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.

No comments about Best Streams for Great Lakes Steelhead: A Complete Guide to the Fish, the Tactics, and the Places to Catch Them.

2 comments about Frommer's Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (Frommers Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, 2nd ed).

1. Frommer's Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks good overall guide to the area. It's descriptions of the lodging choices and the dining descriptions were very good although it omitted the Geyser Grill in the Old Faithful area. The descriptions of activities in GT were very good, but the descriptions of activities in YNP were lacking. There were some omissions: the Antelope Creek Drainage area and the Brink of the Upper/Lower Falls trails. Some felt the Norris Geyser Basin highly overrated as was the West Thumb Geyser Basin and Osprey Falls. This book is a great starting point but by no means should it be the only book you have. It's perfect for making your dining and lodging choices but suffers in adequately describing activities (for that check out 'An Outdoor Family Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks' by Lisa Gollin Evans).



2. There is lots of good information here for the traveler new to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, but I was often frustrated with the lack of pictures and poor quality maps. I realize that part of the goal was to keep the book small so that it is handy to carry...but the result-- small, gray-scale maps -- is often less than helpful.
   
   Perhaps I have been spoiled by the Eye Witness travel guides...because I found myself wishing one existed for Yellowstone/Grand Teton.
   
   Again, good info for the new visitor: poor map/picture quality.

3 comments about Miami and the Keys (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides).

1. We love other DK "Eyewitness Guides," but this one didn't cut the mustard. It worked well as an travel overview of the region, but failed to mention several important points such as days and hours of operation and entrance fees to attractions, which we were stung by several times. A specific example was their recommendation of snorkeling at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The book lists it as one of the best snorkeling spots in the U.S., but failed to mention that in order to see anything other than sea grass and the occassional crab, you are required to make reservations on a guided snorkeling boat. The guide also lacked directions. The maps that were included were insufficient. The restaurant recommendations we tried were fine, though, and we appreciated, as usual, the fine photos and "streetsmart" section.



2. Nice! Excellent! You may need to get Lonely Planet's 'Miami & the Keys' for such a metropolis as Miami & the Keys. But still one of the simple books on travel for this region.



3. This book was updated in 2005 and 2007 -- but those editions don't seem to be available through Amazon. Why is that?

2 comments about A Great Plains Reader.

1. This is a great collection of stories. I have been reading it cover to cover and enjoy every story. Many of the stories are so well written that I can feel the wind and hear the meadowlarks that I remember from my childhood growing up near Wichita. I would recommend it for every Great Plains native and maybe for those who don't understand why anyone would want to live "out there."



2. 
   This hefty (700+ pages) anthology, far-reaching in scope and viewpoint, attempts to reflect "the historical and contemporary experience of life on the Great Plains." It includes many different types of writings (short stories, memoir excerpts, essays, tribal accounts) from scores of different writers (Mark Twain, Maria Sandoz, Hamlin Garland, Garrison Keillor, Wright Morris, Louise Erdrich, to name only a few). The book's sections are organized around specific themes:
   
   1) The lay of the land and natural history;
   2) Natives and newcomers: these include Indian accounts of the first Europeans and early explorer impressions (Louis & Clark, Stephen Long, etc.);
   3) Arriving and settling in: reflections of the first white settlers and the creating of communities.
   
   Each passage is fully introduced by the editors in terms of its message and social/historical significance. The anthology provides a comprehensive overview of the Great Plains as a section of North America (Canada included) remarkable for its special, in some ways even unique, life offerings it gave to those who came in contact with it. Excellent for use in college survey courses dealing with the Plains, it's also an interesting book for anyone wanting to gleam insights on the region from a wide array of perspectives.

5 comments about Sources of the River: Tracking David Thompson Across Western North America.

