Maryland Books

Josef Sudek was an amazing man, talent, and visionary. This monograph is one of very few that were widely distributed to help tell his story and share his hard-earned images. Imagine, Aperture, a magazine with only 2 issues per year, dedicated to the best of all things photographic, devoted an entire year of publication to Sudek. My favorite mental image of Sudek is of he himself finally shooting his muse, a church in Prague, his only arm franticly fanning up dust with a card as he rushed from this beam of light to another, so as to give the light volume in the image. You see, Sudek was a very patient master... until the image was ready to be taken. He might scout a location for years before shooting it, waiting for just the right time of year, just the right angle of light, and just the right atmospheric conditions around his subject. Then when the day came to shoot, he was a focused madman. In my eyes, Sudek IS photography, and this monograph is the most inexpensive, most thorough background of the man and his work. Although not the most thorough collection of his work, it is an excellent introduction that will leave you searching for more about him. Good luck, and enjoy!

Sudek inspired the entire world of his countrymen and women, and now we can also join in the feast of his imagery. Astounding in breadth and scope, these poetic photographs reveal a time gone, yet eerily present. If you write and photograph as well, this book is pure inspiration. Dark, moody, yet uplifting. Speaks to the treasure of time as it is captured with quiet energy and subtle tone and value.
He lost one arm in World War I, but that did not stop him from using a camera to record the world he witnessed all the rest of his life. His images of Prague are arresting and pull you into the streets as he saw them. Very very good book; a treasure to own.

A very detailed look at a beautiful area of the world. The writing makes you feel like you have been there. Lots of research in this one. Relax and enjoy the get-away.

Discount this review as you will; I must confess that I've known Jack for a number of years... Nonetheless, it's a beatutiful work. While some reviewers have compared him to Thoreau, I wouldn't go that far. But his love for the small deails of an eccosystm comes through exquisitly. As the title implies, Jack cronicles his frequent trips to Soldiers's Delight, a sort-of protected park near his home. It includes the geologic history of the area, as well as the history of human impact. And does a good job of riding the line between science and simple love for a place on the planet. It's clear to the reader that Jack loves the place, and his detailed, but not judgemental, descriptions of everything from the beauty of salamanders to piles of junk put you there. Maybe Jack isn't the next Thoreau. This book makes me think more of Hemmingway. A sort of restrained exuberance, and an economy of language that takes the reader into a place worth seeing. --del

What does one get when they cross a Philosophy Professor with a group of inmates sentenced to life? The answer is, not surprisingly, an incredible, tour-de-force read. I came upon this title, "The Soul Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death, and Hope" quite by accident, and what a treasure of a read it is.

Philosophy professor Drew Leder - with quite a life story of hid own - has compiled a rich and varied dialogue between himself and a handful of inmates from the Maryland Penetentiary. How he came to teach a philosophy class inside the prison walls is a story in itself, but it is the discussion and debate that broke forth in the midst of those classes that make this book a jewel.

As Sister Helen Prejean put it, "Put a philosophy professor into a locked room with incarcerated thieves, drug dealers, and murderers, throw in Socrates, Nietzsche, Cornel West and Heidegger - and what do you get? Conversations that knock your socks off. A book you simply can't put down." I'm in agreement with the good Sister.

The book explores the dynamics of power, violence, race, and sexuality, as well as the flights of spirit possible even from a prison cell. The inmates (and Leder) took the texts of some of the greatest philosophical minds known, used those texts as springboards, and reflected on their life experiences.

The average law-abiding citizen will be surprised to hear what these men have drawn out and declared. This book is a rich exploration of our present-day's criminal mind. What got them to where they are, how they came to be of the mind they were when in criminal activity, and where they've come since incarcertaion is a fascinating journey through the soul. The book serves as a clarion call for society at large to re-examine our very fabric of social interaction, governing, and penalizing of our fringe members.

The discussions are enlightening, powerful, and (at times) disturbing.

What struck me most as I read through the words of this book is the incredible waste of intellect and potential - that which has been lost to poverty and drugs is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Though author Leder didn't set out to do this, he has shone the spotlight on the need for prison reform - to salvage and restore broken lives is nothing short of a necessity. Some of the greatest minds of our time could well be locked up behind bars.

This is a tremendous read and I recommend it to anyone who loves to explore life from a philosophical bent (Leder uses phenonmenology most often) and who wants to better understand the criminal mind. And it is for those who continue to hold out hope that reformation is possible even for the most hardened criminal.

Excellent read, from start to finish.

