New Jersey Books

"HYMIE AND THE ANGEL is a loving tribute to a family. A wonderful heart-warming book." PATRICIA BOSWORTH (Author of "Montgomery Clift, a biography)

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Beim authentically evokes a time and place with ironic humor and a fine ear for Yiddish-inflected dialogue...His first novel and "part memoir" is a lightheartedly entertaining look at loss, guilt and the will to live."

In The Presence Of Nature: The Celery Farm Natural Area, Allendale, New Jersey is a gorgeous and inspirational collection of full-color photographs by photographer Jerry Barrack showcasing the beauty of the plants and animals. Brief yet insightful text commentary by Jim Wright enhances these captivating images of nature's majesty. A welcome addition to any personal or professional photography collectoin, In The Presence Of Nature would also make a superb choice for a school or community library "Memorial Fund" acquisition.

The photographs in this book taken at the Allendale Celery Farm are stunning. They are worthy of publication in National Geographic magazine. The text is informative and entertaining. This is a great gift for anyone living in or near Bergen County, NJ.
You must keep this book on your coffee table for your family and friends to enjoy.

Great stories well told. If you are interested in criminal justice or just like a good read and want the "inside" story about some of the US's greatest criminals, this is the book.

I just finished the book and it was unbelievably interesting. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in corrections, prison history, or New Jersey. It is full of short stories about crimes in New Jersey and the lives of the inmates. I highly recommend it!

This is a great book. Since a child, my family has spent a lot of time in the pines--on the Mullica, visits to Batso, canoe trips and hikes all around. I wish I had gotten this book thirty years ago!

Although superseded by later books in terms of touring forgotten towns in the NJ Pine Barrens, this book is still the best regarding the history behind these towns. It is especially good for providing two important primary sources: the Martha Furnace Diary, kept by the clerk at the furnace, Caleb Earle, of which only copies exist today, presented in full (it ran, on and off, from March 1808 to May 1815); and extracts from the Batsto Store Books, which go from Jan. 1851 to Dec. 1863. Pierce details the major establishments of the Pines, including Batsto, Atsion, Washington, Harrisville, Etna Furnace, and Pleasant Mills and relates their history at length. He has done his research well and, again, his use of primary sources (old books, letters, journals) is commendable. The book has remained in print since first published in 1957, and hopefully it will remain in print for many years to come.

It came from New Jersey is very
cool because it the Il. of
Goosbumps and I got some info did
you know R.L. Stine and Tim
Jacobus only saw each other one or
two or mabie three time in there
hole life

I have written to Tim Jacobus but I never knew about his personal life. Now, with this book I know almost everything about him! If you're a fan of Jacobus definitely buy this book.

While this may be a small, out of the way community, it has a long and illustrious history. I was happy to see a bit of the history of the place I was born and called home for a good part of my life. Much has changed, but amazingly, much remains pretty much the same. God Bless small towns!

This is a great book for anyone with any history or interest in Jersey Shore and the surrounding area. Great pictures that would have been lost to time without this book.

Very informative, lively and entertaining. Joseph Mirsky is exceptionally knowledgeable and readable.

I highly recommend this very good read!

This item is filled with hundreds of informative anecdotes about jewels and the jewelry business. EG: the carat, the unit weight for gems is derived from the carob bean. Joseph Mirsky's dry sense of humor comes through on every page and it makes learning about the pitfalls of jewelry buying enjoyable. You will learn about diamonds, colored stones, and many other facets of how not to get stuck when you buy jewelry. If you like Mr. Mirsky's writing style, and want more, look for "Consumer Guide to Diamonds" by the same author. It is a more complete explanation of how to buy a diamond. Every woman who buys a diamond or wants to buy one should have this book. Get yours while they last! I took the liberty of calling Joseph's Jewelry and he helped me secure a diamond of top cut, and clarity for a fair price. Whan more can you ask for?

This is a very comprehensive book on landscaping here in NJ. We have many soils to deal with and many different creatures that like plants. It will be a great help to us this spring.

this book is wonderfully thought out and will be greatly infomative to me this upcomming spring. I thought the author was extremly clear on enviromently friendly landscaping in our garden state. I recomend this book to anybody.

What a wonderful tool this little book is. This LP guide to the midatlantic states provides information that both a foreign tourist coming to the area for the first time and a local searching for a new experience will find useful. In addition to being chock full of information the text is illuminating and humorous reading as well.

Of all the guidebooks I've read, I've found this guide to be the most helpful, well setout, motivating book yet. I've been in New York for 1 month now and I have found the book invaluable. I especially like the sections on transport. It offers choices not just a statement of what you need to do. Also, the way the attractions are all logically set out by areas is helpful in trying to plan your days and getting the most out of them. I will be in New york for the next 11 months and I'm sure I will continue to use my 'bible of New York' till I leave. Well done Lonely planet

Bo Sullivan and the Turnpike are bundles of unrestricted energy. The New Jersey Turnpike shapes the state. The road is a triumph of function over form. It is the busiest toll road in the nation.

New Jersey is a machine in the garden. The nickname, the Garden State, is, in some respects, bizarre.

On the New Jersey Turnpike the patrons are treated like vagrants. The message is keep moving. The Turnpike was profitable from the beginning. It sold time and convenience.

The Pulaski Skyway has been dubbed America's first cosmic road.

To any student of culture, this book is a marvel.

As a lifelong New Jerseyan who endured the "what exit" jokes by out-of-staters (Exit 12, now that you've asked), Rockland and Gillespie try to tackle the cultural significance of the loved and loathed New Jersey Turnpike. They cite the popular reference in the Simon & Garfunkel tune, "America," and stress that the Turnpike is one of the most heavily-traveled highways in the world.

What they do well is describe in entertaining detail the story on how and why the Turnpike was built (note: the secretive NJ Turnpike Authority did not cooperate with the authors when they were researching this book) and the many anecdotes about the road that bring new insights into New Jersey (and American) politics and history.

The authors make two main cultural arguments throughout the book:

The first one is how the negative opinion of New Jersey has been shaped over the years by travel on the Turnpike. Let's face it -- the Turnpike travels through the least attractive areas of the state. From the decayed industrial north to the straight, flat and boring stretches in South Jersey, the Turnpike is not a great public relations tool for the state of New Jersey. New Jersey is not all oil refineries (exit 12 & 13), huge megawarehouses (exit 8A) or bland suburban sprawl (exit 9 & 10), but since millions of people from around the globe have traveled on this road to or from Newark Airport or along the Northeast, they think that what they see along the Turnpike is typical to the Garden State (yes, we still have gardens).

Second, the authors' argue that the Turnpike was the ultimate expression of form over function -- an idea that reached its zenith in the mid-20th century. The road was built with efficiency and safety being its highest (and perhaps only) priorities and the roadbuilders did not consider aesthetics or the concerns of neighbors or private landowners when building or maintaining the road.

This book is a great and worthy complement to works like Robert Caro's The Power Broker or other works on famous roads like Rt. 66, Highway 1, the National Road (US Rt. 40), etc. You don't have to be a New Jersey-phile to enjoy this book!