Customer Reviews

Philadelphia Stories: A Photographic History, 1920-1960

5 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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Philadelphia Stories is an outstanding photo-journal chronicling the years 1920 through 1960; the photos are excellent and really took me back to my childhood days through Port Richmond, Kensington, Juniata and Frankford! A "Must-Read" for anyone interested in Philadelphia History or just to Stroll down Memory Lane. Thoroughly enjoyable - I was thrilled to find this terrific book at Amazon.com !

I felt that it was not as comprehensive as it could have been. Most of the photos featured the northern part of the city, and the emphasis was very heavy on showcasing Jewish residents and their neighborhoods.

South Philadelphia, which is probably the most colorful and interesting part of the city, was virtually ignored as was the beautiful areas in the northwest.

Philadelphia, during this period of time, was a very diverse city with many different ethnic neighborhoods. It was also the home of many blacks who lived in a variety of areas, yet this was largely ignored.

Perhaps the book should have been titled differently

For former Philadelphians who retain any residual interest in the city's social/economic/labor history or, for that matter, for anyone from anywhere who's interested in the 20th century history of Billy Penn's old creation, this is a winner. Not only does it contain an abundance of great old photos but the narrative commentary is chock-full of interesting (even jaw-dropping, in some cases) bits of historical info of the "who knew?" variety. The best book of its kind I've ever read.