Plexus Publishing, Inc.

Featured Titles

The Legendary Pine Barrens: New Tales From Old Haunts

By Paul Evans Pedersen Jr.
Illustrations by Jodi Weiss Pedersen

"There's an ingenious imagination lurking behind these entertaining, whimsical, and sometimes frightening stories. The Legendary Pine Barrens is a delight!"

—Cathy Antener, author, Discovering New Jersey's Pine Barrens

In this collection of "new tales from old haunts," Paul Evans Pedersen Jr. delivers a literary feast for Pine Barrens enthusiasts and emerges as southern New Jersey's most exciting new storyteller in decades. There's something here for everyone—from offbeat explanations of natural phenomena, to unconventional takes on popular legends, to strange doings in mysterious towns and taverns. Throughout, you'll be entertained by a rogue's gallery of weird and colorful characters. READ MORE

Jacket: The Trials of a New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney

A memoir by John W. Hartmann

"John Hartmann paints a vivid picture of the 'New Jersey Way' of prosecuting and defending persons accused of crimes. ... Jacket is a raucous ride through the New Jersey criminal court system."

— Robert P. George,
McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence,
Princeton University

This engaging, irreverent, and most unusual memoir by Trenton attorney John Hartmann puts a human face on dysfunctional Jersey justice. Hartmann's self-deprecating wit and keen eye for all things absurd and ironic reveal him as an equal-opportunity ridiculer—from supercilious lawyers and judges to cocky cops, clueless clients, pretentious politicians, and a raft of hapless dealers, deadbeats, prisoners, and prostitutes. READ MORE

The Last Newspaperman

A novel by Mark Di Ionno

"It is through the eyes of ruthless reporter Fred Haines that we see how modern media evolved from the remorseless, sensational journalism of the 1930s. With The Last Newspaperman, Mark Di Ionno has written the Great American newspaper novel."

— Robin Gaby Fisher,
The Woman Who Wasn't There

Jersey in the '30s was Fred Haines's beat, though it was hardly worthy of the reporter who'd scooped the Ruth Snyder story back in '27. "The most famous Daily News cover ever," Haines bragged. His photo showed Snyder strapped to the electric chair. "Respectable" papers denounced it as vulgar, but it sold millions of copies and cemented Haines's reputation as the go-to "tabloid guy" just as celebrity worship was becoming an American obsession. READ MORE

The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City

By Nelson Johnson
Foreword by Clement Price

The Northside by Nelson Johnson, author of Boardwalk Empire

"From the grand Boardwalk hotels to the Paradise Club to Chicken Bone Beach, the racism of the times kept Atlantic City's blacks segregated from white tourists. But in response, African Americans built their own city within a city–and a unique, tight-knit, thriving community that Nelson Johnson has chronicled here in fascinating detail."

— James Perskie, The Press of Atlantic City

In The Northside, Johnson brings the untold story of Atlantic City's black community vividly to life, from the arrival of the first African Americans to Absecon Island in the early 19th century through the glory days of the "World's Playground." Drawing on dozens of personal interviews and painstaking archival research, he reveals long-forgotten details about the people on whose backs the gambling mecca was built and offers a wide-ranging survey of the accomplishments of more recent generations. READ MORE

Trenton

A novel by John P. Calu and David A. Hart

1774. The revolution brewing in the American colonies is set to erupt in violent conflict. In Hopewell, near Trenton, New Jersey, the nearly lifeless body of an orphan girl is pulled from the Delaware River by a son of John Hart, a man whose passion for independence has brought down the wrath of the British Crown and its many local sympathizers.

Thus begins an epic two-part saga in which the Harts become pivotal players in the cause of freedom, pitted against a powerful enemy alongside George Washington, Ben Franklin, and other patriots from throughout the colonies. READ MORE

Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City
HBO Series Tie-In Edition

By Nelson Johnson
Foreword by Terence Winter

Boardwalk Empire - HBO Series Tie-in Edition

THE TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE HBO SERIES
Through most of the 20th century, Atlantic City was controlled by a powerful partnership of local politicians and racketeers. Funded by payoffs from gambling rooms, bars, and brothels, this corrupt alliance reached full bloom during the reign of Enoch "Nucky" Johnson — the second of three bosses to head the Republican machine that dominated city politics and society.

