Pennsylvania Books

To the author: I can't tell you how fantastic I think it is that all of your hard work on this book really paid off. To me, it wasn't merely a history book; it was an opportunity to stand beside the men you described and to watch them be who they are. I could see the wear and tear on their clothes and almost smell the baked-in odors of days and months without baths.

From Home Guards to Heroes is a thoroughly researched, creative, and engaging history of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry and the primary location from which its members came, Adams and York Counties, Pennsylvania. (Reviewer's disclosure: my great-great-great uncle, Daniel P. Reigle, was a member of Company F of the 87th, leading to my personal interest in this unit.)

The foundation of this book is Brandt's extensive research: U.S. census records, nearly 2000 Compiled Military Service Records, and over 1000 pension files for 87th Pennsylvania members, in addition to those records for over 800 men from the Adams/York areas who enlisted in other units in 1861. This study yields descriptive data on the 87th and comparative data relative to men in other units on factors such as their professions, age, physical characteristics, age at death, life expectancy, American-born and foreign-born, and their personal worth in personal property and real estate at the time they enlisted. The data on 1861 enlistments (both 87th and other units) is presented with the 1860 Lincoln vote for each of the fifty-five townships and boroughs in the two counties.

The quantitative research is complemented by extensive use of newspapers, including not only major city newspapers, but the local newspapers in the Gettysburg, York, and Hanover, important for understanding the political landscape and personalities in the area. For example, in addition to the rich contemporary information yielded by those newspapers, this research also yielded the valuable recollections by Michael Heiman in the York Gazette in 1891-1892. Further, Brandt has made use of any available manuscript sources, such as the George Blotcher papers at the excellent library of the York County Historical Trust, the Thomas Crowl papers at the U.S. Army Military History Institute and Penn State University libraries, and other materials provided by 87th descendants. He uses this information to create "sketches" of each company in the 87th, and the primary officers who were instrumental in its formation and its four years of service. I have seen many of these names "on paper" in years of reading about the 87th, but I found Brandt's sketches to provide an entirely new level of perspective on the men themselves.

This is a "real people" approach to the regiment's people and history, and it does not hesitate to share information that is delicate or uncomplimentary. For example, in the unit's rush to organize, there was no attempt to make any pre-enlistment physical examination of the potential enlistees. Brandt presents data to show that this resulted in more than 11% of the 1861 enlistees leaving the service for illness or injury; by comparison, the 7th PA Reserves' Company H, recruited in the same area, conducted full physical exams and experienced less than half that level of attrition. At another level that paints a less-than-heroic picture of some of the 87th's men, the unit was chartered and recruited primarily to provide security on the important Northern Central Railroad between Harrisburg and Baltimore. Although this was critically important to the Union effort in the first year of the war, such duty was not expected to involve major combat, long marches, or significant hardships at great distances from home. As a result, there was significant consternation among some parts of the 87th when their mission changed to becoming a fighting unit in the Union Army. Brandt examines the subject of desertions in detail, both real and on paper only, especially those occurring in the aftermath of the 87th's loss of 293 men captured at 2nd Winchester during the prelude to Gettysburg in June 1863. Drawing on Ella Lonn's classic Desertion During the Civil War for perspective, he provides many details on the individual cases of some men who intended to desert and did so, but also includes cases that illustrate how men could be tagged as "deserters" unfairly due to cumbersome administrative processes,. Finally, the chapter on "South-Central Pennsylvania and Race" will undoubtedly leave readers with roots in the 87th's home territory with a better understanding of the complex views of the community on race, slavery, emancipation, and the meaning of citizenship, but also with some embarrassment in accepting in our 21st Century the opinions of our ancestors in the 19th Century. These are difficult subjects to tackle objectively and fairly, and I commend the author for doing so. It provides additional perspective for the 87th's solid performance as part of the VI Corps in 1864 and 1865.

A difficult choice for the author of any regimental history is how much detail to include on the battles in which the unit participated. Brandt made the choice to not attempt to relate in detail the battles at 2nd Winchester, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, 3rd Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, the Petersburg Campaign including the Breakthrough on 2nd April 1865, and the Appomattox Campaign. He does include a more extensive analysis of Monocacy because of the 87th's pivotal role there in slowing down Early's advance on Washington D.C. This is clearly the right choice, in my opinion, because it enables Brandt to use the space of his book to focus on the 87th, while the reader interested in more depth on the 87th at the major battles can readily turn to other excellent studies.

