Lokalhistoria

How Philadelphia merchants forged trade networks that fueled America's westward expansion.Why did the Midwest become part of the United States instead of remaining under English, Spanish, or Native control? In Philadelphia Merchants on Western Waters, historian Kim M. Gruenwald reveals commerce and trade, rather than war and political conflict, as the driving force behind America's westward expansion. Through meticulous research into business records, Gruenwald brings to life the daring ventures of Philadelphia merchant companies like Baynton, Wharton, & Morgan, who sought to dominate the Illinois fur trade, and Reed & Forde, who expanded trade routes while speculating in land warrants. Their efforts laid the foundation for the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, which unified both banks of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers under one nation and set the stage for America's continental empire. Studying international dealings with French, Spanish, and Native powers, as well as the complexities of river commerce, Gruenwald paints a vivid portrait of a transformative era between the colonial Atlantic world and America's westward push to the Pacific. Commercial expansion into what Gruenwald dubs "the Riverine West" represents a unique era in American history between the Atlantic of the colonial British Empire and the overland journeys of Americans heading across the Great Plains to California and Oregon in the nineteenth century. This book redefines our understanding of how a fledgling republic secured control of its western frontier--not through military conquest but through entrepreneurial spirit.

"This book is the official guide to the Mark Twain House & Museum, an institution dedicated to preserving the author's home, literary legacy, and life story. Steve Courtney conducts a journey back to the Gilded Age, when the celebrated author and humorist was known as Mr. Samuel Clemens of Hartford, Connecticut. Readers can venture inside this "bewitching" landmark for an illustrated tour that offers intimate glimpses of the writer, his wife, and their daughters within their Victorian mansion"--

"There's Lots to See in Georgia provides a history of the Peach State's state historic sites, including a brief history of each site, the process by which the sites were preserved or restored and became part of the state historic site system, and information to guide visitors as they tour each site. The sixteen sites featured in this book capture more than fifteen hundred years of history of the place we now call Georgia, from the Woodland era through the mid-twentieth century. Included are Native American sites from the Woodland, Mississippian, and Cherokee periods, colonial-era sites, frontier settlement sites, antebellum plantations, Civil War sites, and a presidential retreat. No other book offers such comprehensive coverage of all the historic sites owned and operated by the state of Georgia"--

"There's Lots to See in Georgia provides a history of the Peach State's state historic sites, including a brief history of each site, the process by which the sites were preserved or restored and became part of the state historic site system, and information to guide visitors as they tour each site. The sixteen sites featured in this book capture more than fifteen hundred years of history of the place we now call Georgia, from the Woodland era through the mid-twentieth century. Included are Native American sites from the Woodland, Mississippian, and Cherokee periods, colonial-era sites, frontier settlement sites, antebellum plantations, Civil War sites, and a presidential retreat. No other book offers such comprehensive coverage of all the historic sites owned and operated by the state of Georgia"--

"Written by a longtime friend and ally, Lincoln the Citizen offers a rare character study and insightful biography of Lincoln before he became president. Michael Burlingame restores material cut by editors of the original 1907 publication to present Henry Clay Whitney's work in full. Whitney's work reveals the legal and political spheres where Lincoln moved while providing eyewitness accounts and intimate stories shared by Lincoln himself. Whitney's unique vantage point informs analyses of everything from Lincoln's melancholic temperament to his colorful early career to views on his marriage and family life. Burlingame places Whitney's singular contributions within Lincoln studies but also weighs criticisms of the book and disputes over what information the author may or may not have invented. A restored edition of an invaluable memoir, Lincoln the Citizen presents a wealth of overlooked biographical detail by one of the people who knew Lincoln best"--

In this fascinating book, illustrated with over 100 period photographs, Bruce B. Bishop explores the changing face of Badenoch over millennia, from the Ice Age, Pictish and Celtic times through the coming of Christianity, the Jacobite rebellions, the more leisured Victorian age, and the twentieth century.

This, the final volume in Diane Morgan's acclaimed Lost Aberdeen trilogy, is a fascinating, ground-breaking account of the west side of the city. Featuring period photographs, illustrations and maps, Lost Aberdeen: The Freedom Lands uncovers the forgotten hamlets and communities that make up this large area of the modern city.

In Lost Aberdeen: The Outskirts, Diane Morgan embarks on a fascinating and highly readable journey into the environmental and architectural heritage of those familiar parts of Aberdeen that began life on the fringes of the city. Illustrated with period photographs and maps, it is a goldmine of information about this historic city.

