Free Book Friday Giveaway: Father’s Day Edition

Free Book Friday Giveaway: Father’s Day Edition

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Happy Father’s Day weekend! We’re bringing back Free Book Friday for this special occasion, but with a twist. …all History Press books are fair game. You can enter to win ANY book you want. Here are the rules: Step 1. Comment below with the book you want to win (check out our full list at [...]

Take a Memorial Day Stroll through Long Island’s Military History

Take a Memorial Day Stroll through Long Island’s Military History

1848 map of Long Island, New York by J. H. Colton LongIslandGenealogy.com Cow Neck is circled.

Guest post by author John Leita Happy Memorial Day! I am the co-author of one of the History Press’ newest books, “Long Island Oddities.”  Through this book my wife Laura and I will take you on a journey to some of Long Island’s most bizarre, scary, historic and just plain interesting places. Today I want [...]

Antique Eats from the Arkansas Delta: Sir Henry Morton Stanley & Spring Greens

Antique Eats from the Arkansas Delta: Sir Henry Morton Stanley & Spring Greens

Henry Morton Stanley, photographed in 1872 at age 31, is best known for his epic search for the missionary David Livingstone, whom he finally encountered in 1871 in present-day Tanzania. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis) Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Henry-Morton-Stanleys-Unbreakable-Will.html#ixzz2U9miJyR4

Guest post by author Cindy Grisham Long before he explored the wilds of the Congo in search of a lost missionary and uttered the now famous words, “Dr. Livingston, I presume?” Sir Henry Morton Stanley explored the wilds of Arkansas. He often spent evenings with local families who shared what little they had with him. [...]

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Letter to His Daughter

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Letter to His Daughter

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ListsofNote.com recently featured F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s 1933 letter to his eleven-year-old daughter, Scottie. The letter ended with a  list that detailed what to worry about, what not to worry about, and what to think about. What does this list show us about F. Scott Fitzgerald? (Source: F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters; Image: F. Scott Fitzgerald with his daughter, Scottie, [...]

Empowered Mothers throughout History

Empowered Mothers throughout History

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In honor of Mother’s Day, we are celebrating the “empowered mother.” We’ve dug up these fine examples from history for our infographic, but who would you add to our list?

Spring Roundup from the History Press

Spring Roundup from the History Press

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Books and history in the news: The Kentucky Derby’s just around the corner.  Read how black jockey Kevin Krigger hopes to make history in this year’s Derby (and browse our horse racing history). How many of these did you read? 6 Movie Adaptations that Made the Authors Famous. Attorney Christina Rainville called this the “worst Ponzi [...]

The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili

The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili

Kentucky governor Julian Carroll eating dinner at Covington Chili. Courtesy of the Kenton County Public Library.

Cincinnati is certainly judged by its chili. Some claim it’s not even chili, but those are just fighting words to natives who have developed the crave. Cincinnati is a long way from El Paso, and its chili is not Tex-Mex style. It is a unique blend typically served as a three-way: over spaghetti and covered [...]

The Day Babe Ruth Knocked Himself Unconscious

The Day Babe Ruth Knocked Himself Unconscious

Griffith Stadium is packed with spectators in this photo from the 1925 World Series. Library of Congress.

Today’s post comes from our archives. It’s perfect timing for spring baseball season! Guest blogger John DeFerrari, a native Washingtonian with a lifelong passion for local history,  pens the Streets of Washington blog devoted to the history of the District of Columbia.  John is also a trustee of the D.C. Preservation League. He has a master’s degree in English literature [...]

California Vines, Wines & Pioneers

California Vines, Wines & Pioneers

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Grape phylloxera, Prohibition and a brief stint of being known for “bad” wines in the 1700s couldn’t keep California’s oenophiles from cultivating one of the world’s largest, most famous and flavorful wine industries. Today, more than 3,500 bonded wineries and 4,600 grape growers allow California to produce over 90 percent of domestic wine and place [...]

Sneak Peek: The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, More than a Century of a New Orleans Icon

Sneak Peek: The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, More than a Century of a New Orleans Icon

Papa Celestin and his band in a New Orleans restaurant_2

In 1910, The Tuxedo Jazz Band played its first show at the Tuxedo Dance Hall in Storyville, under Oscar Celestin. The popular ensemble went on to play all over New Orleans, as well as across the South and the nation. In 1953, it became the first jazz band to play the White House. The band [...]