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Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States (New York Review Books Classics)
George R. Stewart’s classic study of place-naming in the United States was written during World War II as a tribute to the varied heritage of the nation’s peoples More than half a century later, Names on the Land remains the authoritative source on its subject, while Stewart’s intimate knowledge of America and love of anecdote make his book a unique and delightful window on American history and social life. Names on the Land is a fascinating and fantastically detailed panorama of language in action. Stewart opens with the first European names in what would later be the United States—Ponce de León’s flowery Florída, Cortés’s semi-mythical isle of California, and the red Rio Colorado—before going on to explore New England, New Amsterdam, and New Sweden, the French and the Russian legacies, and the unlikely contributions of everybody from border ruffians to Boston Brahmins. These lively pages examine where and why Indian names were likely to be retained; nineteenth-century fads that gave rise to dozens of Troys and Athens and to suburban Parksides, Brookmonts, and Woodcrest Manors; and deep and enduring mysteries such as why “Arkansas” is Arkansaw, except of course when it isn’t. Names on the Land will engage anyone who has ever wondered at the curious names scattered across the American map. Stewart’s answer is always a story—one of the countless stories that lie behind the rich and strange diversity of the USA..
Price: $12.12
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Naming Liberty
A double celebration for Independence Day! In this wonderfully unique book, Jane Yolen and Jim Burke weave two stories at once, as readers see young Gitl in Russia leaving her home for faraway America, wondering what new name she will choose for herself when she arrives, and young artist Frederic Auguste Bartholdi dreaming of a monument he wants to build to honor freedom. It is an arduous journey for Gitl as she and her family travel across land and sea to arrive on this shore, but when she sees the magnificent Statue of Liberty standing in New York Harbor, she knows her name in this great new country must be “Liberty.” Just in time for Independence Day, Jim Burke’s magnificent paintings capture Yolen’s inspired tale of a girl and an artist and their passionate belief in freedom..
Price: $7.83
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Welcome Dede! An African Naming Ceremony
This thoughtful book uses the baby-naming ceremony to give young readers, in text and color photographs, a glimpse at the pleasures of traditional African village life. Amarlai has a new cousin, and he can't wait for her to be given a name. On the great day, the guests arrive, prayers are said, the corn wine is blessed, and a tiny drop of wine is put on the baby's tongue as she is named. Gifts are offered, and the feasting and dancing begins. Everyone is happy, but Amarlai is happiest of all. In learning about this ritual, he celebrates his culture with the reader. .
Price: $3.93
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Naming New York: Manhattan Places and How They Got Their Names
"Even natives to the Big Apple are unlikely to know many of the facts that Feirstein has uncovered in this little gem."
--Publisher's Weekly New York is the oldest continually occupied city in America, yet its rich history is largely obscured by development. New Yorkers are surrounded by hundreds of place names, from those that survive from Manhattan's earliest days as a Dutch trading post to those that reflect the city's rich colonial, African and immigrant heritage. They provide a veritable encyclopedia of the city's history. Buildings may come and go, but place names are surprisingly durable. Naming New York is a comprehensive compilation and explanation of the names of Manhattan's streets, alleys, avenues, plazas, parks and corners. It surveys names currently in use and includes the oldest and the newest honorific "add-on" names, from Astor Place to Yitzak Rabin Way. Whether you're a history or trivia buff, tourist, or just fascinated by place names, learning about the origins of these mostly unexamined sources enriches one's experience of the city, and transforms a simple neighborhood errand into a trip through time. For example: Bowery: In the 17th century, Dutch farms known as "bowerij" were laid out in this section of Manhattan along the path of an old Indian trail. Known since that time as the Bowery, the thoroughfare became the first section of the Post Road from New York City to Boston. Houston Street: For William Houstoun, 1757-1812, of a prominent Georgia family, who married a daughter of Manhattan landowner Nicholas Bayard III. The Georgia provenance of the name accounts for its pronunciation and spelling both of which distinguish it from the Texas city. Wall Street: Follows the line of the city wall that the Dutch erected in 1653 across the northern perimeter of New Amsterdam to protect against attack from the British in New England. .
Price: $6.99
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Naming Maya
West meets EastAlthough Maya has done her best to avoid it, she is spending part of her summer in Chennai, India, with her mother, who is trying to sell her grandfather's old house. Soon Maya is drawn into a complicated friendship with eccentric Kamala Mami, who has been a housekeeper and cook for years in Maya's extended family. At the same time, Maya is thrust into an ocean of memories, all coming at her too quickly for her to understand. In particular, she is forced to examine the history of her parents' divorce -- all the more painful because she believes the trouble began with the choosing of her name. For years the tension has simmered in a cauldron of anxiety, secrets, and misunderstandings. It is only with the help of Kamala Mami and Maya's cousin Sumati that Maya is able to see what happened to her parents. In this compelling first novel, a young Indian American girl finally learns that she can choose which memories to keep and which to let go. .
Price: $9.18
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