ePub Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden download

by Perdita Buchan

Author:

Perdita Buchan

ISBN13:

978-0813541785

ISBN:

0813541786

Language:

English

Publisher:

Rutgers University Press (October 30, 2007)

Category:

History

Subcategory:

Americas

ePub file:

1212 kb

Fb2 file:

1624 kb

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Rating:

4.3

Votes:

939

Perdita Buchan Americas English

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Perdita Buchan has published two novels and her short fiction and articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Ladies’ Home Journal, Harvard Magazine, House Beautiful, New Jersey Monthly, and the New York Times. She lives in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

Utopia, New Jersey book. In this intriguing look at this little-known side of New Jersey, Perdita Buchan explores eight of these communities. Adopting a wide definition of the term utopia-broadening it to include experimental living arrangements with a variety of missions-Buchan explains that what the founders of each of these colonies had in common was the goal of improving life, at least as they saw it.

Home Browse Books Book details, Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the .

Home Browse Books Book details, Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden. Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden. But Buchan shows how each of them left a legacy of much more than the buildings or street names that remain today-legacies that are inspiring, surprising, and often outright quirky.

Book Description: Utopia. I am in the middle of the central New Jersey commuter belt on my way to Free Acres. It’s a relief to leave the speeding crowd on Route 78 and head toward Berkeley Heights. The traffic doesn’t let up, but it moves more slowly.

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Her Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden (2007) is a study of eight utopian communities in the state . Perdita Buchan, When Louis Kahn and Roosevelt Created a New Jersey Utopia dated December 4, 2014, at curbed.

Her Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden (2007) is a study of eight utopian communities in the state of New Jersey in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Selected publications. Girl with a Zebra (Scribner's, 1966). Called Away (Little, Brown, 1980). Perdita Buchan, Tracing a Jersey Shore Town's Secret Spiritual History dated July 15, 2015, at curbed. Perdita Buchan, 'Cliffe Notes: a nostalgic look at a bygone world in Harvard Magazine online for May/June 2002.

According to Perdita Buchan, writing in the 2007 book Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the Nearest Eden, Sinclair himself quietly returned one rejected applicant's money, apologizing that the other members had voted against allowing Jewish people from joining the Helicon Home Colony.

For most people-even the most satisfied New Jersey residents-these words hardly belong in the same sentence.

Utopia, New Jersey: Travels in the nearest eden. For most people-even the most satisfied New Jersey residents-these words hardly belong in the same sentence.

Utopia. New Jersey. For most people—even the most satisfied New Jersey residents—these words hardly belong in the same sentence. Yet, unbeknown to many, history shows that the state has been a favorite location for utopian experiments for more than a century. Thanks to its location between New York and Philadelphia and its affordable land, it became an ideal proving ground where philosophical and philanthropical organizations and individuals could test their utopian theories. In this intriguing look at this little-known side of New Jersey, Perdita Buchan explores eight of these communities. Adopting a wide definition of the term utopia—broadening it to include experimental living arrangements with a variety of missions—Buchan explains that what the founders of each of these colonies had in common was the goal of improving life, at least as they saw it.

In every other way, the communities varied greatly, ranging from a cooperative colony in Englewood founded by Upton Sinclair, to an anarchist village in Piscataway centered on an educational experiment, to the fascinating Physical Culture City in Spotswood, where drugs, tobacco, and corsets were banned, but where nudity was widespread.

Despite their grand intentions, all but one of the utopias—a single-tax colony in Berkeley Heights—failed to survive. But Buchan shows how each of them left a legacy of much more than the buildings or street names that remain today—legacies that are inspiring, surprising, and often outright quirky.

Zaryagan

I found this fascinating little book on the shelves of the Hoboken library, and reading it exposed me to a part of New Jersey history I knew little about--the explosion of utopian communities throughout the state around the turn of the 20th century. Having grown up in a fading utopian community in southern Alabama, I became interested in the names of people common to many of these places--Upton Sinclair, Bolton Hall, Alexis Ferm. Reading Utopia, New Jersey, caused me to rethink my own book on Fairhope, Alabama, to put it in the context of similar communities of its vintage.

Buchan tells us about Bernarr MacFadden's physical culture utopia, one established in Union City to rehabilitate alcoholics, a single tax colony in Free Acres, another for Jewish refugees, and more. She reveals a facet of an exciting time in American history, when reform was in the air, and heaven on earth seemed a real possibility, in New Jersey and in other enclaves. It's a good read about an important moment in time.

Hrguig

I greatly enjoyed Perdita Buchan's book on New Jersey utopian communities. I think that we all have a little yearning for a utopian community. Why New Jersey? It easily accomodated the overflow of dissident and anarchical communities in New York City, often with charismatic leaders and oftern from immigrant groups who brought their old country politics with them. It is very instructive to see why some communities succeeded and others failed, and how they all ultimately were assimilated into the American mixing pot. Ms. Buchan is very fastidious in collecting her facts and unearthing their legacies.

Darksinger

Ms. Buchan has chosen some of the most delightful if quirky searches for "Eden" ranging from the bucolic to the political, from Seer-prophets to Charles Atlas. It is a collection of superbly drafted sketches and essays sure to delight the casual as well as the discriminating reader.

Yanki

Heard Perdita Buchan lecture on Utopian communities through the Pinelands Preservation Alliance. Her book is fascinating and this is a much under examined topic. I'd recommend this to anyone who is interested in New Jersey history, the history of Utopian communities, or town/village development and evolution.

Simple

This is an excellent book on eight utopian communities in New Jersey from the late 19th to the mid 20th century. The writing is compelling, as it focuses on a series of really quirky and unique people. It's hard to put down. I read it because I'm doing research on the Modern School community in Stelton, particularly in the Goldman House, which she describes as a dacha. If you're interested, take a look at my pictures of the house:
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One of the things that struck me was the centrality of German, Russians and Russian Jews to the utopian life of Jersey. Nearly all the communities drew on one of these groups, sometimes more. Also, it was interesting to see that transportation was so key to the siting of these communities. Most were near some kind of road or rail line from New York or Philly.

This is a lot of fun to read. I'd definitely recommend it.

Ylonean

This was an interesting read. Many of the places mentioned were local to me (Arden is a 15 minute drive), and it was cool to learn how these types of communities started, and which are still around.

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