Pennsylvania Books

I picked up this cookbook hoping to discover some recipes to make for my mother that would remind her of the cooking that she grew up with. I was not disappointed! There were several old favorites and many recipes that I could swear were family secrets. The Dandelion Salad with Bacon Dressing and Potato Filling recipes were very similar to what we make for special occasions, and the Apple Fritters, Hot Potato Salad, Coconut Cake, and the Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes dishes reminded us of several other recipes we had not made in a long time. Listed by food type in an easy-to-follow format, the only thing missing in this book was a beautiful picture of each of the recipes. If you enjoy cooking, are from Penn Dutch country, or just want to sample some regional cooking, this book is a great choice for you! Enjoy!

This is one of my most used cookbooks. I was raised eating a lot of Pa Dutch food but the aunt who cooked it passed away before I could pick her brain for all of her secrets. Ms. Groff's recipes are always exactly how I remember my aunt's dishes tasting.

Victor Turner wrote the forward to this book.

He is not its designer

A book of its time (60s-early 80s), but I'm glad I finally came to it. Generally it contrasts the theories and practices of western innovators (Stanislavski et. al., Brecht, Grotowski, Brooks) against the rituals and traditions of eastern institutions (Kathakali, Noh, Kabuki, ritual events of Bali, India, especially Ramlila). Fascinating diagrams accompany the discussion of performance theory. Loved the essays on performance in "Restoration of Behavior," and "Transported and Transformed." And for both the actor and director, the argument that performance exists somewhere between the "not-me and not-not-me" is compelling.

Dear all-who-crave-for-knowledge, this book is good. I mean it. I am writing a fictional story and needed some reliable information on textual amulets. This is very good indeed. A thorough analyses on this subject. I highly recommend it.

The fact that so many textual amulets have not survived has made this a largely unexplored area of study. Owen Davies discussed the use of textual amulets by cunning men in his excellent Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History, but Skemer moves to an earlier period and peels away the layers of misinformation to illuminate what is known about this important practice like a beautiful manuscript. The dichotomy of attitude expressed by the medieval church, torn between the validity of textual amulets as vessels of faith against the "evils" of belief in the actual power of the words is like a spotlight on the microcosm of changing religious attitudes. This book also serves as a reminder, should it be necessary, that the dominant magick in Europe during the Middle ages and Renaissance was Christian, and this has influenced the development of modern traditions far more than most are willing to credit. By exploring the scope of use and content of textual amulets, Skemer has shone light into a hole that was largely invisible and brought it back into the light. Excellent and thought-provoking stuff!

A must have guide to Pennsylvania Birds. Have a question? The answer can be found in this easy to read and take along book.

One of my favorites! I love bird watching. This book is most helpful to me. I will be referring to it very often!

For the beginning or backyard birdwatcher, this is the best book I have found. First, it limits the birds to your area, thereby ruling out a lot of birds you wouldn't be seeing anyway. Second, it shows both male and female photos if the bird is dimorphic. This makes identifying much easier. Large photos, "Stan's Notes" and organization by bird color make this book easy to use and informative.

This is a great book for the beginning PA bird watcher. Ideal for someone with a bird feeder who wants to know who's visiting.

The book is organized by bird colors which makes identification much easier. Other books require you to know what the bird is in order to find it.

Each description includes useful behavior and habitat info that more advanced birders might find interesting too. All images are good quality photographs. It's small enough to carry in a pocket. Don't hesitate, it's well worth the money.

This book is absolutely great. It takes you back to the `50s.When you didn't live in the `50s - it shows you how it was like - at least for the Diablos, the Kamikazes, the Renegades (all the greasers)and the jocks, eggheads and so on.
It tells the adventures of the gang "Diablos" and their rival gangs. Starting with little and harmless pranks the adventures grow not only more creative but also more dangerous.
Even though some members want these things to end before they can get out of control - as a Diablo you have to be loyal and stick by your friends.
And every time the other gang wants to get even with their foes - will there ever be an end of humiliation, destruction and violence?
This book also covers many other subjects like racism, prejudice, hatred and love, sex and how you might see things differently when you grow older.
This novel definately is a great read - being witty and full of amazing puns, it also makes you think about life and about how some events or people can influence you for years to come.
If you love to read about the `50s - you will enjoy this novel.
I'd really love to see this book made into a movie!

Reviewed by Jennifer LB Leese

Review

This lengthy novel Black Leather and Blue Denim (in a good way) of 147,000 words and with fifty-seven chapters, is adult literature that details the innocence of teenage life in the 1950's. It is filled with danger, adventure, violence between gang members, and even romance. BLACK LEATHER and BLUE DENIM takes place in the suburbs of Pennsylvania and depicts territorial and dominance struggle between two specific greaser gangs, the Diablos and the Kamikazes. The Kamikazes are a group of thugs that love to pick on eggheads, other wise known as nerds, jocks, and especially other greasers.

J.W., who organized the Diablos to protect him and his friends from the Kamikazes, likes a girl named Angie Palermo. She is the daughter of a Mafia drug and pornography distributor who has business relations with the Kamikazes. Because J. W. and Angie are on two different ends of the spectrum, so to speak, their affair is filled with lies, unfaithfulness, and hostility...

As I read the book, I was often taken to my teenage years when the movie "The Outsiders" was an often talked about event. I loved it. Mr. Dubya has successfully put together a book addressing touchy subjects such as: racism, sex, violence, and where males in the 1950's thought they ruled. He's added tons of exciting action, the characters are realistic, and the dialogue is perfect to the character's personalities and descriptions.

