When World War II engulfed the nation, the men and women of Akron dutifully played their part in the epic struggle. Keyes Beech ducked grenades as marines raised the American flag at on Iwo Jima. Newspaper magnate John S. Knight watched the Japanese surrender on the USS Missouri just five months after his son was killed in Germany. On the homefront, Goodyear manufactured blimps used to hunt down Nazi submarines, and noted Beacon Journal cartoonist Web Brown pledged his talent and his pen to boosting morale at home and abroad. Replete with more than one hundred images, including many of Brown's wartime drawings, this thrilling account by local author Tim Carroll recalls all that Akron gave for freedom.

"Akron Beacon Journal cartoonist Web Brown was one of the best political cartoonists in America during World War II. After serving in the Spanish-American War, Brown returned to the States and began a forty-six-year career lasting from 1899 through 1945. Before and during the Second World War, Brown's cartoons lampooned Hitler, Mussolini and Japan with a strong sense of justice, humor and history. Featured six days a week in the Journal, his work boosted morale at home and lifted the spirits of soldiers overseas. Compiling more than two hundred of Brown's best cartoons, Akron native and author Tim Carroll recalls the history of World War II through the outstanding creations of one of Akron's most prolific and noteworthy artists"--Back cover.

Arn writes in a straightforward and engaging manner that avoids false sentimentality or romanticism. Instead, he gives readers keen insights into the daily life of soldiers locked in gruesome events far beyond their experience and describes how it feels to be under fire, to suffer a wound, to agonize over the deaths of friends, to endure true suffering, to sacrifice, and to survive. Edited and annotated by Jerome Mushkat, this memoir is an account of a citizen-soldier who survived his baptism by fire during World War II."--BOOK JACKET.

A bombardier’s story of serving in the skies over Europe—and surviving in a POW camp—as told through his correspondence with his Ohio family. On his twenty-sixth horrifying mission over the hostile skies of Nazi Europe, a charismatic bombardier, seated at the nose of a B-17, strapped on his parachute as his disintegrating bomber dropped uncontrollably to the ground. What got him to this point, the ensuing months behind barbed wire, and his daily letters written to his family in Akron, Ohio, makes for an emotionally intense memoir. This is the true account of a single individual who represents the countless unsung warriors of the greatest generation during World War II. Previously published as A Story of One

Compiling more than 100 family recipes, founder of the Akron Recipe Project Judy Orr James serves up a history of home cooking in the Rubber City. From the city's founding in 1825 through the years following World War II, numerous ethnic and cultural groups made Akron home. With each new arrival, the city's food changed and deepened to delicious effect. Polish immigrants brought pierogi to the area, and Jews introduced Old World favorites like kugel and hamantaschen. African Americans seeking a better life in the North enriched the Akron palate with the unique and southern-inspired dishes of their ancestors. Last but not least, there is the sauerkraut ball, Akron's official food and favorite snack served at local restaurants, cocktail parties, holiday celebrations, and game day gatherings.

Virtual History examines many of the most popular historical video games released over the last decade and explores their portrayal of history. The book looks at the motives and perspectives of game designers and marketers, as well as the societal expectations addressed, through contingency and determinism, economics, the environment, culture, ethnicity, gender, and violence. Approaching videogames as a compelling art form that can simultaneously inform and mislead, the book considers the historical accuracy of videogames, while also exploring how they depict the underlying processes of history and highlighting their strengths as tools for understanding history. The first survey of the historical content and approach of popular videogames designed with students in mind, it argues that games can depict history and engage players with it in a useful way, encouraging the reader to consider the games they play from a different perspective. Supported by examples and screenshots that contextualize the discussion, Virtual History is a useful resource for students of media and world history as well as those focusing on the portrayal of history through the medium of videogames.

A riveting story of World War II and the courage of one young woman as she is drafted into Churchill’s overseas spy network, aiding the French Resistance behind enemy lines and working to liberate Nazi-occupied Paris… London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster’s Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister’s cigars permeating the stale air. Winning the war is the only thing that matters, and she will gladly do her part. And when Rose’s fluency in French comes to the attention of Churchill himself, it brings a rare yet dangerous opportunity. Rose is recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization that conducts espionage in Nazi-occupied Europe. After weeks of grueling training, Rose parachutes into France with a new codename: Dragonfly. Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman in Paris, she ferries messages to and from the Resistance, knowing that the slightest misstep means capture or death. Soon Rose is assigned to a new mission with Lazare Aron, a French Resistance fighter who has watched his beloved Paris become a shell of itself, with desolate streets and buildings draped in Swastikas. Since his parents were sent to a German work camp, Lazare has dedicated himself to the cause with the same fervor as Rose. Yet Rose’s very loyalty brings risks as she undertakes a high-stakes prison raid, and discovers how much she may have to sacrifice to justify Churchill’s faith in her . . . "A rousing historical novel." - The Akron Beacon Journal, Best Books of the Year for Churchill's Secret Messenger

The ruins of an industrial past provide the perfect haunting grounds in this spirited Ohio city. Run down the apparitions that float down Rubber City streets and façades like the shadow of a passing blimp. Stroll along forgotten canals amid the restless chatter and clank of spirits cut down before their hard lives became easier. Catch a show at the Civic Theater with a “former” engineer who prophesied that death wouldn’t keep him from work. A more restive spirit is that of John Tedrow, a twenty-something mauled and murdered during a drunken brawl in 1882; he wails for help and resolution. In this ghostly tour through Akron’s haunted and sometimes brutal past, paranormal specialist and historian Jeri Holland digs into the ghost tales and local legends that linger here like this city’s industrial heritage. “Haunted Akron is a tour of events, places and creepy legends.” —Ohio.com

Everyone loves a good adventure story. The history of Akron aviation provides all the real-life pathos of any adventure novel. It all began in 1875, when a young farmer named Jack C. Johnston launched himself and his balloon on one of the wildest flights ever recorded. In 1906, John Gammeter, an Akron inventor, built his own airplane and began making regular flights over the city. In Akron, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company saw the future of air commerce and would go on to write its own chapter in aviation history on a global scale. The story of Akron aviation is one of incredible triumphs and unspeakable tragedies. It is the story of men and women determined to conquer the air. Akron aviation matured along with the city, and the two intertwined to become a major influence in northern Ohio as well as the country.