Deep Cover Cleveland

Deep Cover Cleveland, the book series, has made residents look at the Cleveland region with new eyes. Volumes I and II are subtitled 99 Little known things about Northeast Ohio; there are 99 vignettes between the two volumes. Volume I has brought to light important area contributions to arts, women's history, parks, and more that have sadly languished in obscurity. Volume II concentrated on the 20th and 21st centuries and showed that even noteworthy recent Northeast Ohio history is not often enough recognized.

2021 brought a new feel to the book series. Depth had suffered a little for breadth in writing a hefty number of chapters for the series' original ... 99 Little known things ... volumes. It seemed in order to take a far more thorough and detailed approach to subject matter. Author Peskin certainly has the knowledge and ability, whether drawn from tours, contacts, her historical society work, or ideas suggested from personal experience. The result was the 11-chapter Deep Cover Cleveland: Topics in Depth. Here points were extensively researched and illustrated with images. The emphasis ranged widely from uncovering forgotten facts in antique archives to newly interviewing participants.

The just-described Topics in Depth approach but on steroids carries this new, fourth Deep Cover Cleveland volume of five vignettes subtitled Topics in Depth II. Average chapter length has grown to over 40 pages. While length is not in itself a guarantor of quality, far more original or otherwise meticulous research was undertaken. A picture is worth 1,000 words; that's why many more photos, maps, charts, drawings, and other imagery go into the present volume than those past.

The emphasis in Deep Cover Cleveland: Topics in Depth II continues the forward march timewise evident in the first ...Topics in Depth volume. ... Topics in Depth II only visits the 18th or early 19th centuries in one chapter and there for background information, though original research is undertaken even there. Otherwise ...Topics in Depth II's true stories start around 1900; the involved stories on popular music or popular architectural forms start Mid-century or later. All stories bring readers up to the present day.

Deep Cover Cleveland this time around hits closer to author Peskin's First-Ring, East Side Greater Cleveland home. Does this relate to Peskin no longer driving freeways? That queried, the opening chapter of ...Topics in Depth II, it should be pointed out, deals mainly with the West Side.