The centerpiece of this collection of American government documents about the Bay of Pigs is a more than 400-page two-volume report by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) about the failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro in 1961. All material is in facsimile. Volume One is the CIA Inspector General's report on the operations and Volume Two is the CIA Directorate of Operations' report on Volume One. Visitors thus have an interesting opportunity to observe high-level government self-evaluation. More than 750 additional documents include National Security Council briefings and intelligence reports about events in Cuba between 1960 and 1961. The site will be useful for research on foreign policy and the CIA.

This beautifully presented site features selections from Duke University's collection of photographer William Gedney's work and writings. From the mid-1950s to the 1980s, Gedney captured everyday life of people in places as diverse as Brooklyn, Kansas, India, and Europe. The site boasts more than 4,900 of his prints, workprints, and contact sheets. Photographs are arranged into 12 series: Composers; Cross Country; Europe; India; Kansas; Kentucky; New York; San Francisco; St. Joseph's School for the Deaf; The Farm; Night Series; and Miscellaneous. Each category offers a 35-50 word introduction to the series, and each image is accompanied by its title and a brief 5-10 word note on the subject matter and date taken.

Also on the site are selections from 33 of Gedney's manuscript books and notebooks, including ideas for book projects, descriptions of bookbinding methods and materials, and travel diaries. All of the writings are available in image form, and eight of the notebooks are also transcribed. Selected photographs, sketches, and dummies for nine book projects are also included, as well as a timeline of Gedney's life and work from his birth in 1932 to the San Francisco retrospective of his work in 2000. The site is keyword searchable and easy to navigate, making it an exceptional source of illustrations and images of American life, as well as an American's perspective on life in India and Europe.

This online archive of 170 photographs, selected from the National Archives and Records Administration collection, depicts the development of the American city from the early 19th century to the present. The photographs represent a wide range of urban subjects and original media; some images are photographic copies of paintings, engravings, and imprints, as well as photographs. The images are exceptional, and are grouped into six categories: Artists' Conceptions of 19th Century Cities; Skylines and Streets; City Life; Urban Transportation; The City in Turmoil; and 20th Century Art Reflecting Urban Themes. The finding aid offers a roughly 25-word caption for each item, including the photograph's title, medium, repository, artist, and date. Though the site is somewhat difficult to navigate, it is worth a visit for those interested in images depicting America's urban history.

Of historical interest primarily for specialists who deal with the history of the United States space program, this site is the online companion to the PBS special of the same name. It includes a full transcript of the broadcast program, as well as several fascinating features. Visitors can access six panoramic photographs taken by various astronauts on the moon, as well as eight audio files of noted astronauts (including Buzz Aldrin discussing the Apollo 11 mission and Jim Lovell discussing the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission). Each audio file lasts approximately one to two minutes, and includes a transcript. Of particular interest is the essay by Eugene Cernan, the last U.S. astronaut to walk on the moon, and a 3,000-word essay on the origins of the moon, written by a noted astronomer. The personal stories may be of value as primary sources, but otherwise the site has limited historical value.

A collection of 18 essays and 90 photographs on the history of Old West Durham—one of the oldest neighborhoods within Durham, NC—which began as a traveler's rest stop prior to the city's establishment in the 1850s as a railroad town. Traces the neighborhood's numerous incarnations as a hangout for "the shiftless of society" in the mid-19th century to a factory town following the establishment of Erwin Mills in 1892 to the site for Duke University's west campus in the 1920s. A period of rapid decline occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by its present-day renaissance as a neighborhood community.

The site includes seven Works Progress Administration oral histories from 1938, ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 words each, of people living in the mill village; seven newspaper articles from 1913 about the growing "suburb"; a 3,400-word essay on the history of the cotton mill and mill village; a 4,000-word reminiscence of a child growing up in the neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s; and a 550-word essay on "Preservation North Carolina," an organization interested in preserving industrial heritage sites. The Old West Durham Neighborhood Association was formed in 1995 with the credo "Diversity, Harmony, Community." A well-designed local history presentation useful to those studying urban history and labor history.

