Mac Smith – författare

Mainers on the Titanic traces the stories of passengers on that fateful ship who had ties to Maine. Many of them were wealthy summer visitors to Bar Harbor, but there were other residents of state aboard as well. Their tales are retold, along with what was occurring in the state at the time. Meticulously researched, this book reveals the agonizing day-to-day wait of Mainers for news of what really happened and tells the stories of Maine passengers from their boarding to the sinking and rescue, and, for those who survived, of their final coming ashore in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It's a unique and fascinating addition to the Titanic story.

It is a well-known fact, perhaps legend now, that Peyton Place, the controversial, scandalous best-seller was filmed in Camden, Maine and the surrounding towns in 1957. But how did the movie come to be filmed in Maine, who was involved in getting it here, and what did the locals think about 20th Century Fox shooting a big-budget film in their dooryards?Historian Mac Smith (Mainers on the Titanic) has done the research and conducted the interviews and presents a fascinating account of events and key players. Beginning with the arrival of film crews, he traces the making of the movie, what happened after the crews left, and the premiere of the film, which was held in Camden.Includes quotes from Maine residents who were extras in the film.

A visit from the President of the United States always brings with it excitement. In Maine, perhaps part of that excitement stems from the fact that presidents rarely visit the state–only 18 of the 45 presidents have visited Maine in the nation’s 244-year history. Many of these visits came at significant points in a presidency; and some visits had controversy, conflict, and ironic twists. For example: * During George Washington’s visit, Maine was not even Maine, it was part of Massachusetts.* President Ulysses S. Grant was the hero of the recently ended Civil War.* President Richard Nixon was met with protests that saw Mainer battle Mainer.* President Carter spent the night of his visit with a common, ordinary Maine family, in their modest home.* President Trump’s visit came in the middle of a global pandemic.Each of Maine's presidential visits left us with great stories, and a detailed view of Maine's lively history.

Siege at the State House tells the true story of a coup that was attempted between Maine’s governor and the leaders of a new political party, almost plunging the United States into its second Civil War. With the Maine State House under siege for several weeks by a confederate force, the occupation culminated in a showdown between armed rebels and Civil War hero General Joshua Chamberlain, with Chamberlain standing on the State House steps, exposing his chest, and daring any man present to settle the standoff with violence, if they dared. It was an event the war hero called “Another Roundtop.” In light of recent national events, this piece of Maine history is a timely and cautionary tale brought to life by historian Mac Smith. Elements of the story include a Christmas Day raid on Maine’s weapons arsenal, missing election results, and seven jackasses.

“Sunday, August 6, 1899, is a date that for many years will be held in memory as signalizing the most dreadful accident that has ever occurred within the boundaries of the state of Maine.”Bangor Daily Commercial, August 7, 1899In an era when the only means of travel to the new, glamorous, and growing resort of Bar Harbor was through a small, isolated, rural-yet-elegant point of land on the mainland in the small town of Hancock, Disaster at Mount Desert Ferry tells the true story of what was, at the time, Maine’s deadliest disaster. The heartbreaking tale starts with the arrival of a train overcrowded with passengers anxious to be among the first to cross the bay and their rush for a ferry with too few seats, turning a casual summer Sunday outing into a scene of chaos, tragedy, death and heroism, occurring as quickly as the break of a wooden gangplank. Disaster at Mount Desert Ferry tells not only the complete story of the people and the events of that day, but of a time and way of life long gone by and nearly forgotten.

The story of Madeleine and Colonel John Jacob Astor is very much part of the story of Bar Harbor, Maine. The relatively poor Madeleine Force met Colonel Astor, the third richest man in the United States, in Bar Harbor in 1910. The vicious scandal after they're wedding caused the newlyweds to board the Titanic to return to America; the ensuing tragedy would claim the life of the colonel.Madeleine Astor returned to Bar Harbor after the Titanic disaster, where all eyes were on her, and where she was triumphant in claiming the role of social leader. In 1916, she remarried in the center of Bar Harbor, and gave up everything Astor.The story follows the 17 years of her second marriage, and then her scandalous third marriage. Madeleine, now in her 40s, married a penniless young boxer and her name erased from the Social Register after that. She died a lonely figure in her 40s.This new book from historian Mac Smith documents Madeleine's life in Bar Harbor and the Astor presence on Bar Harbor through Colonel Aster's family and the Kane family--Astor cousins who were prominent there. It puts Madeleine Astor's story in the context of Bar Harbor's Golden Age. In telling Madeleine Astor's story, the story of a changing Bar Harbor is also revealed.

The Great Fire of ’47 and the End of Bar Harbor’s Golden Era tells the riveting story of the desperate evacuation of residents through the heart of an uncontrolled forest fire burning all across Mount Desert Island. After an extremely dry summer, all areas of Maine spent the month of October fighting fires, with the island seeing the worst of the damage. Soon after the first flames were spotted, in a last, desperate and deadly escape from the quickly approaching and ever-growing flames, many Bar Harbor residents found themselves fleeing to the water, while others fled in a caravan for the causeway behind a bulldozer that cleared the way, all the while watching the loss of many of the mighty cottage-mansions and historic hotels that once symbolized the island’s heritage as a summer playground for the world’s richest people. Through extensive and meticulous research, Maine author and historian Mac Smith makes this important part of the state’s history come to life.