Pennsylvania Books

From the Miners' Doublehouse: Archaeology and Landscape in a Pennsylvania Coal Company Town
Metheny has captured the essence of life in a coal mining town.
Following a brief history of company towns in the United States, Metheny focuses her study on the mining town of Helvetia, Pennsylvania in the bituminous coal field.
Using oral histories of people who lived in Helvetia during the 1930's and 1940's, she examines the relationship between the coal company and the miners and their families.

As a student of Prof. Boehrer, some years back, I heard portions of this book while he was working on it. His writing is tight with fact and ideas and sharpened by exquisite irony of language. This book starts being witty at the title. Palatability increases thereafter.

This volume is a compilation of papers that highlight the transformation of Western leftist parties from romantic revolutionaries to pragmatic realists. This meant that these parties shifted on the political spectrum from the left to the left-center.
The chapters are thorough, descriptive and insightful and even though the different authors offer different writing styles, some studies in this book are attractive and entertaining while other chapters are dull and boring.
Readers will particularly enjoy the story of leftist failure in the US, where post World War II prosperity hindered the evolution of the concept of society. This individualism was emulated in England under Conservative premier Margaret Thatcher in the 80s. Magi became famous for her statement: "There is no society, only individuals," in reference to her rightist party's stance against the social welfare state.
The rightist leadership of England extended for most of the 1980s and 90s until the Conservative Party's several mistakes, coupled with the leftist Labor Party's "reconsideration" of itself leading to its transformation into the New Labor, brought Labor to power. When in power, the leftist English party moved away from leftism and the welfare state toward what it depicted as a "Third Way" style of governorship, which included more liberal economic policies.
But such a shift was not easy in France, where despite the Socialist Party's implementation of rightist economic policies starting the mid 1980s, the socialists could not express out loud their adoption of more center-leftist policies for the fear that their strong communist allies might abandon them.
Meanwhile, in Germany the social democrats endorsed "Third Way" policies and came to power.
In Poland, the disbanded Communist Party transformed itself into a Social Democratic Party and won over the Solidarity Movement, known for its freedom fighting under the communists before 1989. The reason for this leftist victory, the book argues, was the virtual inexistence of the middle-class which traditionally supports rightist parties and their market economy theses.
In Russia, the underdeveloped political culture has been unable to sustain majoritarian politics. Therefore, social democracy failed facing a dominant popular political culture based on a clientele network and favoritism penetrating the state bureaucracy.
The volume ends with a concise conclusion by the book's editor Erwin Hargrove. The book is both entertaining and enlightening for all those interested in political studies and political philosophy.

I was fortunate to get one of the last copies of Bob Gordon's book about the 1960 Eagles NFL Championship seaosn. It's out of print now.

But in "Game of My Life", Bob gets us inside the minds of some truly great Eagles players, some of whom played on that 1960 team. We get to read about Tommy McDonald's recollections of playing in Philly, and you may be surprised by the game he picks as the "Game" of his life.

Bob also captured the thoughts of Andre Waters just before he tragically died. With that in mind, reading his account of the game of his life is poignant in retrospect.

There's Vince Papale telling his own story, and we hear from old timers like Bill Bradley, Chuck Bednarik, Vic Sears and Ernie Steele, tha latter two of the early days in Eagles football. Remember the Steegles? The Frankford Yellow Jackets?

Then there's a recollection of that tremendous game in 1991, which has become Eagles folklore, and which has been called the "House of Pain" game. Remember, Eagles vs. Houston. Wes Hopkins nailing Ernest Givens over the middle! Andre Waters policing the whole field such that no Oiler receiver would go near the center of the field. Were we ever prouder of that defense then in that game? It's all here as told by ? (don't want to spoil the fun!).

We hear from Brian Dawkins, Frank Lemaster, Bill Bergey, Keith Jackson, Mike Quick, Timmy Brown and more. Dick Vermail weighs in as do Bill Campbell, Merrill Reese, Brian Baldinger and Dave Spadaro.

What makes each chapter so special is Bob's ability to interweave the history of the game selected by each player with the memories and images from the player's mind. Having that context makes the moment more enjoyable and special.

Each chapter also tests our knowledge of Eagles trivia. These questions are treats in themselves and will enhance your stature the next time you're at Lincoln Financial Field, grilling the hot dogs and drinking the beer hours before the next game, challenging your buddies to a delightful one-on-one about Iggles heroes from the past. And if you're an Eagles fan dislocated from the Philly area, well read a chapter, close your eyes, and you'll be back there at the Vet too.

You know, we all remember where we were when JFK was shot or when the Challenger blew up. For us diehard, ever-faithful Eagle fans, our lives are marked by the moments we share from Eagle games, won or lost. As certain songs make up the soundtrack of our lives, so too do certain special moments watching the Eagles on those small black and white TVs (or listening to a transistor radio) or today with the 50" flat screens, or maybe screaming your tonsils out, or crying our eyes out at the Vet or the Linc, or maybe Franklin field, all those special moments describe and define our lives just as much those songs or the history we witnessed. We were there, watching, listening, whatever. Bob captures those moments and lets us live them again. He provides focus on those fuzzy details in our minds, the ones we tell our kids and grandkids, and maybe great-grandkids about, you know "Billy, I was sitting there in 30-degree weather under a blue sky when Timmy Brown ran that kickoff back....," or "Suzie, I was walking through the bird house at the Philly zoo listening to my radio when so and so intercepted that pass...."

If you cried when they blew up the Vet, or raised your fist too when they carried Jeff Kemp off the field, or stood in near-silence at the Linc when the clock wound down and the Iggles beat the Falcons to get to the Super Bowl, you are the type who will pick up Bob's book and then call in sick at work, till you get to the end. Better yet, as the heroine said in the movie, "You had me at hello....", "Game of My Life" will have you at the Preface.

