Town Histories

Eamonn McCann’s account of what it is like to grow up a Catholic in a Northern Irish ghetto - first published in 1974 - quickly became a classic account of the feelings generated by British rule. The author was at the center of events in Derry which first brought Northern Ireland to world attention. He witnessed the gradual transformation of the civil rights movement from a mild campaign for “British Democracy” to an all-out military assault on the British state. This book describes the people involved in the war and gives an account of the springs of the "Catholic" opposition.

Brought to you by Penguin. West Germany in the 1960s is a simmering cauldron of radical protests. Amid the turmoil Leo Harting, a Second Secretary in the British Embassy, has gone missing - along with more than forty Confidential embassy files. Alan Turner of the Foreign Office must travel to...

During Prohibition, while Al Capone was rising to worldwide prominence as Public Enemy Number One, the townspeople of rural Templeton, Iowa - population just 418 - were busy with a bootlegging empire of their own. Led by Joe Irlbeck, the whip-smart and gregarious son of a Bavarian immigrant, the outfit of farmers, small merchants, and even the church Monsignor worked together to create a whiskey so excellent, it was ordered by name: Templeton Rye.

Perfect for fans of the musical Come From Away! When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17...

Narrated by actress Cherry Jones! Based on the real-life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Town on the Prairie is the seventh book in the award-winning Little House series, which has captivated generations of readers. In Little Town on the Prairie, the young town of De Smet has survived...

One of the nation's most acclaimed journalists, the New York Times' Mark Leibovich, presents a blistering, penetrating, controversial--and often hysterical--look at Washington's incestuous "media industrial complex."...

Even before Jack the Ripper haunted its streets for prey, London's East End had earned a reputation for immorality, filth, and vice. John Bennett, a writer and tour guide who has walked and researched the area for more than 30 years, delves into four centuries of history to chronicle the crimes, their perpetrators, and the circumstances that made the East End an ideal breeding ground for illegal activity.

Once hailed as Louisiana's answer to Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Wells drew thousands seeking relief in its warm mineral waters. Governors, entertainers, politicians, and ordinary families flocked to the resort, convinced its remarkable springs offered healing and hope. Yet within a few decades, the bustling destination faded into silence, leaving behind abandoned buildings, forgotten dreams, and a ghost town reclaimed by time.

In prose as crystalline as his view to the Pyrenees on a clear day, Allman animates Lauzerte and its surrounding communities—Cahors, Moissac, Montauban—all ever in thrall to the magnetic impulse of Paris. Witness to so many dramas over the centuries, his house comes alive as a historical protagonist in its own right, from its wine-cellar cave to the roof where he wages futile battle with pigeons, to the life lessons it conveys. “The onward march of history, my House keeps demonstrating, never takes a rest,” he observes, pulling us vividly into his world.

Dive into the dramatic urban history of a muddy colonial outpost that transformed into a global multicultural metropolis. Perfect for your daily commute or a reflective city walk, this engaging narrative brings centuries of migration, political riots, and architectural triumphs to life. Listen...

The story of a year-long confrontation in 1972 between the Vancouver police and the Clark Park gang, a band of unruly characters who ruled the city's east side. Corrupt cops, hapless criminals, and murder figure in this story that questions which gang was tougher: the petty criminals or the police themselves.

Discover how a fragile alliance of medieval merchants conquered treacherous sea routes to build a commercial superpower. This epic economic history immerses you in the freezing, pirate-infested waters of the Baltic, transforming your daily commute into an adventurous journey of diplomacy...

This rodeo star's past is about to collide with his present, and the one woman he's never forgotten might be the one to tie him down for good—in this sizzling cowboy romance from the bestselling author of Wanted and the Silver Pines Ranch series. Rough, wild, and too charismatic for his own...

Experience the dramatic colonial history of how a strict Puritan settlement ignited the explosive American Revolution. Perfect for a morning commute, this immersive journey traces the evolution of a rocky peninsula from its Indigenous roots as Shawmut to a radical hotbed of rebellion. Step onto...

Dive into a gripping urban history of conquest, resilience, and global trade at the southern tip of Africa. Perfect for your daily commute, this dramatic narrative transforms a single port city into a vivid microcosm of the modern world. Feel the shifting winds where the Atlantic and Indian...

Uncover 350 years of turbulent African history and cultural resilience forging a spectacular, deeply divided port city. Perfect for an immersive commute or mindful travel preparation, this evocative narrative transforms a scenic harbor into a living theater of clashing empires and indigenous...

Experience the dramatic urban history of a windswept bay that became a global epicenter of trade, empire, and rebellion. Perfect for an educational daily commute, this immersive narrative transports you to the shores of Table Bay long before European ships ever dropped anchor. Whether you are...

"A powerfully doomy debut" (The Guardian), Shaun Prescott’s The Town is a novel of a rural Australian community besieged by modern day anxieties and threatened by a supernatural force seeking to consume the dying town. This is Australia, an unnamed, dead-end town in the heart of the...

The micro-nation Christiania has been threatened from without by the Danish government for decades. Nowadays, it is equally menaced by schisms from within.

New York City is not only The New Yorker magazine's place of origin and its sensibility's lifeblood, it is the heart of American literary culture. Wonderful Town, an anthology of superb short fiction by many of the magazine's most accomplished contributors, celebrates the seventy-five-year...