This compendium of the unusual origins of more than 3,000 American place names is meant to be read, enjoyed, passed around, and taken on family trips. Travelers might even stumble upon Nothing, Arizona, population four. Illustrations & maps.

Combining 50 rare, beautiful, and diverse maps of Texas from the collections of the Library of Congress, informative captions about the origins and contents of those maps, and essays on Lone Star State history, this book is a collectible for cartography buffs and a celebration of state history for residents, former residents, and visitors.

This is a smart volume full of peculiar places. The author details counties, routes and landmarks that distinguish villages' quirky names scattered throughout the Lone Star State.

This extensive guide shows how the history and culture of Illinois are embedded in the names of its towns, cities, and other geographical features. Edward Callary unearths the origins of names of nearly three thousand Illinois communities and the circumstances surrounding their naming and renaming. Organized alphabetically, the entries are concise, engaging, and full of fascinating detail revealing the rich ethnic history of the state, the impact of industrialization and the coming of the railroads, and insight into local politics and personalities. Many entries also provide information on local pronunciation, the name’s etymology, and the community’s location, all set in historical and cultural context. A general introduction locates Illinois place names in the context of general patterns of place naming in the United States. An extremely useful reference for scholars of American history, geography, language, and culture, Place Names of Illinois also offers intriguing browsing material for the inquisitive reader and the curious traveler.

This fascinating book, the result of many years of research, is a collection of more than 3,000 odd town names and their origins. If you start looking, you will find that America is filled with towns with fascinating monikers. For instance, there is a small town called Two Egg in the Florida panhandle, which received its name from the time a store opened there and the first customer walked in and asked for "two eggs." The list goes on and on, including stories of such intriguing places as Peculiar, Uncertain, Embarrass, Baby Head, Coupon, Gnaw Bone, Goose Egg, Total Wreck, and Welfare. How charming to know that just a few miles from the Interstate lies a tiny hamlet by the name of Hot Coffee or Pancake. Maps.

A gun-wielding madam, a brave young mother, a flame-haired card shark, a heroic slave girl, a sharp-shooting horse trader, an "angel" in black--these are some of the memorable women in From Angels to Hellcats, eight tales of adventure, crime, courage and