New Jersey Books

Growing up in NJ and going to the shore, this brings
back a lot of memories. Now that we live in NC, just
wanted to relive some of those days.

It's a great book! Thanks!

I love this book and if u look on page 186 you will see a whole section on my friend Jackie M of Oxford and Nicole D. of Bethlehem! How great is that?! This book is def. worth buying! 100% wonderful! lol.

~nicole d

Peter Genovese has written several books about NJ, and this is the one that probably will have the most appeal. A lot of the material here also appears in his book NJ Curiosities, but in most of the cases, they are only two-four paragraphs writeups. here Genovese tells the entire tale of Kohr's ice cream, the marine mammal starnding center, Deckadance and more.

Considering his background as a writer for the Star Ledger, and the quality of his other NJ themed books, he is definately qualified to write about the shore. He accurately captures the feel, the sounds, the emotions of being at the jersey shore. He speaks as one who spent many days and nights there.

minus: B&W picturtes seem rather bland most of the time, alcking sharpness or depth of field, but that is more then made up by....

Plus: there are 2 sections of color pictures which absolutely explode with color, especially the color blue. these pictures are pure gold.

if you've never been to the shore it will open your eyes. if you've been to the shore it will bring back fond memories and maybe even expose you to things about the shore you never knew.

Being a lifelong NJ resident, this book depicts the 130 plus miles of unique coastal shoreline where you'd have to live here and experience many hot summers just to get a sense of what The Jersey Shore is truly all about. Through words and photos, the essence of the Jersey Shore comes alive - you can almost smell the Coppertone on a humid summer afternoon, hear the buzz of a boardwalk in the distance, feel the rumble of thrill rides thundering over weather beaten ocean piers, feel the spray of waves crashing along the beach, the buzz and flicker of old neon motel signs, the strong aromas of sausage and peppers or pizza from the boardwalk food stands, clicking spinning wheels from games of chance, and the infamous "Please watch the tram car" of Wildwood loops repeatedly in your head. It's all here. The Jersey Shore is not just a place but rather a cultural way of life for the people who reside in this state - taking on a life of its own with the arrival of Memorial Day while preparing for hibernation as Labor Day approaches. When the snow begins to fall and the wind chills drop to sub-freezing conditions, this book will be a welcome reminder of better days until that next summer season finally does arrive again...

I had an ancestor who I think worked in this mine. reading the book has helped me understand how the mine worked, but more importantly, how the men lived who worked there. It is easy to understand and the book flows so it is not a labor to read it. I still don't know if I will find my g-g grandfather Patrick Condon here or not, but with the help of this book, I just might.

I highly recommend it.

I don't about it being a "Mile Deep", but it sure was "Black As Pitch" if you turned off your miner's light. One of the things that made this book so meaningful to me was the fact that I worked in the North Ore Body of the Sterling Hill Mine. This direct, personal connection made the book all the more interesting - and helped it earn its fifith star. I recognized several names and faces - and words I have not heard in thirty years, like, stope. That aside, I found that the material was well organized and that the company town was much more beneficial to the workers than that of the corporate town.

As the 1st cousin once removed of one of the contributors to this book, reading this was extra meaningful to myself. My great-grandfather was one of the miners this book talks about, and to be able to read about how the miners lived their every day lives in this time was truly fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone with Franklin, NJ roots, you will definetly enjoy it, and perhaps will learn a thing or two about your own family.

Carrie Papa's father, Paul Moore, was a deep shaft miner in the Franklin Mine in northern New Jersey. This is an area well known to geologists, mining historians, and mineral experts for the quality, diversity, and complexity of zinc ores and associated mineral wealth. A Mile Deep And Black As Pitch: An Oral History Of The Franklin And Sterling Hill Mines is a unique regional history drawing upon the memories and experiences of thirty-four mine workers, their families, and others whose lives were intertwined the New Jersey mining industry in general, and the New Jersey Zinc Company in particular between the years of 1897 and 1986. A superbly presented and original work of seminal history, A Mile Deep And Black As Pitch is especially recommended to the attention of students as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in American's mining industry and the contributions deep shaft ore mining has made to the development and expansion of the American nation.

