MY LIBRARY
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Nonfiction
Behind the Urals, An American Worker in Russia's City of Steel, Scott, John, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1942. Memoir of a young man working in the new Russia after the revolution.
Bukowsko Gmina, Zuba, Jersy, English version edited by Deborah Greenlee, Krosno, 1999, Histories of the various village in the Gmina including Dudynce, the village of my ancestry.
Does a Fourth Rus' Exist? Concerning cultural identity in the Carpathisn Region, edited by Best, P.& Stepien,S., Przemysl-Higganum, 2009
Eastern Churches Journal, A review of Eastern Christianity, Vol 15 Number 2, 2008, There are several articles commemorating the 100th anniversary of Fr. Boksaj’s melodies of plain chant.
Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture,edited by Magocsi, Paul Robert and Pop, Ivan, University of Toronto Press, 2002
From America With Love, Memoirs of an American Immigrant in the Soviet Union, Halasz, Mary, Columbia University Press, New York, 2000, A personal memoir reflecting the unique phenomenon of the life of an American immigrant living in the Soviet Union, 1920 era.
Grisak Family History This book of almost 100 pages can be downloaded from the Internet. This family shares their story of early immigration with us. A great view of what life was like in Europe and in the USA for our ancestors. http://www.c-rs.org/Genealogy/grisak.pdf
Historical Sketches of Plymouth, Luzerne County, Penna. 1808-1881, Wright, Hendrick B., T.B. Peterson & Brothers, 306 Chestnut street, Philadelphia
History of San Souci Park, Ciesla, C.Charles, 2004 ISBN 09-718907-14 San Souci Amusement Park was located in the Hanover Green area of Hanover Township and a great recreation for the townspeople. Lots of photographs included.
In Their Words, A Genealogist’s Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin and Russian Documents, Volume I: Polish Shea, Jonathan D. and Hoffman, William F., Language and Lineage Press, New Britain CT, 2000
Island of Hope, Island of Tears, Brownstone, David M. et al., Barnes and Noble, Inc 1979. The authors interviewed extensively many people who had immigrated to the USA in early 1900. These interviews “in their own words” interspersed with the history of the time make this book a great resource for understanding what it was like to be the immigrant traveler.
Lemko Folk Music on American Records, Harbel, Bogdan and Maksimovich, Walter, desk top publishing Dawid Kwoka 2008 History of the Lemko music industry in the USA.
Lemkovyna, A History of the Lemko Region of the Carpathian Mountains of Central Europe, Polianskii, Father Ioann writing as I.F. Lemkyn, translated and edited by Paul Best, Michael Decerbo and Walter Maksimovich.
North of the Danube, Caldwell, Erskine and Bourke-White, Margaret, Viking Press, 1939 Short stories and photographs about their travels prior to WWII.
Our People, Carpatho-Rusyns and Their Descendants in North America, Magocsi, Paul Robert, Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc, Wauconda, Illinois, 2005
Our Slavic Fellow Citizens, Balch, Emily Greene, Wm. F. Fell, Co. Press, Philadelphia, 1910, This book refutes the negative feelings in the US about Slavic immigrants. Not too different from what is happening currently.
Poland and Her National Minorities 1919-39, A Case Study, Horak, Stephan, Vantage Press, N.Y., 1961 Excellent, Excellent book! If you can buy it from a used book dealer, do so. From an historical perspective the author examines how issues of the ethnographic minorities, German, Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Belorussian, were handled in Poland, during these years. A good lesson for current world conflicts.
Slovakia in photographs, Plicka, Karol, Obzor Book and Journal Publishers, Bratislava, 1967 Beautiful photographs of Slovak folk costumes.
Scots in Poland, Russia and the Baltic States 1550-1850, Dobson, David, Clearfield Co., Baltimore MD, 2000 This book lists Scottish surnames and sources traced back to Medieval period when economic opportunity attracted entrepreneurs and soldiers of fortune from Scotland to the Baltic areas.
