Weird Maryland (Weird)
by Matt Lake
from Sterling
A Religious Orgy in Tennessee: A Reporter's Account of the Scopes Monkey Trial
by H.L. Mencken
from Melville House
"The native American Voltaire, the enemy of all puritans, the heretic in the Sunday school, the one-man demolition crew of the genteel tradition."-Alistair Cooke
Fiercely intelligent, scathingly honest, and hysterically funny, H.L. Mencken's coverage of the Scopes Monkey Trial so galvanized the nation that it eventually inspired a Broadway play and hit movie.
Mencken's no-nonsense sensibility is still exciting: his perceptive rendering of the courtroom drama; his piercing portrayals of key figures Scopes, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan; his ferocious take on the fundamentalist culture surrounding it all-including a raucous midnight trip into the woods to witness a secret "holy roller" service.
Shockingly, these reports have never been gathered together into a book of their own-until now.
A Religious Orgy in Tennessee includes all of Mencken's reports for The Baltimore Sun, The Nation, and The American Mercury. It even includes his coverage of Bryan's death just days after the trial-an obituary so withering Mencken was forced to rewrite it (both versions are included, although the rewrite seems, if anything, even less forgiving).
With the rise of "intelligent design," Mencken's work has never seemed more unnervingly timely-or timeless.
Here Lies Jim Crow: Civil Rights in Maryland
by C. Fraser Smith
from The Johns Hopkins University Press
Though he lived throughout much of the South -- and even worked his way into parts of the North for a time -- Jim Crow was conceived and buried in Maryland. From Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's infamous decision in the Dred Scott case to Thurgood Marshall's eloquent and effective work on Brown v. Board of Education, the battle for black equality is very much the story of Free State women and men.
Here, Baltimore Sun columnist C. Fraser Smith recounts that tale through the stories, words, and deeds of famous, infamous, and little-known Marylanders. He traces the roots of Jim Crow laws from Dred Scott to Plessy v. Ferguson and describes the parallel and opposite early efforts of those who struggled to establish freedom and basic rights for African Americans. Following the historical trail of evidence, Smith relates latter-day examples of Maryland residents who trod those same steps, from the thrice-failed attempt to deny black people the vote in the early twentieth century to nascent demonstrations for open access to lunch counters, movie theaters, stores, golf courses, and other public and private institutions -- struggles that occurred decades before the now-celebrated historical figures strode onto the national civil rights scene. Smith's lively account includes the grand themes and the state's major players in the movement -- Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, Thurgood Marshall, and Lillie May Jackson, among others -- and also tells the story of the struggle via several of Maryland's important but relatively unknown men and women -- such as Gloria Richardson, John Prentiss Poe, William L. "Little Willie" Adams, and Walter Sondheim -- who prepared Jim Crow's grave and waited for the nation to deliver the body.
The Cone Sisters of Baltimore: Collecting at Full Tilt
by Ellen B. Hirschland
from Northwestern University Press
This richly illustrated biography documents their lives from a unique perspective: that of their great-niece, who wrote this book with her daughter. Ellen B. Hirschland and Nancy Hirschland Ramage delve into Claribel’s and Etta’s world, following the sisters through letters and personal stories as they travel to meet some of the artists whose works would turn their adjoining apartments into a gallery. They bought art by Manet, Gauguin, and CĂ©zanne, as well as of Picasso and Matisse, whom they came to know well. The sisters’ experiences in Paris from 1901 through the 1920s provide an exceptional view of the bright artistic ferment in the city at that time. They were two Victorian women from Baltimore buying avant-garde masterpieces, attending salons with friends Gertrude and Leo Stein, and building a collection that would initially enrage the conservative people around them. Only with time would their keen eyes and unwavering taste prove them right.
Over a period of thirty years, sisters Claribel and Etta Cone amassed one of the most acclaimed collections of twentieth-century art in America. Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta were two halves of an idiosyncratic team—Claribel bold and assertive and Etta reflective and sensitive—who used the fortunes of their German Jewish immigrant family to seek out works that inspired and pleased them, regardless of public opinion and without a background in art.
