Idaho was the forty-third state admitted to the Union, but it just might lead the nation in strange stories and offbeat legends. Author and Idaho resident Andy Weeks fills this collection of tales with stories ranging from compelling and heartfelt to outlandish and bizarre. Discover the boxcar that carried the alleged body of John Wilkes Booth through Idaho. Uncover the identity of Lady Bluebeard, the unassuming Twin Falls housewife who allegedly murdered four husbands. Find out how cars ended up at the bottom of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Learn the grisly story of Gobo Fango, a black Mormon sheepherder whose late 1800s bloody dispute with a cattleman on the open range proved fatal. These tales and many others bring to light Idaho's unruly past in fascinating detail.
Characters ranging from Mormon pioneers to Butch Cassidy all helped give the Beehive State color and tenacity. Uncover the state's hidden gems with stories like the first group of Latter-day Saints who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley days before Brigham Young proclaimed it as "the right place." Meet an ancient prophet believed to have walked the arid landscape, offering his blessing on several sites long before the pioneers arrived. Learn why a former lawyer was buried without a proper headstone. Discover the state's quirky side with the strange goings-on at an obscure ranch and the alleged monsters once believed to haunt some of Utah's lakes. Author Andy Weeks offers this quirky and informative collection of little-known tales about the forty-fifth state.
Nine stories illuminate what it means to be Mormon and how faith serves to humanize, in a work that includes a seriocomic portrait of a young Joseph Smith.
State Oddities takes a different kind of look at the American nation, spotlighting the fun foibles, peculiarities, and twists in each of the 50 states that are (mostly) united under the Stars and Stripes. State Oddities is a fascinating trip through the 50 states for students studying America, teachers planning classroom activities, and general readers who will enjoy an eye-opening journey through the nation's fun side. It offers a compelling look at the character of America through the individuality of 50 very distinct states that together form the USA. This book paints a picture of the broad sweep of the American story, offering a gateway to the country as it developed into one nation filled with individual states that can be remarkably different from each other, yet unified under such national symbols as the American flag and "The Star-Spangled Banner." The author of State Oddities has become known as a master of "painless history," telling America's story in a sparkling style along with the historian's eye for fascinating detail. On the book's cross-country journey, the reader will find that it differs from other works by taking a fresh look at stories we think we know.
Idaho History 1800 to Present began in 2019 as a Facebook group to share the rich history of Idaho's territorial years. The Idaho History 1800 to Present group is now the largest Idaho history group on Facebook with more than 40,000 members sharing pictures and information about Idaho's colourful past. Idaho History 1800 to Present offers us a window into the past, showing life as it was then, and stirring in us the emotions of wonder and curiosity about those who have gone before us and the lives they lived. With more than 130 photographs, many of them seen here for the first time, Idaho History 1800 to Present offers a stunning portrait of this one of a kind state.
Wild characters, diverse cultures, spooky myths and slippery sales schemes color Colorado's past. In a place where shameless showdowns and dusty shootouts over money, drink and women were once standard procedure, storytelling around campfires became an integral part of a rich heritage. From the jackalope and vampires to Indian curses and snake oil salesmen, the Centennial State has it all. Weirder still are the strange but true stories like that of the first body buried in La Junta's Fairview Cemetery, a man who landed there for refusing alcohol to a kid, and that of the hotel in Telluride that once offered a promotion that included funeral costs with your stay. While history may have neglected these silly, seedy and salacious stories, author Stephanie Waters has rediscovered Colorado's best forgotten tales.
From El Chupacabra to the Marx Brothers, Clay Coppedge has a talent for digging into Texas's most unusual history. Strange as they may seem, many of these Texas-sized legends are surprisingly true, like Pancho Villa's film contract and the notorious Crash at Crush, a staged train collision and failed publicity stunt that turned tragic outside of Katy. Whether fact or lore, each tale is irrefutably part of a unique and fascinating heritage that invigorates the spirit like a Texas frontier remedy.
Forgotten Tales and Vanished Trails gathers together Roosevelt’s many writings on game hunting and the outdoors from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Published in various magazines and excerpts from his other publications, this collection finally brings the best musings of a great sportsman into a single volume. These articles span topics from hunting typical game animals (buck, wildebeest, and the like) to the hunting of dangerous predators such as wolves and bears; others are tales told around a campfire, of marauding wolves and man-eating bears, or detailing the finer points of ranching. Some pieces span years, while others detail his shorter exploits across the country. A passionate advocate for the outdoors, Roosevelt’s writing is filled with fascinating insights into a world mostly now lost to civilization and commerce. Many of his comments on the precarious balance of the natural world are noted in this volume, and his chapters on conservation and the responsibility of hunters reflect his ever-present interest in preserving the environment for the benefit of generations to come. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Reading Line: Fourteen Mind-Boggling Tales from the Gem State Did one woman single-handedly save the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition from certain death? According to legend, a woman from the Niimíipuu tribe who had been rescued from slavery by a white family felt led to advocate for the travelers. If not for her courage and compassion, the story of the American West might have taken a much different trajectory. Could there really be a monstrously large serpent plying the depths of Bear Lake? Many dismiss the stories as Native American legends originally told to keep whites from settling in the area. Yet, for over a century, alleged eyewitness accounts, newspaper articles, and even TV shows continue to feed belief in the existence of a Bear Lake Monster. Is it true that the town of Kellogg almost was named Jackass? According to legend, the discovery of ore that led to a massive silver rush in Idaho's panhandle should be credited not to Noah Kellogg, but to the down-on-his-luck prospector's mule, Bill. Unfortunately, neither Noah nor Bill reaped the full benefits of what became one of the world's richest mining districts. From President Cleveland's alleged love child to the UFO highway, Idaho Myths and Legends of makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the Gem State's most fascinating and compelling stories. Randy Stapilus is a former newspaper reporter and editor. His other books include It Happened in Idaho, Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Idaho History, and Outlaw Tales of Idaho (all Globe Pequot Press). A long-time Idaho resident, he now lives in Carlton, Oregon, with his wife, Linda.
If ghostly apparitions, frightening superstitions, strange phenomenon, mysterious unexplained happenings, dreams that wake you in the middle of the night in a cold sweat intrigue you, then this book is for you. Forgotten Ghosts and Legends of the Old West has it all. If you are an adventurous soul who enjoys reading a good ghost tale, these exciting accounts should more than fill the bill and leave you wanting more of the same.
