Visit the wicked Fox Cities, full of place names like La Grand Butte des Morts (the Big Hill of the Dead") and Winneconne ("the Place of Skulls") that date from an era when "settlement" was frequently synonymous with "slaughter." Even after the firm establishment of modern civilization, there remained an uneasy truce between lined pockets and bared knuckles that was often only brokered by heavy drinking. Stumble across the frozen Fox River and barge into local watering holes, where the only pauses in the revelry are discussions about desecrating Joe McCarthy's grave. Points of interest include the Oshkosh rat-betting scene, the Appleton "Union Street Resorts" and the Neenah tavern, where a world-champion boxer hid from the doctor who had bought his bones."

Frank Anderson is a filmmaker and animation director who has directed spots and interstitials for clients as varied as Turner Classic Movies, AMFAR, Sears and Budweiser. He teaches character animation as an adjunct at MIAD, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and writes a Wisconsin history blog called Wisconsinologogy."? His varied projects have led to appearances on Wisconsin Public Television, the Dennis Miller Show and the HD Network. As a teenager, he wrote numerous articles and covered daily life and town meetings for the Deerfield Independent in Deerfield, Wisconsin."