Turner Books

If you're looking for a way to celebrate Oklahoma's upcoming centennial, want to get a little more familiar with Oklahoma City history, or are curious about those notorious street jogs in the downtown area, then pick up a copy of this book and feast on a collection of photographs ranging from the Land Run of 1889 through the postwar era and beyond.

The book views the birth of Oklahoma City through the lens of a camera. The result of countless hours of research, it features a collection of historic black and white photographs recording moments in time that shaped the development of the capitol city.

Some highlights:
* Two townsite companies feuded over accurately surveying the townsite, resulting in strangely aligned streets
* Treeless fields filled with tents, horses and cattle
* An early photo of a May, 1896 tornado, described as a "twisting serpent-like cloud
* Horse racing at the first state fair in 1907
* Charlton Heston participating in a civil rights march

Many people like looking at old photographs of buildings and landscapes, but my favorite shots are of people, like the one of the conductor on page 79, poised on the steps of a trolley. He's grinning from ear to ear. What was his name? How did he get to Oklahoma? Where did he live? What was his story? Such is the power of a photograph.

Excellent book with top notch photos and location of photos listed. Highly recommend this book to any current or past resident of Omaha or person intestested in Omaha history.

As the author states in the preface, few of the folks that have visited Orlando for tourism have actually seen the city (most people stay only in the theme parks area, which is a good drive away from the City Beautiful's downtown area). Therefore, a photographic document that shows images from the city dating back to the 1850s when it first appeared on the map may come in as a pleasant surprise for many.

Like the other "Historic Photos of" books, the book is broken down by time periods that have a particular theme. Starting with a span between 1868 and 1908 that shows street shots that resemble Deadwood and crocodile-domesticating "Crackers" (the closest thing to an Orlandoan cowboy there ever was), the book extends all the way up to the Theme Park days in the seventies, even showing shots of Walt Disney himself within months of his death, before he was able to see his Walt Disney World dream come true.

Though those that have come to O-Town as tourists may get a kick out of the book, I feel it will be more worth the time of locals or those (like us) who have chosen to make it our home.

This book, which is part of Turner Publishing's "Historic Photos of..." series, is a beautiful, coffee table-sized (10"x10") pictorial account of Philadelphia. The black and white photographs date back 1839 with the inclusion of the oldest known photograph in the United States. The photos are arranged into six major time periods which cover the early days of the city and beyond, developments in business and politics, highlights of work and play, challenges and changes, conflict and war, and finally, rebirth to recent times (up to 1989).

Each of the six chapters begins with a one-page text overview of that era, but the main body of the book is pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Almost 200 photographs are included, each one featured on its own page and accompanied by a concise yet detailed description further illuminating that time period. Philly's famous city hall, with its statue of William Penn adorning the top (and which, by both law and tradition, was the highest building in the city until the arrival of Liberty Place in the 1980s), is frequently featured, as are the surrounding Broad and Market Streets. There are also various photographs highlighting the many famous Philadelphia department stores, including Gimbel's, Lit Brothers, Strawbridge & Clothier, and John Wannamakers. Finally, any book about Philadelphia is likely to be rich in our country's history, and this one is no exception, most notably evidenced by the two-page spread depicting the opening ceremonies for the nation's centennial.

I was born in Philadelphia and grew up in the area, so this book provided a wonderful trip down memory lane for me. It would make a perfect gift for anyone who has a connection to this amazing historical city; highly recommended!

I received a copy of a new coffee table-sized book on Reno titled Historic Photos of Reno, published by Turner Publishing Company. The author, Donnelyn Curtis, is a librarian with the University of Nevada, Reno, and Director of Research Collections & Services and Head of Special Collections there. Her pictures and commentary cover the first century or so of Reno from around 1868 to the end of the 1970s. I not only read the book and looked at the outstanding pictures culled from the university archives, I also shared the book with my landlord who has lived in Reno since 1947. We spent several hours browsing the book and reading the captions, and we both came to the conclusion this is the best pictorial volume about Reno we have seen.

Curtis took great care in selecting the photographs, all of them black and white, covering many aspects of Reno's history, including the Johnson/Jeffries fight of 1910; various businesses in and around Reno and Sparks; the rise of gaming in Reno; parades of note which included a parade featuring aviator Charles Lindbergh; the 1950 Reno flood; vintage University of Nevada, Reno, pictures; and even a picture of the original "Biggest Little City in the World" sign and how that came to be. Some of the businesses and buildings still exist, but for older people such as my landlord, those which don't exist anymore but are depicted in the book bring back a lot of memories. Curtis' captions and commentary are brief and to the point.

I can't recommend this book enough for those who are interested in local history as I am.

This book, which is part of Turner Publishing's "Historic Photos of..." series, is a beautiful, coffee table-sized (10"x10") pictorial account of Rochester, New York. The photographs date back to the time of the Civil War and trace the growth of the city through immigration expansions, challenges of the early 1900s, pre- and post- World War 1, and finally, more recent developments through the 1970s. Each of the six chapters begins with a one-page text overview of that era, but the main body of the book is pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Almost 200 photographs are included, each one featured on its own page and accompanied by a concise yet detailed description further illuminating that time period. Virtually every area of city life is covered, from frequent floods, transportation, and commerce to architecture, landscape, and recreation. A wonderful gift for transplants to Rochester like myself and area natives alike; highly recommended!

You know that inexplicable sense of mood about times past that can sometimes come upon us unaware? Maybe a scent from a perfume forgotten, or the flavor of chewing gun not chewed for decades, or a song from a gone by era will trigger it. As I was perusing this fine collection of black and white photos of early Sacramento I was touched again and again with that inexplicable mood that comes from the remembrance of things past.

