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ENGLEWOOD : HISTORICAL SKETCHES : CELEBRATING THE CITY'S HISTORY
Anyone who lives in, works in, or visits Englewood will find this book worth reading, as will anyone with an interest in local history. Copies of the paperback ($15) and the hardback ($30) are available in the Englewood Library, in NVE bank's Engle St. branch, and in the City Clerk's office in City Hall on North Van Brunt Street .
Over 200 of the books have already been sold, some people have bought multiple copies as gifts, and the earliest reports from readers are extremely positive. Already the supply of hardbacks has shrunk to less than 30, but the supply of paperbacks is still plentiful.
This newest book on Englewood 's history, published by the Englewood Historical Society, became available to the public this past November. The book originated in the pages of the Northern Valley Suburbanite as a series of articles to celebrate the centennial of the city's incorporation in 1999. Its co-editors, two English professors with a common interest in local history, Yeshiva University's Will Lee and NYU's Dustin Griffin, have re-edited the published articles and added a good deal of new material: a new introduction, a new conclusion, eight new chapters, photographic illustrations, and an appendix on writing local history. Griffin says he hopes that the book “will inspire all readers to appreciate the history of the city and some to try their hand at writing historical sketches of their own.”
The subject matter ranges from fascinating people to historic neighborhoods to childhood memories to Englewood 's built and natural environments. Since the 3-4 page chapters vary so widely, and since each can easily be read in one brief sitting, this newest book on Englewood 's history is arguably the most accessible and the most pleasurable to read.
As Eleanor Harvey, President of the Englewood Historical Society, emphasizes, “this book breaks new ground in a number of ways.” It's the first to include social and political history, the first to pay attention to ethnic history, the first to include personal reminiscences, and the first to emphasize the twentieth century. Six early chapters comprise the first overview of the city's past from colonial times to the present, from large farms to “the bedroom of Wall Street” to the award-winning downtown and diverse community of today.
The book is the first to draw on the talents of nearly every historian of the city, including not only the two editors but Bob Griffin, Norman Davis, the late Leonard Hansen, Bobbie Bouton-Goldberg, Irmari Nacht, and Harvey herself. And it's the first handsome book on the city's history, thanks to the professional design services provided by Kay Ritta and Associates. As Bob Griffin points out, “Dr. Lattimer's book was more lavishly illustrated, but in this new book, the illustrations are beautifully integrated with the text both in terms of content and in terms of design.”
Checks should be made out to the Englewood Historical Society, and orders of ten or more copies should be directed to the Society c/o the City Clerk. Proceeds will be used to benefit the Englewood Library and to produce more publications on Englewood 's history, plans for which have already been announced.
Paid for by Friends of Michael J. Wildes, Claudia Colbert, Treasurer