Books about Townships from Amazon.com

The page-turning story behind the 2005 intelligent design case in Dover, Pennsylvania—the case that made front-page news around the world.

"What happened in Dover is a tiny sliver, a broken shard of glass mirroring what plays out across the country A war of fundamentalist Christian values versus secularism. A battle between evangelical fanaticism and tolerance."—from The Devil in Dover

In December 2004, following the Dover area school board's decision to teach intelligent design in ninth-grade biology classrooms, eleven parents sued, sparking a federal constitutional challenge. Lauri Lebo, a small-town reporter who covered the trial, knows not just the legal case and science, but the people on all sides of the divisive battle.

In The Devil in Dover, Lebo traces the compelling backstory of this pivotal case described by some as a perfect storm of religious intolerance, First Amendment violations, and an assault on American science education. In a community divided across unexpected lines, the so-called activist judge, a George Bush-appointed Republican, eventually condemned the school board's decision as one of "breathtaking inanity."

Lebo follows the story through its surprising twists, pondering whether this was a national war playing out in a small town or a small-town political battle playing out on the national stage. As a "local girl" with a fundamentalist Christian father, Lebo provides an account that is both fascinating and moving, as she thoughtfully probes one of America's most divisive cultural conflicts—and the responsibility journalists have when covering such a controversial story..
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When Witold Rybczynski first heard about New Daleville, it was only a developer's idea, attached to ninety acres of cornfield an hour and a half west of Philadelphia Over the course of five years, Rybczynski met and talked to everyone involved in the building of this residential subdivision -- from the developers to the township leaders, whose approval they needed, to the home builders and engineers and, ultimately, the first families who moved in.

Always eloquent and illuminating, the award-winning author of Home and A Clearing in the Distance looks at this "neotraditional" project, with its houses built close together to encourage a sense of intimacy and community, and explains the trends in American domestic architecture -- from where we place our kitchens and fences to why our bathroomsget larger every year.

Last Harvest was voted one of the ten best books of 2008 by the editors of Planetizen, and as Publishers Weekly said, "Rybczynski provides historical and cultural perspectives in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, debunking the myth of urban sprawl and explaining American homeowners' preference for single-family dwellings.".
Price: $3.61 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Whitemarsh Hall, known as "the Versailles of America," was one of the largest and most exquisite estates in North America Edward Townsend Stotesbury, one of the wealthiest Philadelphians in the early twentieth century, commissioned renowned architect Horace Trumbauer to build the one-hundred-forty-sevenroom mansion in 1916 on three hundred acres just outside Philadelphia. Whitemarsh Hall, which took five years to build at an estimated cost of $10 million with all the furnishings, was a wedding present for his second wife..
Price: $12.68 [Notify me when price goes down.]

What should we teach our children about where we come from?

Is evolution good science? Is it a lie? Is it incompatible with faith?

Did Charles Darwin really say man came from monkeys? Have scientists really detected "intelligent design"-evidence of a creator-in nature?

What happens when a town school board decides to confront such questions head-on, thrusting its students, then an entire community, onto the front lines of America-s culture wars?

From bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist Edward Humes comes a dramatic story of faith, science, and courage unlike any since the famous Scopes Monkey Trial. Monkey Girl takes you behind the scenes of the recent war on evolution in Dover, Pennsylvania, the epic court case on teaching "intelligent design" it spawned, and the national struggle over what Americans believe about human origins.

Told from the perspectives of all sides of the battle, Monkey Girl is about what happens when science and religion collide.

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Price: $9.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Pennsbury High School would be like any other were it not for one thing: its prom. Its spring dance is considered to be one of this country's best legacies Wonderland is the inspiring true story of a dance floor and the kids who fill it: a tale of hope, sex, love, and loss. For one year, the students, parents, and teachers of Pennsbury invited Michael Bamberger, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, into their classrooms, their homes, their parties, and their dreams. He discovered an extraordinary and disparate group of everyday teenagers whose stories were touching, odd, funny, and beautiful. In Wonderland, lives intersect in unpredictable ways and are never what they appear to be. The star quarterback hides the pain of not knowing where his father is. A student with cerebral palsy is desperate to learn to tie Eagle Scout knots, despite a useless left hand. And then there is Bob Costa, who dreams of bringing glory to the school by convincing John Mayer, whose song "Your Body Is a Wonderland" is an anthem for the students, to perform at the prom. Critically acclaimed in hardcover, Wonderland is published in paperback with a new afterword by the author..
Price: $2.87 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Beginning in the 1700s, water from the Tookany Creek powered mills throughout what became Cheltenham Township. Following the coming of the railroad in 1855 and the end of the Civil War, many of the wealthy in Philadelphia moved to the area to establish summer homes and, later, permanent residences. Home to early abolitionist Lucretia Mott and Camp William Penn, the nationís largest training ground for black Union troops, Cheltenham Township today remains a diverse community with a rich history. ÝÝCheltenham Township is the first comprehensive photographic history of this Philadelphia suburb. From the early days of mill towns along the Tookany Creek to the vast estates built by the fabulously wealthy at the end of the nineteenth century, Cheltenham Township captures all the towns and villages that comprise the township. The histories of Wyncote, Cheltenham Village, Elkins Park, Glenside, Melrose Park, and LaMott are brought into focus with many rare and unpublished photographs. Pictured are the early homes of Richard Wall and Toby Leech and the later mansions of the Widener, Elkins, Stetson, and Cooke families, as well as the fire companies, businesses, schools, people, and institutions that define the history of Cheltenham Township. ÝÝ.
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In the mid-1600s, a group of Swedes from Delaware and Pennsylvania sailed up the Raccoon Creek and began a settlement on prime farmland in southern New Jersey. Initially known as Raccoon, the town at the center of Woolwich Township was renamed Swedesborough in 1765. Transportation links to Swedesboro by creek, highway, and railroad made the town an attractive location for mills, shops, and farms. Today many residents are descended from the area’s original Swedish settlers. Swedesboro and Woolwich Township presents a diverse collection of photographs from the 1800s to the 1970s, illustrating daily life for residents of the community..
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"As if Ring Day weren't enough to make Buffy Summers anxious (she can't even afford one of the less expensive silver bands), the Slayer has her hands full trying to figure out why an average split-level house in Sunnydale has all the vampires spooked. When she arrives at the library to discuss this new development with Giles, a package he's received from an old folklorist in Russia reveals what's going on: The stars are properly aligned for an attempt to resurrect Koschei the Deathless, a long-dead evil sorcerer. So while her classmates are busy choosing rings to demonstrate their school spirit, Buffy must figure out how to keep someone from reviving Koschei and, should she need to resort to plan B, how to kill him again. A little investigating soon leads Buffy and the gang to the necromancer who originally killed the sorcerer, an immortal Russian sorceress named Yulia Dryanushkina, who can control vampires (which explains their reluctance to pass by her place of residence). When the crew pays Yulia a visit, she assures them that with Willow's assistance, she would be able to kill the sorcerer again should he be revived. Neither Buffy nor Willow are particularly comfortable with aligning themselves with the necromancer, but they have no other choice when, twenty-four hours later, the vampires start behaving strangely . . . and half the senior class goes missing. ".
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