Newport, Rhode Island, is renowned for its stunning cliff-side vistas and the luxurious summer homes of the Gilded Age elite. Yet the opulent facades of the City by the Sea concealed the scintillating scandals, eccentric characters and unsolved mysteries of its wealthiest families. Learn how Cornelius Vanderbilt III was cut out of the family's fortune for his unapproved marriage to Grace Wilson and how John F. Kennedy's marriage to a Newport debutante helped to secure his presidency. Travel to the White Horse Tavern, where a vengeful specter still waits for his supposed murderer to return to the scene, and discover the mysterious voyage of the "Sea Bird" and its missing crew. Historian Larry Stanford searches the dark corners of Newport's past to expose these scandalous tales and more.

Before the American Revolution, Newport was one of the biggest ports on the eastern seaboard thanks to its religious freedom and lack of effective control by Britain. Its then free-running economy based on international trading would face many challenges and changes over the 18th and 19th centuries.

From Narragansett Bay, Roger Williams, the American Industrial Revolution and the Independent Man to the New England mob, the Big Blue Bug, the Newport Mansions, Family Guy and profiles of Buddy Cianci, H.P. Lovecraft and the Farrelly brothers, no book provides a more insightful lowdown on the Ocean State than Rhode Island 101. No book is more fun! Well known Rhode Islanders weigh in on the nation's smallest state. Investigative reporter Jim Taricani recounts his top stories, Mark Patinkin provides signs that you've been in Rhode Island too long, meteorologist John Ghiorse revisits the most memorable weather events of the last 40 years, Lincoln Chafee offers a Rhode Island treasure hunt and Rory Raven illuminates haunted Rhode Island. From fabulous beaches, historic cities, and dynamite cuisine to corrupt politicians, elite universities and a unique accent and slang, it's all here.

"Newport, Rhode Island has been a city of innovation since its beginning nearly four centuries ago. Some of the claims on a national level are true, while some have been greatly distorted over the years. The freethinking citizens include the first to defeat a British squadron and the author of the first written constitution guaranteeing the right to religious freedom in world history. The first law banning the importation of Negroes in the colonies was enacted in the city, and the first Methodist church in the world with a steeple and bell is located here. But was the first female lighthouse keeper in America from here? Was Newport the first place where a medical lecture was given? Author and research historian Brian M. Stinson offers a chronological collection of vignettes detailing the city's many firsts." --