Just in time for the holidays, a write-up of some great books about Richmond and/or specific neighborhoods or other areas. Stop by Fountain Bookstore or Black Swan and see if you can pick up a copy in person or hit the links to order online.

Richmond author etc. Harry Kollatz (previously) has the cover art for and info about his next book, Richmond in Ragtime, (due in November) over at The Blue Raccoon:

This is a narrative, bricolage style, covering just three rambunctious years, 1909-1911. The coil of the story is provided by Adon Allen Yoder, a grassroots Socialist reformer who published a muckraking pamphlet called The Idea.

There are more than a few great books covering specific facets of Richmond’s history. The recent Historic Photos of Richmond “captures this city’s journey through still photography selected from the finest archives” with a well-selected set of photos from the 1860s to the 1960s.

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Harry Kollatz’ fantastic True Richmond Stories, a collection of 40 or so of Kollatz’ “Flashback” columns from Richmond Magazine, was released in late 2007. The stories span Richmond history from 1607 until just a few years ago, and range across the city. It should come as no surprise that in any telling of Richmond history that a fair share of the anecdotes come from Shockoe, Manchester, and Tobacco Row.

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I picked up Carlton McKenney’s Rails in Richmond (Interurban Press, 1986) a while back. Having always been fascinated that there used to be trolley lines all over the city, I couldn’t pass up this history of Richmond’s horse-drawn and electric trolleys.

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