Visit the Encyclopedia of New Jersey Web site

Author: Maxine Lurie, Marc Mappen
Cartographer: Michael Siegel
Subject: New Jersey and the Region/Reference
Cloth ISBN 0-8135-3325-2
Pages: 912 pp. 8 ½ x 11, 30 color and 555 b&w illus., 150 maps
Description:

Praise for the Encyclopedia of New Jersey

Designated Best of Reference by The New York Public Library based on its usefulness in New York City's libraries.

Outstanding Reference Work, New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance

"If you think of states as characters, New Jersey is a major player, not a glamorous matinee idol, but a star with a black coffee voice and a five o'clock shadow, like Humphrey Bogart. . . . In this book, it's a lot of this and a lot of that."-Town Topics

"If you've got a hankering to become an expert on all things of your home state, there's no better place to start."-Press (Atlantic City, NJ)

"What do Abott & Costello, the Ku Kulx Klan, pharmaceutical giant Sandoz, African American baseball pioneer Larry Doby, fundamentalist preacher Carl McIntire, Lyme disease, and the Courier-Post have in common? They all have entries in the Encyclopedia of New Jersey."-Courier-Post

"There is nothing else that offers the expansive coverage of this state...a bargain price...Certainly all New Jersey libraries would need to buy this work, as should most libraries in the Northeast. Academic and large public libraries everywhere should find it useful."-Booklist

"There's a new book out on New Jersey, and it is terrific. . . . The book is a treasure, with contributions from nearly 800 writers. It is a resource that scholars, officials, history teachers, and journalists will be consulting for generations. It is also a fun read for the general public, particularly people who live in New Jersey or who used to live here."-Bergen Record (April 25, 2004)

"A new book detailing all the little nuances and outright quirks of the Garden State is finally complete. . . .Packed with illustrations and maps, [The Encyclopedia] has sweeping entries on topics such as agriculture, immigration and even the history of New Jersey history books. But there are also articles on such Garden State novelties as the Jersey Devil-a legendary South Jersey creature said to have the head of horse and the wings of a bat-and Margate's Lucy the Elephant, a six-story, 90-ton house that looks like a Pachyderm."- Home News Tribune

"Other states may be worthy of encyclopedias, but with the exception of high-profile states like California and cities like New York, it's unlikely they could generate a work as vast and weighty as the 927-page tome Rutgers University Press is bringing out this month. . . .

Having lived here for three decades, I've kidded about "darkest New Jersey" as much as anyone else, but always with the understanding that if you of states as characters, New Jersey is a major player, not a glamorous matinee idol, but a star with a black coffee voice and a fice o'clock shadow, like Humphrey Bogart. We have the best of all possible locales. To those who claim being situated between two great cities has robbed us of our identity, what other state as both New York and Philadelphia at its disposal?

The Encyclopedia should please state freaks as well as random explorers like myself. It gives you nine-plus pages listing the U.S. Census and Ethnicity numbers for every town in New Jersey. It gives you a breakdown of the state's presidential voting preferences from 1789 to 2000 and includes the numbers for the nation at large. If you want to know the 23 major soils of New Jersey from Wallpack (a.k.a. Wooster) to Tidal Marsh, they're here. You've got maps showing where all the prisons are, and maps in color showing water resources, land use, and the above-mentioned major soils. It's no exaggeration to say that the maps in color are a pleasure to look at, whether or not you know what they mean. The same is true of the colorful satellite imagery that illustrates the dust jacket. . . .

This is truly an embarassment of riches, herons and egrets, munchmobiles and wampum, or, as onetime Princeton resident Fletcher Knebel once put it, as quoted in the Image entry: "A little of this, a little of that." Actually, in this book, it's a lot of this and a lot of that. The Times says it weighs six and a half pounds. It feels more like ten. And if you really want to see how big it can be, look for billboards along the New Jersey Turnpike between exits 9 and 16. From May through June, it will be out there, thanks to the Rutgers University Press marketing department. Drivers looking for America will be seeing the Encyclopedia of New Jersey."- Town Topics (Princeton, NJ)

"The entries had to be balanced in terms of geography, history, politics and cultural significance. . . . the editors also set a very high standard for the living people they would include in the encyclopedia. . . .The encyclopedia is clearly the most monumental project ever undertaken by the press. . . . Although the book is big and comprehensive, it is quite readable. Perusing one item, say the entry on boardwalks, leads you to entries on the Jersey Shore and the Steel Pier. The section on Kalmyks, descendants of Mongolians living in central Jersey, prompts you to check out the entry on ethnicity, where you can learn about the enormous variety of ethnic groups in the state."- Rutgers Focus

"Did you know that Sussex County is named for Sussex, England, home of Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, duke of Newcastle?

The origin of the county's name is one of the thousands of bits of information squeezed into the 912 pages of the The "Encyclopedia of New Jersey," which became available at bookstores across the state this week. The book is Trivial Pursuit for the Garden State, and includes everything from its diverse history to contemporary musicians (Jon Bon Jovi, Bruce Springsteen) and actors (Joe Piscopo, Jack Nicolson), and even descriptions of such novelties as the "Jersey Devil" - a legendary south Jersey creature - and Margate's Lucy the Elephant, a six-story, 90-ton house that looks like a pachyderm.

The book lists every town and every county including an excerpt on page 790 about Sussex County - "New Jersey's last colonial county" that is "famed for its agricultural and mineral wealth." Also inside the 6½-pound book is a description of the Kittatinny Valley as a place that "undulates between shale ridges and limestone valleys trenched by stream" and descriptions of the county's 24 municipalities. Page 854 tells of Waterloo Village once being home to Lenape Indians until 18th-century European settlers pushed them westward.

