Maryland Books

The Way We Really Are is recommended for parents as well as students of sociology and contemporary affairs: Stephanie Coontz provides an examination of America's changing families, from the different systems of cooperative and step-families to studies on changing traditional family methods and structures. An intriguing survey of family relationships is revealed.

I think Ms. Coontz read way too much into the Chicken Little story. The sky isn't falling, it's just people throwing rocks at each other. She has certainly managed to tap into the "it isn't my fault" mentality so widespread on today's society. Why blame broken families on a lack of morals and poor personal choices, when we can simply say, "Society made me do it."

Who knows? There may just be enough lost souls seeking to avoid blame and responsibility to make this a best seller. I, for one, hope not.

Climbing back up a slippery slope is always a struggle, but that doesn't mean it can't be done or that we shouldn't try. Didn't your Mom & Dad always say, "If your friends jump off a cliff, does that mean you should?" Mom & Dad were right, you know. Ms. Coontz, on the other hand, would cheer you on as you to step into the abyss.

I enjoyed Ms. Coontz's previous book but found this one a disappointmet. "The past wasn't what we think it was and anyway we can't go back", is a useful starting point for debate on any social topic. The question on everyone's mind then becomes, "So what should we do now?". And unfortunately the author never addresses the fundamental of what might make for a good family. Why do people look back at the 50s as a golden age? Forget every television image and false theory, concentrate instead on two variables: parental involvement as measured by time and continuity of environment.

If Ms. Coontz had confined herself to these I think she would found her answer to why many people think children today are being shortchanged. Forget the question of whether such families are led by gays, lesbians, single parents, people who have remarried, etc. The fact is parents spend much less time today with their children, by all measures, and there's much less continuity whatever the situation.

"This is how things are today, deal with it", is not a solution or even a very sophisticated description of the problem. If one can imagine a world of diverse families it still stands to reason that the basic needs of children are probably similar and the author might spend some time spelling out what they are. That book has yet to be written. There's no reason a progressive couldn't write such a book but he or she would need a lot of courage.

Initially, Ms. Coontz builds a pretty impressive case for her point of view, backing it up with studies and statistics. Alas, about two thirds of the way through she begins to fall down: there is much more opinion and much less evidence. In most controversies, there is a large middle-of-the-road (MTR)contingent that forms the "swing vote" and sympathizes to a certain degree with both the extremes. Coontz seems to lose any understanding that she may have had of these people and her arguments accordingly become less likely to sway them. At this point I felt that she wasted all the good that she might have done.

Most people that I know see a difference between, for example, a family needing help because they have lost a bread-winner and one created by parents who not in a position to support their children from the beginning. The first family is seen as having played by the rules and suffered a misfortune and worthy of assistance. The latter parents are sometimes seen as cheats who did not make a reasonable effort to be self-sufficient and suffer the consequences of their actions. The MTRs may accept that it is wiser in long run, particularly given that children are involved, to assist these latter families, but balk at being asked to conceal their disapproval. I think that Ms. Coontz, and many of her colleagues in the social sciences, need to read up on evolutionary psychology and game theory. Even if one doesn't accept that human psychology is largely genetically determined, it does help explain the social uses of a lot of behavior. I can recommend Steven Pinker's The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature), which I happened to be reading when this thought hit me, especially "Part IV, Know Thyself", but there are plenty of other books. She doesn't seem to think that people respond to incentives and disincentives.

Certainly, we could decide, if we wanted to, that the government would give anyone who has a child an allowance sufficient to raise it, or, perhaps better, deliver services directly to the child, like public school. But is this to be offered only to certain families or to all families? It has been argued that, all things being equal, financial assistance to college punishes frugality and savings by giving assistance to people who have no money because they lived lavishly.

Coontz's logic seems to assume that the difference between Have and Have-Not is entirely a matter of luck whereas there are a lot of very unhappy wage-slaves, including me, who are working solely so that we can live a middle-class lifestyle. If that lifestyle is to be conferred gratis upon all comers, then why should we work? Then who will pay taxes to finance the programs Coontz wants? Further, I have read that the largest amount of welfare cheating is done by polygamists, i.e. men who have multiple wives and families that they cannot support. (See "The Secret Story of Polygamy" by Kathleen Tracy.) The wives make the fictitious claim that their children were fathered by someone who has deserted them and collect welfare. Does Coontz's respect for alternate family lifestyles include supporting polygamy?

The other major flaw, and I nearly threw the book across the room at this, is Coontz's argument that Social Security for childless people is a form of dole. (Let me say here that I don't pay Social Security, except for Medicare, and I'm not eligible to collect it.) She argues this because "the average person" get more out of Social Security than he/she puts into it. Well, I should hope so, considering that the government has everyone's money for decades! But even this "average" is questionable. I've seen this quoted several times, but not with any explanation of how it's calculated. I am told by someone who worked for the Social Security Administration, that the average is corrected to exclude benefits paid out to persons who may never pay in (such as the earliest beneficiaries and the disabled), but that it is not corrected for inflation, which can make an enormous difference over three or four decades. I finished feeling very disgusted with Coontz, because having read the better parts of her book, I find it difficult to believe that this was an "innocent mistake."

This book describes factors playing for and against the well-being of families in the US today. The book seems to have 3 simultaneous goals: to describe and contrast the economic conditions of single- and two-parent heterosexual families, to provide self-help, support or guidance for two-parent families in crisis, and to suggest government policies to help American families thrive. Some of the topics covered in the book include: the idealization of the 1950s, working mothers, the future of marriage, divorce, traditions that should be abandoned, who's to blame for families in crisis, societal change and risk for kids, and the strengths and vulnerabilities for today's families.

