Customer Reviews

Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902

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

 

 

As a person who enjoys history, this book opened my eyes to the vast change that occured within Scranton between 1840 and 1902. It was amazing to me not only how transformational the change was to the city itself, but to the people. The author does a great job at capturing the wonder, issues and concerns that surrounded this change and you can tell that this particular period of time is near and dear to his heart. The book also is filled with great research into a bygone era. If you are a person who enjoys history as well as gaining a better understanding of the underlying causes to the changes that occured (not only in Scranton) but the larger United Stated during the late 19th Century, this book is one that you should grab.

I developed a love for American history later in life. All through school I just rather tolerated it. I was more fascinated with European history. When offered the opportunity to review this book I took it for two reasons; my husband had family from the area and Scranton reminded me of home. I was born in Philadelphia and every now and then I get homesick for all things back East.

I am glad I did choose to read the book because it was truly interesting. It's not a light read, though. It's one full of detailed information regarding the way people lived in turn of the century Scranton - or what was to become Scranton. The research is very detailed and the small facts are always interesting. I hadn't realized how much of the original iron ore came from New Jersey. Nor had I known the history of the railroads in western Pennsylvania.

This won't be a book for everybody. I think it requires a sincere interest in either the area or in the early days of the industrialization of the coal and steel businesses. That's not to say it isn't a worthwhile book to read. I enjoyed it and my husband now has it in his pile to read.

Mr. Brown has a writing style that is easy to read even when covering statistics and demographics. I thank him for letting me go back East a little bit even if in a different time.

When I was offered the opportunity to read and review this book, I couldn't refuse. Having been born and raised in Scranton, PA, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to learn more about Scranton's formative years and the industries that shaped it. I was not disappointed! Here's a description of the book taken from the author's website, [...]:

"During the nineteenth century, Scranton was the face of innovation, immigration, industrialization, and a rising America. Scranton was "the electric city" when electricity was the most exciting invention in the world, and a hub of technology and innovation--between 1840 and 1902, the city of Scranton changed from a lazy backwoods community to a modern industrial society with 100,000 residents. During this time, Scranton's citizens desperately tried to adapt their thinking to keep up with the overwhelming changes around them, and in the process forged the world views that would define the twentieth century. As globalization, technology and immigration transform the United States today, this book revisits how the people the forefront of the industrial revolution moved from chaos to a new order, and how they found meaning within a rapidly changing world.

Periods of total societal transformation often provide the best material for historians. The way that Scranton's residents reimagined their value within society in response to the changes around them did not evolve in step with technological and economic progress--rather, those living through these changes slowly and painfully adapted extant modes of thinking in light of their new life circumstances. This book weaves a cohesive narrative that explains how Scranton--and America--went from the personal, egalitarian society of the early days of the republic to the rigidly institutionalized society that endures today.

This book's investigation of the history of Scranton allows the reader to witness the development of the distinct and interrelated ideologies that defined industrial America."

Now, I have to admit, I am not much of a history buff. My least favorite subject in school was always history. That being said, I still found this book to be fascinating! The way Mr. Brown uses a well-known and much-loved poem of the time, The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as a basis for comparing the ideals of the time and the ever-changing climate in Scranton, in my opinion, was inspired.

I truly enjoyed reading about the ever-changing political, economic, and societal situations that drove the formation of Scranton. From its rather humble beginnings as a small scattering of dwellings known as Slocum's Hollow, with a meager population of 100, to the booming industrial town fuelled by anthracite coal and iron production that Scranton became, Mr. Brown skillfully weaves Scranton's history with intricate familiarity and detailed narrative into a truly fascinating story.

Anyone who has ever wondered or wanted to learn more about how industrialization changed the face of our nation's small towns will find this an excellent read. I give it 4 pawprints!

Calling Scranton, "The Silicone Valley of the 19th Century," Patrick Brown has written a fine (and wonderfully short) book that tells the story of the rise of Scranton in the dawn of the United State's Industrial Revolution. Beginning as a rural village, Brown's book follows the community of Scranton for 60 years as the coal-rich region works to meet the demands of a growing country.

Using Longfellow's poem, "The Village Blacksmith", Brown establishes the character of the 1840's American as someone who, "derives respect from his hard work, integrity, and status as a member of the village." This American is the skilled worker who owns his own business, has significant pride in his work, and is a community member of equal standing with others. Brown writes, "The difference in wealth between financially successful community members and their less successful peers was of a quantitative, not qualitative nature."

Initially, removing the coal was easy. As time passed and coal removal became more difficult, machines were needed. Buying the machines required capital. At this point Scranton shifted from a generally self-supporting local economy to a region that attracted people and wealth from other parts of the nation and the world. So began a different type of economy, a capital-intense economy that was a foundation for Scranton's participation in the industrialization of America.

As the capitalists entered Scranton, Brown notes the change as, "The difference in wealth between financially successful individuals and their less successful peers became qualitative." This created tension in the Scranton community because everyone was working hard yet people were being divided by their roles. The workers and those with the capital knew the meaning of these differences, but their meanings did not agree.

