PA BOOKS on PCN

During the memorable summer of 1941, no sports story loomed larger than Joe Louis versus Billy Conn, the hard-hitting heavyweight champion, Detroit's "Brown Bomber," battling the stylish and cocky "Pittsburgh Kid." Considered one of the greatest matches in boxing history, the fight saw the underdog Conn well ahead on points until Louis knocked him out in the 13th round. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

The Delaware River defenses played a crucial role for the Americans in Philadelphia during the American War of Independence in 1777. Maintaining the integrity of the river defenses involved an attritional campaign waged by an intrepid group of defenders which brought together the efforts of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy and the Pennsylvania State Navy. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

The remarkable and inspiring story of William Still, an unknown abolitionist who dedicated his life to managing a critical section of the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia. Learn the full range of Still's life and accomplishments. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

Although Philadelphia's Black community lived in a free city in a free state, they faced constant threats to their personal safety and freedom. The political and physical conflicts that arose over fugitive slave removals and the kidnappings of free Black people forced Philadelphians to confront the politics of slavery. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

Until the 1970s, if you suffered a medical crisis, your chances of survival were minimal. But that all changed with Freedom House EMS in Pittsburgh, a group of Black men who became America's first paramedics. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

Most Civil War battles occurred along major roads, railroads, and waterways; the armies needed to move men and equipment, and they needed water for men and horses. And yet this perspective hasn't been fully explored when it comes to Gettysburg, until now. Donate | Signup | pcntv.com

Gen. Robert E. Lee began moving part of his Army of Northern Virginia from the Old Dominion toward Pennsylvania on June 3, 1863. Lee believed his army needed to win a major victory on Northern soil if the South was to have a chance at winning the war. Transferring the fighting out of war-torn Virginia would allow the state time to heal while he supplied his army from untapped farms and stores in Maryland and the Keystone State. Lee had also convinced Pres. Jefferson Davis that his offensive would interfere with the Union effort to take Vicksburg in Mississippi. The bold movement would trigger extensive cavalry fighting and a major battle at Winchester before culminating in the bloody three-day battle at Gettysburg. As the Virginia army moved north, the Army of the Potomac responded by protecting the vital roads to Washington, D.C., in case Lee turned to threaten the capital. Opposing presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, meanwhile, kept a close watch on the latest and often conflicting military intelligence gathered in the field. Throughout northern Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, meanwhile, civilians and soldiers alike struggled with the reality of a mobile campaign and the massive logistical needs of the armies. Thousands left written accounts of the passage of the long martial columns. Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and other sources to produce this powerful and gripping account. As readers will quickly learn, much of it is glossed over in other studies of the campaign, which cannot be fully understood without a firm appreciation of what the armies (and civilians) did on their way to the small crossroads town in Pennsylvania. Scott L. Mingus Sr. is a scientist and consultant in the global pulp and paper industry. Scott is the author of nearly two dozen books and numerous articles. His biography Confederate General William "Extra Billy" Smith won multiple awards, including the 2013 Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Literary Award for Confederate history. Scott is also the author of many articles for a wide variety of publications, including Gettysburg Magazine. Eric J. Wittenberg is an accomplished American Civil War cavalry historian and author. The Ohio attorney has authored nearly two dozen books on various Civil War subjects, with particular focus on cavalry operations, as well as three dozen articles in popular magazines, such as North & South, Blue & Gray, America's Civil War, and Gettysburg Magazine. His first book, Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, won the prestigious 1998 Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award. Wittenberg speaks widely, leads tours of various battlefields, and is an active preservationist. pcntv.com/donate pcntv.com/membership-signup pcntv.com

River Boots is a career synopsis, a training manual, a history book and one conservation officer's slightly twisted view of a quarter century in the business. It is a sometimes "belly laughing" look at a profession that can turn deadly serious in a second and can leave tears running down your face from laughter a few minutes later. The 253 stories in River Boots were written for fishermen, hunters, boaters, conservation officers and their deputies, all law enforcement officers and anyone that has an interest in the outdoors. For conservation officers it is a textbook, with the how-tos and the how-not-tos, the whys and the why-nots. For conservation agency folks, it is a bit of nostalgia with a smirk. Other law enforcement officers will see a little deadly serious, perhaps lifesaving thinking, coupled with a "Barney Miller" attitude. Folks considering a job in the agencies will get an on-the-spot look at what they are asking for and will come away eagerly awaiting their turn to join in. The license-buying hunter, fisherman or boater will get a firsthand look at how their license fees are spent for the good of the sport, the environment and the fish and game resources. Sorry, no statistics or charts included. You will laugh at the scofflaws and the conservation officers alike. Mostly, like reading "Notes from the Stream" or "Field Notes" produced by our fish and game agencies, you will grin and laugh and ponder. Robert Lynn Steiner is a retired PA Fish & Boat Commission Waterways Conservation Officer.

Illicit commerce was key to the survival of the mid-Atlantic colonies from the Golden Age of Piracy to the battles of the American Revolution. Out of this exciting time came beloved villains like Captain William Kidd and Black Sam Bellamy, as well as inspiring locals like Captain Shelley and James Forten. From the shores of New York to the oceans of the East Indies, from Delaware Bay to the islands of the West Indies, author Jamie L.H. Goodall illuminates the height of piratical depredations in the mid-Atlantic in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Jamie L.H. Goodall, PhD, is staff historian with the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C. She has a PhD in history from The Ohio State University, with specializations in Atlantic world, early American and military histories. Goodall is an expert on Golden Age piracy and has published with The History Press/Arcadia Publishing, the Washington Post and National Geographic. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband, Kyle, and her Boxers, Thomas Jefferson and John Tyler.