The title of the book misled me a little. With a title like "The Way We Really Are", I expected the book to detail the kinds of families that exist in the US today. I was interested in learning how many families consist of adults with their own children, or with step children, or with no children, and how these numbers are changing. And how many families consist of homosexual couples with children, and is this number growing? How many families are nuclear families, and how many extended families do we find in the US today? Are there differences in these statistics according to race or ethnic background? What about family units that consist of divorced or widowed adults and in-laws, step-parents, or aunts or uncles? But that's not what this book is about. Most of the book deals exclusively with the economic well-being of single and two parent heterosexual nuclear families. Homosexual families are mentioned briefly in a few paragraphs towards the end of the book, and extended families receive no mention at all. Even when Coontz discusses two-parent families with a breadwinner and a homemaker, she always assumes that the breadwinner is a male, and doesn't consider or describe when it's the other way around, or provide statistics about female breadwinner families.

The main thesis of the book seems to be that many American families are in crisis today. The reasons for this are varied, from unrealistic idealization of the 1950s, to government policies that run counter to the needs of families. Coontz argues that right-wing groups that claim to be pro-family by stressing the need for children to be raised in families with 2 married parents may be unrealistic and actually work against the children's welfare.

While I found many of Coontz's arguments convincing, I think she could have gone further by giving a lot more thought to families and economic conditions in other parts of the world rather than confining her research and hypotheses strictly to the US. For instance, she suggests that during the industrial revolution in the US, there was a debate over "whether to protect women's interests by secluding them in the family, away from the rough-and-tumble competition of the capitalist market and political party system, or to grant women the same independent legal and political existence that white men had acquired, so they could claim their interests as a right." Coontz seems to be suggesting here that after the Civil War, women were being kept at home to protect them from market forces, and that that's why they weren't given property rights or allowed to open bank accounts on their own, etc. But given what we find in the rest of the world, I think it may have been the case that women were kept on the farm because of the common trend worldwide to try to keep women in seclusion, as can still be found today throughout the Muslim world, or parts of Asia. And property rights weren't restricted from women just because of industrialization- -I'm not sure, but I think there is a long history of such restrictions throughout European law, as well as in the rest of the world. On the other hand, she may have found support for her thesis that two parent families aren't a panacea in themselves if she had considered modern Japanese families, which very often consist of the two-parent, two child, male breadwinner ideal, and which are quite often completely dysfunctional when judged by American standards, in which we expect the parents to have healthy emotional ties to each other and the children. All in all, while Coontz has some interesting points, I would be more interested in seeing a book with a little less advice and a little more thought about all the various types of American families considered in a world-wide context.

Priscilla Bond's diary is a wealth of tedious tidbits about her daily routine, spattered with rare introspective statements about herself and her views on the Civil War. Bond's diary is not an enthralling read. In keeping with the social restraints at the time, her views are clipped by her desire to be a good woman and the fact that her diary, although personal, was intended to be read by family. It is, therefore, a fairly accurate portrayal of women in her era.

Bond's diary is solely meant to be a historical source. In reading it, it's difficult to kindle any sort of feeling or sympathy for her, despite her difficult situation. Uprooted from her home and separated from her husband, Bond has to learn to live a life she was altogether unprepared for, while dealing with her consumption. I found her entries to be somewhat vapid, dealing largely with surface issues. However uninteresting she may have seemed, there was a real and troubled woman penning these words. The unspoken is what needs to be pieced together and understood.

It would undoubtedly have been more reader-friendly had the diary been abridged, but that would have robbed the document of it's historical value. I cannot say that I enjoyed the book, but I can appreciate its worth. Her diary has the advantage of beginning in the antebellum years and continuing throughout the war, so that we can see the changes that occurred in her. It also gives us an idea about women who were not overly passionate about the Cause. Bond considers herself a southerner, but does not exhibit the kind of zeal towards the Confederacy that we can see in other diaries.

A Maryland Bride in the Deep South is a painstakingly researched work that serves as a wonderful addition to Civil War women's studies. If that is your forte, plunge ahead. Otherwise, you may want to bypass this one.

Priscilla Bond's civil war diary is an excellent historical resource. That said, it is not trying to be anything more, nor is it a book that will warrant a second read-through unless of course you are examining the text as a scholar.

The diary starts off quite slow. Many of Bond's entries early on consist of whether or not it rained and which cousins `took tea' that day. These entries were deliberately not omitted, not only because a historical document should not have parts excluded (no matter how boring), but because it gives the reader an idea of how the war impacts Bond's life. It is a neat experience for even the most laymen of readers to watch her reports change from social reports almost exclusively to war reports, updates on the `Yankees', etc.

This isn't to say that her non-war related entries are all completely boring. Quite a number of them are incredibly well written and poetic. An example:

"The first of autumn - the last rays if the declining sun gives us somber feelings and remind us of the coming of winter, when at zenith, he stares at us with his big pale face, and tells us he is going to withhold from the world a portion of his heat for a season."

Another element of the diary that will keep the average reader trekking onward is Bond's relationship with fiancé Howard. In the first entries, Bond makes Howard out to be her romantic knight-in-shining-armor, but as months go by of the two being separated, she begins to become impatient and even wonder if she still loves him. Trudging through the lists of who went to what sermon will be worth it, as her feelings toward him develop and tend to be ever bit as interesting as something out of fiction.

