Most of the everyday writing from the ancient world—that is, informal writing not intended for a long life or wide public distribution—has perished. Reinterpreting the silences and blanks of the historical record, leading papyrologist Roger S. Bagnall convincingly argues that ordinary people—from Britain to Egypt to Afghanistan—used writing in their daily lives far more extensively than has been recognized. Marshalling new and little-known evidence, including remarkable graffiti recently discovered in Smyrna, Bagnall presents a fascinating analysis of writing in different segments of society. His book offers a new picture of literacy in the ancient world in which Aramaic rivals Greek and Latin as a great international language, and in which many other local languages develop means of written expression alongside these metropolitan tongues.

"The Battle of King's Mountain was one of the most decisive battles of the American Revolutionary War in the South. Although the battle lasted for only 65 minutes it led to the defeat of one-third of the British Southern army. Patriot losses were minimal, but all of Ferguson's men were either killed or captured.".

The Civil War transformed the Potomac River into an international boundary, placing Washington County on a dangerous border. The valley, located at the mid-point of a natural corridor, appeared to Confederate generals as a dagger pointed at the soft underbelly of the North. Events of the Civil War shows that War through the eyes of one community in the path of some of its greatest events. Both Antietam and Lee's retreat from Gettysburg through the county are seen in the context of the War's impact on the freedom, lives, and property of local residents. This study is drawn from letters, newspapers, regimental histories, diaries, family histories, and published and unpublished archival sources. It is a model of Civil War local history research.

Crossroads of War brings into sharp focus a cross-section of little known happenings of both civilians and the military. Angela Kirkham Davis writes in 1862 as the events of Antietam swirled about her home; Lutie Kealhofer, of Hagerstown, glories in meeting Lee, Longstreet, and Pickett near her home in 1863, only days before Gettysburg; Young Leighton Parks visits General Lee and is given a ride on his horse, Traveller, and Mrs. Howard Kennedy, of Hagerstown, nurses young Oliver Wendell Holmes back to health after Antietam. Also included are the tragic stories of the 125th Pennsylvania's Color Sergeant, and the little known fate of the tiny Dunker Church at Antietam, and its stolen Bible. From the unpublished diary of Private James Dorrance, Co. A, 7th Maryland Infantry, we learn of camp life, and are saddened by the tragic loss of his best friend in battle. Here, also, is Dr. J. M. Gaines' unpublished list of wounded Confederate soldiers confined to the Hagerstown Seminary Hospital in 1863. These are eyewitness accounts of moments in Washington County history, a piece of the fabric that is altogether American History.