The City of McKeesport in southwestern Pennsylvania once had a population of more than fifty thousand people and a newspaper that dated back to the nineteenth century. Technology has caused massive disruption to American journalism, throwing thousands of reporters out of work, closing newsrooms, and leaving vast areas with few traditional news sources—including McKeesport. With the loss of their local paper in 2015, residents now struggle to make sense of what goes on in their community and to separate facts from gossip—often driven by social media. The changes taking place in this one Pennsylvania community are being repeated across the United States as hundreds of local newspapers close, creating news deserts and leaving citizens with little access to reliable local journalism. The obituary for local news, however, does not have to read all bad: Even in the bleakest places, citizens are discovering what happens in their communities and becoming gatekeepers to information for the people around them. In McKeesport, citizens are attempting to make sense of the news on their own, for better and worse. This experiment not only offers clues about what happens after a local newspaper dies, but also provides guidance to the way forward. Andrew Conte founded the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, which serves as a laboratory for the present and future of local journalism. He previously worked as an investigative journalist, and he has authored several nonfiction books.

Citizen-soldier Strong Vincent was many things: Harvard graduate, lawyer, political speaker, descendent of pilgrims and religious refugees, husband, father, brother. But his greatest contribution to history is as the savior of the Federal left on the second day at Gettysburg, when he and his men held Little Round Top against overwhelming Confederate numbers. Forgotten by history in favor of his subordinate, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Vincent has faded into relative obscurity in the decades since his death. This book restores Vincent to his rightful place among the heroes of the battle of Gettysburg: presenting his life story using new, never-before-published sources and archival material to bring the story of one of the most forgotten officers of the American Civil War back to the attention of readers and historians. Hans G. Myers is an historian from Erie, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania (Class of 2019) and the University of Indianapolis (2021), Myers served as the inaugural Gerald and Marjorie Morgan Graduate Student Assistant in History at the University of Indianapolis. He studies social and military history in the nineteenth-century United States.

From the French and Indian War to Oliver Hazard Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie, the city of Erie has a prideful place in the American story, but there also exists a seedy history of crime and murder. In 1905 Detective James "Jimmie" Higgins was mysteriously killed at Central High School and the drawn-out manhunt for his murderer occupied headlines for months. On a cold January night in 1911, a massive explosion rocked the Erie waterfront when criminals bombed the Pennsylvania Railroad Coal Trestle, leaving it a smoldering mass of steel and debris. The unsolved murder of Manley W. Keene inspired a local newspaper to bring in the "Female Sherlock Holmes," Mary Holland, who defied gender expectations and reshaped detective work in Erie for generations. Justin Dombrowski has studied local history for over 15 years, specializing in local historical and criminal records. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, he obtained a degree from Mercyhurst University and worked as an Intern with the Erie County Detective's unit. Having worked in the film industry since 2011, Justin is also a co-founder of Pickwick Entertainment, an Independent Film Production Company. His first book with The History Press, Murder & Mayhem In Erie, Pennsylvania, received critical acclaim for its writing and research. He resides in Erie, Pennsylvania.

In 1868, Jacob Kaufmann, the nineteen-year-old son of a German farmer, stepped off a ship onto the shores of New York. His brother Isaac soon followed, and together they joined an immigrant community of German Jews selling sewing items to the coal miners and mill workers of western Pennsylvania. After opening merchant tailor shops in Pittsburgh's North and South sides, the Kaufmann brothers caught the wave of a new type of merchandising—the department store—and launched what would become their retail dynasty with a downtown storefront at Fifth Avenue and Smithfield Street. In just two decades, Jacob and his brothers had ascended Pittsburgh's economic and social ladder, rising from hardscrabble salesmen into Gilded Age multimillionaires. Generous and powerful philanthropists, the Kaufmanns left an indelible mark on the city and western Pennsylvania. From Edgar and Liliane's famous residence, the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece called Fallingwater, to the Kaufmann clock, a historic landmark that inspired the expression "meet me under the clock," to countless fond memories for residents and shoppers, the Kaufmann family made important contributions to art, architecture, and culture. Far less known are the personal tragedies and fateful ambitions that forever shaped this family, their business, and the place they called home. Kaufmann's recounts the story of one of Pittsburgh's most beloved department stores, pulling back the curtain to reveal the hardships, triumphs, and complicated legacy of the prominent family behind its success. Marylynne Pitz is an award-winning journalist covering art, architecture, books, and history. She was a member of the news team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Tree of Life shooting in 2018. She has won five Golden Quills, an Inland Press Association award for investigative reporting, and a Matrix Award. A native of Indianapolis, she has lived in Pittsburgh since 1980. Laura Malt Schneiderman is a journalist and web developer in Pittsburgh. She has won seven Golden Quills and was part of a team that won the Scripps Howard Edward J. Meeman Award in 2011. Originally from Saint Louis, she has worked in journalism in Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.

Union general John Reynolds was one of the most beloved and respected military leaders of the Civil War, yet beyond the battlefield, the captivating true story of his secret romance with Catherine "Kate" Mary Hewitt remains etched into his legacy. Clandestinely engaged before John marched off to war, the couple's love remained a secret. Kate made a poignant "last promise," a commitment to enter into a religious life if her beloved were to be killed. Tragically, Reynolds lost his life leading troops into action during the opening phases of the Battle of Gettysburg. Within days Kate was embraced by the Reynolds family and soon began to honor her promise of a religious life. Yet a few years later she seemed to disappear. Author Jeffrey J. Harding unveils new findings on Kate's life before and after John's death as he recounts Gettysburg's saga of star-crossed love. Jeffrey J. Harding currently works as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, a freelance historian, a leadership consultant and a motivational speaker.

An interview about the writings "The Life, Experience, and Gospel Labours of the Rt. Rev. Richard Allen" with historian and author Beverly Tomek. Beverly C. Tomek is Associate Professor of History and Associate Provost for Curriculum and Student Achievement at the University of Houston-Victoria.

An interview about the essays "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" with historian and author Jane Calvert. In 1767 a series of essays were published in the Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser that are known as "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania." They were written by John Dickinson in response to the British parliament's Declaratory Act and the Townshend Acts. Joining us to talk about Dickinson's Letters is Jane Calvert. She is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Kentucky and the Director and Editor of the John Dickinson Writings Project.