Utilizing contemporary news sources, papers, and books, Brown documents the intriguing story of the transition of Scranton from "The Village Blacksmith" ideals to the on-going balancing act between those that provided the labor, and those that provided the capital and land. At times there was violence from both sides, at times there were level-headed heroes respected by all. The story resulted in the painful, generative, and unevenly lucrative birth of industry and the shift in the cultural dynamics of the Scranton area.

Reading history for me stems from curiosity and then, almost indubitably, challenges some of my assumptions. Within this book, I expected labor/management conflict and judgment grounded in wealth, greed, and envy. I found a progression of actions peopled by characters striving for something better and influenced by the occurrences of their community, their region, their country, and their world.

It is a good read and a quick read and probably, somewhere in the 100 or so pages, a read that tells a story that you will recognize as part of your own. Enjoy it! (Originally written for the Luxury Reading website.)

Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902 tells of the industrial transformation of the city of Scranton - once a small, backwoods community, Scranton grew in size to a modern-day city with 100,000 residents. Chapters reveal the phases of Scranton's transformation in chronological order, with close heed paid to how individual residents had to learn how to adapt to the forces of technology and globalization. A timeline, bibliography, and index round out this absorbing true history of a bustling city's resilient and adaptable residents, and the lessons that can be learned from their lives.

I read this book while on vacation in the Scranton area, and found it really interesting in a few ways.

First, this is a pretty interesting history of the Scranton area, from it's origins in the sleepy community of Slocum Hollow to an industrial powerhouse in the late 1800s, to a dynamic community struggling to reinvent itself when abandoned by the steel industry in the early 1900s. On the scale of history books, this is really quite short, but Brown does a good job of relating what was going on locally to what was happening in the wider world (Henry Clay's American System, the Civil War, growth of railroads, etc).

Secondly, and the primary focus of the book, Brown proposes a cycle where:

1. Communities shift from small villages of roughly equivalent, independent people (like the village blacksmith in Longfellow's poem) to interdependent participants in an industrial community

2. Worker and manager interests, while initially aligned, gradually diverge and create conflict

3. Workers gradually learn to organize and work together (with some false starts in Scranton's case), and are able to successfully bargain with managers

4. Capital (management) becomes mobile, and with business having less connection to the community, managers are willing to relocate

I liked Brown's presentation because it was not a polemic on the evils of capitalism, but rather a thoughtful analysis of the cycles involved. Unusually, many of the business leaders are presented as good people with a strong sense of community (until later generations). He also highlights areas where interests are aligned, rather than portraying the 19th century as one long labor struggle.

This is also a timely book given the concern over jobs and concerns of jobs leaving the US (the mobile capital challenge). There are no solutions here, but it provides a nice framework for thinking about it.

During the late 1800's and early 1900's America was at the heart of its industrial power. Factories were popping up everywhere, railroads were crisscrossing all parts of the country, and cities were a-growing. Scranton was not left behind during this city building explosion. This quote from the very beginning of the book really describes for me what the evolution of Scranton was like "Scranton was, in a sense, the Silicon Valley of the nineteenth century" (Brown 2).

I was interested in this book when I heard about it because I have frequently traveled through Scranton when visiting my grandmother and I have always been interested in the evolution of the cities in the United States. Scranton really was right in the heart of industrialization and immigration explosions. There was, as can be expected during periods of rapid change, a conflict between the small town mindset and evolution of industry.

Brown constantly refers back to a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called The Village Blacksmith to show what Scranton was like around 1840 and what it left behind in its growth. I think that this was a great source to illustrate life in Scranton and it would take you out of research reading mode for a little while - as the reading did get dry from time to time.

In terms of a non-fiction book - this was more of a fact filled, stick to the facts book, than keeping the reader's attention read. I found that I could only read this book in small doses as I could only concentrate for so long. It supplied some great information, but I had problems focusing. That being said, this was a quick read - it was just over 100 pages. In that small amount of space it covered almost 100 years of history of Scranton - the facts were quite packed in.

If you are someone who is interested in the evolution of the cities in the US or the industrialization period, this book might be right up your alley. If you are just a casual observer, I might steer away from this one.

This book was received from the publisher in exchange for a review and this was also posted on my blog.

Dear Hubby has been doing some reading on the history of this great land. Great land, yes! Why? Well because of the men and women who have done so much to help change the way life if for us. Just think of all the hard work that use to be done. Back breaking labor for little wages and then most was returned to the "company" store at that.

Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1920 by Patrick Brown is one of the books Dear Hubby just finished. In the 1800's, Scranton was "the electric city" and a hub of technology and innovation. It changed from a backwoods town to a industrial city. The way people thought had to keep up with the overwhelming changes around them and forged new world views. With the many transformations that the United States today is experiencing, we can revisits how our ancestors moved from chaos to a order and found meaning in a changing world.