Take a journey through Arkansas' forgotten past and find the colorful characters, unusual stories and strange occurrences left out of conventional history books. Authors Edward and Karen Underwood weave fact and fun in this offbeat, gripping and little-known history of the Natural State. Discover the Tantrabobus monster rumored to lurk in the hills of the Ozarks, meet the imposters who faked the state's first history museum and learn the story behind Arkansas' lost amusement park, Dogpatch, USA. Truth really is stranger than fiction in Arkansas, and this one-of-a-kind state has the stories to prove it

Arkansas: A Narrative History is a comprehensive history of the state that has been invaluable to students and the general public since its original publication. Four distinguished scholars cover prehistoric Arkansas, the colonial period, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and incorporate the newest historiography to bring the book up to date for 2012. A new chapter on Arkansas geography, new material on the civil rights movement and the struggle over integration, and an examination of the state’s transition from a colonial economic model to participation in the global political economy are included. Maps are also dramatically enhanced, and supplemental teaching materials are available. “No less than the first edition, this revision of Arkansas: A Narrative History is a compelling introduction for those who know little about the state and an insightful survey for others who wish to enrich their acquaintance with the Arkansas past.” —Ben Johnson, from the Foreword

Your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things the Natural State has to offer!

The unspoiled, wooded landscape of the Arkansas Ozarks is steeped in traditions, where legend and myth are a huge part of history. During the Civil War, when Maranda Simmons boldly retrieved her stolen horses from a Union camp, soldiers believed she was a haint. When a cast-iron stove fell on Grace Sollis's baby, she gained superhuman strength, picked up the stove to free the baby and then ran circles around the log cabin until she came to her senses. After patiently waiting years for her promised dream house, Elise Quigley and her five children tore down their three-room shack and moved into the chicken house after Mr. Quigley left for work. Join author Cynthia Carroll, a descendant of six generations of Ozark natives, as she details the legends and lore of the Arkansas Ozarks.

Alabama tales that have existed only in rumor, legend and lore are uncovered in this volume of strange, funny, far-fetched, unique and gripping stories from Muscle Shoals to Mobile. From Muscle Shoals to Montgomery to Mobile, there's just no place quite like Alabama. Take a journey off the beaten path through the Cotton State with author Kelly Kazek as she uncovers the stories that make Alabama one of a kind. Kazek, a longtime Alabama resident, unearths tales that have existed only in rumor, anecdote, legend and lore. This collection is packed with little-known stories of strange sites, like the world's largest Nehi bottle; curious critters, like the first monkey in space; and colorful characters, such as the outlaw Tom Clark. Whether funny, far-fetched, gripping or grisly, Forgotten Tales of Alabama is filled with stories you won't soon forget.

Relates local legends from Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma about abandoned mines, hidden stashes of plunder, and lost fortunes

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.