No comments about Blue Guide Country Houses of England (Blue Guides).

3 comments about South Boston, My Home Town: The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood.

1. I had to read this book...and comment on it. Like Thomas O'Connor, I am also a native of Southie. Using a voluminous store of references, and countless personal interviews, O'Connor has written the most comprehensive history of "The Town" I've ever read. He takes the reader from the very beginnings of life in the relatively isolated peninsula settlement, through the cultural, ethnic, occupational, and religious history of the residents, emphasizing their insular nature, seemingly always at odds with the rest of Boston and other outsiders, right through the 80's.

   The detailed background information provided by O'Connor over an entire chapter, regarding the forced busing for school integration and ensuing Southie riots, will give the non-Southie(and maybe some Southies also) reader a much better understanding, and different perspective, on the town. O'Connor is clear on the causes of the riots, namely a clueless judge following the path paved by a self-serving state legislature that passed a law which would preclude busing to Boston's lily-white suburbs, compounded of course by Southie's insular nature and desires to maintain their neighborhood schools. I recommend Michael MacDonald's recently published "All Souls" for a terrific read on the tragic experiences of one very poor Southie family in the projects during the those riots in the 70's, and on through the 80's, into the 90's.

   Overall..a terrific historic work on South Boston by O'Connor..the best Ive ever read.




2. Written by a South Boston expatriate [who hasn't lived in South Boston for decades], the book: 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town - The History of an Ethnic Neighborhood' (c. 1988, 1994) by B.C. history professor Thomas H. O'Connor, ignored the usual tenets of logic and historiography and took a contingent and non-teleological world view of the history of his ex-neighborhood, South Boston.

   Containing all the usual ingrediants of determinism - such as: truisms (e.g. "The Dorchester Heights monument was completed in 1901 ..." p. 107) interpreted with many unreferenced categorical statements (e.g. " 'Most' of the Irish who came to America ..." p 78, and "In 'most' South Boston Schools ..." p. 121, or " ... the anti-semitism among 'some' Irish Catholics ..." p. 186); Professor O'Connor, in an attempt to initiate a self-fulfilling prophecy, simply collected a series of stereotypes which coincided with the media coverage of the anti-forced busing events of 1974-1984 Boston, of which he personally was not involved!

   This blatant manipulation of information is further enhanced by these curiously irresponsible statements that "To a great extent, Irish emigrants brought their traditional drinking habits with them when they came to America." (p. 44) and " ... the potato was the absolute mainstay of the Irish diet." (p. 47). In light of the facts that the first beer pump in Boston is found in South Boston at the German bar "Amrheims"; and in Ireland, the Irish don't just eat potatoes!

   As a further case in reader manipulation, the book 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town' contained an anachronism as Prof. O'Connor perpetuated a crude specimen of Boston 'Mytho-history'. On page 254 in Prof. O'Connor's sources is found the screed LIBERTY'S CHOSEN HOME (c.1977) where journalist Alan Lupo related the excited outburst of an anti-forced busing protester in 1974 to then Mayor Kevin White that: "No matter how poor we were, Kevin, we always had clean lace curtains on our windows"(p. 30). And through sheer hyperbole, this exclamation from a non-Irish women found its way into 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town' (p. 87) as the 1901 long established tradition of "the lace curtain Irish"! It is undocumented that there has ever been a lace curtain Irish in Boston and this description is specious.

   The book 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town' presented a series of inconsistencies and mechanistically biased views of the author's former hometown: Prof. O'Connor emphasized white racism and ignored all the black racism found in Boston (p. 219); constantly referred to South Boston as an 'ethnic' neighborhood, but didn't describe at EXACTLY what point South Boston became a 'white' neighborhood when it came to his description of forced busing (p. 209); the author mentioned historical 'forces' throughout his work with no explanation of exactly what those mysterious 'forces' were? (e.g. pgs. 115 & 246); and in confusing digressions for correlations, Prof. O'Connor committed the 'post hoc' fallacy by constantly comparing two disassociate events: the Irish immigrants in the 1854 North End (Boston) as a "theme" (p. 32) for the behaviour of the Irish American minority in 1974 South Boston, two miles away and 120 years later! (An illegitimate teleology occurs when an author speculates, without sufficient proof, that x causes y).

