From Ken Zurski, author of "The Wreck of the Columbia, " comes a collection of stories about people and events which helped shape a city and region. Included are profiles of Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Charles Lindbergh and many other famous and not so famous figures who played a part in the rich history of Peoria and Central Illinois. Incorporating important historical milestones like the first flights, the rise of the automobile, and radio's early days, Zurski skillfully intertwines local and national perspectives into each story for a captivating trip back to the past. "Peoria Stories" will both enlighten and entertain.

Punk rock culture in a preeminently average town Synonymous with American mediocrity, Peoria was fertile ground for the boredom- and anger-fueled fury of punk rock. Jonathan Wright and Dawson Barrett explore the do-it-yourself scene built by Peoria punks, performers, and scenesters in the 1980s and 1990s. From fanzines to indie record shops to renting the VFW hall for an all-ages show, Peoria's punk culture reflected the movement elsewhere, but the city's conservatism and industrial decline offered a richer-than-usual target environment for rebellion. Eyewitness accounts take readers into hangouts and long-lost venues, while interviews with the people who were there trace the ever-changing scene and varied fortunes of local legends like Caustic Defiance, Dollface, and Planes Mistaken for Stars. What emerges is a sympathetic portrait of a youth culture in search of entertainment but just as hungry for community—the shared sense of otherness that, even for one night only, could unite outsiders and discontents under the banner of music. A raucous look at a small-city underground, Punks in Peoria takes readers off the beaten track to reveal the punk rock life as lived in Anytown, U.S.A.

This book seeks to understand what really happened at the Peoria State Hospital during its fascinating history and to do so as accurately as possible. In the end, the individual reader will be allowed to draw his or her own conclusions regarding the hospital and those who call it their "home."

On the night of July 5, 1918, a steamboat named "Columbia, " returning from a moonlight excursion, collapsed and sank in the middle of the Illinois River. Of the nearly 500 passengers on board that night, most were from the town of Pekin. Eighty-seven people lost their lives in the disaster. The rest were left to tell their stories of fortitude and survival. The worst maritime accident in the history of the Illinois River, the wreck of the "Columbia" is a mostly forgotten tragedy today. Ken Zurski's gripping account follows the compelling true story from the moment the captain sensed a problem, to the horror of the cries and screams in the night, to the courageous actions of the rescue and recovery workers, and ultimately to the pursuit by law enforcement officials to find truth and justice. One town in particular found itself reeling from a sudden and devastating loss of life, an immense communal grief, and a frustrating search for answers that never truly came. PRAISE FOR 'THE WRECK OF THE COLUMBIA' "A stirring account of the tragedy." "An authoritative source on the wreck." "A solid job of stringing together narrative accounts of that fatal night." "Plenty of fascinating personal vignettes." "Both instructive and entertaining." "-Peoria Journal Star and PJStar.com" "Grabs the reader by the life jacket and sweeps them along as the horrific night unfolds." "Played in my head almost as if I were witnessing the events and hearing the conversations." "Spot on...historical perfection." "A literary buffet...Fascinating tidbits of facts and information." "A hit!" "-50+ News and Views" "A captivating and readable style. This book was hard to put down." "A broad-ranging and probing look at the disaster, vividly bringing it back to life." "A great read!" "-East Peoria-Times Observer"

Born to parents who were enthusiastic naturalists, and linked through his wider family to a clutch of accomplished scientists, Richard Dawkins was bound to have biology in his genes. But what were the influences that shaped his life? And who inspired him to become the pioneering scientist and public thinker now famous (and infamous to some) around the world? In An Appetite for Wonder we join him on a personal journey from an enchanting childhood in colonial Africa, through the eccentricities of boarding school in England, to his studies at the University of Oxford’s dynamic Zoology Department, which sparked his radical new vision of Darwinism, The Selfish Gene. Through Dawkins’s honest self-reflection, touching reminiscences and witty anecdotes, we are finally able to understand the private influences that shaped the public man who, more than anyone else in his generation, explained our own origins.

At the heart of Peoria's Haunted Memories is the rich and compelling history and folklore of the Peoria area. Buildings and cemeteries in and around the city provide ideal stomping grounds for many restless specters. In this collection of haunted sites, the reader will be introduced to some of Peoria's best-loved mansions, institutions, and graveyards, as well as many of its more illustrious citizens. From Bartonville State Hospital to Bradley University, historic downtown theaters, hotels and taverns, and local churches, where ghostly congregants and ministers continue to worship, this book presents these ghost stories and legends for the fi rst time together in print. In addition to providing thrilling tales, Peoria's Haunted Memories serves as a unique guide for the intrepid supernatural sleuth seeking confi rmation that the dead do not always rest in peace.

It Didn't Play in Peoria explores the interesting history of this small Middle American town which is often looked over. "Will it play in Peoria?" was an old Vaudeville phrase meaning, "Will it appeal to the average person?" But it had greatness in its grasp, and more than once. The Illinois city has gained fame through the years, but more often as the butt of jokes or as an example of the typical Middle American town than through any recognition of its many accomplishments. Peoria boasts a string of close brushes with prosperity, any one of which could have made it a Chicago or a St. Louis. Charles Lindbergh, for example, first approached Peoria for backing for his historic flight, but the town's moneymen refused him and his Spirit of Peoria, perhaps losing a chance at the airline industry as well.