PA BOOKS on PCN

The Sphinx That Traveled to Philadelphia tells the fascinating story of the colossal sphinx that is a highlight of the Penn Museum's Egyptian galleries and an iconic object for the Museum as a whole. The narrative covers the original excavations and archaeological history of the Sphinx, how it came to Philadelphia, and the unexpected ways in which the Sphinx's story intersects with the history of Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Museum just before World War I.

Josef Wegner is Associate Curator in the Egyptian Section at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and Associate Professor of Egyptology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Houser Wegner is Associate Curator in the Egyptian Section at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

The American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Pennsylvania includes over 252 species birders are most likely to see in the commonwealth. Illustrated with over 400 crisp color photographs, it includes clearly written descriptions along with tips of where and when to see birds by an expert birder.

George Armistead is the events coordinator for the American Birding Association. While guiding birding tours for Field Guide, Inc. he led trips to all seven continents, but today enjoys seeking birds and photographing them in his native Philadelphia.

The American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Pennsylvania includes over 252 species birders are most likely to see in the commonwealth. Illustrated with over 400 crisp color photographs, it includes clearly written descriptions along with tips of where and when to see birds by an expert birder.

George Armistead is the events coordinator for the American Birding Association. While guiding birding tours for Field Guide, Inc. he led trips to all seven continents, but today enjoys seeking birds and photographing them in his native Philadelphia.

In 1851, fifteen wealthy New Yorkers wanted to show a group of Philadelphia friends just how impressive a meal could be and took them to Delmonico’s, New York’s finest restaurant. They asked Lorenzo Delmonico to “astonish our Quaker City friends with the sumptuousness of our feast,” and assured him that money was no object, as the honor of New York was at stake. They were treated to a magnificent banquet, enjoyed by all. However, not to be outdone, the Philadelphia men invited the New Yorkers to a meal prepared by James W. Parkinson in their city. In what became known as the “Thousand Dollar Dinner,” Parkinson successfully rose to the challenge, creating a seventeen-course extravaganza featuring fresh salmon, baked rockfish, braised pigeon, turtle steaks, spring lamb, out-of-season fruits and vegetables, and desserts, all paired with rare wines and liquors. Midway through the twelve-hour meal, the New Yorkers declared Philadelphia the winner of their competition, and at several times stood in ovation to acknowledge the chef’s mastery.

Becky Libourel Diamond is a journalist and research historian who specializes in reconstructing eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American recipes. She is the author of “Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School.”

In 1851, fifteen wealthy New Yorkers wanted to show a group of Philadelphia friends just how impressive a meal could be and took them to Delmonico’s, New York’s finest restaurant. They asked Lorenzo Delmonico to “astonish our Quaker City friends with the sumptuousness of our feast,” and assured him that money was no object, as the honor of New York was at stake. They were treated to a magnificent banquet, enjoyed by all. However, not to be outdone, the Philadelphia men invited the New Yorkers to a meal prepared by James W. Parkinson in their city. In what became known as the “Thousand Dollar Dinner,” Parkinson successfully rose to the challenge, creating a seventeen-course extravaganza featuring fresh salmon, baked rockfish, braised pigeon, turtle steaks, spring lamb, out-of-season fruits and vegetables, and desserts, all paired with rare wines and liquors. Midway through the twelve-hour meal, the New Yorkers declared Philadelphia the winner of their competition, and at several times stood in ovation to acknowledge the chef’s mastery.

Becky Libourel Diamond is a journalist and research historian who specializes in reconstructing eighteenth- and nineteenth-century American recipes. She is the author of “Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School.”

In 1851, Elizabeth Parker, a free black child in Chester County, Pennsylvania, was bound and gagged, snatched from a local farm, and hurried off to a Baltimore slave pen. Two weeks later, her teenage sister, Rachel, was abducted from another Chester County farm. Because slave catchers could take fugitive slaves and free blacks across state lines to be sold, the border country of Pennsylvania/Maryland had become a dangerous place for most black people.

In The Parker Sisters, Lucy Maddox gives an eloquent, urgent account of the tragic kidnapping of these young women. Using archival news and courtroom reports, Maddox tells the larger story of the disastrous effect of the Fugitive Slave Act on the small farming communities of Chester County and the significant, widening consequences for the state and the nation. The Parker Sisters is also a story about families whose lives and fates were deeply embedded in both the daily rounds of their community and the madness and violence consuming all of antebellum America. Maddox’s account of this horrific and startling crime reveals the strength and vulnerability of the Parker sisters and the African American population.

Lucy Maddox is Professor Emerita of English and American Studies at Georgetown University. She is the author of Removals: Nineteenth-Century American Literature and the Politics of Indian Affairs and Citizen Indians: Native American Intellectuals, Race, and Reform.