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the disturbing song "Timothy." Banned by radio stations and called "the worst song ever recorded," its lyrics about cannibalism in a Pennsylvania coal mine eerily parallel the real-life Sheppton disaster. Written by playwright Rupert Holmes, the Billboard hit launched the career of The Buoys. They went on to perform at the legendary Whisky a Go Go, Stone Balloon, and the Satsop River Festival which they kicked off in front of 150,000 fans. The Buoys toured the Netherlands, got hustled in a pool game with Sly Stone—before his massive ten-mile traffic jam, hung out with Blue Öyster Cult—before their riot at the Kingston Armory, received a lecture on libertarianism from musical genius Frank Zappa, and were mentored by Delaney Bramlett—before cocaine ruined his life. Morphing into Dakota, and produced by Chicago's Danny Seraphine and Rufus's Hawk Woliinski, the band played on the same stage as the Beach Boys during the national Bicentennial Celebration. They were invited to replace the Pure Prairie League's Vince Gill and joined Freddie Mercury and Queen on a sold-out 35-city tour ending in a three-day standing-room-only Madison Square Garden concert. Here is the story of an amazing American AOR band with more than ten recorded albums who, despite the infamous "Dakota Curse" and the Coal Region Hoodoo, achieved acclaim in Europe, Korea, and Japan. Their story also depicts a cautionary tale of substance abuse, the pitfalls of fame, and the true price of the rock and roll fantasy. Maxim W. Furek is among the first wave of regional Rock Journalists. He is founder of Timothy: Northeastern Pennsylvania's First Music Publication, created to promote Northeastern Pennsylvania's musical talent, and named after The Buoy's Timothy (1971), at the time, the region's most successful rock song. Curiously, through a strange sequence of events, Timothy Magazine evolved into the highly successful Pennsylvania Musician and Maryland Musician.

In 1973, Western music was banned in the People's Republic of China. But in a remarkable breakthrough cultural exchange, the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted a tour of closed-off China, becoming the first American orchestra to visit the communist nation. Jennifer Lin's "Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Historic Journey to China" provides a fabulous photo-rich oral history of this boundary-breaking series of concerts the orchestra performed under famed conductor Eugene Ormandy. Lin draws from interviews, personal diaries, and news accounts to give voice to the American and Chinese musicians, diplomats, journalists, and others who participated in and witnessed this historic event. "Beethoven in Beijing" is filled with glorious images as well as anecdotes ranging from amusing sidewalk Frisbee sessions and acupuncture treatments for sore musicians to a tense encounter involving Madame Mao dictating which symphony was to be played at a concert. A companion volume to the film of the same name, "Beethoven in Beijing" shows how this 1973 tour came at the dawn of a resurgence of interest in classical music in China—now a vital source of revenue for touring orchestras. Jennifer Lin is an award-winning journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker. She created and codirected the feature-length documentary Beethoven in Beijing, which premiered on PBS's Great Performances in 2021. For 31 years, she worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer as a reporter, including posts as a foreign correspondent in China, a financial correspondent on Wall Street, and a national correspondent in Washington, DC. She is the author of "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family," and coauthor of "Sole Sisters: Stories of Women and Running."

When Connecticut Yankees began to settle the Wyoming Valley in the 1760s, both the local Pennsylvanians and the powerful native Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) strenuously objected. The Connecticut Colony and William Penn had been granted the same land by King Charles II of England, resulting in the instigation of the Yankee-Pennamite Wars. In 1788, during ongoing conflict, a band of young Yankee ruffians abducted Pennsylvania official Timothy Pickering, holding him hostage for nineteen days. Some kidnappers were prosecuted, and several fled to New York's Finger Lakes as the political incident motivated state leaders to resolve the fighting. Bloody skirmishes, the American Revolution and the Sullivan campaign to destroy the Iroquois all formed the backdrop to the territorial dispute. Author Kathleen A. Earle covers the early history of colonial life, war and frontier justice in the Wyoming Valley. Kathleen Earle is a native New Yorker whose ancestral roots go back to Pennsylvania. She is an author, artist, former professor and former director of research at the National Indian Child Welfare Association in Portland, Oregon. She attended Cornell University and the Rockefeller College of the State University of New York-Albany, where she received a PhD in 1996. She has written and illustrated several award-winning children's books and many peer-reviewed articles in the areas of mental health and child abuse. She lives in Maine with her husband, Stan Fox.

Over the years, many top historians have cited Major General Robert E. Rodes as the best division commander in Robert E. Lee's vaunted army. Despite those accolades, Rodes faltered badly at Gettysburg, which stands as the only major blemish on his otherwise sterling record. Although his subordinates were guilty of significant blunders, Rodes shared the blame for the disjointed attack that led to the destruction of Alfred Iverson's brigade on the first day of the battle. His lack of initiative on the following day was regarded by some in the army as much worse. Whether justified or not, they directly faulted him for not supporting Jubal Early's division in a night attack on Cemetery Hill that nearly succeeded in decisively turning the enemy's flank. The reasons behind Rodes's flawed performance at Gettysburg have long proven difficult to decipher with any certainty. Because his personal papers were destroyed, primary sources on his role in battle remain sparse. Other than the official reports on the battle, the record of what occurred there is mostly limited to the letters and diaries of his subordinates. In this new study, however, Robert J. Wynstra draws on sources heretofore unexamined, including rare soldiers' letters published in local newspapers and other firsthand accounts located in small historical societies, to shed light on the reasons behind Rodes's missteps. As a result of this new research and analysis, we are finally able to come to a more detailed understanding of Rodes's division's activities at Gettysburg, an enduring subject of study and interest. Robert J. Wynstra holds master's degrees in history and journalism from the University of Illinois, where he worked as a writer in its News and Public Affairs Office in the College of Agricultural, Environmental, and Consumer Sciences. His book At the Forefront of Lee's Invasion won the James I. Robertson Award, the Batchelder Coddington Award, and the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Distinguished Book Award.

