Category: #History

Posted in #History

History of Chicago

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A Captivating Guide to the People and Events that Shaped the Windy City’s History (U.S. States)

Explore the Captivating History of Chicago
Free History BONUS Inside! Founded as a tiny, temporary settlement, Chicago became a crux of the American fur trade before growing into one of the powerhouses of the Industrial Revolution. From procuring drinking water to implementing racial equality, nothing has ever been simple for the people who have called Chicago home – and yet there is immense pride among Chicagoans for what they and their fellow people have achieved. The city has been home to some of America’s most influential people, be they talk show hosts or U.S. Presidents. Every star on the Chicago flag represents an achievement to be remembered; every building an era that has helped shape the modern city into what it is today. In this book, you will discover remarkable stories of people and events who shaped the history of this fascinating city.

History of Chicago: A Captivating Guide to the People and Events that Shaped the Windy City’s History includes topics such as:

  • The Chicago Trail of Tears
  • All Roads (and Railways) Lead to Chicago
  • Filthiest City in America
  • The Financial District of America
  • Workers’ Cottage to Skyscraper; Chicago’s Architecture and Design
  • 1860 Republican National Convention
  • World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago
  • The Speakeasy and Al Capone
  • Real Chicago Flavor
  • The Great Depression and Legislated Segregation
  • Century of Progress
  • Oprah Winfrey and Harpo
  • And much, much more!
Posted in #History

Ghosts of the Yadkin Valley (Haunted America)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Ghostly footsteps, mysteriously locked doors, and apparitions from centuries past. The rolling hills and hollers of the Yadkin Valley have been home to many historic events, from Stoneman�s raid to the hanging of Tom Dooley. These events have left their imprint on the county�s architecture and landscape, and some of them have evenleft a ghostly legacy. Ghosts of the Yadkin Valley is a collection of spine-tingling tales, including ghost stories from many of the area�s National Historic Register sites. Join local storyteller R.G. Absher as he relates the history behind the haunts.

Posted in #History

The Day Lincoln Was Shot

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“This classic of popular history vividly dramatizes a pivotal moment in the life of our country . . . a happy blend of good scholarship and good storytelling.” —AudioFile

The Day Lincoln Was Shot is a gripping, hour-by-hour account of April fourteen, 1865: the day President Abraham Lincoln was tragically assassinated.

It chronicles the movements of Lincoln and his assassin John Wilkes Booth during every movement of that fateful day. Author and journalist Jim Bishop has fashioned an unforgettable tale of tragedy, more gripping than fiction, more alive than any newspaper account.First published in 1955, The Day Lincoln Was Shot was a huge bestseller, and in 1998 it was made into a TNT movie, with Rob Morrow as Booth.

“Everything that concerned Lincoln’s assassination from 7:00 A.M. Friday until 7:22 A.M. Saturday, the moment of his death. A new kind of Lincoln book.” —The New York Times

“Startling, tabloid immediacy . . . police-blotter facts.” —Time

“A great news story brilliantly recaptured.” —New York Herald Tribune

“Reads like a novel—holds you in suspense like a detective story!” —Pittsburgh Press

“History with the impact of a Page One news story.” —Syracuse Herald American

“Terror and suspense.” —Cleveland News

Posted in #History

Ride the Devil’s Herd

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Wyatt Earp’s Epic Battle Against the West’s Biggest Outlaw Gang

The story of how a young Wyatt Earp and his brothers defeated the Old West’s biggest outlaw gang, by the New York Times–bestselling author of Texas Ranger.
Wyatt Earp is regarded as the most famous lawman of the Old West, best known for his role in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. But the story of his two-year war with a band of outlaws known as the Cowboys has never been told in full.
The Cowboys were the largest outlaw gang in the history of the American West. After battles with the law in Texas and New Mexico, they shifted their operations to Arizona. There, led by Curly Bill Brocius, they ruled the border, robbing, rustling, smuggling and killing with impunity until they made the fatal mistake of tangling with the Earp brothers.
Drawing on groundbreaking research into territorial and federal government records, John Boessenecker’s Ride the Devil’s Herd reveals a time and place in which homicide rates were fifty times higher than those today. The story still bears surprising relevance for contemporary America, involving hot-button issues such as gang violence, border security, unlawful immigration, the dangers of political propagandists parading as journalists, and the prosecution of police officers for carrying out their official duties. Wyatt Earp saw it all in Tombstone.
Praise for Ride the Devil’s Herd
A Pim County Public Library Southwest Books of the Year 2021
A True West Reader’s Choice for Best 2020 Western Nonfiction
Winner of the Best Book Award by the Wild West History Association
“A marvelous book. By means of meticulous research and splendid writing John Boessenecker has managed to do something never before attempted or accomplished, tying together the many violent clashes between lawmen and outlaws in the American southwest of the 1870-1890 period and showing how depredations by loosely organized gangs of outlaws actually threatened “Manifest Destiny” and the successful taming of the Wild West.” —Robert K. DeArment, author and historian
“A ripsnortin’ ramble across the bloodstained Arizona desert with Wyatt Earp and company. . . . Boessenecker displays a fine eye for period detail. . . . A pleasure for thoughtful fans of Old West history, revisionist without being iconoclastic.” —Kirkus Reviews

Posted in #History

Hidden History of the Florida Keys

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

“Seldom-told tales of the ‘lively and unusual cast of historic figures’ who helped shape the Florida Keys from the 1820s through the 1960s.”—Keys News
 
The Florida Keys have witnessed all kinds of historical events, from the dramatic and the outrageous to the tragic and the comic. In the nineteenth century, uncompromising individuals fought duels and plotted political upsets. During the Civil War, a company of “Key West Avengers” escaped their Union-occupied city to join the Confederacy by sailing through the Bahamas. In the early twentieth century, black Bahamians founded a town of their own, while railway engineers went up against the U.S. Navy in a bid to complete the Overseas Railroad. When Prohibition came to the Keys, one defiant woman established a rum-running empire that dominated South Florida. 
 
Join Laura Albritton and Jerry Wilkinson as they delve into tales of treasure hunters, developers, exotic dancers, determined preservationists and more, from the colorful history of these islands.
Includes photos

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Hidden History on the Florida Keys,” a new volume penned by Laura Albritton and Upper Keys historian Jerry Wilkinson, reveals seldom-told tales of the “lively and unusual cast of historic figures” who helped shape the Florida Keys from the 1820s through the 1960s.” Keys News

About the Author

Fifth-generation Floridian Laura Albritton is a writer, book reviewer, and writing teacher. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Miami Herald, Sculpture magazine, Harvard Review and the Florida Keys Weekly, while her award-winning short fiction has been published in many literary journals. She wrote the travel book Miami for Families (University Press of Florida) and co-authored Marathon: The Middle Keys and Key West’s Duval Street (Arcadia Publishing) with Jerry Wilkinson. Laura holds a degree in comparative literature from Columbia and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Miami.

Fourth-generation Floridian Jerry Wilkinson arrived in Key West in 1947. He served in the U.S Air Force for twenty-four years before operating his own business. For decades, Jerry has researched and documented Florida Keys history, particularly that of the Upper Keys. He has contributed to books, films and television programs and created an extensive Keys history website (www.keyshistory.org). Jerry is president of the Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys and serves on the boards of the Historic Florida Keys Foundation and the Florida Keys History and Discovery Center. Jerry’s previous books include Key Largo and Islamorada, co-authored with Brad Bertelli.