Roger Lane – författare

In the fifty years after the Civil War, Philadelphia was the archetypical city for American blacks. Not only did it have the largest black population in actual numbers, but it was also the preferred destination in the North for blacks migrating from the South after the Civil War. The focus of the book is the scrapbooks and other material collected by William Henry Dorsey, black Philadelphia's first historian. Lane uses this collection to present a brilliant portrait of America's most important black community in a time of transition - the two generations following the Civil War - when blacks began fleeing the South for a new life under emancipation.

In the late nineteenth century, life became more stable and orderly for most American city dwellers, but not for blacks. Roger Lane offers a historical explanation for the rising levels of black urban crime and family instability during this paradoxical era. Philadelphia serves as test case because of the richness of the data: Du Bois’s classic study, The Philadelphia Negro, newspapers, records of the criminal justice system and other local agencies, and the federal census. The author presents numerical details, along with many examples of the human stories—social and political—behind the statistics.Lane reveals how social and economic discrimination created a black criminal subculture. This subculture, overlooked by those histories depending on often inaccurate census materials, eroded family patterns, encouraged violence, discouraged efforts at middle-class respectability, and intensified employment problems by adding white fear to the white prejudice that had helped to create it.Modern crime rates and patterns are shown to be products of a historical culture that can be traced from its formative years to the 1980s. Lane not only charts Philadelphia’s story but also makes suggestions regarding national and international patterns.

Cranborne Chase is an area of chalk highland and valleys traversing Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. Royalty once came here to hunt deer and other game in an area that became known as the Chase. It remains a landscape that feels like a painting of the past, with open chalk downland, wide expansive skies, dramatic escarpments and panoramic views. Renowned for its archaeological treasures, it remains largely unspoilt with its own sense of remoteness. Chalk river valleys provide a contrast with hidden villages, churches and manor houses surrounded by ancient woodlands, forming an atmospheric landscape where nature and humanity live hand in hand.In this book Roger Lane traces elements of the region’s history, occasionally with personal anecdotes adding to the interest. He and Roger Holman are acclaimed photographers with an intimate knowledge of the area. Here, their photography will inform and delight both visitors and residents alike.

With spectacular views across the River Dee, and surrounded by stunning countryside, Heswall has long been one of the Wirral Peninsula’s most sought-after locations. First recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, the townships of Heswall and Gayton grew rapidly from the late 1800s onwards as new railway and omnibus routes provided easy commuting links to Liverpool, and wealthy merchants chose to build grand mansions here. Hospitals and children’s institutions were established to benefit from the fresh sea air, well removed from the increasing pollution of Liverpool.Using a selection of old and new photographs, local historians Jenny McRonald and Roger Lane capture images of many historical buildings that are now long lost, and show how Heswall has grown from a small village into the thriving community we know today. They reveal how fascinating glimpses of the past can still be seen among the more modern developments. This book is essential reading for all those who know and love Heswall.