Pennsylvania Books

I guess it helps being an extremely old (the actual founding date is debated and discussed within the book) Ivy League university to get your very own historical and architectural guide published.

Part I of the book follows the development of the University from its initial charter through to its march to modern times. Speaking as an alumnus of Penn, I always though the University had an exceptionally beautiful campus, but its rich history was virtually unknown to me. This book makes it clear that the plan for institutional growth required the Deans, Trustees, and other campus leaders engage in detailed campus architectural planning - where, what, and how?. Only now can I appreciate the decisions and compromises made that are reflected by the campus architecture. The authors use the epilogue to address some of the myths that campus students have spread and continue to perpetuate.

Part II of the book is a detailed review (North, South, East, West, and Central campus) of the current structures on the campus. Each building gets its own entry detailing its address, date of construction, purpose, and accompanying photo.

The book is chock full of diagrams, illustrations, and photographs showing the campus and the movers and shakers that shaped it.

This is the perfect coffee table book for graduates of The University of Pennsylvania.

In Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians Before Mass Migration, Richard Juliani provides a volume that would be of value to many interested readers. Building Little Italy tells the story of the early Italian immigrant to the City of Brotherly Love, complete with the everyday challenges and hurdles faced by this fledgling group. This book brings to life many new details and is in many ways groundbreaking, as little if any has been published in this area before. Dr. Juliani provides a painstakingly researched tome, with statistical information beautifully complimented by wonderful photos. No rocks are left unturned. For those interested in Italian American or European cultural history, Juliani allows you to step into the shoes of an early Italian immigrant - attempting to adjust to a new nation while trying to maintain ties to his people. Some of the immigrants met with more success than others. Several early Italians in Philadelphia contributed a wealth to this ethnically rich city, and others were on hand to see many historical events. In addition to being a fascinating cultural read, Building Little Italy is an excellent reference tool for those studying this area on a scholarly level. This volume will be a worthwhile addition to the bookshelf of many. It is wholeheartedly recommended to any readers interested in Italian American culture or research.

Rebecca Freeman is a unique voice in the field of applied linguistics - she is a talented sociolinguist who has had interesting access to schools and school districts through her ethnographic research. This book documents what she learned in her two roles as a language education and policy consultant to the School District of Philadelphia and a sociolinguistic researcher. What emerges is a rich document of how to use community languages as a resource through bilingual education and egalitarian educational policy making processes. The book is full of the life and humanity that is sometimes missing from books in the field.

At all times, Freeman's devotion to the causes of educational access for language minorities and developmental bilingual education is clear. She is the epitome of an action researcher - doing rich ethnographic research while serving as an advocate, consultant, and ally to educators. She is also one of the very few researchers who uses ethnography to study educational language policy and her insider's perspective is incredibly valuable. Teachers, parents, school administrators, neophyte and senior scholars alike, and anyone interested in preserving minority languages as a resource for everyone - both native and non-native English speakers - will find something of interest within.

This title should read "Bundling: Its Origins, Progress, & Decline in America". The use of "Its" (without the apostrophe) is correct here, since what is needed is the possessive form of the pronoun "It", NOT the contraction for "It is".

Hey, Amazon! Fix it: it makes you look stupid.

This is a sensation! After residing in Pennsylvania for 34 years, the photography and layout in the calendar brought back so many memories of places I had tucked away in my mind. I am now a resident of Virginia, but I will never forget the beauty of my life in the Keystone State! Thank you!

Camp William Penn (Images of America: Pennsylvania)
Outstanding account of a forgotten chapter of American Civil War history. A must read for those interested in all histories--American, civil war, military and African-American. Excellent source of information for school students that includes rare pictures and detailed captions. Topics cover Camp William Penn's formation, personal accounts of officers, battles fought, abolitionists associated with the Camp (Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, Lucretia Mott, William Still), Underground Railroad, Medal of Honor winners and others. Located just outside of Philadelphia, Camp William Penn's story is nothing less than fascinating.

"A bunch of the boys were whooping it up at the Malamute Saloon." A mere verse by Robert Service you say? Aha. It actually was the beginning of an adventure along the Delaware River. A trip unimaginable without Mr. Letcher's book. What started out as a challenge to see who could start a raucously good time one evening turned into a better challenge; who could find a complete guide to an entire weekend? I won the challenge with Mr. Letcher's exciting guide to canoeing the Delaware. This book has it all: helpful hints, maps, select side trips and historical perspective. I was and will continue to be impressed by the completeness of Gary's book. I would recommend it to both novice canoeists and the most experienced. I have read several books about canoeing in different locations but this is the best!

Vince Carocci, a longtime reporter who served as an aide to Governor Casey, has written his professional autobiography. This intertwining of remembrances with keen analysis of events makes this a superb book for those interested in recent Pennsylvania government and politics. Readers learn how Capitol reporters in the 1960s were an assortment of grouchy men (there were no female Capitol reporters) ranging from those who sought quotes to verify angles on stories they had already written to those who pretended to write about things they heard secondhand. The press then could be vicious, as noted by the famous "Shapp Denies Rumor He Had Psychiatric Treatment" headline.

