Massachusetts Books

Well-written book that shows how early Arab immigrants integrated into the American society. We Americans need to know all the facts about Arabs before we judge them and stereotype them. Read Arab Voices Speak to American Hearts. It will help you better understand the Arab mind.

This labor of love documents the experience of Arabs who emigrated to Worcester, Massachusetts between 1880 and 1915. The author, a third-generation Worcester Arab-American, has interviewed immigrants from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine; she dis-cusses their lives and their connections with fellow Arab immigrants in the United States and South America, particularly Brazil. She also highlights the political and eco-nomic factors that brought Arabs to America and led many of them to stay, even after they had met their goal of earning enough to prosper in their homelands. Interviewees, most in their 80's and 90's, are succinctly quoted about subjects including their neighborhoods, work, traditions and education. The author offers evidence aplenty of how hard work and creativity enabled Arabs to put down roots in America, to the bene-fit of the community and the country. APC

From the moment you see the acknowledgements of this book citing previous publication in The Paris Review, Best American Poetry , The Denver Quarterly, Sulfur, and more, you have a clear indication that Anna Rabinowitz is a serious, high caliber poet worth reading. Her poems don't disappoint. Her opening poem, "Blow the Dome," is an ABC-darium that foretells the vibrant, unexpected and effective language and images of the poems in the rest of the book: "Language in the language of the language, movement as the speech that does not lie."

From the start, we see that unlike so many contemporary poets who spend pages and pages contemplating their navels (and who knows what other private parts) Rabinowitz is clearly interested in language, thought, and intellect, rather than in simply re-hashing her own emotional baggage.

Not that her work doesn't have emotional impact. "Fragile Dialectics" is an almost frighteningly chilling view of aging. "Two women finger the fans of their cards. The blonde's bones soften at the bast of her spine...the redheads skull is inlaid with a metal plate the size of a three-by-five index card." Her "Confession" is clean and startling. "Anatomy Lab" is clinical, yet somehow moving. And her poems about art, artists, and creating show that she is an artist herself, fully capable of not only understanding, but conveying the artistic process.

The centerpiece of the book, a long piece called "Dislocations" is an at times emotionally harrowing, at times journalistically removed, and consistently insightful chronicle of the author's visit to post WWII eastern Europe, including family remembrances, and visits to concentration camps. "Crawl into our eyes. They hoard what we remember," intones her Greek (Jewish?) chorus of 6 million dead.

This is not poetry for the faint of heart. And it certainly isn't poetry of the "roses are red," Hallmark card-loving crowd. These poems make you think, feel, and yes, sometimes work. But in the end, it's all worth it - to hear the intelligent voice of an accomplished poet who is unafraid to expose her own emotions, explore the artistic process, and delve into intellectual issues that make us all think.

Anna Rabinowitz, like Duchamps Nude Descending a Staircase, in her poem "Descent" is a woman who "troops down to step out."

So many beauties in this ambitious, accomplished, lyrical collection. The mind is limber and so are the lines: "...ships in a black storm, / vocabularies churning at sea..." There's wit galore, as in "Golem Recipe ... Yields one servant YHWH" and a mordant survey of past and present "time when history ferments in bruised casks..." Not a painter of small canvases, Rabinowitz takes an unsparing look at the way we (too often) live now, "...slave to the common habit / humans have, though companionable, of living out only the personal story." But her own concerns are large and her gifts glorious, delivering us back into a world in which "Against all odds, and past their prime, lychnis, astilbe, lythrum pitch fresh bloom headlong into pale gardens..." Highly recommended!

Robert Bagg's translation of this classic Euripides tragedy is exciting and vigorous. It is a translation that lends itself particularly well to being played on stage, with forceful, stripped down dialogue and choruses that are exquisitely poetic but also very simply presented. An excellent translation for students and actors.

"Bakkhai" ("The Bacchae") was written by Euripides when he was living in Macedonia in virtual exile during the last years of his life. The tragedy was performed in Athens after his death as part of a trilogy that included one extant play, "Iphigenia at Aulis," and one which is lost, "Alcaeon in Corinth." These factors are important in appreciating this particular Greek tragedy because such plays were performed at a festival that honored the Dionysus, and in "Bakkhai" he is the god who extracts a horrible vengeance. The tragedy clearly demonstrates the god's power, but it is a terrible power, which suggests less than flattering things about the deity himself.

Pentheus was the son of Echion and Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of the Royal House of Thebes. After Cadmus stepped down the throne, Pentheus took his place as king of Thebes. When the cult of Dionysus came to Thebes, Pentheus resisted the worship of the god in his kingdom. However, his mother and sisters were devotees of the god and went with women of the city to join in the Dionsysian revels on Mount Cithaeron. Pentheus had Dionysus captured, but the god drove the king insane, who then shackled a bull instead of the god. When Pentheus climbed a tree to witness in secret the reverly of the Bacchic women, he was discovered and torn to pieces by his mother and sisters, who, in their Bacchic frenzy, believed him to be a wild beast. The horrific action is described in gory detail by a messenger, which is followed by the arrival of the frenzied and bloody Agave, the head of her son fixed atop her thytsus.

