FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 14, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 Note to Media: For a complimentary copy of "Nearby History," contact AltaMira Press at 1-800-462-6420 DRAKE HISTORIAN PROVIDES GUIDANCE FOR DISCOVERING 'NEARBY HISTORY' Everyone, every neighborhood, every community has a history. Drake University's Myron A. Marty can help you discover it. Marty, who is the Ann G. and Sigurd E. Anderson university professor at Drake University, and David Kyvig, a professor of history at Northern Illinois University, have published a second edition of their popular book, "Nearby History: Exploring the Past Around You" (AltaMira Press). The book serves as a comprehensive guide to investigating the history of families, neighborhoods, artifacts, churches, businesses, buildings and towns. "In addition to student audiences, this book is quite deliberately aimed at people who are simply interested in exploring their own history," according to the authors. Readers will learn the key questions to pose and how to cull information from such sources as newspapers, maps, cemeteries, photographs, government documents, and human memory. It includes guidance on the use of libraries, archives and the Internet. "Our purpose was to provide a thorough research guide that would be useful in a variety of ways, but particularly so in gathering material from the nearby past and using it properly once it is gathered," Marty said. "Research, writing, and leaving a record are themes that permeate the book." Copies of "Nearby History" will be available at Borders Books Music & Cafe when Marty and his wife, Shirley, discuss the book they wrote together, "Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship," at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8. Published initially in 1982, the first edition of "Nearby History" proved to be widely successful among scholars, students, and the general public. It has become a standard resource for historical society officers and students being prepared to run local museums and other historical agencies, but it is also useful for persons working on individual projects. The second edition includes ample new material. Most notably, it provides guidance and resources for using the World Wide Web as a research tool. It also reflects changes and developments in historical thinking over the past two decades, and the extensive chapter bibliographies have been updated. In addition, "Nearby History" includes 70 illustrations. "They really serve as instructional devices," Kyvig said. "Images can be quite revealing. For instance, a photograph can tell us about an era, about economic circumstances, and about character. They also show us how landscapes and people change over time. "Nearby History" reminds historians that they must be conscious of the fact that photographers have often doctored portraits, and not just those produced in the digital age. Copies can be purchased by calling (800) 462-6420. Marty teaches courses in American history at Drake. In 1997 he published "Daily Life in the United States, 1960-1990: Decades of Discord," and in 1999 he and Shirley Marty collaborated to produce "Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship." Kyvig specializes in 20th century U.S. history and recently was awarded Northern Illinois University's Presidential Research Professorship, a distinction given to the university's top researchers. He has written nine other books, including "Explicit and Authentic Acts: Amending the U.S. Constitution, 1776-1995," which received Columbia University's Bancroft Prize, the most prestigious book-publishing accolade for American history. Forthcoming is "Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940: Decades of Promise and Pain," to be published by Greenwood Press in the Daily Life series that also includes Marty's on the years 1960 to 1990.