Hidden History Of Plano

Did you know that Plano once had a winning semipro baseball team? And its own university, boasting a pagoda imported from Malaysia? Or that the city once proudly proclaimed itself the "Mule Capital of the World"? Meet the Native American Planoite who walked in space, the African American entrepreneur who prospered in Jim Crow Texas and the man behind the "mystery stone" uncovered in the Collinwood House. Visit a military tank, a five-hundred-year-old tree and the pioneer cemetery started by a smallpox epidemic. From the town's contributions to World War II to the secrets lurking beneath Collin Creek Mall, unlock the astonishingly large storehouse of Plano's hidden history.

Texas has a long, romantic history when it comes to railroads. But even though steam engines and streetcars offer nonstop service to Nostalgia City, there's a dark side to Texas rail. The Black Widow of Fort Worth engineered a fatal double-cross at a railroad crossing. The Mountaineer Madman brought death to the Texas Electric Railway, while the Trolley Bandit terrorized the citizens of El Paso. From a freak accident involving a banana peel to a tragic trip to see Santa Claus, Jeff Campbell and the staff of the Interurban Railway Museum cross the Lone Star State on trains derailed by murder and mayhem.

Texas has nurtured a thriving bluegrass scene since the early 1950s. The Lone Star State boasts the country's first bluegrass college degree and even hosts a Beatles bluegrass cover band. Meet the Pickin' Singin' Professor, the Fiddle Engineer and Blanco's Bluegrass Boy. Hit the trail with cowboys like the Mayfield brothers and go backstage with Grammy-nominated acts like Wood & Wire. Jeff Campbell and Braeden Paul celebrate the musicians who contributed to the harmonious heritage of Texas bluegrass.

"Astonishingly important.” —Alex Kotlowitz, The Atlantic Through the stories of five American families, a masterful and timely exploration of how hope, history, and racial denial collide in the suburbs and their schools Outside Atlanta, a middle-class Black family faces off with a school system seemingly bent on punishing their teenage son. North of Dallas, a conservative white family relocates to an affluent suburban enclave, but can’t escape the changes sweeping the country. On Chicago’s North Shore, a multiracial mom joins an ultraprogressive challenge to the town’s liberal status quo. In Compton, California, whose suburban roots are now barely recognizable, undocumented Hispanic parents place their gifted son’s future in the hands of educators at a remarkable elementary school. And outside Pittsburgh, a Black mother moves to the same street where author Benjamin Herold grew up, then confronts the destructive legacy left behind by white families like his. Disillusioned braids these human stories together with penetrating local and national history to reveal a vicious cycle undermining the dreams upon which American suburbia was built. For generations, upwardly mobile white families have extracted opportunity from the nation’s heavily subsidized suburbs, then moved on before the bills for maintenance and repair came due, leaving the mostly Black and Brown families who followed to clean up the ensuing mess. But now, sweeping demographic shifts and the dawning realization that endless expansion is no longer feasible are disrupting this pattern, forcing everyday families to confront a truth their communities were designed to avoid: The suburban lifestyle dream is a Ponzi scheme whose unraveling threatens us all. How do we come to terms with this troubled history? How do we build a future in which all children can thrive? Drawing upon his decorated career as an education journalist, Herold explores these pressing debates with expertise and perspective. Then, alongside Bethany Smith—the mother from his old neighborhood, who contributes a powerful epilogue to the book—he offers a hopeful path toward renewal. The result is nothing short of a journalistic masterpiece.

This collection uncovers the fascinating past of Tennessee’s legendary Music City from true tall tales to larger than life characters and much more. Perched on the banks of the Cumberland River, Nashville is best known for its role in the civil rights movement, world-class education and, of course, country music. In this unique collection of columns written for The Tennessean, journalist and longtime Tennessee native George Zepp illuminates a less familiar side of the city’s history. Here, readers will learn the secrets of Timothy Demonbreun, one of the city's first residents, who lived with his family in a cliff-top cave; Cortelia Clark, the blind bluesman who continued to perform on street corners after winning a Grammy award; and Nashville's own Cinderella story, which involved legendary radio personality Edgar Bergen and his ventriloquist protegee. Based on questions from readers across the nation, these little-known tales abound with Music City mystery and charm.

Before Lincoln Park cemented its trendy reputation, plenty of odd and unruly history managed to settle into its foundation. A Viking ship, mob henchmen and ladies of the evening all took up residence in the same part of town where Dwight L. Moody went from selling soles to saving souls. Thanks to a Confederate ferryboat crewman, many of Lincoln's personal effects belong to the neighborhood named after him. Patrick Butler uncovers Lincoln Park's forgotten contributions to Chicago's heritage, from the "Pleasure Wheel" on Navy Pier to the city's cycling craze.

The CIA, Dallas, and the Hard Details of the JFK Assassination Coup in Dallas leaves speculation and theory aside to give the hard details of who killed President John F. Kennedy and how the assassination plot was carried out. Through exhaustive research and newly translated documents, author H. P. Albarelli uncovers and explains the historical roots of state-sponsored assassination, finding disturbing parallels to the assassination of JFK. Albarelli goes beyond conventional JFK assassination theory to piece together the biographies of the lesser-known but instrumental players in the incident, such as Otto Skorzeny, Pierre Lafitte, James Jesus Angleton, Santo Trafficante, and others. Albarelli provides shocking detail on the crucial role that the city of Dallas and its officials played in the maintenance of Dallas as a major hub of CIA activity, and how it led to JFK’s assassination and its cover-up. Go beyond LBJ, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby, and read the full, definitive account of what happened on November 22, 1963—and how it came to fruition.