Mayday!

9781596292475

$19.99

From valiant rescues to sorrowful disasters, the eastern shore of Long Island is home to a riveting collection of maritime lore.
Since the mid-1600s, eastern Long Island's shoals, sandbars and assorted submerged hazards have caused many an unlucky vessel to become shipwrecked. The frequency of wrecks rose to a grim crescendo during the
mid-nineteenth century as New York and New England peaked as shipping centers. Then came the dawn of the twentieth century and the arrival of advanced navigational aids. Although the number of wrecks declined, the high drama persisted as rumrunners and German submarines kept the coast humming with rumors and anticipation. In MAYDAY!, author Van R. Field painstakingly assembles a compendium of Long Island's most harrowing, amazing and notorious shipwrecks and ocean-going incidents.

Mayday Over Wichita

9781626190528

$21.99

On the cold Saturday morning of January 16, 1965, a U.S. Air Force KC-135 tanker carrying thirty-one thousand gallons of jet fuel crashed into a congested African American neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas. When the fire and destruction finally subsided, forty-seven people--mostly African American children--were dead or injured, homes were completely destroyed and numerous families were splintered. As shocking as it may sound, the event was seemingly omitted from the historical record for nearly fifty years. Now, historian D. W. Carter examines the myths and realities of the crash while providing new insights about the horrific four-minute flight that forever changed the history of Kansas.

Memphis and the Superflood of 1937

9781596295308

$21.99

Experience the historic superflood that decimated the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys and the resilience displayed by the people of Memphis.

The greatest flood in United States history struck the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys in January 1937. Perhaps no single flood in the United States had caused as much damage, displayed as much brutal natural force and displaced as many people. Not even the calamitous flood of 1927, which has eclipsed the '37 flood in terms of historical coverage was as massive. Author and Memphis local Patrick O'Daniel illustrates how this national natural disaster affected Memphis, in particular, and how the politicians of the day, from national figures like FDR to local political bosses like Ed Crump, handled unprecedented infrastructural challenges. Yet beyond politics and policy, O'Daniel tells the story of this historic disaster through the eyes of everyday Memphians, their struggles, care for thousands of desperate refugees and the measures they took to save their city from this devastating flood.

Virginia Beach Shipwrecks

9781596294745

$21.99

The waters of coastal Virginia swirl with tales both tragic and heroic. Join Virginia Beach native Alpheus Chewning as he recounts harrowing stories of storms at sea, loss of life and fortune and the heroism of the United States Life-Saving Service. Marvel at the blunders and bungles that have plagued the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and learn about the U-boats that lurked off the coast during World War II. Extensively researched and filled with fascinating details, Virginia Beach Shipwrecks is a treasure for sea
lovers of all ages.

The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911

9780738574004

$24.99

In the early morning hours of March 29, 1911, a fire broke out in the New York State Capitol at Albany. By sunset, the entire western portion of the building had sustained extensive structural damage. Within lay the entire collection of the New York State Library, almost completely reduced to ashes. Founded in 1818, this had been one of the finest research libraries in the country and home to innumerable manuscript and printed rarities. In a particularly bitter irony, the fire struck as the overcrowded library was four months away from moving into new, spacious quarters under construction across the street. Miraculously there was only one fatality, an elderly watchman, Samuel Abbott, whose body was not recovered until several days later. Images of America: The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911 includes recently discovered photographs documenting the construction of the building, beginning in 1867, as well as eyewitness accounts of its destruction.

The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911

The Great Hurricanes of North Carolina

9781596293915

$14.99

From the horrific Independence Hurricane of 1775, the most lethal storm to strike its coast, to the ruinous Hugo in September 1989, a path has been cut along the shores of the Tarheel State-a path not easily forgotten. Engagingly written and illustrated with historical photos that graphically depict the disastrous effects of these mighty storms, this book is a gripping read!

The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City

9781596296886

$21.99

The mountain snows melted and the rains came. In 1853, thousands fled the rising water; in 1889, two days of torrential rain ravaged the city; and in 1936, the infamous St. Patrick's Day flood saw a swell of ten feet. Perched on the banks of the Potomac River, the city of Cumberland, Maryland, has been plagued by devastating floods since its foundation. Time and again, deluges have brought the city to its knees. Yet the Queen City has always risen triumphant and undimmed from the raging waters. With this stunning collection of images, historian and author Albert L. Feldstein chronicles the history of Cumberland through its floods and the valiant efforts of its citizens to stem the tide.

The Great Cumberland Floods: Disaster in the Queen City

The Pendleton Disaster off Cape Cod

9781609490508

$21.99

Get a first-hand account and fascinating new details of the story behind The Finest Hours, the film portraying the harrowing rescue of the SS Pendleton in 1952.

On February 18, 1952, off the coast of Cape Cod, a fierce nor'easter snapped in half two 503-foot oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. Human grace and grit, leadership and endurance prevail as Theresa Mitchell Barbo and Captain W. Russell Webster (Ret.) recount the historic, heroic rescue of thirty-two merchant mariners from the sinking Pendleton by four young Coast Guardsmen aboard the 36-foot motor lifeboat CG36500. A foreword by former Commandant Admiral Thad Allen (Ret.) and an essay by Master Chief John ""Jack"" Downey (Ret.), a veteran of thousands of modern-day small boat rescues, round out the special third edition of this classic work on Coast Guard history.

Columbus and the Great Flood of 1913:

9781626190610

$21.99

Beginning on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913, Columbus and the Ohio Valley endured a downpour that would produce the largest flood in one hundred years. Heavy rains came on the heels of an especially cold winter, resulting in a torrent of runoff over saturated and frozen ground. Rivers and streams quickly overflowed and levees failed, sending tsunami-like floodwater into unsuspecting communities and claiming four hundred lives. There were ninety-six deaths in Columbus alone when the swollen Scioto River emptied water that ran nine to seventeen feet deep through the streets of the near west side. Join Conrade C. Hinds and the Columbus Landmarks Foundation in a closer look at a flood disaster that reshaped the American Midwest.

The Cedar Keys Hurricane of 1896

9781596296121

$21.99

Families watched in horror as walls of water swept away homes and businesses, and men held onto saplings for their lives while the winds howled.

The destruction was beyond belief. Buildings on Atsena Otie were swept away so completely that only cracked stone foundations remained, and the forests of red cedar that gave the islands their name and livelihood were flattened. Resulting in dozens of deaths and millions of dollars in damage, Hurricane Number 4 in 1896 changed the Cedar Keys forever and set the city on a path to the present. Historian Alvin F. Oickle, drawing on firsthand accounts and extensive archival research, tells the story of ordinary Floridians who were faced, like so many before and so many since, with nature's fury.

Explosion on the Potomac

9781626191976

$21.99

In 1844, the USS Princeton" was the most technologically sophisticated warship in the world. Its captain, Robert Stockton, and President John Tyler were both zealous expansionists, and they hoped that it would be the forerunner in a formidable steam-powered fleet. On a Potomac cruise intended to impress power brokers, the ship's main gun--the Peacemaker--exploded as the vessel neared Mount Vernon. Eight died horribly, while twenty others were injured. Two of Tyler's most important cabinet members were instantly lost, and the president himself had a near miss--making it the worst physical disaster to befall a presidential administration. The tragedy set off an unpredictable wave of events that cost Tyler a second term, nearly scuttled plans to add Texas to the Union and stirred up sectional rancor that drove the nation closer to civil war. Author Kerry Walters chronicles this little-known disaster that altered the course of the nation's history."