Pennsylvania Books

New Myth, New World takes you on a journey deep from Rüssia's past to the present when the regime has fallen (even exploring the current relevance of "excrement" as a metaphore in Soviet literature). What I liked about this book was the well researched exposition of this work, as well as the meticulous prose that did not stray from being objective. The author is well-read, and consistently stays on track, and even when you think there has been a mistake (for example, quoting a 20th century figure for an idea Schopenhauer articulated a century before in his criticism of Hegel and his fellow mumblers), you'll find a few pages later that you yourself were wrong in thinking the author to be mistaken. A la fin, this is a good example of scholary work, which should be studied and learned from.

Other recommendations: Cultural Exchange (A book dealing with the Cold War and the exchange of information that helped lead to the downfall of the Soviet Union)

Nietzsche in Turin (A short work dealing with Níetzsche's last days, but strays enough from the subject to make it much more enjoyable than the crumbling insanity which was befalling good old Fritz at the time.)

Toilet: The Novel, by Michael Szymczyk (A Tribute to the Literary Works of Franz Kafka)

New Myth, New World: From Nietzsche To Stalinism by Bernice Glatzer Rosenthal is a thoughtful and scholarly reinterpretation of Nietzsche's lasting influence upon Soviet culture. Drawing on diverse primary sources in religion, philosophy, political ideology, architecture, street theater, and more, New Myth, New World is a learned and informative series of discourses combining to illustrate and demonstrate the lasting power of ideas in helping to shape the character, culture, and politics of the Russian nation and its governments. New Myth, New World is a welcome, significant, scholarly, and very strongly recommended contribution to Soviet Studies, Russian Cultural History, and Philosophy Studies academic reference collections as well as International Studies student supplemental reading lists.

Having spent much of my life in the Pennsylvania/New York region, I was delighted to find that this book contained most of the sights that I have come to love, as well as a large number that I was not familiar with. It is a "Blue Highways" (i.e., off the Interstate) type of guide, and is fun to read. Highly recommended for anyone planning a vacation in this region.

The National Geographic Driving Guides are by different authors and due to weak editing and selection, vary widely in quality. This one and the one for Texas and the Middle South are excellent. The California guide by Jerry Camarillo Dunn is awful. The Florida one falls somewhere in the middle. I have not read the others yet.

I found this book to be invaluable in planning our vacation in these three states. The book gave us suggestions of routes to take with time estimations included. Places of interest were rated allowing the traveler to make maximum use of his/her time. I have since purchased others in the series and will continue to recommend these guides to friends.

I lost this book several years ago in a house fire. Nonetheless, I often think about the delightful escapades and endearing anecdotes. Phyllis Lose's intelligence, heart, courage, and sense of humor come through loud and clear. Her story of going to Veterinary School at a time when women vets were few and far between is an inspiration. Having this book out of print is a shame. This is a must read for any young person who loves animals (or anyone else needing to break down barriers)

Any animal lover will like this book. But this book is not just for animal enthusiats. The obstacles the author overcomes to become the first lady veterinarian in America is astonishing. She became highly successful and had people seeking her out because of her advanced study of surgery on horses who previously would have had to have been put down. This book is well-written and very funny. Anyone who likes James Herriott will definetly enjoy this book.

Of Woods and Wild Things by Don Knaus: Don's a local guy writing about hunting and fishing and growing up in Tioga County. Though a work of fiction, there's more than a hint of the autobiographical. The stories follow a young man through his life from novice fisherman and hunter to seasoned woodsman. There's fishing and forests, hunting and hiking, camping and canoeing, but the stories are about more than woodcraft and the outdoors. It's about family and friendship, memories and mentoring, youth and yearning and a rite of passage that is becoming all too uncommon in our modern society.

