Local history Books

Book Synopsis'An exceptional book.' Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words, Landmarks and Mountains of the Mind‘We made Kinder Scout, not just metaphorically, or metaphysically, not just with our stories and our battles, but literally changed its shape, from the peat washing off its summit, to the drystone walls that turn the hillside into a harmonious grid, the trees that are and more often aren’t there, to the creatures that we’ve allowed to remain and those we’ve done away with. It’s our mountain.’In 1951 the Peak District was designated the UK’s first national park: a commitment to protect and preserve our countryside and wild places. Sandwiched between Manchester and Sheffield, and sitting at the base of the Pennines, it is home to Kinder Scout, Britain’s most popular ‘mountain’, a beautiful yet featureless and disorientating plateau which barely scrapes the 600-metre contour, whose lower slopes bore witness in 1932 to a movement of feet, a pedestrian rebellion, which helped shape modern access legislation: the Kinder Mass Trespass.But Kinder Scout’s story is about much more than the working class taking on the elite. Marked by the passage of millions of feet and centuries of farming, a graveyard for lost souls and doomed aircraft, this much-loved mountain is a sacred canvas on which mankind has scratched and scraped its likeness for millennia. It is a record of our social and political history, of conflict and community.Writer Ed Douglas and photographer John Beatty are close friends and have a shared history with Kinder going back decades. In this unique collaboration they reveal the social, political, cultural and ecological developments that have shaped the physical and human landscape of this enigmatic and treasured hill.Kinder Scout: The People’s Mountain is a celebration of a northern English mountain and our role in its creation.Trade Review'An exceptional book. The writing is rich with original research, the photographs glitter with strangeness and beauty, and the whole book rings with the passion, knowledge and vision of two people who have explored their subject for most of their lives, and fallen into profound acquaintance with it.' – Robert Macfarlane, author of The Lost Words and Mountains of the Mind'Kinder – even the word has an echo-like quality. And this is a book of beautiful echoes in which words and pictures call to each other back and forth across the pages. Simple waymarkers such as moss, grouse, flight open up a spacious meditation that takes in history, adventure, memory and the necessity of beauty. The echoes build as we pass through the phases of the book, creating a vivid and moving iconography of the character and temper of this ‘half-poisoned, denuded and yet still-sacred ground.' – Katharine Towers, award-winning poet and author of The Remedies and The Floating Man'Everyone who loves the Peak District should have this book and help to work for its ultimate redemption. We will win!' – Mark Avery'Quietly astonishing and important piece of work.' – David Lintern, The Great Outdoors'Douglas tells the story in his fine poetic style, "pacing out time’s shore" while walking its northern rim, or when squatting on the summit "dismantled by wind and rain, grains of sand washed away, and me with them, pretty soon".' – Jules Stewart, Geographical'This is one of the most stand out books you will ever see. You will come to appreciate one of our most most iconic landscapes, its people, its seasons and beauty. This is achieved though it's delightful, thoughtful and well researched commentary combined with enchanting imagery. In a phrase it's a "Classic".' - Mansel Kersey, The Snow Leopard AwardTable of ContentsSand; Sheep; Flight; Grouse; Moss; Hare.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is the classic book on the ancient customs, crafts and techniques of the Scottish Highlands. The past is evoked with a fascinating blend of historical narrative and detail, with descriptions of the fireplaces and furniture, the creels and cas chroms which were a vital part of everyday life in the Highland communities, but which have now become strange in the modern world of machinery and technology. Highland Folk Ways vividly describes the many aspects and artefacts of our ancestors’ lives; the clothes, cooking utensils, weapons, food and the implements for fishing, farming and building are all meticulously depicted and placed in historical context. The book has over 70 illustrations, and is surely the definitive resource book for everyone who wants to rediscover the lifestyle of the clansmen and crofters.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book has been seminal in bringing to the fore the injustices that have been inflicted on the Highlands in the name of government and landlord – injustices often lost in the name of dry statistics and academic balance. Written by a man who has gone on to become both an award-winning historian of the Highlands and a leading figure in the public life of the region, The Making of the Crofting Community has attracted praise, inspired debate, and provoked outrage and controversy over the years. This book remains necessary to challenge standard academic interpretations of the Highland past. Having long been one of the classics of Birlinn’s John Donald list, this revised and updated new edition includes a substantial new preface and an extensive reworking of the existing text.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHella Town reveals the profound impact of transportation improvements, systemic racism, and regional competition on Oakland's built environment. Often overshadowed by San Francisco, its larger and more glamorous twin, Oakland has a fascinating history of its own. From serving as a major transportation hub to forging a dynamic manufacturing sector, by the mid-twentieth century Oakland had become the urban center of the East Bay. Hella Town focuses on how political deals, economic schemes, and technological innovations fueled this emergence but also seeded the city's postwar struggles. Toward the turn of the millennium, as immigration from Latin America and East Asia increased, Oakland became one of the most diverse cities in the country. The city still grapples with the consequences of uneven class- and race-based development-amid-disruption. How do past decisions about where to locate highways or public transit, urban renewal districts or civic venues, parks or shopping centers, influence how Oaklanders live today? A history of Oakland's buildings and landscapes, its booms and its busts, provides insight into its current conditions: an influx of new residents and businesses, skyrocketing housing costs, and a lingering chasm between the haves and have-nots.Trade Review“Schwarzer’s biography of Oakland is a big book, an important book, a powerful book and an indispensable guide for anyone who wants to reform the city by any means necessary.” * CounterPunch *"Noteworthy for several reasons, but one is its timeliness. Though Hella Town tells a familiar story — Oakland’s rise as an industrial hub, its fall to the failings of racism, its still-troubled resurgence — the lens through which it makes sense of that story provides insights about how cities come to be (and why they fail) that prove eerily relevant to those writing Oakland’s next act right now. . . . All who want Oakland’s story to read, ultimately, as something other than tragic — more a celebration of all that makes this place uniquely great — should be aware of what building big things (or not building them) can do. Among other things, Hella Town is an excellent education to that end." * San Francisco Chronicle *"A sparkling new history filled with lessons for our present." * SF Weekly *"A model history of urban development, laying out the stages of ‘Oakland’s built environment' from its take-off in the last decade of the nineteenth century to the early years of the current century." * Geography Realm *"From malls to shipyards to housing in the hills, Mitchell Schwarzer’s book is a sweeping history of development and power." 
 * Oaklandside *"The book will likely stir interest among faculty, students, and practitioners in urban planning and design, architecture, and urban history. Readers longing for a heavily descriptive account of Oakland’s urbanization will admire the extent to which the narrative offers a factual extravaganza of the components of the city’s built environment." * Journal of Urban Affairs *"Maintains a delicate balance between analyzing how Oakland’s history represents attributes common to many US cities while preserving distinctive characteristics. . . . Hella Town is an urban history well worth the attention of scholars concerned with the 20th-century American city and of a wider audience interested in the San Francisco Bay Area." * CHOICE *"Thoroughly documenting Oakland’s struggles over the past 130 years, the book frames each issue or struggle within its political context. The writing is clear, accessible, and rich, and the maps and photos, some of them by the author, are outstanding." * California History *Table of ContentsIntroduction Part I 1. Streetcar Stratification 2. Industrial Powerhouse Part II 3. Space for Automobiles 4. The Politics of Parks 5. Major League Venue Part III 6. The Promise and the Reality of Freeways and BART 7. In the Wake of Deindustrialization 8. Housing Injustice 9. Downtown Renewal and Ruin 10. Shopping Centers and Storefront Streets Coda Acknowledgments Notes Select Bibliography of Books about Oakland Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Dutch involvement in North America started after Henry Hudson, sailing under a Dutch flag in 1609, traveled up the river that would later bear his name. The Dutch control of the region was short-lived, but had profound effects on the Hudson Valley...Trade Review"Jaap Jacobs's The Colony of New Netherland is rich, deep, layered, and authoritative. It puts its subject in its proper place both in American and in Dutch history. For anyone with an interest in the Dutch presence in North America, it is essential."—Russell Shorto, author of The Island at the Center of the World"The Colony of New Netherland is the definitive modern study of the early Dutch experience in North America. Jacobs offers many important new insights derived from scrupulous research in Dutch-language sources and situates the story of New Netherland in a truly Atlantic context. This book marks a crucial step in the process of diversifying our understanding of early North American history."—Jon Parmenter, Cornell University, author of The Edge of the Woods: Iroquoia, 1534–1701"Jaap Jacobs has read virtually everything about New Netherland, primary and secondary, in Dutch and English, and produced a model synthesis of social, political, and economic history for a colonial experience that has far too long been terra incognita. Jacobs is particularly strong in his ability to take a genuinely transatlantic perspective, detailing the many struggles within the Dutch West India Company over whether its North American interest was to be a colony of trade or a colony of settlement (or, indeed, a colony at all) as well as the efforts of the motley lot of a few thousand Europeans to recreate something resembling a society in New Amsterdam, Fort Orange, and points adjacent."—Daniel K. Richter, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of History and the Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, University of Pennsylvania, author of The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization"The unique character of New Netherland has eluded many chroniclers of early America, but Jaap Jacob's first-rate scholarship and thoughtful analysis demonstrate how well he understands the intricacies and intrigues that marked the Dutch settlement. His book is a captivating treasure hunt for lovers of New York history and an essential, illuminating guide to an oft-neglected corner of our shared American past."—Elizabeth L. Bradley, author of Knickerbocker"The Colony of New Netherland will convince specialists and students alike of the pivotal role played by the Dutch West India Company colony in seventeenth-century America."—Joyce D. Goodfriend, author of Before the Melting Pot: Society and Culture in Colonial New York City, 1664–1730"Finally, we have an accessible introduction to the West India Company's colony in North America. Jaap Jacobs's contribution will be useful to both undergraduate and graduate students, or anyone looking for an authoritative context in which to place his or her New Netherland ancestors."—Charles Gehring, New Netherland Project, New York State LibraryTable of ContentsIntroduction: "A Blessed Country, Where Milk and Honey Flow" 1. Reconnaissance and Exploration 2. Population and Immigration 3. Authority, Government, and Justice 4. Trade, Agriculture, and Artisans 5. The Reformed Church and the Others 6. Burghers and Status 7. Living in a Colony Epilogue: "It has pleased the Lord [to ordain] that we must learn English"List of Abbreviations Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn entertaining introduction to the history of the city, its landmarks and its people, from its foundation in the 13th century to the present day.