Chester County was home to a diverse patchwork of religious communities, antislavery activists and free Black populations, all working to end the blight of slavery during the Civil War era. Kennett Square was known as the "hotbed of abolitionism," with more Underground Railroad stations than anywhere else in the nation. Reverend John Miller Dickey and the Hinsonville community under the leadership of James Ralston Amos and Thomas Henry Amos founded the Ashmun Institute, later renamed Lincoln University, the nation's oldest degree-granting Historically Black College and University. The county's myriad Quaker communities fostered strong abolitionist sentiment and a robust pool of activists aiding runaway slaves on their road to emancipation. Author Mark Lanyon captures the rich history of antislavery activity that transformed Chester County into a vital region in the nation's fight for freedom. During Mark Lanyon's twenty-plus-year career in behavioral health he has supervised and/or directed numerous behavioral health programs in settings such as the prison system, probation and parole, hospitals and inpatient and outpatient programs. Over the past ten years Mark has been involved with his personal genealogy research, which has resulted in his membership in a variety of societies and organizations including the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Since retiring, Mark has been able to concentrate his research on the rich history of antislavery activity in Chester County including the Underground Railroad, the Abolitionist Movement, and the founding of Lincoln University.

The Eastern Professional Basketball League (1946-78) was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the northeast and featuring the best players who just couldn't make the NBA—many because of unofficial quotas on Black players, some because of scandals, and others because they weren't quite good enough in the years when the NBA had less than 100 players. In "Boxed out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League," Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein tell the fascinating story of a league that was a pro basketball institution for over 30 years, showcasing top players from around the country. During the early years of professional basketball, the Eastern League was the next-best professional league in the world after the NBA. It was home to big-name players such as Sherman White, Jack Molinas, and Bill Spivey, who were implicated in college gambling scandals in the 1950s and were barred from the NBA, and top Black players such as Hal "King" Lear, Julius McCoy, and Wally Choice, who could not make the NBA into the early 1960s due to unwritten team quotas on African-American players. Featuring interviews with some 40 former Eastern League coaches, referees, fans, and players—including Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim, former Temple University coach John Chaney, former Detroit Pistons player and coach Ray Scott, former NBA coach and ESPN analyst Hubie Brown, and former NBA player and coach Bob Weiss—this book provides an intimate, first-hand account of small-town professional basketball at its best. Syl Sobel is the author of five children's books on U.S. history and government. He is an award-winning journalist, attorney, contributor to the op ed page of various newspapers, and was for many years the director of publications for a federal government agency. Jay Rosenstein was a reporter for the newspaper American Banker and a financial writer for a federal government agency for many years. He now writes books for adults and children. The authors grew up together in Scranton, PA, home to one of the Eastern League's anchor franchises, the Scranton Miners and Apollos. Rosenstein was a statistician for the team.

In "Philadelphia's Germans: From Colonial Settlers to Enemy Aliens," Richard N. Juliani examines the social, cultural, and political life, along with the ethnic consciousness, of Philadelphia's Germans, from their participation in the founding of the colony of Pennsylvania to the entry of the United States into World War I. This book focuses on their paradoxical transformation from loyal citizens, who made great contributions as they became increasingly Americanized, to a people viewed as a foreign threat to the safety and security of the city and nation. It also considers the policies and treatment of government and views of the local press in reporting and interpreting the dilemma of German Americans during the transition. Richard N. Juliani is emeritus professor of sociology at Villanova University.

Johnstown is synonymous with floodwaters and steel. When the city was decimated by a flood of biblical proportions in 1889, it was considered one of the worst natural disasters in American history and gained global attention. Sadly, that deluge was only the first of three major floods to claim lives and wreak havoc in the region. The destruction in the wake of the St. Patrick's Day flood in 1936 was the impetus for groundbreaking federal and local flood control measures. Multiple dam failures, including the Laurel Run Dam in July 1977, left a flooded Johnstown with a failing steel industry in ruins. Author Pat Farabaugh charts the harrowing history of Johnstown's great floods and the effects on its economic lifeblood. Pat Farabaugh is a faculty member in the Communications Program at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

"American Workman" presents a comprehensive, novel reassessment of the life and work of one of America's most influential self-taught artists, John Kane. With a full account of Kane's life as a working man, including his time as a steelworker, coal miner, street paver, and commercial painter in and around Pittsburgh in the early twentieth century, the authors explore how these occupations shaped his development as an artist and his breakthrough success in the modern art world. A rough-and-tumble blue-collar man prone to brawling and drinking, Kane also sought out beauty in the industrial world he inhabited. This Kane paradox—brawny and tough, sensitive and creative—was at the heart of much of the public's interest in Kane as a person. The allure of the Kane saga was heightened all the more by the fact that he did not achieve renown until he was at the age at which most people are retiring from their professions. Kane's dedication to painting resulted in a fascinating body of work that has ended up in some of America's most important museums and private collections. His dramatic life story demonstrates the courage, strength, and creativity of his generation of workmen. They may be long gone, but thanks to Kane they cannot be forgotten. Maxwell King is the former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and president of the Heinz Endowments. Louise Lippincott is a historian and former curator specializing in American and European art from the Enlightenment to the modern era.

In 1675, eastern North America descended into chaos. Virginia exploded into civil war, as rebel colonists decried the corruption of planter oligarchs and massacred allied Indians. Maryland colonists, gripped by fears that Catholics were conspiring with enemy Indians, rose up against their rulers. Separatist movements and ethnic riots swept through New York and New Jersey. Dissidents in northern Carolina launched a revolution, proclaiming themselves independent of any authority but their own. English America teetered on the edge of anarchy. Though seemingly distinct, these conflicts were in fact connected through the Susquehannock Indians, a once-mighty nation reduced to a small remnant. Forced to scatter by colonial militia, Susquehannock bands called upon connections with Indigenous nations from the Great Lakes to the Deep South, mobilizing sources of power that colonists could barely perceive, much less understand. Although the Susquehannock nation seemed weak and divided, it exercised influence wildly disproportionate to its size, often tipping settler societies into chaos. Colonial anarchy was intertwined with Indigenous power. Matthew Kruer is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Chicago, where he teaches early North American history.

