I've browsed the website mentioned here and there are a lot of books/info
available.
The following article is from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and is
copyright 2003 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the
permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at
http://www.RootsForum.com.
- Heritage Books Acquired by Willow Bend Books
Two big names in genealogy publishing are merging. Willow Bend Books is
purchasing Heritage Books. The combined company will now be the largest
genealogy publisher (over 2,500 titles in print), and the largest genealogy
retailer (over 12,000 titles in stock) of books, maps, and CDs dealing with
history and genealogy.
Heritage Books was founded in 1978 by Laird and Marlene Towle. Laird first
worked at the business as a part-time effort while he was employed as a
physicist at the U.S. Naval Observatory. After five years of part-time
publishing, he decided to make it a full-time career. "I liked the idea of
being in business for myself, and I was very fond of the subject matter," he
said. "I was just sort of fed up with the treadmill I was on. I just wanted
to be in control of my own fate." The company grew to become a well-known
publisher of genealogy, history, and biography books and CD-ROM disks with
more than 1,900 titles. The company also is well-known among history
reenactors. You can read about Heritage Books and view the catalog at
http://www.heritagebooks.com/.
Craig R. Scott founded Willow Bend Books in the back of a garage in 1994 and
then kept expanding. In 1998 he acquired Family Line Publications, another
publisher of genealogy books. He moved his business to Family Line
Publications' retail storefront in Westminster, Maryland, in 1999. In May,
2000, Scott purchased Pipe Creek Publications, adding still more titles to
his catalog. Willow Bend Books presently carries more than 12,500 genealogy
books, maps, and CDs. You can view the extensive Willow Bend Books online
catalog at
http://www.willowbend.net/.
I contacted Craig Scott and Laird Towle recently to ask about their future
plans. Craig replied, "It should be a lot of fun integrating the largest
bookstore with the largest publisher (defined as total books in print). The
different cultures are also interesting." Laird said that he and his wife,
Marlene, are retiring, although he also said it would be a gradual
transition. Members of his family will continue to work for the new company,
managing the publishing operations.
The merger of these two publishing houses should be an excellent marriage
that will also benefit genealogists. Craig Scott is well-known and respected
as a producer of high-quality genealogy materials. The addition of Heritage
Books to Craig's existing business helps ensure that these references will be
available for many more years.
To discuss this story further, please visit the newsletter message board at
http://www.RootsForum.com and click on "Message Board."
________________________________________________________________
from Neal Carrier
Carrier list admin.