Pennsylvania Books

Some of the best photos ever reproduced of existing originals. For an historian, reinactor, or gun builder, this is a "must have" book

Aside from the fact that this is an page-turner, the reader has the opportunity to experience how a crime is solved from an author who has actually done it. Things don't magically happen - the reader is led through the process, including the blind alleys. I found it fascinating to find out how white collar fraud actually occurs. Jason Holmes is not larger than life; the reader can identify with him. I felt like I was solving the crime right along with him.

I also liked getting into the mind of the criminal. Although I found it very disturbing, this criminal was developed better than in many of the other detective novels I have read. You can see where Bartow has had experience in profiling the criminal mind.

While I won't give away the ending, it is extraordinarily satisfying. It makes you think about the adequacy of our justice system. Whether you like it or you don't, Pale Horse will surely get you thinking!

Somehow, despite a realistic story about hard-bitten people, this first novel is also sweet, moving, and not depressing. Maybe it's because the characters, despite their faults, have character. It's on a par with the best novels about life in the United States (in this case a small town in Pennsylvania) that I've ever read. It passes an ultimate test: I'd readily lend it to anyone. My father liked it, too.

This is another of Wennawoods Publishing's "Great Pennsylvania Frontier" series. Originally published in a two volume set in 1808 and 1811, this collection of Indian captivity narratives written by Archibald Loudon was one of the most popular and widely read of all the many books on this subject that would appear over the next 100 years. In fact, it was so popular that it has become a rarity to find a complete copy of the original 19th century editions. Wennawoods reprinted the 1888 edition as seen here to bring these rare and fascinating captivity narratives to a modern audience.

This work is replete with tales of white settlers and soliders who were captured by Indians during the late 18th and early 19th centuries on the trans-Allegheny frontier. Among the more than 25 accounts included here is that of the famous Col. James Smith and his more than 5 years captivity with the Wyandots in northeastern Ohio. This work also includes extensive accounts of Indian life, religion, foodways, hunting, warfare, and, of course, torture. It is understandable how this book became so popular, as it was written at a time when the danger from Indian raids along the frontier was still a viable threat, and it is easy to picture frontier families huddled together on a cold winter night around the fireplace, reading of tales of Indian depredations and scaping and torture, all the while listening for the faint echoes of the war whoop in the dark woods nearby.

This is an excellent book for those interested in doing research on american loyalists who served in any of the loyalist regiments. It consists of copies of the loyalist muster rolls, which musters were taken approximately every two months. It will sometimes also provide a little bit of biographical material on individual loyalists, such as where they came from, where they went when they left the regiment, whether they were absent due to being a prisoner, having been killed in action or out wounded.

What is it about Halloween and ghost stories that turns us all into kids? Just looking at the covers of local author William Robertson's two spooky story collections makes me want to grin like a jack o'lantern and cackle like a witch. Lurking in Pennsylvania features a cover photo of two fawns in a patch of trees - a photo that was probably high in the "awwwww...." factor (as in, "awww, aren't they sweet?) before the addition of a demonic glow in the eyes of the Bambi twins. (This is probably a much more accurate portrayal, many gardeners will be happy to let you know.)

Robertson's newest collection, Dark Haunted Day, displays another familiar northern Pennsylvania scene, that of the weathered farmhouse surrounded by stark trees. This cover is in black and white, as are the rest of the photos scattered throughout the book to accompany various stories. Not that it would matter much if the photos were in color, because for many months of the year, and at several times of the day, this is the way our landscapes look. In both his introduction and with the tone of his stories, this Potter County author speaks to the way the atmosphere affects those of us who call this area home. The author remarks that although this climate causes bouts of depression in some people, for him it has inspired the creative spark that allows him to present us with stories, poems and pictures that bring that childlike pleasure in scaring yourself.

Indeed, as I read through the offerings of these two books, I connected most with the stories about kids. The very first one I read was "Rescue at the Devil's Den", which combines Robertson's two greatest strengths - his knowledge about the Pennsylvania Civil War unit known as the Bucktails, and his writing for children. Bill Robertson marches with the local re-enactment unit of the Bucktails, and has penned five wonderful books on the subject. With co-author David Rimer, Robertson writes about the experiences the young men of northern Pennsylvania had while fighting with the Bucktails. Obviously, Robertson draws on these writings, and adds a supernatural twist in creating some of his horror stories. The Boy Scout who is stranded up in Devil's Den on a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield makes out far better in his encounter with the spirit of a soldier than does the photographer who hasn't been paying child support in the appropriately titled, "Bad Things Happen to Bad Men."

Another thrill came from hearing Rob Kathcart give an animated reading of "Mrs. Babcock's ABC's" to a young audience who shrieked in delight as second-grader Perry finds at the truth about his "evil" teacher and principal. And children as well as adults should enjoy the fact that in many stories, ghosts get their revenge on people who deserve it - hunters who needlessly and brutally kill over their legal limit of deer; a home repairman taking advantage of an old widow; the editor of a magazine who enjoys sending rejection letters. Although occasionally Robertson's dialogue or style is a little stilted, these two books on the whole offer countless nuggets of enjoyment. I encourage Gazette readers who are looking to share a thrill: support a local author, turn off the lights and read aloud by firelight what's Lurking in Pennsylvania on any given Dark Haunted Day.

Editor,"Of A Predatory Heart"

This book series is a lot of fun to read. My 8yr. old son isn't a big reader, but he enjoys reading this series.

I thought this book was very intresting, it explained alot for me.

For a little coal-mining town, Mahanoy City really has a rich and diverse history. This book has a great collection of old photographs and informative captions that tell the story of the hardy Welsh, Irish, Italian, Polish, and other immigrants that came to settle in this coal-rich part of Pennsylvania to make their start in the United States. The sense of community they formed was remarkable considering the diversity of their backgrounds. I loved this book and am proud to be a descendant of those early immmigrant settlers.

{Farley} takes a sweeping approach to the topic and aims to place the technological changes in ammunition manufacturing into a broad social and cultural context following the spirit of work by Merrit Roe Smith, Judith McGaw, and Robert Gordon. This approach requires that Farley skip over many topics and give cursory empirical support for assertions about industrial change in a short text of just over 100 pages. The result is an intriguing survey of the early changes at the arsenal that raises numerous questions for further research. . . . This readable book raises a host of issues about the transformation of military manufacturing and the development of machinery technology. Farley hasdone a valuable service by offering evidence that suggests the commanders andleading machinists of the Frankford Arsenal may have played a major role in this transformation beginning in the 1850s; this arsenal, thus, deserves more attention by business historians.