Lyons Press

07/16/2024

~Available in August~ SEPARATE LIVES: UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN FAMILY OF VICTORIAN PROFESSOR MARY RIPPON by Silvia Pettem.

A pioneer woman educator in the male-dominated world of nineteenth-century academia, Mary Rippon was the first female professor at the University of Colorado and is believed to have been the first woman in the United States to teach at a state university. Mary received wide acclaim for her teaching, but Victorian society forced her to lead two very separate lives. "Miss Rippon," as she was always known, was both a professional woman and a mother in an era when these two roles could not be combined. To keep her job and provide for her family, she hid her husband and child behind a Victorian veil of secrecy that spanned two continents. SEPARATE LIVES reveals the full story of the conflicts between this extraordinary woman’s public and private lives.

In January 1878, after several years of education in Germany, France, and Switzerland, the soft-spoken twenty-seven-year-old was welcomed at the newly opened University of Colorado in the then-small frontier town of Boulder. The growth of her lengthy career paralleled the early growth of the university, where she worked her way up from first female faculty member to the university's first female professor, eventually chairing the Department of German Language and Literature.

The truth of Mary’s separate lives was not disclosed until nearly a century later, in 1976, when her elderly grandson revealed to a university librarian that he was Mary’s descendant. In 2006, Mary received a posthumous honorary degree from the University of Colorado, and in 2020 a scholarship was endowed in her name. Silvia Pettem’s carefully researched biography weaves together the story of Mary’s private life with her professional career—not to tarnish Mary's well-deserved reputation, but rather to uncover the human side of a woman whose circumstances clashed with the mores of her times.

07/08/2024

Maritime authors Alexander Brash (Lyons Press, A WHALER AT TWILIGHT) and Eric Jay Dolin enjoyed talking and showing off their books at the Marblehead Literary Festival this past weekend!

07/03/2024

Now available: GREAT AMERICAN WORLD WAR II STORIES, edited by Tom Mccarthy.

Here are stunning long-buried stories that give proof to the words Admiral Chester Nimitz used to describe the hero Marines on Iwo Jima: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Painstakingly selected from the most moving battle accounts about American heroism and breathtaking courage during the largest war in world history, this anthology brings readers to the front lines in inspiring detail.

Courage, duty, and honor became watchwords for Americans in combat—most of whom were volunteer soldiers, sailors and Marines. Freedom and principle mattered more than their own lives.

Moving, emotional, and gripping, Great American WWII Stories offers hidden gems from major battles like Iwo Jima and Okinawa. It puts readers on Omaha Beach during D-Day. But here also is the story of USS Nautilus, which engaged the Japanese on fourteen different patrols, from the Battle of Midway to the liberation of the Philippines. Here too is the story of Operation Tidal Wave, the bloodiest air battle in the history of war; and a gripping account of American paratroopers, isolated behind enemy lines, fighting the elite German SS in Normandy after D-Day.

This is a magnificent collection of gripping accounts of battles great and small. It is tribute to Americans who were willing to risk it all, and in many cases did.

06/28/2024

The World’s Greatest Escape Stories by Tom Mccarthy is out now!

Description: Whether you are a prisoner of war, a prisoner of nature’s fury, or a prisoner of society, one word smashes your thoughts against a blockade of desperation: Escape! The stakes are higher than freedom itself—chains unshackled, steel doors opened, gunfire avoided. At stake is life itself, and the odds against winning the struggle are immense. The stories in this collection are pulse-pounding accounts of escape attempts of soldiers trapped on battlefields, outdoor adventurers facing nature’s darkest hours, and POWs of all nationalities. The pain of wounds, loneliness, and defeat are captured in prose that makes these stories come alive.

06/18/2024

Now available from Lyons Press and Mystic Seaport Museum: COMMANDING OLD IRONSIDES: THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN SILAS TALBOT by William M. Fowler, Jr.