What does one get when they cross a Philosophy Professor with a group
of inmates sentenced to life? The answer is, not surprisingly, an
incredible tour-de-force read. I came upon this title, "The Soul
Knows No Bars: Inmates Reflect on Life, Death, and Hope" quite by
accident, and what a treasure of a read it is.

Philosophy professor
Drew Leder - himself with quite a life story - has compiled a rich and
varied dialogue between himself and a handful of inmates from the
Maryland Penetentiary. How he came to teach a philosophy class inside
the prison walls is a story in itself, but it is the discussion and
debate that broke forth in the midst of those classes that make this
book a jewel.

As Sister Helen Prejean put it, "Put a
philosophy professor into a locked room with incarcerated thieves,
drug dealers, and murderers, throw in Socrates, Nietzsche, Cornel West
and Heidegger - and what do you get? Conversations that knock your
socks off. A book you simply can't put down." I'm in agreement
with the good Sister.

The book explores the dynamics of power,
violence, race, and sexuality, as well as the flights of spirit
possible even from a prison cell. The inmates (and Leder) took the
texts of some of the greatest philosophical minds known, used those
texts as springboards, and reflected on their life experiences.

The
average law-abiding citizen will be surprised to hear what these men
have drawn out and declared. This book is a rich exploration of our
present-day's criminal mind. What got them to where they are, how they
came to be of the mind they were when in criminal activity, and where
they've come since incarcertaion is a fascinating journey through the
soul. The book serves as a clarion call for society at large to
re-examine our very fabric of social interaction, governing, and
penalizing of our fringe members.

The discussions are enlightening,
powerful, and (at times) disturbing.

What struck me most as I read
through the words of this book is the incredible waste of intellect
and potential - that which has been lost to poverty and drugs is
nothing short of heartbreaking.

Though author Leder didn't set out
to do this, he has shone the spotlight on the need for prison reform -
to salvage and restore broken lives is nothing short of a
necessity. Some of the greatest minds of our time could well be locked
up behind bars.

This is a tremendous read and I recommend it to
anyone who loves to explore life from a philosophical bent (Leder uses
phenonmenology most often) and who wants to better understand the
criminal mind. And it is for those who continue to hold out hope that
reformation is possible even for the most hardened
criminal.

Excellent read, from start to finish.

I am not sure this is a "must have" book but I know it is very valuable reference work on the Antietam Campaign. This is a collection of notes on units, weather reports and a level of detail that is astounding. My understanding is this is all the writing that did not find a place in his two excellent books and was to valuable to discard.

It is not a book that you can set down and read but it is a book that can fill in the details or complete the picture.

In conjunction with the author's masterwork, "Taken at the Flood," this companion work is a must. It contains many and valuable pieces of information that go into formulating a complete picture of the Maryland invasion of 1862.

This book is excellent for anyone who has family they are working on from Baltimore. It goes alphabetically street by street and lists many interesting facts about the history of the street. Often in our research we find that a relative lived for instance on Charles Street. But we have NO idea what it was like 100 years ago. Streetwise Baltimore provides just that. Additionally at the back of the book they go through a similiar process with some Baltimore neighborhoods. When I bought the book I had NO idea I would find a picture of my great grandfathers store front on page 145.... This brought tears to my eyes and made my Mother a very happy lady. This is a quality book... well worth the dollars spent.

This book contains the finest collection of the history of Baltimore streets I have ever seen. The book describes the general history of many major streets and numerous minor streets throughout Baltimore. The streets are listed in alphabetical order. Many photos of historical landmarks accompany the book. Mention of numerous notable persons is made in regards to the history of many streets.
Although this reference work is not comprehensively exhaustive ( it doesn't mention every Baltimore street ) it is very worth your while to peruse. For instance, this book doesn't list Fear Avenue which is located two blocks from the Pimlico Racetrack. Fear Avenue was named in honor of my great-grandfather Boston Fear and his two sons: George Fear and Frederick Fear. They were major contributors to the Pimlico Racetrack during the early part of the twentieth century. My great-grandfather Boston Fear was a German immigrant who created the suburb of Walbook: Baltimore's very first suburb. Walbrook was originally named Fearville in honor of Boston Fear. Boston Fear gave Francis X. Bushman ( Hollywood's very first film superstar) his very first job in life.
I would highly recommend that all libraries in the state of Maryland possess a copy of this book for their Baltimore history section.

I know about the singing and praying band and it really makes my heart glad to see that someone took time to record it's history.

Through first person interviews, Jon David provides a ground-level view of an amazing slice of American life: the music of the Singing and Praying Bands of the Chesapeak Bay area. The included CD is only five songs, but it alone is worth the price of admission. Commentary by the author adds greatly to the value of the project.

