-
In Bourbon: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, award-winning whiskey author Fred Minnick traces bourbon's entire history, from the 1700s with Irish, Scottish, and French settlers setting up stills and making distilled spirits in the New World through today's booming resurgence. He also lays out in expert detail the critical role this spirit has played throughout the cultural and even political history of the nation -- from Congress passing whiskey-protection laws to consumers standing in long lines just for a glimpse of a rare bottle of Pappy Van Winkle -- complemented by more than 100 illustrations and photos. -
Legend has it that old mysterious St. Nick begins his Christmas journey every year with a search for magic acorns that come with December's first fallen snow. Certain acorns are magic, as they help his reindeer to fly.
-
Violent bank heists, bold train robberies and hardened gangs all tear across the history of the wild west–western Pennsylvania, that is. The region played reluctant host to the likes of the infamous Biddle Boys, who escaped Allegheny County Jail by romancing the warden’s wife, the Cooley Gang, which held Fayette County in its violent grip at the close of the nineteenth century, and Pennsylvania's own Bonnie and Clyde–Irene and Glenn–whose murderous misadventures earned them seats in the electric chair in 1931. From the perilous train tracks of Erie to the gritty streets of Pittsburgh, authors Thomas White and Michael Hassett trace the dark history of the crooks, murderers and outlaws who both terrorized and fascinated the citizenry of western Pennsylvania.
-
The ghostly woman of Summit Cut Bridge, a black hound that guards the Gates of Hell, the whispering dead entombed beneath the Black Cross, The Revolutionary War witch Moll Derry, the phantom bride of White Rocks, and the angry specter of a steel millworker burned alive in a ladle of molten iron -- these are the spirits of southwestern Pennsylvania! Ascend the secret stairs of the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh and wander the dim stretch of Shades of Death Road in Washington County to encounter these and more otherworldly denizens of the Keystone State.
-
Ghostly travelers are said to wander the lonely roads of western Pennsylvania. A creeping fog rises from Blue Mist Road, and stories of car crashes, lynchings and even strange beasts haunt this isolated stretch outside Pittsburgh. Is it the angry spirit of a jealous husband or a gypsy king who stalks Erie County’s Axe Murder Hollow? Shades of Death Road in Washington County may be host to phantom coal miners killed during a deadly labor dispute. With firsthand accounts and historical research, authors Thomas White and Tony Lavorgne travel the backcountry roads and byways of western Pennsylvania to discover their ghost tales and mysterious legends.
-
Hidden History of Pittsburgh boasts a collection of riveting firsthand accounts and anecdotes found deep in the archives of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. When Mark Twain visited in 1884, he claimed to spy a little bit of hell in Pittsburgh’s smoky appearance. The Ringling Brothers Circus held its last outdoor performance here in 1956 and left eight hundred show workers without jobs in the city. The Great War hit home after the sinking of the Lusitania, which carried more than a dozen Pittsburgh residents. A few years later, cheering throngs of black and white residents lined downtown streets to welcome African American soldiers returning home from the conflict. With these stories from the archives and more, veteran journalist Len Barcousky shines a light on the hidden corners of Pittsburgh’s history.
-
"The earliest physicians arriving in Pittsburgh had their roots in military service. The legacy of these physician-soldiers extends from pioneer days through modern times. The involvement of military contingents, physicians serving with or trained by military units, and the myriad organizations that were created to respond to their efforts have played a critical role in the long-term development of healthcare in the city.
-
A comprehensive guide to everything whiskey: Bourbon, Scotch, Irish, and Japanese.