Silas Talbot’s life illuminates his time—not with greater brightness than the lives of his more famous contemporaries, but with perhaps broader range and greater insight into the experiences and circumstances of a plain citizen of the new republic—a citizen whose bravery and energy helped to create it.

Silas Talbot was a farmer’s son who went to sea, learned the building trades, saved and invested his money wisely, married well several times, fought as a Rhode Island soldier in the Revolutionary War, became a lieutenant colonel, served with courage and competence, became a privateer and a prisoner-of-war in the conflict at sea, speculated in western lands, was elected to the New York State Legislature and the U.S. Congress, represented the interests of American sailors forced to serve in Britain’s navy, and was appointed second commanding officer of the frigate USS Constitution.

In a full and energetic life of sixty-two years he met and served famous leaders, including Washington, Adams, Hamilton, and Lafayette; raised a family; advanced in the social, political, and business circles of New York and Rhode Island; and was, as the author notes, “among the first of the new citizens of the new republic to seize its gifts.”
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493077885/Commanding-Old-Ironsides-The-Life-of-Captain-Silas-Talbot

06/17/2024

Available Now: The Early Days of ESPN, by ESPN's founding executive producer Peter Fox, tells the story of the early days at the broadcast juggernaut.

The tales of early ESPN people who gambled their careers while critics carped that “all-sports television will never work” are full of guile, luck, fear, fun, and unbridled optimism. As ESPN’s founding executive producer, Peter Fox was privy to some spectacular professional efforts by a cadre of Connecticut locals who made the dream real. The first 300 days of the fledgling network were filled with mayhem, on-air gaffes, and the slowest instant replay in television. What started as a humble idea in the late spring of 1978 to capitalize on the brand-new mania for UConn men’s basketball soon morphed into ESPN and a plan to begin airing a series of “test broadcasts” in the fall. This is the story of the early days at ESPN, told by one on the network's launching pad, and how a conversation over a couple of martinis in 1978 led to the creation of a broadcast juggernaut.

06/11/2024

Now available in our College Trivia series, these books are the quintessential source of information, perfect for current and prospective students, alumni, college sports fans, and locals! Written in Q&A format, the trivia ranges from the fun to the significant, and from the bizarre to the informative.

06/06/2024

80 years ago, the Allied Expeditionary Forces landed in Normandy on the French coast, launching the invasion that became the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe. Dive deeper into the story of D-Day with these accounts from Lyons Press and Stackpole Books.

05/16/2024

If you're in the Plymouth, Mass. area, don't miss a chance to hear Richard Stone talk about his new book PROJECT MAYFLOWER on May 30th at Pilgrim Hall Museum!
Project Mayflower

Our 2024 Speaker series gets underway with the launch of a new book on an indelible Plymouth symbol - Mayflower II! Join us Thursday evening, May 30th, for a presentation by Richard Stone, author of Project Mayflower: Building and Sailing a 17th century Replica. Stone reveals the improbable story of the famous replica ship's creation and its high-profile voyage. With an introduction by local historian James W. Baker, Project Mayflower is a riveting, deeply researched behind-the-scenes tale of the modern Mayflower venture. Reservations recommended. Tickets $10/$5 museum members available online at https://pilgrimhall.org . Copies of Project Mayflower will be available for purchase at the event. Doors open at 75 Court Street at 6 pm for light refreshments; lecture 7-8 pm. Pilgrim Hall Museum's Speaker Series is generously sponsored by Tiny & Sons Auto Glass.

05/09/2024

~Now available from Lyons Press~ Updated new editions of UNDERSTANDING BOAT WIRING and UNDERSTANDING MARINE DIESELS by John C. Payne. Concise, compact, and fully illustrated for easy reference, both these guides offer comprehensive content, including systems overviews, troubleshooting tips, maintenance checklists, and more.