Very good reference book. We pick a trail then plan a long morning ride in advance. I was not aware of so many places to ride within a reasonable driving distance.

Christopher Mac Kinnon's Mountain Biking In New Jersey is an effectively quick reference guide showcasing thirty-seven off-road mountain bike rides specific to New Jersey, a state of surprising contrasts and excellent outdoor recreational resources. Each ride is accompanied by a clearly written and descriptive text enhanced with a detailed map. These mountain bike rides are uniquely designed for easy use by the off-road cyclist, with each map containing all the pertinent information required to enjoy the excursion. Map pages can also be removed from the book and carried alone for easy and on-to-spot reference. Whether you are a novice mountain biker or an experience off-road cyclist looking for great New Jersey rides, plan for your trip by browsing through Christopher Mac Kinnon's Mountain Biking In New Jersey!

I ordered this book on a whim (I don't know him but the author is from my hometown). Very nicley done, accurate on trail ratings. Maps give a good direction of where to go on road as well as on trail. You may need a road map for more direction. Trail maps give a pretty good idea of what's available and/or direction to start off. Not as accurate as running into some locals but how can u beat that! I've been to approximately 6 or 7 parks mentioned . Recently I rode six mile run. Great find. Most of my riding buds never heard of it. (A nice thing about this book. There's trails that aren't in some of the other mtn biking books). Many little loops off of the 2 trails mentioned. Moderate terrain true to form w/ lots of technical, if you want it. Several switchback crossings over water. Better to ride on a warm day. You will get wet! Oh well you know what they say "Dirt is good!"

If you want to know the off-road routes, this is a great book. It covers many of the interesting rides with information such as where to park, length of route, severity of the slopes, and actual route guide. However, the maps take a bit of time to get oriented to, and presumes some knowledge of the area. If you're entirely new to the region, getting to the actual spots may be a problem and the book does not provide a map of New Jersey. The book could be much improved with more detailed maps -- both of the biking areas, as well as its surroundings.

With the large number of layoffs in corporations and government agencies in the past couple of years and the economic slow down, people have to work more efficiently, and effectively to maximize the resources that they still have. To use a tired and well-worn expression " to work smarter".

This book teaches you just how to do that. It showed me how to make the most of the assets within my company that I would never have even thought of, or even considered an "asset" per se, to help my work group to make up for the people that we've lost due to layoffs and "rightsizing."

I would never have guessed that some of these simple suggestions and techniques would have such a large impact on my business.

I also really enjoyed Robert's writing style . It's an easy read, and not like other similar books I've read that seem more like a Ph.D. thesis. His book is direct, to the point and I really like that examples and templates are included for all of the work.

This is "not your father's managment book". There are no punches pulled, and I LOVE the stories that he uses to explain his point (the story of Margaret and Mary alone, is worth the price of the book) FUNNY! I can't believe that this actually happened!!

One other thing that really drew me to the book was the part about the New Jersey Devil Consultant. My company has had many consultants in and out of here for over two years, and they never seem to do any good. Now I know why. I'll never look at another "six sigma" consultant or any other, the same way again. I now know how to spot a good consultant who will actually do some good, versus one that is only going to rip us off and will be sure to quiz them on HOW they do their work, not just how much they are going to cost us.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for ANYONE in business. I'm not even convinced that we NEED consultants anymore. Me and my team can do this work ourselves!

If you are at the top and are having troubles, this book is for you. If you are on your way to the top, keep this by your bedside. Or, if you find yourself one of the lost... avoid the New Jersey Devil Consultant and purchase a copy for each of your staff.

Bob has a great talent for simplifying the complex, a hard-to-find talent amongst consultants. His proven record and examples are a rare find among business books. Take a look around the business topics here on Amazon.com and you'll find many books written by leaders who eventually stomped their companies and/or their employees into the ground. OR - you'll find books written in theory, but never delivered on in an actual business.

