Now in its third edition, this is a bigger (more than 11,000 entries), updated version of the 1989 original covering the enormous kaleidoscope of changing political boundaries, names, and rulers of Africa. This exhaustive reference allows the user quickly to determine what happened in or to each country and when--changes of names, political systems, rulers, and so on. The term "state" is loosely defined to embrace, throughout the history of Africa, any area of land with recognized borders and evidence of a continuing governmental structure, almost always with a capital city. Entries give official name of country, dates during which it went by that name, location, capital, alternate names including cross-references to previous and later incarnations, and a list of rulers with dates of power when known. A new table details AIDS in the African states.

"This third edition, is a bigger, updated version of the 1989 original covering the changing political boundaries, names, and rulers of Africa. Entries give name of country, dates during which it went by that name, location, capital, alternate names including cross-references to previous and later incarnations, and a list of rulers . A table details AIDS in the Africa"--Provided by publisher.

In this useful work, detailing more than 2,500 African placenames of all types, each entry identifies the country and, in most cases, geographical location within the country. An account of the name's origin and meaning follows, along with appropriate historical, topographical, and biological references. Cross references provide former names, alternate spellings, and alternate forms of current names. An introduction comprises a geographical summary, a chronological survey of the exploration and colonization of Africa, and an overview of African languages.

Arthur Barnes--"The 100 Somersault Man"--was the world's greatest acrobat, a legend of the circus. He toured for 23 years with the biggest companies in Britain, Europe and the United States, performing for all the crowned heads, as well as for Abraham Lincoln. This book traces his story as a bright thread of triumphs and tragedies running through the tapestry of the mid-Victorian era, a tapestry made rich by extraordinary events of the day and by the eccentric characters attracted to such a profession as the circus. We follow Barnes as he escapes the doom of the iron foundry by bounding out of the desperate slums of the East End of London at the age of 14 to become the "champion vaulter of all the world."

Hattie Lawton was a young Pinkerton detective who with her partner, Timothy Webster, spied for the U.S. Secret Service during the Civil War. Working in Richmond, the two posed as husband and wife. A dazzling blonde from New York and a handsome Englishman, both with checkered pasts, they were matched in charm, cunning, duplicity and boldness. Betrayed by their own spymaster, Allan Pinkerton, they fell into the hands of the dictator of Richmond, the notorious General John H. "Hog" Winder. This lively history, scrupulously researched from all available sources, corrects the record on many points and definitively answers the long-standing question of Hattie Lawton's true identity.

On December 22, 1853, a new steamship left New York on its maiden voyage. The San Francisco--perhaps the finest ocean-going vessel of its time--had been chartered by the U.S. Government to transport the U.S. Army's Third Artillery Regiment to the Pacific Coast. Two days out, the ship ran into one of the great hurricanes of maritime history. Sails and stacks were blown away, the engine was wrecked and scores of people were washed overboard, as the men frantically worked the pumps to keep afloat. A few days later, cholera broke out. After two weeks adrift, the survivors were rescued by three ships. The nightmare was not over. Two of the vessels, damaged by the storm, were in no position to take on passengers. Provisions ran out. Fighting thirst, starvation, disease and mutiny, survivors barely made it back. Then came the aftermath--accusations, denials, revelations of government ineptitude and negligence, and a cover-up.

In the space of a few hours on the night of April 2, 1865, Richmond, the Confederate capital, was evacuated and burned, the government fled, slavery was finished in North America, Union forces entered the city and the outcome of the Civil War was effectively sealed. No official documents tell the story because the Confederate government was on the run. First there were newspaper accounts--mostly confused--then history books based on those accounts. But much of what we know about the fall of Richmond comes from "eyewitnesses" like Confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Mallory, whose tale became history. A great deal of what has been presented over the years by historians has been plagiarized, invented or misconstrued, and nearly all we have learned of Jefferson Davis's flight from Richmond to Danville is wrong. This book closely examines all relevant source material--much of it newly discovered by the author--as well as the writers, diarists and eyewitnesses themselves, and constructs a minutely detailed new account that comes closer to what Abraham Lincoln had in mind when he said, "History is not history unless it is the truth."

Arguably the most offensive, despised, and ridiculed dandy of the Regency period, Sir James Webster-Wedderburn would likely be forgotten were it not for an affair between his wife and his close friend, the poet Lord Byron. This unique work lays out the details and provides commentary on rare private letters between Webster's wife, Lady Frances Caroline Annesley, and the famous poet. Also included are analyses and transcriptions of Lady Frances' letters to other suitors, including the Duke of Wellington and another Regency dandy, Scrope Davies.

On March 31, 1943, the musical Oklahoma! premiered and the modern era of the Broadway musical was born. Since that time, the theatres of Broadway have staged hundreds of musicals--some more noteworthy than others, but all in their own way a part of American theatre history. With more than 750 entries, this comprehensive reference work provides information on every musical produced on Broadway since Oklahoma's 1943 debut. Each entry begins with a brief synopsis of the show, followed by a three-part history: first, the pre-Broadway story of the show, including out-of-town try-outs and Broadway previews; next, the Broadway run itself, with dates, theatres, and cast and crew, including replacements, chorus and understudies, songs, gossip, and notes on reviews and awards; and finally, post-Broadway information with a detailed list of later notable productions, along with important reviews and awards.

This is a bigger (over 11,000 entries), updated (through late fall 1998) edition of the 1989 original covering the enormous kaleidoscope of changing political boundaries, names, and rulers of Africa. This exhaustive reference allows the user quickly to determine what happened in or to each country and when--changes of names, political systems, rulers, and so on. The term state is loosely defined to embrace, throughout the history of Africa, any area of land with recognized borders and evidence of a continuing governmental structure, almost always with a capital city. Entries give official name of country, dates during which it went by that name, location, capital, alternate names including cross-references to previous and later incarnations, and a list of rulers with dates of power when known.