Join author Richard Gazarik as he reveals the wicked history of the Steel City. Muckraking journalist Walter Liggett dubbed Pittsburgh the "Metropolis of Corruption" in 1930 when he reported the city had more vice per square foot than New York, Detroit, Cleveland or Boston. Decades earlier, the Magee-Flinn political machine ruled public officials, and crooked police helped racketeers protect brothels and gambling dens. Mayor (later Governor) David Lawrence was indicted several times for graft but acquitted each time. Even Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. colluded with gangsters, according to FBI reports.

Each title in The Applause Libretto Library Series presents a Broadway musical with fresh packaging in a 6 x 9 trade paperback format. Each Complete Book and Lyrics is approved by the writers and attractively designed with color photo inserts from the Broadway production. All titles include introduction and foreword by renowned Broadway musical experts. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. The story of how these two unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch makes for the most spellbinding new musical in years.

Beyond the world famous artists, singers, actors and more from Pittsburgh are the city's celebrities known locally for their quirky style, unique mannerisms, and outlandish behavior. From Joe Barker, the violent "street preacher" who was elected mayor in 1850--while in prison!--to Curt Wootton, the comedian whose celebrity status comes from being "Pittsburgh Dad," on Youtube, the Steel City has had a number of colorful characters throughout its history that defy category.

When Brock Bailey's limousine crashes through a bridge railing and disappears into Pittsburgh's murky Monongahela River, the popular Pennsylvania governor is presumed to be dead. Intensive rescue efforts produce four mangled bodies, but the Mon River does not yield a governor. Left behind are a very public and ruthless son, a very private mistress and the prize they both crave: Bailey's Keystone Oil fortune. The governor's disappearance becomes an obsession of Bailey's hometown newspaper editor and a bumbling state police commissioner. What they learn is a Bailey family secret so shocking and devastating that one tries to exploit it and the other hesitates to publish it. Tonight in the Rivers of Pittsburgh exposes the turmoil and duplicity of Pennsylvania's political power family from the heinous kidnapping that propelled Brock Bailey to the governorship, to the forbidden young woman who dominated his hidden life, to his rudderless son, thrust into the political void caused by the governor's reported demise. The story of Bailey's legacy winds through the remote Allegheny National Forest, to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, through the Gettysburg Battlefield and Philadelphia and past all whistle-stops in between. Meanwhile, the nation's most baffling political mystery floats lifelessly down the rivers of Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh's contributions to the uniquely American art form of jazz are essential to its national narrative. Fleeing the Jim Crow South in the twentieth century, African American migration to the industrial North brought musical roots that would lay the foundation for jazz culture in the Steel City. As migrant workers entered the factories of Pittsburgh, juke joints and nightclubs opened in the segregated neighborhoods of the Hill District, Northside and East Liberty. The scene fostered numerous legends, including Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn, George Benson, Erroll Garner and Earl Fatha Hines. The music is sustained today in the practice rooms of the city's universities and by groups such as the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and the African American Music Institute. Authors Richard Gazarik and Karen Anthony Cole chart the swinging history of jazz in Pittsburgh.

Describes the corruption and violence that plagued Pittsburgh during the era of Prohibition. -- Back cover.

Containing reports from Pennsylvania judicial districts and other leading decisions.

Pittsburgh is ever-changing — once dusted with soot from the mills, parts of the city now gleam with the polish of new technologies and little remains of what had been there before. The essays and artwork in this anthology aim for the surprising, elusive stories that capture a Pittsburgh that is in transition. Contributors run the gamut from MacArthur-award winning photographer, LaToya Ruby Frazier to 15-year-old Nico Chiodi, the book's youngest contributor who chronicles the doings of the North Side Banjo Club. "Everyone in this book," writes editor, Eric Boyd, "is talking about the city, the things surrounding it; all of the pieces have been created with experience, intimacy, and personality. This book, I hope, will speak to you, not at you. Because we all know this city is changing. We're just not exactly sure what that means." Included are contributions by Amy Jo Burns, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Ben Gwin, Cody McDevitt, David Newman, and many more.