Town Books

This was great! Being raised in Lawrence, Mass, I found this right up my alley. I have Irish on my father's side and both my dad and his father were formen at the Arlington mills up on Broadway. I love the history, the nostalgia and the poetry. I included a few poems in my book about the area "A Summer with Charlie" now also listed on Amazon. I always wondered where I got my poetry inclination. It wasn't in my immediate family. I think I got it via osmosis from the type of man described in this book. I must have just breathed it in with all the mill smoke, dust, dirt and sweat. This is a good one. It easy history.

The View from Shanty Pond is a great find if you are interested in reading about the lives of NE Irish immigrants who lived and worked in mill cities like Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts.

The book is very well written. It describes many aspects of life in Lawrence as seen through the eyes and poems of Peter Cassidy ("the Shanty Pond poet"). Cassidy lived from 1861 to 1938. Cassidy's poems are very down to earth and at times touching in their sincerity and simplicity.

The author explains the historical background of the period (and the poems) using just the right level of detail. The subjects covered in the book include work in and strikes against the textile mills, the role of religion and politics in immigrant life, sports (baseball and boxing), saloons, World War I, Prohibition, and the Depression.

If you enjoy an account of real people living their lives through tumultuous times, you will enjoy this book.

The View From Shanty Pond is a unique blending the historical writings of Joseph Blanchette with those of Peter Cassidy, the author's late great-grandfather to present the reader with a true and compelling account of the Irish immigrant experience in America at the turn of the 20th Century. Blanchette combines his own prose with the period poems and songs of his great-grandfather and in doing so deftly weaves a rich fabric of folk, local and national history that is as entertaining as it is informative. Lively, charming, original, painstakingly researched, incorporating a wealth of information from Peter Cassidy's scrapbooks of poetry, songs, newspaper articles, photos, and memorabilia, The View From Shanty Pond is a compelling window-in-time through which we can come to understand and appreciate the Irish immigrant experience in the burgeoning and industrial America of yesteryear. Highly recommended.

Gloria's journey to independence is a lesson that many of us can learn from. A well-written novel with a host of interesting characters, I highly recommend this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope there is a sequel in the making, as I want to find out more about Gloria, her friends and family!

Sylvia Bambola's Waters Of Marah is the novel of Gloria Bickford, a young woman who feels inadequate compared to the legend of her actress and beauty queen mother. In what Gloria feels is a response to the call of God, she leaves behind life her in tiny hometown and experiences the ways of the city - yet when Gloria is caught in a crucible that pits business and emotional interests against one another, her true purpose in striking out on her own may turn out to be dramatically different than what she expected. A superbly crafted novel of the first order, Waters Of Marah is very highly recommended reading.

Crone's portrayal of the South in mid-twentieth century is an authentic, gripping view of dysfunction and perceived reality. Claire's understanding of her parents' world grows as she grows. The use of multiple narrators through time to tell the story draws the reader in, even though the individual stories can stand on their own, complete with power, narrative shape, and characters you care about. Like Larry Watson's view of Montana in his novels, Crone makes no real judgment, simply recites the events from vantage points that bring the reader to her own conclusions. Worth reading and re-reading.

These haunting short stories cover about 50 years in a North Carolina town...each story can stand on its own, but since many of the characters weave in and out of all of them, the book is really more like a novel (similar to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio). The narrators include some of the main characters, so the style of each tale varies; moreover, the people aren't freaks, as many of Sherwood Anderson's characters are----so what happens over the years in this small town is moving and meaningful to the reader in the way that the best literature becomes part of our lives.

Fayton, N.C., is a small town in Moira Crone's imagination, but it will strike a truthful chord with anyone who has experienced small-town life, with all its claustrophobic joys and troubles. The South is familiar territory to this New Orleanian, who teaches at Louisiana State University. In "What Gets Into Us," a story collection that also works as a fragmented novel with varying points of view, Crone depicts the tangled lives of Southern families -- the secrets of the neighbor next door, the waves of change that came with the civil rights movement and feminism and greedy development. Springing out into the world or slouching homeward, Crone's characters are as real as real can be.

In "The Ice Garden," winner of the Faulkner/Wisdom Prize, Crone tells a story of Claire McKenzie, one of the most engaging characters in this collection. Daughter of a troubled mother and a father in denial, Claire has more than her share of difficulties to face, but she does, and head-on, as is often the way with Crone's female characters.