Bob's refreshing book shows his experience, knowledge of the complex balance of employee leadership, intellectual talent, knowledge management, systems, and process management. Being good at any ONE thing may get you to the top... but you need to know how to balance all to keep there. Bob understands this.

This book will save you time and expense. For once, a book with a Return on Investment!

This book is a must read for anyone in business. Flores' approach to management and writing is straightforward and succinct. His explanations and examples are engaging and applicable across organizational departments. He is arming people with the knowledge they need to `see through' so much of the unnecessary politics and inefficiencies in corporations. He accomplishes this through his story-telling as well as giving the reader tools to use to achieve efficiency and sanity.

I was looking for a book that would help me to serve my customers better in addition to saving money in my business.

This book is it!

This book should be called "How to please your customer and save money while doing it."

After reading the first three chapters, I decided to put the material to the test and begin some of the work suggested in the book. The results were nothing short of amazing. Using the pre-made templates, and what I learned on building an effective organization, I was quickly able to make small changes within my organization that had HUGE impacts.

Our customer satisfaction ratings went up by over 25% in a MONTH, and we've saved enough money to hire new people. Not bad for an economy that is suffering so badly, I'd say.

I also like Robert's writing style. It's easy to read, and it is assuring to know that there is a "real person" behind this work, whose faced similar business problems and found a way to overcome them.

I'll also mention that we considering hiring a Six Sigma consultant and narrowly averted the disaster that surely would have followed. Six Sigma sounds like a good way for improving a business UNTIL you read this book. Now that I understand what Six Sigma REALLY is, I won't even consider them in the future or other consultants that can't explain to me what it is that they are going to deliver for my business.

This is my kind of book. Easy to understand, practical to use, and results right away. I highly recommend it.

Natural Wonders Of The Jersey Pines And Shores by the late educator, journalist, historian, and sportsman Robert A. Peterson (1956-2003) covers a diversity of topics drawn from the unique Pine Barrens and coastal ecosystems of New Jersey including the flora, fauna, geological formations, and natural forces of the area. Much of the material was adapted from his regular newspaper column in "The Egg Harbor News". The informed and informative text is wonderfully enhanced with the nature photography of Michael A. Hogan and Steve Greer. This posthumous publication of Robert Peterson's Natural Wonders Of The Jersey Pines And Shores is a welcome contribution by a gifted writer whose "insatiable curiosity about nature and history" make the New Jersey Pine Barrens and beaches a truly engaging read from beginning to end for the non-specialist general reader as well as the student of nature's ecosystems, as well as a welcome contribution to American Ecological Studies and Environmental Studies library reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

As a frequent visitor to Southern New Jersey, I am always amazed and delighted by the wonderful scenery and history that can be enjoyed there. Reading "Natural Wonders of the Jersey Pines and Shore" has enhanced those perceptions and has added so much more to my depth of understanding about the area. Robert Peterson does a fantastic job both educating and entertaining the reader with all sorts of insights and stories which capture one's imagination. Beyond the text, however, some of the best parts of the book are the amazing photographs mainly taken by Michael Hogan (with some additonal photographs by Steve Greer.) Michael has done an outstanding job of photographing the varied topics in unique ways which allow the reader to enjoy each adventure with him, bringing the area to life even if you have never visited it yourself. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves nature, photography or New Jersey!

Bob made me homesick for crabbing in Motts Creek, walking through the fall colors of Batsto and summer night drives from Egg Harbor City to Sweetwater.

I may not agree with Mr. Petersons' idealistic views of our founding fathers I do agree there is more to living in New Jersey then the view from Newark airport has to offer and think he did a incredible job in expressing his passion for his home state.

I would highly recommend this beautiful book to anyone who grew up in Southern New Jersey. If you have moved out of state as I have and people tell you how they "were in Jersey once" and preceed to tell you what a cesspool they thought it was because they landed in Newark you can whip out this book and say "Yo, This is where I GREW UP." It probably will not stop all the Soprano jokes or imitations of what they think people from Jersey sound like when they speak, but it will show them how beautiful South Jersey is in words as well as pictures.