In her concise history Slavery and Abolition in Pennsylvania, Beverly Tomek corrects the long-held notion that slavery in the North was "not so bad" as, or somehow "more humane" than, in the South due to the presence of abolitionists. While the Quaker presence focused on moral and practical opposition to bondage, slavery was ubiquitous. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania was the first state to pass an abolition law in the United States. Slavery and Abolition in Pennsylvania traces this movement from its beginning to the years immediately following the American Civil War. Discussions of the complexities of the state's antislavery movement illustrate how different groups of Pennsylvanians followed different paths in an effort to achieve their goal. Tomek also examines the backlash abolitionists and Black Americans faced. In addition, she considers the civil rights movement from the period of state reconstruction through the national reconstruction that occurred after the Civil War. Beverly C. Tomek is Associate Professor of History and Associate Provost for Curriculum and Student Achievement at the University of Houston-Victoria.

Italian arts and culture have been a significant influence on Philadelphia dating back to Thomas Jefferson and colonial times. Throughout the ensuing decades, Italian art and architecture styles flourished, and wealthy Philadelphians traveled to Italy and brought back objects to display in emerging institutions of art and culture. New immigration formed neighborhoods—such as South Philly, home to the Italian Market—and Italian business leaders, politicians, artists, musicians and sports figures came to prominence and became part of the social fabric of the city. This glorious volume, "The Italian Legacy in Philadelphia," celebrates the history, impact, and legacy of this vibrant community, tracing four periods of key transformation in the city's political, economic, and social structures. The editors and contributors chronicle the changing dynamics of the city as Italian immigrants established themselves and as they continue to have lively interactions with people and institutions in Italy. Judith Goode is Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Urban Studies at Temple University.

Authors Jim McClure and Scott Mingus team up again to present more than two dozen perspectives and articles on the Civil War history of York County, Pennsylvania. That area was a key source of troops and supplies for the United States Army's war efforts, as well as a transportation hub. During the Gettysburg Campaign, one out of every seven soldiers in Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia marched or rode through York County in the days before the battle of Gettysburg. The county seat, York, became the largest town in the North to fall to the Confederates in the entire war. The town fathers' decision to seek out the Confederate leaders and surrender York remains controversial to this day. Essays discuss the historical setting and the wisdom of the surrender, as well as the aftermath. Other topics include the politics of the region, life on the home front, churches and their role, photographers in York County during the war years, and the Lincoln Funeral Train.

A thorough investigation of how Jane Jacobs's ideas about the life and economy of great cities grew from her home city, Scranton Jane Jacobs's First City vividly reveals how this influential thinker and writer's classic works germinated in the once vibrant, mid-size city of Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Jane spent her initial eighteen years. In the 1920s and 1930s, Scranton was a place of enormous diiversity and opportunity. Small businesses of all kinds abounded and flourished, quality public education was available to and supported by all, and even recent immigrants could save enough to buy a house. Opposing political parties joined forces to tackle problems, and citizens worked together for the public good. Through interviews with contemporary Scrantonians and research of historic newspapers, city directories, and vital records, author Glenna Lang has uncovered Scranton as young Jane experienced it and shows us the lasting impact of her growing up in this thriving and accessible environment. Readers can follow the development of Jane's acute observational abilities from childhood through her passion in early adulthood to understand and write about what she saw. Reflecting Jane's belief in trusting one's own direct observation above all, this volume has been richly illustrated with historic and modern color images that help bring alive a lost Scranton. The book demonstrates why, at the end of Jacobs's life, her thoughts and conversations increasingly returned to Scranton and the potential for cohesion and inclusiveness in all cities. Author Glenna Lang's previous work about Jane Jacobs—Genius of Common Sense: The Story of Jane Jacobs and "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"—aimed to inspire young adults but appealed to all ages in the general public and at universities. It was chosen as a 2009 Notable Book by both the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine. As an illustrator, she produced four classic poems as picture books for children with David R. Godine, Publisher. Lang wrote and illustrated Looking Out for Sarah, about a day in the life of a seeing-eye dog, which won the American Library Association's Schneider Family Award. Although she grew up mainly in New York City, she has lived for many years in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and teaches at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, now part of Tufts University. She has loved spending time in Scranton with her husband, Alexander von Hoffman, and their dog, Easy.

Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in the country, known for its tight-knit community and the profusion of multigenerational families. On October 27, 2018, a gunman killed eleven Jews who were worshipping at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill–the most deadly anti-Semitic attack in American history. Many neighborhoods would be understandably subsumed by despair and recrimination after such an event, but not this one. Mark Oppenheimer poignantly shifts the focus away from the criminal and his crime, and instead presents the historic, spirited community at the center of this heartbreak. He speaks with residents and nonresidents, Jews and gentiles, survivors and witnesses, teenagers and seniors, activists and historians. Together, these stories provide a kaleidoscopic and nuanced account of collective grief, love, support, and revival. But Oppenheimer also details the difficult dialogue and messy confrontations that Squirrel Hill had to face in the process of healing, and that are a necessary part of true growth and understanding in any community. He has reverently captured the vibrancy and caring that still characterize Squirrel Hill, and it is this phenomenal resilience that can provide inspiration to any place burdened with discrimination and hate. Mark Oppenheimer is the author of five books, including Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture and The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia. He was the religion columnist for The New York Times from 2010 to 2016 and has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Mother Jones, The Nation, and The Believer, among other publications. The host of Tablet magazine's podcast Unorthodox, Oppenheimer has taught at Stanford, Wellesley, and Yale, where since 2006 he has directed the Yale Journalism Initiative. He lives with his family in New Haven, Connecticut.

Horses are one of the many unsung heroes of the American Civil War. These majestic animals were impressed into service, trained, prepared for battle, and turned into expendable implements of war. There is more to this story, however. When an army's means and survival is predicated upon an animal whose instincts are to flee rather than fight, a bond of mutual trust and respect between handler and horse must be forged. Ultimately, the Battle of Gettysburg resulted in thousands of horses killed and wounded. Their story deserves telling, from a time not so far removed. Chris Bagley lives in Canton, Ohio and has been a Registered Nurse for 31 years and currently works as a surgical nurse. He became a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park in 2016.

America's first international hero, the Marquis Lafayette, risked his life and spent his fortune in the fight for American independence from England. Without Lafayette and the assistance of France, America would never have been victorious during the American Revolution. While being celebrated in America in the 18th and 19th century – including a grand American tour that lasted more than a year – Lafayette's heroic deeds are fading from America's consciousness. The importance of the battle of Brandywine, where Lafayette was wounded on September 11, 1777, has not been recognized as a major turning point in America's independence. Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero redefines Lafayette's role in America's fight for freedom and the historical importance of the battle of Brandywine. Bruce Mowday, is an award-winning author and newspaper reporter.

