THE COLONY OF NEW JERSEY

Both of these introductions cover colonial history adequately, but they do tend to skimp on specifics and social history while devoting unnecessary space to recapitulating general background on, for example, the arrival of the Indians in North America, early explorers and Charles II. Naden's view of New Jersey outlines that colony's special problems -- division into two quite different regions, subordination to its larger neighbors and poor government; however, unlike Fred J. Cook (The New Jersey Colony, 1969) Naden omits some of the most curious details, such as the chief reason New Jerseyites were scandalized by Governor Cornbury -- he was in the habit of dressing as a woman. There is one chapter on everyday life, agriculture and education in the colony, but little notice of individuals or places; if we knew, for example, that the Leni Lenape reservation (the first in the U.S.) was located in the Pine Barrens, the Indians' failure to make a go of agriculture there would be more understandable. Lengyel does name more notable settlers and fills us in on the background of typical Rhinelander barns. However, both volumes are indifferently illustrated and, though easier, are pale besides the comparable volumes in Crowell-Collier's Forge of Freedom series. Supplemental -- for libraries that need traditional, chronological histories at this less demanding reading level.