A compilation of short stories about what life was like for a boy growing up in the Kentucky foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, in the years of the Great Depression-a time when the ugly face and the hopeless hands of poverty had a firm grip on most of the families in the region. Where illegal moonshine whiskey flowed as free as water. It's been said that the place was so remote that only God and the Internal Revenue Service knew where it was located. These stories are true life experiences with some humor and words of wisdom thrown in for good measure.

Butler County has concocted fine food and finer memories for generations. Isgro's dished out succulent Italian to locals and celebrities alike, including Frank Sinatra and numerous Cincinnati Reds players. Starting off as a Prohibition speakeasy, Nitchtings later evolved into a high-end supper club where many prominent politicians debated the issues of the day. Hickory Hut made its name serving delicious American casual food to fiercely loyal regulars, some of whom ate there three times a day. For decades, fans of Milillos and Chester's have argued which is the best pizza in town, a debate that continues today. Join local food writer Teri Horsley as she explores the history of Butler County's most beloved eateries and the stories behind them.

On September 11, 2001, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, became a center of national attention when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a former strip mine in sleepy Somerset County, killing all forty passengers and crew aboard. This is the story of the memorialization that followed, from immediate, unofficial personal memorials to the ten-year effort to plan and build a permanent national monument to honor those who died. It is also the story of the unlikely community that developed through those efforts. As the country struggled to process the events of September 11, temporary memorials—from wreaths of flowers to personalized T-shirts and flags—appeared along the chain-link fences that lined the perimeter of the crash site. They served as evidence of the residents’ need to pay tribute to the tragedy and of the demand for an official monument. Weaving oral accounts from Shanksville residents and family members of those who died with contemporaneous news reports and records, J. William Thompson traces the creation of the monument and explores the larger narrative of memorialization in America. He recounts the crash and its sobering immediate impact on area residents and the nation, discusses the history of and controversies surrounding efforts to permanently commemorate the event, and relates how locals and grief-stricken family members ultimately bonded with movers and shakers at the federal level to build the Flight 93 National Memorial. A heartfelt examination of memory, place, and the effects of tragedy on small-town America, this fact-driven account of how the Flight 93 National Memorial came to be is a captivating look at the many ways we strive as communities to forever remember the events that change us.

The book, Genois Wilson, Firefighter: She Dared To Be First is meant to be an inspiration to both young girls and young boys to encourage them to strive for their dreams, no matter what they are. The story follows the career of Genois Wilson Brabson who became the first female firefighter in the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Although there may not be many more opportunities for more “firsts” in the world, Mrs. Brabson’s experience led to the success she achieved during her career with the Fort Wayne Fire Department. Genois studied hard, worked hard, and believed in her dream. She was also ready physically and emotionally ready to take on Chief Lorraine’s challenge! She retired in 1995 from the Fire Department as District Chief of Public Education. In 1975 Genois Wilson Brabson was a true trailblazer. After thirty-seven years, in 2012, the City of Fort Wayne named Amy Biggs as its first female Fire Chief.

For 25 years, Tom Allison was a revenuer, a federal agent charged with enforcement of the nation’s laws on taxation of liquor. His territory was the hills, hollows and deep woods of Alabama, and his quarry was the illegal whiskey makers. Allison remembers the stake-outs in the brush, the undercover assignments, the long waits to catch the distillery operators red-handed, and, of course, the chases as he and his fellow treasury agents ran down fleeing moonshiners in the dark of night. While Allison is a natural story-teller, the characters who populate this history are too strange to be fiction. Perhaps the only thing more striking than the ignorance of many of the moonshiners is the craftiness of some others.