05/08/2024

~Now Available from Lyons Press and WoodenBoat~ BOAT CRAZY: THE COLLECTED WOODENBOAT STORIES OF STAN GRAYSON.

Since 2004, award-winning author and historian Stan Grayson has regularly contributed stories to WoodenBoat magazine about the many yachts, small craft, designers, boat builders, and sailors who have captured his imagination. This collection of twenty articles from Grayson and the pages of WoodenBoat presents a wide-ranging and insightful account of American yachting history and some of its fascinating characters.

Readers will voyage back to the early days of the famous Herreshoff Manufacturing Company; experience the fascinating 1895 America’s Cup race; share a morning’s scalloping on Martha’s Vineyard with the last of America’s catboat fishermen; meet the innovative C. Raymond Hunt, who conceived the revolutionary deep-V powerboat; and gain an insightful look at Captain Jousha Slocum, the first man to sail alone around the world. In these and other pieces, Boat Crazy offers a delightful kaleidoscope of engaging stories that give readers a sense of time, place, technology, and personality. In newly written behind-the-scenes introductions for each piece, Grayson discusses why he found the topic important and shares interesting research tidbits and reader reactions.

Key to Grayson’s work are the primary source materials on which his writing is based. Each piece found in Boat Crazy combines Grayson’s painstaking original research with the patient, step-by-step work of an experienced history detective, a journalist’s curiosity, and a writer’s love of language. Readers will emerge from this book with a deeper appreciation for both America’s yachting past and those who are working today to preserve and interpret it.

04/18/2024

Exciting news! Author Michael McCarthy will discuss his revelatory findings in THE HIDDEN HINDENBURG on the History Channel’s upcoming show on the Zeppelin tragedy, part of the History’s Greatest Mysteries series, premiering Monday, June 10, at 9 pm ET. HISTORY

03/20/2024

Amazing insights as to why the American Revolution is still very important and relevant today. American Heritage Magazine

Our nation is free because 250 years ago, brave men and women fought a war to establish the independence of the United States and created a system of government to protect the freedom of its citizens.

03/09/2024

If you're a history buff, you won't want to miss these new releases from Lyons Press!

Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane: N**i Gold and the Murder of an Entire French Town by SS Division Das Reich and Street Fight: The Chicago Taxi Wars of the 1920s are both available now!

Massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane tells the shocking story of the massacre of every man, woman, and child in the French town on June 8, 1944, and its real cause: how two SS officers—a general and a major—“acquired” one million dollars’ worth of gold ingots while encamped at nearby Montauban, and how that led to the massacre.

Street Fight tells the untold story of the deadly taxicab wars that plagued Chicago during the 1920s and led to laws that today still govern how cab, limo, and rideshare companies and drivers work every day.

03/05/2024

~Now Available in paperback: THE GREAT ESCAPE FROM STALAG LUFT III by Jens Muller, with a new Introduction by David Robertson, cohost of For You The War Is Over.

This is a thrilling, first-person account of one of the most famous prison escapes of World War II. Jens Müller was one of only three men who successfully escaped from Stalag Luft III on the night of March 24, 1944—the breakout that later became the basis for the famous film The Great Escape.

His memoir tells how Müller, a pilot in one of the RAF’s Norwegian squadrons, was shot down by the Luftwaffe over the English Channel in June 1942. After some days at sea in his Spitfire’s life raft, he made it to land in Belgium but was soon captured by the occupying Germans and sent as a prisoner of war to Stalag Luft III (in what is now Zagan, Poland).

Müller vividly describes life in the camp, how the escapes were planned, and relates the compelling story of his personal breakout. Together with Per Bergsland, he managed to make it to the coast and stowed away on a ship to Gothenburg, Sweden. The two men eventually reached RAF Leuchars base in Scotland.

02/24/2024

With spring training in full-swing and the 2024 MLB regular season on the horizon, baseball is officially back!

