Pennsylvania Books


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Pennsylvania Books sorted by Average customer review: high to low .

Pennsylvania
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan (Dear America)
Published in Hardcover by Scholastic Inc. (1998-09-01)
Author: Mary Pope Osborne
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Average review score:

Really Good
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-16
It was a really good book.My favorite part was when she finally becomes friends with the indians.Although recommend it to older kids becuase of the violence.

Indeans Every Were
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-11-29
INDIANS EVERY WERE





Catty gets kidnapped by Indians,
Thomas gets sick,
Will Catty marry Snow Hunter?



In the book, Standing in the Light Catty's family respects the Indians.
They leave their doors unlocked and windows open to show the Indians
They are not afraid. But one night the Indians swoop throw the window
And kidnap Catty and Thomas.

My favorite part is when Catty's Indian Grandmother tells her
Indian mother that Catty and snow hunter are probley going to get
Married. I like this part because it is sweet and unsuspecting and
Catty is so surprised

I think the authors main idea is you can go from HOME to HOME
And will always be loved.

I would recommend this because it is surprising and you won't want
To stop!!!!!
By:Lauren

Standing In The Light!!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
I absolutly loved this book. It made my stomach have butterflies. It feels like you are actually in the book. It was interesting and sad. I almost cried for some parts. LOL I would recomend this book to any kid who loves excitement, and history.

A beautiful book with a gripping narrative!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-18
I love reading books in diary form and the "Dear America" series of books for younger readers are not only beautifully bound, but each individual story is truly engaging, transporting readers into a bygone era with its entailing adventures.

The heroines are typically young girls who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances - and having to display immense courage in trying times. "Standing in the Light" is the diary of Catharine Carey Logan, a Quaker who lived in the Delaware Valley in Pennsylvania c 1763. Her diary is an account of her experiences growing up in the valley and also about her capture by the Lenape Indians. It is a sad yet very engrossing read.

Another highlight of the book is the author's historical note on life in America during the time [1763] - there are also illustrations and drawings of Quakers and Lenape Indians engaged in their respective pursuits, and highlights the cultural differences between the two groups. In conclusion - an engaging historical read!

A great book
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-07
Standing in the Light was an excellent book. Caty and her brother Thomas are kidnapped by the Lenape on their way home from school. At first Caty feels they'll be killed but instead they return to the Lenape village where she and her brother are separated and giving to two new families. This was the first time I'd ever heard of the Lenape and the author painted a vivid picture of what these Native Americans were like. I loved the transformation as Caty goes from fearing her captives, to loving them especially one in particular Snow Hunter.

Pennsylvania
Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)
Published in Hardcover by Oxford University Press, USA (2004-02-12)
Author: David Hackett Fischer
List price: $35.00
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Average review score:

A great read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-06
This was a very well written book, it was easy to follow and it's maps were of great help in following the battles events. I'm a new reader to the revolutionary war and since I was able to follow this book, I would definately recommend this work to others who are new to this subject. From start to finish this book kept my interest every word of the way!

Washington's Crossing
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-19
Well written with research that debunks many of the legends that surround the 1st battle at Trenton. Also a good interweaving of the individual stories with the larger political and military situation.

Fantastic!
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-04-18
This was an absolute joy to read. The book is not only about the crossing, but gives a good background of the events, politics and emotions that surrounded the American Revolution. Then it gives eyewitness accounts, from diaries, about the actual events that happened. It also gives details on aspects of the army, culture, political background and important figures that fill in the gaps and make the whole story read like a motion picture or documentary. The book tells how all the parts fit together. Truly a great book.

Where is a ghost writer when you need one?
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 7 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-21
I believe it was easier to cross the Delaware in winter than to get through this book. I just read 1776 by David McCullough, loved it, and was interested in reading more. Fischer is one of the dullest writers I've read. It is painfully obvious that being a successful academic and a successful writer are not necessarily connected.

Captures the Humanity of Washington and the New Nation
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-14
This is a truly great piece of historical writing. Over the past several years, there have been three outstanding books about Washington and 1776: McCullough's "1776", Ellis' biography of Washington, and this book by Fischer. Fischer's is by far the best and deserved the Pulitizer Prize.

Modern Americans have always been able to identify more with Lincoln than with Washington, the latter being more aristocratic and less modern in outlook (not to mention being a slaveowner) and seemingly austere and rigid. What Fischer is able to do is to capture the enormous problem Washington faced in trying to manage a completely unmanageable army and politics, plagued by geographical and cultural differences as well as by the lack of central political authority. Once one fully appreciates the daunting challenge faced by Washington -- as daunting as that which faced Lincoln in 1861 -- one can fully appreciate Washington's success in managing it.

Fischer spares no punches in showing Washington's tactical failure in New York and his frustration with being unable to make a rag-tag army of mostly New Englanders function like a "real" European army. But he gives credit where credit is due in showing how Washington was able to create a different kind of army -- an American army functioning in a uniquely American kind of polity. Washington is not the rigid aristocrat we imagine. He is able to appreciate the democratic nature and impulses of his army, and he leads by consensus. He takes pains to build consensus among his subordinates and to involve and respect ordinary citizens in building better intelligence gathering.

Added to this is Washington's larger-than-life charisma. He is physically imposing, a brilliant horseman, and a man of great physical courage. This earns him the respect necessary to lead the army -- and the ability to build consensus without looking weak.

The completely desperate circumstances of the New Jersey campaign in 1776 are vividly portrayed and add to the drama of the story -- as well as add to Washington's luster in handling it so well. Tactically, Washington is brilliant in how he managed the campaign, and Fischer destroys the myth that all Washington did was to surprise a bunch of drunk Hessians sleeping off a Christmas binge.

Fischer's concluding chapter summarizes his work and does so in a moving way that points Americans, in the present dark times, toward recapturing the better angels of our nature -- the American insistence on placing a high value on life, treating even enemies with humanity, and building national strength through consensus. This is historical writing at its best -- as a form of literature.

Pennsylvania
The Johnstown Flood
Published in Paperback by Simon & Schuster (1987-01-15)
Author: David McCullough
List price: $15.00
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Average review score:

Vivid, thrilling and sad... what a great book!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-13
I've lived in Pennsylvania all of my life but I never knew too much about the Johnstown flood. Now that I've read McCullough's book, I'm hooked on the story and I'm getting to the flood museum as soon as I can.

This is an incredible story set in another time, yet I couldn't help be reminded what Katrina did to the New Orleans area and how similar these stories are. Man, in all of his wisdom, relies on those around him to ensure that their great works are safely monitored. The Johnstown flood provides historical proof that we shouldn't be quite so trusting.

Great Book
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-08
I love ordering stuff off Amazon. It is so easy and affordable. I'm in the middle of this book right now but so far so good. Lots of great history.

Another great McCullough story
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-21
David McCullough tells a compelling story of this tragic event. As always, he does a thorough job and gets behind just the basics of the story he is telling. It is a wonderful presentation of history.

Enjoyable read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-18
McCullough once again proves his talent for making history enjoyable with the Johnstown Flood. His book is very readable, but does not skimp out on the details. The aftermath portion of the book gets a little long, but the build-up and actual flood descriptions more than make up for it. I was entertained and taught at the same time.

First person perspecitve on history
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-10
This early McCullough book provides a look at one of the most catastrophic disasters to strike America. The Johnstown Flood destroyed more than 2500 lives and changed the landscape of western Pennsylvania. It moved the nation towards relief efforts and spurred a country to act on behalf of their common man. As always the author captures the people and the time in stunning clarity and really puts the reader there giving them a first person perspective on what happened to the people. After living in Pennsylvania for more than six years I found that few people really knew about the flood but this book does an excellent job of filling the blanks. If you want to see a trying story told in wonderful detail this is the place to start.

Pennsylvania
February Light: A Love Letter to the Seasons During a Year of Cancer and Recovery
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Press (1997-09)
Author: Heather Trexler Remoff
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Average review score:

The Choice of Life
Helpful Votes: 10 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-02-12
I read this wonderfully written and deeply felt book a few years ago, after my mother succumbed to biliary cancer and long before I triumphed over my own cancer (prostate). During my year of cancer and recovery, I often thought of Remoff's book -- a gem that created a resonance I still feel today -- of her resilience and love of life. Familiar with the setting, Eagle's Mere (a quaint, old Victorian village set atop a picturesque mountain, frequented by folks of means throughout much of the 20th century), I'd say she had ample opportunity to commune with the seasons. But the beauty of her love letter lies in its human light. We see an engaging, luminous spirit that will not yield to the dark, nefarious work of cancer, a woman deeply connected to family, friends and community. Her dog Chuckles, her running, her ruminations, her alternative healthcare approaches, her strong yet sensitive husband -- all give her reason to live. This book should be mandatory reading for anyone whose life has been affected by cancer. This book is life, fully lived, soulfully rendered, teeming with laughter and foolishness amid the fear and pain of facing one's inescapable mortality.

