Showing results for "Eden" in State & Local

In Losing Eden award-winning historian Sara Dant debunks the myth of the American West as “Eden” and instead embraces a more realistic and complex understanding of a region that has been inhabited and altered by people for tens of thousands of years. In this lively narrative Dant discusses the key events and topics in the environmental history of the American West, from the Beringia migration, Columbian Exchange, and federal territorial acquisition to post–World War II expansion, resource exploitation, and current climate change issues.

Angels of the Appalachians is a fresh and endearing tale, filled with folksy phrases and amusing adages of the South. It's the story of two women who meet in 1980, gray-haired Erma telling her life story to Annie, a young college student living in Charleston, West Virginia. The tale she tells is also of two women, and their adventures beginning in the coalfields of Red Ash, growing up near Thurmond, and eventually finding their way to Charleston in 1915.

Black Eden chronicles the history of Idlewild, a Michigan black community founded during the aftermath of the Civil War. As one of the nation’s most popular black resorts, Idlewild functioned as a gathering place for African Americans, and more importantly, as a touchstone of black identity and culture. Benjamin C. Wilson and Lewis Walker examine Idlewild’s significance within a historical context, as well as the town’s revitalization efforts and the need for comprehensive planning in future development.

Have you ever heard of the pearl of Alaska? How about the hillbilly Eskimo? Do you know the name of the woman who received the Wright Brothers’ Master Pilot Award at the age of 97? Well, her name is Pearl, and this is a story about her and her family and friends. To be more precise, many of these stories are hers - authentic memories written by an amazing woman.

Samuel Taylor Suit was a dashing figure in West Virginian society - a man who made his fortune distilling whiskey. An investor in the growing railroad industry, he played host to US presidents. And when he fell in love, he fell hard. Rosa Pelham was almost two decades younger than Suit, who courted her unsuccessfully for five long years. Then, in 1883, he found the chink in Rosa’s romantic armor. She dreamed of living in a castle. Suit vowed to build her one if she accepted his proposal. He was as good as his word, and Berkeley Castle became part of West Virginian history.

“A five-year-old couldn’t get into too much trouble, right?” Jinx at the Greenbrier is a humorous and creative chronicle of a young girl who practically grew up at the acclaimed Greenbrier Hotel, which is one of the finest resorts in the world. Jinx at the Greenbrier offers a fascinating picture of the celebrities, high-society personalities, and government officials who frequented the grand Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia during the '30s and '40s.