If you're a baseball fan of any kind, you'll want to check out these new releases from Lyons Press. Frank Chances Diamond: The Baseball Journalism of Ring Lardner, New York Mets Firsts: The Players, Moments, and Records That Were First in Team History, and Tales of the Yankee Clipper: Stories and Reflections on Joe DiMaggio are all available now!

02/21/2024

~Coming in April~ Don't miss the paperback edition of DUEL FOR THE CROWN by Linda Carroll and David Rosner. Relive the epic saga of the riveting rivalry that enthralled a nation and spawned history’s most thrilling Triple Crown chase. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493080205/Duel-for-the-Crown-Affirmed-Alydar-and-Racing's-Greatest-Rivalry

Affirmed and Alydar are as inseparably linked in legend as they were on the racetrack. Bound from conception by shared bloodlines of the great Native Dancer, this peerless pair of chestnut colts traded wins multiple times even before their showdown in the 1978 Kentucky Derby spurred an unmatchable rivalry that transcended the Triple Crown and the Sport of Kings itself.

Their intertwined tale is a study in contrasts as stark as David and Goliath. If Alydar and his human connections personified racing royalty, Affirmed and his team embodied all the underdog outsiders who’ve had to claw their way into the winner’s circle.

The Kentucky Derby may be hyped as “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” but Affirmed and Alydar’s electrifying stretch showdowns only kept intensifying through both remaining jewels—the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes—of history’s hardest-fought Triple Crown series. Duel for the Crown vividly tracks these two magnificent Thoroughbreds through every hoofbeat of their odyssey, climaxing with the Belmont stretch duel in the greatest race ever run as they desperately gallop head to head all the way to the inevitable photo finish—and beyond, into history and immortality.

02/12/2024

~Now Available: CARGO OF HOPE by Shane Granger of the Historic Vessel Vega!

This is the story of the historic ship Vega’s first missions of mercy—a real-life sea tale complete with vicious storms, exotic locations, heart-rending moments, and priceless glimpses into real life on some of the world’s most remote tropical islands.

In December 2004, Shane Granger and his partner, Meggi Macoun, had just completed a sailing odyssey from South Africa to Malaysia and were enjoying a well-earned siesta when the Boxing Day Tsunami changed their lives forever. In a matter of hours, unstoppable waves, often over ten meters high, demolished cities not only in Malaysia but also as far away as Sri Lanka, Thailand, and East Africa, making it the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. With thousands of people suddenly in dire need, Shane and Meggi loaded their vessel with donated food and medical supplies, then set sail for Sumatra to deliver aid.

Shane and Meggi’s first mission of mercy marked a turning point and evolved into a passion. Every year since 2004, they have undertaken a 7,500-mile journey to carry tons of health supplies, educational materials, and other tools to remote island communities in eastern Indonesia and East Timor. To date, Vega has sailed more than 100,000 miles, delivering everything from pulse oximeters and midwife kits to backpacks and sports equipment and visiting locations few outsiders will ever see. The adventures they encounter along the way are nothing short of amazing.

02/04/2024

The Tigerbelles: Olympic Legends from Tennessee State by Aime Alley Card is available now wherever books are sold!

The Tigerbelles tells the epic story of the 1960 Tennessee State University all-Black women’s track team, which found Olympic glory at the 1960 games in Rome. The author tells a story of desire, success and failure—of beating the odds—against the backdrop of a changing America, but tells it in an intimate way. Readers will come to know the individuals’ unique struggles and triumphs, while also understanding how these dreams emerged and solidified just as the country was struggling to leave the Jim Crow era behind. Coach Edward Temple pushed each team member to the limit and saw the possibilities in them that they often did not see themselves. The elite group of talent included Wilma Rudolph, Barbara Jones, Lucinda Williams, Martha Hudson, Willye B. White and Shirley Crowder: women who once were and should still be known world-wide. Ultimately the team’s drive was for more than medals: Coach Temple and the Tigerbelles wanted to change the world’s perception of what a group of young Black women in the Jim Crow south were capable of. Tigerbelles is a multi-layered inspirational tale of triumph over adversity. Based on memoirs and interviews with surviving team members, including Coach Temple, this is the story of an impossible dream come true.

