John Dupre, a junior at West Virginia University, is an English major on the Dean's List dressed up as a Beatnik cowboy, the folk-singing resident outsider before nonconformity became a youth uniform. Morgantown is a masterful ensemble piece centering around John and peopled by his unforgettable friends in the out crowd: Bill Cohen, the sharpshooting, knife-throwing Zen Buddhist Harvard scholar; Marge Levine, the political radical with the Nefertiti eyes; and William Revington, the scion of old money who has the world on a platter and can't think of a single thing to do with it. And then theres his girl-friends and sexual obsessions: Carol Rabinowitz, the Wyatt scholar and Jewish American Princess; Natalie, the folk-singing boy-girl with the mind of a scientist; Cassandra Markapolous, whom John loves but is not allowed to be in love with. And, there's the Alice in the photograph, the boy dressed up as a girl dressed up as another girl, on and on endlessly reflecting: a hall of mirrors that threatens to draw John into its vortex.

Located on the western edge of the Appalachian Mountains, just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Morgantown was settled before the American Revolution and became the seat of Monongalia County, Virginia. When West Virginia was established during the Civil War, Morgantown was selected as the site for the state land grant university, but in size, it remained a village until about 1900. In the late 1800s, the arrival of railroads and reliable river transportation and the discovery of oil and gas brought new industries to the area. Glass factories were established, and Morgantown became known worldwide for fine glass tableware. Coal mining for the steel and electric power industries was added to the industrial base around 1920. Since 1960, Morgantown has increasingly become a post-industrial city as growing federal laboratories and an expanding university have made research, teaching, and scholarship the primary employment base. Recently several magazines named Morgantown as one of the best small cities in America. The photographs and postcards in Images of America: Around Morgantown illustrate a variety of historic scenes and activities within a 15-mile radius from the courthouse.

A fascinating compendium of the hand-made, mold-blown glassware produced in Morgantown, West Virginia, displayed in over 860 color photographs. The striking colors, etchings, cuttings, and cased filament stems make Morgantown glass distinctive and appealing. Descriptions of specific techniques are given by employees.

Morgantown has played a role in nearly every important period in American history. Words and images are combined in Then & Now: Morgantown to depict that legacy and the city's transformation from sleepy agricultural community to industrial workhorse to home of cutting-edge education, medicine, and research.