The story of New England is built on an endless armature of fascinating tales of Yankee ingenuity and hardy, intrepid characters. Bootleggers, Lobstermen, and Lumberjacks takes the top fifty wildest episodes in the region’s bygone days and presents them to the reader in one convenient, narrative-driven package. Including incredible but true tales of hardy Yankee hill folk and crusty seafarers engaged in all manner of amazing activity—from witch-hunting to log rolling, sometimes with tragic results—this book is a perfect stroll through New England’s past for resident and visitor alike. Yankee history is rife with all manner of shipwreck victims surviving any way they know how; Indian, pirate, and shark attacks, cougar and bear attacks, and, of course, rum runners and bootleggers doing what they do best.

An examination of the unique affinity New Englanders have for their Red Sox, this work illustrates how the storied history of the franchise mirrors that of New England itself. Founded in 1901 and playing in front of sold out crowds at Fenway Park for more than a century, the Boston Red Sox are far and away New England's most beloved franchise, and this work features topics such as the team's relationship to the Kennedys, the comparison of fans' treatment of Bill Buckner to the Salem Witch Trials, the fans inside an Irish pub in one of Boston's toughest neighborhoods, and travels to a miniature replica of Fenway Park in a small Vermont town. Entertaining and informative, "How the Red Sox Explain New England" is sure to be popular among one of sports' most passionate and dedicated fan bases.

New England, the most clearly defined region in the United States, includes the six states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. First colonized by the French in 1604 and the British in 1607, the New England colonies were the first to secede from the British Empire and were among the first states admitted to the union. No region has claimed more presidents as native sons (seven) or produced more men and women of exceptional accomplishment and fame. Many Americans see New England as a touchstone for the founding ideas of the nation, and the region served as a source of inspiration for many artists and writers. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of New England contains a chronology, an introduction, appendix, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, places, institutions, and events. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about New England.

Howling hauntings from the raw mountain passes and wind-stripped plains of the Old West The Old West is filled with enough phenomenal happenings, curious mysteries, and ghastly ghosts to send chills up and down any spine. Haunted Old West is the petrifyingly perfect collection for campfire gatherings and makes an eerily ideal guide for a ghost-hunting trip to the Old West. In these pages explore horror-filled mine shafts and outrun herds of stampeding spectral cattle. Stumble upon a supernatural saloon, investigate ghost towns teeming with residents of the afterlife, and feel phantom freight trains pass through your body. Haunted Old West provides the inside story on some of the most actively haunted spots in the great American West, including: Ghostly Garnet: In summer, visitors frequent this best-preserved ghost town in Montana, but it is winter when Garnet truly comes alive. Raucous music can be heard within the Kelly Saloon, and the blacksmith’s ringing anvil punctuates the sounds of a busy 1880s street scene. Yes indeed, Garnet puts the “ghost” in ghost town. Bandit Ghoul of Six Mile Canyon: Respected businessman by day, bandit gang leader by night, Big Jack Davis amasses a fortune robbing trains, stagecoaches, and bullion wagons in 1860s Nevada. Shot in the back while robbing a stagecoach, Big Jack is now a shrieking white demon, flapping wings sprouted from his wounds and driving off anyone who gets too close to his buried loot.

Maine is many things to many people—a haven in a world of headaches, a fir-stippled paradise where summer comes slow and easy, a place that is heartbreaking to leave and a relief to return to. It is the way life should be. More specifically, Maine is 3,500 miles of enchanting coastline, the 5,267-foot elevation of Mount Katahdin, and of course her hardy, friendly folks. Maine Icons illustrates the quintessential symbols that make Maine so fascinating and unique. Profiled here are fifty classic symbols of this extraordinary state, revealing little-known facts, longtime secrets, and historical legends. From bean hole beans to L.L.Bean, here’s the inside story about the very things that give this state its character. Did you know that the annual Maine Lobster Festival includes a parade, a lobster-crate race, and more than 20,000 pounds of lobster cooked in the world’s biggest lobster boiler? That it was a woman, Cornelia Thurza “Fly Rod” Crosby, who became the first licensed, registered Maine Guide in 1897? Or that the earmuff was patented in the 1870s by young Chester Greenwood, who went on to be named one of America’s top fifteen outstanding inventors? For Mainers and newcomers alike, Maine Icons will be a treasured keepsake of this charming state.

Each volume in this series features approximately fifteen short biographies of notorious bad guys, perpetrators of mischief, visionary if misunderstood thinkers, and other colorful antiheroes from the history of a given state. The villainous, the misguided, and the misunderstood all get their due in these entertaining yet informing books.

Everyone loves a heel, especially one to whom nothing was sacred and who charmed his or her way into the hearts, minds, and wallets of bumpkins and belles alike. This collection offers twenty-four tales of petty bandits, sleazy bunko artists, and conniving conmen and –women who traveled West to seek their fortunes by preying on the men and women who went before them to settle and explore. These stories of who they were, what they did, and why they are remembered for their deeds include ample and engaging historic illustrations of the shady characters at work and at play.

Sourdoughs, Claim Jumpers & Dry Gulchers: Fifty of the Grittiest Moments in the History of Frontier Prospecting, offers 50 tales of hard-bitten sourdoughs, petty bandits, outright outlaws, guilt-free gunmen, and murderous money-grubbers as they scrabbled to gain the lands, foodstuffs, and fortunes of wide-eyed greenhorns, gullible and trusting tenderfoots, and slow-on-the-draw gold panners.

New Hampshire literally has something for everyone: urban types looking for bookstores, coffee shops, swank eateries, and nightclubs; outdoorsy folks searching for endless vistas atop the high peaks of the White Mountains; history buffs seeking clues to the state’s rich past; or snow-loving families hoping to schuss the slopes all day long. It is a place of quaint villages, swimming holes, general stores, and hillside farms. And its people, those singular Granite Staters, are the friendly caretakers who make sure it’s there for all to enjoy. Profiled within these pages are fifty classic symbols of this extraordinary state, revealing little-known facts, longtime secrets, and historical legends. From frost heaves to Robert Frost, from Stonyfield Yogurt to the New Hampshire State House, New Hampshire Icons offers up the inside story on the Granite State. Did you know that New Hampshire has the shortest coastline of any state (18 miles)? That Mt. Washington is the official home of the world’s worst weather? That pumpkins are the official state fruit? New Hampshire Icons features the people, places, events, foods, animals, and traditions that make it the singular state it is.

Steampunk can be defined as a subgenre of science fiction that is typically set in an anachronistic Victorian or quasi-Victorian setting, where steam power is prevalent. Consider the slogan: "What the past would look like if the future had come along earlier." The stories in this all-original anthology explore alternate timelines and have been set all over the world, running the gamut from science fiction to mystery to horror to a melding of these genres.