Boardwalk Empire is the true story that inspired the epic HBO series starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, and Kelly Macdonald, with a pilot episode written by Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and directed by Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island). READ MORE

A Boardwalk Story

A novel by J. Louis Yampolsky

1939. The tenth year of the Great Depression in America. Europe teeters on the brink of war. In Atlantic City, New Jersey — a seashore resort town that springs to life every summer — Jack Laurel comes of age.

At 15, Jack's life is turned upside down by an almost magical convergence of people and events. A mysterious boardwalk entertainer inspires a love of literature, a feud with neighborhood bullies escalates, and innocence is lost. Jack stumbles into commodities trading with two men: one a reclusive mystic, the other a charismatic pitchman and mathematical savant. The musings of a boardwalk fortuneteller set the three partners up to reap unimagined profits - but a house of cards is about to come down around them and, with it, the wrath of an iron-fisted crime boss. READ MORE

Wave

A novel by Wil Mara

It's a beautiful spring morning on Long Beach Island, and thousands of LBI residents are beginning their daily routines, oblivious to the horror that will soon rise from the sea.

High overhead, aboard a 747 bound for the U.S. capital, a terrorist's plot has gone awry. The plane nosedives into the Atlantic and a smuggled nuclear device detonates, creating a massive undersea landslide. Within minutes a tsunami is born, and a series of formidable waves begins moving toward the Jersey shore. By the time the tsunami makes landfall, the most destructive of its waves will reach a height of nearly 30 feet, with enough power to devastate every structure in its path. READ MORE

Voices in the Pines: True Stories from the New Jersey Pine Barrens

By Karen F. Riley
Foreword by John Pearce
Illustrations by Andrew Gioulis

"The best book on Pinelands folklife since Beck's memorable Forgotten Towns of Southern New Jersey series. A must-read for anybody interested in Piney lore."

— Ben Ruset, NJPineBarrens.com

From true life tales of murder and mayhem to inspiring accounts of triumph over adversity and "Pineys" fighting to protect their way of life, Voices in the Pines brings the storytelling legacy of the Pine Barrens into the 21st century.

Author Karen F. Riley—a South Jersey transplant by way of Brooklyn, New York—roamed the woods, rural communities, and farms of the Pinelands in search of compelling stories. The result is an engrossing human journey into the heart of the Pines. You'll meet artisans, activists, farmers, educators, local heroes, and regular folks in this collection of true stories–told in the words of those who lived them. READ MORE

The Philadelphian: 50th Anniversary Edition

By Richard Powell
Foreword by Oscar nominee Robert Vaughn

This 1957 national bestseller by the late Richard Powell, a seventh-generation Philadelphian, was touted by its publisher as a "shocking exposé" of Philadelphia and Main Line society. The novel was released to rave reviews and became the 1959 Oscar-nominated film, The Young Philadelphians, starring Paul Newman and Robert Vaughn.

This 50th anniversary edition restores Richard Powell's remarkable novel to print after a long hiatus, and is a must-read for anyone who loves classic American fiction or the great city of Philadelphia. READ MORE

Pioneer, Go Home!

By Richard Powell

The novel that might have been called "Piney, Go Home!" delivers a fast-paced story, a terrific cast of characters, and dozens of memorable, laugh-out-loud moments. This 50th anniversary edition restores Richard Powell's New York Times bestseller and includes a previously unpublished preface by the author.

Pioneer, Go Home! ranks among the most entertaining of Powell's 19 published novels. Originally released by Scribner's in 1959, it was the immediate follow-up to the author’s best-known novel, The Philadelphian. Like its predecessor, "Pioneer" received rave reviews, spent weeks on the bestseller lists, and was made into a popular movie (1962's "Follow That Dream" starring Elvis Presley). The similarities end there, for with the new novel Powell chose satirical comedy over high drama—with frequently sidesplitting results. READ MORE

Welcome to the Motherhood: Grime and Punishment

By Melissa Jarvis

"As I read this book I kept thinking what fun it must be to have Melissa Jarvis for a mother. Her humorous and wry reports from the 'hood tickled my mind and warmed my heart. Every mom will find the territory familiar, but Jarvis gives it a fresh, laugh-out-loud perspective."
—Carol Saline
co-author Mothers & Daughters,
Sisters, and Best Friends