February Light
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1999-12-27
As a book about nature and going through a life threatening disease, this is a lovely portrayal.

If one is looking for indepth personal perspective and insight into (ovarian) cancer and accompanying surgerys and treatments, it is rather weak.

I wasn't moved, at a time when I am easily moved.

A beautiful story of a women's love of life and nature.
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 1998-03-29
While facing a deadly disease, Heather Remoff shows wonderful insight, honesty, and humor. Also, the book is the perfect length and is very readable.

Inspirational yet could probe more deeply about cancer.
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 1998-06-25
"I'm locked up for a crime I didn't commit," says Remoff, pacing hospital corridors after ovarian cancer surgery. This restless woman describes her greatest adventure, a dance with death in her 54th year. It's not surprising that she despises being cooped up. She lives on a crystal clear lake in small-town Pennsylvania. She adores the outdoors and describest it tenderly -- its changes through the months of that year. In September she pays attention to the Crows and their wisdom. "Crows break my heart in the same way September does," she discloses. In January we see her on the frozen lake to help townsfolk harvest 250-lb ice blocks to build a high and dangerous toboggan slide, a ritual since 1904. She's in chemotherapy, wearing mittens, scarves, boots. She gets too cold and must give up. Feeling guilty, she won't attend the bean feed afterward. Chemotherapy doesn't stop her from running, though, even on dark winter mornings. She's only dissappointed that she must cut her speed as she weakens. This is a strong woman, physically and mentally fit. She flirts with the mystical. A lost pendant is mysteriously found by strangers and delivered to her door. A white light surrounds her one morning in bed -- healing and supporting her immediately before her follow-up diagnosis, one that ultimately finds no trace of tumor. There's much to the body-mind connection that we have yet to learn. This is an educated woman, a researcher who questions issues of economic theories. I wondered, then, why she did not question, as I did, what allowed cancer to enter her strong and active body. Do we remember our grandmothers attending funerals of friends dying from breast or ovarian cancer in their fifties? Or forties? Or thirties? This lovely book is bereft of her probing heart in dealing with these issues with her doctors. Today, some health care professionals and their patients actually take time to track childhood exposure to DDT, toxic waste dumps, farm pesticides and polluted w! ater. I wish she had.

Memoir of a fully-lived life before, during, & after cancer.
Helpful Votes: 6 out of 6 total.
Review Date: 1998-04-25
In this brief book, Heather Remoff shows herself to be a funny, gutsy, caring and sensitive woman. She also turns out to be one tough cookie. This memoir of her new life in a remote Pennsylvania village, and of the cancer that nearly ended that life, is well worth reading just for the skill of her writing. But even more, it is a fascinating self-portrait of a whole person, fully engaged in the serious and crazily unpredictable business of life.

Pennsylvania
Fallingwater Rising: Frank Lloyd Wright, E. J. Kaufmann, and America's Most Extraordinary House
Published in Paperback by Knopf (2005-04-19)
Author: Franklin Toker
List price: $25.00
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Average review score:

Regrettably, I shared Mr. Lupp's experience
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-05-24
The binding on my paperback copy also fell apart half-way through the book. While I found some of the writing less than crisp and the organization sometimes left me confused as to sequences of events, overall it's a wonderfully detailed history of how a great house came to be. I wish I had read it before I visited Fallingwater; it would have greatly increased my enjoyment of the house.

Hard to put down - twice, already
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-02-05
I have now read FALLINGWATER RISING twice, and I think it is one of the most well-written, readable, and engrossing books about any subject. What I like most about it is that even though Fallingwater is an inanimate object, we feel that it is a living thing; this is our emotional response to it. This book makes it clear that people made the building happen. People with all of their strengths, foibles, desires and aspirations. Each of these people come to life on the page, and Toker's delightful spirit of inquiry illuminates the writing and makes it sing.

