Pennsylvania Books

Edward Colimore's The Philadelphia Inquirer's Guide To Historic Philadelphia takes the reader on twelve walking tours through city neighborhoods that have preserve history and culture through the generations. Walkers can visit buildings, streets, gardens, and parks that date back to the colonial period and the Victorian era. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Guide To Historic Philadelphia is arranged in a logical, easy-to-follow format, and includes maps, touring and public transportation information, parking tips, recommendations for nearby restaurants, and more. Enthusiastically recommended for armchair travelers or walking tourists - for anyone who either vicariously or personally wants to follow the footsteps of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin!

This book is divided into 12 chapters, each proposing a different walking tour of Philadelphia. The tours included are "The Nation's Most Historic Square Mile," "North of Market," "Society Hill," "Penn's Landing," "Southwark: A Stroll Through Time," "Washington Square West," "Around City Hall," "Rittenhouse Square: The Good Life," "University City and West Philadelphia," "The Ben Franklin Parkway," "Philadelphia's Backyard: Fairmount Park," and "Germantown and Chestnut Hill." The book may be of interest to tourists, but it is particularly valuable to Philadelphia residents desiring to learn more about their neighborhood. While the tours will get you to the major tourist sights like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Betsy Ross's House, the true value of the reference is that it uncovers some of the city's treasures that may have escaped the resident's notice. I was surprised to learn that General George Meade, commander of the Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg, had a house in Philadelphia that still stands. I was even more surprised to learn that I had been passing by it on a regular basis for years without realizing what it was. If you are a civil war buff and you want to see Meade's House, this book will lead you there. Check the index, and it will direct to you his field uniform or his gravesite if you like. Philadelphia is rich in history, much of it hidden, and this reference can help you ferret out some of the city's treasures. While it is not totally comprehensive (some of my favorite historical sites are not in any of the tours and a walking tour of Broad Street is noticeably missing), its division into easily manageable tours lends itself to pleasant Sunday afternoon strolls for the motivated. The author even includes some of the prominent restaurants around each of the walks.

If you are looking to read about Philadelphia history, this clearly is not the book for you. Many better and more comprehensive books are available. However, if you are looking to get out and see some of the history of the city for yourself, I recommend this reference without reservations.

Growing up on the outskirts of Phoenixville in the 1970s and 1980s, I had a great time seeing how Phoenixville evolved over the years. Completely enjoyable!

I found this book to be very interesting and informative.
I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in history. I'm looking forward to Mr. Martino's "then and now" book on Phoenixville, which is scheduled to be out sometime in September 2005.

-ML

It is finally here! This book includes everything you could want to know about the Pirates. It rates the Top 100 players in Pirates history, Top 10 teams, and 10 worst teams. It includes info on all of the Pirates managers, general managers, and owners. It provides a year-by-year season recap. It has info on each of the ballparks the Bucs have called home. If you want one book for reference on Pirates history, this is the one.

By far the best book on the Pittsburgh Pirates that I've seen, complete with season-by-season recaps and stats galore. The highlight: Lifelong baseball fans Finoli and Ranier offer their picks for the 100 best players in the history of the storied franchise. It's sure to start an argument or two among fans of the black-and-gold, but that's what a good book should do. Well-researched and written, this is a must reference guide for any self-respecting Pirates fan. (And you know who you are.)

Growing up around the three rivers I was not aware of how much of Americas history flowed past their banks. This book helped to illuminate such moments. The pictures and the captions bring life to an era where steel was king and the rivers its mistress. You will not be disappointed. Buy it!

Not only do the images in this book portray an important city's life, growth and development along its three rivers, but the captions are replete with fascinating facts (and some surprises) about the region. This book is a must-have for anyone interested in Pittsburgh's history.

This book, only the third written about aviation in Pennsylvania, is a splendid coffe table history. Contained in it are many pages and illustrations concerning the All American Aviation air-mail pick up routes from 1939-1949, numerous news clippings concerning the history of early aviation in Pennsylvania, form C.P. Mayer's commercial airfield in Bridgeville, to Cliff Ball's Bettis Field. There is also a chapter, together with photos, about the founding of the OX-5 Club, now an international organization, at Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1956. Featured in the books are Charles Carroll, Raymond Elder, Carl Strickler, Lou Strickler, Russ Brinkley, Lloyd Santmeyer, Elmer Ashbaugh, Clyde Hauger, and other prominent pioneers of aviation.

