Chronicles the life of actress Carole Lombard, focusing on how she defined the genre of 1930's films.

For twenty years, Hoosier comic Red Skelton entertained millions of viewers who gathered around their television sets. Noted film historian Wes Gehring examines the man behind the famous characters - someone who never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Gehring delves into Skelton's hardscrabble life with a shockingly dysfunctional family, his days on the road on the vaudeville circuit, the comedian's early success on radio, his up-and-down...

Ryan White describes how he got AIDS, engaged in a legal battle to return to school, and became a celebrity and spokesman for issues concerning the deadly disease.

"What does it take to become the second-in-command of one of the most powerful countries in the world? Mike Pence's rise to the vice presidency of the United States wasn't always easy. To some, he is the personification of American conservative values, but to others, his ideals are the epitome of prejudice and bigotry. In [this book], journalist Andrea Neal showcases how the vice president arrived at this position of influence. Neal interviews friends,...

During the bleak days of the Great Depression, news of economic hardship often took a backseat to articles on the exploits of an outlaw from Indiana John Dillinger. For a period of fourteen months during 1933 and 1934 Dillinger became the most famous bandit in American history, and no criminal since has matched him for his celebrity and notoriety.

Indiana native Paul Baer was an American pilot of many firsts. Born into a modest midwestern family in the late 1800s, Baer grew up short and shy in Fort Wayne. Not short on ambition, he volunteered to join a new breed of combatant: the fighter pilot. Dogfighting in the skies over France during World War I, Baer earned a giant reputation as the first-ever American to shoot down an enemy plane and the first to earn the title of “combat ace” for...

For readers who have followed the space program from Mercury through the International Space Station and wonder what comes next, this book provides fascination; for young people interested in space exploration and reaching for their dreams, whatever they might be, this book provides inspiration. Full of stories of spaceflight that few humans have ever experienced, told with humor and honesty, Spacewalker presents a unique perspective on the hard work,...

In the fall of 1915, Alice Gray traded her life in Chicago for a solitary journey in the remote sand hills of northwest Indiana along Lake Michigan. Her audacity so bewitched reporters and a curious public that she became a legend in her own time-- "Diana of the Dunes."

Based on extensive interviews and archival research, this book traces the career of Orville Redenbacher, the "popcorn king," from his agricultural studies at Purdue University to his emergence as an American advertising icon. Born in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907, Orville began his lifelong obsession with the development of new strains of seed at Purdue where he earned a degree in agronomy while also playing in the All-American Marching Band. After experimenting...

Through historical events big and small and through sporting feats that have inspired millions, Indiana has made its mark on America, thanks to the wide variety of people who grew up in, or settled in, the Heart of the Heartland. Goes behind the scenes to tell its story, in short episodes that reveal the intriguing people and events that have shaped the Hoosier State.