Reviewer: Jennifer LB Leese, It's Only Ink

From the first poem 'Snow Blind' in Amy Small-Mckinney's
arresting chapbook, you'll know you're in the hands of a ma-
ture poet--in this case one who is a wife and mother, one who
can transform the tragic, through the deft use of language,
into a lyrical hope:

How can I have begun as bone
Hard, unbroken, when I am soft
And layered with song.
-- Body of Surrender

Amy Small-Mckinney writes as powerfully on the injustices
of the world and the turmoils of the inner life, as she does
on her relationship with aged parents, her husband and es-
pecially with her daughter:

I love my life,
my mislaid child,
this century of tears,
life before life.
-- Voices

You have to pay attention to these poems, but you'll be rich-
ly rewarded for doing so. By the end, you'll find yourself
humming Small-McKinney's hard yet necessary tunes. Let her
have the last word--again from the poem 'Body of Surrender':

Refuse to die,
Fly on fire,
Resolve the irresolvable.
Because my song smoothes the world.

This is a handsomely produced chapbook and I have read these poems of Amy Small-McKinney's with delight many times and they DO repay re-reading, not always revealing their full essence the first time through. The poems are free verse, but finely rhythmic and written with a great love for and command of words and language. These are contemporary poems, about the world we live in now, but also ones where the poet writes about love, her husband and daughter, and which make connections and look beyond the obvious to touch on the mystical. There is much to admire and, indeed, envy in these pages and I can heartily recommend this book.

After centuries of Native American habitation, the Township of Bern was settled by German farmers and established by 1738. Initially encompassing most of north-central Berks County, the history of this area echos many of the historical themes in much of southeastern Pennsylvania.

This book delves into great detail on early families and taxables, historic architecture, the Schuylkill and Union Canals, mills, schools, and churches amoung other things. It also addresses the relatively newer aspects of the Reading Airport, Berks County properties, Blue Marsh Lake, and local business that were active during the first printing for the 250th year celebration of its founding. Now in its third edition, fully indexed, with additional maps, photos, and new format, this book provides an exceptional example of what a group of dedicated citizens can do who care about the special place that they live in.

I highly recommend this book not just to armchair enthusiasts, but to professional Historians who work in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Geneologists from around the country, and people interested in visiting the Schuylkill River State and National Heritage Area.

Review by: George Meiser IX
Historical Society of Berks County PA

"The Book of Bern, A History of Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, 1738-1988" is again available!

This is a book of true substance. It's well indexed, has 325+ pages, and is handsomely hardbound. Moreover, it has been reformatted to make it more user friendly. Most of the views were rescanned to bring out detail in the photographs.
And best of all, you can actually read the maps.

Unlike some township histories that were prepared in years gone by, this is not a superficial overview of the area.
It contains a GREAT DEAL of depth---and illustrations of value.
Like the recently issued Muhlenberg Twp. history, those involved in the project really went digging, so that impressive quantities of fresh new material was unearthed for posterity.

These chapter titles give an idea of what is presented:
First occupants, early settlers, first taxables,
family histories:
(Baer/Barr/Bare....Blatt....Cullum....Epler....Herbein...Hiester....
Kauffman....Kissinger....Kramer....Kramer.... Leinbach....
Reeser/Rieser....Reichenbach...Rick....Stoudt)

historic homes, along the Schuylkill (good canal info and photos), along the Tulpehocken, early occupations, hotels, churches, schools, county properties, Reading Airport, ghosts, clubs and organizations, the township, soldiers of Bern, businesses, the Bern Song, maps, etc.

Content-wise, this volume ranks as one of the best township histories ever prepared.
Those really into local history will value the photographs, as there are some real gems interwoven within the text. The original Fairview Hotel and lock-tender's shanty at Buck's Lock come instantly to mind.

I first read about this book in the forward to another book by Christine De Pisan (Treasure of the City of Ladies.) I became wild to own several of her writings, and am glad to own this one. I find it interesting reading even though I am not really a scholar of military history, at least not in the usual sense.

As a member of an historical re-creation society I take particular enjoyment in this book, as I have stood on the sidelines of our "battles" and know a very little about field tactics from watching. As the organizer of our medieval version of the USO Canteen, I really, REALLY liked the parts about how to feed an army before battle!

This book from 1410 consists of two main parts. The first part deals with military strategy (mostly based on Vegetius), and the second (mostly based on Bonnet's tree of battles) with laws of war, and the concept of just war. I found this work much more enjoyable than Macchiavelli's Art of War, for one thing Christine doesn't dwell so much on the supposed superiority of the Romans in all things, and she adds some interesting original material, such as detailed lists of fortification and siege equipment (up to sizes and amounts of timber, nails, etc.). This book is unique, being the only military classic written by a female author. The translation to english is very readable.

I read this book from cover to cover and then went back to the beginning and read it again. I really enjoyed "The Cough" and "Migraine". I look forward to reading more of his work.

These are first-rate narratives, told by a beautiful poet. Their settings -- the anthracite coal region of the speaker's youth, or the PA countryside of his adulthood -- provide perfect backdrops for him to ruminate on the meaning of family life. Humes is a skillful poet, and these sometimes dark, but always tender narratives prove to be some of his best work to date. After reading them, one gets anxious to read his next collection, The Butterfly Effect, which is due out from Milkweed Editions as part of the National Poetry Series next year.