No comments about Hermann's Haunts: The Wines and Spirits of Hermann, Missouri.

No comments about Island Called Smith.

No comments about Appalachian Trail Guide to Central Virginia.

2 comments about A Guidebook to Virginia's Historical Markers.

1. If you're reading this review, then you probably already know that Virginia has a very rich collection of historical markers. There are so many, in fact, that if you were to stop to read each one every time you took a road trip, you'd never make it to your destination. That's why a guidebook to the markers should be an indispensable car accessory.

   This isn't that book, however. On a recent trip along Route 15 from Leesburg to Charlottesville, at least /half/ of the markers weren't listed in the book. Nowhere. Not Oatlands Plantation. Not the Old Carolina Road. Not any of the signs starting with "Z" (e.g. Greene County, Madison County, etc.) Admittedly, the book states in the introduction that it covers only /official/ markers, i.e. those that have been approved by the state commission. But there's no explanation of how to identify official ones, nor are the signs that we saw probably unofficial--they all have letter/number designations that fall within the gaps in the book's listing (except for the aforementioned "Z-" signs). It's very disconcerting to speed by a sign, take note of its number, only to find that it's not in the book. What a disappointment. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any other option--the Margaret Peters book is superceded by this one.

   On the positive side, the book's indices are quite handy. Signs can be looked up by county or by historical events, such as famous battles.




2. 
   Virginia has one of the most extensive highway marker programs of any state in the nation (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas are close rivals). Although this book details around 1,500 markers, there are many markers situated across the state that are not included. From the introduction: "The traveler should be aware that, while there may be other historical markers that resemble the state's in shape and design, only markers formally approved by the state are included in this book." Why unapproved markers that copy in shape and design approved ones should be allowed is an interesting question, but this review will confine itself to the book at hand.
   
   Most VA historical markers (there are about 30 exceptions) were designated by letters (usually corresponding to a major highway) and number. The first part of the book lists all the markers and their texts alphabetically by this letter designation. Realizing this would not be particularly useful to the traveler, the second part of the book arranges the markers by three additional categories: subject, county, and straight alphabetical order by marker's title. Any marker can be found quickly and easily in the guidebook. Travelers in the state with an interest in its history will do well by this book, despite the frustration of not finding all the markers out there listed. It's also fun to look through sitting at home in your favorite chair. A good guide to local history in Virginia.

No comments about Tazewell County (VA) (Images of America).

No comments about Seeing Historic Alabama: Fifteen Guided Tours.

3 comments about Buildings of West Virginia: with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council (Buildings of the United States).

1. West Virginia was created through political conflict during the Civil War, and many people may think of it only as part of that part of our nation's history, or perhaps as a place of coal mines and Appalachian troubles. What Chambers shows us in this carefully researched, beautifully written book is that West Virginia has a history and an architectural heritage of great distinction and diversity. Chambers looks at the full range of this state's architecture, from the distinguished work of many state and regional as well as national architects in the principal towns and cities to the sagas of the industrial settlements, of which there are many, and the slower changing regional patterns of small town and rural areas. Buy this book, and learn that West Virginia is a state to visit, appreciate, and admire. Chambers's nuanced study takes into consideration the multiple and complex aspects of its history, and gives us all a new appreciation for an American state with a complex heritage. Anyone wanting to understand the South, Appalachia, or indeed America needs this book.



2. Chambers has written the book I wish I had written. If you are interested in architecture in the Mountain State, buy this book.
   
   I was born and raised in West Virginia, but had always thought my native state nearly bereft of architecture, having only had the luck to have a succession of inferior state capitols go up in flames until the present Cass Gilbert statehouse. Chambers' book will disabuse you of that notion and make you proud of a significant architectural legacy. (The job now, of course, is to preserve what we have.)
   
   He has performed a public service for every West Virginian, whether at home or living elsewhere.
   
   The only nit I can pick is that he has chosen to ignore a number of significant engineering structures (mostly railroad coaling towers and coal tipples). Concrete coaling towers such as in Bluefield and Thurmond are important structures in their own right. Tipples, though not significant individually and now mostly gone, were significant as a building form. They were once nearly as common as 7-Elevens and no one who grew up in the coalfields ever quite gets over a love affair with the exposed I-beams, the corrugated metal and the jumble of roof and conveyor angles that used to be seen in the once-ubiquitous coal tipple.



3. I've found this book to be exceedingly useful in researching architecture in West Virginia. It's a shame it is not more widely available! I highly recommend it to anyone interested in preservation or taking architectural tours of the Mountain State. Well researched, must have been a massive undertaking. It's recently helped me out on a rather difficult project, so I'm very thankful I found it!

No comments about West Virginia Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Curiosities Series).

No comments about ADC the Map People Loudoun County, Va Street Map Book (Loudoun County Va Atlas).

No comments about Camper's Guide to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia: Parks, Lakes, and Forests : Where to Go and How to Get There (Camper's Guides).