Read more less

Book Synopsis‘His photographic skills enabled him to convert what he felt about Whitby and the countryside around it—the feelings he carried inside himself from the time he came from smoky Leeds as a child to first see the coast—into a visual tribute which goes far beyond mere documentary recording.’As one of the first men to devote his life and creative energy to photography, Frank Sutcliffe moved away from the confines of Victorian photographic conventions, which were based on artifice, and set himself the task of photographing the people and the countryside that he saw around him in as truthful and straightforward a manner as his equipment would allow. Despite his rarely leaving Whitby, Sutcliffe's work was known, exhibited and printed all over the world.Michael Hiley has traced Sutcliffe's writings on photography, many of which are to be found only in newspaper archives and specialist photographic libraries. As the son of a painter, Sutcliffe was aware both of the unique qualities of photography and of the debt it owed to painting. The years of his greatest success were those of unprecedented upheaval in both painting and photography, and Frank Sutcliffe: Photographer of Whitby sets out to establish the relationship between Sutcliffe's work and that of the leading photographers and painters of his time.

Read more less

Book SynopsisAs she awaits her execution at Oxford Castle, a newly wed woman from a God-fearing family, convicted for murdering her housemaid, is pardoned at the last minute by King George II. A butcher suddenly disappears and changes his identity after the tragic death of his young wife. A picture-frame maker from humble origins becomes ‘the richest man in Oxford’ and is at ease socialising with the luminaries of the Victorian art world. And a lovestruck local member of parliament with a serious gambling addiction dies in suspicious circumstances. These are some of the stories of individuals connected with the land and property on Middle Way in Summertown, Oxford, where the author now lives. The book presents an alternative history of Oxford and explores how Summertown evolved from being primarily an artisans’ village to becoming a well-heeled suburb of Oxford. Extensively referenced and using archival sources and interviews, a voice is also given to the living relatives of people connected with the land and property on Middle Way.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review“Highly recommended. . . This excellent book contributes to the body of work confirming that publicly subsidized sports facilities are unwise investments for taxpayers. . . By telling the story of property tax breaks and other corporate welfare in building the United Center, Dinces reminds readers that their beloved sports teams will take advantage of an adoring public every time. The only thing left to figure out is why people allow it to happen again and again." * Choice *“Dinces effectively uses Jordan and the Bulls to analyze complicated issues surrounding the economics of professional sports in the late twentieth century. . . . Bulls Markets demonstrates how scholars can use sports as a lens to analyze important issues, such as economic inequality, that touch all Americans regardless of whether they root for the home team." * The Journal of American History *“The role of sports teams in revitalizing cities is too often taken for granted by sportswriters and urban commentators alike. In Bulls Markets, Dinces does the invaluable work of taking a no-holds-barred look at what the Michael Jordan Bulls meant to Chicago—both economically and emotionally—to determine once and for all what the city gained from a championship team, and which segment of a changing city reaped these spoils.” * Neil deMause, author of Field of Schemes *“Bulls Markets is a penetrating and provocative account of the role of Michael Jordan and the championship Bulls in Chicago’s cultural and economic development. Dinces brings together a wealth of interesting research that asks important questions about the role of sports in urban growth, spatial evolution, and social inequality. Dinces’s analysis will have resonance for the citizens and politicians in many cities and should be required reading for public servants contemplating investment in sports infrastructure.” * Andrew Zimbalist, author of Circus Maximus *“Bulls Markets is a terrific book: fine sports history, of course, and excellent urban history. Dinces reveals how wealthy owners hijack our beloved teams, and how politicians and league cartels do the bidding of the rich. Drilling deep into the story of the Bulls and Chicago, Dinces shows us that sports are part of the larger transformation of contemporary cities. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this is an important book for anyone interested in urban history, politics, and economics.” * Elliott Gorn, Loyola University Chicago *“A must-read for anyone interested in the intersections of sport, politics, and the economy.” * Journal of Urban Affairs *Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Bullish on Image: Basketball and the Promotion of Postindustrial Chicago 2 “Normally, Heroes Cost You Money”: Bulls Fans in the New Gilded Age 3 The Bulls as “Good Business”: The United Center and Redeveloping Chicago’s Near West Side 4 Anchor or Shipwreck? The United Center and Economic Development in West Haven 5 “Peanut Envy”: The United Center’s War against Sidewalk Vendors 6 “Nothing but Net Profits”: Public Dollars and Tax Policy at the United Center Conclusion Appendix A: Logistic Regression Analysis of 1993 General Social Survey Data Appendix B: City of Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois State Campaign Contributions by United Center Ownership and Executives, 1980–2016 Appendix C: United Center Property-Tax Savings Appendix D: United Center Amusement-Tax Savings Notes Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book will be warmly welcomed by local historians interested in the history of Norwich, while its attractive style and presentation will ensure its popularity with the general reader, whether resident or visitor.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCompleted in 1944 as a satellite airfield to nearby St David''s, Brawdy soon supplanted its parent for meteorological reasons. Used initially by RAF Coastal Command, it passed to the Royal Navy in 1946, becoming HMS Goldcrest. The base was used by the Navy up to 1974, when the RAF resumed control once again. Used as an advanced training facility, Hunters and later Hawks were based there, as was a secret US Navy Oceanographic Research unit. Since 1996, Brawdy has been used by the Army. For many, Brawdy was also synonymous with the air displays held there for many years and for its search and rescue role, making it a widely known location.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom local legend, newspaper reports and family history, Alistair Findlay has pieced together a comprehensive documentary of Scotland's shale mining industry; of the people, communities and generations of families involved, and the cultural and political impact of the industry. Enlivened throughout with numerous photographs, drawings, poetry and short stories, this incredible history of human courage, endurance and endeavour will appeal to any reader with an interest in Scotland's social and cultural history.Trade ReviewAlistair Findlay has added a basic source material to the study of Scottish History that is invaluable... Scotland owes him a debt of gratitude for undertaking this work. - TAM DALYELL One of the finest pieces of social history I've ever read. - MARK STEPHEN, The Scottish Connection, BBC Radio Scotland For thousands of people across the country their attitudes, lifestyles and opinions have been formed through an industry which was once the envy of the world... captures the essence of the feeling of the time. - LINDSAY GOULD, The West Lothian Courier Findlay records their voices, as sharp and red as the rock they worked... The result is to recreate the directness, simplicity and power of everyday speech. - JOHN FOSTER, The Morning Star The real and rounded history of the people... important, informative, captivating and inspiring, speckled with hardship and humour, it is well worth a read. - JOHN STEVENSON, Scotland in Unison ... do you not feel echos of Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song in this man's writing? - WILLIAM WOLDE, Scots Independent

Read more less

Book SynopsisA stunning collection of images showcasing the county of Yorkshire in all its glory.Trade Review‘Yorkshire’s countryside has everything: from the awesome limestone Dales to the rugged cliffs of Flamborough, there’s no county quite like it. Dave’s photography captures the incredible scenery, beauty and vivid colour like no other.’ * Paul Hudson, BBC Yorkshire’s weather presenter *

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn informative, fully illustrated history, new in paperback

Read more less

Book SynopsisUnseen Isle of Wight

Read more less

Book SynopsisHow King’s Cross grew from tile kilns and dust heaps to a vital rail artery, and from decay and dereliction to a site of major redevelopment

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA fascinating journey through this West Yorkshire town of Halifax highlighting its people, places and heritage across the centuries.