This richly illustrated biography documents their lives from a unique perspective: that of their great niece as told to their great-great niece. Ellen Hirschland and her daughter Nancy Hirschland Ramage delve into Claribel and Etta’s world, following the sisters through letters and personal stories as they travel to meet some of the artists whose work would turn their adjoining apartments into a gallery. They bought works of Manet, Gauguin, Seurat, Rodin, and Degas (among others) and struck up friendships with Picasso and Matisse. The sisters’ experiences in Paris in the 1910s and 1920s provide an exceptional view of the bright artistic ferment in the city at that time. They were two Victorian women from Baltimore buying avant-garde art in the City of Lights, attending salons with friends Gertrude and Leo Stein, and building a collection that would initially puzzle the art world. Only with time would their keen eyes and unwavering taste for masterpieces prove indisputably fine.
The Hidden Galleon: The true story of a lost Spanish ship and the legendary wild horses of Assateague Island
by John Amrhein Jr.
from New Maritima Press
On the island of Assateague, along the seacoast of Maryland and Virginia, there is a breed of horses that has run wild for centuries. Legend says they originated from a long lost Spanish galleon. This centuries-old tradition is remembered every year when 50,000 tourists descend on the island of Chincoteague to witness the annual pony swim and auction. On September 5, 1750, a Spanish warship named La Galga drove ashore on Assateague and came to rest close to shore and partially submerged. Her captain described her location as within two ship lengths of the Maryland and Virginia boundary. These precise directions seduced many in the future who would choose to seek her remains. In 1947, Marguerite Henry, wrote Misty of Chincoteague, a fictional account of real people of Chincoteague and a beautiful young pony named Misty. Her story documents the shipwreck legend that she was told of during her stay on the island. In 1961, 20th Century Fox released the movie based on this book. In 1980, the author was convinced like others that he could easily locate the wreck of La Galga after researching American and Spanish archives. He made no connection with the legend of the wild horses and La Galga as they had been attributed to another ship called the San Lorenzo. But that ship was the invention of a convincing con man. Soon, the author found himself in a federal courthouse where the State of Maryland had laid claim to the fictitious wreck. Maryland s attorney general fought to keep the author s evidence of the fraud out of the public record. The make-believe ship was awarded to the state based solely on a fraudulent affidavit. Now, armed with knowledge of the shipwreck legend obtained from a descendant of an Assateague Indian and great nephew of a real life character in Misty of Chincoteague, the author's search for La Galga resumes, not in the ocean, but on the sands and marshes of Assateague where he discovers that the ship s remains are hidden in a forgotten inlet. After discovery, the author informed the public and the federal government about the wreck's location. Federal officials declined his offer to demonstrate the discovery made in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. In 1998, a treasure hunter claimed he had located La Galga in 20 feet of water just off the deserted beaches of Assateague. But at the end of the litigation, all parties had to admit that they did not know where the wreck really was. In spite of this, and at the insistence of the federal government, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia awarded La Galga to the Kingdom of Spain. Today, that case is being cited as precedent by the Kingdom of Spain in its attempt to lay claim to treasure from other Spanish shipwrecks. The Hidden Galleon at last documents nearly three decades of dramatic and bizarre events related to the real story of a lost Spanish warship and the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Named Finalist in the History/Historical Non-Fiction category AND The Hidden Galleon, was named a WINNER in the Regional Non-Fiction category of the 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!
