Penne L. Restad is a freelance writer.
"This is a fine book of far greater than merely seasonal
interest."--The Boston Sunday Globe
"Fresh and timely."--The New Republic
"Reading this book is a bit like taking the hand of the Ghost of
Christmas Past in Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Restad flies us over
the American terrain and through time, finding memorable anecdotes
that illustrate how the holiday has evolved during our country's
history."--Bookman's weekly
"[An] engaging survey."--The Herald
"Restad's splendid social history of America's premier religious
and secular holiday makes a signal contribution to the scholarship
of American culture....Meticulously researched and deftly written,
Restad's study merits a place on the shelves of every academic and
public library."--CHOICE
"The most fascinating parts of this book concern the invention of
Christmas and Santa Claus throughout the nineteenth century, the
way in which the holiday referred back to a fictional past, and the
shift in focus from public to domestic holiday with, first, women
and then children being seen as its fulcrum....This is a fine book
of far greater than merely seasonal interest."--The Boston Sunday
Globe
"Chronicle[s] the development of the peculiarly American version of
Christmas.... In the course of her clear, brisk, and engaging
narrative, [Restad] provides us with a good deal of holiday food
for thought."--Fred Miller Robinson, The New York Times Book Review
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