Kimberly Harrison, the book's editor, provides an extensive introduction that helps to connect the dots, especially for readers who use the book for historic and gender study. Harrison includes sections on principal friends and family and frequently mentioned places referenced in the text. There's about an average of three footnotes per page, providing Harrison's own research to shed light on Bond's life. While her notes may prove invaluable to a historian, the casual reader might find himself skipping more and more of the denotations as he presses onward in his reading. Still, it is nice to have the footnotes, and anyone can appreciate the extra hundred miles Harrison took in providing this information.

'A Maryland Bride in the Deep South' is intended for scholarly reading versus beach reading. If you are a casual reader and are interested in the role of women in the Civil War, you might want to instead get a copy of Mary Chestnut's Diary, or Kate Stone's. If you are a historian (or a Civil War fanatic), this book then proves to be essential. Priscilla Bond's voice and, sometimes, humor and wit are a great representation of women's role in that era.

A Maryland Bride in the Deep South by Kimberly Harrison is a historic account of a young woman's diary during Civil War America. While true in its accuracy and well-researched the book was exceedingly dull and long-winded. The day-to-day entries of the diary's author, Pricilla Bond, consist of nothing more than weather reports and a monotonous list of "who visited whom". After meeting Ms. Harrison I learned that she had not intended the book for the general public but wrote it for a smaller, more scholarly group. Nevertheless, A diary should be a glance into one's soul, an opening into one's deepest thoughts and beliefs; yet Mrs. Bond's writings made her seem the most mundane creature to every put ink to paper. There are faint glimmers of hope that she may be more than what her entries make her seem, a few secret meetings with her fiancé, a wrestle with faith and religion; but those were few and far between. It is true that Mrs. Bond was very ill and was therefore often unable to write but this only serves to add to my ponderings as to why she would then use what little strength she did posses to write about the rain or who attended church that day.

I accept the face that I am not a historian, I do not understand the life and customs of women in the 19Th century. However, if Mrs. Bond's life is a good representaion of most women in that time then I cannot thank God enough that I live in the era that I do. On that note, I am grateful to Pricilla for aiding me in putting my life in perspective. I have freedom and opportunity to marry whom I want, to go where I want, to not have to `dress for dinner', to receive medical care for the condition that so abruptly ended Mrs. Bonds life and her writings.
Overall, I would only recommend this book to those who are truly interested in that time and place, and are resilient enough to search through the sea of dull truth, to find a few pearls of wisdom from Pricilla Bond.

Elya Franciscus
#2248241
ENG 11 A.M.

A Maryland Bride

Priscilla Bond begins her diary in a light fashion, offering subtle, at times too ordinary details of her daily life inside her parent's Maiden Lane home outside of Baltimore where she often receives guests for tea. This is to be expected as Bond grew up in a very prominent family household with numerous friends and relatives and lived in the nineteenth century South where women's identities were defined by their families both immediate and extended. Nevertheless, these activities are far too mundane to be found enjoyable. Too frequently, bond mentions these houseguests who stop in for tea and are gone just as quickly. "Nothing has occurred worthy of note, no one was here but cousin Howard P--he took tea with us and then left for Mr. Dallam's in Bel Air..." (Harrison, 69) One wishes for such entries to be over quickly as they are a strain on both the reader's patience and bladder.
Furthermore, such entries are frustrating as women in Bond's time often used their diaries to find means of escape from their subservient societal roles. With such freedom at one's literal fingertips, one wonders just why someone would spend so many entries recounting the painstaking activities of daily life. Nevertheless, these entries do not begin until the temporary, but drawn-out departure of Bond's potential suitor, Howard and one soon realizes that Bond's entries are merely a way of coming to terms with her newfound life and establishing her identity in his absence.
Once Bond is able to put aside her sadness and bask in her freedom, her entries become more involved and thought-provoking, allowing her wit, endearing personality, and charming prose to shine through. One of her more light-hearted entries finds her gazing up at the clouds, imagining them taking on the likeness of fairies. "...methinks I can see little fairies as they were skipping and chasing each other in frolicksome glee till they are lost in the distance..." (Harrison, 69) Her observations take a more elaborate turn after she notices the change in the clouds after a rainstorm. "They first looked like an army arrayed for battle. Some were on horseback, some walking and the flags flying as if it were flying in the breeze." (Harrison, 75)
Bond is at her literary best, however, when she is exploring more profound subject matter such as mortality which she does after the death of her aunt. "Oh! May we be prepared when ever the messenger comes, and have our lamps trimmed & brightly burning." (Harrison, 74) She boldly ponders the day when she too must meet death's door, doing so in a light-hearted, yet wistful fashion and then proceeds to discuss something as simple as the weather. This, at first, seems like an odd turn, but it is Bond's intention to state that death, like the weather is commonplace and not to be fretted over. One simply disregards it and moves on with the day.
It is this approach to life along with Bond's faith that carry her through the diary's duration. After her marriage to Howard, a man whom she cares for deeply, but is never quite sure if she truly loves, her health begins to deteriorate. This only makes the feats that follow all the more admirable, however, as her husband joins the Civil War effort and she finds herself alone and ailing.
It is a pleasure to witness Bond's growing strength which not only masks her illness but establishes her as a force to be reckoned with. This is no longer the woman who wrote of tea time and fairy-like clouds. When soldiers invade her Abbeville home, looking for enemies who may be hidden within, she boldly ushers them around, insisting that they look wherever they wish. Once more, she finally stands up to her unpleasant mother-in-law with whom she has long been in rival. Howard's long awaited return is greeted with joy, but the event is bittersweet as one knows that she will not be around to enjoy it much longer. Although Bond may have not been able to find love, she was, in fact, able to find herself.