Welcome to the Motherhood: Grime & Punishment celebrates the hilarity of modern family life and the daily battle of wits that is motherhood. Melissa Jarvis—author of the popular "Family Album" column (appearing weekly in southern New Jersey's Courier-Post and occasionally in other Gannett newspapers)—offers a warm and funny look at motherhood in the best Erma Bombeck tradition. Raising a family is the most important job in the world according to Jarvis. She wrote this book to help moms everywhere laugh their way through the on-the-job training. READ MORE

The Underground Rail Road

By William Still

"William Still's book vividly brings to light the hardships and dangers faced by those who escaped slavery via the Underground Railroad. In documenting their experiences firsthand, Still preserved the single most authentic and important record of one of America's darkest chapters, while at the same time providing abundant evidence that the human spirit can never be broken. The Underground Rail Road is a masterpiece—a powerful and triumphant work that demands our attention."
—Bill Cosby

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made William Still's work extremely risky, both personally and for the clandestine operation he supervised for over a decade. Under the law, free northern states were prohibited from harboring so-called runaway slaves, and citizens who provided aid were subject to steep fines, civil penalties, and imprisonment. In spite of the risks, Still corresponded with, interviewed, and recorded the stories of hundreds of fugitives, concealing the records in a grave until the day they could safely be made public. READ MORE

592 pp/hardbound with dustjacket | ISBN: 978-0-937548-55-4 | $49.50 US/$59.50 Canada | Order Now

The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail
A Top-to-Bottom Tour of More Than 50 Scenic and Historic Sites

By Patricia Robinson

"This comprehensive guide will surely be a treasured resource for those who hope to discover—or rediscover—all that New Jersey has to offer."
—Thomas J. Kean
From the Foreword

The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail, established by an act of Congress in 1988, runs from Perth Amboy Harbor in the northeast of the state to Fort Mott State Park in the southwest—a 275-mile stretch of Jersey coast linking more than 50 natural and historic destinations. Whether you plan to visit one or all 54 sites, this well-organized, fully illustrated guide makes it fun and easy. ... READ MORE

The Ecological Pine Barrens of New Jersey
An Ecosystem Threatened by Fragmentation

By Howard P. Boyd

In his fourth book about the New Jersey Pine Barrens, Howard P. Boyd presents a fascinating study of the natural forces that created this unique ecosystem and a timely review of human development in the region.

Following a concise introduction to Pine Barrens ecology, Boyd delves into distinctive abiotic factors (physical processes and characteristics such as geological evolution, soils, climate, water, and wildfires) and biotic factors (plants and animals), emphasizing their interrelationships. He lists hundreds of species of Pinelands flora and fauna, surveys threatened and endangered species, explores man’s industrial and agricultural industries and their impacts, and offers an important discussion of the dangers current human activity presents to the survival of the ecosystem. ... READ MORE

People of the Pines

By Bob Birdsall

Nature photographer Bob Birdsall (Seasons of the Pines) celebrates the people and traditions of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey in this stunning coffee table book—an instant Pinelands classic. Picking up where John McPhee’s The Pine Barrens left off, Birdsall combines his brilliant color photography with an informative text to profile more than two dozen individuals and their ways of life—many of which are fast vanishing.

With roots in the pines going back 200 years or more, many are deeply committed to preserving tradition, while others are relative newcomers who came to visit and stayed to fight for the future of a wilderness at risk. What the People of the Pines share in common—as evidenced by Bob Birdsall's intimate and inspiring portraits—is a boundless passion for this unique and storied land. ... READ MORE

160 pp/hardbound | ISBN 978-0-937548-63-9 | Price: $39.95 Print Edition | Order Now

Ghost Towns and Other Quirky Places in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

By Barbara Solem-Stull

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey contain more ghost towns, some say, than the entire American west. In Ghost Towns and Other Quirky Places in the New Jersey Pine Barrens author Barbara Solem-Stull tells the story of the towns that rose up around the iron furnaces, glass factories, paper mills, cranberry farms, and brick making establishments of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries... READ MORE