Kevin Coolidge, columnist Wellsboro Gazette

This morning I wrestled a bear in my pajamas. Now, how he got in my pajamas, I'll never know. That's right give a man a fish and he'll eat for the day, but teach a man to fish and he'll be drinking beer and spinning tales before you know it. I grew up loving the woods and the wild things in them. Heck, I thought every ten year old knew how to identify a large-mouthed bass, or a pileated woodpecker, and knew that rattlers weren't really poisonous, but venomous, and believe me, there's a big difference if you are hungry I still find it hard to swallow that city folk think food comes from a grocery store, and that they can't get milk from a bull. Milk comes from a cow. You try milking a bull and let me know how it goes.

See, the land doesn't belong man, and by man, I mean humanity as a whole, It is the other way around. Man belongs to the land, the earth. I believe that the spirit of a place can call to a man. Some folks just belong in certain places. Blood calls to blood and spirit calls to spirit. It sings to you, draws you in and once it has you in your grasp. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself again.

I love stories. Stories are webs, connecting threads to threads to threads, each following to the center, because the center is the end, each person a thread of the story. Of Woods and Wild Things, a collection of related vignettes by Don Knaus, has some good yarns that weave into the tale of a man, and his relationship with nature.

The first rule of writing is to write what you know. It gives the writing a sense of verisimilitude that certain something that gives ones writing the sense of trueness, of realness. Although, Of Woods and Wild Things is a work of fiction, there's more than a hint of the autobiographical. The stories follow a young man through his life from novice fisherman and hunter to seasoned woodsman.

There's fishing and forests, hunting and hiking, camping and canoeing, but the stories are about more than woodcraft and the outdoors. It's about family and friendship, memories and mentoring, youth and yearning and a rite of passage that is becoming all too uncommon in our modern society.

Each story stands on it's own, some are humorous, some carry a sense of nostalgia and some just tell a tale. Being a ridgerunner myself I loved seeing the names of people and places I grew up with and around. The face of Wellsboro may have changed over the years, but the process of growing up remains unchanged. Each generation thinks it is the first to discover a new love or a new place, but the heart is the heart, regardless of the Age.

If you love this book check out "Of A Predatory Heart" by Joe Parry and "Poacher Wars" by William Wasserman

Jochens does a supreme job of explaining "everything you ever needed to know about women in early Scandinavia, but were afraid to ask."

This is a fascinating book about the female archetypes which *may* underly modern women of Nordic heritage more than we've previously realized. Or are they more patriarchal fantasy than reality? This book (and the companion volume "Women in Old Norse Society") seems a culmination of Jochens' career, bringing together vast amounts of knowledge and wisdom, brilliantly and provocatively interpreted. The book looks at images of women in Norse literature, mainly the Icelandic sagas. First she looks at Divine Images. The more ancient ones include fertility goddesses, valkyries, sibyls, norns and land-spirits. The more recent classic Nordic pantheon includes the two main goddesses Frigg and Freyja, and how such topics as sexual behaviour and marriage are treated in this divine pagan realm. Jochens then looks at Human Images of women in Norse literature. This is where she identifies the archetypes: the Warrior Woman, the Prophetess/Sorceress, the Avenger, and the Whetter (or Inciter). One of the very interesting points which Jochens stresses is that there is little historical evidence that these images portrayed the reality of women in real Norse society. Stories and poems of these pagan figures were transmitted by oral tradition for hundred of years, but the written sources were written by Christian monks for a Christian audience. This makes for infintely fascinating layers of conjecture and interpretion. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in how women are portrayed in history, especially women of Nordic heritage.

Ray Didinger is my favorite writer. I am a huge sports fan and I just love reading his work. This book, One Last Read, is a personal collection of his favorite works from throughout his career. The different articles he included are amazing. I specifically enjoyed his article about Reggie White, me being a huge fan of his. He also includes his speech introducing Tommy McDonald, an Eagles great, into the Hall of Fame.

A must read for all sports fans, especcially Philadelphia sports fans.

This is a must read for Philadelphia sports fans but also for anyone who appreciates well written articles and thoughtful opinions. Mr Didinger is in the writer's wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a reason. And because it is a collection of articles throughout the years it is something one could stop and start several times without missing a beat.