   The omission of relevant data also marred 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town' as Prof. O'Connor listed some of the whimsical nicknames (p. 178) found among South Boston residents but neglected to include his poster boy's, former mayor Ray Flynn, sobriquet of 'Mel' Flynn (and why he earned it). Also omitted from this work was the fact that the Irish American became a vocal minority by 1974, surpassed in the 1950s by Lithuanian, Polish, Estonian, Latvian, and Albanian immigrants fleeing communist persecution by the former Soviet Union - thereby breaking any contingency between the Irish immigrants of 1854 Boston, and the Irish American of 1974 South Boston! There were also 240 Afro-American families, plus a small colony of Mic Mac Indians from the Canadian Maritimes living in Southie when the Federal judge declared the Boston Schools segregated, which escaped the author's attention.

   Though this was supposed to be a history of South Boston, the author tended to drag in the history of all the Irish no matter how far or removed from Southie; e.g. Irish immigrants of New York city. (This is where Prof. O'Connor's specialty in demographics tended to displace his knowledge of South Boston history.) Then, inconsistently, Prof. O'Connor failed to mention the most segregated and insulated neighborhood in Boston's entire history - Chinatown!

   Professor O'Connor's collection of generalizations, unsubstantiated allegations, and unreferenced claims, makes it impossible for the researcher to verify his information. The yarn: 'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town' by history professor Thomas H. O'Connor, is a distorted work which is not history, but encompassed all the worse traits of a poorly written biography. By allowing his imagination to run away with him and indulging in a weak psychobiographic speculation with few sources or no proof, professor Thomas H. O'Connor had produced not a technically proficient work of history, but a weak biography on his ex-neighborhood, with all the veracity and authority of an eighth grade book report.

   Any life long resident of South Boston would immediately pick out the flaws and errors of this work (e.g. Life long South Boston residents do not refer to themselves as 'Southies'!)

   'SOUTH BOSTON: My Home Town: The History of an Ethnic Neighborhod' is a perpetuation of many media stereotypes, documented truisms, vague categorical statements, and added nothing new to the knowledge of South Boston's history.




3. "South Boston My Hometown" is a detailed but very readable history of a unique Boston neighborhood. Written by a native who is a professor at Boston College, the book is remarkably objective considering the South Boston Irish background of the author. If there is any flaw, it is the apology given for the long standing ignorance and bigotry of many South Boston natives. The pitiful anti-semitism of the 1930's and the disgraceful racism of the 1970's deserve no forgiveness. Perhaps a later edition will tell if any effort has been made to educate the new generation of South Boston Irish to avoid the sins of the last century.

1 comments about All Courses Great And Small: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to England and Wales.

1. Well, mr Finegan has done it again. Terrific description of well selected courses in England and Wales.

No comments about Waltham (Images of America: Massachusetts) (Images of America).

No comments about Places to Stay and Visit: South West England, 4th (Places to Stay & Visit).

No comments about Field Guide to Acadia National Park, Maine, Revised Edition.

5 comments about Moon Handbooks Maine (Moon Handbooks).

1. First of all, I have to mention that I live in Maine. And I can tell you from experience that the beauty of Kathleen Brandes' book lies in the sheer span of coverage, which is considerable, matched with a propensity for detail, which is astounding! Even the "Native" Mainers will find much to enjoy in this book. This is a rich, dense, and completely user-friendly volume, folks!
   I'll give you an example. I'm a photographer based in the Bangor area. I bought this book for my personal library which aids me in seeking out photographic areas of interest. Last week I traveled to Lubec, Maine - and I used this handbook for lodging and dining info. I located the Eastland Motel in Lubec based on this handbook, and met the proprietor - Lee Aragon - who cheerfully provided suggestions for exploration in the Lubec-Eastport-Campobello region. I mentioned to Lee that I had read about her in The Maine Handbook...and that she was correctly described by Kathleen Brandes as a "Lubec booster". Lee was tickled pink by this, and by extension, I was able to get some nice local insights that I would never have known about otherwise.
   Paging through this Maine Handbook, you get the feeling that Kathleen Brandes is a scholar of "All Things Maine", and she is enjoying every minute of it. And who can blame her? Maine truly is.....well.....the way life should be.
   Buy the book, come to Maine....and if you already live here, buy the book anyway! It has become something of a "state bible" for me. Can't image traveling without it.
   And there is something in this book for everyone. Kathleen has you covered, whether you are single, married with children, an armchair traveler or someone who simply wishes to know more about the Pine Tree State. Longtime locals and prospective tourists alike would do well to mine this gem of a book. I have two dog-eared copies....one for home, and one for my car - enough said.



