Pennsylvania Books

This is the most detailed account I have found thus far on the South Philadelphia Jewish Quarter. The history section answered for me some basic timeline questions and overall immigration pattern issues that I had yet to find a comprehensive review on for Phila.

The 2nd section's organization by street is wonderful and much more helpful than most books which move by type of store etc. in which one becomes disoriented constantly trying to get his or her bearings. This section was a wonderful discussion catalyst with my father, who never knew what to say when I would bring up what it was like to grow up in South Phila's Jewish Quarter. Thank you Mr. Boonin for taking the time and initiative to put this incredible record together. I hope you will follow it up with the next stage which might include Miflin Street, where my roots were.

What an insightful and intiguing book! Once you begin reading, be prepared to continue to the final page. Joe Batory's inspirational leadership and dedication to children is like a beacon shining through the foggy mist that obscures public education today. Every politician should be required to read chapter 19, "The Moral Vacuun," or at least have it read to them before they speak about education. In addition, he paints a beautiful portrait of his own personal love story with his wife in the "Arranged Marriage" chapter.
A great follow-up to Batory's first book, "Yo! Joey!" I highly recommend this wonderful portrait of a school leader to everyone, parents, educators, school board members, and politicians.
John H. Nawn, Former President
Upper Darby (PA) Board of School Directors

Despite the title, this book has nothing to do with Native American beliefs and traditions. Its actually the folk beliefs of the Pensylvannia Dutch folk doctors, hex-crafters, magicians and healers. A unique blend of Christianity and German folklore, this book was a major influence on American folk magic (from Hoodoo to Appalachian study-witches) for many years, and was mentioned several times in the fictional works of Manly Wade Wellman. Its still practiced in some remote areas. It includes a number of charms, hexes and spells. Amongst these are numerous cures for bleeding, warts, colic, epilepsy, headaches, scurvy, tapeworms and many livestock ailments, as well as charms for a safe journey, catching lots of fish, legal success, protection against bullets, driving away vermin, bringing back lost animals and so forth. More esoteric/mystical things include spells against witchcraft, evil spirits and the like, as well as binding a theif or releasing someone from bindings. Theres also certain lore such as advice for pregnant women, unlucky days and hunting talismans.

This is quite an encyclopedic work, covering just about every element of rural folk magic in the United States. This is quite a wonderful book for anyone interested in magic, mysticism and the occult (especially in a historical, folk or Christian context), and a uniquely American book. Definately worth checking out.

This book is a must for all John O'Hara fans. Historical pictures and notes on this author - a great work!

Wonderfully comprehensive and well written. Only wish section on Rodman Wanamaker was more detailed, to include more about the Millrose Games and Wanamaker Trophy of the PGA (Wanamaker founded the PGA of America).

John Wanamaker: Philadelphia Merchant is a fast paced, well researched account of one of America's premiere retailers. The author, Herbert Ershkowitz ascribes Wanamaker's success to beliefs critical to new millenium themes. The importance of business to the community. Advertising as the key to marketing success. Religion as the foundation of society. Must reading for the biography buff; the marketing major; the proactive capitalist and the budding fashionista.

This title is one of the best ever published on the May 31, 1889 Flood. It is a good combination of powerful text and unbelievable pictures.

It was printed in limited quantities, but you can still find it at the Johnstown Flood Museum by calling (814)539-1889 or (888)222-1889.

Find it and hold on to it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of the streetcars and the Incline Plane Railway from my hometown of Johnstown PA. Growing up there in the last days of the streetcar system I felt like I had lost many good friends when they were discontinued. I also met Mr. Springirth on several occasions during this time. Theodore Burkett

Number twelve in a distinguished, and, multivolume effort by Dr. Gary Moulton, The University of Nebraska, The "Herbarium" volume of "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" is the most comprehensive, edited botanical reference of the known plant specimens of the Corps of Discovery, 1803-1806.

