The Catskills Alive

Less than a day's drive from New York City, Boston or Philadelphia, the Catskills have long been a popular weekend and summer retreat for city folk. The area offers fine accommodations, top-notch dining and spectacular surroundings. This book profiles hundreds of hotels and restaurants, with an emphasis on the very best places. Daytime activities - shopping, antique-hunting and more - are featured.

Stylish resorts, breathtaking vistas and glittering lakes are hallmarks of the Catskills region. But since the pre- Revolutionary era, this seemingly idyllic vacationland has been a theater for some of mankind's darkest deeds and evildoers, including the notorious Murder, Inc. Caroline Crane explores the stories behind the bodies and bones that turn up here, from the bizarre hex murder at Stone Arch Bridge to the murderous escapades of Lethal Lizzie. Meet Claudius Smith, the hotheaded Tory outlaw who terrorized local colonists, and Dutch Schultz, the mobster whose fortune still lies buried in the mountains. Murder & Mayhem in the Catskills provides a fascinating glimpse into the shadowy heart of the mountains and reveals the area s surprising connections to some of America's most infamous criminals.

Our Alive! guides capture the capricious spirit of each sun-drenched destination, focusing on the best it has to offer. You'll find five-star resorts, private condos, top-notch restaurants, and the finest jazz bars and night clubs. "Dawn to Dusk" sections cover daytime activities -- sightseeing, beaches, watersports, lunchtime restaurants. Shopping plays a big part, with advice on bargaining, currency and potential pitfalls. "After Dark" sections tell of the best piano bars, beach parties and discos. Hundreds of restaurant and accommodation profiles. Written in a lively style by authors who have visited these places many times, the books are filled with amusing sidebars and tidbits of information in call-out boxes. Maps. Fully indexed.

“A nostalgic pastiche of fiction, memoir, photography, art, postcards, menus, etc., celebrating Jewish resort life in the Catskills.”—Providence Journal With selections ranging from literature to song lyrics, this book highlights the Catskills experience over a century, and assesses its continuing impact on American music, comedy, food, culture, and religion. It features selections from such fiction writers as Isaac Bashevis Singer, Herman Wouk, Allegra Goodman and Vivian Gornick; and original contributions from historians, sociologists, and scholars of American and Jewish culture that trace the history of the region, the rise of hotels and bungalow colonies, the wonderful flavors of food and entertainment, and distinctive forms of Jewish religion found in the Mountains. What was life—the work, the play, the food, the romance—like at Catskills Mountains resorts? These very personal recollections capture the special sense of community and freedom that developed among Jewish families leaving the city behind for a summer vacation and enjoying a cultural space of their own. From “Bingo by the Bungalow” by Thane Rosenbaum to “Young Workers in the Hotels” by Phil Brown to “Shoot the Shtrudel to Me Yudel” by Henry Foner, this charming anthology captures an era that has had enormous impact on the Jewish experience and American culture as a whole. “A warm, charming, and valuable work. Much of the writing is simply gorgeous.”—Contemporary Sociology

Annotation Feeling "alive" is commonly used to describe the state when you are energized, excited, full of life! And that's exactly what these books inspire -- a feeling of eagerness to explore and discover. Alive! Guides are a refreshing change from the "same-old" guidebooks. They are written for the savvy traveler who is looking for quality and value in accommodations and dining, with a selection of activities to fill the days and nights. Each book's introduction covers the basic travel information, including climate, when to go, what to pack, history, package tours, geography and -- for overseas destinations -- currency concerns and health issues. Daytime pursuits are detailed in the "Sunup to Sundown" section, which cover the best beaches, walking tours, driving excursions, nature trips and sightseeing. Shopping plays a big part, with tips on how to barter in island crafts markets and where to find the best deals. And if you're looking for some fun when the stars come out, turn to the "After Dark" section, where, you'll find descriptions of the best discos, cigar bars, theaters, movies, nightclubs and happy hours!

Part of the ancient Appalachians and just a few miles up the road from a massive metropolitan area, the Catskills have been home to the variety of people who have made the history of the New World. The songs collected here reflect this history. They are songs of rafting and lumbering, war and railroads, prison and hard times, and nonsense and drinking. And they are songs of love—tragic love, thwarted love, foolish love—and sometimes even true love. Collecting the songs began in 1941 when educator Norman Studer and composer Herbert Haufrecht led a group of young people on folklore trips through the mountains. The distinguished musician Norman Cazden continued the collection, adding his research and scholarship. The book is the cumulative work of these three colleagues. Useful as an annotated archive of regional lore, Folk Songs of the Catskills traces roots to early Scottish, Irish, Welsh, English, and American sources. Both texts and musical structure are compared to other traditional songs. Extended search for tune relatives is directed towards tracing the known use of each tune strain, whether in variants with similar texts or quite different texts. Some of the Catskill versions of tunes have not been found elsewhere, and others are rarely encountered. Whether related to others or unique to the Catskills, the commentary on the songs in this collection contributes to a more general theory of the nature of traditional tunes and their transformation. The late composer/musicologist and university professor, Norman Cazden, worked meticulously over a period of many years to trace traditional melodies and texts. Both Cazden and fellow composer Herbert Haufrecht were music directors of Camp Woodland, a unique summer school in the Catskill Mountains which acquainted students with the folklore of this musically rich region. The late Norman Studer, one of the founders and for many years the director of Camp Woodland, was also an ardent folklorist who spent much of his life in the hills and hollows of the Catskills looking for folksingers and yarnspinners. Together, these devoted scholars have created a work that is as enjoyable as it is rare.

In the highly anticipated sequel to her award-winning memoir, Daring to Date Again (She Writes Press, 2014), The Sweet Pain of Being Alive is the second in Ann Anderson Evans’s memoir trilogy. It follows her heartbreaking journey as she seeks to uncover why her beloved husband killed himself. As her agonizing search deepens, her views on gender, sex, marriage, right, wrong, good, and bad start to shift. “Ann Anderson Evans is a fearless, fierce, divine, and wise woman who has dared to take a huge bite from Eve’s apple and has the guts to share the insights, fights, and delights she has met head-on.” – M.J. McDermott, Emmy award-winning broadcaster. “This book reveals a widow’s gut-wrenching process of scrutiny. In the aftermath of her beloved’s suicide, Ann Anderson Evans asks the questions all suicide survivors must ask: Why? Was his life really so bad? How could I have saved him? Futilely searching for answers to this inexplicable tragedy, Ann has beautifully, painfully dissected her relationship, her husband’s life, and his enduring struggles with depression and transgenderism. Ann is left to find acceptance and peace on her own. This is compelling reading.” – Leslie Hilburn Fabian, Author of My Husband’s a Woman Now: A Shared Journey of Transition and Love. “‘People are not always, maybe not ever, what they seem,’ writes Ann Anderson Evans. She thought she knew her husband Terry. What she didn’t know – the secret he only partially shared and his anguish about not claiming his authentic self – led him to suicide. ‘This book is stark, unflinching, intensely personal, and powerfully written. I loved the book, and I’m grateful to Ann Anderson Evans for having the courage to write it.’” – Joan Price, author of Sex After Grief: Navigating Your Sexuality After Losing Your Beloved.