Paging New Jersey: A Literary Guide to the Garden State

For three hundred years, New Jersey writers, books, and historical events have helped shape the cultural landscape of the nation, and yet the state is rarely credited for its numerous contributions to American letters and folklore. Paging New Jersey is just the book for those interested in uncovering a treasure trove of information about the Garden State’s key role in the creation of U.S. literary and popular culture.

James F. Broderick’s unique look at of the state’s literary and cultural history answers intriguing questions such as: how author Peter Benchley got the idea for Jaws; where Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton; why the Hindenberg exploded over Lakehurst in 1937; and where to search for Captain Kidd’s buried treasure along the Jersey Shore. Most people know that television’s fictional Tony Soprano lives in New Jersey, but what about the state’s other mobsters—the real "goombahs"?

Writers included are Peter Benchley, Mary Higgins Clark, James Fenimore Cooper, Stephen Crane, Mary Mapes Dodge, Mary Wilkins Freeman, Allen Ginsberg, Joyce Kilmer, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Anna Quindlen, Albert Payson Terhune, Walt Whitman, and William Carlos Williams.

Full of commentary, biographical information, and history—along with suggested reading lists— Paging New Jersey is a crash course in Jerseyana. For those who live in the state, expatriates, and yes, even those who think all New Jersey has to offer is the Turnpike, Broderick’s engaging book provides an entertaining look at the Garden State’s rich cultural heritage.