Bob is no novice writing about Philly teams. I've read all his books about the Eagles, Phillies, Villanova (my alma mater). But "Game of My Life" is his best, by far. You can't be a TRUE Eagles fan without owning this book on your shelf. I've read some chapters several times. I just can't put it down. I just plain enjoy the memories so much I want to re-live them again and again. You will too.

I didn't personally read this book but I got it for my dad for Father's Day and he really loved it. My dad has been a Phillies fan through thick and thin (mostly thin!) and my guess is that if you are too, you'll enjoy this book.

Gateway To The Majors: Williamsport And Minor League Baseball weaves engaging social history and a collective biography of professional minor league baseball as it has existed in Williamsport, Pennsylvania from the beginnings of baseball in the 19th century down to the present day. James P. Quigle Jr. (Head of Historical Collections and Labor Archives, Paterno Library, Penn State University) and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr. (Williamsport local baseball historian and journalist for the Williamsport Sun-Gazette) draw upon the local Williamsport newspapers, extensive oral histories of former players, baseball administrators, boosters, and fans, rare photograph collections, and primary source material from the Baseball Hall of Fame Library and Archives, to reconstruct an accurate history of Williamsport professional baseball history and services to the sport as a training and proving ground for the Major Leagues. Gateway To The Majors is strongly recommended, informative, and entertaining reading for all dedicated baseball enthusiasts!

This book contains many interesting articles on the subject, and is a necessity for those who make gender archaeology their primary course of study.

Gendered Voices is a book that will change your whole outlook. It is investigative journalism and medieval history tied up in a very informative package. Revealing the deliberate biographical twisting of women's lives by men so that one size fits all and that size is exactly what is culturally expected is the topic of this beautifully written book. For anyone seriously interested in the lives of women medieval mystics and medieval religious movements in general, this book is an absolute necessity. The twisting and fabrication of hagiographies into a male acceptable gruel without texture or flavor has misrepresented and belittled the lives of these fascinating women. This book helps set the record straight.

Pure excellence from Dr.Van Buskirk

Genetic Criticism: Texts and Avant-Textes edited by Jed Deppman, Daniel Ferrer, Michael Groden (University of Pennsylvania Press) introduces English speakers to genetic criticism, arguably the most important critical movement in France today. In recent years, French literary scholars have been exploring the interpretive possibilities of textual history, turning manuscripts study into a recognized form of literary criticism. They have clearly demonstrated that manuscripts can be used for purposes other than establishing an accurate text of a work.
Although its raw material is a writer's manuscripts, genetic criticism owes more to structuralist and poststructuralist notions of textuality than to philology and textual criticism. As Genetic Criticism demonstrates, the chief concern is not the final text but the reconstruction and analysis of the writing process. Geneticists find endless richness in what they call the "avant-texte": a critical gathering of a writer's notes, sketches, drafts, manuscripts, typescripts, proofs, and correspondence. Together, the essays in this volume reveal how genetic criticism cooperates with such forms of literary study as narratology, linguistics, psychoanalysis, sociocriticism, deconstruction, and gender theory.
Genetic Criticism contains translations of eleven essays, general theoretical analyses as well as studies of individual authors such as Flaubert, Proust, Joyce, Zola, Stendhal, Chateaubriand, and Montaigne. Some of the essays are foundational statements, while others deal with such recent topics as noncanonical texts and the potential impact of hypertext on genetic study. A general introduction to the book traces genetic criticism's intellectual history, and separate introductions give precise contexts for each essay.
An important and timely examination of the interpretive possibilities of textual histories, Genetic Criticism provides a comprehensive survey of an increasingly significant form of contemporary literary criticism.
The volume ends with essays on topics of recent interest to geneticists. Philippe Lejeune addresses the paradox of reading autobiographies for their avant-textes, and Jean-Louis Lebrave argues that the theory of hypertexts has now reached the point where it can provide new and more accurate models for genetic studies, even of centuries-old manuscripts.
Jed Deppman has written separate introductions that outline each author's career and discuss each essay's specific purposes, methods, and arguments.
The collection begins with Louis Hay's overview of genetic criticism and continues with jean Bellemin-Noël's essay on the value of a psychoanalytic approach to genetic study. Pierre-Marc de Biasi's encyclopedia article, which spells out the principles and procedures of genetic study, closes the opening trio of general studies.
Next come six essays on the texts and avant-textes of specific authors. Raymonde Debray Genette studies the manuscripts of Flaubert's "A Simple Heart° to see how he crafted its ending; Jacques Neefs compares and contrasts the ideas Chateaubriand, Montaigne, and Stendhal had about the posthumous fate of their writings; Henri Mitterand inscribes Zola's Rougon-Macquart writings into their author's personal circumstances as well as broader cultural contexts; Daniel Ferrer and Jean-Michel Rabaté study the way Joyce manipulated and modernized the structure of the literary paragraph; closing this middle section, Almuth Grésillon and Catherine Viollet use concepts from linguistics to analyze Proust's manuscripts, Grésillon taking up issues of temporality and Viollet concentrating on gender and sexuality. Jed Deppman teaches comparative literature and English at Oberlin College. He has published articles on Flaubert, Valéry, Joyce, Dickinson, and other writers.
Daniel Ferrer is Director of Research at the Institut des Textes et Manuscrits Modernes at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. He is the author of Virginia Woolf and the Madness of Language and coeditor of Post-Structuralist Joyce, Pourquoi la critique génétique? Méthodes, théories, and the ongoing "Finnegans Wake" Notebooks at Buffalo project.