My first impression of the book from just looking over the front and back covers was "Hmm, I know I've seen this type of book before but I don't know where." Then a couple a days later I thought: "Elementary school. Scholastic school editions." You know, the ones where the teacher gave you an order form to choose books every so often and when they arrived, they were cursory synopses of historic famous peoples' lives (George Washington, Ben Franklin, etc) made for kids. This is what this book strongly reminds me of. Except there's some hanky-pank concerning the boudoir, although nothing explicit. The chapters are fast and succinct. The structure is mostly narrative. I think that if the book were to have more dialogue than it wouldn't be so bare bones and more interesting, flesh it out a bit. Also, I think arranging stories by subject matter can be a bit monotonous and would have preferred to have arranged chronologically, but I'm not going to hold that against the author. However, I do love how the author selects really odd stories to include in the book, such as the molasses spill and the human skin book cover. But again, I am disappointed that Clarke failed to include citations from where he gathered the information (and I'm quite sure that all of this info is *not* common knowledge) despite claims on the title verso page of the info contained with in the book being true to the best of HP's and author's knowledge. Clarke also did not provide a bibliography for those who are interested in pursing more about a topic. (I certainly would like to know more about the human skin cover book) I consider this more of an expanded guide book for those who going/want/are interested in going to Boston. Over all, I'll have to give this book a low rating because of failure to cite information (from an objective pov) and would have liked a bibliography for possible further research . Also, I wish it included some dialogue just to give it life instead of facts. (From a subjective pov) ( )

Boston Curiosities is a history nerd's heaven. If you're interested in little facts and interesting stories that normally fly under the radar of conventional history, this book is definitely for you. There are interesting stories concerning the many people, places, and things associated with Boston. Some of the best involve the story of the Fluffernutter (which, I will admit, was a favorite of mine as a kid), and the age old question, "Why do donuts have holes in them?"

I do have to admit, though, that even as an historian myself, there were times when I felt the undeniable urge to skip through some of the stories. Clarke does say in his introduction that you should feel free to read the book straight through, or to bounce around as you like. I think the latter option is the best, just because you can get a little wary of the random quality of some of the stories. All of the information is interesting, but it might not be interesting to the same people. There's something for everyone, though, ranging from biography, to true crime, and food. I have to say, the food stories were some of my favorites! ( )

The book touches upon the people, mysteries, places, food and big events of Boston. There are a number of things you’d expect to see (Abigail Adams, Alexander Graham Bell, the Boston Strangler, baked beans), but also touches upon some people and events that aren’t as commonly known. Thomas Handasyd Perkins is one of those people. He apparently made scads of money on a number of illicit trades, but he used that money for a number of good causes, including founding the school of the blind that Helen Keller attended, so it’s hard to see him as an unsympathetic character.
I also hadn’t realized that marshmallow fluff was a New England invention, though I suppose the fact that my sister introduced it to her friends in California to much awe and wonder should have tipped me off to that.
This was definitely an interesting book, and would be a good companion reader to anyone visiting Boston to the first time, as you visit and and gain visuals for a number of the people/events mentioned inside the pages. ( )