In the latter half of the 19th century, the town of Beekman experienced an industrial boom. Iron ore beds were discovered in the hamlets of Sylvan Lake, Beekman, and Clove Valley. Mining boomed until the 1890s, and many of the small ponds scattered about town today were originally open ore pits. The mining industry brought the railroad and a second influx of immigrants, mostly from Ireland. The arrival of these immigrant families created an entirely new culture in the town. In 1911, an 839...

Whether you farm or garden, live in the country or long to move there, or simply enjoy an occasional rural retreat, you will be delighted by this cornucopia of writings about living and working on the land, harvested from the fertile fields of ancient Greek and Roman literature. An inspiring antidote to the digital age, How to Be a Farmer evokes the beauty and bounty of nature with a rich mixture of philosophy, practical advice, history, and humor. Together, these timeless reflect...

To what extent was Rosario “Russell” Bufalino involved in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa in 1975? In the CIA’s recruitment of gangsters to assassinate Fidel Castro? In organizing the historic meeting of crime chieftains in 1957? Even in the production of The Godfather movie?A uniquely American saga that spans six decades, The Quiet Don follows Russell Bufalino’s remarkably quiet ascent from Sicilian immigrant to mob soldier to a man described by...

Go the distance into the history of New York's Triple Crown racetrack and the legendary horses who made their marks there.Belmont Park is best known for the annual Belmont Stakes, the challenging final leg of racing's Triple Crown. But Belmont is also renowned because nearly every American champion Thoroughbred has competed on its grounds. Named for the illustrious Belmont family, the track has seen many exciting races since it opened in 1905. In addition to the el...

Imagine that Alice had walked into a bar instead of falling down the rabbit hole. In the tradition of J. R. Moehringer’s The Tender Bar and the classic reportage of Joseph Mitchell, here is an indelible portrait of what is quite possibly the greatest bar in the world—and the mercurial, magnificent man behind it.The first time he saw Sunny’s Bar, in 1995, Tim Sultan was lost, thirsty for a drink, and intrigued by the single bar sign among the forlorn wareho...

In the two hundred years following the War of 1812, the Chesapeake Campaign became romanticized in tall tales and local legends. St. Michael's on the Eastern Shore of Maryland was famously cast as the town that fooled the British, and in Baltimore, the defenders of Fort McHenry were reputably rallied by a remarkably patriotic pet rooster. In Virginia, the only casualty in a raid on Cape Henry was reportedly the lighthouse keeper's smokehouse larder, while Admiral Cockburn was said to have ...

Woodstock Revisited is an invitation to do what people have been doing for over 200 years: take another look at Woodstock. The summer visitors of the 19th century and the artists and weekenders of the early 20th century beganthe trend of exploring the Woodstock area. Eventually, many who revisited Woodstock time and again decided to pull up roots and make this small upstate New York town their permanent home. In today�s world, Woodstock has becomea refuge for a new generation of people loo...

Originally known as Ruthenians, Ukrainians began to immigrate to western Pennsylvania in the late 1800s. Attracted by the region�s growing importance as an industrial center, they settled in cities and towns close to their work. Like other immigrants, they faced many economic and social hardships, but they were proud to call themselves Americans as they firmly preserved and celebrated their ethnic heritage. Their dispersion among the hills and valleys of western Pennsylvania prevented the ...

Before Pearl Harbor, before polio and his entry into politics, FDR was a handsome, pampered, but strong-willed youth, the center of a rarefied world. In Before the Trumpet, the award-winning historian Geoffrey C. Ward transports the reader to that world—Hyde Park on the Hudson and Campobello Island, Groton and Harvard and the Continent—to recreate as never before the formative years of the man who would become the 20th century’s greatest president. Here, drawn from thousands of or...

Battles, shipwrecks and abundant adventures await in this volume of maritime tales by local author Susan Gately. Easternmost of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario is bordered by both New York and Ontario. Upon its pristine surface, countless vessels have sailed, but its bottom depths are littered with the skeletons of shipwrecks, including HMS Ontario, caught and destroyed in one of the sudden storms that often turn this sea-like lake deadly. Daring mariners, male and female, have seen their sh...

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve is known worldwide as an engineering wonder. This landmark, located just west of Altoona, opened to traffic on February 15, 1854, and it enabled the Pennsylvania railroad line to climb the Allegheny Mountains and the eastern continental divide. The Horseshoe Curve's construction impacted railroad design and development for mountainous terrain everywhere, enabling access to coal and other raw materials essential for the industrial age. J. Edgar Th...

The history of Philadelphia television is the history of television in America. Philo Farnsworth, credited with inventing television, performed some of his earliest experiments at the Franklin Institute and at 1230 Mermaid Lane. Those experiments led to the city's first television station, W3XE. Channel 3 was also the first local station in the country to broadcast in color. WCAU-TV Channel 10 constructed the first building in the world designed specifically as a television station. WFIL c...