As expected this book was not intended for the general public, therefore it does not arouse any significant interest in the average reader. Even though I did not find the book particularly interesting, I cannot deny or ignore the meticulous analysis, and research done by Harrison. The introduction not only demonstrates extensive research, but also provides enough background information to fill in the gaps in Priscilla's diary so that it presents a coherent narrative of her life during the war. The introduction also incorporates certain aspects and themes of society and culture in the mid 19th century, making it easier for the reader to understand Priscilla's personality and behavior as a product of her environment. By providing an overview of principal friends and family as well as frequently mentioned places, Harrison allows for a quick point of reference to the many characters mentioned. Overall the book is an extraordinary piece of research and undoubtedly an invaluable tool for historians as it gives direct insight into the mind of a civilian woman during the civil war. I think Harrison does a marvelous job incorporating the diary in its entirety for it reflects the changes in Priscilla's mood and personality before, during, and after the war. The diary provided a source of comfort to Priscilla and played a role in the formation of her identity. Priscilla struggled as she attempted to conform to what she believed was her duty as a wife in the turmoil of war, but also as she faced the differences in culture as she moved from her home in Maryland to that of her husband's family in Louisiana. The diary, and Harrison's further analysis explain how Priscilla uses her diary not only as her confidant but also as a means of easing or suppressing the cultural shock she experiences when she moves to Louisiana, and the sense of loneliness and isolation generated by the absence of her husband.
As I previously mentioned, the book is an extraordinary piece of research and will undoubtedly serve as a valuable scholarly tool, as well as an important source of historical reference. Unfortunately I am not a historian, nor am I overly interested in the monotonous life of a bourgeois 19th century girl. Although Harrison attempts to make the book as accessible as possible while maintaining its caliber as a scholarly tool, it is not quite enough to incite enough interest in the average reader.

It is a great 60's book as the name implies. Typical run of the mill story of young men and women coming of age during the Vietnam debacle, caught up in their own life's whirl-wind. It is a story of friendship, innocence lost, romance, ambition and lack of it. The most intriguing character, Neil, an iconoclast, goes his own way by enlisting in the army whereas his friends get out of it by producing doctor's letter. But soon he returns to his town wearing a soldier's uniform, AWOL. He never acknowledges why he wanted to enlist or why he came back, a deserter. He is an enigma, an aloof character, a thorn in his friend's side, a train wreck bound to happen.

There is an eerie parallel to the current Iraq war and the one which blazed for a decade in South East Asia almost 40 years ago. Politicians start wars on vague notions, send young men/women to fight and then sit back and rationalize. Ben, who is always popping pills, wonders out loud "Why are we concerned about Communism spreading in South East Asia now when we didn't do anything to prevent Eastern Europe fall in Communist hands after WWII." Ben's comment can easily apply to any decade; just replace the word communism with dictatorship.

More than anything it is a book of friendship, camaraderie among men, the kinship which is hard to describe.

It must be an autobiography.

When he talked a bout the PaperMate grey and pick retractable pen, he got me! So much is familiar. Born and bred in NYC, all of this is migratable. I sat by the pool and had it read to me and well, I just laughed and giggled. With the world in its way, the Republican convention underway ... terror threats on NYC bridges and public transportation ... it's remarkable to say this novel was "fantasy". But, there you have it in today's world. When my teenaged son gets his head out of online poker and IMing, I will encourage him to read through this coming of age story ... it is so wonderfully innocent!

Maybe it's the Baltimore nostalgia, or maybe it's the message that there's something awaiting everyone beyond what we see when we're young, but I really got into this story. Bobby Shine and his male "diner" buddies bring back the ambivilance we felt between our friends the soldiers and our friends the hippies during the Vietnam War years. The novel awakens long lost memories of such things as coddies, peppermint sticks in lemons, the Flower Mart, Read's drug stores, dates at Mandel's, hanging out in a diner. Having close buddies and a welcoming place such as the diner to discuss personal problems and accomplishments is basic to this story. Friendship reigns supreme. Nothing quite matches the freedom and exhuberance of being young. Even with its painful times. This story captures it all. Read it.

This is a novel about a group of young men during events that happened to them around 1966. It is told through the eyes of Bobby Shine, and we hear other tidbits from his life as well, but they all have a tie in to events that occur during the timeframe of the book. We assume the author is looking back at his life from a distance of about 40 years, because he has the gaps of memory, of which incidents are important, etc. We see how the sexual revolution, drugs, and the war all affect the men, and women that we meet.

I love the work of Barry Levinson on screen. On paper though is another story. THe characters in this book are one dimensional. They have no soul. And I never got their voice. THough what each character does is unique, they all sound like the same person. I never got to know anyone. Their is simply not enough dialogue in this book-we are told but never shown anything. I wanted to hear each character speak more, not the second hand version that is presented. I know Mr. Levinson can do dialogue- it is the most brilliant thing about his movies. I can't imagine why he didn't incorporate it here.

When I discovered this book in the library I was very excited. After all, I love Levinson movies, and Baltimore was my second home. I visited my father in Baltimore from my mother's home in NYC once a month for about 18 years. Of course, I came of age about half-a-generation after these characters.

