Pennsylvania Books

This is a great book about a boy who goes to work in one of the early glass houses in New England.
It is written for a youngster, but the historical references and accuracy are great for a glass lover!

This book captures the very spirit of Jersey Central Lines railroad. The scenery combined with William Brennan's keen eye for photography brings the now defunct railroad back to life. For those of us who witnessed the "Big Little Railroad", this book is sure to bring back many fond memories. For those who didn't, it is a great history lesson in a railroad era gone by.

I gave this to my mom for Valentine's Day, as both my parents grew up in So. Philly - one Jewish, one Italian. She is seeing some of her memories come to life in this book, viewing one familiar place after another. Her uncle's store was even listed! She is so happy to have received this very special gift, and I am thrilled I could find it for her. As soon as she finishes reading it, we will be sharing the other one together, the South Philadelphia Italians. It definitely was the perfect Valentine's gift!

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.

There is a saying, not original to me, that events are of record, but reality is a construct. McCullough does the research necessary to state the essential facts of this historical event. This is no mean task, given all the disinformation and misinformation in the historical record. But what is even more impressive is McCullough's ability to show why there is so much inaccuracy in the writing about this event.

The power of the new media, the insatiable appetite of Americans for a story, and the raw class tensions and social issues of the time combine to create all sorts of varied efforts to construct a reality to explain the Johnstown events. Those constructs often tell us more about ourselves than they do about what really happened in Johnstown.

The early constructions magnified the death toll tenfold and seized upon all sorts of fantastic survivor stories that were patently untrue. Some shades of 9/11 here. Then the focus turned to the responsiblity of the owners of the resort on top of the dam that had rebuilt the dam. This was the class card -- rich guys who had nothing better than to do than pursue leisure (a novel concept at the time) and isolate themselves from other Americans (tapping into ancient American attitudes against elites) running a poorly built dam doomed to fail and to kill the groundlings below. This story resonated with Americans.

McCullough is exceptionally balanced and thoughtful of his treatment of the issue, and picks apart the crudest and most inaccurate attacks against the dam owners. In the end, however, there is some core truth to the theme that the rich owners' neglect contributed to the tragedy. The dam had been originally built by the State, but the reconstruction job by the resort owners was poorly engineered. The biggest flaw was the lack of any way to control the level of the dam with outlets at the bottom of the dam to let out some water. Screens at the top to keep the fish in that led to a blockage and contributed to the problems, while the most strikingly callous measure (they cared more about fish than human life), probably was a minor matter in the whole tragedy.

What's also fascinating is that the rich were not brought to account. Tort and corporate law at the time allowed the rich owners to shield personal liability behind a shell owner of the facility and difficult issues of causality rendered all the lawsuits unwinnable. Today, there would be a different result, as McCullough points out. Those decrying the "flood" of litigation in modern days may do well to consider the real floods that fear of liablity (and the concomitant insurance, risk prevention, government regulation, and professional reviews such fears engender to prevent tragedy from occurring in the first place) has prevented. The failure of the press (who were owned by some of these rich guys) and the legal system to call the owners to account tells us a lot about the entrenched power the ruled the country at the time.

The book lends itself to the audio format and is easy to follow. Mr. Herrmann is one of the top readers and does an excellet job here.

McCollough tells the tale of the flood vividly, corrects the record to tell events truthfully, and then deals with the larger social issues raised by the event. This is a extraordinarily good book.