The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume One: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia
by Thomas J. McGuire
from Stackpole Books
The first in a monumental two-volume set on the pivotal 1777 campaign of the American Revolution, this book is an in-depth examination of the military engagements that resulted in the British capture of Philadelphia. Based on surviving accounts of soldiers and civilians, the author weaves together the compelling story of the fight for the Continental capital. In the winter of 1777, after the victories at Trenton and Princeton, George Washington painstakingly rebuilt the Continental Army. The following spring, all eyes turned to the British commander-in-chief, Sir William Howe, to see when and where he would resume the drive on the rebel capital. Numerous skirmishes and seemingly pointless maneuvers finally led to Pennsylvania. The two main armies finally clashed in the bloody Battle of Brandywine on September 11, where Howe's flanking tactics inflicted a serious defeat on Washington. Rallying his forces, Washington resumed his defense of Philadelphia, only to be thwarted at the Schuylkill and suffer a small but bloody defeat at Paoli. Congress fled the capital as the British Army approached, and the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the American people raged in full fury as the two armies marched through the region.
Baltimore & Ohio's Capitol Limited and National Limited (Great Passenger Trains)
by Joe Welsh
from Voyageur Press
This authoritative, illustrated history takes readers back to the B&O's glory years, with a wealth of images, route information, details of the trains passenger motive power, and the inside story on the frugal railroads means of streamlining its equipment with innovative and aesthetically striking results.
Against a backdrop of dozens of black-and-white archival images and period color photos depicting uniforms, dinnerware, stations, period ads and route maps, and interior views of passenger cars, award-winning rail author Joe Welsh discusses how B&O passenger operations led to the demise of at least one of its rival Pennsylvania Railroads passenger trains; and how, ultimately, market forces did in the B&O's passenger trains as well.
Here is the whole story, with the National Limited's failure under Amtrak's auspices--and the 1981 rebirth of the Capitol Limited as one of Amtrak's most popular trains, keeping a legend alive.
Backyard Birds of Maryland:How to Identify and Attract the Top 25 Birds (Backyard Birds Of...)
by Bill Fenimore
from Gibbs Smith, Publisher
Backyard Birds is an exciting new series of books that explores the top 25 backyard birds most commonly found in each state. It includes a profiled bird scale that allows readers to easily identify the correct bird, and each bird entry is accompanied by a stunning color photograph and specific descriptions, including identification marks, behavior, habitat and nesting style-even the song the bird makes! As an added feature, author Bill Fenimore also provides expert tips for creating the ultimate backyard bird sanctuary, from creating bird baths and planting proper foliage to offering a bird's favorite foods.
Author Bio: Bill Fenimore is owner of the National Best Environmental Stewardship Award-winning Wild Bird Center franchise in Layton, Utah. He conducts seminars and workshops educating the public about birds and their critical habitat needs, and he leads birding field trips for clients from around the globe.
The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume Two: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge (Philadelphia Campaign)
by Thomas J. McGuire
from Stackpole Books
Based on soldiers' and civilians' vivid accounts--many uncovered for the first time from private collections--the story of the compelling fight for independence reaches its most desperate moments. This second in a two-volume set follows the saga from Cornwallis's triumphal march of his British and Hessian troops into Philadelphia in late September to Washington's movement of the weary Continental forces to camp at Valley Forge in December.
Defeated at Brandywine, the Continental forces were worn out and ill equipped. Yet on October 4, Washington embarked on his first major offensive of the war--a surprise attack at dawn on Howe's main camp at Germantown. Only narrowly defeated, the Continentals gained valuable experience and new confidence in the possibility of victory. The seige of the Delaware River forts--one of the bloodiest and prolonged battles of the war--ended with British success in mid-November, but still Howe failed to end the war. He tried unsuccessfully to draw Washington from the fortified hills of Whitemarsh. As the Continental forces moved to Valley Forge for the winter, they would have to face their greatest challenge--survival.
Haunted Maryland: Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Old Line State (Haunted)
by Ed Okonowicz
from Stackpole Books
Tales of unexplained phenomena in Maryland, including the bleeding stone of White House Farm, the vengeful ghost of Bigg Lizz, the Chesapeake sea monster fondly known as Chessie, America s most haunted lighthouse, the mysterious Toaster who visits Edgar Allan Poe s grave, and dozens more.
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