Samuel Willard Crompton has spent much of his life within 100 miles of Boston, but he's never been a city kid. Rather, he was the country boy who observed the city from afar. He teaches history at Holyoke Community College in western Massachusetts and is the author or editor of many books, including Visible Ink's The Handy Civil War Answer Book, The Handy Military History Answer Book and The Handy State-by-State Answer Book: A Guide to the 50 States of America. He has a special interest in late-seventeenth-century Boston, the time when the Puritan ethos began to yield to that of the Yankee. As for sports, he has never run in the Boston Marathon, but he was at Fenway the night before Carl Yastremski made baseball history with his 3,000th career hit. He resides in Hadley, MA.

Boston. Bahston. A wicked good look at the city of Boston, it's people, history, culture, and surrounding neighborhoods.

Whether it's called Beantown, The Olde Towne, Titletown, The Cradle of Liberty, The Athens of America, The Puritan City, The City on a Hill, or any of its other obscure or oft-repeated nicknames, Boston has a long and varied history. Its universities and hospitals lead the nation, and its sports teams, politicians, and colloquialisms continue to captivate. Exploring this city's fascinating history, people, myths, culture, and trivia, The Handy Boston Answer Book takes an in-depth look at one of America's oldest major cities.

Learn about the city's founding by Puritan settlers, the Boston Massacre, the Great Fire, the opening of the T, the busing desegregation strife, the Big Dig, and much, much more. Tour landmarks from Faneuil Hall to Fenway Park to the United States' first public school, Boston Latin School, and important institutions such as Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital. Sports (and the local sports fanatics) are illuminated (and explained). Popular neighborhoods, ethnic enclaves, and the surrounding suburbs are canvassed. The government, notable sons and daughters, parks, and cultural institutions are all packed into this comprehensive guide to the city of Boston. Find answers to 1,200 questions, including: