Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces [Paperback]

Lynne Arany (Author), Archie Hobson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

The definitive guide to the most interesting, amusing, and surprising collections in America.

With listings that leave no source unexplored, this clever directory is the first in-depth popular guide to more than 1,000 small museums. Its listing of archives ranging from the utterly informal to the most diligently organized, labeled, and catalogued, from displays of celebrity shoes to the work of visionary artists, provides a picture of the American landscape that is rich in quirky details.

In Little Museums, you will find the listings that tourist literature does not provide, including the Barbie Hall of Fame in Palo Alto, California, the Dog Mushing Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska; the Museum of Ordinary People in Hurtsboro, Alabama; the 24Hour Church of Elvis in Portland, Arizona; and the last freak show left in America--at Coney Island's Sideshows by the Seashore. A virtual museums listing means you don't even have to leave home to visit a little museum, and a category index makes finding museums devoted to your favorite subjects even easier. Little Museums is for anyone who hates to miss a unique opportunity along the byways and urban centers of America.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Forget about your Picassos and Cézannes. What you really need to know is where the Mustard Museum is (answer: Mount Horeb, Wisconsin--displaying some 1,700 kinds of mustard) or the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices (downtown Minneapolis). Thanks to the research of Lynne Arany and Archie Hobson, the country's bizarre and obscure museums--including the Barbie Hall of Fame and the Goodyear World of Rubber collections--are collected in one magnificent, if somewhat strange, volume. It canvasses the back roads and major highways of the U.S., is organized alphabetically by state, and includes an index by category as well as an index to virtual museum Web sites. Useful for the traveler who wants an alternative to the main drag or seeks destination inspiration, Little Museums provides good perusal fodder and armchair travel as well. --Stephanie Gold

From Library Journal

One example of America's diversity is the multitude of museums found throughout the country. This book lists numerous unique museums dealing with many subjects, from the personal, as in S.P. Dinsmoor's version of the garden of Eden in Lucas, Kansas and the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina, to the more popular, as in the Judaica Museum in the Bronx or the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Small museums are distinguished from others not by their size but by number of visitors. These are museums where you can get up close and personal with the exhibits. Arany, author of the "Born to Shop" travel series, and Hobson, editor of the Cambridge Gazetteer, offer a short description of each museum, address, basic map location, hours, and an index by category. They arrange their book by state, with a brief introduction to the "feel" of the state and a short list of "big" museums and other highlights located there. Although over 1000 museums and a useful index have been included, the entries tend to be dry and uninteresting, perhaps too short to convey adequately the experience of the museum. Not recommended.?Julia Stump, Voorheesville P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805048235
• ISBN-13: 978-0805048230
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool resource for road-tripping in the U.S.!, September 29, 2001

By 

Robin G. Sowton "rsowton" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces (Paperback)

If you enjoy discovering unusual places when you travel or you just have strange interests, then you'll appreciate this book. It's a state-by-state listing of small museums covering nearly every kind of human endeavor, including The Louis H. Sullivan Architectural Collection, The Julia C. Bullette Red Light Museum, The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, The Museum of Neon Art, The Titan Missile Museum, The Louis P. Klein Broom and Brush Museum, Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum, and hundreds more.

If you don't feel like driving that far, you'll be amazed at some of the unusual museums that might be in your very own neighborhood... as I was, when I discovered that there's a Cockroach Hall of Fame just a mile away from where I live.

Each museum entry includes a decription with the address, phone, directions, opening hours, and price. Phones and pricing may not be entirely up-to-date, but it's a place to start.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source of information on little-known museums, June 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces (Paperback)

This is a terrific book for anyone who loves museums, who's bored with Disney World, or who's just suffering road fatigue on that long driving vacation. The authors define little museums as ones that "not that many people go to see." Some they list are quirky (Smitty's Juke Box Museum, Museum of Ancient Brick), others serious (Folger Shakespeare Library, Hopi Cultural Center). Organized by state, the book packs a lot of description into small spaces. Here in New Mexico I've already tried out the American International Rattlesnake Museum and the Bataan Memorial Military Museum, and I'm certainly curious about the Liquid Paper Museum. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great addition to any road trip!, September 24, 2001

By 

apoem "apoem" (Bosque Farms, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Little Museums: Over 1,000 Small (And Not-So-Small) American Showplaces (Paperback)

This is a great book to take with you as you travel. Even if do not take it with you, this is certainly the book you want to refer as you plan your trip.

There are a slew of museums that sound like they would be interesting to visit. There are many museums that I have visited that were interesting.

For many years, as my husband and I have traveled, we have tried to find the small museums in each of the towns we visited. We have learned that almost every town we visit has a small museum. Unfortunately, many of these museums are not worth the time and effort. This book seems to have the cream of the crop. We know if it's listed in this book, we make the effort to see it.

A great resource for traveling on the road. Visiting small museums (and large) is an easy way to add planned breaks to your driving, stretch your legs, learn about your country, and more. This book can only enhance any trip you take.