Pennsylvania Books

No state in the entire nation is richer in Indian names or in fact Indian history than Pennsylvania. Indian Villages is the only major book that traces back Indian names and places for their correct form, origin and history. These 290 pages are filled with the most incredible collection of information ever assembled on the Indian place names of Pennsylvania. In researching his book, Mr. Donehoo, not only went over every available source of printed material about place names in Pennsylvania, but also walked over nearly every Indian trail, from the Delaware to the Ohio, using every trader's journal and maps as his guide. Each Indian name comes complete with historical notes by the author, and as you read, you get a sense about each place; a feeling of walking with the author through each early village, along every river and stream and across the mountains of Pennsylvania back into time. A list of the authorities used is given with each name and a general bibliography follows at the conclusion of the work. Certainly, Heckwelder, Zeisberger, Post, Gist, Croghan, Weiser and other early explorers would be very proud.

Dr. Sarnecky tells the story of the Army Nurse Corps in a compelling manner. She discusses the impact of the first female organization on the Army. She accurately discussed the work and changes in nursing practice brought about by this group of nurses.

My favorite chapter deals with nursing in Vietnam. For once, we are not treated to the"poor overwhelmed nurses" as has been the theme in most books written about nurses veterans of this war. She discusses the challenges facing these nurses and the ways that they dealt with them.

I hope that she will write volume two for the period 1972 until the present.

This excellent book gives a keen insight into the lives of the Delaware People. As a missionary to the American Indians in the early 1700's, John Heckewelder set to understanding these people inorder to bring to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This book was actually written to his supporters not only for them to understand what he was doing, but also to train other missionaries before sending them into the wilderness. With clear descriptions and an almost overwhelming amount of understandable detail, Mr. Heckewelder brings to life the People whom he loved and understood. It is a great resource for novelists with not only the descriptions of everyday life as well as special situations or celebrations, but he also adds in the back a vocabulary and phrase listing that is most helpful. He covers every part of their lives~ food, marriage, birth and death and every thing in between With his understanding of The People, and the way they think, he has brought to light many of the reasons behind the wars between the whites and Indians for the generations that followed. If only the men of his time had tried to understand The People as he did, perhaps many a death would have been avoided. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the TRUTH about how the Deleware People lived in the 1700's.

I recently watched a DVD video called "Architecture of Doom", which touches on Nazi architecture. I wanted to find more information on the subject, so I performed a book search at Amazon.ca.

I could not find a review of this book anywhere on the Internet, so I bought it 'blind' from Amazon.ca and read it from cover-to-cover.

It is written in a factual manner by an academic, Alexander Scobie, with many references to other books and the footnotes are well cited on each page.

Scobie, obviously has a strong background in the study of antiquity. The book is not just about Nazi architecture, Scobie spends a fair amount of time discussing Mussolini's desire for classical architecture. Scobie uses his background knowledge of antiquity and virtually every book and article ever written on the topic of Nazi architecture to tie them together in a factual way.

It allows the reader to see where Hitler and his architects got their initial ideas and how they planned and/or implemented them in an even larger way than their counterparts from antiquity. In addition, Scobie does not hold back on either the glorious architecture or the price, such as slavery and plunder, to complete the edifices.

This is a well researched book, with beautiful laminated pages, legible text and some nice pictures, which help support Scobie's thoughts. However, I feel that CDN$ 75 is to much for this book, perhaps CDN$ 30 would be more appropriate.

I do recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject of Nazi architecture, it certainly provided me with some new insights into that period of time.

The chapter titles are as follows:

1. Mussolini, Hitler and Classical Antiquity

2. The State, the Individual and the Nazi City Roman Forum, Facist Piazza, Nazi Platz Acropolis Germaniae:The First Nazi Forum

3. Nuremburg

4. Albert Speer's Theory of Ruin Value

5. Berlin/Germania

6. Hitler and Hadrian's Pantheon

7. Thermae of the Reich

8. Labor and Plunder

9. The Cult of Victory

Two other interesting English books on Nazi architecture, which I have ordered but not yet received, that I would like to bring to your attention are as follows:

Helmer, Stephen. Hitler's Berlin: The Speer Plans for Reshaping the Central City (Illustrated). Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1985. ISBN 0835716821.

Taylor, Robert. Word in Stone: The Role of Architecture in the National Socialist Ideology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. ISBN 0520021932.

