Customer Reviews

Encyclopedia of New Jersey

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, the good points: this work is huge, well illustrated, and priced at about one third of what a commercial publisher would have to charge for something comparable. Probably no resource has treated the Garden State so thoroughly since the WPA guide was published about 65 years ago.

The downside, unfortunately, is that the contents are disappointing. Since the book has no index, or even a classified list of "essay" entries, there's no way to locate a topic unless you're able to hit upon the precise title under which it's discussed (assuming it's in there somewhere). The scope of coverage is quirky: it seems that every hamlet in the state has its own entry, yet there is no general treatment of, for example, industry or commerce or dairying or corporations (all things that are or have been highly important to New Jersey). Several of the general entries I have read so far are not exactly packed with information; the entries on industrial architecture and law, for instance, are as much about trends that apply to the whole nation as about anything specific to New Jersey.

Still, this work is certainly worth having, and Rutgers should be praised for making it possible. At present, no other reference work comes close.

I received this as a gift and haven't been able to stop reading it. It makes the most wonderful gift--it must weigh ten pounds! It's a massive guide to everything you'd ever want to know about New Jersey. When you read one entry it leads you to another, and so on, which makes for compulsive reading. There is even an entry for the small town where I grew up, South River, New Jersey. I don't think any family in New Jersey should be withtout this book - it's also great for research papers for school. This encyclopedia should make all New Jerseyans proud of our great state!

If you live in New Jersey, or just want to know about the Garden State, this book was a long time in coming and a very welcomed addition to any library. It is amazing how many interesting facts and stories there are about NJ, and all are found in this compact and easy to read book. It is also bursting with interesting photos, facts and figures. Written by many different experts on their own domains of the state, it brings together varied writers and writing styles. It's both a respected academic addition, while being well written and stimulating to just pick up and pick a county!

Anyone that was born and raised in the Garden State should have a copy of this delightful book. It was a massive effort to compile by Rutgers. I enjoy my copy every time I read it.

Regional reference books were all the rage in the past decade, and this one stands high among them. Walter Edgar's South Carolina Encyclopedia is about as good as they get, and this book is just as good, if not better than that one.

Here is a feast for historians, biographers and demographers, comprehensively covering one of our most important and fascinating states. For those who know New Jersey, you'll appreciate the vast scope and historical depth of this volume. There's just so much here, even for well-seasoned Jerseyites. For those who know only little of New Jersey, or tend to defer to regional stereotypes, this book will be a real eye opener. I'm a traveler, and I've made mental notes of "must see" locations by the hundreds just by browsing this book.

If there's one topic that really shines from the eight pounds of high-quality paper (Rutgers has constructed an elegant volume), it's colonial history. New Jersey is a land at the very epicenter of our colonial history, both at peace and at war. All the necessary characters, places and stories are here.

Of course, this is a reference book, and many readers will use it as such, but its narrative sections are written by experts with a sense for both scholarship and wit that make for hours of casual browsing... just for the fun of it.