They Came In Ships, Colleta, John P. PhD., 2nd edition, ISBN 0-916489-42-6 Ancestry, Salt Lake City, UT, 1993
Lemkowszczyza, The Lemko Land, Kroh, Antoni and Drozdzik, Piotr, Bosz Wydawca Publisher, Poland, 2006. This is a beautiful book with photos of such high resolution that you want to reach inside them an touch things. Text is written in Polish and English (side by side) giving a brief history of the Lemko people. Most of the book is full of exceptional photographs, 191 pages. Bosz has a website for ordering.
Lemko Folk Music on American Records 1928-1930, Horbal, Bogdan and Maksimovich, Walter, 2008.
Of the Making of Nationalities There is No End, Volume !, Carpatho Rusyns in Europe and North America, Margocsi, Paul Robert, Easr European Monographs, Columbia University Press, New York 1999
Our People, CarpathoRusyns and Their Descendants in North America, 2nd edition, Margocsi, Paul R., Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc, Wauconda, Illinois, USA, ISBN-13: 978-086526-622-3
Slovakia, Kallay, Karol, Kallar, Daniel, Csc., Vydavat-Istva Slovart, Bratislava, Slovakia, 2005, ISBN 80-8085-061-5, written in english and Slovak.
SS Peter & Paul Cemetery Survey, Dran-Elston, Gloria, self published, 2010, a survey of all of the gravestones in this church cemetery, includes a DVD of photographs of all (over 1000) gravestones. Data is cross-referenced to location and to photograph. See http://sspeterandpaulucc.org.
Swiatynia Ciszy, Greek Catholic Churches in Lemkow Region, Komski, Arkadiusz et al., Nova Sandec publisher, Nowy Sacz, Poland, 2009,Lots of color photos of Lemko churches, people and the landscape. There is a section written in English.
The 23rd Psalm, A Holocaust Memoir, Salton, George Lucius, The University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 2002 Describes persecution of the Jews of Tyczyn, Poland which is just south of Rzeszow and 72 miles north of my ancestral village of Dudynce.
The History of Hanover Township, Ciesla, c. Charles, 4th edition ISBN 0967851483, 1994
The Lemko Region, 1939-1947, War, Occupation and Deportation, Best, Paul and Moklak, Jaroslaw,vol. 4 of Carpatho-Slavic Studies, publisher : Carpatho-Slavic Studies Group and the Historia Iagellonica Press, Cracow, Poland. A collection of selected papers from a conference about “The Lemko region, 1939-1947” which was held at the Polonia Institute, Przegorzaly-Cracow, Poland, May 28-30, 2001. Jam packed with information on national policies and resettlement of Lemkos, resistance movements, religious issues among other.
The Lemkos of Poland, Articles and Essays, Best, Paul and Moklak, Jaroslaw, editors; Carpatho-Slavic Studies Group and the Historia Iagellonica Press, Cracow and New Haven, 2000. This book is a compilation of articles and essays given at meetings of the Carpatho-Rusyn Studies Group by various scholars. Some of the articles have been translated from the original language into English.
The Man Farthest Down: A Record of Observation and Study in Europe, Washington, Booker T. and Park, Robert E., Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, New York, 1912. Chapter 14 describes conditions in a Ruthenian village in 1910. Booker T., on vacation, seeks out the inhabitants in various parts of Europe, who are, like the black man in the US, the persons of the lowest status. Easy reading with thorough observation of places visited.
The People From Nowhere, an illustrated history of Carpatho-Rusyns, Magocsi, Paul,
V. Padiak Publishers, Uzhhorod, Ukraine, 2006, Comprehensive discussion of the origin of the Carpatho-Rusyns from ancient origins to present.
The Pomp and Politics of Patriotism, Imperial Celebrations in Habsburg Austria, 1848-1916, Unowsky, Daniel L., Purdue University Press, West Layfayette, Indiana, 2005.
