Maryland Books

I bought this book because I thought, while flipping through it at the store, that it listed lots of interesting sites. But when I got home I did a quick read-through of area I'm familiar with and discovered these authors know nothing about correct directions or facts.

For example, I found a listing for a covered bridge in Pennsylvania that I used to live next to. Armed only with this book, no one will ever find it. That's because it's about two miles west of it's listed location and it's on a completely different road. Not to mention there are no signs to aide lost tourists.

Then there's the mention that the Appalachian trail runs through the Catskills in New York "from Pennsylvania to Vermont". While anyone with an atlas can see it goes nowhere near the Catskills on its way from New Jersey to Connecticut. Did these people even visit these sites in person?

I wish I had read more of this book before I bought it and wasted my money.

Entry 4387.

Please note that Mary Ellen Culler is the third wife of Charles Herman Culler, Jr., and is not the mother of any of his children. Sara J. Culler is his daughter by his second wife Betty Marie Lewis Culler. This was a very serious error on the part of the author, which leads me to wonder how many other errors are in this book.

I bought this book with high hopes, since the other books from this publisher are very good. This one was a major disappointment for two reasons. First, although it has some interesting pictures, the captions have little or nothing to do with the pictures they accompany. Instead of describing the buildings or people in the picture, most of the captions contain general information and only a cursory reference (if that) to what is shown. Second, there is a lot of padding. You wouldn't believe how many pictures in this book are of signs. If you're talking about a church, I want to see a picture of the church, not the sign in front of it. They also repeat the same basic facts about Fort Washington several times, sometimes almost verbatim. This book really could have used some serious editing and rewriting. Please don't judge the other books in the Images of America series by this one; most of their products are very good. This book, however, is a major disappointment.

My wife and I have hiked 13 of the 62 recommended trails, enduring the same problems with just about every one.

1. Mileage listings are so inaccurate and inconsistent that they're useless. Most of the time they're way too short, but every once in awhile too long.

Example: Trail 7. Right away there was a mileage problem. From the parking lot (start) it's 0.2 mi. to a sign that lists the distance to the Evitts Homesite as 2.8 miles (combined total of 3.0 miles). Lillard lists that same distance as 2.0 miles. He has a Mason-Dixon marker (trail end) 0.6 mile beyond the homesite (total out & back 5.2 miles). That 0.6 mile is really 1.25 miles, creating a total hike of 8.5 miles! At an aviation tower where that same Mason-Dixon marker "is a dozen steps farther on the left: ..." it's really 0.25 miles!

2. The trail descriptions are so confusing that sometimes were not sure we're on the right trail!

Example:Trail 9. At one point the creek trail, according to Lillard, "veers subtly right up the ridge on an old woods road." Well, the trail went right, and up, but was so narrow it never could have been a road. The description then read like we were to quickly come down and hike along "bottomlands" and "swimming holes". Nope! We just kept climbing for so long while questioning the "woods road" description, we weren't sure we were still on the right trail. Eventually, we did get back to the creek. On a hot day, we thought we were going to take a cool hike along a creek, not endure a climbing challenge.

My wife and I are very experienced hikers, own 8 other hiking guides, and only have problems with Lillard.

This is an Index only- does not tell you index to what-
no "history" -just a list of names with codes with no
clue to their meaning.

This book has very good and little known information on Maryland Indians, but the biggest problem is that it has not been revised since 1959 and was reprinted with the errors in 1981. The last two pages of the book contain the sentences, "Indians have disappeared from the Maryland of today. and Even though Indians have vanished from Maryland,..." The last US Census count in 1998, listed 15, 779 Native Americans in the State of Maryland. The Press Director of the Maryland Historical Society has refused to grant permission for editorial changes changing the language to say Indians are alive in Maryland, even though it is within his power to do so. This is tantamount to documentary genocide and as a Native American Marylander, I am offended, that the Maryland Historical Society would continue to offer a book that denies my existence. Do not buy this book, but contact the Maryland Historical Society and demand a reprint that states the truth!

I ordered this map in November 2006, it is now July 20, 2007 and I have yet to receive my order that I paid for. I have notified the company with little or no response. There wasen't an option below a 1 star for the rating, otherwise I would have rated it a 0-.

This almost $30 book looks like a middle school project, and as a teacher I would have given the student a "C-". Assuming Ms. Marsh is an adult, the grade has to be lowered to an "F"!

The book looks like top 10 lists printed off the internet combined with stock clipart. I can't think of any reason that someone would intentionally buy this book.

My wife bought this for me for Christmas after she saw it on my Amazon wish list. I guess I didn't look at the details nearly enough. She was embarrassed to have me open it on Christmas morning, and I felt bad for having her buy it on my recommendation.

We are promptly returning this book and discourage anyone from buying this.

The first third of this book is a scholarly examination of the colonial history of Maryland, with a professional use of demographics and economic data, which make interesting reading.

The second third of the book appears, despite the assertion that the book was "authored" by Arnold and Basu, to be a collection of various tracts and articles, since each chapter is detectably in a different "voice", some of the material clearly contradicts other chapters, and (despite a publication date of 2003) contains grossly out-of-date information (the "Bullets" playing in the "Capital Center"). This section also chiefly focuses on the manufacturing history of the state; except for an offhand mention of the production of steel plates for the Union ironclad The Monitor, no mention of the pivotal role of Maryland in the Civil War is made. The gross omissions, distortions, and political spin of these articles (I cannot begin to justify calling them chapters) render the material useless. Even the cutlines for the illustrations are obviously lifted in toto from the originals.

The last segment of the book consists entirely of what appear to be unedited business and trade association brochures!

Both Mr. Arnold's and Mr. Basu's credentials appear to be impeccable, which leads one to wonder.

it was OK. But not as good as the first one..