Read more less

Book Synopsis'An incredible testament to one man’s determination' – The Sunday Herald Calum MacLeod had lived on the northern point of Raasay since his birth in 1911. He tended the Rona lighthouse at the very tip of his little archipelago, until semi-automation in 1967 reduced his responsibilities. 'So what he decided to do', says his last neighbour, Donald MacLeod, 'was to build a road out of Arnish in his months off. With a road he hoped new generations of people would return to Arnish and all the north end of Raasay'. And so, at the age of 56, Calum MacLeod, the last man left in northern Raasay, set about single-handedly constructing the 'impossible' road. It would become a romantic, quixotic venture, a kind of sculpture; an obsessive work of art so perfect in every gradient, culvert and supporting wall that its creation occupied almost twenty years of his life. In Calum's Road Roger Hutchinson recounts the extraordinary story of this remarkable man's devotion to his visionary project.Trade Review'wonderful, elegant and serious' * The Telegraph *'MacLeod defied powers outwith his control in the only way he could . . . paints a compelling picture of the man' * Sunday Times *'An incredible testament to one man’s determination' * The Sunday Herald *'This is an extraordinarily fine book, and one of the most important books to have come out of the Highlands and Islands in recent years' * West Highland Free Press *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller! What really happened at the notorious Salem witch trials.With over 19 million copies in print and a remarkable record of #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestsellers, Bill O'Reilly's Killing series is the most popular series of narrative histories in the world.Killing the Witches revisits one of the most frightening and inexplicable episodes in American history: the events of 1692 and 1693 in Salem Village, Massachusetts. What began as a mysterious affliction of two young girls who suffered violent fits and exhibited strange behavior soon spread to other young women. Rumors of demonic possession and witchcraft consumed Salem. Soon three women were arrested under suspicion of being witches--but as the hysteria spread, more than 200 people were accused. Thirty were found guilty, twenty were executed,

Read more less

Book SynopsisTwenty years ago, Jacqueline Yallop was leading guided walks at Nenthead, one of a network of model' villages which sprang up across Britain during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A life-long fascination was born.From Scotland's New Lanark Mills to the Arts and Crafts cottages of Port Sunlight, Yallop visits these utopian experiments to explore their rich histories. Looking at everything from sewage systems to sculpture, chocolate to coal, and free trade to electoral emancipation, this book is a personal exploration of why and how these village utopias came about, what they tell us about the past, and how they still resonate with us today.Trade ReviewCompelling * Independent *This is a fascinating book, a glimpse through the keyhole of homes that turn out to be stages set for a performance. -- Lucy Lethbridge * Financial Times *Intriguing... The descriptions of place, surface and mood are sharp and tangible * Guardian *A fascinating study of how human life is moulded and shaped by big money. It is…sobering. -- Charlie Gilmour * Independent On Sunday *Provides valuable food for thought. -- Gillian Tindall * Literary Review *

Read more less

Book SynopsisA first-hand account of what life was like in the period before the revolution and in Mao's reign, China was a vast human drama, as real people confronted, not political abstractions, but concrete, real challenges, often involving life and death, and she was a witness to the choices, the ways people behaved, in that situation. The Secret Listener gives a unique perspective on the era. Yuan-tsung Chen, who is now 90, and lived through most of it offers avantage point that provides us with a new, wider perspective on the Maoist regime, one of the most radical political experiments in modern history and a force that genuinely changed the world.Trade Review[A] beautifully crafted memoir.... [The Secret Listener is] a good antidote not just to official, sanitized versions of China's past but also to flattened-out portrayals of Mao's China as peopled by neatly separate groups of perpetrators and victims. * Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Foreign Affairs *By opening a personal porthole into China's twentieth-century history, Yuan-tsung Chen, who lived through these tumultuous decades, allows Mao's tectonic and savage revolution to come alive in new and more convincing, if tragic, ways * Orville Schell, Arthur Ross Director, Asia Society Center on US-China Relations *The autobiography of the well-known author Yuan-tsung Chen is an enthralling sequel to her famous Return to the Middle Kingdom and The Dragon's Village. It is a fascinating life story of how challenging it was to be an intellectual woman in Mao's China even with some connections to the Party elite. The memoir reads like a novel but it also adds precious historical details to our understanding of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other Chinese Communist Party leaders, as well as of such infamous events as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Thrilling and terrifying, intriguing and captivating, this is a brilliant first-hand account of the Maoist era. * Alexander V. Pantsov, coauthor of Mao: The Real Story *Chen Yuan-tsung is not only a secret listener, but more importantly, a secret observer, and in this compelling memoir, she vividly portrays life, conflict, and love among elite and downtrodden circles in the Republican and Communist eras of twentieth-century China. She brilliantly recreates events and conversations that show how behind-the-scenes struggles at the top impact the daily lives of Chinese up and down the social and political hierarchies. * Thomas B. Gold, University of California, Berkeley *In 1957, in the midst of Mao's anti-rightist campaign, Chen Yuan-tsung burned the manuscript she had dreamed would become her great book. Since leaving China in 1971, her two wonderful autobiographical novels have received well-deserved, enthusiastic praise. But it is with the publication of The Secret Listener that Chen's dream of writing a great book about China has finally come true. China specialists and neophytes alike will be fascinated, moved, and horrified by Chen's depiction of the struggles of ordinary Chinese, as their world turns upside down and some retain their integrity while many others lose it. * Anne F. Thurston, Editor of Engaging China *A sweeping and fascinating tale of an extraordinary life in a tumultuous China from the 1920s to 1970s. From foreign wars to civil wars to revolutionary campaigns designed to radically remake society, Yuan-tsung Chen not only observed it but participated in much of it. In her first-hand account Chen has produced a wonderfully written book easily accessible to all readers. * A. Tom Grunfeld, SUNY-Empire State College *Table of ContentsOpening Shot The First Part: Before the Year of 1949 Chapter 1: My Family and Myself Chapter 2: My First Beau Chapter 3: The Broadening of My Horizon Chapter 4: Stumbling into a Larger World The Second Part: After the Year of 1949 Chapter 5: In Mao's Beijing Chapter 6: Outside the Great Wall, By the Blue Danube Chapter 7: I Felt It Was Me on Trial Chapter 8: A Purge in Reverse Chapter 9: A Reverse of the Reverse: The Anti-Rightists Purge The Third Part: The Great Leap Forward Chapter 10: A Leap from the Magical Circle into Mao's Great Famine Chapter 11: A VIP Pig Chapter 12: From Black Market to Fake Bumper Harvest Chapter 13: Between the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution The Fourth Part: The Cultural Revolution Chapter 14: The Mob Rule Chapter 15: The Mob Rule Continued Chapter 16: Intrigues in a Slum House Chapter 17: Forced into Exile and Fought back Epilogue