The Reconstruction of Nations, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999, Snyder, Timothy, Yale University Press, 2003. Has the clearest explanation of the ethnic cleansing of the Lemkos out of postwar Poland that I have read. Communist leaders took the “easiest” route.
The Red Prince, The Secret lives of a Habsburg Archduke, Snyder, Timothy, Basic Books, N.Y.N.Y., 2008 An excellent commentary on the life of Wilhelm Habsburg and his life’s goal of creating an Ukrainian nation. Anything by this author is worth reading. He makes history read like a novel.
The Rusyns, Bonkalo, Alexander, translated by Ervin Bonkalo, Eastern European Monographs, distributed by Columbia University Press, New York 1990
The Rusyns of Hungary, Political and Social Developments 1860-1910, Mayer, Maria, translated by Boris, Janos, edited by Magocsi, Paul Robert, Eastern European Monographs, distributed by Columbia University Press, New York 1997
The Rusyns of Slovakia, An Historical Survey, Magocsi, Paul R., Eastern European Monographs, distributed by Colombia University Press, New York, 1993
The Wyoming Valley, An American Portrait, Hanlon, Edwards F. and Zbiek, Paul J.,American Historical Press, Sun Valley, California, 2003 History of the Pennsylvania region around Wilkes Barre,
Unforgotten Lemkos, at Sources of the River Wisloka, Krasovsky, Ivan and Tavpash, Andre, 2004. This book was published in Ukraine in the Ukrainian language. The book contains a brief history of the villages, Swiatkowa Wielka, Swiatkowa Mala, Svirzhowa Ruska, Kotan and Krempna, contains 160 pages and several topographical maps of these villages. There are also lists of the inhabitants in 1785 and 1934 for Swiatkowa W., 1785 for Swiatkowa Mala, 1787 and 1945 for Svirzhova Ruska, 1788 and 1944 for Kotan and 1785 and 1787 for Krempna. Chapters include “A History of Lemkos of Swiatkowa Wielka” by D. Stupak; “A Brief Sketch about the History of the village Swiatkowa” by I. Shcherbal; “Something About Lemkos” by Nikolay Dran (b. 1904), his memoirs; “My Native Village, Swirzhova Ruska” by I. Shcherba; and “The Annals of Krempna Village Church” by Father S. Shalash. I learned about this book from an e-mail friend who lives in Lviv, Ukraine. I will be working on translating it into English. Anyone interested in helping with translation please contact me.
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Fiction
A Village Without Solidarity, Polish Peasants in years of crisis, Hann, C.M., Yale University Press, New York, London, 1985
Hunky, The Immigrant Experience Karas, Nicholas Stevenson, Bloomington IN, 2004. Fiction incorporating the story of two Rusyn families in east-central Carpathian Mountains, their homeland and their experience as immigrants to America.
Icon of Spring, A classic memoir of the immigrant experience in western Pennsylvania, as seen through the eyes of a child; Jason, Sonya, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, 1993
Over the Hills of Ruthenia, Baerlein, Henry, Boni & Liveright, New York, 1925 A travel story.
Push Not the River, Martin, James Conroyd, Xlibris Corporation ISBN 7388-3140-9, 2000 Based on a true story.
Red Wedding, Orlow, Damon, Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, 1952., a fictional book of Lemko village life.
The Linden and the Oak, Wansa, Mark, World Academy of Rusyn Culture, Toronto, Canada, 2009. This novel set in a Rusyn village will have you thinking about the characters long after you have finished the last page.
Also:
Introduction to Rusyn Language and Culture, A Basic Self-Study Course for English Speakers, Malecky, Halina, et al , 1st edition, Carpatho Rusyn Society, Munhall PA, 2013 A great workbook that will teach you the Lemko language. It comes with a DVD which is referred to in the lessons so you can hear pronunciations by native Lemko speakers.
Do you have suggestions of other books about the culture that I would find interesting? E-mail me!
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e-mail me at Carpatho_mts@hotmail.com