Books

Unforgettable photographs from Roy Stryker’s Pittsburgh Photographic Library (PPL) capture the convergence of destruction and rejuvenation that is the essence of an urban renaissance–all the anxiety and hope of the fifties is reflected in these poignant photographs and explained through essays and narrative.

A detailed, carefully wrought business biography of Henry Clay Frick, one of the leading entrepreneurs in American heavy industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Kenneth Warren has provided not only insight into the life of Henry Clay Frick, but a major contribution to our understanding of the history of the basic industries, the shaping of society, locality, and region – and thereby of laying the foundations for the value systems and landscapes of present-day America.

The Steel Workers remains a readable and timeless account of labor conditions in the early years of the steel industry. An introduction by the noted historian Roy Lubove places the book in political and historical context.

Chronicles the development of industry, education, religion, social customs, law and order, and many other aspects of life in Western Pennsylvania up until the War of 1812. Based upon the original work of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Survey, from 1931-1935.

A celebration of Pittsburgh’s industrial landscape and an eloquent tribute to a way of life largely disappearing in America. A unique addition to the literature on the importance of place.

Excerpt from Flatlanders and Ridgerunners: Out-Riddling the Judge Back in Prohibition my uncle made moonshine. His name was Moses Kenny and his whiskey–they called it “White Mule” was the best in the county. Well, the feds got after him and finally they arrested him. Took him to a federal judge down in Philadelphia. Now, the judge liked a good time and thought he’d have a little fun with this hick from the mountains. When Uncle came into court, he said, “are you the Moses who can make the sun dark?” Moses looked at him and said slowly, “Nope, your honor. But I am the Moses who can make the moon shine.” The judge let him go.

Charles McCormick’s extensively researched work describes the formative period of federal domestic spying in the Pittsburgh region. He utilizes case files from various federal intelligence agencies to add to our understanding of the security state, cold war ideology, labor and immigration history, and the rise of the authoritarian American Left, as well as the career paths of figures as diverse as J. Edgar Hoover and William Z. Foster.

First published in 1960, this work remains the seminal study of the development of Pennsylvania’s constitution.

An exciting history of the Seven Years’ War (i.e., The French and Indian War) from the perspective of the region in which it began and most affected the early U.S.: the backcountry communities of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

A Charming Chronicle of Shifting Weather and Winter Wildlife Brings Warmth to the Coldest Months of the Year

Clarke Thomas has compiled a two-hundred-year history of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the first paper published west of the Alleghenies. From the Whiskey Rebellion to the present, the stories the paper covered reveal the history of Pittsburgh and the people who live there.

This reissued hardcover edition thoroughly examines colonial era forts through narrative and illustration. It offers information about their physical attributes as well as why they were built.

A study of twenty wealthy upper-class families during Pittsburgh’s growth into an important commerical and industrial center. It shows how they succeeded in creating the institutions needed to sustain a local aristocracy and possessed the ability to adapt its accumulated advantages to social and economic changes.

Joel Tarr presents a collection of essays examining the tortured environmental history of Pittsburgh, a region blessed with an abundance of natural resources as well as a history of intensive industrial development.

Awarded the 2005 Certificate of Commendation by Choice Magazine

The book assesses how Pittsburgh deindustrialization over the past decades has posed both opportunities and challenges for the city and surrounding tri-state area.