I am very grateful to see a book of this caliber published, showing the side of Southern New Jersey that I have known and loved for my entire life. The photographs are marvelous, and
the book is a great ambassador for the area!

The girls are cute maybe a followup should be done on them to see where they are now and how they have held up.

As a local newspaper reporter, I have conducted extensive research into the history of Ocean City. With his third book, once again, Miller proves that he is truly an expert on this resort's history. He presents the events and happenings that shaped the island and its culture in a way that is not only accurate, but also interesting to natives and visitors alike. Miller is both an outstanding storyteller and a meticulous historian.

Fred Miller hits the nail on the head again with his recent view of our growing-up-years in Ocean City, NJ. Many era postcard views, period photographs, and other memorabilia are included in the book to remind us of what OC was like in years gone by. While the images are fasinating in their own right, where this book exceeded my expectations was in the depth and research shown with the captioning. It's obvious that the author spent many hours researching the history of the images and Ocean City. A wonderful addition to anyone's OCNJ collection.

Another look at the history of Ocean City, NJ by Fred Miller and another great book by this author! Miller's third book on Ocean City's history (his other two are "Ocean City:America's Greatest family Resort" and "Ocean City Beach Patrol") continues his facinating look at the history of this very interesting seashore resort. Thoroughly enjoyable!

This is a wonderful little book that does a marvelous job of introducing the reader to the building and development of the rail tunnels from New Jersey, under the Hudson, into New York City. While it is not a detailed history of the work, it is very well written, engaging, and absolutely enchanting. I highly recommend it.

Rails Under The Mighty Hudson: The Story Of The Hudson Tubes, The Pennsy Tunnels, And Manhattan Transfer by author and transportation expert Brian J. Cudahy is the true history of the construction of railway tunnels linking New Jersey and New York. Black-and-white photographs enrich this meticulous, thorough accounting of a turn-of-the-century engineering marvel that helped transform America into the modern engine of transportation and mass production that it is today. Rails Under The Mighty Hudson is a meticulously researched and deftly written addition to any personal, academic, and community library railroad history reference collections.

This story begins in the final years of the 19th century, when the first attempts to build rail tunnels under the Hudson were ending. Two of the tunnels were built by one company, the other by a competing railroad company. Brian Cadahy's new edition of Rails Under The Mighty Hudson is updated with more photos and a new preface and chapter of recent events.

I have always enjoyed Brian J. Cudahy's books. "The Malbone Street Wreck" was a sobering look at the disaster that befell the subway line in 1918. And last year's "A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York's Underground Railways" was just the opposite: it was a joyful, admiring look at the making of the subway system in New York, and tracked its progress through the 20th century.

I eagerly picked up this reprint of his 1975 book "Rails Under the Mighty Hudson: The Story of the Hudson Tubes, the Pennsy Tunnels and Manhattan Transfer" and was not disappointed. Briefly, this book describes the historical need for these tubes, the technological requirements, the difficulties in construction, and the dramatic effects they had upon completion. Villains and heroes abound, as they will in any tale of expensive public works, but they are relegated to a second-tier, as Cudahy's obvious admiration for this effort takes precedence. Comparisons to the Erie Canal are not far-fetched when describing the success of these tubes, and it is not far-fetched to say that only Brian Cudahy's passion for his subject makes this book one of the greatest about railroads, in general. The smattering of gorgeous photographs are gravy!

A terrific collection of spooky stories from around the state as told by a master storyteller. Can't wait for the next one!

Reviewed by Ellen Hogan for Reader Views (7/06)

This book is full of stories about paranormal happenings around New Jersey. Some of the stories date back to the time of the Revolutionary War. Each chapter is a different story some made to make yu go hmmmmm and some that are quite funny.