Unlike those stories of classical mythology which are at least mentioned in the writings of Homer, the story of Pentheus originates with Euripides. The other references in classical writing, the "Idylls" written by the Syracusean poet Theocritus and the "Metamorphoses" of the Latin poet Ovid, both post-date "Bakkhai" by centuries. On those grounds, the tragedy of Euripides would appear to be entirely his construct, which would certainly give it an inherent uniqueness over his interpretations of the stories of "Medea," "Electra," and "The Trojan Women."

I see "Bakkhai" as being Euripides' severest indictment of religion and not as the recantation of his earlier rationalism in his old age. The dramatic conflicts of the play stem from religious issues, and without understanding the opposition on Appollonian grounds of Pentheus to the new cult readers miss the ultimate significance of the tragedy. This is not an indictment of Appollonian rationalism, but rather a dramatic argument that, essentially, it is irrational to ignore the irrational. As the fate of Pentheus amply points out, it is not only stupid to do so, it is fatal. Consequently, "Bakkhai" is one of the most important of Greek tragedies.

In "Beneath The Streets Of Boston: Building America's First Subway", Joe McKendry presents a fascinating, informative, and superbly illustrated history of how the first city subway in America came to be built under the streets of Boston, Massachusetts in 1895. It was a massive construction project that was finally completed and open to the public on July 1, 1918. Subway systems had been built in England and Scotland, but this was the first time in an American metropolis that underground railroads were implemented to ease the transportation gridlocks and traffic jams of ground level transports. Historic photos are combined with drawings to illustrate the tasks and constructions problems that had to be solved and the men who worked to build and then operate this revolutionary system. "Beneath The Streets Of Boston" is unique and very highly recommended for school and community American Transportation History collections, and especially commended to the attention of railroading enthusiasts as well!

I lived in Boston my whole life. McKendry's book is full of information I never knew about our first subway system. The drawings are awesome. My 8 year old son who loves trains is fascinated with the book. He wants me to read it to him every night. Sometimes he just sits by himself and looks at the pictures.

I highly recommend this book both for it's information and the wonderful drawings

This is a wonderful resource for planning excursions in Boston and the environs with children. The entries on sites of interest are full of great information, and the prose is clear and accessible to young readers. The format, including photos and activities, encourages children to help with planning trips and teaches them a thing or two about the city in the bargain. Besides using this book to guide kids around the city, I have given it to visiting relatives and local children (and to some folks who have moved away and wanted their kids to know what they were missing.) All have loved it. Enthusiastically recommended!

I was really pleased to come across this book. Living near Boston, I sometimes need ideas for showing visiting family or friends around the city. Kidding Around Boston is full of great ideas and information about Boston's history and lore. The style is clear and engaging, and the young people I've shown it to have enjoyed it. It's terrific for visitors, but I think it might be equally useful in classrooms as an ancillary book for independent reading.

Stepping out the front door of my office on 141 Tremont, I can glance slightly up and catch sight of the golden dome of the State House-the present one; the other and older one is a few blocks away on State Street. You would, of course, be looking through Boston Common. And past the "Park Street" T station, which as you realize you enter and exit from Tremont Street. The Park Street Church is just to your right, with a strain right you can see the Old Granary Burial Ground and with a similar lurch left you can see the old cemetery at the corner of Boyslton and Tremont Streets. This time of the year you can head bobbing and weaving on the frozen surface of the Frog Pond. If you start walking even a few blocks sights and sites multiply, geometrically. Dr. Thomas O'Connor, University Historian at Boston College and the "Dean" of Boston historians, has released just in time for Christmas giving a delightful dictionary of the city. Based on his long love affair with and wide knowledge of Boston, O'Connor's latest contribution to the Hub's story is an easy read, but as informative as it is delightful. He mixes people and places, legends and lives, sites and scenes. Selecting just the right number of each and the maintaining a proper balance of generations could be tricky. O'Connor has both the historian's training and the teacher's talent of keeping interest and passing on the stories. "The Rascal King"- James Michael Curley and his contemporary and one time publisher of this paper "Gangplank Bill" - the late Cardinal O'Connell's irreverent moniker appear together again. Sam Adams who actually owned and operated a brewery when he wasn't busy riling revolutions and his cousin John only slightly more diplomatic when compared to his kinsman are reunited in this tour of the city. O'Connor reveals that when he was a young lad his maiden aunt would take him on weekly walks through the city and explain the details of places and people, bits of history and bits of lore. Her influence on and challenge to the young Tom contributed mightily to O'Connor's initial and ongoing thirst for more and more of the "stuff" of Boston. Dr. O'Connor' latest addition is in dictionary form. You can read from A to Z as the title suggestions or in any other order for that matter. You might pick it up and check out this or that name or person or event. You'll smile. You'll nod in memory. You'll be in awe of the city's story, her people and her life. If you're new to the cith this will help you know some of the legend and lore and at least know some of people. If you're a lifer here you'll have new perspective on the Hub. Those visiting the city will have a different picture and be inspired to return. This would be a great Christmas gift for any Bostonian: old or new, young or old, home or away.

