"Focusing on Liberty Road, a Black middle-class suburb of Randallstown, Maryland, Smithsimon tells the remarkable story of how residents broke the color barrier, against all odds, in the face of racial discrimination, tensions with suburban Whites and urban Blacks, and economic crises like the mortgage meltdown of 2008. Drawing on interviews, census data, and archival research he shows us the unique strategies that suburban Black residents in Liberty Road employed, creating a blueprint for other Black middle-class suburbs"--

Ida Keller's life is a series of turbulent events. Ever since she remembered, she's been running. She runs from heartbreak and fear. She runs from a troubled past. She runs from mistakes and broken promises until wandering into the quiet town of Barnhill and finding tranquility under the direction of Christopher Trapp. Christopher Trapp, saloon and brothel owner, isn't one to mix business with pleasure. He protects his girls at all costs, even the at the cost of his heart. Resolved to a solitary life, he never deviates, or even wants to, until he crosses paths with the enchanting Ida. When a vile criminal from Ida's life arrives and threatens her safety, Chris fights his internal desire for her, yet fights to protect her with every desire he possesses. Together, they decide if love can conquer the evils of their pasts and allow comfort in each other's arms.

Each year, more than two million visitors line up near Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and wait to gaze upon a flawed mass of metal forged more than two and a half centuries ago. Since its original casting in England in 1751, the Liberty Bell has survived a precarious journey on the road to becoming a symbol of the American identity, and in this masterful work, Gary B. Nash reveals how and why this voiceless bell continues to speak such volumes about our nation.A serious cultural history rooted in detailed research, Nash’s book explores the impetus behind the bell’s creation, as well as its evolutions in meaning through successive generations. With attention to Pennsylvania’s Quaker roots, he analyzes the biblical passage from Leviticus that provided the bell’s inscription and the valiant efforts of Philadelphia’s unheralded brass founders who attempted to recast the bell after it cracked upon delivery from London’s venerable Whitechapel Foundry. Nash fills in much-needed context surrounding the bell’s role in announcing the Declaration of Independence and recounts the lesser-known histories of its seven later trips around the nation, when it served as a reminder of America’s indomitable spirit in times of conflict. Drawing upon fascinating primary source documents, Nash’s book continues a remarkable dialogue about a symbol of American patriotism second only in importance to the Stars and Stripes.