Victorian Summers at the Grand Hotels of Long Branch, New Jersey discusses the summer social season at the boarding houses and grand hotels on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch from the 1830s to the 1890s, with emphasis on the period from 1860 to 1890. It was written by the late George Moss, who served as Monmouth County Historian until his death, and local historian Karen Schnitzspahn. The text is supplemented by reproductions of stereographic views (duplicate photographs intended to be seen through a special viewer) taken by well-known 19th century photographers and by reproductions of illustrations from "Harper's Weekly" and other 19th century New York newspapers. The use of additional commas would have made the book a little clearer, but, otherwise, it is well written.

Two out of three of the people attending the book club meeting liked this title. One of them said that it was a refreshing change from our last two books (Einstein: His Life and Universe, which everybody found intellectually challenging, and Reading Lolita in Tehran, whose theme of life under a repressive theocratic government does not exactly make for light reading).

On the other hand, we had lower attendance than usual at the book club meeting. I have not yet talked with members who did not attend the meeting and, as the moderator, I am not sure whether the poor attendance was solely due to people being especially busy during the holidays or whether it was partly a reflection of members' reactions to the book.

Since the book deals with the history of a particular town, it will not interest the average book club. Obviously, it is of greatest interest to those of us who live either in Long Branch, New Jersey, or in the surrounding area. That being said, I would recommend it to a book club whose members are fascinated by the social life of high society in the northern states after the Civil War. Although this title is out of print, book club members may be able to borrow it on interlibrary loan through their hometown library. If not, copies can be purchased from individual sellers through www.amazon.com or www.alibris.com.