Local History

"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.

"Starting with a brief history of western naval medical care from the ancient Greeks and proceeding to modern times, this book chronicles the evolution of the Navy's first West Coast hospital, the Mare Island Naval Hospital, as it grew from a "palatial" but primitive facility in the 1860s to the Navy's premier amputee center for Marines and sailors returning from the brutal Pacific war. Located in the Navy's largest California shipyard, the hospital benefited from healthful California weather that permitted creation of a tent hospital to care for Spanish flu victims. Navy Yard engineering and mechanical skills helped create the Navy's first ambulance boats, and in World War II, the best limb prostheses available. Hospital commanders skillfully balanced their obligations as naval officers and as physicians to provide the best possible care for their charges. Damaged by the 1898 Mare Island earthquake, the original structure was replaced. The facility grew over time as structures representing new medical knowledge--laboratory science, neuropsychiatry, infectious diseases, internal medicine, the famous "brace shop"--came on line. Despite concerns that its proximity to the Navy Yard's industrial complex could lead to inadvertent (or intentional) bombing in wartime, at its peak, the hospital's 23 structures covered 48 acres and accommodated about 2,300 patients. This complete history of the Mare Island Naval Hospital draws heavily on primary sources and provides a detailed picture of this pivotal hospital."--

John Potts Slough, the Union commander at the Battle of Glorieta Pass, lived a life of relentless pursuit for success that entangled him in the turbulent events of mid-nineteenth-century America. As a politician, Slough fought abolitionists in the Ohio legislature and during Kansas Territory's fourth and final constitutional convention. He organized the 1st Colorado Volunteer Infantry after the Civil War broke out, eventually leading his men against Confederate forces at the pivotal engagement at Glorieta Pass. After the war, as chief justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court, he struggled to reform corrupt courts amid the territory's corrosive Reconstruction politics.Slough was known to possess a volcanic temper and an easily wounded pride. These traits not only undermined a promising career but ultimately led to his death at the hands of an aggrieved political enemy who gunned him down in a Santa Fe saloon. Recounting Slough's timeless story of rise and fall during America's most tumultuous decades, historian Richard L. Miller brings to life this extraordinary figure.

Following on from Studley Through Time, Studley Scrapbook is another fascinating, pictorial review of village life in Studley, Warwickshire. Incorporating a wide variety of sources and material, the contents covers over 150 years of history. Many of the village's bygone buildings and businesses are documented, together with nostalgic street scenes and memorable events. The regeneration of both Studley Castle and Needle Industries' sprawling Central Works site is also charted. Jam-packed with over 270 images, in both colour and black & white, witness how the village has evolved into the thriving community we see today.

Did you know...That Balsall Heath was once part of King's Norton Parish? That there was an open-air swimming pool in George Street in the 1840s? That there was a typhoid epidemic in 1873? That Balsall Heath once had its own zoo? That Balsall Heath flourished as an independent area from 1862-1891? All this and more can be found within this book. Originally published in 1992, this fully revised and updated edition traces the development of Balsall Heath from sparsely populated heathland in the 18th century, to the "genteel neighbourhood" of the 1840s, the populous quarter of 1891, to the busy and crowded suburb of the 1920s and 30s. A story of change spanning two centuries!

Presents the second city of renaissance Scotland showing, through photographs and drawings, the life and the maritime quarter of this great port. This title illustrates Dundee's transformation into a major Georgian town at the centre of the flax trade between St Petersburg and the USA.

In Lost Perthshire, Ann Lindsay takes us on a fascinating journey through the lost architectural, geographical, industrial, and archaeological heritage of Perthshire.

A travel guide to the outskirts of Aberdeen that explores the lands which encircle the city, spreading seamlessly round its heart like a great fan. It guides the reader from faded landmarks to vanished villages through an evocative trail of the past.

Norman S. Newton scours historical and contemporary works to trace the lost architectural history of the capital of the Highlands, following the city's history from prehistory, through the Dark Ages, the Medieval period, the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries, to the present day.

The lively story of Reading's music scene in the late 70s and early 80s following the explosion of punk and its DIY attitude. Local bands, venues, record labels, recording studios, technicians, promoters, fanzines, radio and more.