Dale Perelman
The Regent
Vast images of ages past
Shine through its pure white light
What secrets would the Regent cast,
if only stones could write
The Regent Diamond has been bought and sold, stolen and pawned.
First discovered in a mine in India in 1701, this remarkable gem has passed from hand to hand, from family to family, from country to country and from setting to setting.
It has been owned by the.....
Mountain of Light
Diamonds represent the greatest symbols of wealth. Many men covet those treasures, and many lives are lost in search of their riches.
The Koh-I-Noor is India’s oldest and most famous diamond. Mountain of Light traces history and legend surrounding the Koh-I-Noor through the court of Shah Baber, founder of the Mogul Empire during the sixteenth century, to its present location in the Tower of London.
The ancients called the Koh-I-Noor a gift from the Gods, a symbol than any ruler.....
Centenarians
“People are living longer nowadays, which is great. And it appears that more and more people are achieving the centenarian stage of their lives. If you don’t believe me, just ask Willard Scott.” Bob Hope
For centuries, kings and rulers spent a fortune for alchemists to develop the elixir of life. The effort proved futile.
People who reach the age of 100 are rare and subject to awe.
The centenarians highlighted in this wonderful book are noted only for the.....
Steel
Steel portrays the growth of the iron and steel industry in smoke-filled Pittsburgh during the 19th century. This fast-paced saga tells the story of millionaire titans Andrew Carnegie, Ben Franklin Jones, Henry Clay Frick, Henry Phipps, Henry Oliver, and Charles Schwab – strong-willed men who often schemed against each other – yet united to halt the union activity of their underpaid and undervalued workforce. The juxtaposition of the haves and have-nots led to bloody battles across Western Pennsylvania’s plants, mines,.....
Road to Rust
The author of Steel tells the story of strikes and violent unrest amid the mines and mills of twentieth-century Pennsylvania and Ohio—includes photos. As the twentieth century dawned on western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, the region’s steel industry faced a struggle for unionism. The industry was plagued by disasters that killed and maimed countless workers, many of them impoverished immigrants from Ireland, Hungary, and other nations—in 1906 alone, more than four hundred workers died in steel plant accidents. In response, unionists like.....
New Castle’s Kadunce Murders: Mystery and the Devil in Northwest Pennsylvania (True Crime)
In the summer of 1978, a mother and her four-year-old were stabbed to death in the quiet town of New Castle. Police suspected the husband, Lou Kadunce, but were unable to find either a weapon or a motive. Sitting in a Lawrence County jail in 1981, convicted serial killer Michael Atkinson accused Frank Costala carny, petty thief and Satanist of having an affair with the Kadunce husband and participating in the murder. A series of intense trials ensued as Costal.....
Death at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles (True Crime)
Built during Los Angeles’s rapid growth in the Roaring Twenties, the Beaux Arts-style Cecil Hotel was briefly a glimmering downtown landmark until it became one of the most infamous sites of violence and murder in the country. Nicknamed The Suicide, the Cecil was the eerie location of more than a dozen people taking their own lives going back to the 1940s and ’50s. Rumors still swirl that Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, frequented the hotel in the days before her.....
Chuck Tanner and the Pittsburgh Pirates
A beloved son of Western Pennsylvania, Chuck Tanner spent a career in baseball both as a player and manager. He lead the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1977 to 1985 and helped capture the 1979 World Series. Tanner was key in developing the relief pitcher through his work with Goose Gossage and he played a role in the careers of numerous players such as Willie Stargell, Dave Parker and more.