Unfortunately, the book reads not like a novel, but like a memoir. As Neil quotes Twain in the book (and I paraphrase) "the difference between truth and fiction is that fiction has to be logical". Well this fiction is too logical, too crafted, too contrived. I guess I don't believe that, in a true novel, these characters would have all these unspectacular and predictable misadventures.

Some of this reaction stems, I'm sure from knowing Levinson's background and having seen his movies.

I look for spontanaiety in a book. This book has no surprises.

I give it 2 stars for the Baltimore nostalgia, but overall it is a disappointing read.

New to the Baltimore area....had been struggling to find good day hikes...looked online, etc. -could find references to parks, etc. but couldn't find a good source to tell me which places had trails and if they had trails which ones were the good ones. This book clearly explains what is out there and gives clear descriptions & directions.

I think both reviews above are correct. The book has absolutely inspired me to explore my own region. It's really changed my outlook and my health. However, there are times when the author's instructions are hard to grasp (especially when they seem to conflict with trail maps and signs -- and I think the map for the hike I took yesterday was just plain wrong.) I have already recommended (or bought) this book for several friends and all have been excited to know about it.

While this book does outline quite a few hikes around and in Baltimore, it is hard to follow the author's instructions. Too much narrative mixed in with the directions and turns. Would be nice for an outline of turn by turn directions without all the descriptions and narratives. Not so user friendly when trying to find your way.

First, I love the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Washington DC and would highly recommend it. Based on my experience with that book, written by a different author, I was looking forward to trying out the hikes in this one. After trying out a few of the hikes, I must say that I cannot be more disappointed. The writers instructions for the hikes left out many critical details. One of the hikes I picked at random, was #55 in Patapsco Valley State Park. This hike, like the others, left out critical details to complete the hike as described successfully. My friends and I ended up forging our own path because of the uselessness of what the author wrote. Furthermore, hike #55 has the hikers cross not just one, but two bridges which are unsafe for pedestrians to cross. The description of hike #55 even uses the, unfortunately, accurate phrase 'admittedly, it isn't very pleasant' to describe one part of the hike. It is my opinion that if one has to use a phrase like this, that one should rethink the hike entirely as hikes are supposed to be pleasant.

Please, save your money and avoid this book.

Whether you like to take scenic strolls with your toddler or hike with the true pioneer spirit of the rugged individualist, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Baltimore, by Evan Balkan, is your new must-have pocket guide. From his first-hand hiking experiences, Balkan's guide offers a comprehensive compilation of short essays that lead the hiker down paths of delightful discovery through the widly trampled trails and hidden treasures found in and adjacent to "Charm City."

It is a hot Wednesday on the 17th of September 1862. You have been fighting and marching for days with the Army of Northern Virginia. It is at the end of the first campaign by General Lee across the Potomac. A bid to win a decisive victory and gain recognition and independence for the South. General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac is in hot pursuit of Lee's forces. Many have already escaped back across the Potomac but others are scatter all over the Maryland country side. Lee after conferring with his officers decides to make a stand and fight. Basically it will buy time for his troops in Maryland to collect and make a fighting withdrawal across the Potomac. For McClellan it is a race to destroy most of Lee's Army.
You are hot and thirsty as you march though the small town of Sharpsburg. You are directed down the Lower Bridge Road. After reaching the bridge it is hurry to prepare rifle pits and defensive positions to guard the stone bridge. There are fewer then 300 Georgian troops from the 2nd, 20th and 50th Georgia infantry to defend the Lower Bridge(Soon to be forever called Burnside's bridge) from the impending attack by the Federal IX Corps. You soon hear the firing to the north. A Desperate battle by both sides starts. The rattle of muskets and the roar of artillery intensifies. The Battle is started at the Cornfield. It will soon spread to both the East and West Woods. At the apex of several roads, just south of the Cornfield a desperate fight rages around Dunker Church. South of the Church is a sunken road used by the Confederates as a make shift trench. It will soon be called the Blood Lane. Soon you know the Union Army will come for the bridge.
Capture of the bridge by the IX Corps early in the battle would lead to the imminent destruction of Lee's Army. It was critical to hold the bridge for the Confederates.
Colonel Holmes places you (part of the Burke County Sharpshooters) and the rest of the best riflemen in the 2nd Georgia Infantry, at the most vulnerable sector at the west end of the bridge.
To stop the IX Corps you are armed with the .577 Enfield rifled musket. A deadly weapon with greater velocity and accuracy then the .69 caliber smoothbore musket carried by other soldiers around you.
You know soon the IX Corps artillery will send shot and shell screaming at you as their soldiers fire and will race screaming to take the bridge.

This book bears all the hallmarks of Tucker's other works: poor scholarship,weak editing, stilted prose, and contents that don't live up to the title - only 70 pages of this 250 page book even deal with Burnside's Bridge.

"Burnside's Bridge" breaks through the absence of research in this part of the battle of Antietam and attempts to paint a factual picture of what happened in that small area of the battlefield. The author begins by giving a history of the two regiments (20th and 2nd Georgia). After this he gives an in-depth history of the leader of the two regiments, a man by the name of General Toombs. The author stresses the importance of researching the mysterious General Toombs, due to the fact, historians have over looked this man because many considered he was only a small part of the Confederacy. Half way through the book the author begins to talk about the bridge and what happened at the battle of Antietam. Armed with the many facts Mr. Tucker (the author) tells the complete story of what happened when the Federal army charged the bridge five times.