The first story is about a couple where the wife indulges in psychic events. When they visit someplace that she is interested in, she attends to finding out more about where they are and he just walks the trails and waits. This time they are in Ringwood State Park. It is said that the ghost of Robert Erskine roams the cemetery. While his wife is in taking a tour of the home, her husband decides that a nice walk is in order. All of a sudden the sky gets dark and rain is surely on the way. The husband sees a man with a lantern and the man tells him that he had better get a move on because it's getting ready to storm. He thanks the man dressed in the Revolutionary War uniform and asks who he is supposed to be. The man tells him that he is Robert Erskine, lightening flashes just at that moment and could be seen though his body. When the wife comes out her husband tells her of his experience and says that from now on she can go by herself.

Another story is about a man who buys an old grist mill. He is told that the previous miller was lured into the millpond by a topielec. He, of course, does not believe it. He marries and he and his wife are expecting their first child, they also have her nephew visiting with them. Each day the wife and boy would walk to meet him and they would go home together. One day the topielec started singing her song and the miller's wife started into the millpond. Her nephew grabs a hold of her and starts crying for her to get out of the pond. Finally the topielec's spell is broken and the miller's wife and nephew run to the grist mill. They tell the miller what happened and they are told that because she was pregnant that the topielec left her alone. The baby and the nephew were innocent so she could not lure them to their death. A neighbor advised them to always wear a cross and the topielec would leave them alone. The next day the miller bought each of them a cross to wear.

Joel had heard rumors of Blackbeard's Treasure and the town drunk Teddy told him he knew where to find it. So late one night the two went to the black walnut tree and started digging. Finally the land gave way and they found themselves in an underground cavern, and there they saw three chests. Joel opened one and started loading his pockets with gold and jewels. Then they heard the ghost of Blackbeard, as they ran out all the treasures that Joel had gotten fell along the way. They emerged from a dark passageway onto the riverbank. The next day they go back to find that the hole they dug is all covered over
like it was never there. Joel keeps trying and finally one day finds the opening where they came out to the riverbank. He goes inside and all the chests are gone, but on the floor he finds one gold coin. He kept it the rest of his life for good luck.

These are just a couple of the stories from the book, there are many more. If you are interested in hauntings and ghosts then this is the book for you. It's a collection of stories to be told over and over again.

Ghosts, hauntings and folk lore as told by someone who treasures the stories and wants to share them.

Spooky New Jersey is a wonderful collection of witty and interesting tales about my home state. As in her other "Spooky" books, S. E. Schlosser includes both folklore and history, and makes the stories very entertaining. This is a book that can be read in its entirety or by selected stories. A great addition to any library, especially for those stormy nights!

Spooky New Jersey captures your interest from the first story to the last. No New Jersey folklore book is complete without a New Jersey Devil story. The author of this book has adventures of the Jersey Devil in a 1909 setting. The Devil's activities are presented in an interesting and straight forward manner. Another story that captured my interest is named Brotherly Love. The setting is in Springfield, N J. The time frame is the Civil War, one brother fought for the north the other brother fought for the south, Lincoln has been assinated and his funeral train has made it to New York City and the brother's pay their respects to the president and interact with each other.
The Ghost in the Storm is a story about George Washington when his troops were wintering in Jockey Hollow.
An entertaining story is The Treasure Trove.
A pirate story involving Captain Kidd is called Dem Bones.
If you want to look for treasure the story Blackbeard's Treasure may hold some helpful clues.
I enjoyed the story of The White Stag, but my favorite was in The Sweet By and By.
I enjoyed reading every story in the book and wish it was longer.

I know Mark Cole. He is a great teacher and now author. He is also a part time body builder. This book is well written and well researched! I love the pictures! The authors certainly have put a great deal of time into making their book a superb work of art!

I new the Coles from when I was a kid growing up in Stone Harbor.
We lived across the street. I miss it too! I was a tight nieghborhood back then. I stumbled across this book by accident and loved it Very well done.

A well written and well researched book! I love the pictures! The authors certainly have put a great deal of time into making their book a superb work of art!