The creator of the compilation, Marc Mappen, of Highland Lakes, head of the New Jersey Historical Commission, said he saw a publication for a New York encyclopedia in 1995 and wondered why New Jersey didn't have one. 'New Jersey does not always get the credit it deserves,' he said. 'I think there is kind of a negative image of New Jersey. The book shows the good things about it.'

It was a big feat, and an expensive one, that took more than nine years to complete, according to Mappen. The $1 million needed to complete the book was raised through public and private donations.

The tome also explores problems that New Jersey faces, like crime, urban sprawl and pollution, Mappen said. 'This is not just boosterism. We want this to be objective as well as a really good source of information.'

And so, within the book's pages is a mention of the infamous murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr., who was kidnapped from his upstairs bedroom in Hopewell in 1932. Another entry informs us that pollution has been a significant concern in the state for 40 years.

Deborah Moley, director of the Sussex County Library, said the book is on the library shelves. 'I think (the book) is wonderful,' she said. 'Everything I checked so far has been completely accurate, and there are really great pictures and references.'

The book is also available at the Sparta Library on Mohawk Avenue in Sparta. Diane Lapsley, assistant director of the library, said the encyclopedia will be a great tool for anyone who wants to know anything about New Jersey. She said the book contains a slew of information about the demographics of New Jersey and well-researched articles.

'It's loaded,' she said. 'It's got beautiful, colorful illustrations and really esoteric information.' It's also 'fun' and easy to read, she said. 'Anyone from grade school students to adults would enjoy it. It's like an almanac,' she said.

To create the book, Mappen, along with co-editor Maxine N. Lurie, an associate professor and chair of the history department at Seton Hall University, got together an editorial board composed of 30 specialists from different fields, including biology, law, the Civil War, folklore, art, ethnic history and communications. Each specialist came up with a list of suggested authors. Almost 800 authors were chosen to write 3,000 excerpts."- New Jersey Herald

"Nearly a decade ago, a new encyclopedia chronicled just about everything anybody would care to know about New York City, from its distinct neighborhoods to the Yankees to its scads of famous residents.

That gave Marc Mappen, head of the New Jersey Historical Commission, an idea: Why not produce a similar book about New York's often overlooked, underappreciated neighbor?

Nine years, 912 pages and almost 3,000 articles later, a new book detailing all the little nuances and outright quirks of the Garden State is finally complete. The Encyclopedia of New Jersey hits bookstores Monday.

For Mappen, his co-editor Maxine N. Lurie and the Rutgers University Press, producing the book turned into an effort almost as Herculean as New Jersey native John Basilone lugging a 90-pound machine gun 200 yards to stave off a Japanese attack at Guadalcanal (see page 60).

The editors raised about $1 million from numerous public and private donors, including the New Jersey Legislature, to pay for the project. A 30-person editorial board wrestled over what topics to include in the book, whittling from about 10,000 article ideas for the finished product.

The 800 or so freelance writers earned about 10 cents a word to cover topics ranging from brownfields redevelopment to the story of tomato cultivation in the state. Ever wonder if ``Jersey Blue'' is really a color? Well, it's in there, too (see page 422). . . .

'We wanted it to be a popular book, something people would keep on their coffee tables and next to their bed, something they would read,'' Mappen said.

All of New Jersey's 566 municipalities have their own entries, a decision the editorial board made early on because of the importance of local government in the state.

One contentious debate with which the editors grappled was whether to include living people. At first, they thought including the living could pose problems, making entries quickly outdated if, for instance, someone died or remarried. But then editors decided to include every New Jersey governor, even the living ones.

'And then someone brought up that you can't have an encyclopedia on New Jersey without Bruce Springsteen,' Mappen said. 'And then someone would say, 'What about Bon Jovi?' So we've got him in there, and Jack Nicholson, too.'"- THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

"New Jersey has always had attitude. Now it has heft. This month, the first Encyclopedia of New Jersey went on sale in bookstores across the state. . . . [The Encyclopedia] coveres everything you've ever wanted to know about the Garden State--and then some."-The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)

"From Leon Abbett on through the Elizabeth Marine Terminal past Maurice River and on to Vladimir K. Zworykin it goes, rambling about New Jersey, sometimes slow like an old horse-drawn surrey and other times quick like a 747 out of Newark International.

It is the Encyclopedia of New Jersey, on sale April 26, six and a half pounds of pure Jerseyana, nine years in the making and worth every tick of the old Jersey City Colgate's Clock that was spent on it. . . .

The entries are primarily serious subjects, either biographies of famous New Jerseyans, histories of every one of New Jersey's 566 municipalities or overviews of things like state geology or ethnic groups like the Irish or Italians. Yet it is not all academic and dry.

Take, for instance, the bio on that internationally famous New Jerseyan, Elsie the Cow. . . .

Much of the reason for Rutgers University Press's enthusiasm to publish 'The Encyclopedia of New Jersey' is to supplant the self-effacing and, in many cases, self-deprecating view New Jerseyans have of themselves and replace it with a bigger sense of pride.

'The encyclopedia makes a statement: there are a million words worth writing about New Jersey,' said [publisher] Marlie Wasserman. 'We're rich enough, not just in a monetary sense, in culture and business and the environment to justify this brick of a book.'"- New York Times, NJ Section "A new reference book on the Garden State offers thousands of succinct summaries."- Courier Post(Jim Walsh)

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the Garden State can now be found in one place: the Encyclopedia of New Jersey. Nearly 3,000 original entries, along with 585 illustrations and 130 maps, catalog a wealth of information on the state from its earliest history to the present. Topics covered include architecture, arts and entertainment, biographies of famous New Jerseyans, business and industry, ethnic groups, geography, history, municipalities and counties, science and technology, sports and recreation, and much more.