This was a time unlike any other in our lifetime. The Coronavirus pandemic hit hard and affected every aspect of our lives, from sports to politics and religion. This book contains all kinds of stories about Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania and national figures and events and how the hospitalizations and deaths changed things forever. Tiger Woods, Adam Frazier, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Tomlin, Tunch Ilkin, Bryan Reynolds, Roberto Clemente, Muhammad Ali are just some of sports figures that we see through the in-depth reporting of a writer who mixed with all of them in a 65-year sports-writing career. Pittsburgh sports author Jim O'Brien has written 31 books in his "Pittsburgh Proud" series. O'Brien was the founding editor (1970) for 23 years for Street & Smith's Basketball Yearbook and a contributing writer and editor emeritus for an additional 14 years, and authored The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball for three years. He wrote a column on pro basketball for The Sporting News for nine years. He was a staff writer for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, The Miami News, The New York Post and The Pittsburgh Press. He wrote stories for SPORT magazine, Newsweek, Basketball Times, The Football News and The Washington Post.

George Washington's rise constitutes one of the greatest self-reinventions in history. In his mid-twenties, this third son of a modest Virginia planter had ruined his own military career thanks to an outrageous ego. But by his mid-forties, that headstrong, unwise young man had evolved into an unassailable leader chosen as the commander in chief of the fledgling Continental Army. By his mid-fifties, he was unanimously elected the nation's first president. From Virginia's House of Burgesses, where Washington mastered the craft and timing of a practicing politician, to his management of local government as a justice of the Fairfax County Court to his eventual role in the Second Continental Congress and his grueling generalship in the American Revolution, Washington perfected the art of governing and service, earned trust, and built bridges. The lessons in leadership he absorbed along the way would be invaluable during the early years of the republic as he fought to unify the new nation. David O. Stewart turned to writing after a career practicing law in Washington, DC, defending accused criminals and challenging government actions as unconstitutional. He is a national bestselling and award-winning author of four previous books on American history.

Early nineteenth-century American prisons followed one of two dominant models: the Auburn system, in which prisoners performed factory-style labor by day and were placed in solitary confinement at night, and the Pennsylvania system, where prisoners faced 24-hour solitary confinement for the duration of their sentences. By the close of the Civil War, the majority of prisons in the United States had adopted the Auburn system - the only exception was Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, making it the subject of much criticism and a fascinating outlier. Using the Eastern State Penitentiary as a case study, The Deviant Prison brings to light anxieties and other challenges of nineteenth-century prison administration that helped embed our prison system as we know it today. Drawing on organizational theory and providing a rich account of prison life, the institution, and key actors, Ashley T. Rubin examines why Eastern's administrators clung to what was increasingly viewed as an outdated and inhuman model of prison - and what their commitment tells us about penal reform in an era when prisons were still new and carefully scrutinized Ashley Rubin is an associate professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

In the final year of the American Civil War, a special Union Army post was constructed just outside Philadelphia to handle a jumble of returning citizen-soldiers. Many soldiers bore bullet wounds, broken bones, and other scars of combat. Some had lost limbs. Some were laid low by illness. Hundreds arrived half-dead as survivors of wretched prison camps. Others were blessedly unscathed—but all grappled with the fresh, ferocious memories of their time at war. The post, known as Camp Discharge, did its best to move the young Union veterans on to their next assignment or, more often, back to civilian life. During its brief existence, it sat on a bluff overlooking what is today one of the nation's busiest highways, the Schuylkill Expressway. The post was quickly dismantled, its story forgotten. The authors reclaim that remarkable history and trace the often tumultuous lives of the Pennsylvania volunteer soldiers who passed through Camp Discharge's gates. Jim Remsen is a journalist and author of "Embattled Freedom: Chronicle of a Fugitive Slave Haven."

Frederick Watts came to prominence during the nineteenth century as a lawyer and a railroad company president, but his true interests lay in agricultural improvement and in raising the economic, social, and political standing of Pennsylvania's farmers. After being elected founding president of The Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society in 1851, he used his position to advocate vigorously for the establishment of an agricultural college that would employ science to improve farming practices. He went on to secure the charter for the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, which would eventually become the Pennsylvania State University. This biography explores Watts's role in founding and leading Penn State through its formative years. Watts adroitly directed the school as it was sited, built, and financed, opening for students in 1859. He hired the brilliant Evan Pugh as founding president, who, with Watts, quickly made it the first successful agricultural college in America. But for all his success in launching the institution, Watts nearly brought it to the brink of closure through a series of ruinous presidential appointments that led to an abandonment of the land-grant focus on agriculture and engineering. Roger L. Williams served as Associate Vice President and Executive Director of the Penn State Alumni Association and as Affiliate Associate Professor in Penn State's Higher Education Program.

During the years of the Early Republic, prominent Native leaders regularly traveled to American cities--Albany, Boston, Charleston, Philadelphia, Montreal, Quebec, New York, and New Orleans--primarily on diplomatic or trade business, but also from curiosity and adventurousness. They were frequently referred to as "the Chiefs now in this city" during their visits, which were sometimes for extended periods of time. Indian people spent a lot of time in town. Colin Calloway, National Book Award finalist and one of the foremost chroniclers of Native American history, has gathered together the accounts of these visits and from them created a new narrative of the country's formative years, redefining what has been understood as the "frontier." Calloway's book captures what Native peoples observed as they walked the streets, sat in pews, attended plays, drank in taverns, and slept in hotels and lodging houses. In the Eastern cities they experienced an urban frontier, one in which the Indigenous world met the Atlantic world. Calloway's book reveals not just what Indians saw but how they were seen. Crowds gathered to see them, sometimes to gawk; people attended the theatre to watch "the Chiefs now in this city" watch a play. Their experience enriches and redefines standard narratives of contact between the First Americans and inhabitants of the American Republic, reminding us that Indian people dealt with non-Indians in multiple ways and in multiple places. The story of the country's beginnings was not only one of violent confrontation and betrayal, but one in which the nation's identity was being forged by interaction between and among cultures and traditions. Colin G. Calloway is John Kimball Jr. 1943 Professor of History and Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. He is the author of several books, most recently "The Indian World of George Washington," which was a National Book Award Finalist, and which won the Excellence in American History Book Award from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the George Washington Book Prize.