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A valuable and welcome addition to the literature in Latina/o studies. I commend Aparicio on this important work. It will be a significant contribution to thinking about multicultural identities in immigrant-descendant generations, and about the traditional paradigm of American assimilation."--Rina Benmayor, coeditor of Memory, Subjectivities, and Representation: Approaches to Oral History in Latin America, Portugal, and Spain"Aptly interweaving humanities and social science approaches to identity, Aparicio sets up some of the building blocks for what Latino Studies will become in the twenty-first century. Her compelling engagement with storytelling by Latinos articulating intraLatina/o identities in Chicago is a groundbreaking intervention in the study of U.S. Latinidad that transcends while honoring cultural nationalist models that may not always serve to capture our realities. Her use of the concepts 'horizontal hierarchies' and 'affective essentializing' to analyze co-existence, competition, love, conflict, and solidarity leaves us rethinking our lives in inter-Latino communities and how we describe them. While reading about linguistic battles between parents, grandmas seeking to win over their intraLatina/o children through food, and college students trying to find a sense of belonging to inter-Latino families, communities, and college settings, the reader witnesses intimate spaces of kinship building by intraLatina/os and is deeply engaged by the courageous truths of our communities."--Alaí Reyes-Santos, author of Our Caribbean Kin: Race and Nation in the Neoliberal Antilles

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1960, University of Illinois professor Leo Koch wrote a public letter condoning premarital sex. He was fired. Four years later, a professor named Revilo Oliver made white supremacist remarks and claimed there was a massive communist conspiracy. He kept his job. Matthew Ehrlich revisits the Koch and Oliver cases to look at free speech, the legacy of the 1960s, and debates over sex and politics on campus. The different treatment of the two men marked a fundamental shift in the understanding of academic freedom. Their cases also embodied the stark divide over beliefs and values--a divide that remains today. Ehrlich delves into the issues behind these academic controversies and places the events in the context of a time rarely associated with dissent, but in fact a harbinger of the social and political upheavals to come. An enlightening and entertaining history, Dangerous Ideas on Campus illuminates how the university became a battleground for debating America's hot-button issues.Trade Review"A rich account of the dynamics of academic freedom at [the University of Illinois] in the 1960s. . . . A timely book." --Choice"Ehrlich has thoroughly researched and carefully presented two obscure but influential U of I episodes that had widespread effects in their own time and concern issues of free speech and its restriction still relevant to ours. It is a book well worth reading for fans of the U of I, for those who personally remember the 60s, and for anyone concerned about academic freedom." --Illinois Times"Matthew Ehrlich takes what might have been local events and uses serious research to illuminate and elevate them to national and historical significance. His thoughtful weaving of threads such as academic freedom, university governance, student life, and sexual mores becomes a lively story and analysis of higher education that builds suspense, then provides answers. One of the best accounts of campus life and problems in the early 1960s I have read."--John R. Thelin, author of Going to College in the Sixties"A captivating and thoroughly researched story of a single American university at a propitious juncture. Ehrlich's engaging writing propels the arguments, the contemporary relevance of which is both obvious from the narrative and well summarized in a final chapter. I am already chomping at the bit for the opportunity to share this exciting work with others."--Henry Reichman, author of The Future of Academic Freedom"Matthew C. Ehrlich's Dangerous Ideas on Campus uses the substantial controversies surrounding these two events to chronicle the evolution of the U of I in the early sixties and, to a lesser extent, explore the evolution of academic freedom in higher education during the postwar period." --Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society

