Passing Through: Letters and Documents Written in Philadelphia by Famous Visitors

by Clive E. Driver

126 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[Donald]

This is a very short but interesting book about the famous people who have come through Philadelphia since the 17th Century. This is a book that can be read at one sitting. The format is, a
brief biography of the famous visitor, then a letter from that visitor written while they were in Philadelphia. The visitors range from the first, William Penn, Philadelphia's founder, to Pope John Paul II in 1976. Some of the letters are interesting because they forefront some of Philadelphia's
famous locations. The author makes a good attempt to make the selections diverse. There
are writers like, Dickens, Poe, Twain and Thackeray mentioned and politicians like Washington,
Jefferson and Grant. (Grant refers to the Centennial of 1876.

I would recommend this book to get a feel of Philadelphia's history. If interested I would recommend
more substantive Histories of Philadelphia.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this one at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia where many of the letters in the book are maintained. While the letters and writings were interesting, the biographies and stories behind the writings and documents were even better. I knew Philly was steeped in history (you can