The people of Indiana have always accommodated change, exchanging log cabins and spinning wheels for railroads, cities, and factories in the 19th century; automobiles, suburbs, and foreign investment in the 20th. The present has brought new issues and challenges, as Indiana's citizens respond to a rapidly changing world. Madison offers an invigorating view of one of America's distinctive states and the long and fascinating journey of its people.

Hoosiers have always loved basketball! Long before Larry Bird carried Indiana State University to the 1979 NCAA National Championship or Bobby Knight walked the sidelines at Indiana University, basketball fostered community identity across the Hoosier state. From Indiana's tiniest towns to its biggest cities, high school basketball is a source of pride, unifying communities with different races, religions, and social and economic status. First...

In the summer of 1962, Pete Gill was hired to coach basketball at tiny Ireland High School. With no starters taller than 5' 10", few wins were predicted for the Spuds. Yet, after inflicting brutal preseason conditioning, employing a variety of unconventional motivational tactics, and overcoming fierce opposition, Gill molded the Spuds into a winning team that brought home the town's first and only sectional and regional titles. Roos brings to life...

Which section of the country did most pioneers of early Indiana come from when this section of the country first opened up for settlement? Col. Cockrum, who spent his life living on the old family homestead in Indiana, patiently gathered material from private sources for fifty years or more, and his harvest, published in his 1907 book " Pioneer History of Indiana" is most interesting. This pioneer history covers their manners and customs, the dangers...

As fire is to prairie or water to fish, so is basketball part of the natural environment in Indiana. Round ball, or Hoosier Hysteria is so much a part of the state's heritage that many people believe basketball was invented in Indiana. Naismith's game is a virtual religion in the state. While everyone knows about the growth of basketball in high schools and in college, the story of Indiana's role in the development of professional basketball has...

Hoosier history overflows with bold visionaries, noble heroes and lovable rogues. May Wright Sewall struggled to uplift womankind and unflinchingly called for peace in a world sleepwalking toward conflict. In the guise of Abe Martin, Kin Hubbard graced the Indianapolis News's back page for twenty-six years with folksy humor. Combat photographer John A. Bushemi bravely faced the terrors of war and perished capturing its violence. Audacious automotive...