As unique as the city it describes, Annapolis, City on the Severn builds on the most recent scholarship and offers readers a fascinating portrait into the past of this great city.

The authors of Haunted Fells Point tour Maryland’s capital and “detail ghostly sightings at some of the city’s best known landmarks” (Capital Gazette). Beneath the statehouse dome and from the banks of the Severn River, the ghosts of Annapolis rise to roam the red-bricked streets of the old city. The capital of Maryland since 1694, the city hosts the restless dead who never left the narrow alleys, taverns and homes where they met their ends. Come dine with Mary Reynolds at the tavern she’s been keeping since the 1760s, stand vigil at the sarcophagus of Admiral John Paul Jones and search for the figure of Thomas Dance, who plummeted from the heights of the statehouse dome in 1793. From headless men and ghostly soldiers to unlucky bootleggers and ominous gravediggers, Annapolis Ghost Tour founder Mike Carter and tour guide Julia Dray narrate the eerie tales of these and other supernatural residents of Annapolis. Includes photos! “Based on years of research by the duo into the history behind some of Annapolis’ most notorious ghost stories.” —Broadneck Patch

The Chesapeake Bay region is an astounding place, boasting more miles of shoreline than the entire West Coast. It’s home to a thriving community of water-loving creative spirits and one of America’s oldest capital cities—beautiful Annapolis. With 100 Things to Do in Annapolis and the Eastern Shore Before You Die as your guide, locals and visitors alike will unlock the many treasures this region has to offer. Go back in time on remote and disappearing Smith Island, whose residents trace their lineage to the 1600s. Run in the world’s shortest foot race: a heart-calming 0.5K. Sample the fare at a haunted tavern once frequented by Ben Franklin. And no visit to the region would be complete without a bushel of blue crabs, served the Eastern Shore way. Author and reporter Susan Moynihan’s own childhood sailing on the Bay helped her turn her love for her hometown into this insider’s look at the region. Whether you’re coming to tour the Naval Academy, wander Colonial-era streets, or get out on the water, you’ll be amazed by the diversity awaiting you in Annapolis and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. With this indispensable guide, you’ll never run out of new things to do “by the Bay.”

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

"Waterborne" is the story of an artist, an engineer and a Labrador--three entirely different personalities--who abandon a stable middle-age lifestyle for a pitching deck and the possibility of pirates. Challenged by culture clashes, gear failure and sudden storms, their story is as much a sea saga as travel memoir, celebrating the interior as well as exterior journey and the joys of an inquisitive engagement with the world--a timely subject in today's climate of increasing tribalism.

Contains over seventy tales of ghostly hauntings from each of the fifty United States and Canada.

What So Proudly We Hailed is the first full-length biography of Francis Scott Key in more than 75 years. In this fascinating look at early America, historian Marc Leepson explores the life and legacy of Francis Scott Key. Standing alongside Betsy Ross, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Paul Revere, and John Hancock in history, Key made his mark as an American icon by one single and unforgettable act, writing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Among other things, Leepson reveals: • How the young Washington lawyer found himself in Baltimore Harbor on the night of September 13-14, 2014 • The mysterious circumstances surrounding how the poem he wrote, first titled "The Defense of Ft. M'Henry," morphed into the National Anthem • Key's role in forming the American Colonization Society, and his decades-long fervent support for that controversial endeavor that sent free blacks to Africa • His adamant opposition to slave trafficking and his willingness to represent slaves and freed men and women for free in Washington's courts • Key's role as a confidant of President Andrew Jackson and his work in Jackson's "kitchen cabinet" • Key's controversial actions as U.S. Attorney during the first race riot in Washington, D.C., in 1835. Publishing to coincide with the 200th anniversary of "The Star Spangled Banner" in 2014, What So Proudly We Hailed reveals unexplored details of the life of an American patriot whose legacy has been largely unknown until now.

A richly illustrated behind-the-scenes tour of how the nation’s capital was built. In 1790, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson set out to build a new capital for the United States of America in just ten years. The area they selected on the banks of the Potomac River, a spot halfway between the northern and southern states, had few resources or inhabitants. Almost everything needed to build the federal city would have to be brought in, including materials, skilled workers, architects, and engineers. It was a daunting task, and these American Founding Fathers intended to do it without congressional appropriation. Robert J. Kapsch’s beautifully illustrated book chronicles the early planning and construction of our nation’s capital. It shows how Washington, DC, was meant to be not only a government center but a great commercial hub for the receipt and transshipment of goods arriving through the Potomac Canal, then under construction. Picturesque plans would not be enough; the endeavor would require extensive engineering and the work of skilled builders. By studying an extensive library of original documents—from cost estimates to worker time logs to layout plans—Kapsch has assembled a detailed account of the hurdles that complicated this massive project. While there have been many books on the architecture and planning of this iconic city, Building Washington explains the engineering and construction behind it.