Beyond Rust chronicles the rise, fall, and rebirth of metropolitan Pittsburgh, an industrial region that once formed the heart of the world's steel production and is now touted as a model for reviving other hard-hit cities of the Rust Belt. Writing in clear and engaging prose, historian and area native Allen Dieterich-Ward provides a new model for a truly metropolitan history that integrates the urban core with its regional hinterland of satellite cities, white-collar suburbs, mill towns, and rural mining areas.

Allen Dieterich-Ward is Associate Professor of History at Shippensburg University.

By the summer of 1863, following Chancellorsville, it was clear to everyone on both sides of the Civil War that the Army of Northern Virginia was the most formidable force Americans had ever put in the field. It could only be “tied” in battle, if against great odds, but would more usually vanquish its opponents. A huge measure of that army’s success was attributable to its cavalry arm, under Major General J.E.B. Stuart, which had literally “run rings” around its enemies.

But Northern arithmetic and expertise were gradually catching up. In this work, the sequel to his acclaimed Year of Glory, author Monte Akers tracks Stuart and his cavalry through the following year of the war, from Gettysburg to the Overland Campaign, concluding only when Jeb himself succumbs to a gunshot while fending off a force three times his size at the very gates of Richmond. Gettysburg put paid to the aura of unstoppable victory surrounding the Army of Northern Virginia. But when Grant and Sheridan came east they found that Lee, Stuart, Longstreet, and the rest still refused to be defeated. It was a year of grim casualties and ferocious fighting—in short, a year of “desperate struggle” with the gloves off on both sides.

This work picks up where Year of Glory left off, with a minute examination of Stuart’s cavalry during the controversial Gettysburg campaign, followed by the nine months of sparring during which the Army of Potomac declined to undertake further major thrusts against Virginia. But then the Union’s western chieftains arrived and the war became one huge “funeral procession,” as Grant and Sheridan found that their prior victories had by no means prepared them for meeting the Army of Northern Virginia.

In this work Akers provides a fascinating, close-in view of the Confederacy’s cavalry arm during this crucial period of the war. After Stuart’s death the Army of Northern Virginia would eventually be cornered, but while he was alive it was often the Northerners who most needed to look to their security.

By the summer of 1863, following Chancellorsville, it was clear to everyone on both sides of the Civil War that the Army of Northern Virginia was the most formidable force Americans had ever put in the field. It could only be “tied” in battle, if against great odds, but would more usually vanquish its opponents. A huge measure of that army’s success was attributable to its cavalry arm, under Major General J.E.B. Stuart, which had literally “run rings” around its enemies.

But Northern arithmetic and expertise were gradually catching up. In this work, the sequel to his acclaimed Year of Glory, author Monte Akers tracks Stuart and his cavalry through the following year of the war, from Gettysburg to the Overland Campaign, concluding only when Jeb himself succumbs to a gunshot while fending off a force three times his size at the very gates of Richmond. Gettysburg put paid to the aura of unstoppable victory surrounding the Army of Northern Virginia. But when Grant and Sheridan came east they found that Lee, Stuart, Longstreet, and the rest still refused to be defeated. It was a year of grim casualties and ferocious fighting—in short, a year of “desperate struggle” with the gloves off on both sides.

This work picks up where Year of Glory left off, with a minute examination of Stuart’s cavalry during the controversial Gettysburg campaign, followed by the nine months of sparring during which the Army of Potomac declined to undertake further major thrusts against Virginia. But then the Union’s western chieftains arrived and the war became one huge “funeral procession,” as Grant and Sheridan found that their prior victories had by no means prepared them for meeting the Army of Northern Virginia.

In this work Akers provides a fascinating, close-in view of the Confederacy’s cavalry arm during this crucial period of the war. After Stuart’s death the Army of Northern Virginia would eventually be cornered, but while he was alive it was often the Northerners who most needed to look to their security.

Why Are You Here? A Primer for State Legislators and Citizens is a challenge to America’s 7,382 state legislators and their constituents to critically examine their state legislature and take appropriate action to improve it. This is a handbook telling how legislatures came to be, how they function, and discussing how they have fallen in public esteem. The book provides an analytical discussion for evaluating how any legislature deals with four issues: personal greed, criminal and ethical scandal, the influence of money and lobbying, and self-serving legislative seat apportionment. The last section is a “Legislative Toolbox” that provides information helpful in evaluating legislatures and readings of a patriotic nature that enhance idealism and spirit.

Franklin Kury served six years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and eight years in the Pennsylvania State Senate. He was a leader in environmental and government reform legislation. His first book, Clean Politics, Clean Streams, was cited by name and used by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the landmark environmental law decision in the Robinson Township case in 2013.