By the mid-1930s, Pennsylvania's anthracite coal industry was facing a steady decline. Mining areas such as the Wyoming Valley around the cities of Wilkes-Barre and Pittston were full of willing workers (including women) who proved irresistibly attractive to New York City's "runaway shops"—ladies' apparel factories seeking lower labor and other costs. The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) soon followed, and the Valley became a thriving hub of clothing production and union activity. This volume tells the story of the area's apparel industry through the voices of men and women who lived it. Drawing from an archive of over sixty audio-recorded interviews within the Northeastern Pennsylvania Oral and Life History Collection, Sewn in Coal Country showcases sixteen stories told by workers, shop owners, union leaders, and others. The interview subjects recount the ILGWU-led movement to organize the shops, the conflicts between the district union and the national office in New York, the solidarity unionism approach of leader Min Matheson, the role of organized crime within the business, and the failed efforts to save the industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Robert P. Wolensky places the narratives in the larger context of American clothing manufacturing during the period and highlights their broader implications for the study of labor, gender, the working class, and oral history. Robert P. Wolensky is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and Adjunct Professor of History at King's College, Wilkes-Barre. He is the coauthor of "Fighting for the Union Label: The Women's Garment Industry and the ILGWU in Pennsylvania."

Eighteenth- and 19th-century contemporaries believed Marshall to be, if not the equal of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, at least very close to that pantheon. "John Marshall: The Final Founder" demonstrates that not only can Marshall be considered one of those Founding Fathers, but that what he did as the Chief Justice was not just significant, but the glue that held the union together after the original founding days. The Supreme Court met in the basement of the new Capitol building in Washington when Marshall took over, which is just about what the executive and legislative branches thought of the judiciary. "John Marshall: The Final Founder" advocates a change in the view of when the "founding" of the United States ended. That has long been thought of in one or the other of the signing of the Constitution, the acceptance of the Bill of Rights or the beginning of the Washington presidency. The Final Founder pushes that forward to the peaceful change of power from Federalist to Democrat-Republican and, especially, Marshall's singular achievement -- to move the Court from the basement and truly make it Supreme. Robert Strauss has been a reporter at Sports Illustrated; a feature writer for the Philadelphia Daily News; a news and sports producer for KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, and the TV critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Asbury Park Press. For the last two decades, he has been a freelance journalist, his most prominent client being the New York Times, where he has had more than 1000 by-lines. He has taught non-fiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania since 1999 and been an adjunct professor at Temple University, the University of Delaware and St. Joseph's University as well. He is the author of Worst. President. Ever. among other books. He lives in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

"Made Free and Thrown Open to the Public" charts the history of public libraries and librarianship in Pennsylvania. Based on archival research at more than fifty libraries and historical societies, it describes a long progression from private, subscription-based associations to publicly funded institutions, highlighting the dramatic period during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when libraries were "thrown open" to women, children, and the poor. The book explains how Pennsylvania's physical and cultural geography, legal codes, and other unique features influenced the spread and development of libraries across the state. It also highlights Pennsylvania libraries' many contributions to the social fabric, especially during World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. Bernadette Lear is the behavioral sciences and education librarian at Pennsylvania State University's Harrisburg campus. With Eric C. Novotny, she is the founding coeditor of the scholarly journal "Libraries: Culture, History, and Society." Lear's research focuses on the history of libraries, which she studies as an intersection of cultural, labor, social, and women's history.

As the nation entered into the throes of World War II, Harrisburg was prepared to answer the call of service. Prideful as a "beehive of industry," the city was a hub for wartime manufacturing, railroads and distribution. Bond drives attracted celebrities such as Abbott and Costello as locals enjoyed "Coffee MacArthur" and "Doughnuts Doolittle" for breakfast. Market Square's Caplan's collected empty toothpaste and shaving cream containers in rationing efforts. The local Pabst Blue Ribbon plant stopped canning, and the Harrisburg Coca-Cola Bottling Works ran out of sugar as everyday products became rare luxuries. Nearly 540 area service members lost their lives in the war, leaving Harrisburg to honor their legacy for generations. Author Rodney Ross reveals the trials of life on the homefront in Harrisburg during World War II. Rodney J. Ross is a Harrisburg native. He attended Forney Elementary, Edison Junior High School and John Harris High. He is a 1962 Shippensburg State Teachers College graduate. He earned a master's and a doctorate at the Pennsylvania State University. Before retiring in 2017, he taught seven years in the Harrisburg School District and forty-seven at the Harrisburg Area Community College. He has authored academic articles, book reviews and encyclopedia entries. He is researching Harrisburg's experience with World War I and the flu pandemic. He and his wife reside in Lower Paxton Township with their Shih Tzu, Prince.

The first half of the 19th century was an era of upheaval. The United States nearly lost the War of 1812. Partisanship became endemic during violent clashes regarding States' Rights and the abolition of slavery. The battle between Andrew Jackson and Nicholas Biddle over the Second Bank of the United States epitomized a nation in turmoil: Biddle, the erudite aristocrat versus Jackson, the plain-spoken warrior. The conflict altered America's political arena. In 1832, President Andrew Jackson vowed to kill the Central Bank, setting in motion the infamous Bank War that almost bankrupted the nation. Under Biddle's guidance, the Second Bank of the United States had become the most stable financial institution in the world. Biddle fought Jackson with tenacity and vigor; so did members of Congress not under the sway of "Old Hickory." Jackson accused Biddle of treason; Biddle declared that the president promoted anarchy. The fight riveted the nation. The United States is experiencing a reappearance of deep schisms within our population. They hearken back to the earliest debates about the federal government's role regarding fiduciary responsibility and social welfare. The ideological descendants of Nicholas Biddle and Andrew Jackson are as polarized today as they were during the nineteenth century. Cordelia Frances Biddle is an author with a passion for history. Her nonfiction work "Saint Katharine: The Life of Katharine Drexel" explores the transformation of a Philadelphia heiress into a champion for social justice, while her novels (The Actress without Fear, Beneath the Wind, etc.) draw upon history to tell captivating fictional stories.

