St. Louis Currents: The Fifth Edition carries the series into its 30th year. The publication started in 1986 as a way to disseminate critical essays from local leaders on issues facing the entire region. Thirty years later, Currents is still shaping the St. Louis region's thinking. The fifth edition addresses a wide variety of topics. It has strong essays on the region's historical experience and economic outlook, which are common themes in all editions. New topics include historical perspectives on adult entertainment in Metro East, a demographic study of the region's immigrant population, plus a scholarly look at "The High School Question" (Yes, it matters ). It is a thought- provoking volume that is a must-read for regional leaders-public, private, and nonprofit. As the editors note, St. Louis is rather typical of most urban centers across the country and faces the same issues others do. What is unique is St. Louis's particular mix of leaders and the specific decisions that we the people choose to make for ourselves. As the region climbs out of the Great Recession and processes the lessons of Ferguson, the decisions made by the people ultimately will define the region's successes and struggles. The essays in this volume will help prepare citizens and leaders alike for action on some of those matters, and hopefully start some important discussions that will carry the region forward.

Outlines the social, economic, and cultural forces which affect the quality of life in the greater St. Louis area. This book examines the tides and trends that make St. Louis one of the nation's dynamic urban areas.

In twenty-seven vignettes, Lipsitz explores the lives of oddballs and outcasts, immigrants and artists, those whose stories are often left out of traditional history books, but whose labor and imagination made St. Louis the city it is today.

Moving from one century to the next is an appropriate time to reflect upon how past trends frame choices for the St. Louis region's future. These discussions occur in many venues--governmental, corporate, and civic--but they can all be more richly informed by sophisticated analyses of what has been happening within the St. Louis metropolitan area during the past five decades across a range of issues. With specialties including public policy, criminal justice, sociology, education, and nursing, twelve scholars examine issues such as population changes, the region's occupational mix, minority business development, residential segregation, family structure, health trends, and educational equity in public schools. This book will help those in the St. Louis region understand the city's past so that they can better prepare for its future.

From its eighteenth-century French fur trade origins to post-Cold War business dealings with Latin America and Asia, the city has never neglected nor been ignored by the world outside its borders. In this pioneering study, Henry W. Berger analyzes St. Louis's imperial engagement from its founding in 1764 to the present day, revealing the intersection of local political, cultural, and economic interests in foreign affairs.

Lindbergh's own account of his historic transatlantic solo flight in 1927.