Customer Reviews

Philadelphia: A 300-Year History

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This is the fourth time I am buying this book. Being a non-native Philadelphian, I wanted to know more about why the City developed the way it has. I was amazed at the information contained in the book. As an example it explains why the City neighborhoods have such narrow but deep lots. Since first reading the book ten years ago I have given copies to several co-workers. If you want to understand current Philadelphia and its culture this is a must read. The book was written by several Philadelphia professors, each examining a period of History.

As a recent transplant to Philadelphia, I wanted to become more familiar with the history of my new home. Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, edited by Russell F. Weigley, is an exhaustive but readable (and extremely enjoyable) chronology of the events that shaped the City of Brotherly Love.

One beneficial characteristic of this book is that it is an edited volume. Various authors contributed pieces on the reasonably short time period of their specialty. These chapters form a temporal progression, from the founding of Pennsylvania by William Penn in the early 1680s to the beginning of the Reagan Era. Within the chapters, though, the organization is generally non-linear, moving through various topics ranging from politics to the arts to the problems of running a large city controlled by various political machines. No single author could have produced as comprehensive and balanced of a history of Philadelphia.

One of the other neat things about this history is that every few chapters there is a picture of the city skyline.

People who aren't from (or don't currenty live in) Philly might find the details of this book hard to follow. The locations of important events and structures are given by street addresses-- often with street names no longer in use.

The series of articles by well-qualified authors gives an accurate and readable picture of a fascinating city. Thorough and well-documented.

This book is a valuable tool in understanding the dynamics of a dynamic city. I bought this book years ago to understand America's city of brotherly love which is it's nickname. Philadelphia is still a center but not like New York City or nearby Washington D.C. Philadelphia is no longer the capital of the new world but it was during the plague which killed thousands. Philadelphia is historic because of it's role in the formation of our country. This book details the history of this complicated city regarding it's role in the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Rush, and others who played a part in developing not only the city but the country in which we live in. Philadelphia might be overlooked but it is still a great city where the neighborhoods like Society Hill, Old City, and Rittenhouse Square might be filled with yuppies rather than the historic families that once occupied the streets and neighborhoods. Philadelphia is no longer the center of the elite since many of those families have now moved west to the Main Line but Philadelphia's role in American history can never be forgotten or overlooked.

This remains my favorite, most complete, most readable history of Philadelphia from the city's founding to contemporary times. There are others, but none so easy to get through. It is written in a logical and engaging narrative that covers most important events and people. The text is perfectly balanced with appropriate photographs and illustrations; it is not a picture book. I've read it twice cover to cover and you should too.