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5.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable walk down memory lane, December 26, 2008
This review is from: Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills (American Chronicles (History Press)) (Paperback)
About ten years before retiring and moving to Sullivan County, I became an ardent New York City history buff after reading Jack Finney's magnificent novel Time and Again and his lesser known but equally fascinating compilation Forgotten News: The Crime of the Century and Other Lost Stories. It was such an addictive topic that I found myself desperately seeking fragments of old New York wherever possible. Thus I'd walked down Fifth Avenue on foggy nights, hoping to leap into the past and hearing hoofbeats on grey cobblestones, walking under the soft blue and yellow glow of gaslight amid the clank and roll of passing trolley cars. Sounds of muffled laughter, hats tipped, skirts clutched, peanut vender, newsboy and flower girl on the corner. I read many books on the city's remarkable history, gazed dreamily at countless photos and engravings of old New York, marveled at the neo-Romanesque splendor of nineteenth century Manhattan, but saddened and appalled by the poverty and squalor of places like the Lower East Side, as captured by Jacob Riis in his classic How the Other Half Lives. Although I miss those wistful strolls, I've discovered to my delight that Sullivan's history is similarly captivating after reading county historian John Conway's books, in particular his delightful new collection of vignettes, Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills. So once again I find myself strolling down memory lane and stopping and searching for a glimpse of the past.
Mr. Conway divides this slim but informative and enjoyable book, gleaned from his "Retrospective" column for the Sullivan County Democrat, into five parts, thus giving us a brief but well-rounded portrait of a fascinating time and place. We read about famous people, scandals, disasters, early industries, noteworthy towns and villages, resorts and recreation. Meeting along the way bold settlers, town founders, wheeler-dealers, shrewd entrepreneurs, celebrities, artists, anglers, suffragettes, loaded golfers, skiers, eccentric millionaires, a haunted castle with a seductive apparition on the lookout for unwary fishermen, scoundrels and serial killers, and enough disasters and triumphs to enchant readers averse to social history. Charles Atlas, Danny Kaye and D.W. Griffith were just a few of the people that gave the Sullivan Catskills its well earned good repute. Mr. Conway neatly refers to the two major Catskills periods as the Silver Age, nineteenth to early twentieth century, and the Golden Age, which ended in 1965 with the decline of the great upstate resorts. The book is richly illustrated with period pictures that capture the beauty of this once famous and still popular place. Readers unfamiliar with the region will find it helpful having a good map of the county readily at hand to pinpoint the places covered in this fine book.
-Victor Rodriguez, author of Ravenhall
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great History here!, December 4, 2010
This review is from: Remembering the Sullivan County Catskills (American Chronicles (History Press)) (Paperback)
This book was a hit for Christmas gifts for those who have everything. They loved reading about the history of the catskills and sharing it with others!!
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