Stories of extraordinary individuals whose foresight, daring, collaboration and hard work shaped the city of Baltimore.

They range from Sam Smith, the businessman turned soldier who masterminded the city's defense against the British in 1814 to Theodore R. McKeldin, who was born into a poor family of twelve children in Baltimore's "Pigtown" and rose to serve as mayor, governor and then mayor again throughout the middle decades of the 19th century.

In between we see the lives of slaves and immigrants, teachers and garment workers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. These remarkable people faced and overcame enormous challenges. Their examples illuminate our own path into the city's new century. (1997)