Kissimmee, Florida traces its name to the Jororo tribe, among the first to settle along the river valley. Riverboat captains, entrepreneurs, and speculators found Kissimmee and nearby Lake Tohopekaliga irresistible, and soon settlers followed. The 1880s marked this city's first brush with tourism, as the Tropical Hotel became the largest resort hotel south of Jacksonville. As the cattle town struggled to survive floods, the Depression, and downtown neglect in favor of spillover Walt Disney...

Today, diverse women of all hues represent this country overseas. Some have called this development the “Hillary Effect.” But well before our most recent female secretary of state there was Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve in that capacity, and later Condoleezza Rice. Beginning at a more junior post in the Department of State in 1971, there was “the little Elam girl” from Boston.Diversifying Diplomacy tells the story of Harriet Lee Elam-Thomas, a young black wo...

Join Uncle John as he treks through every one of America’s National Parks!If you like the great outdoors, you’re going to love this book. We’re plunging into every national park, monument, site, and trail (more than 150 in all!) in true Uncle John fashion and uncovering some unique stories behind all of them. You’re sure to find hidden facets of each national park that you never imagined. Read about...* Yosemite’s firefall and why it came to a sudden end

In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story.Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For ...

Author of the instant #1 New York Times Bestseller What HappenedHillary Rodham Clinton is known to hundreds of millions of people around the world. Yet few beyond her close friends and family have ever heard her account of her extraordinary journey. She writes with candor, humor and passion about her upbringing in suburban, middle-class America in the 1950s and her transformation from Goldwater Girl to student activist to First Lady.

Ghosts Towns of the West is filled with photographs, maps, history, and detailed directions to find the best ghost towns to linger in the wake of the Old West.Ghost Towns of the West blazes a trail through the dusty crossroads and mossy cemeteries of the American West, including one-time boomtowns in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The book reveals the littl...

President Bill Clinton’s My Life is the strikingly candid portrait of a global leader who decided early in life to devote his intellectual and political gifts, and his extraordinary capacity for hard work, to serving the public.It shows us the progress of a remarkable American, who, through his own enormous energies and efforts, made the unlikely journey from Hope, Arkansas, to the White House—a journey fueled by an impassioned interest in the political process which manif...

This edition of Slow Travels follows U.S. Highways 1, 27, 90, and 301 through the State, examining a cross-section of Florida and providing a wealth of historical information along the way. Also included is U.S. Highway 41 along the Tamiami Trail. Maps provide a reference guide, and GPS Coordinates are listed at the end of each route. Look for others in the series at www.americanautotrails.com.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling World Almanac™ comes a full‑color, full‑of‑fun, oversize book packed with thousands of awesome facts about America—everything about the 50 states and beyond.Kids want to learn about the world around them, and with this engaging, colorful collection of facts, figures, photographs, and fun, they will. Perfect for home or for school, and a great gift for any curious reader, here are thou...

Relive the extraordinary Presidency of Barack Obama through White House photographer Pete Souza's behind-the-scenes images and stories in this #1 New York Times bestseller -- with a foreword from the President himself.During Barack Obama's two terms, Pete Souza was with the President during more crucial moments than anyone else -- and he photographed them all. Souza captured nearly two million photographs of President Obama, in moments highly classified an...

A colorful history of the island city on Texas's Gulf Coast and its survival through times of piracy, plague, civil war, and devastating natural disaster.On the Gulf edge of Texas between land and sea stands Galveston Island. Shaped continually by wind and water, it is one of earth's ongoing creations, where time is forever new. Here, on the shoreline, embraced by the waves, a person can still feel the heartbeat of nature. And yet, for all the idyllic possibilities...