For Marcel Proust it was the taste of madeleine cake soaked in lime flowers that aroused the memories and evoked the delicious sense of mood. For many of us something similar happens when we look back at photos of what life was like many decades ago.

I grew up in California--although not in Sacramento. Nonetheless the photos showing Kress's and the Owl Drug Store and a theater marquee announcing the showing of a new Shirley Temple or Joan Fontaine picture show as seen in this book are not different from what I recall on the streets of Long Beach or Los Angeles where I grew up. The men in their fedoras and the women with scarves covering their hair bring back a time and way of life that I knew as a kid. The Armistice Day parades with the bands and the soldiers marching past Florshein's shoe store or Montgomery Ward's are nearly the same in Sacramento as in L.A.

There's one photo per page, 199 in all, the earliest showing the Central Pacific Depot in downtown Sacramento, ca. 1880, and the latest showing Spiro Agnew speaking (with Governor Ronald Reagan watching) on the Capitol steps in 1969. There are photos of fires and flooded streets, and muddy streets and dusty streets and even a pretend train wreck at the state fair in 1917 (p. 65). We see the evolution of transportation from horses and stage coaches to steam engine railroad trains to diesels and the electric red cars of my childhood, and also from model Ts and coupes to the finned sedans of the fifties. The billboards of the times and the signs on the sides of buildings tell us that you could get a room for fifty cents and then a dollar or two a night. We can see ice trucks and brewery wagons with barrels of beer pulled by horses. I was amused to see that the Western Hotel at 3rd and K streets, ca. 1931, offered nightly rates from 35 cents to a dollar and up, along with "Rummy in our large clean card room." "E. E. Todd, prop.," also advised that rummy checks could be "cashed for rooms or merchandise." (p. 107)

The book is beautifully presented with a handsome glossy dust jacket with the photos on heavy, expensive paper, held together with a sturdy binding. All of the photos are from the Sacramento Archives and Museum Collection Center, and the crisp text and captions are by James Scott and Tom Tolley.

This book has wonderful pictures and captures the essence of what Sonoma County's 'olden days' were like. The author definitely did his homework and his enthusiasm and respect for Sonoma County are well depicted.

While I attended Michigan State University right out of high school, I finished my undergraduate work in music at the University of Michigan School of Music (now the School of Music, Theater, and Dance) and later in life, I received my MBA from the U of M Business School (now the Ross School of Business). My wife and I also had our children here in Ann Arbor and raised all of them here. The University plays a big role in the life of Ann Arbor and it has certainly been a significant part of my life.

This book takes us through the various stages of the University's development from the 1860s through the last picture of former President Gerald R. Ford at the beginning of construction of his Presidential Library in 1979. I was in my first year at the music school when the ground breaking took place just down the road a mile or two. And I graduated the same month it was dedicated in April of 1981.

I really like the way this collection shows women participating at the University, albeit in largely segregated ways. And while there weren't many African-Americans at the University, there was a presence and some are represented here. The pictures are centered around medicine, law, the sciences, and athletics. My field, music, is only shown in passing and our school is not even pictured. A disappointment! It is a beautiful building with a lovely pond and would have made a nice addition to the book.

We also see some of the rituals of student life and how the football teams evolved over the decades (just a few representative shots). I love the picture of the big hole being prepared for Michigan Stadium and the shot when the top was at ground level.

A few of the pictures are also in the Historic Photos of Ann Arbor collection, but only a few. Some of these pictures are familiar to those who follow the history of Ann Arbor and the University, but I think some are rarely seen.

Nice collection, helpful captions, good book.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

While Thomas Edison was a product of the 19th Century and patented his incandescent light bulb in 1879, he lived until 1931 and worked on inventing and industry until very near the end. He befriended icons of 20th Century such as Henry Ford and his reputation glowed in the popular culture of my youth in the 1960s. While his presence in the popular culture has faded somewhat, his reputation and what he contributed to our modern way of life should remain. This fine book presents a couple of hundred pictures taken from the archives of the Edison National Historic Site. The book is in seven sections:

The Early Years (1847-1875)
Menlo Park Laboratory (1876-1882)
West Orange Laboratory (1887-1931)
The Phonograph and Motion Pictures (1886-1930)
Edison in World War I (1914-1918)
Family and Friends (1871-1931)
Fame and Legacy

We see Edison from his youth through his funeral. We see him in his labs with his fellow insomniacs and many of his projects. You know about the light bulb, phonograph, and his work in movies. Did you know about the process he developed to crush rock containing low amounts of iron ore and pulled it out using magnetism? What about his attempts to build low cost, good looking, and sturdy concrete homes?

Not everything Edison attempted was a success. The talking doll he made that used a miniature phonograph was too fragile for practical use and had to be recalled, as did his type E batteries. Nor did he optimize his return from every invention (he was granted more than 1,000 patents). In fact, he lost some battles. For example, he wanted to power the world with direct current, but for many reasons alternating current became the standard we use today.

The book also shows us his family life. His first wife, Mary, died young and they had two sons and a daughter together. He married Mina and they were together the rest of his life. They also had three children.

All of the pictures are fascinating, but I love the cubic foot of copper on page 40. The copper industry wanted to thank the man who had done so much to create demand for electric wires, motors, and so forth. They asked him what gift he would enjoy and he asked for a cubic foot of solid copper. Edison knew how difficult that would be to cast and it took them eleven tries before they got it right and gave it to him on October 13, 1911.

The captions are terrific, as are the helpful section introductions. These were written Leonard DeGraaf who is an archivist at the Edison National Historic Site. This is a very well done book and will help its readers to become more familiar with the very important Thomas Alva Edison. Well done!

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI