Mr. Southwick usually focuses on local history, but some of the material in this collection deals with topics of national scope, such as "Abigail Adams - Female Tycoon," or Southwick's "Reflections of Hiroshima"; from competing Roosevelt clans in "Oyster Bay Versus Hyde Park" to "Hawaii and United States Imperialism," Southwick's interests are wide-ranging and insightful. For people who prefer his more local topics, whether Worcester's first toilet, a municipal piggery, or various political shenanigans, Albert Southwick always entertains and informs. Readers of this new volume, like those who enjoy his newspaper columns, will come away enriched and edified from their time spent following the interesting byways of Mr. Southwick's writing.