Hit the trail for a dramatic look at Wisconsin’s geologic past. The impressive bluffs, valleys, waterfalls, and lakes of Wisconsin’s state parks provide more than beautiful scenery and recreational opportunities. They are windows into the distant past, offering clues to the dramatic events that have shaped the land over billions of years. Author and former DNR journalist Scott Spoolman takes readers with him to twenty-eight parks, forests, and natural areas where evidence of the state’s striking geologic and natural history are on display. In an accessible storytelling style, Spoolman sheds light on the volcanoes that poured deep layers of lava rock over a vast area in the northwest, the glacial masses that flattened and molded the landscape of northern and eastern Wisconsin, mountain ranges that rose up and wore away over hundreds of millions of years, and many other bedrock-shaping phenomena. These stories connect geologic processes to the current landscape, as well as to the evolution of flora and fauna and development of human settlement and activities, for a deeper understanding of our state’s natural history. The book includes a selection of detailed trail guides for each park, which hikers can take with them on the trail to view evidence of Wisconsin’s geologic and natural history for themselves.

This fascinating collection reproduces the most important front pages in the history of the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper, from its first publication under that name on September 30, 1852, to the current "War on Terrorism." See what Wisconsinites first read about Abraham Lincoln's election and assassination, Custer's last stand against the Sioux, the first votes by women, Henry Ford's $5 daily wage, the Saint Valentine's Day mob massacre in Chicago, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart as she attempted to fly around the world . . . and the wars, elections, crimes, and social revolutions that have defined the past century and a half. Each front page, reproduced from the original, is readable down to the smallest type. In 2002 the Wisconsin State Journal celebrates its Sesquicentennial, marking one hundred and fifty years of service to the people of Madison and the State of Wisconsin. The newspaper had an earlier inception as the Madison Express in 1839, when Madison was a territorial town on the frontier and statehood was still nine years away. Readers will notice the newspaper's appearance has changed nearly as much as have the methods of gathering the news and producing the paper. But readers' fascination with and hunger for the news of each day remain strong.

On rails-to-trails bike paths, city streets, and winding country roads, the bicycle seems ubiquitous in the Badger State. Yet there’s a complex and fascinating history behind the popularity of biking in Wisconsin—one that until now has never been told. Meticulously researched through periodicals and newspapers, Wheel Fever traces the story of Wisconsin’s first “bicycling boom,” from the velocipede craze of 1869 through the “wheel fever” of the 1890s. It was during this crucial period that the sport Wisconsinites know and adore first took shape. From the start it has been defined by a rich and often impassioned debate over who should be allowed to ride, where they could ride, and even what they could wear. Many early riders embraced the bicycle as a solution to the age-old problem of how to get from here to there in the quickest and easiest way possible. Yet for every supporter of the “poor man’s horse,” there were others who wanted to keep the rights and privileges of riding to an elite set. Women, the working class, and people of color were often left behind as middle- and upper-class white men benefitted from the “masculine” sport and all-male clubs and racing events began to shape the scene. Even as bikes became more affordable and accessible, a culture defined by inequality helped create bicycling in its own image, and these limitations continue to haunt the sport today. Wheel Fever is about the origins of bicycling in Wisconsin and why those origins still matter, but it is also about our continuing fascination with all things bicycle. From “boneshakers” to high-wheels, standard models to racing bikes, tandems to tricycles, the book is lushly illustrated with never-before-seen images of early cycling, and the people who rode them: bloomer girls, bicycle jockeys, young urbanites, and unionized workers. Laying the foundations for a much-beloved recreation, Wheel Fever challenges us to imagine anew the democratic possibilities that animated cycling’s early debates.

Road trip through Wisconsin, stopping along the way to admire the spectacular view or visit a historical site. The guide features a special insert of color photos, along with detailed maps and descriptions of some of the most scenic roads in the Badger State.