New Jersey in History: Fighting to Be Heard

New Jersey’s history—surprising, tumultuous and of invaluable importance to the United States—finally gets its due! This book explores the state’s past, from pre-Revolutionary days, when it comprised two colonies, to its role in 20th-century fears of invasions by Nazis, Russians and even Martians ready to start a "War of the Worlds." Encompassing two centuries of war, politics, intrigue, heroics, tragedy and celebration, New Jersey in History: Fighting to Be Heard gives readers a book they won’t easily put down. The personalities, quirky episodes and indelible moments that make up the state’s rich fabric are numerous. For example: The colony’s first Royal Governor, a cousin of Queen Anne, would often dress in ladies’ gowns and lurk behind trees, ready to pounce on passing men and pull their ears. Far from Boston... Revolutionary residents of South Jersey had their own tea party in Greenwich, one of the region’s major shipping ports...Contrary to most reports, the last skirmish of the American Revolution did not take place in West Virginia or South Carolina, but in Barnegat Township....A New Jerseyan, William Paterson, invented the U.S. Senate—and saved the United States in the process. REVIEWS: "The stories cover a broad range, from the bizarre...to heroic." — Asbury Park Press "Farner has a strong sense of the ironic, which makes his work more fun than most history texts.... Who needs fiction, when history is this exciting?" — The Beachcomber, Long Beach Island "Along comes author Thomas P. Farner to remind us that the state’s past is as colorful and controversial as its present."—Summit Herald/Independent Press date 8/28/00