A new local history book, Mobile Bay: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, has arrived at Bienville Books and other outlets, offering readers a wide-ranging look at the estuary that shapes life across the Mobile Bay region.
The book is co-authored by Michael Thomason, professor emeritus of history at the University of South Alabama, archivist Carol Ellis, and corporate-profile writer Elisabeth Doehring, with photography by longtime Mobile broadcaster Catt Sirten.
Building on Earlier Work
The new title follows two previous books Thomason published on the history of Mobile, in 1981 and 2001. Where those earlier works focused primarily on the city itself, the new book widens the lens to cover the entire Mobile Bay region, tracing its development from its early history up through the present day.
Thomason has spent decades documenting the visual and social history of the area through USA’s archives and his own scholarship, and Ellis brings additional archival research to the project. Sirten, known to longtime Mobile radio listeners, contributes photography that runs throughout the book.
Where to Find It
Mobile Bay: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is available now at Bienville Books in downtown Mobile, as well as through online booksellers, for residents interested in the region’s history.