I am a tour guide in Boston. A friend gave me this book for Christmas. I would not be without it. It is really a wonderful book about Boston. Buy it! If you are coming to visit Bean Town.

It's great to see a book like this. As another Boston boy, I had many similar experiences that have been hard and perhaps confusing to explain to someone who grew up in another time and place.
My wife feels that she understands me better now after reading Boston Boy. We are giving copies to our sons.
The book for me is nostalgic, poignant, and somewhat reassuring. Helps to understand that generation, that time, and that place. We made it in spite of the bastards.

Nat Hentoff, who later became famous as a writer about jazz and civil liberties, describes his "coming of age" and discovery of jazz in the Boston of the 1940s. A very enjoyable read.

A person would not expect to find a history of fire fighting in Boston to be a difficult book to put down. I bought this volume mostly because I had enjoyed the author's earlier story of the Cocoanut Grove Fire and I'm delighted I did. I had no idea of all the inovations in fire fighting that were first invented or applied in Boston. I happened to start reading the book at the back when I was thumbing through it and came across a description of the fire at the Vendome Hotel on Commonwealth Avenue. I'd witnessed that fire while passing by on my way to work. I then read the book from that point to the end before starting to re-read it from the beginning. It was amazingly accurate because I'd been alive and read about many of those recent fires at the time. The great fires from the past were even more fascinating.The author did a wonderful job of making what could have been boring, boring, boring, into a history that was riviting, riviting, riviting. It's a great read even for non-sparks and fire fighters.

I loved this book. This is a carefully crafted and well researched collection of tales about fires out of control and what are very scary risks, even up to the present day.

It starts from times when there were no machines to fight fires, dirt roads downtown, little or no water available, and nobody on the payroll. Stories cover fires in and around Boston that wiped out entire neighborhoods and changed hundreds of lives. The story of the famous Cocoanut Grove fire of late 1942 is right from the front line and for me, brought the recent Station Nightclub fire to mind.

As a bridge to further study, it has detailed references to source material drawn upon, but I have to think that none of it can be more captivating than this compendium.....

This book has aged remarkably well. First published in 1964, it remains the best account of the Boston Tea Party in or out of print. In fact, it's something of a classic. It's easy to read, tells the story in all its complexity (which involves going beyond Boston to look at how opposition to the Tea Act played out in Charleston, Philadelphia, and New York), and places the "tea party" in the larger story of the American Revolution.

Mr. Labaree's Boston Tea Party is an excellent chronology of the American Revolution from the Townshend Acts to the Boston Tea Party, culminating in the Coercive Acts and the beginnings of the Continental Congress. Labaree lays out the increasing tension between the American Colonies and Britian. He delves into the radical nature of the Revolution as a libertarian mass movement. Although the colonists were led by leaders like Samuel Adams, Dr. Thomas Young, and Joseph Warren, Labaree cogently lays out how the Revolution was a mass movement of the people. Hundreds, if not thousands of farmers became involved in assisting Boston after the passage of the Coercive Acts. Philadephia organized a mass meeting of over 8000 people to protest the tyrannical acts. After the passage of the Coercive Acts, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven, Baltimore, Annapolis and other colonial cities were inflamed. This beginning of revolution was not a movement of only the rich, but of an enraged, passionate people defending their liberties.

Most importantly Labaree shows how the British and Americans viewed imperial relations and the position of the colonies in the Empire. Overall a really fine read for those interested in our libertarian revolution.

Having been born and brought up in Boston I especially appreciate this contribution to understanding one of America's premier cities. I have dined at the Union Oyster House many times but now know of its 'French connection' as the one time residence of a futre king of France, Louis Philippe. I had been to Paul Revere's house but did not know of his French heritage. Readers will find this book a perennial source of information and visitors will dip into this well of lore to experience a rich history of French influence.

Historian and walking-tour guide Rhea Atwood presents Boston's French Secrets: Guided Walks That Reveal Boston's French Heritage is a tourist's guide to various areas of Boston, including downtown, waterfront, the financial district, beacon hill, and back bay, focusing especially upon Boston's French heritage. From the legacy of the Huguenots to works of French art preserved and displayed in museums to the Paul Revere House and much more, Boston's French Secrets includes directions, historical tidbits, black-and-white photographs, and more celebrating the unique contributions of French culture. A wonderful guide for anyone looking to better experience the sights, sounds, and monuments of Boston, especially francophiles.