The legendary tales of Central Ohio reach far beyond the region. Bigfoot-like creatures have been sighted in the state since the 1800s. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was the headquarters for the military's investigations into UFO sightings in the mid-twentieth century. Some of Johnny Appleseed's earliest orchards were planted near present-day Steubenville, Mansfield and Lima, and a farm in Nova boasts the last tree planted by Appleseed. Join James A. Willis as he travels across Central Ohio and delves into the Buckeye State's stories of murderous villains, courageous heroes and even a few ghosts and monsters.

Scary, mysterious & just plain weird stories from Southern Ohio The southern portion of the Buckeye State has long attracted its fair share of colorful characters and odd occurrences. Infamous bootlegger George Remus rose to power shortly after moving to Cincinnati. Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, was born and raised in southern Ohio. Some even say creatures not of this planet are drawn to the area, which has had numerous UFO sightings. In the same region, an unassuming university professor got away with murder, an eccentric built his version of a European castle using nearby river rocks, and a headless motorcycle ghost roams a rural roadway. Ride along with author James A. Willis as he ventures into Southern Ohio in search of all things strange and spooky.

Review: "More than 100 scholars contributed to this carefully researched, well-organized, informative, and multi-disciplinary source on death studies. Volume 1, "The Presence of Death," examines the cultural, historical, and societal frameworks of death, such as the universal fear of death, spirituality and varioius religions, the legal definition of death, suicide, and capital punishment. Volume 2, "The Response to Death," covers such topics as rites and ceremonies, grief and bereavement, and legal matters after death."--"The Top 20 Reference Titles of the Year," American Libraries, May 2004.

This four-volume reference is intended for high school students and above, as well as the general public. The first volume opens with introductory essays on the history of feminism; on women in various eras (from early America through World War II and postwar eras); and on women's history in terms of political participation and social activism, race and ethnicity, and cultural representation. These essays are signed and include references. Following are alphabetically arranged state articles, each opening with a literary quote (by a woman) and comprising a narrative history supplemented with boxed features spotlighting events, people, and trends; a timeline; a biographical section on prominent women; a description of relevant sites; resources; a state map; primary document excerpts; and a chart of key statistical information. Appendices include a chronology, primary documents, statistical tables, and an extensive general bibliography. Numerous scholars contributed, working under the editorial leadership of Weatherford (U. of South Florida). Annotation ♭2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

Although there is growing concern over Satanism as a threat to American life, the topic has received surprisingly little serious attention. Recognizing this, the editors of this volume have selected papers from a wide variety of disciplines, broadly covering contemporary aspects of Satanism from the vantage points of studies in folklore, cults, religion, deviance, rock music, rumor, and the mass media.All contributors are skeptical of claims that a large, powerful satanic conspiracy can be substantiated. Their research focuses instead on claims about Satanism and on the question of whose interests are served by such claims. Several papers consider the impact of anti-Satanism campaigns on public opinion, law enforcement and civil litigation, child protection services, and other sectors of American society.The constructionist perspective adopted by the editors does not deny the existence of some activities by 'real' Satanists, and two papers describe the workins of satanic groups. Whatever the basis of the claims examined and analyzed, there is growing evidence that belief in the satanic menace will have real social consequences in the years ahead.