When Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig tied the knot with Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen in October of 1810 a few kegs were tapped and a new tradition was born. The modern “Oktoberfest” is […]
The Sound of Murder
“Do you make your own breakfast, Mr Neff?” “Well, I squeeze a grapefruit now and again.” Has it really been seventy years since Double Indemnity? The noir touchstone hit theaters […]
Beyond “El Paso”: a story song survey
Story songs had won love from an admiring public since the days when drunken Vikings flung wandering skalds into a nearby volcano. When the wireless came along, story songs filled […]
Happy birthday, Marty Robbins
Country music superstar Marty Robbins was born on September 26, 1925. In three decades as a singer and songwriter Robbins placed a staggering 94 songs on Billboard’s country music charts. […]
For the love of wicked Feleena
There is a possibly apocryphal story about Loretta Lynn’s classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Supposedly, Lynn’s original version of the song included ten (or eight or twelve) verses. Hearing it, her […]
Aqua adds to the new face of Chicago
Standing 82 stories at 225 N. Columbus Drive, Chicago’s Aqua was named the Emporis Skyscraper Award “skyscraper of the year” on September 24, 2010. This unique mixed-use residential building is featured on […]
Q&A with NFL Football author Richard Crepeau
Richard C. Crepeau is a professor of history at the University of Central Florida and former president of the North American Society for Sports History. He answered some questions about […]
Battle of the Sexes
Bobby Riggs had risen to the top of men’s tennis in the 1940s. A longtime promoter of the game with the soul of a pool hall hustler, Riggs used his […]
Q&A with Collaborators for Emancipation authors
Collaborators for Emancipation is an examination of the relationship between President Abraham Lincoln and Congregational minister Owen Lovejoy. Authors William F. Moore and Jane Ann Moore collaborated themselves on both […]
New in paperback: Black Women & Politics in New York City
Black Women & Politics in New York City Now available in paperback, Black Women & Politics in New York City documents African American women fighting for justice, civil rights, and […]
The Barb sinks a carrier
Seventy years ago today, the American submarine USS Barb torpedoed the Japanese carrier Unyo in the South China Sea, one of the legendary feats of the famed sub and its skipper, […]
New in paperback: two titles examine Civil War era secrets
Two UIP titles are available in paperback editions today. A Secret Society History of the Civil War Were the forces that drove the United States to civil war prompted by […]