Presents a narrative history of the 1889 Johnstown Flood to chronicle key events, the damage that rendered the flood one of America's worst disasters, and the pivotal contributions of key figures, from dam engineer John Parke to American Red Cross founder Clara Barton. "A gripping new history celebrating the remarkable heroes of the Johnstown Flood--the deadliest flood in U.S. history--from NBC host and legendary weather authority Al Roker. Central...

"A groundbreaking, breathtaking history of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad, helping to forge modern America only to disappear into the shadows of history until now"--

In 1897, whaling in the Arctic waters off Alaska's coast was as dangerous as it was lucrative. And in that particular year, winter blasted early, bringing storms and ice packs that caught eight American whale ships and three hundred sailors off guard. Their ships locked in ice, with no means of escape, the whalers had limited provisions on board, and little hope of surviving until warmer temperatures arrived many months later. Here is the incredible...

A dramatic account of the 1875 attempt to steal the 16th president's body describes how a counterfeiting ring plotted to ransom Lincoln's body to secure the release of their imprisoned ringleader and how a fledgling Secret Service and an undercover agent conducted a daring election-night sting operation.

Roughing It is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature written by American humorist Mark Twain. It was written during 1870-71 and published in 1872 as a prequel to his first book Innocents Abroad. This book tells of Twain's adventures prior to his pleasure cruise related in Innocents Abroad. Roughing It follows the travels of young Mark Twain through the Wild West during the years 1861-1867. After a brief stint as a Confederate cavalry militiaman...

A reinterpretation of the case of Jack the Ripper focuses on the "why" instead of the "who," theorizing that the residents of London society's finest homes created him as an outlet for their own hidden violent and taboo proclivities.

"In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that...

Born at the end of the 18th century, the son of a Staten Island ferryman, Cornelius Vanderbilt world go on to become the richest man in America with a fortune built in shipping and railroads. That fortune, fought over by his heirs, helped to create an American dynasty that redefined the meaning of excess in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now , Cornelius Vanderbilt's great-great-great grandson Anderson Cooper, joins with historian Katherine Howe to explore...

"A president who governed a divided country has much to teach us in a twenty-first-century moment of polarization and political crisis. Abraham Lincoln was president when implacable secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions inextricably bound up with money, power, race, identity, and faith. He was hated and hailed, excoriated and revered. In Lincoln we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations. At once familiar...

As the first president to occupy the White House for an entire term, Thomas Jefferson shaped the president's residence, literally and figuratively, more than any of its other occupants. Remarkably enough, however, though many books have immortalized Jefferson's Monticello, none has been devoted to the vibrant look, feel, and energy of his still more famous and consequential home from 1801 to 1809. In Monticello on the Potomac, James B. Conroy, author...