"Roger Moorhouse is a Wall Street banker and Westchester family man with a preciously guarded secret. As the shouting begins and flashlights blaze in his face, the life he's carefully curated over the years--a fancy new office overlooking lower Broadway, a house in Beechmont Woods, his wife and children--is about to come crashing down around him. Columbia literature professor Julian Prince lives a comparatively uncloseted life when he finds his first committed relationship tested to its limits. How could he explain to Gus, a fearless young artist, that he couldn't stay with him that weekend because the woman who was still technically Julian's fianâce would be visiting? But when Gus is struck unconscious by a police baton, Julian comes out of hiding to protect him, even if exposure means losing everything. For Danny Duffy, an Irish kid from the Bronx with a sassy mouth and a diverse group of friends, the raid is a galvanizing, Spartacus moment. Danny doesn't have too much left to lose; his family has just disowned him. But once his name appears in the newspaper, he'll be fired from his job at Sloan's Supermarket, where he's risen to assistant manager of produce, and begin a journey that veers between political enlightenment and violent revenge. The three men find themselves in a police wagon together, their hidden lives threatened to be revealed to the world. Blackmail, a private investigator, Gus's disappearance, and Danny's quest for retribution propel Disorderly Men to its piercing conclusion, as each man meets the boundaries of his own fear, love, and shame. The stakes for each are different, but all of them confront a fundamental question: How much happiness is he allowed to have ... and what share of it will he lay claim to?"--Provided by by publisher.

"Fire lookout towers are enjoying a retrospective rebirth, attracting the curious and the adventurous, as Americans seeking escape for moments of solitude rediscover the structures' national significance. Though the Civilian Conservation Corps' national fire control policies and reforestation efforts have been covered elsewhere, each state's legacy is as unique as its people, forest conditions, traditions, and legislative history. In Texas, what emerges is a story that shaped national policies and examines the ethos of a generation. Edward Cavallerano's Fire in the Piney Woods develops several parallel stories. The first describes the Piney Woods and the antecedent conditions that necessitated fire prevention, forest fire detection, and the development of Texas' fire lookout network. Second, through collected stories, poetry, and primary accounts, it pays tribute to a generation of Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees, foresters, surveyors, and dedicated, self-sufficient lookouts who redeveloped or protected the forestlands of Texas and educated rural communities about the value of their natural resources. Finally, it describes the location and design of the lookout towers and associated structures in Texas by consolidating a decade of observations. In this effort, Cavallerano introduces methodologies to assess tower characteristics that may be useful to workers in other regions. Taken together, the book shares an appreciation of the past and celebrates the heritage these sites still possess. Fire in the Piney Woods preserves the history of forest fire protection in Texas, enhances readers' recreational experiences, and builds a compelling case among Texans to preserve the lookout towers that still stand"--

The Dutch World of Washington Irving tells an alternative origin story of American literary culture. In December of 1809, before finding fame with "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," Washington Irving published his satirical History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker. Elisabeth Paling Funk explains that the History of New-York and the Hudson Valley folktales that followed are part of an early trend to respond to the national desire for a historical record. Funk argues that these works uniquely describe this part of the American scene in the period of the Early Republic and bring forward the Dutch strain in its history and culture. Funk explores what the young Irving would have read, heard, and observed during his early life and career in New York City, once part of the former colony of New Netherland, where he was surrounded by Dutch-speaking neighbors, relatives, and Dutch literature. Based on these sources, The Dutch World of Washington Irving argues that Irving's Knickerbocker works-not only his History but also his Hudson Valley stories-represent a crucial effort to preserve Dutch life and folk customs in the Hudson Valley in the face of Anglo-Americanization. Providing the first complete glossary of Irving's Dutch vocabulary and drawing on untranslated Dutch sources, Funk offers cultural historians, scholars of American folklore and literature, and the latest generation of Irving's readers unprecedented access into the Dutch world of Washington Irving and his American contemporaries.

A thoroughgoing look into a rare case where the eugenics movement "failed" in spite of its power in the United States and around the world--while still wielding a toxic influence--Phillips and Friauf's work offers insight into the history of the LGBTQ community, abortion, and immigration policies in Texas, and persuasively argues that the long arc of eugenics history has helped shaped contemporary politics in the Lone Star State.

Volume 1 depicts the origins of the society and its objectives, cultural context, and expanding importance in American art history. The essays that follow focus on the contributions of the society's founding members: Joseph H. Sharp, E. Irving Couse, Bert G. Phillips, Ernest L. Blumenschein, Oscar E. Berninghaus, and W. Herbert Dunton. Volume 2 explores the achievements of six other prominent artists who joined the society, as well as its associate and honorary members. The volume concludes with a detailed chronology of relevant events from 1850 to 1966.

*A NEW YORK TIMES PICK FOR TOP 22 NONFICTION BOOKS TO READ THIS FALL!*A Navajo Ranger's chilling and clear-eyed memoir of his investigations into bizarre cases of the paranormal and unexplained in NavajolandAs a Native American with parents of both Navajo and Cherokee descent, Stanley Milford Jr. grew up in a world where the supernatural was both expected and taboo, where shapeshifters roamed, witchcraft was a thing to be feared, and children were taught not to whistle at night. In his youth, Milford never went looking for the paranormal, but it always seemed to find him. When he joined the fabled Navajo Rangers-a law enforcement branch of the Navajo Nation who are equal parts police officers, archeological conservationists, and historians-the paranormal became part of his job. Alongside addressing the mundane duties of overseeing the massive 27,000-square-mile reservation, Milford was assigned to utterly bizarre and shockingly frequent cases involving mysterious livestock mutilations, skinwalker and Bigfoot sightings, UFOs, and malicious hauntings. In The Paranormal Ranger, Milford recounts the stories of these cases from the clinical and deductive perspective of a law enforcement officer. Milford's Native American worldview and investigative training collide to provide an eerie account of what logic dictates should not be possible.