I am a stident of Political Science at Rutgers University and had Michael Rockland as a professor. A Bliss Case is written to the highest literary standards with consistent wit. With an underlying theme of East meets West, Rockland expresses the innocence of the East as it encounters very foreign situations in the West. This is a must read for anyone interested in good contemporary fiction. If not, read it for the consistent, realist humor.

The mark of this novel has barely faded in the 5 years since I've read it, reading it spawned an interest in cults and their leaders. A Bliss Case offers so much psychological insight into the experience of cult leaders, members, and their families, and it remains a gripping read throughout. It is primarily a meditation on the personality of a college professor, Sidney, who loins a cult. The narrator switches from his mother (a fun voice) to his friend to his daughter. The man's psyche is perplexing yet fascinating, and although the novel captures him from all angles, reders are still left with the ambivalence that surround our most complex heroes and villains. Sidney is left, like evil and love themselves, an enigma. This book is a great experience for those who love psychological probes, mysteries, family dramas, or the artistry of finely crafted fiction. Email me if you'd like to discuss it, I could talk about this book for pages.

Without this great book, we would have no fantastic collection of the faces of jews that have impacted New Jersey's history. I was mesmorized-staring into faces long gone-storefronts of jewish businesses which are now completley different shops. I especially liked reading about the young Jews at the New Jersey Shore. This fantastic book makes people living in New Jersey realize that the jews they see walking around have deep histories; many rooted in the holocaust, all certiantly impacted by it. A brilliant and beautiful pictorial history of the Jews living in New Jersey and their geneality.

As a lifelong New Jerseyan who endured the "what exit" jokes by out-of-staters (Exit 12, now that you've asked), Rockland and Gillespie try to tackle the cultural significance of the loved and loathed New Jersey Turnpike. They cite the popular reference in the Simon & Garfunkel tune, "America," and stress that the Turnpike is one of the most heavily-traveled highways in the world.

What they do well is describe in entertaining detail the story on how and why the Turnpike was built (note: the secretive NJ Turnpike Authority did not cooperate with the authors when they were researching this book) and the many anecdotes about the road that bring new insights into New Jersey (and American) politics and history.

The authors make two main cultural arguments throughout the book:

The first one is how the negative opinion of New Jersey has been shaped over the years by travel on the Turnpike. Let's face it -- the Turnpike travels through the least attractive areas of the state. From the decayed industrial north to the straight, flat and boring stretches in South Jersey, the Turnpike is not a great public relations tool for the state of New Jersey. New Jersey is not all oil refineries (exit 12 & 13), huge megawarehouses (exit 8A) or bland suburban sprawl (exit 9 & 10), but since millions of people from around the globe have traveled on this road to or from Newark Airport or along the Northeast, they think that what they see along the Turnpike is typical to the Garden State (yes, we still have gardens).

Second, the authors' argue that the Turnpike was the ultimate expression of form over function -- an idea that reached its zenith in the mid-20th century. The road was built with efficiency and safety being its highest (and perhaps only) priorities and the roadbuilders did not consider aesthetics or the concerns of neighbors or private landowners when building or maintaining the road.

This book is a great and worthy complement to works like Robert Caro's The Power Broker or other works on famous roads like Rt. 66, Highway 1, the National Road (US Rt. 40), etc. You don't have to be a New Jersey-phile to enjoy this book!

I gotta give the author some credit for participating in activities than millions of Americans do every day - canoeing, biking, hiking, etc. However, very, very few Americans do this along overdeveloped NJ highways or in urban drainage ditches that were once bucolic streams, so I give Mr. Rockland many bonus points for originality.

Rockland has a sharp, entertaining writing style that held my interest throught this book, and this collection of stories was a great complement to Looking for America on the NJ Turnpike, his first work.