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Vivian Gibson's bestselling memoir of growing up in the 1950s in a segregated St. Louis neighborhood has been hailed by critics as a spare, elegant jewel of a work and a love letter to Gibson's childhood.

Vivian Gibson grew up in Mill Creek Valley, a segregated working-class neighborhood in St. Louis that was razed in 1959 to build a highway, an act of racism disguised under urban renewal as progress. A moving memoir of family life at a time very different from the present, The Last Children of Mill Creek chronicles the everyday lived experiences of Gibson's large family―her seven siblings, her crafty, college-educated mother, and her hard-working father―and the friends, shop owners, church ladies, teachers, and others who made Mill Creek into a warm, tight-knit African American community. In Gibson's words, This memoir is about survival, as told from the viewpoint of a watchful young girl―a collection of decidedly universal stories that chronicle the extraordinary lives of ordinary people.

Winner of a Missouri Humanities award for literary achievement, The Last Children of Mill Creek is an important book for anyone interested in urban development, race, and community history―or for anyone who was once a child.

St. Louis was at the center of several key Civil War events from the Dred Scott decision through the Mississippi Campaign that cut the Confederate States in two. Visit the site from which enslaved people tried to cross the Mississippi River to the free state of Illinois. Discover how hundreds of lawsuits by enslaved people set the stage for the Dred Scott decision that lit the fuse to the Civil War. See the military base that produced over 200 Civil War generals and the arsenal that secessionists and unionists fought to control. Author Peter Downs goes behind the monuments and historic sites to explore the people, relationships and events that influenced the course of civil war in St. Louis and the nation.

The Houses Lutherans Built

Large groups of German immigrants began arriving in Cole County in the 1830s. By 1843, thirty-seven of them banded together to establish the first Lutheran church in the county—Zion Church. The following year, the second Lutheran church was founded near Taos, while the pastors at Zion helped establish a third congregation in Lohman in the 1850s. Doctrinal disputes inspired members to leave the church in Lohman and establish a new Lutheran congregation in Stringtown after the Civil War. Over the generations, Zion—the “Mother Church”—disbanded but other Lutheran congregations developed in Centertown, Honey Creek, Russellville, Jefferson City and near Brazito. Local author Jeremy Amick details the rich history of Lutherans in Cole County.

Ghost stories from America’s heartland have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky streets of Columbia, Missouri!

Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know ghostly soldiers reenact Civil War battles along one road in Woodlandville? Or that a demon pack of hunting dogs can still be heard baying on a haunted farm outside Columbia? Can you believe that in the home of the University president, a former resident decided never to leave?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Columbia and have you sleeping with the light on!

The first century of the wilderness-born Missouri capital was filled with villainous escapes from the state’s only prison, resulting in theft, abuse and even murder. The grandest of escape attempts ended with the city’s only triple hanging. The capital city had plenty of entrepreneurs willing to sidestep the federal Volstead Act, which attracted Ku Klux Klan activity and culminated in the election of a “law and order” sheriff, whose deputies broke laws to enforce them. Many other tragedies grieved the community, including the South Side murder of a German immigrant by a teen-aged deputy, who had been caught sleeping with the victim’s daughter. Author Michelle Brooks has collected a sample of some of the shocking events of Jefferson City’s first century.

Lamar advertises itself as the city "where legends begin," and the city of four thousand lives up to that slogan. It was the place where frontier lawman Wyatt Earp first wore a star and where President Harry S Truman was born. When Truman successfully brought World War II to an end, the submarine fleets in the Atlantic and Pacific were commanded by Lamar High School graduates. Lamar's legends, however, are not limited to those who found fame after they left the city. Lamar was home to the longest-serving mayor in Missouri history, a legendary newspaperman, a football team that captured seven straight state championships and an infamous killer whose life was ended by a lynch mob. Author Randy Turner details these stories and much more.

Sometimes the coolest places are right outside your front door. Learning about Kansas City’s interesting and unique culture has never been so super fun!

Did you know Amelia Earhart once lived in the City of Fountains? Or that you’re likely to spot a ghost at The Hotel Savoy? From Arrowhead Stadium to Kaw Point Park, Super Cities!: Kansas City covers it all and is sure to engage any reader with fun facts about the history, culture, and people who make this place great. Attend a show at the Starlight Theatre, stroll through Swope Park, and swim in the Missouri River, all right here. Take a peek inside to learn more about the impressive, unusual, super history of Kansas City!