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BostonPL_Boston History: 10 Classics About Our Great City

Boston is a city rich with history. Whether you're new to Boston or you've been here awhile, dive into one of these titles and learn something new today! This booklist is also available in bookmark form at any Boston Public Library location, while supplies last. These titles may be available in other formats or languages. Check our catalog for availability.

Boston Public Library

10 items

  • The history of the famed Boston Public Library as written by a former BPL librarian.
    Book
  • Common Ground

    a Turbulent Decade in the Lives of Three American Families

    Lukas, J. Anthony, 1933-1997
    Winning multiple awards, Common Ground is the story of the busing crisis in Boston as told through the experiences of three families.
    Book
  • With plenty of documentation and myth-shattering details Zobel has written a classic account of the Boston Massacre.
    Book
  • Banned in Boston

    the Watch and Ward Society's Crusade Against Books, Burlesque, and the Social Evil

    Miller, Neil, 1945-
    A history of Boston's Watch and Ward Society explains how this powerful group of moral crusaders made Boston the most straitlaced city in America.
    Book
  • Gaining Ground

    a History of Landmaking in Boston

    Seasholes, Nancy S,
    Fully one-sixth of Boston is built on made land, more than any other city in North America. In Gaining Ground historian Nancy Seasholes has given us the first complete account of when, why, and how this land was created.
    Book
  • The Gardner Heist

    the True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft

    Boser, Ulrich
    On March 18, 1990, two men broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and stole a dozen masterpieces worth $500 million. But after thousands of leads and a $5 million reward, none of the paintings have been recovered.
    Book
  • Fenway 1912

    the Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year

    Stout, Glenn, 1958-
    Stout tells the remarkable story of Fenway's first year, from the long winter when locals poured concrete and built the park to the ragtag Red Sox team that embarked on a journey to the World Series while the paint was still drying and the…
    Book
  • Dark Tide

    the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

    Puleo, Stephen
    The only adult book on one of the odder disasters in US history—and the greed, disregard for poor immigrants, and lack of safety standards that led to it.
    Book
  • Allison brings Boston history alive, from the Puritan theocracy of the seventeenth century to the Big Dig of the twenty-first. His book includes illustrations, a chronology of key events, and twenty short profiles of exceptional Bostonians.
    Book
  • Walking Boston

    34 Tours Through Beantown's Cobblestone Streets, Historic Districts, Ivory Towers and Bustling Waterfront

    Felton, R. Todd, 1969-
    Boston's a walker's town and Walking Boston offers the best of Boston’s new and old rambles. This portable guide features detailed maps, original photos, and public transportation information for every trip. Route summaries make each walk…
    Book