Massachusetts Books

Boston's Blues: Musicians' Profiles, History, Festivals and Radio Listings of Blues Music in Boston by Art Simas is without a doubt the best book I have seen on this subject. The author has went to great lengths to write a great book. This book has many photo's and the author comes across and shares his vast knowledge on the subject in a way that makes this book an outstanding book.

I am very glad I purchased this outstanding book and am very glad to take the time to recommend it to others. Art Simas is a great author.

RECEIVED IN A GOOD AMOUNT OF TIME AND GOOD CONDITION

This book has 128 pages, with almost every page covered by two black & white photographs with a short caption. Chapters are: The Early South End, Places of Worship, Schools, Hospitals, Temples of Fun, Transportation, The 20th Century, The Library, and Business & Industry.

The picture captions are interesting and credit their source. The book may have benefited from more text, but it is chock full of great photoographs that bring this interesting neighborhod to life. Volumes on the Back Bay and the North End are interesting also.

This book is not just a biography of a Rebbe. It is a collection of stories and anecdotes about one of our generation's true spiritual giants. Teller recreates the majesty and warmth of a contemporary American Hasidic Court. From encounters with leading politicians such as JFK to comforting bereaved mothers, we are able to catch a glimpse of the unique personality of the Bostoner Rebbe. This is truly a soul stirring book.

The Pilgrims are vastly overrated as colonial forefathers: most of them died within weeks of stepping onto shore, and those that survived largely remained inconsequential, except for two facts. They married into the larger and far more successful Puritan group who arrived 10 years after they did, and they got a better myth built around one of our national holidays. William Bradford's history is a charming, paranoid vision of coming to America and trying to make it here. The Pilgrims' history is largely one of peaceful co-existence with the Indians, except for the year after the first Thanksgiving, when the only Indian in sight was the one whose head decorated the pike outside Plymouth. A great book to debunk a largely false national myth, the true story is far more compellingly bittersweet, especially as Bradford tries to come to grips with the failure of his colony. The turkey incident alone is worth the price of the book (trust me -- it's hysterically grotesque).

... And you are! This is a fantastic, accurate account of the happenings around Plymouth, from the words of William Bradford himself. I got this book for my husband as a Christmas present and he loved it! (I got an old, 1800's edition, in the original 1600s language.)

How wonderful to see so many images of this academic community before its demise. While Jean Pond wrote a detailed history of the early beginnings of Bradford, Professor O'Malley has updated that intimate examination of the College through visual imagery and a number of background comments. Maybe someday someone will write the history with all its juicy gossip...it would probably have to be in fiction form to avoid slander suits!

Summary:
The book is an in-depth look at the relationship between religion and politics (church-state relations) in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Chapter 1 lays out the approach taken to the project and describes the research and the book. Chapter 2 is a brief history of Springfield from its Congregational roots in the 1600s up to 1950. Chapter 3 is a history from 1950 to the then present - late 1980s. All of the history of Springfield in the book focuses on politics and religion except where other elements are relevant to the ultimate analysis, so if you are looking for a thorough treatment of the history of Springfield you should look elsewhere. Chapter 4 is a closer look at church-state relations.

Chapters 5-7 are case studies used to advance the understanding of church-state relations in Springfield. Chapter 5 focuses on the issue of homelessness. Chapter 6 takes a closer look at race issues and poor areas in Springfield. Chapter 7 examines issues of abortion and sex education in light of religion and politics.

Chapter 8, the final chapter, is where the authors bring everything together. They summarize the book and the research findings thus:

"Our own summary involves four conclusions at odds with what might have been predicted. First, despite Springfield's predominant Catholicism, there are fewer violations of the law and less bridging of church and state than many constitutional Cassandras might have expected, or than might have been predicted on the basis of community opinion. Second, this does not mean that religion has become a political cipher. Religionists of varying stripes - not exclusively Catholic - have exerted considerable political influence on selected issues, indeed more influence than many social scientists might have expected. Third, attempting to understand where religion does and does not exert civic influence leads to the realization that the contingencies and vicissitudes of power are themselves more complex than many political analysts have suggested. As one pointed example, most accounts have focused on the 'structure' of power, but it is the 'culture' of power - and the power of culture - that requires increasing attention. Fourth, and finally, religion's varying influence on civic matters is obviously related to larger changes in religion itself. Once again there are paradoxes to be confronted. A continuing religious influence in community disputes is not a rebuttal to long-term trends of secularization, as many students of religion might aver. Secularization and sacralization are more mutually dependent than mutually exclusive, and each tendency can only be understood with reference to the other."

The findings are based on interviews, comparative analysies, and survey data collected by the authors.

My Comments:
Unlike many 'academic' books, this book is intentionally designed to be readable. Undoubtedly there are many parts that might not be understandable to the individual that is not a specialist in sociology or the sociology of religion specifically. However, the authors make a notable effort to present their findings in such a fashion that it is enjoyable to read and intelligible to a lay audience.

The book (I am looking back in time now) was also timely in the study of the sociology of religion as debates surrounding the concept of secularization were on the rise. The authors' discussion is timely and still relevant.

Overall, this book is an excellent examination of church-state relations and likely applicable in many cities (despite the authors continual reminders that the findings should not be extrapolated universally). If you would like a better understanding of church-state relations in the U.S. you should read this book.

Thank you for your speedy shipping of my order. The gift recipient was very pleased...A Brief History of the Harvard University Cyclotrons (Department of Physics)

The writing in Bring Everybody is elegant, witty, and intelligent. These are well crafted short stories. But what I clearly appreciate is the streak of melancholy that runs through each story. Yates' characters are thoughtful, introspective, and distinct. He captures locales of Southern California, from the somewhat vacuous, surfer optimism of Oceanside to the smog laden, hot inland valley summers. His characters are dealing with family, infidelity, desire, and the great unknown--death. His prose is sharp, pleasurable. I recommend this collection.