Even though this is a breakthrough book there are some weaknesses that appear within the book. The first weakness is the fact the book is only 154 pages long (154 pages + 43 pages of sources). Within these 154 pages the author does not approach the battle of Antietam until page 67 and than leaves the bridge at page 137, which allows him only 70 pages to deal with the actual events around the bridge. The second weakness is the fact the reader has to have a basic knowledge of the battle of Antietam. In fact, the author never gives an explanation of what was going on in the other parts of the battlefield. This is compounded with the fact the author only shows one map of the battlefield and this map is only dealing with Burnside's bridge. Finally and what I feel to be the weakest part of the book, is the manner in which the author presents the material. Mr. Tucker has researched this topic so much he attempts to push every fact into the story and thus sacrifices the readability of the book. In other words, when the author finally has the reader turning the pages to read more, he slows you down to a snail's pace by bombarding you with items such as a colonel's biography or a solider's letter home.

Even with these weaknesses the book is still a major piece of work for this subject. What this book will do is cause more historians to use it as a stepping stone and thus cause even greater research in the area. After all, every subject has to have a first book written about it. This reviewer only wished the author had expanded the book and attempted to centralize the facts on the everyday soldiers of the two regiments instead of constantly bowing to the immortal General Toombs.

Pros: 1) Groundbreaking research in the area of Burnside's Bridge 2) Very in-depth research by the author

Cons: 1) Lack of Dramatic effect causes poor readability 2) Author only spends 70 pages on what really happened at the bridge 3) Reader has to have knowledge of the battle of Antietam

this book is well researched,documented and fascinating history at its best. It doesn't get any better than this! The personal profiles of the many soldiers involved give you a much clearer picture of the closeness involved of the participants.From the generals colonels and down the chain of command to the lowest ranking private, this is a story well told thru the eyes and ears of the combatants.The holding action of the 2nd and 20th georgia regiments at rohrbach's bridge that day should go down in the annals of history's bloody battles as an equal to the dramatic stuggle of the 101st airborne at bastogne,the fighting withdrawal of the 1st Marine division at the chosen reservoir in Korea and the dramatic battle of the brave defenders at the alamo,as well as the stand at camerone,mexico of the gallant foreign legion.I highly recommend this book to all civil war and military history buffs everywhere.Mr.Tucker cannot be praised enough! Thank God someone has finally stepped forward and carried on the torch to tell the story of these brave men.THANK YOU MR.TUCKER!

In the Introduction, the author states "....the full story of this tenacious struggle for possession of Burnside's Bridge has never been told until now. The accomplishments of the Georgia defenders have been overlooked by historians who have, in turn, underestimated the significance of their actions on the outcome of the action that day." For example, Russell Wiegley wrote "At the end of the day, the final Federal charge, across the Antietam near the right of the Confederate position over the Rohrbach Bridge--hereafter Burnside's Bridge--and up the adjacent hills, missed turning Lee's right and cutting his road to the Potomac only because Powell Hill and the Light Division arrived from Harpers Ferry at the last desperate moment." (1) Other historians such as Emory Thomas have written similar comments.(2)

The author provides an excellent background review of the commanders and Georgia soldiers. Several officers had attended military colleges plus had experience in the Mexican and the Indian Wars. Several units, such as the 2nd Georgia, had a nycleus of soldiers from militia units such as the Columbus Guards of Muscogee County.

This well researched work is not a gneral account of the Antietam Battle, but concentrates on the fighting in the Rohrbridge sector; thus the reader is not distracted by the critical events taking place on General Lee's left or center. Union General George McClellan ordered General Burnside's IX Corps to cross Antietam Creek, turn Lee's right flank and attain Lee's rear area. General Toombs' 2nd and 20th Georgians defended Rohrbach's Bridge and by noon this "....relative handful of tough Georgian Rebels" had repelled five bloody attacks and accomplished their mission in holding the army's right flank.

AT 1:30 P.M., with ammunition running low, the battered Georgians had to retreat and by 3:00 P.M. the sixth Federal assault captured the bridge. Now only General Toombs' and Colonel Benning's forces could stop McClellan from sweeping to Sharpsburg and gain the rear of Lee's army. In late afternoon, the surviving Georgians, with the help of General Maxcy Gregg's newly arrived South Carolinians, counterattacked and stopped Burnside's IX Corps. Hill now arrived, joined the fighting and helped drive the IX Corps back to the Antietam Creek; however, the text notes that Colonel Benning wrote concerning the counterattack that "none of [Hill's troops] had any part in first breaking the line."

On page 150, the author notes that "Despite two improbably successes on the same day, Toombs, Benning and their Georgians would not receive due recognition in the post war years." Defending the Burnside's Bridge all morning and then the late afternoon counterattack by Toombs and Benning all played a very significant role in reversing the tide of battle and ended McClellan's chance to defeat Lee.

Finally on page 153, the author writes "Fewer than 300 Georgia defenders preserved Lee's vulnerable right flank and rear for most of the day, and bought time for Lee to reposition troops from his right to his left and for Hill to arrive."

For those interested in Civil War history, this short work places the fighting on Lee's right flank at Antietam in proper perspective. Had Toombs, Benning and the Georgians not held Lee's right and then not successfully counterattacked, McClellan would have deteated the Army of Northern Virginia before Hill arrived.

(1) Wiegley, Russell; A GREAT CIVIL WAR: A military and Political History 1861-1865; p-153

(2) Thomas, Emory; ROBERT E. LEE; p-262

i rated this four out of five becouse i
didn't fully grssed the intoto of your information
about the issue bein discussed there from ma point of view
as a reader.