This book offers beautiful photography and useful commentary. It is not just about trains or, worse still, just about locomotives - as are far too many railroad books. These photos show railroads and trains in their physical contexts.
I should mention, however, that the subjects of these photographs are highly concentrated, in/around the state of Maryland, and perhaps are of less interest to persons not emotionally or otherwise connected to that region.

I found this book to be very good; if you're from the Mid Atlantic States it's a great book! Many of the photos and stories are very good; almost all are black and white. This book had me looking back in time and remembering the days of powerful steam engines and then powerful diesel locomotives. A lot of the book is dedicated to the latter. I would highly recommend this book, even if you're not from the Maryland area the photos and stories are very good and trains of course are national in nature.

THIS IS A VERY WONDERFULLY WRITTEN BOOK BY A NICE GUY BILL HALL OF BCFD RESCUE-1 I HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HIM A FEW TIMES.HE RODE RESCUE-1 &STILL DOES FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS. THIS BOOK TAKES YOU TO THE FRONT LINES W/ BILL WHEN HE WAS A PARAMEDIC ON THE MEAN STREETS & TO BIG FIRES THIS IS ALSO COMPLETE W/ SOME GREAT FIRE PHOTOS. YOU WILL BE RODDONG SHOTGUN WITH BILL IN AN AMBULANCE &HIS PARTNER ON RESCUE-1. WHAT A GOOD BOOK.

Pull your helmut strap tight and hold on for your life as RESCUE 1 tears through the streets of Baltimore in a mad dash to save lives. This account of actual responces of RESCUE 1, will give you a feel for what the fireman of Baltimore City face on each tour of duty. Bill Hall spins a yarn in this exciting and very realistic narrative. It has many fireground and rescue scene stories that are written in a way to peak the interest of all-- from the fire buff to the veteren smoke eater. However, this is not your typical fire department book telling one fire story after another until they all run together in the readers mind. Writing such as this robs these accounts of their excitment and adrenaline. And that just aint Bill Halls style. "Turnout" instead chooses to highlight the "unusual" runs that fireman face everyday. Some are funny, some are downright sad, but thay are all extremely interesting and all are true.

How would you like your children to have a _memorable_ birthday party, one where giant mechanized rodents weren't screaming at the tops of their lungs? A party where you're not being nickel and dimed to death for more money to play the games? And do I _need_ to mention the food?

Help is here if you live the the Baltimore Maryland area. For instance, there is the Cloisters Children's Museum, a beautiful stone castle in Brooklandville, Maryland. If you have a winter child's birthday party scheduled there, you can even have a roaring fire inthe fireplace. Try _that_at MacDonalds.

Or maybe your child is a baseball fan - you can check out the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Baseball Center. Of course, it has all sorts of info on the Babe as well as other aspects of baseball history. This could be a good place to take your softball team for the end of season party.

Perhaps you are looking for a special place to get married in the Maryland area, You could check out Brice House, in Annapolis Maryland. It's a beautiful mansion for that special day. Or maybe you'd like something that has a view - you could tie the knot at the Glass Pavillion at Johns Hopkins University.

These places and many more are covered in this detailed book that offers addresses and phone numbers as well as prices and photos of the locations. If you want to plan an even in the Baltimore Maryland area or perhaps check out what this wonderful area has to offer, this is the book for you.

I have read Ford's other book, Unique Meeting Places in the Greater Washington Area, and this book serves as a great compliment to those wanting more options. It is just as detailed, well organized, and helpful, with the added bonus of containing lesser-known sites that may be perfect for your special event!

Simply enthralling...a brilliant piece of literature and a worthy addition to any collection of American history. For those who attended, graduated from, or knows anyone who went through boot, this book will certainly bring back memories. Masterfully written and compiled with numerous vintage photos and wonderful descriptions, it keeps you engaged from the first page to the last and back again. The story of USNTC Bainbridge goes beyond simply reminiscing, sharing with it's reader the accomplishments, the pride and the patriotism of our veterans. Simply put, it takes you there. With the impact of USNTC Bainbridge as relevant today as ever, this book ensures it's legacy will not be forgotten. For all the USNTC Bainbridge graduates out there, prepare to smile and have some tissues handy!

I was a Navy recruit in the summer of 1956 and spent 12 weeks at Banbrdge. This book for me rekindled many pleasant memories and reminded me of the history that I was part of. The book does a good job of covering all the history of Bainbridge and anyone who past through there should enjoy it.