Books about Indianapolis and Indiana

Several members of the IndyScribe team have been perusing Indianapolis and Indiana literature during research for the writing we’re doing, and for education and entertainment about the city we live in. Since we’ve been passing books around between us, I thought it might help us (and maybe you) to put together a list of books that have a Circle City connection.

City History

Indianapolis Then and Now (Then and Now)
by Nelson Price
September 9, 2004
The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (Indiana)
by David J. Bodenhamer, Robert G. Barrows
November 1, 1994
Indianapolis: A Circle City History (Making of America: Indiana)
by Jeffrey Tenuth
July 2004
Lost Indianapolis (Images of America)
by John McDonald
October 1, 2002
Indianapolis (Then & Now)
by W. C. Madden
August 1, 2003
Indianapolis: In Vintage Postcards (Postcard History Series)
by W. C. Madden
May 1, 2003
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932 (Dear America)
by Kathryn Lasky
November 1, 2001
Hoosier Century: 100 Years of Photography from the Indianapolis Star and News
by Charlie Nye, Joe Young
November 28, 1999
Indianapolis Architecture: Transformations Since 1975
by Mary Ellen Gadski, David Kadlec
1994
Urban Tapestry: Indianapolis Stories (Indiana)
by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, et al
October 1, 2002
The Indianapolis ABCs: History of a Premier Team in the Negro Leagues
by Paul Debono
July 1, 1997
Indianapolis Union Station: Trains, Travelers & Changing Times
by James Hetherington
October 1, 2000
Camp Morton, 1861-1865: Indianapolis Prison Camp
by Hattie Lou Winslow, Joseph R. H. Moore
October 1, 1995
Now That Time Has Had Its Say: A History of the Indianapolis Central Canal, 1835-2002
by J. Darrell Bakken
December 1, 2002
History of the Little Church on the Circle;: Christ Church Parish, Indianapolis, 1837-1955
by Eli Lilly
Heavy Justice: The Trial of Mike Tyson (Sweet Science: Boxing in Literature and History)
by Randy Roberts, J. Gregory Garrison
April 1, 2000
Oldfields
by BRADLEY C. BROOKS, FRANK N. OWING
October 1, 2004

City Politics

To Market, to Market: Reinventing Indianapolis
by Ingrid Ritchie, Sheila Suess Kennedy
May 9, 2001
The Twenty-First Century City: Resurrecting Urban America
by Stephen Goldsmith
December 1, 1997
Indianapolis: Crossroads of the American Dream (Urban Tapestry Series)
by Richard G. Lugar, Craig Arive
March 1, 1996

Fiction Set in Indianapolis

Eye Opener (Five Star First Edition Mystery Series)
by Michael Z. Lewin
December 17, 2004
“Indianapolis private investigator Albert Samson has his license back…”
The Reluctant Detective and Other Stories
by Michael Z Lewin
October 24, 2001
Night Cover: A Lt. Leroy Powder Novel
by Michael Z. Lewin
Talbott Street
by Hutton Hayes
July 1, 2001
Charmed Circle: Indianapolis 1895 : A Mystery (The Heartland Chronicles)
by Nancy Niblack Baxter
November 1, 1994

Indiana Authors

Passing by: Gender and Public Harassment
by Carol Brooks Gardner
August 1, 1995
The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley
by James Whitcomb Riley
The Magnificent Ambersons (The Modern Library Classics)
by Booth Tarkington
Alice Adams (Library of Indiana Classics)
by Booth Tarkington
A Girl of the Limberlost (The Library of Indiana Classics)
by Gene Stratton-Porter
Brewster’s Millions (The Library of Indiana Classics)
by George Barr McCutcheon
In Limestone Country (Concord Library)
by Scott R. Sanders
The House of a Thousand Candles (Library of Indiana Classics)
by Meredith Nicholson, Howard Chandler Christy

Famous Hoosiers

Indiana’s Own: Stories from the Heart
by Ray Rice
Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman
Nelson Price
October 1, 1997
Lincoln’s Youth: Indiana Years 1816-1830
by Louis A. Warren
Abe: A Novel of the Young Lincoln
by Richard Slotkin
Stardust Melody: The Life and Music of Hoagy Carmichael
Richard M. Sudhalter
March 1, 2002
Cole Porter
by William McBrien
December 5, 2000
Gus Grissom: The Lost Astronaut (Indiana Biography Series)
by Ray E. Boomhower, et al.

The Indianapolis 500

Indy’s Wildest Decade: Innovation and Revolution at the Brickyard
by Alex Gabbard
July 30, 2004
The Indy 500: 1956-1965 (Images of Sports)
by Ben Lawrence, et al
April 1, 2004
Autocourse Indianapolis 500
by Gil de Ferran
October 2003

Sports in Indianapolis

Let’Er Rip: The Colts in Indianapolis : A Look Back, a Look Ahead
by Terry Hutchens
The History of the Indianapolis Colts (NFL Today)
by Brian Hawkes
August 1, 2004
Tales from the Indianapolis Colts Sideline
by Mike Chappell
September 2004
Indianapolis Hockey (Images of Sports: Indiana)
by Andrew Smith
September 2004

Travel Guides

Day Trips from Indianapolis, 2nd: Getaways About Two Hours Away (Day Trips Series)
by Helen W O’Guinn
September 1, 2004
City Smart: Indianapolis
by Helen Wernle O’Guinn, Betsy Sheldon
September 1, 1999
The Insiders’ Guide to Greater Indianapolis–2nd Edition
by Skip Berry, Jolene Ketzenberger
April 1, 1997
Indiana Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, and Other Offbeat Stuff
by Dick Wolfsie
May 1, 2003
Indiana Off the Beaten Path, 7th
by Phyllis Thomas
May 1, 2003
Oddball Indiana: A Guide to Some really Strange Places
by Jerome Pohlen
April 1, 2002
Amazing Tales from Indiana (Midland Book)
by Fred D. Cavinder
December 1, 1990
More Amazing Tales from Indiana
by Fred D. Cavinder
October 1, 2003

Miscellaneous

Indianapolis Museum of Art: Highlights of the Collection
by Indianapolis Museum of Art
May 2005
100 masterpieces of painting: Indianapolis Museum of Art
by Indianapolis Museum of Art
The Story of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
by Indianapolis Museum Of Art, Jane Graham (Editor)
May 1998
Back Home Again: Culinary Collections from the Junior League of Indianapolis, Incorporated
by Junior League Of Indianapolis
October 1, 1993
Winners: Winning Recipes from the Junior League of Indianapolis
by Dick Listenberger
June 1, 1985

This Post Has One Comment

  1. John Beeler

    Don’t forget about Don Wakefield’s Going All the Way, called the _Catcher in the Rye_ of the midwest. About soldier’s return to Indianapolis after the Korean War as they try to get some.

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