If you have been driving through Illinois on I-55 and exclaimed, "There's nothing out there but corn " you aren't alone, but you couldn't be more wrong. Learn why Steven Spielberg visited Waggoner, Illinois, and what fruit Abraham Lincoln used to christen the town named after him, as well as what route was frequented by flesh-eating birds and what antique mall was said to harbor a spaceship. When you travel in the company of LuAnn Cadden and Ted Cable, every mile marker between Chicago and...

In his introduction to Dan Dancer’s The Four Seasons of Kansas, bestselling author William Least Heat-Moon reflects upon the Great Kansas Passage of those who race their cars westward across Interstate 70 without trying to understand the truth of the place. Ted Cable and Wayne Maley come to the rescue of those travelers with a new guide that will expand and enrich their understanding of a state whose history, in Heat-Moon’s words, is “a tumbling of guns, torches, hatchets, and kni...

This collection of essays represents some of the best work of two significant, contemporary voices in the field of interpretation, including original pieces written for this publication and reprints of articles that have appeared in National Association for Interpretation publications spanning three decades. Whether you are new to the field or an experienced interpreter, you will be inspired by Larry Beck and Ted Cable's unique ability to find interpretive lessons in tangential fields, bea...

Once America's capitalist dream town, Detroit is our country's greatest urban failure, having fallen the longest and the farthest. But the city's worst crisis yet (and that's saying something) has managed to do the unthinkable: turn the end of days into a laboratory for the future. Urban planners, land speculators, neopastoral agriculturalists, and utopian environmentalists—all have been drawn to Detroit's baroquely decaying, nothing-left-to-lose frontier.With an eye for both the da...

One brutal murder. Two possible suspects. And a "fascinating . . . puzzling case" that divided a Michigan community ( Lansing State Journal).In the summer of 1982, the body of twenty-year-old Maggie Hume was found under a pile of blankets in the closet of her apartment. A Catholic school girl and daughter of a local football coach, Maggie had been raped and strangled. It was the only active murder investigation in Battle Creek, Michigan, suggesting the cas...

Lake Superior's North Shore—the vast stretch between Duluth and Grand Portage—is nearly 150 miles long, with an abundance of state parks, state and national forests, streams and rivers, and more than thirty distinct communities representing a broad range of ethnic and religious groups. Many visitors have made the famous drive along scenic Highway 61, the central artery of this popular vacation destination, but few are aware of the historical significance of the villages, homes, and markers...

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors-many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures-were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ral...

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors-many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures-were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ral...

First published in 1941 as part of the American Guide Series, this lively book describes Minnesota's popular northern region. Special features include fifteen canoe trips; five maps; thirty-seven photographs; forty-seven city, town, and village profiles; four road tours; a chronology; a glossary; and a bibliography with updated suggestions for further reading in fiction and nonfiction about the region.

Building the transcontinental railroad was America's greatest feat of the 19th century. This book chronicles the first three years of construction during which crews crossed Nebraska. Starting from Omaha the "Oxbow" route meant much sought after early money. The faltering progress toward Fremont highlighted the need for better planning and tight organization, a challenge met when the Casement Brothers, (former Generals) were put in charge. As the construction rolled westward past the 100th...

Before the billboard, radio or television commercial, there was the painted ad. Today, these aging ads capture the imagination, harkening back to a bygone era. Vanishing paint on brick walls speaks to a time when commerce was much simpler and much more direct. Few cities in America have produced as many intriguing fading ads as St. Louis. Fewer still are home to such an expert on the subject as author Wm. Stage. For decades, Stage has studied and researched the lost art form of the painted...

Most Minnesotans have a lost town. Everywhere Rhonda traveled throughout the state, people shared their stories and their towns with her. Each new discovery led to more tales of northern Minnesota's lost towns. Join us as we journey to northern Minnesota's past once again. Covering all new towns and communities, nearly 130 of them, the book is filled with photos and tales that once again prove history is in our own backyards. Historians, tourists, genealogists and anyone who loves a good s...