Boston Firsts: 40 Feats of Innovation and Invention that Happened First in Boston and Helped Make America Great - Hardcover

Morgenroth, Lynda

  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
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9780807071304: Boston Firsts: 40 Feats of Innovation and Invention that Happened First in Boston and Helped Make America Great
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0807071307 ISBN 13: 9780807071304
Publisher: Beacon Press, 2006

Synopsis

Boston Firsts is about everything (well, almost!) that happened first in Boston and changed life elsewhere: from the first lighthouse and public library to the first madam and ready-made suit. Boston-based journalist and essayist Lynda Morgenroth has written forty original essays on the city's long history of innovation, from the colonial era to the recent past. These lively takes on Boston's innovative history range from the first use of ether in publicly performed painless surgery to the first school desegregation court case to the one-and only-automatic bargain basement.

Consider this: Ice cut from Boston ponds and shipped to hot climates became a worldwide industry. A controversial kidney transplant between twin brothers marked the start of organ transplantation. Attempts to breed a belligerent fighting dog created the sweet-natured Boston terrier, the first dog breed developed in the U.S. The glorious Massachusetts 54th Regiment, led by a Boston Brahmin, was the first black army regiment in U.S history. First newspaper, novel, subway, telephone, gay marriage- the beat goes on.

Ranging from advances in science and engineering-like the smallpox inoculation and the Boston Harbor cleanup-to innovations in culture and society- Fannie Farmer's cookbook, the YMCA, and Boston cream pie-the collection investigates, celebrates, and integrates America's workshop of ideas.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Lynda Morgenroth, author of the urban field guide Boston Neighborhoods: A Food Lover's Walking, Eating, and Shopping Guide to Ethnic Enclaves in and around Boston and longtime Boston Globe contributor, lives "slightly northeast" of Boston.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Beacon Press
Publication date
2006
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0807071307
ISBN 13 
9780807071304
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
272
Rating
  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
    12 ratings by Goodreads

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780807071342: Boston Firsts: 40 Feats of Innovation and Invention that Happened First in Boston and Helped Make America Great

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  080707134X ISBN 13:  9780807071342
Publisher: Beacon Press, 2016
Softcover