Read more less

Book SynopsisAbe's Youth offers indispensable reading for anyone hoping to learn about Lincoln's early life.Trade Review"Abe's Youth offers a fascinating, in-depth examination of the future president and the time and environment in which he grew up." -- Johnson County Historical Society"Abe's Youth is positively fascinating, and not just for those who are interested in Abraham Lincoln. This book in many ways provides a history of the first 100 years of Spencer County, IN." -- Kathy Tretter * The Spencer County Leader *Abe's Youth provides a convenient way to access some of the important work of the Indiana Lincoln Inquiry. * Indiana Magazine of History *Table of ContentsForewordPreface IntroductionWorks from Indiana's Lincoln InquiryPart 1: Lincoln's Hoosier Influences1. Lincoln's Boyhood Days in Indiana / Roscoe Kiper2. Lincoln's Environment in Indiana / Roscoe Kiper3. Lincoln in Indiana / William FortunePart 2: Lincoln's Neighbors and Influences4. Lincoln's Indiana Neighbors / Bess V. Ehrmann5. Life of James Gentry Jr. / J. Helen Rhoades6. The Grigsbys / Calder (Bess) Ehrmann7. More Lincoln Memories / Nancy Grigsby Inco8. Biographical Sketch of Josiah and Elizabeth (Anderson) Crawford / Will Adams9. Daniel Grass / Laura Mercy Wright10. The Athe Meeks Sr. Tragedy / Aaron Meeks11. The Mystery of Lincoln's Melancholy / Louis A. Warren12. Lincoln and the Wool-Carder's Beautiful Niece / Jesse N. Weik13. Word Pictures of Pioneer Families and Lincoln Contemporaries / Bess V. Ehrmann14. Interviews with Spencer County Pioneers about 1895 / T. H. Masterson15. Early Days in Spencer County / Daniel HayfordPart 3: Lincoln's Neighborhood and Environment16. The Lincolns and Their Home in Spencer County, Indiana / C. C. Scheeder17. An Interview with James Atlas Jones on the Lincoln Cabin in Spencer County / George H. Honig18. The Lincolns' Eastward Environment / Thomas James de la Hunt19. Some Early Troy History / Sallie Bergenroth20. Early Agriculture in Spencer County, Indiana / David H. Morgan21. Materia Medica of Pioneer Indiana / H. C. KnappPart 4: Lincoln and the Law22. Environment and Opportunities of Lincoln in Indiana / Elbert Hayford23. John A. Brackenridge / Eldora Minor Raleigh24. John Pitcher / Alice L. Harper Hanby25. Judge John Pitcher / John E. CoxPart 5: The Lincoln Inquiry26. The Environments of Abraham Lincoln in Indiana: The Best Witnesses / Anna C. O'Flynn27. The Lincolns in Spencer County / Ida D. Armstrong28. The Artist's Ideal of Lincoln / George H. Honig29. What Indiana Did for Lincoln / Bess V. Ehrmann30. Correspondence Between Lincoln Historians and This Society / John H. IglehartLincoln and Southwestern Indiana ChronologyIndex

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is a well-researched, richly detailed history of trout and trout fishing in the Mountain West that, as the author promises, 'overturns the biggest fish story ever told.'" -- John Gierach * Wall Street Journal *"Readable and thought-provoking. . . . The author does not sugarcoat the story of trout fishing in the West, and she deserves credit for being a voice for the native fish of all species that existed prior to human attempts to change nature’s plan and for documenting how the trout and angling opportunities we have in the Rocky Mountain West came to be." -- James Thull * Montana *"[A] remarkable book. Brown’s pithy, beautifully written prose conveys an important message: that anglers and managers need to stop imagining western lakes and rivers as wild places and start thinking about how the human history of Rocky Mountain trout has had a disastrous impact on ecologically significant native species that genteel recreationists too readily deemed ‘trash fish.’" -- Miles Powell * Western Historical Quarterly *"Trout Culture appealingly recounts the complex dance of environmental and social changes that led to the western icon. . . . A valuable, clear, and timely contribution. . . . Trout Culture is an excellent, engaging book that will appeal to scholars and general readers alike" -- Terence Young * Environmental History *"Engaging, perceptive, interpretive, meticulously researched and documented. . . . This careful delineation and assessment of the evolution of western trout culture will be valuable for those interested in the history of the American West as well as students of science and aquaculture." * Choice *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. Headwaters 2. Trout Empire 3. Trout Culture 4. Trash Fish 5. Lunkers 6. Wild Trout Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisA guide to discovering the fascinating natural history beneath your feetFrom trilobites near the Idaho border and primitive horses on the Columbia Plateau to giant bird tracks near Bellingham and curious bear-like beasts on the Olympic Peninsula, fossils across Washington State are filled with clues of past life on Earth. With abundant and well-exposed rock layers, the state has fossils dating from Ice Age mammals only 12,000 years old back to marine invertebrates more than 500 million years old. In Spirit Whales and Sloth Tales, renowned paleontologist Elizabeth A. Nesbitt teams up with popular science writer David B. Williams to offer a fascinating, richly illustrated tour through more than a half billion years of natural history. Following an introduction to key concepts, twenty-four profileseach featuring a unique plant, animal, or environmenttell the incredible stories of individual fossils, many of which are on display in Washington museums. The spectacular paleontology of WashinTrade Review"The ultimate guide to Washington fossils." * KING 5 - Evening *