A collection of 30 biographical essays, ranging in length from 200 to 600 words, on African Americans, Cape Verdeans, and Hispanics of African descent who have accomplished significant achievements. Covers figures from Revolutionary America to the 1990s, though most of those included lived in the 19th century. All essays include portraits and links to relevant sites; 21 of the essays contain audio clips that allow visitors to hear the essays read. The selected subjects include war heroes, writers, statesmen, artists, activists, inventors, journalists, business people, and sports figures. Valuable for young users especially because of the audio files, but also may be useful to older students for the links provided.

This site provides access to almost 8,000 documents publicizing and promoting some of the 4,500 performers who appeared on the Chautauqua circuit. Circuit performers included international cookery experts, Helen Keller, Jiujutsu masters, lecturers on Korea in the 1950s, and 12 different yodeling troupes. The pamphlets were printed between 1904 and the early 1960s, but many are undated. Each document, from one to 20 pages, is illustrated and can be viewed either by individual pages or downloaded as a PDF file. A 1,000-word essay introduces visitors to the Chautauqua phenomenon. Visitors may search the site by subject, keyword, or name. The site also contains finding aids for a larger collection of Chautauqua materials housed at the University of Iowa and links to four other sites about Chautauqua and four sites about the history of entertainment in the U.S. A bibliography of 12 books and articles on the history of Chautauqua is provided, but the site does not provide any background information about the performers. The site will be a delightful resource for historians of popular culture, entertainment, publicity, and the Chautauqua circuit.

History Link is an encyclopedia of the history of Seattle and King County, WA. A timeline of 180 "Milestones" connects visitors to 500-word historical essays on topics in Seattle-area history from before 1851 to 2000. "People's Histories" presents roughly 150 memoirs and oral histories (1000 to 16,000 words) of Seattle residents of diverse class and ethnic backgrounds, including Squamish and Nordic. There are 18 "Magic Lantern" photographic essays ranging from one image and 40 words to 50 images and 300 words. Special collections have been arranged in 17 folios, which cover topics such as Martin Luther King's 1961 visit to the city and the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in 1999. The WTO archive contains 19 articles of 100 to 2000 words on the history of radicalism in Seattle and the WTO protests of 1999 and 2000. This archive also contains 48 photographs of the protests taken by History Link staff.

Visitors may take four Cybertours of the city in which they click on sections of a map and connect to one or two images and 300-word descriptions of local history. "Then and Now" contains 49 before-and-after photographs of Seattle landmarks with 300-word essays on the history of each location. The site is easy to navigate and can be searched by subject. In March 2003, HistoryLink added a database for all of Washington state. It is an excellent resource for all levels of scholars interested in the history of the Northwest or oral history.

This project, "Documenting the Health Care Experiences of African Americans in Southeastern Michigan: The Compilation and Dissemination of Primary Resources Relating to Health Care, the Health Professions and the Health Sciences," is based at the University of Michigan Medical School and sponsored by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation of Michigan. It was developed to study the experiences of African Americans during the era of segregated health care and their implications today. Researchers have collected oral histories of African-American health professionals and patients, from physicians, nurses, dentists, and administrators to non-traditional health care providers. The project also addresses contemporary issues, recording concerns of Michigan health care providers and policymakers about the "lack of understanding about the current needs and attitudes of African Americans with regard to health care." The website provides background biographical information and interview excerpts for more than 40 individuals. The biographies are roughly 300 words; the excerpts range from 300 to 1,000 words. Complete transcripts are available in five repository libraries in Michigan. In addition, a section on "Hospital Histories" provides background information on more than 20 black-owned and black-operated hospitals in Detroit, MI, during the 20th century.

Thousands of primary materials, including documents compiled by Korean American organizations, personal papers, more than 1,900 photographs, and around 180 interviews, address the experiences of Koreans in the United States between 1903 and 1965 on this website. The materials run the gamut from organizational memos and other official documents to personal letters, wedding programs, birth certificates, and social security check stubs.

This material allows users to piece together the life histories of individual Korean Americans. They will find individuals like Soon Hyun, an activist in the Korean resistance movement against Japanese colonialism in 1919, who later moved to the United States and became a minister in Hawaii. Or Florence Ahn, a Korean American who became a prominent singer in Los Angeles. These personal biographies, in turn, allow users to examine the human dimension of the history of Asian Americans, and place individuals within a larger history.