As an impressive culmination to the Journals, the herbarium collection finalizes the extensive botanical scholarship contained in the notes produced by Dr. Moulton in the previous eleven volumes, published periodically over the past twenty years. The product of extensive research into the known world repositories of the extent plant specimens, this volume contains only one known error in terms of inclusion of a plant specimen that cannot be attributed to the expedition's collection. This one specimen at the Charleston Museum has been discounted since publication.

Nevertheless, this volume contains relatively high-quality image reproductions of the known 238 specimens in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium, in addition to a clear introduction to the history of the Herbarium collection and the scholarship behind its most recent publication. 227 specimens are currently housed in the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia, and the remaining 11 are housed in the Kew Gardens, London. Of this list, 177 are distinct, individual specimens.

In the future, it is more than likely, despite this exhaustive effort on the part of Moulton, that a few new specimens will emerge from the depths of the American Philosophical Society, The Academy of Natural Sciences, and Kew.

Until such a time, this volume is an absolute necessity for anyone seriously interested in understanding the natural history ramifications of the expedition, the study of Lewis and Clark, and, for that matter, America's landscape legacy. One wonders how many more specimens would have been added to this collection if Lewis' early collections for the lower-Missouri had not been lost to decay during the expedition itself.

"Volume 12, Herbarium of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," Gary E. Moulton, Editor, The University of Nebraska Press, completes a fantastic series and must be added to complete one's collection of the first eleven volumes of the truly great American literary epic.

The only wish of this author would be the publication of high-resolution, color digital images of the Herbarium on CD or DVD, as a compendium to this volume. Perhaps in this way, we could all experience more clearly the wonder of viewing this most valuable treasure.

Dr. Gary Moulton should be congratulated for a job very well-done.

Alex Philp The University of Montana

Scranton Times-Tribune, July 31, 2007
by Libby Nelson

At first, Alan Sweeney's postcards were just something cheap to collect -- a quarter or two apiece, $5 if the card was really rare.

Now the Lackawanna Historical Society president has turned some of his 35-year-old collection into a book exploring the history of resorts in the Pocono Mountains.

The book, "Journey Along the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad," uses postcards dating from the 1880s through the 1930s to show the development of the region's resort industry.

"I like to do stories that people don't know a lot about," said Mr. Sweeney, who has co-written two other books about local history. "Very few people knew about the resort industry, how big it was at the time in the Poconos. Those are the stories that I like."

When Mr. Sweeney began his collection, he chose postcards from places that meant something to him: Lake George, where his family vacationed; Scranton and Lackawanna County; Moosic Lake, where they had a cottage. He chose Pocono Mountain cards because his first summer job had been at a resort there, he said.

He bought cards from estate sales and flea markets. At one point, he had more than 10,000 cards.

"I've sold of a lot of them because I didn't know what to do with them," Mr. Sweeney said.

He kept the cards from Moosic Lake, which he used for his 2005 book, "Gateway to the Clouds: The Story of a Short Line Railroad, the Scranton, Dunmore, Moosic Lake Railroad -- 1902-1926."

He also kept the cards from the Pocono Mountains and, after publishing "Gateway to the Clouds," Mr. Sweeney began considering a use for them as well.

He had begun researching Pocono Mountain resorts in the 1990s, but had never finished. After publishing "Gateway to the Clouds," he began the research again, using local libraries and historical societies.

The result was the story of a century of vacationing in the Pocono Mountains, beginning in the 1840s and continuing up to the beginning of World War II.

"We all heard about these inns, boarding houses and resorts, but we never actually saw the old ones," Mr. Sweeney said.

The book has sold about 400 of its initial 500 copies, he said.

"You don't make money on local books," Mr. Sweeney said. "You have 12 million copies of the Harry Potter book. We sell maybe 1,000 or 1,500."

Mr. Sweeney will be promoting the book through lectures and book signings throughout the region.