Read more less

Book SynopsisExamining the dynamics of industry, recreation, and environment; Chiang explores the social history of Monterey's development from a seaside resort to a working-class fishing town and, finally, to a tourist attraction againTrade Review"Chiang deftly shows how these two competing economies [fishing and tourism] were deeply entangled, how they developed and how they both perpetuated racial and class hierarchies and rested upon an edifice of immigrant labor. In a book that refreshingly blends the history of tourism and industry over the course of a century, Chiang rejects 'oversimplified dualities' and 'simple dichotomies.'." * American Historical Review *"In Shaping the Shoreline, historian Connie Chiang skillfully illuminates the importance of 'place,' and in this instance, 'contested place,' with her exhaustive analysis of California's Monterey Coastline. While her book focuses primarily on the social and environmental implications of both tourism and fishing on the Monterey Coast, readers are subtly reminded throughout of the contested nature of the place both industries wished to control." * Journal of Social History *"The book is well written, well researched, lively, and interesting throughout, with useful maps, extensive notes, a substantial biography, and an index. From the standpoint of a fisheries economist, all the world's current and past battles over fisheries and fisheries policy appear here in microcosm." * Southern California Quarterly *"Chiang's study is worthy of readers' time. It engages the best of contemporary social and environmental scholarship. Its narrow geographic scope is easily offset by its broad conceptual grasp and long chronological sweep. The volume is a fine addition to the strong line of works edited by William Cronon and should find good purpose in the hands of researchers, students, and even the ecotourism-consuming public." * Montana: The Magazine of Western History *"Connie Chiang's Shaping the Shoreline is an ambitious attempt to connect the social and environmental histories of the Monterey, California, region. . . .Her focus on a discrete region adds to the book's richness and is a good model for future work that explores places defined by economies that have transformed from natural resource exploitation to recreation." * Western Historical Quarterly *"A superb account of how multiple types of interactions between fisheries and tourism shaped the development of the Monterey region . . . . Scholars of many stripes— certainly business, labor, social, and environmental historians——— will benefit from reading Chiang's account. Well written and logically organized." * Business History Review *"In Shaping the Shoreline, Connie Y. Chiang uses [Monterey's] diverse community and its divergent industries to craft an excellent environmental history. Yet this is not merely a history of Monterey, tourism, or the fishing industry. It is a history of the complex and often-hidden relationship between labor and leisure in America. In Monterey—- and many other places—- the boundaries drawn between labor and leisure obscure underlying connections that tie human societies to nature and link us to each other. In highlighting those connections, Shaping the Shoreline gains significance far beyond Monterey." * Journal of American History *"Not only is Shaping the Shoreline very readable, but with luck it will provoke further serious thought and study about the social influences at work in this area." * Salinas Californian *"Represents an important new direction in maritime and marine environmental history. Chiang's study lays out a clear mandate that to understand coastal communities one must explore labour, culture, and environment . . . for each of these fields played fundamentally transformative roles in how coastal communities developed and changed. In short, Shaping the Shoreline is a book that has the potential to shape the field, and anyone interested in maritime topics will enjoy and benefit from its pages. ." * International Journal of Maritime History *Table of ContentsForeword: On the Shore between Work and Play / William Cronon Acknowledgments Introduction: The Voice of the Pacific 1. Contested Shores 2. The Divided Coastline 3. Reduce and Prosper 4. Life, Labor, and Odors on Cannery Row 5. Boom and Bust in Wartime Monterey 6. Remaking Cannery Row 7. The Fish Are Back! Conclusion Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"As a youth in Britain, Pocock learned the rudiments of boat building from his father, who crafted boats for young Etonians. Forced to emigrate by straitened economic conditions, he journeyed to the Pacific Northwest intending to find work as a lumberjack. Fortunately for the University of Washington in Seattle, he was persuaded to establish shop there and began making shells of outstanding quality. They were so good, in fact, that Washington won its first intercollegiate title in 1923, defeating the Eastern teams that had ruled the sport for decades. One of his greatest triumphs occurred in 1936 when the Washington team won an Olympic gold medal in Germany, but he had numerous other successes as both boatman and coach until his retirement in 1963. There are many fine photos, including some of special interest from the 19th century, and a foreword by the coach of Washington's varsity crew." * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsForeword by Dick Erickson Preface 1. Apprentice Watermen on the Thames 2. Making Do on the Pacific Northwest Frontier 3. Building Shells in the Tokyo Tea Room 4. Building Airplanes at the Red Barn 5. “Clumsily Built Western Boats” 6. “Eight Hearts Must Beat As One” 7. “There Are No Fast Boats, Only Fast Crews” 8. Olympic Gold 9. Races ‘round the World 10. Remembered Crews and Coaches 11. The Later Years Appendixes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"A casual reading shows this book to be a soundly researched, deftly written collection of anecdotes set in narrative form. A more careful review will show that it is much more than this. . . . Recommended." * Choice *"Di Stefano's research is showcased in the book's second half where she takes up the issue of blame, especially by dissecting killer avalanches that led to court cases intent on determining who was responsible for the tragedies. . . By serving as an excellent case study on the development of liability law, Encounters in Avalanche Country provides new windows into understanding human encounters with violent natures." -- Marcus Hall * H-Net *"This riveting tale is part history, part outdoor narrative, and part legal thriller. Di Stefano, a history professor at University of Alaska, Fairbanks, crafted a tale of how early avalanches affected mining towns and railroads at the turn of the last century. . . .Di Stefano’s treatise is an interesting read." -- Christopher Van Tilburg * Wilderness & Environmental Medicine *"Encounters in Avalanche Country is written in a lively manner that will be enjoyed by the general public while being well documented for the scholar. This book could be used in classes on the American West, environmental history, legal history, and more, or given as a gift to anyone interested in the settling of the Mountain West." -- Jean A Stuntz * Environmental History *"Di Stefano presents an interesting overview of how residents in various western settlements adapted and responded to the threat of avalanches, and provides insight into Gilded Age politics and the manner in which this rugged terrain became integrated into the social and economic fabric of the United States and Canada." -- Christian Harrison * Montana: The Magazine of Western History *"Encounters in Avalanche Country is a well-documented exploration effectively shaped by the originality of its approach. It should be of specific interest to historians investigating litigation anent liability, but it surely would engage anyone wanting to know more about the asperities endured by our western ancestors." -- Michael Johnson * American Historical Review *"Ranging from Alaska to the California Sierra and Colorado Rockies, the book covers a tremendous amount of ground both physically and historiographically." -- Michael Childers * Pacific Northwest Quarterly *"Encounters in Avalanche Country is a well-written and fascinating peek into a unique part of western life." -- Brad F. Raley * Historian, The *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Map of Avalanche Country Study Areas Introduction: Arrival in Avalanche Country 1. Survival Strategies: 1820– 1860 2. Mountain Miners, Skiing Mailmen, and Itinerant Preachers: 1850–1895 3. Industrial Mining and Risk 4. Railway Workers and Mountain Towns: 1870–1910 5. Who’s to Blame? 6. Disaster in the Cascades 7. Topping v. Great Northern Railway Company 8. Departure from Avalanche Country Notes Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn engaging and meticulously researched history of Texas Populism and its contributions to modern American liberalismAwork of deep research and profound wisdom that adds a critical dimension to our understanding of Populism and the American liberal tradition. It is political history at its finest.Charles Postel, author of The Populist Vision In the years after the Civil War, the banks, railroads, and industrial corporations of Gilded-Age America, abetted by a corrupt political system, concentrated vast wealth in the hands of the few and made poverty the fate of many. In response, a group of hard-pressed farmers and laborers from Texas organized a movement for economic justice called the Texas People's Partythe original Populists. Arguing that these Texas Populists were among the first to elaborate the set of ideas that would eventually become known as modern liberalism, Gregg Cantrell shows how the group broke new ground in reaching out to African Americans and Mexican Americans, rethiTrade ReviewWinner of the 2021 Kate Broocks Bates Award for Historical Research, sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association“Gregg Cantrell’s The People’s Revolt is a work of deep research and profound wisdom that adds a critical dimension to our understanding of Populism and the American liberal tradition. It is political history at its finest.”—Charles Postel, author of The Populist Vision “Outstanding. Cantrell’s claim is startling and cuts starkly against the grains of the current history of Populism. Meticulously researched and thoughtfully written, this is an essential read for anyone hoping to understand the roots of twentieth century politics.”—Nancy Beck Young, University of Houston“Deeply researched and beautifully written, The People’s Revolt could not be more timely or important. Gregg Cantrell restores the Populists to their rightful place at the leading edge of American liberalism through his close attention to the experiences of African Americans, ethnic Mexicans, and women in the crucible of Texas politics.”—Karl Jacoby, Columbia University“Gregg Cantrell’s argument that Texas populists authored one of the key chapters in the development of American liberalism is provocative and rigorously advanced. It is a landmark contribution to a long conversation about democracy in the United States at a time when the stakes, as in the 1890s, could not be higher.”—Benjamin H. Johnson, Loyola University Chicago“This is history at its finest: well written, insightful, clearly argued, and filled with carefully chosen supporting detail drawn from extensive study of the primary sources.”— Walter L. Buenger, University of Texas at Austin

