Once an almost impenetrable landscape of dunes, marshes, and woodlands hugging the southern shore of Lake Michigan, the land comprising what would become East Chicago was a developer's dream for the emerging steel industry. Considered one of the country's ultimate melting pots, four out of five of its citizens hailed from other countries, each bringing their valued cultures and traditions to this thriving metropolis. The industrial jobs, requiring hard work and much grit, provided a way ou...

From the Gothic architecture and Golden Dome of the University of Notre Dame to the pulsing live jazz performed at the Midway Tavern, South Bend is a vibrant city, reconnecting its working-class roots and embracing the 21st century at the same time. Centuries ago, Native Americans and French voyagers explored the region via the St. Joseph River. Today, dine in style at the Cascade prime steak and seafood restaurant with its stellar views of the water, or sample a flight of beers on the out...

River Country is the name given to St. Joseph County, Michigan, an area of historic small towns including Three Rivers, Mendon, Centreville, Constantine, Sturgis, and Nottawa. Home to one of the largest Amish populations in the state, it is a place of meandering roads often frequented by horse-driven black buggies. The county�s towns, many of which are on the Michigan and National Registers of Historic Places, feature architecture that harkens back to the 1800s with styles ranging from Ita...

America's favorite president sure got around. Before Abraham Lincoln's sojourned to the Oval Office, he grew up in Kentucky and began his career as a lawyer in Illinois. In fact, Lincoln toured some amazing places throughout the Midwest in his lifetime. In Lincoln Road Trip: The Back-Roads Guide to America's Favorite President**, Jane Simon Ammeson will help you step back into history by visiting the sites where Lincoln lived and visited.**...

"Minnie Wallace Walkup Ketcham's criminal career as an unsung triple murderess and black widow . . . is told in rich detail and with pleasingly dark wit." —Keven McQueen, author of Louisville Murder & MayhemWhat's a gal to do when her loaded lover is getting to be a nuisance? Why, just murder him and take all his money, of course. If you want to be fabulously single with tons of cash, just follow the lead of the beautiful and conniving Minnie Wallace Walkup...

Gold digging, adultery, and a slaying on Valentine's Day, 1923, in this "juicy . . . page-turner" of a true crime story (Chicago Tribune).It was a Roaring Twenties fatal attraction. Nettie Herskovitz was wealthy and widowed when she met Harry Diamond. The attentive, irresistibly sexy twenty-three-year-old suitor would become Nettie's fifth husband. He was also a bootlegger, pimp, and first-class hustler who thought he'd wed a goldmine. What Harry found ins...

Over the centuries, residents of Michiana have never wanted for superb dining choices. Once a stagecoach stop, The Old Tavern Inn has been open since the time of President Andrew Jackson. Tosi's is known for its gorgeous starlit garden and gastronomic traditions stretching back almost a century, and The Volcano was amongst the first pizzerias in the country. These restaurants and other classic eateries remain part of the thriving local food scene. But the doors of others have long been clo...

Stories of the runaway slaves who left their spirits behind. "An easy read and an odd collection of tales of murders, mayhem, madness, and sadness." — FolkloreBefore the Civil War, a network of secret routes and safe houses crisscrossed the Midwest to help African Americans travel north to escape slavery. Although many slaves were able to escape to the safety of Canada, others met untimely deaths on the treacherous journey—and some of these unfortunates sti...

How does a Norwegian farm girl become an infamous American serial killer, responsible for upward of 40 murders? Born in rural Norway in 1859, "Belle" Storset Sorenson Gunness was constantly dealt bad hands in life—so she decided to take life into her own hands.InAmerica's Femme Fatale: The Story of Serial Killer Belle Gunness, Jane Simon Ammeson traces Gunness's path from a poor teenager rejected by a wealthy lover; to a new wife in Chicag...

This fascinating chronicle of murder in the Hoosier State paints a chilling portrait of the American Midwest from mid-19th century to the Jazz Age.In Murders that Made Headlines, Jane Simon Ammeson uncovers a grizzly history of crime in Indiana, offering a stark contrast to the nostalgic image of a simpler time in America's heartland. While the Midwest saw many changes between the 1850s and the 1930s—from horses and buggies to Hudson sedans; ladies in long...

What’s a gal to do when her loaded lover is getting to be a nuisance? Why, just murder him and take all his money, of course. If you want to be fabulously single with tons of cash, just follow the lead of the beautiful and conniving Minnie Wallace Walkup Ketcham, who left a trail of broken hearts, empty wallets, and corpses.Minnie was just sixteen when she stood trial for the wrongful death of her first husband, a successful businessman and politician almost forty years her senior....

"An engagingly written, personable, and intimate portrait of a president that walks in his footsteps and creates a cultural contextual lens through travel." — Library JournalAmerica's favorite president sure got around. Before Abraham Lincoln's sojourned to the Oval Office, he grew up in Kentucky and began his career as a lawyer in Illinois. In fact, Lincoln toured some amazing places throughout the Midwest in his lifetime. In Lincoln Road Trip: The Bac...