Top 10 Books About Pittsburgh Updated 04 /2024

There is no doubt that Pittsburgh is one of the best cities in the United States. If you want to live in a city that has everything you could want, you'll find it here.

To find out more about Pittsburgh, we've been reading as many Pittsburgh-themed books as we can find.

Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City

When we bought Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City, we thought it would be a small paperback book with 150 or so pages of the best parts of this city's long history. It turned out to be a much bigger book, though.

There is no way we didn't read the description.

This book is a huge hardback book that is more like a college textbook than a quick and easy guide. It has a lot of pages about the history of Pittsburgh, from when it was first started to the mid-1990s (its most recent publication date).

There is no way I could call this book anything other than a comprehensive guide to all things Pittsburgh history, because it is truly just that! To find a book that covers everything about Pittsburgh, this one is a good place to start. You can use it to look up any detail about the city's history, no matter how small. This book may take you a long time to read.

Pittsburgh Drinks: A History of Cocktails, Nightlife & Bartending Tradition

If you like cocktails as much as I do, then Pittsburgh Drinks is the book for you. In this one, we go back to the beginning of cocktail culture in Pittsburgh. We start at the turn of the century, and we go through prohibition, its repeal, and the different trends that came after that.

As long as this book is, it's more than worth it in terms of its value to me. You see, a lot of this book is made up of cocktail recipes from all over Pittsburgh's history. A bartender at a lot of local cocktail bars and restaurants is making a lot of them, and they all taste good.

You have to be a real cocktail fan to try and make most of them, because some recipes are a little weird. For those who are in it like I am, you know who you are and this one should not be missed.

The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye

The Whiskey Rebellion and the Rebirth of Rye is written by the people at Wigle Whiskey, and it's about the history of whiskey and rye. One of the best things about this short book is that it goes into a lot of detail about the events of the whiskey rebellion. It also fills in a lot of gaps that other books don't.

This is about a third of the book. The rest of the book talks about how the whiskey rebellion played a small role in shaping the steel city we know today, and it ends with the modern revival of whiskey.

In this book, we'll be the first to point out that it's very short. I read it in one sitting. It gives a unique look at the region's distilling history that you likely haven't read anywhere else. As a bonus, the last few pages of this book include cocktail recipes, many of which were made by Wigle and other local bartenders. This keeps us coming back to this book again and again.

Images of America Series

I think you'll like looking at old photos of Pittsburgh in these books. In this series, there are a lot of different books about Pittsburgh. There are also a lot of books about things like bridges and mansions. We especially liked the Allegheny City edition because we live on the North Side, and the Lawrenceville edition because it's interesting to see how the neighborhood has changed over time.

The series also has books about specific parts of Pittsburgh's history, like Brewing in Greater Pittsburgh, which talks about the history of brewing in the area over the years.

These books are mostly made up of photos, which makes them great for looking back on the history of your favorite Pittsburgh neighborhood. There are some longer captions on the photos and some introductions to each chapter, but the majority of the book is made up of photos.

Meet You in Hell

It doesn't matter what you think about the steel industry in Pittsburgh. Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick were two of the most important people in history. In their time, they were some of the wealthiest people in the world because they worked hard to build the steel industry. This helped make Pittsburgh the city that it is today.

It tells the story of these two men, who had a strong business partnership that turned into one of the most bitter rivalries in history. Great job: The book does a great job of giving an objective look at how these two came together and the deals that broke them apart for good. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about Pittsburgh's rich history.

Andrew Carnegie's Autobiography

It gives a personal look at the events in Andrew Carnegie's life that led him to become the richest industrial tycoon of his time. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and his Essay on the Gospel of Wealth are both written by Carnegie.

To make things even more personal, Carnegie himself wrote the book. It has a very personal tone that emphasizes many of Carnegie's successes and partnerships while skipping over other important (and sometimes negative) parts of his life. It doesn't even talk about Frick, Carnegie's former business partner who turned into a bitter enemy. In most cases, "an opportunity" is used to describe how he got into many different businesses, which isn't always the case.

It may also be off-putting to people who know a lot about Carnegie's work to see omissions like this. Because this book goes with Meet You in Hell, you can get a better sense of what Carnegie meant to the world both from his point of view and as a historian.

Carnegie's writing is very dry and factual when he talks about things that are important to him but not important to the reader, so even the most interested people may have to skip a lot of the book.

The Names of Pittsburgh

A lot of streets and buildings and neighborhoods in Pittsburgh are named after the same people and things. If you've lived there for a while, you might have noticed this.

Is anyone else here?

When you read The Names of Pittsburgh, you can find the answers to these questions. Then, you can start showing off your knowledge to your friends and loved ones. Using this book, you can find out where the names of neighborhoods, bridges or parks come from. You can also find out the names of hospitals or universities or sports teams or the call letters for TV or radio stations in this book.

The neighborhoods section is our favorite because it has some amazing old photos of different neighborhoods, as well as a map of Pittsburgh that shows where each neighborhood is.

Pittsburgh Steps

It would be a good match for the Images of America series if Pittsburgh Steps was mostly photos instead of text. This is a small book.

If you love staircases, this is the one for you. It talks about 739 of them, and it goes very deep into the details and nuances that make them so great!

The book itself is just over 100 pages long and can be read in one or two sittings. It's best for people who are really into the city, like us, because they won't get as much out of the book's matter-of-fact approach to the subject. But if you like to walk up and down the city's stairs, this one will give you a lot of ideas for the next one.

60 Hikes Within 60 Miles

Across the country, there are editions of 60 Hikes in 60 Miles, a national hiking guidebook series with editions from cities across the country. If you're in Pittsburgh, you'll find a variety of unique hiking trails that are close to home, like the Three Rivers Heritage Trail and the McConnells Mill State Park. Because this guidebook is so easy to use, we love that it tells you everything you need to know about a trail, like how to get there. You can also read just a few pages to get an idea of what to expect on the trail. So, we're going to try every single hike in this book over the next few months and years.

The only thing we don't like about this book is that it was last updated in 2006. It still has great ideas and a lot of useful information for people who love the outdoors in Pittsburgh.

Waterfalls of Pennsylvania

One of the main things that makes Waterfalls of Pennsylvania interesting is that it was written by our friend, Uncovering PA, who blogs about waterfalls in Pennsylvania.

Among the things this book has to offer are information about more than 180 waterfalls in Pennsylvania as well as tips on how to get there and what to do when you visit them. Some are very easy to get to, while others are only listed by their GPS coordinates and require a long hike. So, if you want to go outside in Pennsylvania, this book is a must-have resource.

As a side note, it is worth noting that waterfalls in Western Pennsylvania are very rare and hard to find (this is a geographical limitation, not a book limitation). There are about a dozen waterfalls in the Western Pennsylvania section, and about 10 more in the Laurel Highlands, so there are a lot of waterfalls there. Pittsburgh is in the middle of the book. If you live there and want to see more waterfalls, you might have to go on a road trip.

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