America, Volume 3

Joel CookProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 333K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. America, Volume 3 (of 6) by Joel Cook. Author: Cook, Joel, 1842-1910. Language: English. Class: F1001: North America local history: Canada. Release Date: Jan 4, 2013

Editor's review

America, Volume 3 is one installment of Joel Cook's multi-volume account of America, released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain ebook. Cook was born in the mid-nineteenth century, and his writing bears the clear mark of period travel writing and local topography. This volume falls under North American local history and centers on regional scenery, town observations, and historical anecdotes. Its main value for readers lies in the late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century perspective and narrative tone it offers on American local society, making it useful for those studying travel writing, local history, or American social change. Readers should note that such old texts carry pronounced period stances and habits of expression; they should read critically and not treat its judgments as neutral fact. Public-domain electronic editions usually lack modern notes and maps, so place names and figures may need separate verification. It is not suitable as a contemporary travel guide; it is better read closely as a historical text, alongside maps and background materials, to appreciate its period layers.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying American local history and nineteenth-century travel writing
Enthusiasts of old-style travel prose willing to read historical texts slowly
History and literature students who need to cite early American regional accounts
Nonfiction readers interested in American social change and period observational perspectives

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking contemporary American travel guides and practical information
Beginners looking for a systematic general history or academic overview
Readers impatient with old-fashioned English and period bias

Reading tips

First understand the overall structure of Cook's multi-volume work and where Volume 3 fits, then move into specific chapters.
Look up place names and historical background as you read, situating the text in the late nineteenth-century American context.
Flag judgments that carry period bias and reflect on them after finishing, rather than accepting the narrative stance outright.
If citing for research, check original page numbers and publication details, and cross-check against other contemporary sources.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can this book be used as an American travel guide?

No. It was written in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, and transportation, urban landscapes, and social conditions differ greatly from today; the book also lacks the practical information modern travel requires. It is better read as a historical travel text, to understand how people of the time observed and described American local society.

Can I read Volume 3 without having read the first two volumes?

You can try, but it is advisable to skim the tables of contents or prefaces of the first two volumes to understand the work's regional arrangement. Multi-volume local histories often proceed region by region, and the places covered in Volume 3 may echo earlier sections. If time is limited, at least confirm whether this volume's scope covers the region you are interested in.

Are the views in the book objective and trustworthy?

Maintain a critical attitude. Such old texts carry the author's period stance, cultural biases, and limited sources; the narrative is not neutral fact. While reading, separate the author's judgments from verifiable place names and events, and cross-check against modern local history research rather than treating the book's views as conclusions.

Does the layout of the public-domain electronic edition affect reading?

It may. Volunteer-prepared electronic editions do not always match the original in paragraphs, punctuation, and special characters, and long paragraphs and old-style spelling add to the reading burden. Use reading software with adjustable font size and line spacing, and when you suspect a layout error, check against other editions or scanned originals.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Joel Cook Author · American · 1842–1910

Joel Cook (1842–1910) was an American journalist, writer and politician. Born in Philadelphia, he edited the Philadelphia Public Ledger, worked as the American correspondent for The Times of London, and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1907. As a writer he focused on travel and regional description, with a documentary, closely observed style. His representative works include England, Picturesque and Descriptive and the multi-volume America, Picturesque and Descriptive. The library holds seven of his works, most of them concerned with landscapes and cultures in Europe and America, combining the immediacy of travel writing with a systematic, chronicle-like quality that offered contemporary readers a fairly comprehensive picture of distant places. Cook died in Philadelphia in 1910.