Pennsylvania Books

I remember reading this book many years ago at the State University of Binghamton Harpur College Library, and being filled with sadness by it. So many of the cultural heroes of the Western world from Voltaire to Wagner were anti- Semitic, or had some anti- Semitic writings. Many such as Tolstoy Goethe Dickens balanced anti- semitism with very pro- Jewish remarks. True Nietzche stood against Wagner. But on the whole even into this century with Pound, Eliot, Celine, Heidegger there were ' great creators' who bore in their mind and soul resentment and hatred of the Jews.
Even with Shakespeare who according to Harold Bloom's wonderful exaggeration ' invented the human' there is the question of his true intent with Shylock. Does a Jew really have hands and eyes for Shakespeare?
I believe that this book should be far more widely read and known than it is. And it should be part of the legacy of all those Jews who have given their lives to Western culture.

A wonderful account of the " common foot soldier" in their own words. A poignant description of the infamous Andersonville prison.

Granted, you will only really be interested in this book if you are from the area or have geneological interest in people from this area, but it serves to show how one SHOULD put together a local history book.

Great photos, historical contexts, solid writing. If you are from Lower Macungie Township, you should have this book. Look up the author in the local phone book, either under Ann or Craig Bartholomew.

This book has lots of great information and photos of the hospital, from it's creation as a small tent camp all the way to almost present day. I had searched every where for information on this state hospital and always came up empty handed, till now.

It is a reference book and is excellent for genealogy purposes

This book is the definitive history of the original Pennsylvania Bucktail regiment, the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, first published in 1906. It was written by William H. Rauch, a soldier of the regiment, serving in Company F. Mr. Rauch also served as the Historian of the Regimental Association after the Civil War. Mr. O.R. Howard Thomson assisted Mr. Rauch with this history. The book traces the history of the Pennsylvania Bucktails from genesis and organization through mustering out. Mssrs. Rauch and Thomson draw on all sorts of historical information to present this regimental history, including soldiers' letters, diaries, and personal eyewitness accounts, as well as other, more general, published histories.

Several things make this history most unique and interesting. First, the Pennsylvania "Bucktails" were an elite fighting unit of the Army of the Potomac. They were trained in and employed advanced fighting tactics for their day (i.e., dispersing in a fight, seeking available cover, picking their targets before firing, etc.). They were equipped with the most advanced weaponry available to infantry units (e.g., Sharps repeating carbines). They wore the distinctive 'bucktail' as a symbol of their marksmanship, and they were frequently deployed as skirmishers and sharpshooters in battle. Second, during their three years of service, they participated in almost all of the major campaigns, battles, and engagements of the Army of the Potomac -- the Seven Days Battles, the Valley Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, to name a few. Third, they often found themselves at the center of the fight in these battles. For example, at Gettysburg they arrived on the second day and helped to defend Little Round Top from being overrun by the Confederates -- a disaster avoided by the Union Army in this epic battle. Not only are the battles recounted in vivid detail, but everyday camp life is also captured.

This book is also a pleasure to read for it's elevated language, a distinct style that is now lost in our society. Here's an example from the description of the encampment in Fairfax, Virginia in February 1863, where the unit wintered over and protected Washington, DC after Fredericksburg. "The enemy being active, men from each company in the regiment were sent out scouting on the 15th. From then, to the 23rd, it rained or snowed, every day, and considerable uneasiness was occasioned by the outbreak of small-pox. Fortunately, the cases were few and the disease did not spread, though on March 6th, it caused the death of Austin Irvin, of Company K. The citizens of the village of Fairfax were, almost to a man, secessionists, but being within the Union lines, they were fairly hospitable and civil. Still, on a few occasions, when the questions of the day were inadvertently broached, the men discovered that familiarity with the vocabulary of swearing, was not a possession peculiar to the army." (page 246)

The History of the "Bucktails" also contains Company muster rolls, information about the Regimental Association, and several indexes of names and places, survivors, and printed sources most frequently cited in the history. This book is a 'must-have' for descendants of the "Bucktail" soldiers, genealogists, Civil War reenactors, and anyone with a keen interest in the Civil War. I also recommend Mr. Patrick Schroeder's "Pennsylvania Bucktails: A Photographic Album of the 42nd, 149th & 150 Pennsylvania Regiments" as a perfect complement to this book.

I am a Civil War reenacter who portrays the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry "Bucktails". This book is our Bible. Thomas Chamberlain was the major of our unit. The original men of this unit do not get credit. The Iron Brigade gets all the credit over the Bucktails. We are looking for more recruits for our group. We portray Company F which came from my hometown, even the same side of town. I know ancestors that were in my company. This is a great book. GO BUCKTAILS!!!!!!!!1

I ordered this book when I discovered through genealogy that my great-great-great grandfather served in the Civil War in the 49th PA infantry. I found him listed in this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone researching the 49th infantry. It is full of a ton of great facts. It lists rosters, battles, pics of officers and things like that. It is well worth the money. Mine is a reprint edition and comes with a beautiful black cover with gold writing. It also has a very nice, accurate index. I have read on the internet that this book is better than a similar book by Samuel P Bates entitled "History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861-5". I read that the book by Samuel Bates leaves out quite a few soldiers and info. Robert Westbrook (a fellow member of the 49th infantry) wrote this book in response to Samuel Bates' incomplete book. I highly recommend this book!

I have two copies. Geil and Wenger descendants included due to cross marriages between 3 families over centuries. Good job of putting data together. Would consider trading one for the Geil book.

No state in the entire nation is richer in Indian names or in fact Indian history than Pennsylvania. Indian Villages is the only major book that traces back Indian names and places for their correct form, origin and history. These 290 pages are filled with the most incredible collection of information ever assembled on the Indian place names of Pennsylvania. In researching his book, Mr. Donehoo, not only went over every available source of printed material about place names in Pennsylvania, but also walked over nearly every Indian trail, from the Delaware to the Ohio, using every trader's journal and maps as his guide. Each Indian name comes complete with historical notes by the author, and as you read, you get a sense about each place; a feeling of walking with the author through each early village, along every river and stream and across the mountains of Pennsylvania back into time. A list of the authorities used is given with each name and a general bibliography follows at the conclusion of the work. Certainly, Heckwelder, Zeisberger, Post, Gist, Croghan, Weiser and other early explorers would be very proud.