This book will be of value to anyone studying the genealogy or local history of the York/Adams County area. However, I also believe this book to be of significant value to anyone interested in an indepth understanding and history of a Union infantry regiment. Although the 87th was, of course, a set of specific individuals and events, the themes, dynamics, and patterns likely have a high degree of similarity in other units. I will not only be re-reading this book more than once, but will use it as a valuable reference in my own Civil War genealogy and history research.

If you are looking for a Civil War story that is new and different this is the book for you. I was held captive from start to finish. Dennis Brandt tells, after 10 years of research, the story only he can tell. The story of the 87th Pennsylvania. It is a story about the lives of the boys from York and Adams county. Yes, Gettysburg is in Adams County but this is not another tired tale of that great story. It is instead about how the boys started their Army life rather dull, guarding railroads ect. as many battles raged on in other parts of the U.S.A. But our boys get taken captive, they escape, they die and in the end we ponder over whether The Grand Old Flag would still fly over those states south of Mason-Dixon if not for these HEROS.

To anyone that is not familar with coal region life...this is a good reflection of what it was like. The hard times, the good times, the cheating and politics that went on even in that era. I thought it was great and very interesting.

I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ANY ONE THAT ENJOYS A GOOD STORY. I FEEL YOU COULD PUT YOUR OWN ANCESTORY INTO SOME OF THE EVENTS IN THIS BOOK. ALTHOUGH IT WAS WRITTEN ABOUT EARLY DAYS OF THE COAL REGION IN PENNSYLVANIA I THINK LIFE WAS LIKE THIS FOR MOST IMMIGRANTS COMING TO AMERICA IN THIS TIME FRAME. I WOULD LIKE TO READ BOOKS NORM OLEY WILL WRITE IN THE FUTURE IF THE STORY KEEPS ME INTERESTED THE WAY THIS ONE HAS.

this is the 1st book i have read in a long time that made me want to finish it the same day. i found this book to be interesting showing accounts of how events actually happened in the early days of coal discovery in the coal region of pennsylvania. i believe this is a book the whole family would enjoy reading. writing was tasteful. being from the coal region and trying to put my own family history to the book although fiction could possibly been loosely based on facts. i am looking forward to the next book norm oley writes.

Just got the book the other day. It has plenty of information of all the golf courses around the NYC area. I also discovered plenty of courses around my area that I didn't know about before! If your an avid golfer around these neck of the woods, this book is a MUST HAVE.

An excellent reference for the Big Apple golfer. Info on all courses within a 70 mile radius of NYC. Including their Top 30 Public Courses, as well as listings of ranges, golf stores and all things golf...SCHWING Magazine-Summer 1999 issue.

If golf is your game...as their ads correctly say "you gotta have this book"...it has everything you need to know about golfing in the NY Metropolitan Area...invaluable !

This is what a tour book should be - it has great maps, detailed descriptions of the history of the trail and how you can see what remains of it. There are also many interesting sidebars and annecdotes which make the history more relevant and connect it to things you already know.

Absolutely a superb book. The author is a cartographer whose maps are the basis for many local trails. In this book he shares the history of the area and tells the stories behind the things you see on the trail. This book helps you understand the area you're passing through. Well written, highly usable; glad I bought it.

The Great Allegheny Passage Companion: Guide To History And Heritage Along The Trail by writer, editor, map maker, and enthusiastic bicyclist Bill Metzger is a detailed, mile-by-mail guidebook to the Allegheny Passage Trail. Especially written for bikers, hikers, rail buffs, armchair travelers and the non-specialist general reader interested in learning more about the colorful past of the great state of Pennsylvania, The Great Allegheny Passage Companion is replete with extensive historical anecdotes for every leg of the journey distinguishing this especial guide. Nicely enhanced with a profusion of black-and-white photographs, maps, and solid travel advice, The Great Allegheny Passage Companion is an invaluable travel planning resource and reference for anyone seeking to fully experience what the Allegheny Passage has to offer the contemporary traveler.

We took the book with us to Pittsburgh and discovered all sorts of places we wouldn't have known about otherwise. Never steered us wrong.

I no longer travel without a Moon Handbook.

As a Pittsburgher-- born, raised and educated in one of the greatest of American cities-- it's vexing to see Amazon.com dropped my 'ometown's "h" when listing the Pennsylvania 'andbook's complete title with the incorrect spelling "Pittsburg." Pittsburgh without the "h" is like Miam, New Yor, Chicag, or Salt Lake Cit without their respective final letters. 'ere's 'oping your editorial staff checks out one of the atlases you sell on-line next time!