Fallingwater remains mysterious even after this comprehensive book
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2005-09-08
Every "thing" you could ever want to know about Fallingwater is contained in this book -- and then some. It is an enjoyable, insightful book about an extraordinary house. The writing is convincing, intelligent and clear, covering a wide range of complex and contentious topics without ever seeming either simplistic or academic. For my tastes there was too much detail on some peripheral subjects -- such as Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead and the PR campaigns relating to Fallingwater. I didn't really need to be given lists of all the doo dads and art objects that were put on various walls and shelves at one time or another, but some of these matters are easily skimmed over. Despite its encyclopedic scope and thorough research and analysis, the book ironically fails to really get at the essence of the creative process that resulted in Fallingwater -- especially the contributions of EJ Kaufmann. How is it that EJ Kaufmann built Fallingwater and the Palm Springs Nuetra house -- two of the most extraordinary houses of the 20th century? In the end the essential mystery of Fallingwater remains.

Architect's Review:
Helpful Votes: 2 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-02
I must say that as an architect who has been practicing for over 25 years, I have not read any book quite like this before that reaches so deeply into the creation of a master work such as Fallingwater. I have always "appreciated" FLW work but only recently have more fully understood what he has accomplished and created in built architectural works that to me borders on magical and genius at the same time. The glossy pictures alone only begins to reflect him as the gifted craftsman he represented. Living in Chicago I get to enjoy much of his work all the time. I'm still enjoying the book and must say your work here is amazing and a fitting tribute to an increbible individual and architect. Thanks for the experience. Jack Svaicer

One of the best works on Wright's work, but...
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 5 total.
Review Date: 2005-07-31
I would give this four stars based on its intellectual content. The reason I only gave it two stars is because the trade paperback, which lists for $25.00, fell apart in my hands before I was halfway through the book. The entire first half popped out of the binding. By the time I finished the text of the second half, it too was on its way to popping out. This is unacceptable.

The book is quite good, telling us more than I at least ever thought to ask about America's most famous private house of the twentieth century. There is a good chapter on Wright, especially the fallow years leading up to this commission; there is also a very interesting chapter on Edgar Kaufmann who commissioned the house; and an interesting chapter on his son who later claimed a much larger role in its creation than Toker thinks correct. The travails of building the house and the work necessary to correct its serious defects years later are all covered. Also covered is the publicity mechanism that made the house famous. I would recommend this to anybody, not just to Wright's fans. And, if you have not been there, make plans to visit Fallingwater; the trip is worth it.

Pennsylvania
Bookends
Published in Audio Cassette by Multnomah Books (2000-03-06)
Author: Liz Curtis Higgs
List price: $15.99
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Average review score:

Bookends - a sweet read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-06-18
Although the heroine of this story was distinctly unlikable in the beginning of the book and made some choices I felt were not actually true to the character as written, Liz did a fairly good job at showing "the new man" God can create when our lives are turned over to him. This love story is multi-layered and heartening and definitely worth the read.

SO Funny!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-14
This book was so much fun! It's not very often I sit and literally laugh out loud, but this book had me giggling! It's funny, inspirational and charming.

GREAT Christian chick lit
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-15
I just finished reading Bookends and was very impressed. It's the first Higgs book I have read (although I read and love her column in TCW). I will definitely be reading more of her literature. This was a warm, funny book with a bit of mystery in it. It wasn't predictable in my opinion, which was a nice change from most romantic fiction. I loved the quirky characters(including the golden retriever) and loved how realisitc it was. I had never heard of the Moravian denomination and am now more curious about it. This is defintely a cozy read and would make a good gift for a close friend.

Witty, intelligent and utterly delightful!
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2002-10-05
I don't know when I've read such a delightful book! Jonas and Emilie and a whole cast of other wonderful characters wormed their way into my heart and charmed me like I haven't been charmed in a while. Incredible writing and a message of faith seamlessly interwoven...this book has it all!

Engaging and Entertaining
Helpful Votes: 4 out of 4 total.
Review Date: 2003-08-12
"Bookends" reveals a talent of the author, Liz Curtiz Higgs, that is nice to find in Christian Romance Novels. The characters are engaging and entertaning. Best of all, you do not have to wait till the end of the story for the main characters to have fun together! In this book the stroyline is creatively weaved with humor, seriousness, and romance, from begining to end. I highly recomend it to those who enjoy quality, intelligent, romance/comedy novels.

