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

by Lynda Morgenroth

Boston Firsts is about everything (well, almost!) that happened first in Boston and changed life 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 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.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful book if you are spending time in Boston. Did you know that Jamaica Pond (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...) was used as a source of pure ice water for an international ice trade as far away as India? Did you know that closed captioning was invented in Boston? Gillette razor blades? The significance of the Dudley Street Neighbourhood Initiative? I was fascinated by these things and much more.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm just starting training to become a volunteer docent for walking tours of Boston. This is one of the many volumes of recommended reading.

Update: As this wasn't one of the "strongly reccommended" titles on my list, I've since returned it to the library.

[Karen Tompert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whole lot of "who knew?" moments in reading this. Why, as all right thinking people know, Boston is the best(even if I don't want to drive there) ;)

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of firsts. A nice coffee table edition for quick history/trivia lessons

[Lindsey Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun history of Boston through a series of things they did first (although sometimes "first" kind of. stretching it). It's a fun book with stories like the first person to sell ice to other locations, even shipping to India, and the first American dog breed, the Boston Terrier. Then there are stories about the history that you know about and the things you probably don't, like how Boston desegregated their schools in the 1850s! The courier case at that time in Boston was later was as precedent in Brown v. the Board of Education. If you're traveling to Boston this is a fun read to learn more about the city.