In a war of brother versus brother, theirs has become the most famous broken friendship: Union general Winfield Scott Hancock and Confederate general Lewis Armistead. Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels (1974) and the movie Gettysburg (1993), based on the novel, presented a close friendship sundered by war, but history reveals something different from the legend that holds up Hancock and Armistead as sentimental symbols of a nation torn apart. In this deeply researched book, Tom McMillan sets the record straight. Even if their relationship wasn't as close as the legend has it, Hancock and Armistead knew each other well before the Civil War. Armistead was seven years older, but in a small prewar army where everyone seemed to know everyone else, Hancock and Armistead crossed paths at a fort in Indian Territory before the Mexican War and then served together in California, becoming friends—and they emotionally parted ways when the Civil War broke out. Their lives wouldn't intersect again until Gettysburg, when they faced each other during Pickett's Charge. Armistead died of his wounds at Gettysburg on July 5, 1863; Hancock went on to be the Democratic nominee for president in 1880, losing to James Garfield. Tom McMillan, a lifelong student of the Civil War, has served on the board of trustees of Pittsburgh's Heinz History Center, the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, and the marketing committee of the Gettysburg Foundation. Description courtesy of Rowman & Littlefield.

In order to be a truly effective leader, it is necessary to learn as much as possible from the examples of history—the disasters as well as the triumphs. At Gettysburg, Union and Confederate commanders faced a series of critical leadership challenges under the enormous stress of combat. The fate of the nation hung in the balance. These leaders each responded in different ways, but the concepts and principles they applied during those traumatic three days contain critical lessons for today's leaders that are both useful and applicable—whether those leaders manage operations at a large corporation, supervise a public institution, lead an athletic team, or govern a state or municipality. In the twenty-first century, leadership is the indispensable quality that separates successful organizations from failures. Successful leaders communicate vision, motivate team members, and inspire trust. One must move both people and the collective organization into the future while, at the same time, dealing with the past. A leader must learn to master the dynamic requirements of decision-making and change. Jeffrey McCausland is the founder and CEO of Diamond6 Leadership and Strategy, LLC and a retired U.S. Army colonel. He also serves as a Visiting Professor of International Security Affairs at Dickinson College and is a former Distinguished Visiting Professor of Research and Minerva Chairholder at the U.S. Army War College. Tom Vossler served thirty years active military service in the U.S. Army to include command of an infantry platoon in combat during the Vietnam War. Since retiring as a colonel in 1998, Tom has worked as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg where he specializes in battlefield studies and leadership seminars for national and international military units and civilian corporations. Description courtesy of Post Hill Press.

From his early work as a lawyer on the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to his days as Philadelphia's district attorney to his thirty-year career as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter found himself consistently in the middle of major historical events. During his five terms as senator, Specter met with the likes of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro and made significant contributions during the fallout of both the Iran-Contra scandal and the Clinton impeachment. His work had a profound influence on the configuration of the United States Supreme Court, the criminal justice system, LGBTQ rights, and stem cell research. Photographs from Specter's personal collection highlight many of these key moments, revealing the rich narrative not only of one man's political career, but how it helped shape a nation. While it will probably be long debated whether Specter's complex and controversial political legacy merits mainly praise or criticism, Arlen Specter sheds new light on the life of a man who fought to make a difference. Evan Laine is associate professor of history at Thomas Jefferson University–East Falls. He is the program director of the law and society major and faculty director for the Arlen Specter Center. Description courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh Press.

Pittsburgh's contributions to the uniquely American art form of jazz are essential to its national narrative. Fleeing the Jim Crow South in the twentieth century, African American migration to the industrial North brought musical roots that would lay the foundation for jazz culture in the Steel City. As migrant workers entered the factories of Pittsburgh, juke joints and nightclubs opened in the segregated neighborhoods of the Hill District, Northside and East Liberty. The scene fostered numerous legends, including Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, George Benson, Erroll Garner and Earl "Fatha" Hines. The music is sustained today in the practice rooms of the city's universities and by groups such as the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the African American Music Institute. Authors Richard Gazarik and Karen Anthony Cole chart the swinging history of jazz in Pittsburgh. Karen Anthony Cole is a lifetime musician and music educator in Western Pennsylvania. She is a retired high school band director, having taught and mentored students in marching, symphonic and jazz band and jazz history electives. Richard Gazarik is journalist and author. He has won awards for his writing and investigative reporting into public and corporate corruption in Pennsylvania. Description courtesy of the History Press.

James Monroe lived a life defined by revolutions. From the battlefields of the War for Independence, to his ambassadorship in Paris in the days of the guillotine, to his own role in the creation of Congress's partisan divide, he was a man who embodied the restless spirit of the age. He was never one to back down from a fight, whether it be with Alexander Hamilton, with whom he nearly engaged in a duel (prevented, ironically, by Aaron Burr), or George Washington, his hero turned political opponent. This magnificent new biography vividly recreates the epic sweep of Monroe's life: his near-death wounding at Trenton and a brutal winter at Valley Forge; his pivotal negotiations with France over the Louisiana Purchase; his deep, complex friendships with Thomas Jefferson and James Madison; his valiant leadership when the British ransacked the nation's capital and burned down the Executive Mansion; and Monroe's lifelong struggle to reckon with his own complicity in slavery. Elected the fifth president of the United States in 1816, this fiercest of partisans sought to bridge divisions and sow unity, calming turbulent political seas and inheriting Washington's mantle of placing country above party. Over his two terms, Monroe transformed the nation, strengthening American power both at home and abroad. Tim McGrath is a two-time winner of the Commodore John Barry Book Award, as well as the author of the critically acclaimed biography "John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail," and "Give Me a Fast Ship: The Continental Navy and America's Revolution at Sea," recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature. He lives outside of Philadelphia.