Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology

by Jacqueline Marino (Editor), Will Miller (Editor)

The Youngstown story often is told with a beginning in iron and steel and ending in decay with a subplot driven by violent mobsters and corrupt politicians. Aiming to provide a more well-rounded examination of Youngstown, this collection of essays provides an authentic look at the city through a diverse set of experiences from the perspectives of those who have lived there. Readers will gain a sense of the past, present, and future of the city.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Essays

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2015

About the author

Jacqueline Marino's writing interests range from medicine to memory. Her book "White Coats: Three Journeys through an American Medical School" won a silver Independent Book Publisher Award. She edited both editions of "Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology," described by Middle West Review as offering "a rich and varied account of growing up in Youngstown, living there now, and striving for revival." Her essays and articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Cleveland Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor and many other publications. She is a professor of journalism at Kent State University, where she studies the digital evolution of literary journalism.

Reviews

[Pamela Anderson-Bartholet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! And that's saying something, since I am a person who prefers to read historical fiction, magical realism, and poetry. But this book...WOW! And you don't have to "be from" Youngstown to appreciate it; anyone who comes from a town/city that has risen...fallen... struggled...and started to rise again will enjoy it.

The book mostly has essays about Youngstown (from many perspectives), but it also includes wonderful poems and photographs that are starkly beautiful. I laughed...shook my head in disbelief...remembered similar situations from my childhood...read passages out loud to my husband...and found myself quietly reflecting on the stories.

I grew up just outside of Warren, Ohio...a stone's throw from Youngstown. And I have spent time in Youngstown. It was a place to fear (according to my parents) when I was a child...a place to go dancing with my older sister when I was in my late teens...the location of several college classes as an adult...and, now, the city where I have read my poetry, attended concerts, visited the fabulous Butler Museum of Modern Art, and had some wonderful meals at restaurants. This anthology captures all of those times in my life. It is a book that sent me on a reading excursion that filled me with nostalgia while simultaneously giving me a feeling of hope for a city and its citizens who are devoted to the place they call home.

[Cass (the_midwest_library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, the anthology is split up into sections that really highlight all aspects of identity within Youngstown and while there is a large focus on the Steel Industrial and Automotive manufacturing facilities, the stories, poems and essays really expand upon the core identity of the city as being more than that. Really great read for anyone looking to get into Midwest history or those, like me who are now living in the Youngstown area and just wanted to learn a little bit more about the very uniquely Youngstown things that exist here.

[Jelayne Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this anthology. Would love to see a reprint with a few updated pieces on Youngstown’s growth since the book’s initial publication in 2015. Worth the read for any Mahoning Valley resident.

[Emily Betz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this so much more than I expected! Picked it up at the rose garden. :) Very well edited: the different voices shine, but few grammatical or stylistic issues to distract from the moods and messages. Two of my favorites are "A Girl's Youngstown"--apt title with layers of meaning--and "Hiding the Evidence: It's a Youngstown Thing".

[Mike Wigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y-town will always be my town. As intended this brought back a lot of bittersweet memories. I am proud to have lived there, running with the guys after work in Mill Creek Park, pizza at Tanjiers in Struthers every week, buying a house in February only to discover two months later (after the last snow finally melted) my driveway was twice as wide as I thought it was, working at St. E's, family gatherings at my in-law's in Campbell, wedding reception at Powers Auditorium where we made out like bandits on the bridal dance, The Boss live at Stambaugh, for me it was a wonderful, almost mythical time.

[Haley Shaffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely skimmed some of the stories. A few favorites were the Ed O' Neil and Maurice Clarett stories. And he one about cookie tables, of course. I wish they would've started with a different story.

Can see using a few as mentor texts. Think my students will enjoy learning about some local people and places.

[Bradley Jobling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned some things about Y-town that I didn't know.