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book explores indigenous dances and social relationships surrounding the dance activities among Yupik on St. Lawrence Island and IÃupiat in UtqiaÄvik, Northern Alaska. Yupik and IÃupiat proudly distinguish their indigenous styles of dance, locally called âEskimo danceâ, from Western styles of dance, such as ballroom, disco or ballet. Based on two years of intensive fieldwork and 18 years of experience living in Alaska, Ikuta sets out to understand how Yupik and IÃupiaq dances are at the centre of social relationships with the environment, among humans, between humans and animals, and between Native and the Euro-American societies. It also examines how the nature and structure of dance are connected to cultural politics, wrought by political, economic and historical events. Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1 Political Landscape of St. Lawrence Island Yupik and Iñupiaq Dance; 2 Dance, Drum, and Song as Equilateral Triangle; 3 Embodied Knowledge and Relations with the Environment; 4 Dance, Happiness and Personhood; 5 Ways of Speaking and Ways of Dancing; 6 Indigenous Dance, Heritage Festivals and Reciprocity; Conclusion

Read more less

Book SynopsisA superb examination of the history of the Fens, containing a great deal of stunning photographs.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRobert Halliday''s new book about Cambridgeshire (including the old county of Huntingdonshire and the city of Peterborough) illustrates and describes unusual, odd and extraordinary people, places and incidents. We discover how Cambridge University began, the origin of the expression ''Hobson''s Choice'', a woman who survived nine days rapped in a snow cave, the floating church of the Fens, the Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival, and many more tales on universitty life, local characters, historic buildings, sporting contests and strange customs and traditions. Including old and recent photograpghs, drawings and engravings, this is an alternative history of cambridgeshire that will fascinate residents and visitors alike.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Century of Cardiff offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Cardiff''s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. A Century of Cardiff provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the town''s appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Cardiff has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA Century of Kingston-upon-Thames offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Kingston''s recent history are covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. A Century of Kingston-upon-Thames provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered the town''s appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book recalls what Kingston-upon-Thames has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSome maintain that ley lines are the result of some ''earth force'', others that they are the earliest routes marked out across the land. In his new book Anthony Poulton-Smith examines the origins and meanings of these ancient trackways, tracing them on foot and taking in markers that have been in existence for millennia to travel in a straight line from Shropshire and Gloucestershire in the west to Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire in the east. Whether they are tracked by dowsing or by a simple line on a map, Ley Lines across the Midlands is a fascinating read for walkers, historians, visitors and locals alike, and provides a very different view of the ancient history of the Midlands.

Read more less

Book SynopsisCumbria Curiosities brings together a series of unusual, intriguing and extraordinary buildings, structures, incidents and people from all parts of the county. Included in these pages are the Fairy Steps of Beetham Fell; Bonnie Prince Charlie''s Chimney; schoolboy graffiti by William Wordsworth at Hawkshead; a hilltop tower at Hampsfell which has poetic advice for travellers; and the world-famous gurning competition at Egremont. As well as these fascinating relics from Cumbria''s industrial, ecclesiastical and military past are curious customs at locations ranging from the Irish Sea, to the dramatic peaks of the Lake District and the fertile lowland areas.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSteeped in legend and mystery, the dramatic coastline of North Cornwall is riddled with stories of hauntings throughout history. It unravels stories which will send a shiver down the spine of anyone interested in the rarely advertised scary side of North Cornwall.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBristol's history is packed with peculiar customs and curious characters. and how the Flower of Bristol got its name. You will meet some unusual contraptions, like the bed with in-built exercise equipment, or the thrashing machine for naughty boys. You will also discover why a public clock still runs to Bristol time.

Read more less