Bordered on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and on the north by Long Island Sound, the Peconic Bay region, including the North and South Forks, has only recently been recognized for its environmental and economic significance. The story of the waterway and its contiguous land masses is one of farmers and fishermen, sailing vessels and submarines, wealthy elite residents, and award winning vineyards.Peconic Bay examines the past 400 years of the region’s history, tracing th...

Traces the economic, political, and social evolution of New York State's fourth largest city during the twentieth century.Yonkers in the Twentieth Century chronicles the decline and rebirth of the fourth largest city in New York State, once known as "the Queen City of the Hudson" and "the City of Gracious Living." Previously an industrial powerhouse, the city's factories turned out essential items that helped the United States win two world wars. Following...

A National Book Award Nominee and a Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year.Over the centuries, Florida has been many things: an unconquered realm protected by geography, a wilderness that ruined Spanish conquistadors, “God’s waiting room,” and a place to start over. Depopulated after the extermination of its original native population, today it’s home to nineteen million. The site of vicious racial violence, including massacres, slavery, and the r...

Americans tend to think of the Revolution as a Massachusetts-based event orchestrated by Virginians, but in fact the war took place mostly in the Middle Colonies—in New York and New Jersey and the parts of Pennsylvania that on a clear day you can almost see from the Empire State Building. In My American Revolution, Robert Sullivan delves into this first Middle America, digging for a glorious, heroic part of the past in the urban, suburban, and sometimes even rural landscape of tod...

Discover one of America's most historic cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning Boston's 400-year history, and then visit the places where history happened on walking tours of the city's historic neighborhoods. Boston expert Charles Bahne reveals some of the city's most shocking moments, from a murder mystery on the Harvard campus to the mistake that sent two million gallons of molasses pouring down Commerce Street. Other essays explore major historic events including the Boston T...

The surprising history of the Gowanus Canal and its role in the building of BrooklynFor more than 150 years, Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal has been called a cesspool, an industrial dumping ground, and a blemish on the face of the populous borough—as well as one of the most important waterways in the history of New York harbor. Yet its true origins, man-made character, and importance to the city have been largely forgotten.Now, New York writer and guide Joseph Al...

This lively collection of 34 of the best history walks in North Carolina highlights the richness and diversity of the state’s history, from the time of its first settlement to the present. Veteran guidebook author Lynn Setzer leads readers on short walks in state parks and natural areas, state historic sites, charming small towns from the mountains to the sea, and the state’s largest cities. Along the way, she brings to life some of our state’s most momentous events, most accomplished and ...

**Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award for US HistoryA “fascinating, encyclopedic history…of greater New York City through an ecological lens” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)—the sweeping story of one of the most man-made spots on earth.**Gotham Unbound recounts the four-century history of how hundreds of square miles of open marshlands became home to six percent of the nation’s population. Ted Steinberg brings a vanished New York back to vivid, rich life. Y...

I have never been particularly interested in slavery, perhaps because it is such an obvious fact of my family's history. The fact that I am descended from slaves is hard to acknowledge on a day-to-day basis, because slavery does not fit with my self-image. Perhaps this is because I am pretty certain I would not have survived it.In the manner of Calvino's Invisible Cities, Wendy Walters deftly explores the psyches of cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Manhattan, and ...

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors-many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures-were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ral...

Discover the fascinating and nearly forgotten history amid Cape Cod's salty waves and sandy beaches—photos included.From Provincetown to Falmouth, the Cape's fifteen towns offer a plethora of hidden and enchanting tales. Learn why one of the most famous rescues in Coast Guard history spent nearly fifty years in the shadows without public notice. Discover which wild creature went from the nineteenth-century soup pot to enjoying conservation protection under state law...

The curious history of a tiny town that all but disappeared . . . Includes photos!Founded by a famously scheming New Hampshire governor, Glastenbury struggled for over a century to break triple digits in population. A small charcoal-making industry briefly flourished after the Civil War, yet by 1920 Glastenbury counted fewer than twenty inhabitants.The end came officially in 1937, when the state, following a spirited debate, formally disincorporated the tow...