After you have read the book(s), please be sure to write a review here at Amazon to help others.

Cordially,

Sean Evans
Ottawa, ON., Canada

An excellent resource guide for those interested in holistic health care. This guide covers contacts on every issue from naturopathy to chiropractic care. This guide is so interesting and can increase your interest in alternative healing such as crystals, etc.

As John Miles Foley states in its preface, _Homer's Traditional Art_ is at its most fundamental level a response to the question "What difference does oral tradition make to our understanding of the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_?" That an ancient Greek oral tradition is intertwined with the fabric of the Homeric texts is now almost universally held by scholars to be a fact, but how does this traditional influence manifest itself and with what significance for us today? In formulating his answers to these questions, Foley first provides a foundation of comparative evidence, homemade proverbs, and basic observations on oral traditional texts in general and then proceeds to demonstrate the particular relevance of such items for Homeric poetry in particular. Throughout the book, the essential concepts are formulated in such a way as to be accessible for general students of varying backgrounds, while many insights useful to the professional Homeric scholar appear as well, especially in the substantial endnotes and appendices (including a comparative treatment of the Old English _Deor_).

Thus, Chapter 1 discusses the nature and dynamics of Homer's "signs" (Gk. _semata_), that is, elements within the poetry that index traditional meanings and knowledge, thereby reaching beyond their immediate or literal contexts in order to convey further implications for a tradition-aware audience. This indexing process (termed "traditional referentiality") can be found at every level of the poetry, from the smallest formula to the entire Homeric register as a whole. Chapters 2-4 provide comparative evidence for Homer via South Slavic oral poetry. After first reviewing the scholarly debates over the analogy, Chapter 2 then examines the parallel from the perspective of the singers themselves. Chapter 3 continues this examination and investigates the similarities and differences between the specialized languages of Homer and the South Slavic _guslari_. Chapter 4 then discusses the traditional referentiality of South Slavic poetry as it pertains to story-patterns, typical scenes, and formulas.

Having created a comparative framework from which to proceed, Foley uses the following sections of this book to explore the effects of oral tradition in the Homeric poems themselves. Chapter 5 focuses on the traditional story-pattern of the Return Song and its implications for Penelope's characterization and the unity of the _Odyssey_ (and the particular importance for its ending). Chapter 6 then examines the typical scenes of feast especially in the _Odyssey_) and lament (limited to the _Iliad_), while Chapter 7 details the nature of traditional referentiality in relation to Homeric phraseology. All of these observations on _Homer's Traditional Art_ then culminate in Chapter 8 in which Foley provides a close reading of an extended passage of the _Odyssey_ (from Book 23) that incorporates each of the traditional perspectives established in the preceding chapters and gives a very clear "sign" of his own, demonstrating the difference that an understanding of Homer's underlying oral tradition can make.

This book is a must for anyone growing up in the Steel Valley! I truly enjoyed seeing the pictures of the places I grew up seeing on a daily basis back in this era.

"Homestead Year" is like the description above, only more so. Judith gets into great detail about bee screens so that her guests won't be stung by some rather agressive bees, the duck house, even her "end of season" homstead tour map. It is not so detailed as to be technical.

Ted, her husband, is the rather reluctant helper, balancing his professorial duties with helping Judith with aspects of her project. He also is a dandy spaghetti sauce maker! Other members of her family are featured in stories scattered here and there through the book like glimpses through a house window.

Easy to read in a chronological manner, "Homestead Year" is a wonderful book for both country and city folk, especially on those winter nights when gardening is not far from one's mind.

Fantastic work from a very varied author!

Having grown up in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, I find that this is one book that I can relate to very well (or ferry vell). This book really hits the nail on the head when in comes to the PA Dutch trying to speak a language that just must not be in their genes to speak. I never really thought about it before, but the way of talking described in these 96 pages is exactly what I have grown up listening to. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good laugh about people who talk funny and don't know it.

This is an excellent book for anyone thinking about starting a business in PA. This is a resource you will turn to over and over again during the entire process of opening and running your business. All the laws involved in business can seem overwhelming, but this book puts everything in plain language. It also gives you information on where you can turn for more information, with names of offices and departments, phone numbers, fax numbers, addresses, web pages, and email addresses. I didn't find a single thing it didn't cover, including laws regarding home businesses and an entire chapter on internet business! You can't go wrong with this book. Good luck!