E-grāmata: Alternative History of Pittsburgh

An idiosyncratic look at an American city

Ed Simon tells the story of Pittsburgh through this collection of explorations of its hidden histories—one of Newsweek's "21 Best Books to Read This Spring."

The land surrounding the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers has supported communities of humans for millennia. In the past four centuries, however, it has been transformed utterly and many times over by the people who call it home. In this brief, lyrical, and idiosyncratic new book, Ed Simon follows the story of America's furnace through a series of interconnected segments, covering all manner of Pittsburgh-beloved people, places, and things, including:

Paleolithic PittsburghThe Whiskey RebellionThe attempted assassination of Henry FrickThe HarmonistsThe Mystery, Pittsburgh's radical, Black nationalist newspaperThe myth of Joe Magaracand Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Andy Warhol, and much much more

Accessible, conversational, and funny, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh is a must-read for anyone curious about this storied city, and for Pittsburghers who think they know it all-too-well already.

Ed Simon tells the story of Pittsburgh through this exploration of its hidden histories—the LA Review of Books calls it an “epic, atomic history of the Steel City.”

The land surrounding the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers has supported communities of humans for millennia. Over the past four centuries, however, it has been transformed countless times by the many people who call it home. In this brief, lyrical, and idiosyncratic collection, Ed Simon, a staff writer at The Millions, follows the story of America’s furnace through a series of interconnected segments, covering all manner of Pittsburgh-beloved people, places, and things, including:

• Paleolithic Pittsburgh

• The Whiskey Rebellion

• The attempted assassination of Henry Frick

• The Harmonists

• The Mystery, Pittsburgh’s radical, Black nationalist newspaper

• The myth of Joe Magarac

• Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Andy Warhol, and much, much more.

Accessible and funny, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh is a must-read for anyone curious about this storied city, and for Pittsburghers who think they know it all too well already.