Pennsylvania Books

This book deserves a long review. But, briefly, the 'story' of John Bartram involves the reader in Bartram's family and the colonial world of London and Philadelphia. The genuine passion that Bartram had to learn about and discover new botanical plants gives the reader a unique outlook. Bartram's travels into Indian territory are a window into uncharted lands. Bartram's relationship with his son William is often disapointing to the father but show a sensitivity that is interesting to see.
This seems to be a solidly researched and approachable book.

Miguel Angel is to say in Carlyle words , the Hero made Artist .
If we had more individualities with his courage , the symphony of the civilization would be more glorious .
If we persisted in search of the affinities of such artist we would find them in Beethoven . If not go and listen the last quartets of Beethoven (Op. 130 and 132, for instance) and proceed to watch the last works of Miguelangelo . You will not find another music more appropriate which illuminates with so fevered state, intriguing pathos and dark clouds mood . He, as the legitimate son of the ancient Greeks lived in the right time and in the right place Florence to show the world the Renaissance not only was the most important artistic movement of the mankind story but it was more than necessary a figure of his stature appeared in the middle of this land .
He belonged to the lineage of the deep characters , violents , greatful , that strengthens and fight passionately.
Miguel Angel was the timeless inspiration to many other thinkers , writers and artists such as William Blake, Goethe, Beethoven , Liszt, Mendelssohn, Lord Byron , Carlyle and Fürtwangler, among others and even his legacy seems to have not any kind of restrictions.
The author makes a careful study and explores dilatory every stage of his complex life with magnificent illustrations and broad gusto that it represents an exquisite refinement exercise for the intellect and mind to read this fundamental biography
The description of the Sistine Chapel is simply a imagination triumph and the highest and supreme good taste .
Terrific recommendable.

i thought the book was well done.pictures of the parade were amazing and really showed what the mummers parade is all about.

This is an excellent collection of Toasts (Afro-American oral folk poetry), as transcribed by one of the authors.

This is a very nicely done portrait of early Quakerism. The characters are lovingly brought back to life as the book depicts the world of the early Quakers.

The book may be seen as controversial, as it seems sometimes to portray George Fox in a less than admirable light. However, it is careful not to lower itself to character assassination, and instead paints Fox (who some authors find hard to criticise) as an altogether human character.

My biggest problem with the book is that it seems to somewhat gloss over the specifics of James Naylor's rift with Fox, but perhaps this is because there are many other books which cover this aspect. However, I did find this to be a strange omission in an otherwise flawless study of the charismatic Quaker movement.

My final criticism is that this book ends too soon. I would have liked to read more about the Quaker movement in the final years of the 17th century, and how the movement came to terms with the state that had for so long repressed it. I guess I must hope for a sequel.

Despite the minor criticisms outlined above, I still highly recommend this book.

A thoughtfully detailed and entertaining narrative with lots of captivating photos of the key people and places of Lincoln's visits to the Commonwealth. I also liked the appendix which provided guidance on how to follow and experience the Lincoln Trail. I'm not a Lincoln expert, so the accounts of his experiences here were new to me and fascinating to read... but that also means my rating is just a reflection of how much I liked this book, not a comparison to other books about Mr. Lincoln. It is unquestionably well-written.

Ruth Pennel and Winnifred Merril are two girls living in Revolutionary War Pennsylvania. They are both Patriots. Ruth overhears a British soldier and is able to help the Patriot army. I highly reccomend the whole Little Maid series.

Being a smaller book, I was skeptical that I would learn so much! I had been to Little Round Top on more than 15 occasions before and when I took this book to Little Round Top, I understood things about the hill and the battle there like never before. Maps and lots of photographs make the tour easy to follow for first timers and veterans of the Gettysburg Battlefield. The section where the author challenges the reader to locate the positions of certain photographs is an interesting twist. Just like his Devil's Den book, I highly recommend this work.

Reviewed in Journal of Financial Service Professionals - 01/01/2000:

Individuals serious about understanding the personal, corporate, and societal impacts of the shift toward defined contribution pensions should read Olivia Mitchell and Sylvester Schieber's Living with Defined Contribution Pensions: Remaking Responsibility for Retirement. The book is a compilation of the work of today's premier researchers on pensions. ...The articles in each part provide insight into many of the major issues ... along with a wealth of current data in support of the analysis. Examples include but are not limited to questions such as the following: What factors influence employees to contribute to plans? How financially literate are employees? Why do some employees spend, rather than roll over defined contribution pension amounts when they change jobs? What are the trends in defined contribution pension services? What policy options would spur more savings by employees? What is the future of the defined contribution revolution?

The book's major strength is its superb integration of corporate and personal financial planning, pension, and political issues. Understanding pension behaviors and trends requires a multidisciplinary approach. One particularly distinctive contribution of Mitchell and Schieber's editorial work is that the corporate issues have not been relegated to the background. Employer incentives are relevant to pension trends; to ignore business issues is to have a very incomplete picture. The articles in this book give the necessary attention to the nexus of corporate issues surrounding the core trend toward a shift to defined contribution plans both in the United States and abroad.

Don't expect to digest one of these articles in five minutes. This book is full of thought provoking, rigorous work aimed at those individuals with some background in economics and statistics. ...The incentives and policy implications are complex, and the analysis and discussion in this book reflect this challenge. But for those seriously interested in providing pension services, advising others about pensions, or understanding the trends for their own retirement needs, taking the time to read and comprehend the issues in Living with Defined Contributions Pensions: Remaking Responsibility for Retirement is definitely a worthwhile endeavor.

I recently moved to Philly last year to go to school at Penn, and I just picked up this guide on a whim. Boy am I glad I did! The reviews of the places I already knew were spot on, but more importantly, it tipped me off to some great places I had no idea existed. I found the reviews honest, concise, candid and often tremdously funny. And they thankfully suceeded to help me find a decent hotel for my mother to stay in when she came to visit. You can't bet that, nor can you beat the restaurant recommendations, which don't pull any punches.

One nice thing about the guide -- one of the things I noticed when I was trying to figure out which guide to Philly to buy, is that this Lonely Planet book covers neighborhoods like South Philly, Manayunk and Northern Liberites clearly, in detail, and with maps. As far as I could tell, no other guide to Philadelphia does this. Instead, they mostly deal with Center City. So if you want something that thoroughly covers the city, this is it.