Hawk Mountain is my favorite place in the entire world, and when I received my copy of this book, I immediately started reading. I couldn't put it down. The narrative is spellbinding; among his other many talents, Broun was an excellent writer. The photographs add an extra dimension to the story of the sanctuary and make the manuscript come alive. It was especially meaningful to me as someone who is so familiar with and fond of the place, but even someone who has never seen it can't fail to be moved by the passion and the conviction with which the sanctuary founders moved forward with their vision. Highly recommended.

A true conservation classic. Anyone who has visited Hawk Mountain will appreciate this book. The wholesale slaughter of the 20's and 30's of hawks passing over the Pennsylvania mountain is vividly described and will outrage any nature lover. Broun also poetically describes the beauty and solitude of life on the mountain in all seasons. Highly recommended! Stephen Rees. Abington, Pa.

A true conservation classic. Anyone who has visited Hawk Mountain will appreciate this book. The wholesale slaughter of the 20's and 30's of hawks passing over the Pennsylvania mountain is vividly described and will outrage any nature lover. Broun also poetically describes the beauty and solitude of life on the mountain in all seasons. Highly recommended! Stephen Rees. Abington, Pa.

Understanding the historical development of pensions is critical to the future of retirement systems around the world. This volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century. The authors emphasize how retirement plans can help achieve human resource objectives, how public sector pension policy has sometimes been influenced by other government objectives, and how early pension plans were funded.

After discussing the economics of retirement plans, the authors review the history of European retirement plans, beginning with their use in the Roman Empire, and then moves on to early American pension systems. They explore the development and management of U.S. army and navy pension plans during the nineteenth century, drawing on original records of participants, retirees, and plan finances. They document the struggle to establish a federal civil service retirement system and trace the growth of state and local retirement plans. This history is inextricably linked to broader developments in U.S. financial markets, offering rich insights into political debates, including current debates surrounding plan design and plan funding.

This book is of significant interest to financial market and pension experts, labor and corporate pension sponsors, policymakers, public sector plan participants, and others who want to know how and why pensions emerged. Robert L. Clark is Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Management, North Carolina State University, and coeditor of the volume To Retire or Not? Retirement Policy and Practice in Higher Education, also available in the series from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Lee A. Craig is Professor of Economics, North Carolina State University. Jack W. Wilson is Professor of Business Management, North Carolina State University.

Understanding the historical development of pensions is critical to the future of retirement systems around the world. This volume offers a comprehensive assessment of the political and financial dimensions of public sector pensions from the colonial period until the emergence of modern retirement plans in the twentieth century. The authors emphasize how retirement plans can help achieve human resource objectives, how public sector pension policy has sometimes been influenced by other government objectives, and how early pension plans were funded.

After discussing the economics of retirement plans, the authors review the history of European retirement plans, beginning with their use in the Roman Empire, and then moves on to early American pension systems. They explore the development and management of U.S. army and navy pension plans during the nineteenth century, drawing on original records of participants, retirees, and plan finances. They document the struggle to establish a federal civil service retirement system and trace the growth of state and local retirement plans. This history is inextricably linked to broader developments in U.S. financial markets, offering rich insights into political debates, including current debates surrounding plan design and plan funding.

This book is of significant interest to financial market and pension experts, labor and corporate pension sponsors, policymakers, public sector plan participants, and others who want to know how and why pensions emerged. Robert L. Clark is Professor of Economics and Professor of Business Management, North Carolina State University, and coeditor of the volume To Retire or Not? Retirement Policy and Practice in Higher Education, also available in the series from the University of Pennsylvania Press. Lee A. Craig is Professor of Economics, North Carolina State University. Jack W. Wilson is Professor of Business Management, North Carolina State University.

Clark, Craig, and Wilson have produced a comprehensive book that serves a wide audience. While providing a detailed history of the development of public sector pensions from colinial times to 1920, tghe authors have taught their readers about the economic theory of pensions, informed them about the origins of the modern welfare state, and guided them to better understand the policy implications of recent proposals to reform Social Security. In the end, this book accomplishes much.

Shawn Kantor
University of California, Merced, and National Bureau of Economic Research

Not for the academic alone, Hitler's Face lays out not only post-WWI Germany's obsession with physiognomy but also its maniacal drive to construct a physiognomic system which could redeem the fatherland after its disgrace at Versailles; the drive to construct, as Schmýlders puts it, a national portrait gallery which would not only illustrate but prove the superiority of the German people.