Pennsylvania
Flyfisher's Guide to Pennsylvania
Published in Paperback by Wilderness Adventures Press (2000-01)
Authors: John Holt and Dave Wolf
List price: $26.95
New price: $28.95

Average review score:

WOLF PUBLISHES NEW BOOK
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-21
"It's a comprehensive and exhaustively researched offering and a fine addition to Wolf's career in helping Pennsylvania anglers better know and respect their home waters. With its detailed maps and hatch charts, it also will help traveling anglers find and fish their way around the Keystone State."

All Kinds of Great Fishing Information
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-21
"Over the years, a number of books have been written offering insight to the best places where (fishing) opportunity can be found. However, none is as complete as recently released, Dave Wolf's, Flyfishers Guide to Pennsylvania. This book is complete and provides tidbits of information overlooked in the past, but not in this book. The book can not only serve as a fishing guide, but for travel as well, covering where to stay, restaurants, fly shops and much more."

One of the Best I Have Seen on the Market
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 2 total.
Review Date: 2000-04-21
"Wolf, although an ardent trout fisherman, includes in this book information for the ever-growing number of anglers that have taken to fishing for cool and warm-water species using buggy-whip techniques. And it doesn't end there. It is a great reference to the special waters of Pennsylvania even for bait and spinning tackle anglers....

A Very Good Effort
Helpful Votes: 3 out of 3 total.
Review Date: 2006-06-21
I've had this book for several years and I've found it to be a very useful resource. The hatch charts are extremely helpful, especially for trout anglers. While the author made a better than average attempt to cover the warmwater opportunities in the Keystone State, for the most part only the most well known sites were covered. Certainly Pennsylvania has some world famous trout streams, but the variety and quality of our warmwater fisheries is truly extraordinary. Some of the streams that were covered specifically for the trout they hold probably offer better bass fishing over most of their length. Trout centered thinking is far too prevalent in the fly fishing community and as a result this sort of overemphasis on trout is typical of many fly fishing guides. Indeed, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is guilty of killing thousands of trout annually by stocking them in waters so warm they are almost certain to all die by Memorial Day. I know that Mr. Wolf is a skilled and avid warmwater fly fisher. I hope in the future he will update this guide and give our warmwater fisheries the coverage they deserve.

flyfisher's Guide to Pennsylvania by Dave Wolf
Helpful Votes: 9 out of 10 total.
Review Date: 2002-04-28
If you are looking for a book to give you general knowledge on better known trout fishing streams in Pennsylvania, then this book will meet your needs. Unfortunately, the author does not do a good job of covering remote streams in many parts of the state that are excellent producing streams and beautiful places to fish. I was especially disappointed in his lack of coverage of streams in McKean and Warren County. I would not recommend this book to an avid Pennsylvania fisherman. The book is adequate for an out-of-state fisherman who is looking to fish some of the more popular streams in PA.

Pennsylvania
Katie's Church
Published in Paperback by Sterlinghouse Publisher (2002-12)
Author: L. A. Flick
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Average review score:

Great Writer of the tale Katie's Church
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-28
Personally, I am not much of a book reader, but I know the Flick Family and are good friends with them. When Lisa said she was writing a book I knew I had to purchase it and see what it was like. She is a wonderful person and the book truly displays her work.

The book took me to places I didn't think I could take my imagination. It is a great mystery book but also makes you want to keep reading it until you are finished. Great job with the book Lisa and I know you are working on the second one and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Very good book, must read
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-27
This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. The book was very well written and it kept you in suspense through the entire thing. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Fantastic book!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2006-04-11
A friend gave me this book to read, and it took me about a month to actually find time to open it up. Once it was opened I had a real hard time putting it down. I read it in two nights, staying up til the weee hours of the morning both nights just because it was absolutely fascinating. It has a great plot and the whole story keeps you on the edge of your seat. I am buying my own copy of this book to have. Great book L.A. Flick!