The author also worked as a State Senate staff aide, where he observed that political alliances were flexible and changing. Readers learn some Senators believed in the politics of revenge. The book also proposes an interesting theory that the defeat of Joe Ammerman for Majority Leader led to the decline of the Democratic Party. The claim is Ammerman would have objected to activities by then-elected Democratic leadership that led to the Republicans taking control of the State Senate in 1974. He believes the party drifted from leadership that sought to do what was the best to one that sought to do what was best for themselves. Democratic leaders even worked to defeat other Democrats. Republicans have had a near-dynasty of Senate control ever since.

The 1970s, though, were a critical decade for the legislature. During that decade, it moved from a part-time office to a professional branch of government whose policymaking role became equivalent to that of the Governor. The author notes that professional legislative staffing became more important in shaping policies and subsequently the abilities of political parties to guide policies diminished. With the weakening of political parties, the legislative leaders lost some of their political clout while rank and file legislators increased their political strength. The author notes that Sen. Craig Lewis's taking the Appropriations Committee Chairmanship from the incumbent Joe Smith would have been unthinkable a few years earlier.

Among important changes the author notes was the removal of the one term limitation for a Governor. Allowing a Governor a second term gave a Governor a longer period of time to work on goals plus the likelihood of such an extended presence gives the Governor greater political clout to achieve those goals. It is noted every Governor since this law was changed has been elected to two terms, thus allowing Governors to take advantage of these extended abilities. Ironically, both the legislative and administrative branches of government have become more influential in recent decades.

In 1962, Rep. Bill Scranton then disavowed any interest in running for Governor. Yet, Republican political leaders (who included Scranton's mother, Marion Margery Warren Scranton) were leery of their likely nominee, Judge Robert Woodside. Scranton told party leaders he would run for Governor if all 67 Republican county chairmen would unite behind his candidacy. To his surprise, 66 did, which was close enough. Scranton ran and was elected Governor.

Scranton used a clever ploy during his campaign. His Democratic opponent, Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth, has been making an issue of being unable to debate Scranton and thus would debate an empty chair. Dilworth bought television time to debate his empty chair, only to be thrown off and lose his composure on television when Scranton appeared at the last moment.

Scranton was followed by Raymond Shafer as Governor. Shafer was a Republican who fought with the Republican legislative leadership, leading to the creation of an eight month budget where many budget issues were left for the next Governor. Shafer was followed by Democrat Milton Shapp, the first candidate to broadcast television ads every night for the ten nights prior to the primary and whose ads helped him be an upset primary victor twice and eventually Governor in his second attempt. The author notes that Shapp, who ran as a candidate against the Democratic Party machine, ran afoul of that same machine as it dispensed patronage to people loyal to the party but not necessarily to Shapp. The Democratic Party's image took a sharp blow with the public as almost 400 politicians were indicted during the Shapp years.

The author notes the selling of patronage jobs appears to have never been traced to Shapp, but that it did exist and seems to have been fairly widespread. Republican legislative leaders took advantage of these scandals to advance their party. When Shapp willingly appeared to testify before a legislative committee, and was then handed a subpoena to testify, it was many observers' opinions, including the author's, that Shapp defended himself rather well against Republican efforts to gain political mileage off the scandals and in fact emerged political stronger.

The author sees Shapp as a Governor who had good intentions who truly cared about those with economic disadvantages. Shapp may have survived the scandals, but the Democratic Party did not (and to this day has yet to totally rebound.) Republican Dick Thornburgh was the next elected Governor.

The author views Thornburgh as a paradox as a Governor who expressed integrity yet was as manipulative as the very type of leader Thornburgh claimed to despise. He criticizes Thornburgh for opposing the bipartisan legislative efforts to create a prescription drug program for the elderly and then embracing the program as if it were his own. The author also believes Thornburgh supported abolishing the liquor control system less for reasons of policy but in retaliation for having his nominees to the Liquor Control Board blocked by State Senate Democrats. Further, his administration awarded a weatherization contract to a Democratic State Senator, Milton Street, who switched to the Republican Party. Finally, as the only Governor to use the official Governor's Mansion for a political fundraiser, the author disbelieves claims that Thornburgh was a Governor above politics.

The author served as Deputy Legislative Affairs Secretary, Government Operations Secretary, and then Press Secretary to the following Governor, Democrat Bob Casey. The author helped Governor Casey transfer responsibility of liquor law enforcement to the State Police and create liquor control administrative judges. Economic times were difficult, and budget negotiations with the legislature once took eight months when three billion in new taxes had to be found. Fortunately, the Casey Administration was able to leave the next Governor, Tom Ridge, with a $500 million surplus.

This book is a fantastic account of state government from someone who observed it both from the outside as a reporter and from the inside as a key aide. The personal observations and accounts make this one of the most insightful books on state government operations. Readers will learn and appreciate much from "A Capitol Journey."

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I never gave much thought to those trips to the Main Hotel for fish sandwiches, watching the Chartiers rush by in the wet winter months, or walking down by the railroad tracks skipping school when I was a kid. Now, I have a newfound appreciation of my old hometown(Actually, I consider myself a Scott Township native, but it's up the street and around the corner from Carnegie).

Reading about Hometown Hero Honus Wagner, Steel magnate Andrew Carnegie and his generosity, and all the colorful characters who made up Carnegie's history had me entralled in Sandy Henry's new book.

I was captivated by the pictures. The nuns on the boat in flood just cracks me up. It's worth buying the whole book for that picture alone.