The book is translated into clear and concise prose. The cover sucks, but can be easily removed.

In a world where the US government evaluates your penchant for atrocity based on how many people named Mohammed you've texted in the last two years, it's good to be reminded of, shall we say, certain pitfalls in this approach.

The premise of tracing images of Hitler is intriguing, and the book lives up to it.

"Hitler's Face - the Biography of an Image" comes in English at the right time in American history, at exactly the time when we (once again) need to learn to interpret the images projected by the media of those who hold power over our nation. From this point of view, "Hitler's Face" is an absolutely essential book; its analysis of physiognomic studies linked with the propagandist aspect of political portrayals is very current.

In general, the English translation reads very smoothly. Some citations from secondary texts were at times difficult to follow, but I imagine they were the best published translations available. And besides, the rest of the text makes up for these sections; a good read.

I am puzzled and very disappointed that this book is not being widely enough read and written about. I suspect its reputation is growing underground as people pass on copies and recount their experiences in reading it. Collins is a fine writer who brings an awsome command of history, Biblical scholarship, cultural appraisal, literary studies into focus such that the reader is made to see in startlingly new ways what a mess America has been brought to by its present leaders. This is not a superfical glance at the neocons, G W Bush, the Iraq war; it is rather a deeply thoughtful consideration of much that has gone into the long prehistory of the American nightmare -- ancient narratives, the structure of the language, the nature of metaphor, the inner workings of the evangelical mind. The book builds to a conclusion that will have you thinking in new ways about the recent past, not necessarily with bright hopes. Collins has a wonderful sense of humor, low-key, understated, sharp. I recommend this book.

This is a marvelous work of scholarship that exposes the dangerous myths powering the American worldview. Ought to be required reading in American political science curricula.

Review of Homeland Mythology, by Christopher Collins (Penn State Press, 2007) 262 pp.


Christopher Collins' Homeland Mythology: Biblical Narratives in American Culture exposes layers of sediment that have occluded our view of what is American. To all those who love to quote one side of a coin, "In God We Trust," never turning it over to read "In Diversity United," this is essential reading. All cultures survive and perish on their stories, but the unexamined story, as Collins demonstrates, is a perverse lie, a tool for propagandists and tyrants. It is one thing to suspend disbelief when listening to a work of fiction, but if we carry our fairy tales into adulthood, then we risk delusional behavior on a collective level. Worse, we act on beliefs we believe are already ordained by God, with drastic consequences: imperialistic expansion, racism, disregard for human rights, disregard for the environment, war.

Collins traces a direct line from the Christian interpretations of Biblical stories from the beginning of European history and Anglo history in the New World right to the current White House and to a vast array of rhetorical givens in the media and collective consciousness. He shows that not all narratives assume the same idea of time or history. The Hebrew Bible looks to the past, embracing ancient traditions: Isaac "follows" Abraham. The Christian appropriation of The Hebrew Bible, much like the Islamic, imposes a tortured interpretation, declaring the Hebrew Bible to be a foreshadowing of the coming (and coming again) of Jesus Christ, a forward narrative movement.

Pointing out how politicians have scoured the Bible for fear-mongering language is pretty easy, but exposing how they have used Bible stories, already embedded in a collective psyche, to justify horrific acts requires insight and careful documentation, which Collins has achieved. Collins' work is to the study of the Judeo-Christian traditions what Bernard Lewis' works have been to our understanding of Islam. And Like Lewis, Collins is scholarly without ever being pedantic. Bringing together literary analysis, rhetorical theory, and cultural anthropology, Collins adeptly presents us with a book that is both profound and reader friendly.

Marlon L Fick

Hotline Heaven is a work which must not be read solely for its story, although the plot is most interesting and well-crafted. Instead open the novel to the first page and relax into the poetry which Ms. Park infuses with a personal magic into the voice of the female narrator. Here are articulations from the loneliest and most fragile dimensions of the human spirit which emerge in the darkness of a sleepless night. Ms. Park has a very rare ability to produce a story which begs to be read several times for the pleasure of both its beauty and its insights. To truly savor its richness, one must approach it with some experience of the uncertainty and unexpected beauty life has to offer. I await the next world she will create with great anticipation.

This book deserves a very careful reading as Ms. Park displays a rare gift for the articulation of inner landscapes of loneliness, hope and reconciliation. The book has layers of meaning which are woven together through the poetic and evocative talents of its author

I was moved and heightened by Frances Park's novel "Hotline Heaven". Turning each page, I can only compare it to rising higher and higher to another plane where only the inspired go.