This is a great coffee table book for all of those interested in the history of flight or the history or Western Pennsylvania. I helped to transcribe a lot of the tapes of interviews for this book and these guys love to tell stories about their early days in the airfields.

Frank McKetta, a former Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Commissioner,writes of the department he once headed. While much of the book relates past events in which the author does not have direct knowledge or participation, it is fascinating to read an expose researched and written by the person who was at the top of the organization. It is clear Colonel McKeeta deeply cares about the proper roles police should have.
Colonel McKetta is especially critical of local police departments throughout Pennsylvania history. He notes that local politicians determine police budgets, hire Police Chiefs, and decide which laws should be enacted and guide the degree to which existing laws should be enforced. What results are highly politicized police forces that are sharply influenced by local leaders. Unfortunately, criminals have learned to become forces within local politics and then guide police investigations and enforcement away from areas they don't want the police to notice.
Decades ago, it was official state policy that PSP officers could not investigate local crimes. Thus, gamblers and racketeers operated in parts of Pennsylvania with the local police in their pockets and without fearing the PSP. In the 1960s, Reading, Penna. hosted the largest gambling operation east of Las Vegas, according to the author. The PSP had its own problems, as Colonel McKetta claims several people achieved leading PSP positions with sponsorships from politicans with organized crime connections.
The author describes his efforts to clean up the PSP. By informing state legislators of his efforts, they turned deaf ears to politicans who argued for continuing to keep the PSP out of investigations in their political areas. The PSP thus was able to make significant progress in destroying racketeering operations, according to the author. This book provides great descriptions into how these changes were achieved. Students of state and local politics and of Pennsylvania history should find this book exceptionally useful.

After 25 years in law enforcement I know whereof Col. McKetta speaks in his book. The general public is woefully unaware of what goes on in the political sphere regarding police and the exposures by Col. McKetta of past history in this area as well as more recent situations, personal and public media facts, is something to ponder for anywone interested in such matters. I was especially intrigued by his personal story about the gambling and racketeering involvement of the Allegheny County District Attorney and his attempt to use politics to quash State Police efforts in that area. The more recent questions that McKetta brought up about recent Governors in their relation to the police situtation suggests that perehaps the solutions he offers at the end of his book should be recognized as being feasible to correct a serious problem.

As an environmental history, this book rates five stars because the author so skillfully and comprehensively weaves together the many different threads that form the actual experience of environmental protection. At the most basic level, the book is a history of pollution in Philadelphia, a surprisingly good choice since it was an important colonial city, a major manufacturing center during the industrial revolution, and a typical troubled post-industrial metropolis of the 20th century. At the same time the book is a history of environmental management and ecomomics. And it discusses the trajectories of pollution-control technologies and the politics of pollution as well. Able to quote authoritatively from environmental regulations and quantitative risk assessments in one chapter, and from philosophers like Isiah Berlin and Lewis Mumford in others, the author provides readers with as detailed, comprehensive, and engaging a story as one can find in the literature on environmental history.

Dr. Raufer introduces the reader to the multifaceted environmental history of one of America's most unique urban environments. From the early privies to modern waste facilities, Raufer chronicles the city's solutions to problems and the problems that resulted. Following the history is an in-depth and informative section on current environmental regulations and how they came about. I highly recommend this for anybody interested in environmental issues or even Philadelphia history. I actually found the book hard to put down at times.

Pittsburgh.It is a marvelous city that I visited back in 2004 for New Year's Eve. I enjoyed my time watching the city from the hills. I decided to purchase this book just to remember Pittsburgh by. I am glad I did. Wonderful pictures and a brief history of what made this city the great city it is! If you are a Pittsburgh resident or have visited it in the past then I recommend this book. Thanks for the memories Pittsburgh!!

This is a fantastic book with high quality photographs. Anyone who has been to Pittsburgh recently is at least impressed and some like me fall in love with the great city of Pittsburgh. This book explains why. Those who have never been to Pittsburgh are always surprised when I say it is my favorite urban city in the U.S., those who have been to Pittsburgh are never surprised. This is the only book about Pittsburgh of this scale. It covers almost every building and every major business like no other book has attempted to do.

The quality of the photographs is outstanding work by Thomas Bell who has photographed Pittsburgh for many years and is a Pittsburgh native. The size of the photographs is very pleasing too. He certainly succeeds in capturing the beauty, mystique and soul of this marvelous city.