This is one of the best books I've read on the subject. It proves to be well-researched and very well written. The pictures are outstanding and well done. It brought back fond memories of fun times with family and friends. I hope Mark follows up with another.

I found this memoir in one of my favorite bookstores and thought it would be good. The copy I found was very creased in the spine and the jacket looked worn as well. Inside I found pink highlighting, blue ink underlining and some handwritten notes in the margins. I thought the cover looked interesting..covers can (sometimes) tell you a lot about the book..and in this case that is very true. The author, Louise, captured my interest in the author Virginia Wolff--so that author goes on my list of authors and books to read. As memoirs are so good at doing I have gotten another whole set of books to read from reading just this one memoir. Memoirs have a way of doing that. :)

I got into this novel right away and couldn't put it down. I loved how the story kept jumping back and forth but that it all came together so well. Totally inspirational read in so many ways.

I have read a great many books on writing, and written a few myself. But Writing as a Way of Healing has gone straight to the top of my list of favorites, and I suspect that it will stay there for a very long time--perhaps for all time. But in the process of reading this book, I discovered I had to read the book that went before it, and now I want to tell you about both.

Louise DeSalvo has been teaching English and creative writing for nearly twenty years. The first in her working-class Italian family to graduate from college, she escaped a soul-deadening home life--a depressed mother, an angry father--by reading, going to the movies, and dating, dating, dating. It wasn't until the late 1980's, when she wrote a scholarly book about the impact of childhood sexual abuse on the life and work of Virginia Woolf that she began to come to terms with her own childhood traumas and the lingering shadows of her mother's death and her sister's suicide. She dealt with her pain, anxiety, and depression in a memoir called Vertigo (now available in paperback, published by Plume), in which she explored her own story. Vertigo isn't a pleasant book, or easy--it's about hidden pain and the depression and despair into which a woman can fall when she attempts to avoid self-knowledge. But it is a necessary book, for through it, DeSalvo learns that the process of life-writing is also the process of healing. What she discovered in Vertigo, and what she subsequently put to use in her own teaching, is the subject and object of Writing As a Way of Healing.

DeSalvo's section and chapter titles, by themselves, are helpful clues to the book's significance. The first section is called "Writing as a Way of Healing," and contains four chapters: Why Write, How Writing Can Help Us Heal, Writing as a Therapeutic Process, and Writing Pain, Writing Loss. Section Two is called "The Process/The Program," and has four chapters: The Healing Power of the Writing Process, Caring for Ourselves as We Write; and Stages of Growth I and II. The third section, "From Woundedness to Wholeness Through Writing" contains two chapters: Writing the Wounded Psyche and Writing the Wounded Body. The Epilogue is called "From Silence to Testimony." Each of the chapters contains suggestions for writing, examples (from such writers as Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Jamaica Kincaid, Isabel Allende, Djuna Barnes), discussion, and ideas--lots of ideas, so many ideas that you'll find yourself wanting to stop reading and start writing (something that DeSalvo herself, no doubt, would applaud).

DeSalvo refers extensively to a favorite researcher of mine--Dr. James Pennebaker--whose book Opening Up has been an important influence on my own understanding of the healing power of the writing process. When we use writing to explore traumatic or anxiety-provoking events in detail, together with the feelings that arise from those events, the writing process can help us to understand more clearly, cope in a more balanced way, and even feel better physically. Seen from this point of view, life-writing becomes a lifetime project, as we unravel the meanings of events and explore our responses to them. When we commit ourselves to this very important lifelong project--recognizing that we don't write our story once and for all and forget it!--we commit ourselves to a lifetime of learning, growing and healing.

by Susan Wittig Albert
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviewsorg
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Louise DeSalvo's memoir captivates the reader. It offers an honest portrayal of depression's effects on her life, as well as the lives of her more clinically depressed mother and sister.

DeSalvo transforms the pain of her life into art. This is an inspirational story that will allow you a deeper look into the effect depression has had on this brilliant Virginia Woolf scholar.