1. This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey through a time when what lay west of the Alberta Rockies was merely a faint whisper of great rivers, mountains and forests that beckoned the tough and determined fur traders of the Hudson Bay and Northwest companies. Of course, the prize that each of these competitors sought to find first was a trading route to the Pacific Ocean. There was word of a great river's estuary located to the southwest across the mountains, but the rivers west of the Rockies all flowed northward! David Thompson, after whom the Thompson River in British Columbia was named and perhaps the most unsung of the great North American explorers, was faced with a mystery to solve. And he did so -- surviving bitterly cold winters in the unforgiving outdoors without today's Gore-Tex garments and GPS gadgets. He followed the stars tenaciously and spent may hours out in the elements making and checking his triangulation calculations the old-fashioned way --longhand.

   I read this book several years ago and remember well how it readily took me away from today's comfortable but harried world. It's well recommended to anyone with an explorer's bent who would like to join Thompson's party as he searches for the route west of the Rockies in Canada's early back yard. He certainly has earned my respect as one of the great, devoted explorers who opened the West. Nisbet brings his personality to life in a very readable, interesting book, obviously the product of a great deal of detailed research by the author.




2. Based on David Thompson's own account of his explorations of the western North American continent, this is a perceptive tale of hardship and adventure. Jack Nisbet has the intuitive ability to cut to the heart of the subject, not just how this area was discovered but how the discovery influenced the native people and the natural history of the area. His own brief but discerning anecdotes about his interactions with the land and its people provide counterpoint and context for the main narrative.

   The writer follows the life of David Thompson from his birth in London in 1770 and his education at a charity school to his apprenticeship with the Hudson's Bay Company and arrival in northern Canada. His major life work was to explore and map what became known as the interior of British Columbia, eastern Washington, western Montana and northern Oregon, focussed on the Columbia River and its tributaries. He crossed and re-crossed the Rocky Mountains through passes known only to native people and he established trading posts and trading relations with native people so he could supply the Hudson's Bay Company, and later the Northwest Company, with the furs they sought. Later in life he "retired" to montreal and later to Ontario where he became astronomer for the International Boundary Commission, guiding the U.S.-Canadian survey of the 49th parallel from Quebec, via the Great Lakes to Manitoba.

   This is a story well told. It doesn't bog down in tedious detail yet still manages to convey the day- to-day routines as well as the excitement of discovery and the hardships faced by explorers in harsh terrain in an often bitter climate. The book has an immediacy and depth that are seldom realized together in an historical narrative.




3. Based on David Thompson's own account of his explorations of the western North American continent, this is a perceptive tale of hardship and adventure. Jack Nisbet has the intuitive ability to cut to the heart of the subject, not just how this area was discovered but how the discovery influenced the native people and the natural history of the area. His own brief but discerning anecdotes about his interactions with the land and its people provide counterpoint and context for the main narrative.

   The writer follows the life of David Thompson from his birth in London in 1770 and his education at a charity school to his apprenticeship with the Hudson's Bay Company and arrival in northern Canada. His major life work was to explore and map what became known as the interior of British Columbia, eastern Washington, western Montana and northern Oregon, focussed on the Columbia River and its tributaries. He crossed and re-crossed the Rocky Mountains through passes known only to native people and he established trading posts and trading relations with native people so he could supply the Hudson's Bay Company, and later the Northwest Company, with the furs they sought. Later in life he "retired" to montreal and later to Ontario where he became astronomer for the International Boundary Commission, guiding the U.S.-Canadian survey of the 49th parallel from Quebec, via the Great Lakes to Manitoba.

   This is a story well told. It doesn't bog down in tedious detail yet still manages to convey the day- to-day routines as well as the excitement of discovery and the hardships faced by explorers in harsh terrain in an often bitter climate. The book has an immediacy and depth that are seldom realized together in an historical narrative.




4. David Thompson. A man of untiring capabilities for exploring, surveying, trapping and trading in western Canada. From the age of fourteen, he gave twenty seven years of his life towards these goals, of which not too many men could begin to attain.
   His duties for the Hudson's Bay Company and later the North West Company were to map, trade, trap, locate future trading establishments and discover a passage to the Pacific for commerce. Herein exists tales of endurance, perseverance, stamina and survival in unexplored regions of Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest from 1784-1812.
   An extremely well written book by Jack Nisbet, along with very good, easy to read maps by Jack McMaster in order to follow the whereabouts of Thompson.