02/02/2024

Check out Illeanarama: The Official Illeana Douglas on The Gary and Kenny Show talking about her book, Connecticut in the Movies!

Illeana Douglas has long been known for shining new light on forgotten films. Now the celebrated actress and film historian turns her focus to a heretofore unrecognized brand: the Connecticut movie! Told from the passionate perspective of the author who grew up here, and filled with behind-the-scene...

01/12/2024

Whether you’re a basketball, hockey, or rowing fan— we’ve got the book for you! Check out some of our recently published sports books; descriptions below:

The Basketball Book of Why provides over 100 questions and detailed answers concerning the traditions, rules, and history of basketball. Organized by the sport’s three eras—its birth through 1945, the NBA from 1946 through 1999, and the game today—it answers questions about the sport at all levels, from college games to the Olympics. A bonus chapter provides a who, what, when, where, why, and how of basketball—the perfect resource to settle arguments or to answer challenging trivia questions.

Pat Pickens’s book details the Whalers’ origin in Boston in 1972, the team’s WHA championship in 1973, the roof collapse of their home arena that indirectly led to their entrance to the NHL in 1979, their stunning NHL playoff-series win against the top-seeded Quebec Nordiques in 1986, the 1986-87 season when they claimed their first division championship, and their relocation south in 1997 as the Carolina Hurricanes. Pickens imagines a Stanley Cup delivered to hockey-crazed Hartford in 2006, when the Hurricanes instead brought it home to North Carolina. The book also explores the likelihood of an NHL team returning to the Nutmeg State.

The Greatest Rowing Stories Ever Told collects articles and excerpts of classic rowing stories, from the inception of the sport on English waters in the eighteenth century, through the scandalous era of professionalism (and gambling) of the nineteenth century, to the popular amateur sport of today. The contributors include prominent oarsmen and women, historians of the sport, and even poets and songwriters. Recall here the great rivalries, the pageantry of the regattas, the poetic solitude of the single sculler, and many other aspects of a sport entering its third century.

01/05/2024

From the Borscht Belt shtick of Rodney Dangerfield to the urbane wit of Jerry Seinfeld, Jewish humor has had an enormous influence on modern comedy. Jokes about doctors, jokes about food, jokes about mothers— 101 classics are in this book, along with witty essays and charming cartoons by Joe Kohl. 101 Classic Jewish Jokes is a must for every fan of Jewish humor—and anyone who needs a good laugh.

12/22/2023

With a new afterword by award-winning author Join Moir, Lyons Press has published a new edition of Return of the Condor! Read below to learn about this fascinating book:

RETURN OF THE CONDOR is the riveting account of one of the most dramatic attempts to save a species from extinction in the history of modern conservation.

With the condor’s population down to only twenty-two birds in the 1980s and their very survival in doubt, the condor recovery team flouted conventional wisdom and pursued a controversial strategy to pull the bird back from the brink of extinction. Thus began the ongoing, decades-long program to reestablish America’s largest bird in its ancient home in Western skies.

Award-winning science writer John Moir takes readers into the backcountry to get to know the recovery program scientists as well as some of the individual condors. These are stories of peril, uncertainty, and controversy. Woven throughout these tales of heartbreak and triumph is the extraordinary dedication of the humans who have sometimes risked their lives for this charismatic, intelligent, and social bird.

Despite the program’s remarkable successes, the condor’s narrative is still unfolding with a number of challenges remaining. This includes the dilemma of lead poisoning among free-flying condors that is a major obstacle to the bird’s recovery.

The new afterword presents a compelling examination of the progress and continuing adversity facing the condor recovery effort since the first edition of the book was published.