Sweet Redemption is the well-told story of how a very good and very dedicated coach and some very good and very dedicated players -- whom most other schools overlooked -- finally brought the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship to the University of Maryland. Like the movie Hoosiers, it should be of interest to all basketball fans -- indeed all sports fans. But it will be a special treasure to supporters of Maryland basketball who for years watched their generally quite good teams suffer one frustration after another. Maryland's 2002 basketball championship was indeed sweet redemption which all true sports fans should be able to savor.

Anyone who loves the underdog has to love Gary Williams. He has bounced back time and again over the course of his career and faced tremendous odds. Winning the National Championship was truly Sweet Redemption for him.

However, this is quite possibly one of THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ. As a voracious sports biography reader, this book falls short of the mark made by even the lesser sports books out there. Vise did a TERRIBLE job of accounting the situation. This book is DEVOID of any passion on his part. It reads as if a high school journalism student slapped it together using a simple writing formula : "Here is what happened", , "Review what I just told you again."

You could get the ENTIRE contents of this book by reading newspaper clippings from Gary's career. That's basically all this book is, one big newspaper clipping.

Gary Williams deserves a much better book than this one.

This is the story behind the 2002 University of Maryland basketball championship season and also serves as mini-biographies of Gary Williams, Juan Dixon, and the University of Maryland basketball program. Very well written and organized, it will be interesting for sports fans, even those not U. of Maryland fans. The many tragedies suffered by the institution and individuals associated with the program are heart rending and compelling.

The Maryland championship season is a real life triumph over tragedy story. Regardless of where one's rooting interests lie, I dare say nobody can read Juan Dixon's story and not marvel at his perseverance and leadership. A true, shining example of heart and courage.

For all Maryland Terps, past and present, the 2001-2002 basketball season was a magical one to follow. It marked the culmination of years of hard work and overcoming almost insurmountable odds by both coach Gary Williams and star guard Juan Dixon. "Sweet Redemption" tells the tale of the separate, yet similar, journeys these two men took, along with the Maryland basketball program, to overcome tremendous hardships and reach the summit of excellence with the 2002 NCAA National Title. Gary Williams came from a broken home to become hard driven coach and successful coach at the expense of his own marriage and estrangement from his daughter. Williams returned to his alma mater, University of Maryland, to coach the men's basketball team in 1989, just in time for all the bad blood of Len Bias' death from cocaine and subsequent recruiting violations to cripple the Terrapin program in a way that made it impossible to win (or even get fan and university support) in those first few years. Juan Dixon came from a harsher background. His parents, while bright and intelligent people, were caught in the vice grip of heroin addiction. They were in and out of prison through most of Juan's young life and he was shuttled from family member to family member to be cared for (a role that mostly fell to his older brother Phil). Though his parents finally cleaned up, the damage was done and they died from HIV-related complications brought about by using dirty heroin needles. Prior to his death, Juan's father made saw to his that his brother looked after Juan and made sure he got his education. Basketball was an escape for both Juan Dixon and Gary Williams. So, it would make sense that the two would come together and help each other achieve the highest level of success possible.

"Sweet Redemption" does give some details into backgrounds of Williams and Dixon, but, at 252 pages, it is understandably superficial in its overall treatment of the subject. Additionally, the progress of the Maryland basketball program from a being nearly dismantled to winning the National Title over 13 seasons is given a perfunctory treatment. All things considered, though, this deficiency does not detract from the overall impact of the book. There is a list of sources in the back of the book that give reference to more in-depth material on which this book is based. "Sweet Redemption" is designed to be a quick study and companion piece of the championship season for fans to ready and enjoy while they get re-energized for the upcoming season.

this book was very interesting in that one could explore the eIvertyday goings on of a time that we're so far removed from.I would like to have seen many more photos. You can identify much more with the characters in this way. from a historical point of view it was quite enlightening to see how black americans took a hand in their own destiny what with all the odds staked against them. we can see the format that is used even to this day. another interesting point is that there is noting new under the sun. It seems some of the everyday occurencess still prevail today under different circumstances. Though at times the letters were a little boring and written without prpoer punctuation, it helped to bring out the true personality of the writer. All in all for me it was a trip back into time.

Farah Griffin, editor of last year's "A Stranger in the Village: Two Centuries of African-American Travel Writing" has done it again with "Beloved Sisters and Loving Friends." This wonderful collection of letters between Rebecca Primus and Addie Brown allows readers to enter the world of nineteenth-century black American life. Through the correspondence of these "ordinary" women, the reader gains invaluable perspective on the social, political,economic and religious concerns of blacks around the time of the Civil War. In addition, the correspondence between these two loving friends is a welcome addition to all the historical collections of letters, diaries, etc. that document so well the white American experience while neglecting the experiences of black Americans and others. This collection is important and timely and I applaud Professor Griffin's achievement of giving voice to these two women and the world in which they lived.

Very disappointing book. This is not "co"-respondence--it's two separate sets of letters that don't speak to each other; thus there's no dialogue. Further, the editor did not do her job of cleaning out the underbrush, so the letters are unflaggingly boring in their ungrammatical microdomesticity. Only now and then is there a flash of insight into the broader historical/sociological picture. This book is merely an assemblage of transcriptions interspersed with short bursts of mostly redundant editorial comment. With maps, historical timelines, sidebars, and incisive editing, this book could have been much more. As it is, it reads and feels like no more than a senior high school term paper. Shame on all concerned.

