A local historian has undertaken the difficult task of compiling photographs for a pictorial history of her native town. Earlier this week, the Rainwater Memorial Library was contacted by Arcadia Publishing of South Carolina. The company asked if there might be a local historian who could construct a book for its Images of America series.

While compiling material for "Beechview" in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, co-author Robert Thomas was stunned to learn of the neighborhood contribution of Deno Vanucci. The house painter had hauled excess dirt from the Fort Pitt Tunnel project in the 1950s to fill in a hollow which is now known as Vanucci Field.

The latest in the Arcadia "Images of America" series takes on the quiet Maine community that stretches along the Piscataqua River border with New Hampshire. These are pictures – 200 in all – that few have seen and have never been collected in published form.

Arcadia Publishing, which is located in Mount Pleasant, S.C., also has just released the richly-illustrated "Boxing in San Francisco" ($19.99) by freelance writer Dan Somrack. The history of the fight game in the Bay Area in the 1890s and early part of the 20th century is much less well known than that of PCL baseball, but it's a tapestry well worth exploring.

If you take walks much, you've probably noticed that things look different from the pedestrian perspective: Houses or gardens you've driven by for years all of a sudden spring into focus. Gosh, where did that house come from? I say to a friend as we walk through the Lake Eola Heights District.

July 10 will mark the 70th anniversary of Suffolk Downs, and director of public relations Christian Teja has found the perfect way to honor the occasion. Teja has compiled ''Suffolk Downs," a soft-cover book containing nearly 200 images that chronicle the history of the East Boston track. And that history is, indeed, storied.

Move over Ernest Hemingway, Frank Lloyd Wright and Bob Newhart. The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest is adding a few new names to its roster of celebrated residents.

Murphys resident Judith Marvin says she would have loved to live during the Gold Rush. The tall, trim historian with dark, shoulder length hair does not mask her enthusiasm for the period.

A new book in Arcadia Publishing?s Images of Baseball Series, Baseball In Erie by Mark K. Vatavuk and Richard E. Marshall, is now out on bookstands everywhere.

Most Elizabethtown residents know a movie named after their city is coming out in the fall. But many might not know there's already a book out bearing the same name.

At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 2, the Limerick Historical Society will serve up several delectable strawberry treats at its annual Strawberry Festival held at the old brick Town Hall on Main Street.

From photos of immigrants in their traditional clothing to a look at the coal camps in early days, Daily Telegraph Senior Writer Bill Archer has managed to capture the rich history of McDowell County in his latest book, "Images of America: McDowell County."

With the same vision and mission — to preserve history through images — Martha Kiefer Cucco and Carolyn Hope Smeltzer believe they have created the most comprehensive book about the history of the Lake Geneva area.

Hazleton hasn't always been the land of Jimmy's Hot Dogs, Farmer's Iced Tea and deli-style pizza. In fact, H-town used to be a coal region metropolis

It took only a year to write and publish "Images of America Christiansburg," but Anna Fariello and Kate Rubick hope the book lasts as a historical record. "As much as Virginia markets itself as historically important, the state tends to consolidate its efforts on its blue chip history," co-author Fariello said.

Months of research and a couple hundred photos went into "Images of America: Monroe The Early Years," the newest history of the city.

A new book, ``Plant City in Vintage Postcards,'' is the latest in Arcadia Publishing's Postcard History series. The book contains more than 150 postcards from the collection of the Quintilla Geer Bruton Archives Center of the East Hillsborough Historical Society. Shelby Bender and Roberta Jordan were project co-editors.

For William Bearden, generally called 'Willy,' the addition of writing books to producing documentary films was natural. After all, the films he makes and books he writes involve something he loves: histories of Memphis and the Mississippi Delta.

Cindy Thuma loves her hometown so much she found a way to preserve its past. The longtime resident recently published a pictorial book on the city's history. Her Images of America: Wilton Manors spans 80 years of city life through photos including Wilton Manors Elementary School's first class, municipal parades, former city leaders, undeveloped landscapes and the two white towers that once marked Five Points.

Lynn Lasseter Drake doesn't really live in the past, but she sure knows a lot about it. Drake, who moved to Jupiter in 1959, never gave much thought to family trees nor to history in general until her grandmother passed along a precious gift.

Most people these days only think of Suffolk Downs as the place where they have the Massachusetts Handicap (MassCap), but this racetrack near Boston has a rich history which is beautifully presented in this book. Written by Christian Teja, the director of public and media relations at Suffolk Downs, this book collects over 200 photographs that span the entire history of Suffolk Downs, starting with the building of the facility in 1935 to the present.

“Raugh also treats us to a detailed look at one of America’s most significant U.S. Army bases in Fort Ord . . . . From its humble beginnings as Camp Gigling in 1917, until its closing in September of 1994, the history of the installation is carefully laid out with detailed captions, maps, and insights on this historic military base.”

“In this book, Harold Raugh, Jr., takes us on a journey through the history of the Presidio from 1770 to the present. The compound’s history is told through striking images taken from the Presidio’s own vast photo archive, along with other sources.”