*Finalist for the William Saroyan International Writing Prize from Stanford Libraries

*Honorable Mention from the National Association of Science Writers

12/19/2023

~Now available in paperback~ LIFE AND DEATH AT CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT by CHRISTOPHER J. D'AMELIO.

The ocean is one of the few untamed places on earth—unpredictable and unsympathetic to the lives lost there. For this reason, people remain fascinated by its tides, currents, and mysteries. Life and Death at Cape Disappointment is Christopher J. D'Amelio's first-hand account of life as a surfman at one of the Coast Guard’s most dangerous stations.

Cape Disappointment is one of the most notorious Coast Guard units on the Pacific Coast. Its area of responsibility is referred to as the “Graveyard of the Pacific.” This book focuses on five of the most significant search and rescue cases during D'Amelio's tour and how such work affected him and his colleagues mentally and physically. It’s armchair entertainment for those enthralled by the ocean.

12/15/2023

Plan on playing any card games during the holiday season? Or just want to pick up a new hobby and try something new? Get a copy of our book Bridge for Everyone which teaches you how to play the card game Bridge! Full description below:

Bridge is a famously challenging card game, one that’s next to impossible to learn without a whole host of visual aids. Enter Bridge for Everyone, which takes a step-by-step, visual approach to explaining the game clearly to beginners and intermediates. With 400 full-color photos, it begins with the rules and the fundamentals of bidding, play, defense, and scoring. Not only does it give you what it takes to hold your ground no matter what your hand, it then takes the bidding up a notch by introducing more techniques—and strategies for winning.

12/12/2023

~Now Available~ GUNS OF THE OLD WEST: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY by Dean Boorman

In the remote parts of America’s Western territories during much of the 1800s, law and order was overextended or even nonexistent. Guns were used by some, such as hunters and settlers, for self-protection and their very salvation, and by others as a means to impose their will, legally or otherwise. There can be no doubt that the exploration and exploitation of the Western frontier that began in 1804 was inextricably linked to the development of the firearm. It is certainly true today that fi****ms are associated with the Old West more than with any other era of American history. That Old West period, which ended officially in 1890, saw gun design and manufacture improve dramatically, such that the “taming of the West” could be accomplished with grit and determination, and also with reliable fi****ms. It is not surprising to learn that very often those fi****ms were C**ts or Wi******ers, since these were the gunmakers who achieved more than most in technological development and manufacturing prowess, pioneering the revolver and the lever-action rifle, respectively. Within these pages are the pistols and revolvers, rifles and carbines used by the hunters, the settlers, the lawmen and the lawless, the military and the showmen. All are interestingly described in accompanying essays written by an acknowledged expert in the field.

**t ******er ****ms ****mshistory

12/09/2023

What will you be reading over the holidays? Browse by this year's bestselling subjects and use code 23JOYSALE when ordering online* to SAVE 35% on in-stock print titles published by Globe Pequot imprints!

http://page.rowman.com/pages/16609/45047

*Offer valid from through New Year's. Some exclusions apply.

12/08/2023

Available now are the updated editions of CPA Bernard B. Kamoroff’s Small Time Operator and 475 Tax Deductions. Learn everything you need to know about handling taxes, owning a small business, and more!

SMALL TIME OPERATOR
Written for small businesses, self-employed individuals, employers, professionals, independent contractors, home businesses, and internet businesses, Small Time Operator is the most popular business start-up guide ever. This book will provide on-demand workers with everything they need to know to not only survive, but truly thrive in the modern economy.

475 TAX DEDUCTIONS
Are you paying more taxes than you have to? The IRS is not going to tell you about a deduction you failed to take, and your accountant is not likely to take the time to ask you about every deduction you’re entitled to. It’s up to you. The savings can be tremendous. This invaluable book not only lists the individual items that are deductible but also explains where to list them on your income tax form. The fourteenth edition is completely updated to include new changes in tax law.