Maryland Books

LOBLOLLY HOUSE: ELEMENTS OF A NEW ARCHITECTURE features a different award-winning house design: an adjustable double-skin facade situated off the coast of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. Its integrated systems offer minimal impact to the site's ecosystem, and it's actually more than an experimental model: it's a step towards element-based mass housing and promises much for architectural change. This monograph examines KieranTimberlake Associate's creation and considers its impact on further prototypes of revolutionary design choices.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Donald Shomette's Lost Towns Of Tidewater Maryland is an engaging and informative history of ten representative communities of the 130 towns or ports of the tidewater area of Maryland founded in colonial days. Of those original 130 sites, less than a score continue to exist today as cities or towns of any note. The others gradually disappeared into oblivion, destroyed by the tumultuous events that shaped Maryland's history. The ten communities forming the basis of this history were individualistic in the circumstances of their creation, flickered into existence against the odds, matured, and then finally expired. More than a story of abandoned towns, buildings and wharves, Lost Towns Of Tidewater Maryland is an fascinating story of the freemen and slaves who created these communities, lived and worked in them, defended them, and died with them. Lost Towns Of Tidewater Maryland is a unique, superbly written and presented contribution to New England history in general and Maryland's tidewater development in particular.

This is an excellent book for those interested in doing research on american loyalists who served in any of the loyalist regiments. It consists of copies of the loyalist muster rolls, which musters were taken approximately every two months. It will sometimes also provide a little bit of biographical material on individual loyalists, such as where they came from, where they went when they left the regiment, whether they were absent due to being a prisoner, having been killed in action or out wounded.

Carla Golembe has written a Picture Book about the state of Maryland, and her illustrations make it even more beautiful. This book would be a perfect teaching resource, or an entertaining read. I am very impressed with "M is for Maryland" and look forward to the next book she publishes!

An incredible collection of historical photos and drawings of Cecil County with its interesting commercial past that relied on fish, waterfowl and maritime indutries in the not too distant past. The colonial history of the area is fasinating and close at hand but often overlooked. If you spend recreational in the county then this book will increase your appreciation of this beautiful area.

Mary Elizabeth Garrett: Society and Philanthropy in the Gilded Age is the biography of a truly remarkable female philanthropist and activist, whose life and work spanned the Civil War, the difficult Reconstruction, the heady Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century. An intelligent and strong-willed woman barred by social custom from following in the footsteps of her railroad mogul father, she worked tirelessly to promote women's rights, applying her wealth and status to advance her egalitarian vision. She contributed endowments to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine on two unprecedented conditions: that women by admitted on the same terms as men, and that the school be graduate level. A champion of advanced education for girls, and a supporter of women's suffrage, Mary Elizabeth Garrett was a genuine force for change and worthy of serving as an inspiration to girls women a century later. Highly recommended.

This is a lovely book of photographs taken across Maryland. Depicts the state beautifully!

When I heard Maryland referred to as the Old Line State I thought it was a reference to the Mason-Dixon line, the stone markers that established the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. But in the first chapter of this From Sea to Shining Sea, Second Series volume, Barbara A. Somervill explains that during the Revolutionary War, General George Washington said Maryland's "troops of the line" were among the finest soldiers in the Continental army. Thus the state came to be called the "Old Line State." But when Somervill asks young readers what else comes to mind when they think of Maryland, the U.S. Naval Academy, Fort McHenry, and Chesapeake Bay will probably come more readily to mind.

The geography of Maryland is covered in the second chapter, where the Mid-Atlantic state is divided into three main land regions. This chapter also looks at the lakes, rivers, and very large bay of Maryland, along with the plants and animals (including the blue crabs), and climate. The third chapter is the longest, devoted to Maryland's history from the Mound Builders and early Europeans, through the colonial period and the Revolution, to the War of 1812. Since Maryland is not one of the colonies that you focus on when you study early American history, a lot of what is here will be new information. The Civil War, industrial era, and 20th century are covered in the rest of the chapter. Next there is a brief chapter on Maryland's state government, which briefly looks at the three branches in turn before taking us on a tour of Annapolis, the capital city. A map of the downtown area shows you where the Naval Academy, Bannker-Douglass Museum, and State House are in relationship to each other.

The book's final chapter covers arts and sports, as well as working in Maryland. I was anticipating the chapter's recipe would be for crab cakes, but instead it is for Maryland Corn Pudding. The last section of the chapter is devoted to a tour of Maryland from the eastern part on the Atlantic Coast to the Western Shore, Central, and Western Maryland. In the back of the volume there is a Maryland Almanac, which has all sorts of quick facts about the two coats of arms making up the state flag, the major rivers and lakes, and main manufactured products. Next comes a Timeline that contrasts Maryland state and U.S. history, a Gallery of Famous Marylanders including Eubie Blake, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Helen Taussig, and a Glossary of terms from "amendment" to "urban renewal." If a young student needs to go someplace For More Information about Maryland, Somervill provides a list of web sties (e.g., Maryland Kid's Room), books, and addresses. But they should find most of what they need for a school report in these pages. As long as we are in this neck of the wood, our next stop will be Washington, D.C. It might not be a state, but it does have some sights to see.

Few people realize the pivotal role Maryland played in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. But even fewer realize what kind of role it plays today.

The "Portrait of America" series is a wonderful introduction for pre-teens to the 50 states and to the places and events that shaped the history of the United States. This "Maryland" installment is particularly good. The book is broken down into sections like "History", "Culture", "Economy" etc., and each section is thoughtfully written and edited. And this edition is loaded with several beautiful photographs. The "Histoty" section is particularly interesting.

This book, as well as the entire "Portrait of America" series, will prove to be a valuable teaching tool to all primary school educators.

Maryland's colonial history is well-known by history students, but what happened in that tiny state afterward is just as important. And this slim volume will tell you about it.

The "Portrait of America" series is a wonderful introduction for pre-teens to the 50 states and to the places and events that shaped the history of the United States. This "Maryland" installment is particularly good. The book is broken down into sections like "History", "Culture", "Economy" etc., and each section is thoughtfully written and edited. The "History" section is especially good and is very inclusive.

This book, as well as the entire "Portrait of America" series, will prove to be a valuable teaching tool to all primary school educators.