Scan barcode
alesia_charles's review
4.0
This is a good basic history of New Jersey, from the colonial period to its publication in 1977, despite its preoccupation with political history. The last third of the book is a detailed examination of corporate and governmental corruption - partly fact, partly indictment. Fleming in fact ends the book with a peroration in favor of clean government and some early 1970s signs of hope.
The earlier sections, and to some extent the last part, do a good job of laying out the geographic, cultural, and economic reasons for New Jersey's long-standing political troubles. That redeems the book in my eyes, because that makes it useful for something besides lamenting the dangers of government run to benefit the few and already rich. Not that I disagree with Fleming on that point, but a history book does need to explain why that's a bad thing - and he does.
The earlier sections, and to some extent the last part, do a good job of laying out the geographic, cultural, and economic reasons for New Jersey's long-standing political troubles. That redeems the book in my eyes, because that makes it useful for something besides lamenting the dangers of government run to benefit the few and already rich. Not that I disagree with Fleming on that point, but a history book does need to explain why that's a bad thing - and he does.
More...