Crone knows the tangled ties of mothers and daughters: "After a while I had the thought that my mother was very brave, compared to other people," Claire says. "Because it was so hard for her to live, knowing all she knew, feeling all she felt, as disappointed as she was, as confused and jealous. My mother needed beauty to keep her going. There was just no other way for her. She could never get enough. I must be just like her, I thought, then I thought, no."

As with Ellen Gilchrist's beloved Traceleen, Crone's African-American domestic workers often provide the most telling perspectives. Sidney Byrd returns to town for her friend Pauline's funeral and has tea with a grown-up Lily Stark, whom Pauline once rescued from a terrible situation. "At the sight of her serving me, I think, well, the time has finally come when Lily and I can talk as if there had been one life in that town in those days, and not two, the one at the front door and the one at the back. But soon I learn."

Crone has a gift for the telling phrase that conjures a time, a shared perception. Remember those parties, 'the kind where there was a huge dance band, white tablecloths, rum and Coke, and dinner"? Or the days when "There were big state hospitals then, with nice grounds, which were peaceful, some of them -- people lived in such places for years, their whole adult lives. Families could take a person there and drop them off." Or consider this description of a desperate woman: "She is old now, but she can still throw herself at strangers." Or "Being a lady is all about ignoring things." Entire eras, types of people, states of mind are summoned in Crone's gorgeous, memorable sentences.

As time works on Fayton and exacts its inevitable toll on human life and spirit, Crone's families -- the Senders, the Starks, the McKenzies, the Cobbs -- experience loss and change, abuse and betrayal and sometimes redemption. The drug of place -- sometimes intoxicating, sometimes poisonous -- gets into the town's inhabitants with its changing architecture, its difficult, sometimes blinding, sometimes obscuring, light. Crone wholly imagines the lives of these people, who might be you or me, in the house next door in any Southern town, with all the lights on and everybody home, dark secrets in every corner.


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Book editor Susan Larson can be reached at slarson@timespicayune.com or at (504) 826-3457.

The two volume history, "When The Railroad leaves Town: American Communities In The Age Of Rail Line Abandonment" by Joseph P. Schwieterman (Associate Professor of Public Services management an Director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at De Paul University) is the history what happened in towns and villages across America when the nation's railroad systems began collectively eliminating more than 120,000 miles of routes (about half of their total mileage) beginning in 1916 and continuing down to the present day. Volume 1 covers the 'Eastern United States", with volume 2 covering the 'Western United States'. A work of impressive and seminal scholarship, Professor Schwieterman's informed and informative text is enhanced with the inclusion of maps and illustrations. "When The Railroad leaves Town: Volumes 1 & 2" is especially recommended for academic library American History, Social Issues, American Transportation Studies, and Urban-Planning reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

This is a collection of individual vignettes of the end of rail service to a group of Eastern US cities. The towns range from very small hamlets to medium to large metropolises, from rural to urban. In every case Mr Schwieterman outlines how the local railroad came to be, how it prospered for a time but eventually went away, and what happened when it left with emphasis on the surrounding citizens and infrastructure. These vignettes have a air of sadness and poignancy about them, as they describe in some cases how the community around the railroad more or less died as a result of the closing of rail service. This is a book like other reviewers have said, that can be put down and picked up from time to time without losing any continuity due to its unique layout. I have had this book for some time now, and feel compelled to review it now that I am awaiting the authors newest book about rail abandonments in the Western US. This is one of the best books I have ever read on railroads, but in my opinion just about anyone with a interest in modern US history and how cities in the Eastern US came to be would enjoy it equally as I do. Very well done.

The first time I cracked open the cover and read a few lines, I knew this book was a winner.

While there are literally thousands of books out there showing fantastic photos of trains present and past. And many railroads have had their histories chronicled, this book focuses on the towns the railroads touched. This angle is unique, refreshing and most of all mesmerizing.

The author obviously spent a great deal of time researching the topic. The background information he supplies is immense, this was NOT a topic that was superficially researched. The various photos showing abandon railroad grades and shots of once busy steel-rails covered over in asphalt are especially telling.

And while the folks looking for photos of coal-drags over tall mountains may be disappointed, anyone that wants to understand how the railroads REALLY affected towns across the eastern United States, then you need this book.

A good book that combines railroading with American history. It will cause the reader to think twice as they pass that abandon railroad grade or drive by that run-down station.

A couple of years ago, after moving to Las Vegas,NEW MEXICO, our local bookstore proprietor suggested I read Howard Bryan's book regarding some of the more violent pieces of local history. I read with interest and disdain how it was that the US Army under General Kearney's command wiped out the village of Los Valles near here and nearly destroyed the Taos Pueblo, "leaving a few houses standing to shelter the women and children." That was in 1847 during the period of "pacification" after the US had defeated Mexico.

As appaling the events at Los Valles and Taos Pueblo were, at least there was a modicum of human decency in US Military Policy. There was a certain respect for the humanity of the native peoples, a desire to provide some protection for the women and children. All that changed in the next 20 years or so as witnessed at Wounded Knee where women and children were slaughtered by the US Army.

We have a beautiful public square known as the Plaza here in "The Meadow City." Bryan discusses the historical fact that public hangings were a frequent event of some degree of entertainment. The executions took place from a windmill in the center of the Plaza. Today a bandstand sits where the windmill executions once occured. As Bryan points out the hangings stopped when one day Las Vegans came to the realization that the executions were having detrimental effects upon the younger generation: children had taken to playing at hangings! What better rationale can we find in modern times to end our current versions of capital punishment?

This is a must read especially for those fascinated with the history of the American West.

I'm a native of this town (born there in 1923) and found Howard Bryan's book an outstanding and worthwhile account. I've recounted some of his tales to people in other states and countries, and encountered disbelief. It sounds too much like a B movie to be credible, but it's all true. In fact, it's understated.

My father had one of the original posters which is reproduced on the back of the jacket, and I can testify it is authentic.

Most people find it hard to believe such a tough town could stay that way for as long as Las Vegas NEW MEXICO did. The original Las Vegas was established a hundred years before Bugsy Seigal the mobster started his air-conditioned, neon-lit palace for city dudes, hundreds of miles away, in the Nevada desert.

The photographs are also historical artifacts of great value.
I recommend the book with great enthusiasm.

This is a very easy reading book, with some of the most compelling short stories (true short stories) of the Las Vegas, New Mexico area, during the 1800 and very early 1900s. You pick up some amazing historical facts... and hear some tales of famous, or infamous characters that simply amaze!

Low cost, easy to read, and gives you several of those "Oh my ...." moments when you least expect them. A great read.Wildest of the Wild West: True Tales of a Frontier Town on the Santa Fe Trail

"Winter, Awake!" beautifully depicts in words and illustrations the place of winter in the order of the seasons. When Winter remains asleep, members of both the plant and animal world try to wake him so that they can use the winter days to prepare for spring. They have no success until a ladybug whispers into sleeping Winter's ear. Kroll's experience as a storyteller is apparent. Her beautifully chosen language creates word pictures and rhythms that are a pleasure for both the reader and the listener. This story begs to be read aloud and will appeal to a wide range of listeners. Lieberherr's vivid and engaging images complement the text and offer children an opportunity to let loose their imaginations. A perfect gift to entertain children at any time of the year.

This book is VERY Waldorf, so if the idea of King Winter offends you you might want to skip it. I love this book, personally, and my children do as well. Winter, Awake! has marvelous paintings. The book is perfect for the day after Thanksgiving as it begins with a description of the Harvest. Then, the plants and animals of the earth grow more and more weary of Autumn, and long for the rest and respite of Winter. Beginning with the trees, they whisper in King Winter's ear pleading for him to wake up. With the evocative text you experience not only marvelous rhythm and alliteration but you see a picture painted as well of how each spends the winter. The ladybug longs to gather together with her relatives and peacefully sleep Wintertime away. The Autumn leaves are tired of skipping and swirling and long to lie still and cover and protect seeds and roots. The story develops like this as each in turn makes its plea to King Winter:

the tired trees
the brittle leaves
garter snakes with slitted eyes
fuming bees
little leaping peeping frogs
a pert and perky chickadee
a cheeky chubby chattering squirrel
a gruff and grumpy grumbling bear

and finally, at last, a round red ladybug.

This book is a wonderful way for your child to explore how others see Winter, and it is perfect to read right before the first snowfall. You might want to have your King Winter doll [...] at the ready so that when your child wakes up to snow on the ground he can see that King Winter has appeared on the Nature table.

"Winter, Awake" is a wonderful tale told in verse with fabulous alliteration! Hearing it read aloud is magic to your ears. Embedded in this whimsical story are accurate portrayals of how animals prepare for winter. If winter were to refuse to awake one year, imagine the possible consequences.

