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New York is a city of superlatives. It has the largest population, greatest wealth, broadest diversity and most elegant museums in the nation. With that comes an amazing history.

This tour of the Big Apple goes beyond the traditional guidebook to offer visitors and residents alike a chance to walk back in time along the streets of Manhattan. George Washington took his first oath of office on the steps of Federal Hall. Visitors can still dine at the famed Fraunces Tavern and worship at historic St. Paul's Chapel. From the Brooklyn Bridge to stunning skyscrapers, the city celebrates its own history and that of the nation. Join author Alison Fortier as she traces the history and heritage of America's largest metropolis.

Join author Alison Fortier for a walk through our United States Capital and its iconic locations.  

This tour of the nation's capital goes beyond the traditional guidebook to offer a historical journey through the federal district. Visit the White House, the only executive home in the world regularly open to the public. Travel to President Lincoln's Cottage and see where he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. Look around lesser-known sites, such as the grave of Pierre L'Enfant, the city's Botanical Gardens, the Old Post Office and a host of historical homes throughout the capital. From George Washington's Mount Vernon to the Kennedy Center, trek through each era of Washington, D.C., for a tour of America's most beloved sites. Join author and Washington insider Alison Fortier as she carefully curates an expedition to our shining city on a hill.

Exploring Pittsburgh's Ups and Downs

In Pittsburgh, the elevation varies wildly, fluctuating 660 feet from highest to lowest points throughout the area and making it one of the hilliest cities in the United States. Throughout this unruly and physically challenging landscape, the city's first mass transportation system was built – a steadily expanding network of public stairways, locally referred to as city steps, these flights of stairs are a throwback to a very different time in history and a very different Pittsburgh. Authors Laura Zurowski, Charles Succop and Matthew Jacob present the history of the Steel City steps and a walking guide to their scenic locations today.

For architecture aficinados and historians, this comprehensive view of the statues, monuments and architectural plans of Washington DC provides an exciting insight into our federal city.

Author Michael Curtis guides this tour of the heart of the District of Columbia's buildings, statues, and monuments. Classical design formed our nation's capital. The soaring Washington Monument, the columns of the Lincoln Memorial and the spectacular dome of the Capitol Building speak to the founders' expansive vision of our federal city. Learn about the L'Enfant and McMillan plans for Washington, D.C., and how those designs are reflected in two hundred years of monuments, museums and representative government. View the statues of our Founding Fathers with the eye of a sculptor and gain insight into the criticism and controversies of modern additions to Washington's monumental structure.

A literary and pictorial stroll through the charming and history-filled streets of New York's West Village reveals the history and little known tales of this fascinating and picturesque neighborhood.

Greenwich Village is a tourist's dream and a favorite weekend destination for New Yorkers. A part of Manhattan Island that holds its own amid the noise and confusion of the twenty-first century, it still retains much of the character of the old farming community that was part of the original settlement of Manhattan. The West Village, the northwest section of the neighborhood, is bounded by the Hudson River on the west and Greenwich Avenue on the east and is where it all began. Famous people such as Sinclair Lewis, Fiorello LaGuardia, William ""Bill the Butcher"" Poole, Frank Serpico, James Baldwin and Jackson Pollock, among dozens of others, called this neighborhood home. Stroll down the back streets and along the waterfront and peer behind the facades of these historic structures to discover its fascinating history, hidden secrets and little-known tales.

Writer H.L. Mencken--the Sage of Baltimore--called her a "wicked seaport'? but where "the old charm, in truth, still survives.'?

Neither Southern nor Northern, Baltimore has charted her own course through the American Experience. The spires of the nation's first cathedral rose into her sky, and the first blood of the Civil War fell on her streets. Here, enslaved Frederick Douglass toiled before fleeing to freedom and Billie Holiday learned to sing. Baltimore's clippers plied the seven seas while her pioneering railroads opened the prairie West. The city that birthed "The Star-Spangled Banner'? also gave us Babe Ruth and the bottle cap. This guide navigates nearly 300 years of colorful history--from Johns Hopkins' learned philanthropy to the raucous camp of John Waters, and from modest rowhouses to the marbled mansions of the Gilded Age.

Let local authors Brennen Jensen and Tom Chalkey introduce you to Mencken's "ancient and solid'? city.

“Delaware will be written on my heart.”

In 1972, a young Delaware attorney made an audacious bet, challenging the state's most formidable politician in a race for the US Senate. Joe Biden won that election at age twenty-nine, but weeks later, his wife and daughter died in a car crash that also injured his two sons. This is the story of Delaware’s preeminent political leader, his family and their journey over the decades since. From the Charcoal Pit to the Hotel DuPont, St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine to the Wilmington train station, these tales reveal Joe Biden’s deep roots in Delaware and how they helped carry him to the White House.

Author Dan Shortridge examines Biden family lore and traces the history of the institutions that shaped their lives and the First State.

Built as a gated, all-white community, in the 20th century LeDroit Park became the premier neighborhood of Washington, DC's Black elite.

LeDroit Park's famed arch offers entry into a tree-lined neighborhood with unique architecture and a captivating history. Developed in 1873 by a Howard University trustee who refused to sell lots to Black Washingtonians, the neighborhood was designed to be both town and country, one of DC's earliest suburbs. Not long after the fences of this gated community were torn down, the demographics changed as members of the Black elite of Washington moved there. During the 20th century it was home to educators and activists, military men and artists, doctors and scientists - both white and Black, men and women.

Local historian and guide Canden Schwantes leads you through this neighborhood, small in size but large in history, to discover the stories of the people who called LeDroit Park home.

Get off the National Mall and enjoy nine walking and driving tours of Washington, D. C. 's historic neighborhoods. A must-have for visitors and residents alike.

Discover the hidden history of the nation's capital with tales of political intrigue, scandal, romance and tragedy. Experience the overlooked architectural and cultural treasures in such neighborhoods as Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan and Mount Vernon Square.

Owner of A Tour de Force, Jeanne Fogle, leads her readers through the hidden sites and history of Washington, D. C. 's neighborhoods. Charming sketches by Edward Fogle and vintage photographs accompany each tour, casting a new light on the city. Visitors and local alike will be surprised and delighted by the discoveries that can be made beyond the monuments.

Learn about the Potomac River and its significant role in American history.

The great Potomac River begins in the Alleghenies and flows 383 miles through some of America's most historic lands before emptying into the Chesapeake Bay. The course of the river drove the development of the region and the path of a young republic. Maryland's first Catholic settlers came to its banks in 1634 and George Washington helped settle the new capitol on its shores. During the Civil War the river divided North and South, and it witnessed John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry and the bloody Battle of Antietam. Author Garrett Peck leads readers on a journey down the Potomac, from its first fount at Fairfax Stone in West Virginia to its mouth at Point Lookout in Maryland. Combining history with recreation, Peck has written an indispensable guide to the nation's river.