Maryland Books

These annual guides published by Chesapeake Bay Magazine are really nice. The guide includes a lot of detailed information about the various ports including marinas and restaurants. Also includes sections of maps for each area. The spiral binding makes the book easy to handle and use.

Another excellant booklet about the early days of small town America and its dedicated firefighters. These great individuals became committed and did this for the honor of protecting their fellowman and their communities. A must-have for the bookshelf of fire buffs and early Americana collectors.

I also own the Pennsylvania Handbook by the same author, and I'm continually amazed by her ability to search out the odd little museums and restaurants that really make a destination unique. In Maryland, you can polka the night away after visiting an out-of-the-way military code museum. And, I enjoy the sly humor that kind of sneaks up on you: "In the film Star Wars, Luke was misdirected when he was told to beware The Dockside. This friendly, casual restaurant...is a good place for inexpensive meals from breakfast ($5) through dinner ($6-9). Lots of Crisfield watermen eat here." (from the Eastern Shore section). Like all Moon Handbooks, this one makes the ordinary come alive, covers the whole area extremely well, and is fun to read.

H.L. Mencken temporarily resigned from his job as a newspaper columnist before the Second World War, deeming his political opinions too controversial for print. In the ensuing interregnal period, he focused his attention on writing a series of memoirs, which later turned into a three volume autobiography, of which Happy Days is the first part. In its pages, he relates his early fascination with police officers, food, literature and pedagogues, subjects that forever interested him. He also, astonishingly, recounts successful athletic exploits (astonishing because he grew into a rotund and stumpy man, who considered sports "nonsensical"). Readers familiar with Mencken's caustic columns will enjoy learning how his strong opinions were formed. Readers unfamiliar with him should still find this book highly palatable, for it is colorfully written, interfusing "the language of the free lunch counter" with latin phrases and searing adjectives. This memoir is as well-written as later newspaper columnist Russell Baker's "Growing Up," but is a hell of a lot funnier.

This book is a priceless collection helping us remember the Harford County of old. I find something new in the photos each and everytime I look. A must have for residents current and from the past

Gave this as a gift to my brother who recently moved there. It is a beautiful place. I believe he really liked it. Nice little coffeee table book

I was born and raised in Havre de Grace and this photo album brings back a lot of memories for me to share with my family. We lost our home in a fire and all our memorabilia was lost.

McDaniel provides a much needed scholarly treatment of the complex relationship between material culture and the human/cultural element. The dichotomy that is inherent in the treatment of material artifact and human use is exposed. Museums that misinterpret home interiors and pull objects out of social and cultural context are issues dealt with directly. Through oral history, McDaniel shows that artifacts (namely houses) are used in quite different ways than the museums might interpret. He fills what are presented as empty dwellings, void of any human aspects, with the lives of the past inhabitants. A work that illustrates the profound usefulness of oral history and the dangers that are present in any museum setting that disregards the maker or users of the traditional material being exhibited.

This is an excellent photo coverage of a section of Baltimore that is of historical significance. It is great resource for genealogy and best of all brings back many childhood memories.

Written in an easy-to-read style, this history of Baltimore's streetcars covers the entire period of operations from City Passenger in 1859 through close of operations in 1963. The book is an update of the original _Who Made All Our Streetcars Go_, including new material on Baltimore's current light rail system. The book also includes a series of vignettes about streetcars, which bring life to the history portion. In addition, there are hundreds of photographs, illustrations and maps.

This book reads more like a story than a history book, and I enjoyed it very much because of the accessible writing style, the subject matter and the photographs. Anyone interested in streetcars or old-time Baltimore should find this book fascinating.