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<span><span>Zen and the Art of Local History </span><span>is an engaging, interactive conversation that conveys the exciting nature of local history. Divided into six major themes of being a local historian, topics and sources, staying relevant, getting it right, writing history, and history organizations, the book covers the scope and breadth of local history. Each chapter features one of Carol Kammen’s memorable editorials from </span><span>History News. </span></span>
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<span><span>Her editorial is a “call.” Each is followed by a response from one of more than five dozen prominent players in state and local history. These Respondents include local and public historians, archivists, volunteers, and history professionals across the kaleidoscopic spectrum of local history. The result is a series of dialogues on important topics in the field of local history. This interactivity of these conversations makes </span><span>Zen and the Art of Local History </span><span>a unique offering in the public history field. </span></span>
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<span><span>Foreword by Lorraine McConaghy</span></span>
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<span><span>Acknowledgements</span></span>
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<span><span>Introduction</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 1: About Being a Local Historian</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Not for a Test, but History for Life, Response: Spencer Downing</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Perambulation, Response: Aaron Sachs</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Inappropriate Questions, Response: James L. Baggett</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: What We Tell the Youngsters, Response: Kate Betz</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: We Are Not Journalists, Response: Jeffrey J. Kollath</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Local Knowledge, Response: Mary Alexander</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Abby Hemenway, Response: Rebecca Conard</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Water Buffalos, Wildebeests, and Gazelles, Response: Robert B. Townsend</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Educating Our “Other” Audiences, Response: Karen Graham Wade</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Local History Apprentice, Response: Kate Tiller</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Millenialism, Response: Robert Richmond</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Taking the Prize, Response: Donald P. Zuris</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: History’s Long Rangers, Response: Michael Potaski</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Retiring Sorts, Response: Richard L. Williams</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 2: The Clay for Our Wheels and the Pots We Make</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Getting Involved, Response: Allyn Lord</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Out of the Closet, Response: Paul Landry</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Clipping Point, Response: Scott Muir Stroh III</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: An Ode to Scrapbooks, Response: Kelly Nolin</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Envelope Please, Response: K. Allison Wickens</span></span>
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<span><span>Call; Replevin, Response: Galen R. Wilson</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Local History and the Underground Railroad, Response: Dina Bailey and Richard C. Cooper</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Hall’s in Your Court(house), Response: James D. Folts</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Down for the Count, Response: Lila Teresa Church</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Small Changes, Response: Darlene Roth</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Rethinking Local History, Response: Bruce Teeple</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Around and About, Response: William L. Lang</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Recording the Home Front, Response: Courtney L. Tollison</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: To Blog or Not to Blog, Response: Kate Theimer</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 3: Mingled Yarn </span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Community Education, Response: Lynne Ireland</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Seeking Diversity, Response: Patricia Williams Lessane</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: History Tents, Response: Linda W. Chapin</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Travel at Home, Response: Janet Vaughan</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Travel at Home (Redux), Response: Amy H. Wilson</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: In Memoriam: Quite a Decade (Prelude and Postscript), Response; Jessica Dorman</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Acts of Nature and Other Disturbing Events, Response: Beverly C. Tyler</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: When All is Lost, Response: Alice Parman</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Poor are Always Among Us, Response: Robert Archibald</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: What’s in a Name, Response: Mary E. Montgomery</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 4: Truth and Consequences</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: When Not Being Wrong is Not Good Enough, Response: Constantine Dillon</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Ducking, Bobbing, and Looking Away, Response: Charles F. Bryan, Jr.</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Unintended Consequences, Response: Joe Meehan</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Making it Up, Response: Tim Grove</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Truth and Fiction, Response: Mark T. Mannette</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Just All the Facts, Ma’am, Just Not </span><span>All</span><span> the Facts, Response: Annette Atkins</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 5: Words in Stone</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: History for Our Times, Response: David A. Janssen</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: In Context, Response: Paige Lilly</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Local History’s Audience, Response: J. Kent Calder and Thomas A. Mason</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Community History, Response: Stephen L. Cox</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Things We Ignore, Response: Philip V. Scarpino</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: To Note or Not to Note, Response: Chris Brewer</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Defining the Field, Response: Matthew Gibson</span></span>
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<span><span>Chapter 6: Work and Play in History’s Sandbox</span><span> </span></span>
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<span><span>Call: A Fourteen-Step Program for Local History, Response: Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Clanking of Canes: A Survey of North American State and Local History, Response: Burt Logan</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Future of Historical Societies, Response: James M. Vaughan</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: An Abundance of History, Response: Lisa Anderson</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Cultural Tourism, Response: Carolyn Brackett</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: In the Company of Our Peers, Response: Janice B. Klein</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: The Importance of a Good Chair, Response: Tobi Voigt</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Out of the Box and Into the Fray, Response: Katherine D. Kane</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Tripping over History, Response: Lawrence J. Yerdon</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Radio Waves, Response: Stan Deaton</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Random Acts, Response: Cynthia Cardona Melendez</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Into the Archive, Response: Kathleen D. Roe</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: On Boards, Response: Kent Whitworth</span></span>
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<span><span>Call: Being On Board, Response: Kathleen M. O’Leary</span></span>
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<span><span>Title/Author index</span></span>
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<span><span>Subject index</span></span>
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<span><span>About the Authors</span></span>
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<span><span>Carol Kammen </span><span>has been writing about doing local history for many years. The first edition of this book came out in 1985; this edition is greatly pruned and expanded. She has edited </span><span>The Encyclopedia of Local History</span><span> (two editions) for Alta Mira Press and AASLH and has written editorials for </span><span>History News</span><span> since 1995. In addition she has written a history of her county, of the City in which she lives, and </span><span>Cornell: Glorious to View </span><span>(2003) and </span><span>Part &amp; Apart: The African American Experience at Cornell, 1865-1945 </span><span>(2008) and edited </span><span>First Person Cornell: Student’s Letters, Diaries, Email and Blogs</span><span> (2006). She has also written two-dozen dramatic presentations using local history, including </span><span>Between the Lines, Peaches and Bird, The Language of War</span><span> and others and writes a history column for her local newspaper. She lives in Ithaca, New York, taught at Cornell University, and serves as the Tompkins County Historian.<br><br><br></span><span>Bob Beatty</span><span> is Vice President for Programs for the American Association for State &amp; Local History where he leads AASLH’s professional development program including workshops, an annual meeting, affinity groups and other initiatives, and publications as editor of History News and a member of the AASLH Editorial Advisory Board. From 1999-2007 he directed the Education Department at the Orange County (FL) Regional History Center where he led or oversaw dozens of community outreach programs ranging from school partnerships, youth/family activities, adult programming, and community partnerships.<br><br></span></span>