2. I've spent time at the book stores recently researching books for my upcoming trip to Maine. My wife and I plan to spend 4 nights and 5 days there and wanted plenty to see and do where we wouldn't necessarily meet thousands of other travelers since I'm not too much into the whole crowd experience. Brandes' book is so well researched that you can't go wrong with it!

   While other typical books that are similar, such as Fodors and Frommers, have quite a bit of information in its own right, I think that this particular Moon Handbook is better equipped to give better detail of interest whether site seeing, dining, entertainment, lodging, etc.

   I recently completed a Web site for a bed and breakfast located in Machiasport (down east) and had to do quite a bit of research on the area to enhance their site. My research was conducted primarily via the internet over the course of a few days. I'm glad to say that after I received my book and compared information, everything I could find on the Web in and around Machiasport was already included in sufficient detail in this book! I would have saved myself a few days of searching.

   If you want to tour Maine or already live there but need to places to explore, the second edition Moon Handbook on Maine is the way to go.

   When I vote with 4 stars, that means the product was excellent. When I vote with 5 stars, it goes beyond excellence in my view and is considered best in class. This book is "THE" authoritive book on touring Maine. Excellent purchase!




3. This book has become an invaluable source! I've now travelled to Maine twice and brought the book both times. Brandes provides a wealth of information, especially for those things off the beaten path. The book includes very helpful maps - on my last trip I left my Maine atlas at home and found the maps included in the book to be quite helpful. The spine on my book is really starting to see some wear - I enjoy reading it even when I'm not travelling. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are planning to travel to the northern, less populated regions of Maine.



4. I LOVED this book. My family and I travel Maine each year and this book is THE guide (along with the Maine Atlas). It has helped us refine our experience in Maine to a very satisfying level.
   
   The guide to natural sites/walks/boating is still wonderful.
   
   However, if you've been to Maine before, you know that businesses come and go with alarming rapidity. This is especially true in the Eastern Coast. Most of the restaurants listed in the guide are long gone or under different managements, so don't count on finding a place to eat based on this guide.



5. This book is fabulous. I work as a travel nurse and recently spent 6 1/2 months in Maine. I had never been there before and spent several hours at the bookstore going through various Maine travel books before settling on this one. I certainly made the right choice. It was a wonderful resource. I spent hours reviewing the information in this book over the course of my time in Maine. I plan to go back to Maine next summer and will take my book right back with me. The information on shops, restaurants and points of interest was valuable and very accurate.

No comments about Lonely Planet Road Trip New England (Road Trip Guide).

5 comments about Phantom Gourmet Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants.

1. Great way to find out about restaurants you would otherwise never hear of. Experiences at reviewed restaurants may not be exactly as reviewers'- either better or worse. Be prepared for adventure-not aways the nicest neighborhoods.



2. I purchased 2 guides as christmas gifts. They were the hit of the party.



3. I am big fan of Phantom's reviews and taste in food. Unlike Zagat etc, this is not made for tourists and flashy places get no advantage: food matters most. Phantom exposes the hole-in-the-wall places with the best food in the Boston and surrounding area and still reviews the expensive and touristy places as well.
   
   The book is like a pocket reference to years of Phantom reviews. You would have to watch his show for years to learn what is presented in this $10 book. Extremely well organized, restraurants are organized not only by neighborhood, but by food type (Great 8) as well.
   
   Keep the book around for quick reference, and any night you aren't quite sure where you want to go out to eat, pick it up and try something new.



4. I bought Phantom Gourmet as a complement to Zagat, since it seemed to have more detailed/quirky information. It's kind of helpful in terms of specific types of food, like barbecue, but has too few neighborhood breakdowns and, in general, too few restaurants listed. Those it does have, though, have definitely been added to the hitlist.



5. The television program as well as the guide have become dated. The reviews are unreliable, and too many chain restaurants covered. There are better online sources for reviews.

No comments about Smith's London journal.