Baltimore is a hard city to get your hands around. It's the quintessential image of urban decay; poor, crime-ridden, but also surprisingly hospitable and absolutely crammed with exceptional historical architecture. Poverty, in this case, has proved to be the best preserver, and most of Baltimore's lovely old churches and public buildings are still with us in their somewhat decrepit state. Despite the public image, any enthusiast of American architectural history has to love Baltimore.

This book summarizes the history and significance of these sites. It largely ingores Baltimore's modern structures (Myerhoff, Harborplace, Eisenhower Library, etc...), and there are even some conspicuous gaps in the presentation of the historic ensemble. The Lyric Opera House, for example, is completely absent. Pimlico, ditto. Memorial Stadium? Also, this book was published in 1997, which makes it rather dated and downright ancient in the world of architectural surveys. Time for a new edition. And fill in those holes!

Those issues aside, this book is better than the vast majority of the urban architectural surveys out there. It includes a photograph of every structure, along with a concise essay describing its history and distinguishing features. It includes biographies of important Baltimore architects and and nice introductory chapter to set the historical context. It's well done.

Excellent, accessible book filled with quality information

This book has some significant gaps in its coverage of modern buildings in Baltimore. A partner in our firm (an FAIA) was going to visit the city, and had me call up the local AIA for some recommendations, particularly good recent projects and arts-related buildings. It didn't seem like that much had been going on recently in Baltimore, so they suggested I get this book. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find any mention of the Lyric Theater or the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall anywhere! From what the AIA and some research on the web told me, these are major public buildings, worth seeing based on their architectural merit. One is older with some new work, the other 20 years old, so it's not as though they're too new to be included. Is it simply that the various authors of this book didn't like those buildings? If so, why couldn't they have included them, but with a critique so that others could make up their own minds? What other notable buildings were left out? The truly flabbergasting part was locating, on the maps provided, where the Lyric and Meyerhoff are, in blank areas among all kinds of churches and old houses. History is great, but it keeps going.

Aside from that, the information for those buildings included in this guide seemed thorough, and the designer bios at the back were a nice touch.

how can anyone say this was a great read? You all know the storyline so won't go into that again but with the exception of
the sex I found this book geared toward an adolescent. In the
book it states it's Dec 24th 7pm - almost two weeks of story and 50 pages go by then the next day it's Christmas morning. This happened several times and I could get past that - but the characters were just too unbelievable and naive. This could have been a good story but too many things just didn't add up.

Author Kirstin Hill gives a fast and funny read in Hot Under The Collar. Cassie, the leading lady, reminded me of a friend, and I can't wait for her to read this book. The style is easy to read and the story kept me guessing until the end. This hero and heroine were made for each other, but the heroine couldn't see it and didn't appreciate the hero for the great guy he was. I'd love to see this made into a movie. It's one I'll want to read again.

Cassandra "Cassie" Knight had always wanted to be a DJ. Her dream came true at WKDY in Baltimore, Maryland. Cassie led a double life. During the day Cassie was a brunette holding a part time job at a fitness club. From midnight until 4 a.m. she was blonde Sondra Lane, The Voice in the Night, with the sexy voice that enticed her audience. Sondra had a way that enthralled everyone who listened to her show, be they male OR female. As Sondra, Cassie was able to keep her private life just that - private.

Nathan "Nate" Taylor wrote an advice column for Baltimore Today. After hearing Sondra's show, he wrote an article about her that hit the front page. His editor told Nate that if he could get an interview with Sondra before any other reporter, he would get a promotion. But Sondra was elusive and would not grant interviews to anyone. To get close, Nate wore a disguise, acquired a phoney French accent, and moonlighted as a cab driver. Sondra remained elusive; however, he became close with another client, Cassie.

**** These two main characters played a fascinating game of Cat & Mouse with each other and did not even know it. It made for some spicy reading, believe me! Wonderful book for late night readings. ****

This is way more interesting than most history books. It's great for research or just a good read. Highly recommended.

Almost 60 years old when the Civil War began, Isaac Trimble was still a major force as a Confederate commander, participating in a number of campaigns in the eastern theatre, being severely wounded twice, and becoming a favorite of Stonewall Jackson's. Tucker's biography is scholarly and academic, which might discourage some readers; but I didn't find it numbingly so.

Trimble was born in 1802 in Pennsylvania. A West Point graduate, he served in the army until 1832, when he resigned to become superintendent of a number of East Coast railroads. Siding with the South at the outbreak of the war, he destroyed railroad bridges around Baltimore. He saw action at Winchester and Cross Keys during Jackson's Valley campaign, and was wounded severely at Second Bull Run. He recuperated in time to participate in the Gettysburg campaign, leading forces up the Cumberland Valley (this account by Tucker interested me the most). He lost a leg at Gettysburg and was captured; he remained a prisoner of war until 1865. After the war he was an engineer in Baltimore and died in 1888.

Tucker's biography is not written for a general audience; the book's very few illustrations might be the biggest clue to this fact. Tucker's style is also rudimentary. His annotations are excellent, however, and as I said earlier I didn't find his scholarly approach to be overwhelming. The biography is informative and straightforward, and not particularly stylistic. Civil War buffs will find much to appreciate here.

General Trimble merits a biography. He's a fascinating man. The author's efforts though reads more like a thesis written to submit both to the history and psychology departments rather than a biography meant for the reading public. I would've enjoyed more personal anecdotes relating to the General and would've liked to have see the constant references to Maslow's hierarchy of needs jettisoned completely. It seemed like an artificial appendage added to the book, and its insertion ranged from distracting to downright annoying. It made for a dull, pedantic read.