This engaging, myth-busting series seeks new explanations for the ghost stories, outlaw tales, haunted places, and unsolved mysteries that shaped a state's identity.

Myths and Mysteries of Kentucky reveals the dark and ominous cloud of mysteries and myths that hovers over the Bluegrass State. This book offers residents, travelers, history buffs, and ghost hunters a refreshingingly lively collection of stories about Kentucky's unsolved murders, legendary villains, lingering ghosts, terrifying myths, and haunted places.

An incisive history of early American archaeology—from reckless looting to professional science—and the field’s unfinished efforts to make amends today, told "with passion, indignation, and a dash of suspense" (New York Times). American archaeology was forever scarred by an 1893 business proposition between cowboy-turned-excavator Richard Wetherill and socialites-turned-antiquarians Fred and Talbot Hyde. Wetherill had stumbled upon Mesa Verde’s spectacular cliff dwellings and started selling artifacts, but with the Hydes’ money behind him, well—there’s no telling what they might discover. Thus begins the Hyde Exploring Expedition, a nine-year venture into Utah’s Grand Gulch and New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon that—coupled with other less-restrained looters—so devastates Indigenous cultural sites across the American Southwest that Congress passes first-of-their-kind regulations to stop the carnage. As the money dries up, tensions rise, and a once-profitable enterprise disintegrates, setting the stage for a tragic murder. Sins of the Shovel is a story of adventure and business gone wrong and how archaeologists today grapple with this complex heritage. Through the story of the Hyde Exploring Expedition, practicing archaeologist Rachel Morgan uncovers the uncomfortable links between commodity culture, contemporary ethics, and the broader political forces that perpetuate destructive behavior today. The result is an unsparing and even-handed assessment of American archaeology’s sins, past and present, and how the field is working toward atonement.

Is it possible that the woman who raised Abraham Lincoln was actually his half-sister, and that the man he knew as his grandfather had conducted a scandalous affair with a servant girl? Was Nancy Dude really a murderous witch, or the victim of relentless calamities that would stretch anyone beyond the bounds of sanity? Should Horace Kephart be considered a hero for his work to protect the area of the Great Smokies, where a moutain was named in his honor, or a drunken scoundrel who uprooted families from the homes and farms they’d had for generations? From Sam Houston’s childhood among the Cherokee to the mysterious “road to nowhere”, Great SmokiesMyths and Legends makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of this national park’s most fascinating and compelling stories.

• Was Ulysses S. Grant really a “perpetual drunk”? Some said he never met a bottle he didn’t like. But did his headache medication also cause intoxication-like behavior? And did much of the talk originate with those jealous of Grant? • Was Stonewall Jackson just a “sucker”? Thomas Jonathan Jackson became known not only as a brilliant strategist but also as an eccentric who obsessively sucked lemons. Was it a love of fresh fruit? Or his favorite method of dealing with heartburn? • What happened to the lost Confederate gold? Ever since the evacuation of Richmond on April 2, 1865, rumors abounded that the Confederate treasury had been loaded aboard a train and sent on its way into hiding. Can we “follow the money”? In at least one case the answer is “yes.” From the legend of the Yankee “human shield” behind Nathan Bedford Forrest’s saddle to the unexplained sinking of the Hunley, Myths and Mysteries of the Civil War makes history fun and pulls back the curtain on some of the most fascinating and compelling stories of the war that almost tore America apart

Author Shane Simmons explores tales of bravery, lore and bizarre customs within the East Tennessee region. The mountains of East Tennessee are chock full of unique folklore passed down through generations. Locals spin age-old yarns of legends like Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and Dragging Canoe. Stories of snake-handling churches and the myths behind the death crown superstitions dot the landscape. The mysteries surrounding the Sensabaugh Tunnel still haunt residents.

Many American legends have Celtic origins. Each chapter in this fascinating book presents a Celtic myth and a similar American one. Celtic immigrants brought these legends to all regions of the U.S. Old-world mythology morphs into New World folklore. Curran recounts America's oldest legends and traces their origins to the Celtic mythology of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, presenting a similar old-world tale alongside each American version. Once transported to America, the original Celtic tales evolved to assimilate the new population's geographic, social, and religious customs, weaving their way into the fabric of American folk history.