Boston Firsts is about everything (well, almost!) that happened first in Boston and changed life elsewhere: from the first lighthouse and public library to the first madam and ready-made suit. Boston-based journalist and essayist Lynda Morgenroth has written forty original essays on the city's long history of innovation, from the colonial era to the present. These lively takes on Boston's innovative history range from the first use of ether in publicly performed surgery to the first school desegregation court case to the one-and only-automatic bargain basement. Consider this: Ice cut from Boston ponds and shipped to hot climates became a worldwide industry. A controversial kidney transplant between twin brothers marked the start of organ transplantation. The glorious Massachusetts 54th Regiment was the first black army regiment in U.S. history. First newspaper, novel, subway, telephone, gay marriage-the beat goes on! Ranging from advances in science and engineering-the smallpox inoculation and the Boston Harbor cleanup-to innovations in culture and society-Fannie Farmer's cookbook and the YMCA-the collection investigates, celebrates, and integrates America's workshop of ideas. "Morgenroth colors this thrilling history with hip, current observations and makes you notice just how vast and varied our accomplishments and inventions are." -Mopsy Strange Kennedy, Improper Bostonian Lynda Morgenroth, author of Boston Neighborhoods: A Food Lover's Walking, Eating, and Shopping Guide to Ethnic Enclaves in and around Boston and longtime Boston Globe contributor, lives slightly northeast of Boston.

After World War II, Nat King Cole romanticized Route 66 with his wonderfully melodious voice. Route 66 was a transcontinental highway that traveled from Chicago to Los Angeles. Today, Route 66 is no more. Can today’s traveler drive across the country on a two-lane highway and recapture the romance that Nat sang about half a century ago? It is possible! U.S. 20 begins in Boston and travels through the heartland, 3,365 miles, to Newport, Oregon. Its journey takes the traveler through a myriad of towns and places to explore. Through the Heartland on U.S. 20: Massachusetts relates the development of the road, each town’s historic events, people of renown who lived there, even the infamous, things to do and see, and the towns’ best restaurants. An exciting adventure awaits the reader as he or she travels through Massachusetts on U.S. 20.

A history of sports in Boston told through its parks and arenas.

Remaking Boston chronicles many of the events that altered the physical landscape of Boston, while also offering multidisciplinary perspectives on the environmental history of one of America's oldest and largest metropolitan areas.

A fascinating look at how Boston became and remains a global center for innovation--told through 50 world-changing inventions. “Robert Krim is a long-time champion of the Boston area’s history of innovation, finding remarkable examples of ingenuity and creativity going back centuries and continuing today. He shows how a culture of innovation can make a small place a beacon of hope for the world, by developing the fresh ideas and useful discoveries that make a difference in every part of life.” —Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School professor and author of Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time Since the 1600s, Boston has been at the forefront of world-changing innovation from starting the country's first public school to becoming the first state to end slavery and giving birth to the telephone. Boston was the site of the first organ transplant and more recent medical and biotech breakthroughs that have saved the lives of thousands. That's not to mention pioneering advances in everything from rockets to robotics. In total, Boston-area inventors have contributed more than four hundred stand-out social, scientific, and commercial innovations and uncounted numbers that are less well known. Boston Made tells the absorbing stories of 50 of these - and why they are no accident. In fact, fresh waves of innovation have brought the city back from four major economic collapses. Dr. Robert Krim lays out a set of "innovation drivers," including strong entrepreneurship, local funding, and networking. From boom to decline and back to boom, Boston has maintained an ability to reinvent, and build anew. Dr. Krim with technologist Alan Earls have developed and outlined a new interpretation of how a resilient city has flourished. At a time when the national and global economy is reeling from pandemic shockwaves, the authors have laid out what a dynamic world-class city has done in the face of adversity to find a fresh and successful path forward.

Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time-the kind Mercedes never had herself. Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy - so far. Her mother isn't home nearly enough to know about Mercedes' extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won't even say the word "sex" until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn't bank on Angela's boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn - or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed. When Mercedes' perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her own reputation -and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn's Firsts is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.