Charles Astor Bristed (1820-1874) was the favourite grandson of John Jacob Astor II, of Waldorf-Astoria fame. After gaining a degree at Yale, Bristed entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1840, graduating in 1845. Five Years in an English University, first published in 1852 by Putnam in New York, is a richly detailed account of student life in the Cambridge of the 1840s. The central rationale for the book, which is as appealing today as it was then, is that this is pre-eminently a book about an American student at an English university. The book belongs to a fascinating 19th century...

Wilmette is best known for its tree-lined, brick-paved streets, nice homes, and lovely lakefront. Yet a peek beneath this placid suburban surface reveals a surprisingly lively history, ranging from the early years of hardscrabble farms carved out of dense forest to decades of conflict with German-speaking tavern owners in the culturally distinctive village of Gross Point. "No Man's Land" along Sheridan Road once sported a dazzling movie palace and a Jazz Age nightclub, along with hot dog stands, beach clubs, and speakeasies that defied Wilmette's buttoned-down reputation. The huge engineering...