First, the good points:this work is huge, well illustrated, and priced at about one third of what a commercial publisher would have to charge for something comparable.Probably no resource has treated the Garden State so thoroughly since the WPA guide was published about 65 years ago.The downside, unfortunately, is that the contents are disappointing.Since the book has no index, or even a classified list of "essay" entries, there's no way to locate a topic unless you're able to hit upon the precise title under which it's discussed (assuming it's in there somewhere).The scope of coverage is quirky: it seems that every hamlet in the state has its own entry, yet there is no general treatment of, for example, industry or commerce or dairying or corporations (all things that are or have been highly important to New Jersey).Several of the general entries I have read so far are not exactly packed with information; the entries on industrial architecture and law, for instance, are as much about trends that apply to the whole nation as about anything specific to New Jersey.
Still, this work is certainly worth having, and Rutgers should be praised for making it possible.At present, no other reference work comes close.
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