I lived in Pittsburgh for a number of years. This is a city that has inspired me to be a better person, to always aim for what's best, not what's average. This book brings to life the beauty and glory of this American city from people to architecture to businesses and landmarks that make this city unique.

This was a great book. Besides all else mentioned already,it reads like a story. No theoretical arabesques, just nitty gritty factual details so you can see connectednesses for yourself. Baltzell's very factual illustrations of idealisms' realities and human tensions towards cultishness versus civic participation serve as a useful lense and compass to me ever since reading this book. I recommend it whenever I can, particularly to someone who, like me, may at one time, be shocked by a human experience or contrast and want to ask why. I'd recommend it to any one ever involved in a cult. Its readability is comforting and enthralling, and it is deeply seated in a sense of the continuity of history and human nature. I found it a healing book. I'm sorry Mr. Baltzell is no longer alive so I can thank him. Read every crumb of this book. Its thick, but allot the time.

Digby Baltzell uses the history of Philadelphia and Boston as very real examples of two types of leadership. In Boston, the "Boston Brahmin" elites formed a strong upper class that was not tolerant, certainly, but took responsibility for community life and exercised a tremendous influence on American culture, politics, arts, and science. In Philadelphia, the "Proper Philadelphians" were charming, tolerant--and deeply irresponsible, abandoning any role in governing the city and making it by common agreement the worst run city in the United States. When Philadelphia needed a mover and shaker, it imported some one from outside, like Ben Franklin.

Baltzell takes these difference back to the colonial period and the dramatic differences in the viewpoints of the Puritans who founded Boston and the Quakers who founded Philadelphia. He also sees these changes working forward as the old upper-class socialize immigrant elites into their respective patterns, producing the Kennedy clan out of Boston, and Grace Kelly out of Philadelphia. Many of the points here can also be seen in David Hackett Fischer's Albion's Seed.

Baltzell's bedrock conviction is that every society needs an upper class and is going to get one whether it likes it or not (the history of revolutions proves this rather conclusively). Those who see the very fact of social stratification as an personal affront will of course get affronted. The interesting point he makes though is that many things anti-elitists think are opposites actually go together. As he shows from his examples, social tolerance goes together with a much more blatantly money-conscious and just plain richer upper-class, and societies with widespread hostility to "elites" also show deep cynicism about their leadership and society in general, a cynicism merited by the generally short-sighted and narrowly (as opposed to broadly) selfish behavior of the upper class.

Does this sound familiar? Baltzell's final point is that in the wake of the sixties, which he compares to the English civil war (1640-1660) environment that spawned the Quakers and released "a host of self-righteous seekers" on the land," American leadership has moved much closer to the nakedly plutocratic and irresponsible leadership model found in Philadelphia. And along with this change in the upper class has grown egalitarianism, openness to immigrants, cynicism, leadership gridlock, and social tolerance. The irony of communal utopianism producing results exactly opposite of what was intended would not have surprised de Tocqueville, Baltzell's great mentor in sociology.

Don't think that this book is just about grand theory--it is filled with a host of fascinating portratits of the two cities' upper classes, and so contains a good deal of the achievers of America from colonial days to World War II. The simple quantitative analysis is effective and not off-putting.

This is the best non fiction book ever written. This describes the practice of traditional Amish- no school, no cars, no computers, no blowdryers, no electricity no TVs. Canned food, what do you think that is? The Amish are not a joke- they have multi million dollar farms. A branch of them sold out and started marketing it at African Americans. It was founded in the 1800s by Jacob Amman. The use of narcotics is pretty much encouraged. It says that when you want something you want it right here right now. I was wondering why my grandpa and other people in town rode a scooter well they're. The dune buggy was supposed to represent the intellectually childlike. College is taboo and they quit school after 8th grade, seldom attending public school. They are on social security, don't join the military and have no technology. The car is going to date them really bad it was invented in the 1920s and the phone invented in 1873. THis is a philosophy and religion I could relate to 100 percent. Most farmers are Amish. I loved it.

Our private guide n the Amish country recommended this book - and I read it after returning home to New York. Prof. Kraybill really tied all the threads for me - how the Amish choose to live the way they do, what are the pleasures and limitations of their society, how it maintains and governs itself. A short book written in an sophisticated but absolutely lucid, clear, and interesting language. Thank you!