5. As we reach the bicentennial of David Thompson's crossing of the Rocky Mountains, it appears that "Sources of the River" is becoming the definitive popular reference. The book deserves it. Like all of Nisbet's books, this one is very well written and enjoyable to read. The book covers Thompson's entire life but focuses on the five years he spent in the Rocky Mountain region of Canada and the United States. That period includes his exploration of the entire length of the Columbia River, the first non-Indian to do so.
   
   Because David Thompson was a contemporary of Lewis and Clark, reviewers are inclined to compare them. This is only partially valid. The latter was a military expedition sent on a mission of exploration. David Thompson was a fur trader working for a commercial company. He had the desire and talent to explore, but trading had to come first. Thompson was the point person for expanding the fur trade across the Rocky Mountains and into the Columbia River drainage. As he advanced his trading territory, his journals recorded an expanding knowledge of the territory and its inhabitants, plants, and animals. Thompson was a geographer and surveyor; his maps are much more accurate than those developed by Lewis and Clark.
   
   Thompson was a rugged individual and this book covers the challenges and hardships of the fur trade. The Indians were an important element in both his trading and his exploration. This book chronicles those relationships. Thompson took a Cree wife who bore him thirteen children and they were together until his death at age eighty-seven.
   
   In addition to the well-researched historical account of David Thompson, we are treated to an occasional aside from Jack Nisbet, often describing his visit to one of the sites important to the history. This book deserves its wide acceptance.

2 comments about MapEasy's Guidemap to Lower Manhattan (City Guidemaps North America).

1. MapEasy are fantastic, and beautiful maps suitable for framing, really. Each map is entirely hand-drawn, annotated with small illustrations of landmarks, historical tidbits, and filled with color-coded listings of many neighborhood shops that a resident, not just a visitor would find useful. There is one main map, and in the back, a series of mini-maps focusing on various areas of interest along with driving directions, suggested itineraries, and more. The maps are printed on tear resistant, and water resistant material for long lasting quality. The only downside is MapEasy's definition of "Lower Manhattan" being the area below Chambers Street. Also, for the "lower manhattan" map, although printed in early 2002, the shows the World Trade Center, and a few other places that are no longer there.



2. The lower Manhattan map by Mapeasy has everything you need to know about the city. Where to eat, what to see, hints, routes etc. in a plastic easy-to-carry form.
   Buy also the Midtown and Upper editions.

4 comments about Chicago's Southeast Side Revisited (IL) (Images of America).

1. Anyone from the southeast side of Chicago will love this book. It's full of great pictures of the places we grew up with. It makes a great gift for someone who's hard to buy for. I bought one for my older brother and he is enjoying all the memories it brings to mind.



2. This book is chock full of pictures and descriptions of the neighborhood known as the Southeast Side of Chicago. A must for anyone who grew up in this area. What memories! A definite coffee table addition to any home. And a wonderful gift.



3. This is a great book for everyone to read. Its all pictures with captions below. Anybody who grew up on the Southeast side (like me)need to buy this book. It has a history of this side dating back to before the turn of the century. I think it desearves more than a 5 star rating.



4. I rec'd the wrong book and I never heard if it was rec'd back to
   you. When this is cleared up I want to try again

1 comments about Heartland of a Continent: America's Plains and Prairies (National Geographic Society Special Publication, Series 26).

1. Absolutely a gem. It was written by Ron Fisher, who has worked with the National Geographic Society for over 30 years. This is a book about the beauty of America's plains and prairies. Every page is glossy, and it is FULL of Wonderful Color pics! It conducts interviews with the real people of America. Goes into the culture and preparing of farming, talks about the training of the work, the animals required, and the history of America's farmlands. A must have for anyone who wants to learn what America used to be about!

No comments about Appalachian Trail Guide to Tennessee-North Carolina With Maps (Book and 3 Maps).