The Nashua Experience - A Three Decade Upgrade 1978 - 2008

A sequel to The Nashua Experience: History in the Making (1978), the definitive history of our city, this new book was written by Alison Zaya and Linda N. Taggart, from the Nashua Public Library's reference department, and Steven Butzel, formerly of the Nashua Public Library, now at the Portsmouth Public Library. The authors spent 18 months interviewing nearly fifty Nashua leaders and writing their story.

From Mayor Arel to Mayor Lozeau

The book covers the years 1978 to 2008. Marked by tremendous growth in population, commerce, and development, these were the years that saw the widening of the Everett Turnpike, the retail boom on the Daniel Webster Highway, and the splitting of Nashua High School into two state-of-the art institutions. Here too is the story of the changing face of Nashua, through immigration and the flowering of a new high-tech economy.

Read about the highs—the sesquicentennial celebration, Money magazine's naming of the city as the Best Place to Live in America—and the lows—bank failures, stalled highway projects, mayoral recalls.

The story begins in the mayoral administration of Maurice Arel and ends with that of Donnalee Lozeau, the city's first female mayor.

This book is truly a work of living history, told through the eyes of the people who lived it. Richly complemented by dozens of photographs, the book will become a keepsake and invaluable resource for anyone who loves Nashua, from those who called it home from 1978 to 2008, to the newest residents who want to better know their new hometown; from amateur genealogists piecing together their family histories, to professional scholars researching this remarkable city.