New Book Releases

After Senator Marcus Hanna, a presidential hopeful at the turn of the twentieth century, contracted typhoid from Columbus tap water and died soon after, the embarrassed city rushed into action. The Columbus Experiment was born. Scientists and a group of nationally renowned men who were taught the science of sanitary engineering at MIT by a forgotten and uncredited female chemist devised a plan and mobilized an army of workers into action, in spite of the ceaseless internal strife of city politicians. The result was a water-treatment system that virtually eliminated the scourge of typhoid, cholera and many other waterborne diseases from the civilized world, saving millions of lives. Join Conrade C. Hinds and the Columbus Landmarks Foundation in exploring the waterworks that changed the world.

Akron Beacon Journal cartoonist Web Brown was one of the best political cartoonists in America during World War II. After serving in the Spanish-American War, Brown returned to the States and began a forty-six-year career lasting from 1899 through 1945. Before and during the Second World War, Brown's cartoons lampooned Hitler, Mussolini and Japan with a strong sense of justice, humor and history. Featured six days a week in the Journal, his work boosted morale at home and lifted the spirits of soldiers overseas. Compiling more than two hundred of Brown's best cartoons, Akron native and author Tim Carroll recalls the history of World War II through the outstanding creations of one of Akron's most prolific and noteworthy artists.

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.

For the first time under one cover, here are the tales of Cleveland's greatest blizzards, most destructive tornados, nastiest snowstorms and worst floods--and so much more. A pseudo tidal wave once pounded the Lake Erie shore from Bay Village to the Pennsylvania border. A phantom ice age caused scientists to predict that glaciers would soon return to Cleveland. A river burned, mayflies swarmed the downtown area by the millions, credible UFO sightings are still unexplained and a June blizzard raged in the city. Citizens perfected the art of throwing rocks at volunteer firefighters. Secret assistance in developing the atomic bomb created a radioactive neighborhood. Join Cleveland author Alan F. Dutka as he explores intriguing stories of famous and lesser-known Forest City disasters.

When its first covered bridge was constructed on the Ashtabula-Trumbull Turnpike in 1832, Ashtabula County was closer to frontier than a new Connecticut." Its rutted roads promised adventure and suggested prosperity but also great hardship. Covered bridges, made mostly of local timber, would eventually soften the brutality of travel, isolation and a well-watered landscape. Their proliferation and preservation gave Ashtabula County the nickname "Covered Bridge Capital of the Western Reserve." Admire both famous and forgotten crossings with Carl E. Feather, who has spent over a quarter century mired in muddy creek beds, camera in hand, waiting for the perfect light."

Explore the events and characters that make up the more unusual aspects of Cleveland's history. A must-read for fans of fantastic, peculiar, and nontraditional history.

Eliot Ness might come busting in and take all of you crooks to jail - or more likely he won't, even if you've been robbing banks all over Cleveland and bragging about it to the media, like self-proclaimed last of the big-time bank robbersEddie Watkins.

This isn't your Kevin Costner version of Eliot Ness, and this isn't your standard collection of Cleveland eccentrics. Join author Ted Schwarz on this romp celebrating bizarre misdeeds and noteworthy accomplishments of Clevelanders large and small. Learn of the burlesque star who created the striptease and the con woman who claimed to be Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. Get to know present-day street musician Maurice Reedus Jr. and the remaining cast of loving souls, offbeat characters and one-of-a-kind Clevelanders.

As the Cleveland Plain Dealerput it in April 2009, Ted Schwarz may be the most prolific author you've never heard of.He's been freelancing full time for nearly forty years. During that time, he's written well over one hundred books and more than three thousand articles and short stories for publications throughout the world. His books have been translated into more than a half dozen languages, and several have been made into documentaries and/or television movies. He has appeared on over three hundred television and radio programs in the United States and Canada.

Most jazz historians give short shrift to the Buckeye state, regarding as a go-through rather than a go-to place. However, the fact is jazz has been practiced in Ohio and with a vengeance. For 30 years, these authors have been researching and documenting the history of music, particularly jazz in Ohio. Their 1999 exhibit at the Ohio Historical Society, Jazz Ohio  ran for twelve months before portions of it moved to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The exhibit inspired the book, and much of what you will read here has never been brought together in one place before and it may well change the way you think about jazz. And Ohio.

Tucked into the southwestern corner of Cuyahoga County, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township are steeped in rich Ohio history.

Dating back to the late eighteenth century, Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township grew to become a place of idyllic beauty and fascinating stories. Uncover the myth of the infamous letter a in the Olmsted name, and learn how Olmsted became a leader in public education in Cuyahoga County. Weather battles over saloons and attempts to annex all or part of Olmsted Township to neighboring communities, and survive Rocky River floods that destroyed bridges, dams, mills and factories.

Join authors Bruce Banks and Jim Wallace, both members of the Historical Society of Olmsted Falls, as they provide a captivating account of these two historical communities.

What is it like to grow up, live, work, shop and hang out next to one of the nation's largest university campuses? According to firsthand accounts of Ohio State neighbors, life in the University District is entertaining, fascinating and sometimes maddening. Stories range from picnics in the University Woods and chats from porch swings to riots filled with tear gas and zoning wars mired in acrimony. The century of stories in this book reflects the shifting demographics of the district and the struggle against urban decay. Take a stroll with editor Emily Foster as she celebrates the historic homes, landmarks, architecture and collegiate culture that belong to this neighborhood like no other.