at age fifteen, during her grandmother’s funeral at St. Ignatius Cemetery. A former Miami Herald business reporter, she is a graduate of Princeton and of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She is a recipient of the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award for this book.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette outdoors writer Mike Sajna tells fish stories: the legends, secret locations, techniques, and characters in his book Days on the Water: The Angling Tradition in Pennsylvania.
A Deadly
Secret: The Strange Disappearance of Kathie Durst When 29-year-old Kathie Durst |