A lively account of events and individuals that shaped the Granite State.

From fiercely ambitious and independent colonial towns to the media circus of the Presidential primary, from prosperous masting trade to high-tech industry, New Hampshire traces the colorful political and economic crosscurrents of the state's history. This highly readable book tells the story of the development of New Hampshire beginning with the first European settlements. The authors include sketches of early fishing and lumbering traders, the railroad's impact from 1840 to 1870, adventurous mill girls, Progressivism, and the death of influential conservative publisher William Loeb in 1981.

The 1996 edition contains a new chapter on the growing impact of the state's first-in-the-nation primary and the Clinton/Gingrich visit to Claremont in 1995, and discussions of how burgeoning development in the 1980s forced once manageable towns and small cities to create zoning ordinances to make way for condominiums, malls, and industrial parks. The book includes a time-line of important events and an updated bibliographical essay.

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Nancy Coffey Heffernan and Ann Page Stecker are authors of Sisters of Fortune (1993), chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the "Notable Books of the Year."