As I read Rob Laughner's "Our Nun," not knowing at all what to expect but rather assuming it would be a murder mystery, I was most surprised to find that it was really all about a boy named Boyd. And once I got to know his character, was spellbound by him. His shy, knowing, wry, and exceptionally human presence weaves a sweet magic about this book, leaving the reader with a desire to see much more of Boyd. Anyone who's ever known someone like him, (farmkid doesn't really do the trick here) can't help but be pleased that Mr. Laughner brought him to life on these pages, happy to have another meeting, hoping that each page turned brings him closer into view. The book is amazingly difficult to describe: It's not "modern," not "old-fashioned," absolutely not "trite or simplistic," and not "sweet." It's just a really good read, a really good story, very real, and yet magical. I loved it. I will read it again. And I will tell everyone I know about it, because everyone, from age 10 to 100, will "get it" on some level, and like it! Just read it, and hope that we see more of Boyd soon...

Just read the first paragraph. Beautifully written first novels aren't often brave enough to be funny, too. But after the first paragraph you'll have to grant him three pages, then the chapter...and the next thing you know you're cheering him down the field as if he were your quarterback, the focus of tackles with the goal line approaching. No better novel about being a farm kid, about being eleven -- a murder comes as a bonus. Lewis Nordan fans will love it while aquiring a new favorite author.

But just read the first paragraph. That's all I ask.

This book is a good, field-based introduction to the common mosses and liverworts of the northeastern United States. It is an ideal starting point for those who have noticed mosses and liverworts and want to learn more. The large color photographs make it easy to recognize the most common species and the text describes the habitats where these plants can be found. Its size makes it easy to carry and use.

The subject of this book, a guide to mosses and liverworts, is challenging. For those living in Pennsylvania and nearby states, all regional guides published in the last half century require taxonomic expertise. For liverworts, it's Rudolf Schuster's The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America East of the Hundreth Meridian, 6 volumes, 4,668 pages, over a thousand dollars if you are lucky enough to find a copy. For mosses, it's Crum and Anderson's two volume Mosses of Eastern North America, 1328 pages, published over 35 years ago and available on Amazon for over $400. You might try How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts 2nd edition, by Conrad and Redfearn, but the guide covers the entire country and consists of dichotomous keys illustrated with line drawings.
Susan Munch's Outstanding Mosses & Liverworts of Pennsylvania and Nearby States is the only guide with color photographs. Spiral bound, 89 pages, and reasonably priced, it is designed to help people get started identifying mosses and liverworts. By selecting conspicuous and relatively common species, the author makes the process of identification feasible. For identifying specimens, I found it helpful to thumb through the pages and scan the photographs, much as I would a field guide to wildflowers. Opposite each page of photographs is a page of text describing the species illustrated. The photographs give sharp, close-up images of diagnostic features. The text is engaging and provides ecological and taxonomic information with a minimum of jargon. For more comprehensive taxonomic sources, the author provides a list of references.

Having grown up in the suburbs of Philly, I have memories of going to the Palestra to watch Big 5 basketball doubleheaders on Saturday nights.
For those of us who lived it, it is nostalgic book....
For those of us who love the game of basketball, it is a historical account of an amazing time, with amazing players, and a passion that is too seldom seen in today's game ..

This comprehensive and compelling book makes me long for my playing days again. I never followed the Big 5 (except for ESPN highlights), but now I am a fan because of it's richness and depth. The rivalries in the Big 5 are fascinating and hearty. This book captures how deep basketball waters run in Philadelphia and how deep collegiate loyalty can be. The author has crafted a rare treat that any fan of sports, history, and life will love. If you want to read about sports in its finest, purest form, then read this book.

Simon P Newman's Parades And The Politics Of The Street focuses on festivities and political connections in early American history, considering how parades were involved in drawing together people of different social levels, and how they influenced politics and opinions about popular leadership. This title would be useful for the college-level course on early American history as supplemental reading.

Simon Newman has given a vivid, fresh and accessible vision of life in early-European America. I'd never given a moment's thought to these matters of public demonstration...A must-read for anyone even remotely interested in colonial, social, even labor history.