The book is also a masterpiece visually. The full-page illustrations deserve to be framed! They are rich in color, beautiful to look at and will delight both adult and child readers. This is a book that will become a favorite read-aloud selection for all young readers and lovers of books.

Because of record prices for uranium, there is currently underway a boom in applications for uranium mining in the western United States. At this time (March 2008), there are 10,000 applications for permits to mine uranium on file in Colorado alone - more in other western states. The history of uranium mining in this country is abysmal at best and possibly criminal. There has been little regard by the mining industry for the health and safety of people affected by the mining. This book details the horrors that resulted from uranium mining close to Navajo communities. This book is a must-read for anyone living within 100 miles of proposed uranium mining and wanting the facts to fight irresponsible plans for mining which ignore human health and safety and are motivated solely by greed. Read this book, organize and take action to protect your families, your communities, and your environment.

Yellowcake Towns depicts the great American Uranium Boom with style and gusto. It is one of the best modern books on the subject and an important tome for anyone interested in the history of the Western United States.

Amundson, being an historian by training, has written a fascinating tale of uranium hardrock mining in the west...mostly concentrated on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Amundson takes you through the discovery and processing of uranium from the early days, meaning from the late 1800s through the cold war and the shutdown of the major mining centers.

Yellowcake Towns, the title of the book, refers to the processing centers which converted uranium ore into uranium oxide which is known as yellowcake from its color. This is what was then sent to special processing centers for conversion into fissionable material. The mining centers discussed are Uravan in Colorado which was a company town now closed and being cleansed of radioactive contamination. Jeffrey City, Wyoming, another company town which also has been abandoned. Then there is Moab, Utah, which was a major uranium processing center but has survived into present day as a tourist center because of its spectacular redrock landscape. Uranium mining in Grants, NM, which was considered the uranium capital of the USA because of its four processing mills,is also discussed and, again, Grants also survives due to the western film industry and tourism.

Reading Yellowcake Towns, though, is slow going if one reads all the footnotes, too. I found the bibliography to be just as engrossing as the actual writing. It's a great read....takes you through the early years when radium was king; then in the years leading up to WWII, the tailings were reprocessed for vanadium to strengthen steel; and finally reproccessing the tailings a third time for uranium extraction to support the making of the first atomic bombs; and, following WWII, the uranium craze to fuel atomic energy plants and even more sophisticated weapons of war until finally, the entire industry collapses.

A great read which few people outside of the industry know about.

As a Kindergarten teacher, this book is one of the BEST for practicing counting with pre-schoolers and Kindergarteners. It has large pictures and numbers making it easier for little readers to find and count each object, much less frustrating than the I Spy or Where's Wally seach and find books. This makes a wonderful book for parents and children to share. When I found it in our school library, I ordered this one and others for my classroom. We've all found it lots of fun. Enjoy!

This book is full of fantastic little details -kids can spend hours searching for items in each scene, much like 'Where in the World is Wally', but with loads more to find. Many of the scenes have been very well researched, such as the villages in West Africa and Alaska. And at the end of the book, there are some souvenirs and travel photos that send the reader back to find things they didn't notice in the first reading! Endless fun.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books, Florrie Binford-Kichler
Founder of Patria Press, Inc. - an award-winning independent publisher, President of PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book is an honored recipient of this distinguished award.

kids who live in nyc (or any big city) don't see too many "cows" to go with their learning of the letter "c." similarly, kids who live in the country or the suburbs don't know much about newsstands or hot dog vendors. this book has really unique, authentic new york city photos for each letter of the alphabet. it's a great way to expand the typical alphabet book genre. i've bought it for three of my friends with young children and they all love it.

I love love love this book! It has a car theme that my little guy loved, the pictures are soft and very detailed.the book tells a story in pictures of a little boy his mom and dog in a little red car out driving. Each page gives a letter of the alphabet and a drawing like a is ambulance. but the book can be read many ways, at first it is a great picture book with lots to look at, you can also have the child find the item in the picture(or the boy in the red car), for instance on one page there are multiple police cars a child can find, or motorcyles, when they get older you can reinforce letter recognition and letter sounds. at the end of the story the boy and his mom go home to daddy and a baby. buy this book, you will be able to read it differently for years!

My two-year old loves this book! Though not identified as such, this book features a family on a drive through San Francisco. It features many different modes of transportation including garbage trucks, limousines, buses, and more. Readers can identify landmarks such as the Transamerica Pyramid, Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown, and many more. Easy to read over and over and over...