A personal Favorite
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2004-03-15
I loved your book. I got it as a present personally signed by Ms. Flick. I read the book in less than two days. I could not keep my hands off of it or my mind from thinking about it. Once you start reading it, it is easy to follow. It kept me at the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. As a native from the area the story of Katie's Church always caught my attention. Though I understand that this book is a work of fiction it made it so much more interesting being able to have a correct mental picture of the place. This was a wonderful book, well written for teenagers and young adults looking for an exciting adventure. Keep up the good work and I hope to see more books from you in the future!

Katie's Church
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2003-11-16
"Katie's Church" by LA Flick was a very intriguing book. I couldn't put it down. It was very fast moving and kept you intrigued by going from 100 years into the past then back again to the present. It was like 2 stories at once which all came togther in the end. LA Flick gives you a clear picture of the characters and the surroundings they live in I felt as though I was there. I will be looking forward to the author's next book.

Pennsylvania
Set Up Running: The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman 1904-1949 (Keystone Book)
Published in Hardcover by Pennsylvania State University Press (2001-02)
Author: John W. Orr
List price: $39.95
New price: $185.66
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Average review score:

A bygone era of American steam power
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-03-11
As I read this book I could almost feel the track clicking below the engine, hear the chuffing of the engine as it labored to pull the cars, listen to the lonesome sound of the whistle as the engineer arrived at the crossing and feel the power as the fireman put the coal to the firebox and the engineer pulled the Johnson bar. All in all a great read and a book that anyone interested in the steam era would read with relish.

Excellent portrait of a person and of a profession
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-01
One of the most compelling railroad books I've read - the narrative is compelling because of Orr's consistent, insightful commitment to doing his job well and discovering the most efficient way to get his train over the road. Of course hardcore railfans will enjoy this book, but I think students of industrial history and those interested in the way people go about their jobs (a la Studs Terkel/working) will get something out of this book as well.

You'll Smell the Coal Smoke
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-08-22
The detailed descriptions in "Set Up Running" will have you smelling coal smoke. Even though I have been a rail fan for all of my 65 years, was an NYC-PC employee, and I'm a native of Pennsylvania, I learned something new on nearly every page and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Although "Set Up Running" deals almost exclusively with operations on a PRR branch line, ferroequinologists (students of the iron horse) everywhere will love this book. It has the unique quality of making you wish it would go on forever.

The Real Thing
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-03-17
When I read a book or article about railroads it is easy to tell when the writer is over his head. Not here. This book is authentic.

The time covers a great period of growth of steam locomotive development. PRR classes from the old class R through the M1a are run and evaluated. Which one is the engineer's favorite? You might be surprised.

The book is a labor of love. It is human as well as technological. Here you find the enthusiasm of the young man, the confidence of the mature man, and the feelings of being squeezed out of the retiring man. As I finished the book I sat and thought about the family for a long time.

Set Up Running
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-10-31
Set Up Running is simply the VERY BEST railroad related book which I have EVER read! If you don't have it GET IT! PERIOD! (PS: I have NO financial interest in this book or any organization/company which sells it). I'm doing YOU a favor by rating this book and advising YOU to get it!)

ceh

Pennsylvania
The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War (Modern Library)
Published in Hardcover by Modern Library (2004-11-02)
Author: Michael Shaara
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Collectible price: $300.00

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The Spy of Gettysburg
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-05-23
This was a major battle (Gettysburg, PA) between the Norhern VA massive group of 70,000 and the indomnable Union fighters that fateful day in one of the bloodiest fights of that war. Antienam in Maryland was the bloodiest with Atlanta's "fallen" depicted in 'Gone With the Wind' and Shiloh not far behind in numbers of casualties.

This fictional account of the Gettysburg massacre on both sides won a Pulitzer prize for Michael Shaara who uses the liberties of creative writing to make these men and their families "real." The most real of them all was the spy, Harrison, who reported to General Lee while JEB Stuart was out about town living it up and getting all of the attention. If you read enough about the U.S. Civil War, you'll realize right away that the truth, though mired in the mud of dissession and cow pastures from one end of the small country as it was in June, 1862, to the East Coast.

It was not the most dramatic confrontation (my choide would be Shiloh, which I drove to many times to meander around the large battlefield on many occasions), as much or more than our yearly trips to Gettysburg (not far from Westminster where Evelyn lived) which received more notice because of Abraham Lincoln's moving address. He had a way with words for a self-educated Kentuckian. But Shiloh, in Tennessee, endured more detailed plans for combat and Johnston met his destiny.

When we read what the scholars chose as the most important, we miss the human part of war (as we are doing now in that God-forsaken, medieval place in the Middle East, and are presented with statistics to prove their choices. Every Civil War encounter has the spy (like young Sam Davis of Smyrna) who met his demise on a lonely hill in Pulaski, TN. Without spies, the generals and their staff are left with maps but that's about all. The spies made the war come alive. Instead of a far flung field or stream far away from home, the spies kept the action going by risking their lives to get important information and plans to the leaders. 'The Killer Anmgels' were on Robert E. Lee's left shoulder but his melancholia wore him down emotionally. Without his generals (Nathan Bedford Forrest being his very best), there would have been no war. The spy Harrison blew cigar smoke "puffing exuberantly like a happy furnace."

"Why do there have to be men like that, men who enjoy another man's misery?" Reading about factual (as far as the staticians knew or could figure) war atrocities can be dry and not very interesting to the average person. It has been de-personalized. Stephen Crane followed his heart and instincts in 'The Red Badge of Courage' to bring the participants to life on paper and not merely a statistic. He inspired Michael Shaara to do much of the same. "The interpretation of character is my own," he wrote. At all times, especially in times of danger to one's life, you must keep one's sense of humor. I thought Mark had one but apparently I was mistaken. This book was written 34 years ago, the year Justin was born. Always the rebel, like his mom, he could not have been a spy. Brave, smart, something of an actor (like John Wilkes Booth), like Jeff could quote Shakespeare from memory, lucky and strong. "It has been my pleasure, sir, to have served such a man...God bless you, sir. Now, it is all in God's hands."

Exquisite model for historical fiction
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2008-01-02
The compelling novel of Gettysburg that Laura Hillenbrand remarked was her model for "Seabiscuit". The times and events are different but the sylistic similarities are palpable. Short chapters. Short sentences, mostly. Extremely visual--concrete, up-close, detailed scenes, always with a dramatic tension. Superbly structured--makes the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most confusing battles of the 19th Century, sparklingly clear. Accomplished by shifitng the viewpoint from one key character to another, from chapter to chapter (mainly Longstreet and Chamberlain, also Buford, Armistead, and Lee). This is art, and is not easy; the product of intense hard work, with the reader's welfare always paramount. Above all, a human story of real people under stress, striving, where the stakes matter. At the same time, Shaara manages to explicate the larger causes of the war, and in the mouths of his characters he ably argues both the National and the Rebel viewpoints. A masterpiece.

Phenomenal!!!
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 0 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-26
I became totally enthralled with the Civil War after reading this masterpiece. His story-telling style caught me off guard and I absolutely flew through this book. Thankfully his son has picked up the torch to complete the finest historical series I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Be sure to read Gods & Generals and Last Full Measure. I was moved to tears on more than one occasion.

A thoughtful surprise
Helpful Votes: 0 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2007-06-14
I found this book to be insightful and thought provoking. It is chock full of details and antidoted stories. It reads well and was a pleasure to read as a pastime.

The Three Days that Decided the War.
Helpful Votes: 1 out of 1 total.
Review Date: 2008-02-28
I had been always interested in Americas' Civil War and had read some excellent books on the subject such as A Brotherhood Of Valor: The Common Soldiers Of The Stonewall Brigade C S A And The Iron Brigade U S A, Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg and Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) but "The Killer Angels" is a very special one.

Late Michael Shaara has performed an excellent research on the private papers of the battle protagonist. Based on this material he produce a griping story, presenting the men that march to the tragic encounter, with their ideals, memories, sorrows, doubts & hopes.

He follows Generals Lee and Longstreet and Colonel Chamberlain amongst others, penetrating their most intimate thoughts in such a way that the reader can't avoid wondering how this is possible.
Mr. Shaara does not pick sides, he presents the reader with the confronting "Cause", which every man into the field believes to be just, and for which is willing to shed his blood. The valor and self sacrifice these men deploy, is reflected in each page of this incredible good book.

Enough maps are shown enabling the reader to follow the displacement of the armies in the field.

For readers interested in Civil War, Michael's son, Jeff, has written Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure telling the events preceding and following this crucial struggle.

A great stuff to be read by history buffs or casual readers. Enjoy!!!.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.


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