Pump Up Your Book Chats with Patrick Brown

Patrick Brown 2 Patrick Brown was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated Magna cum Laude from Georgetown University, where he won the Morris Medal for best senior history honors thesis. He currently teaches high school social studies in the Mississippi Delta through Teach for America.

His latest book is Industrial Pioneers: Scranton, Pennsylvania and the Transformation of America, 1840-1902, a detailed history account of the town of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

You can visit his website at http://www.industrialpioneers.com.

Thank you for this interview, Patrick.  Do you remember writing stories as a child or did the writing bug come later?  Do you remember your first published piece?

I have been writing stories since I learned to write. My first published piece was a four page fictional account of an adventurous frog—my elementary school teacher posted it on the wall of our classroom.

Industrial Pioneers banner

What do you consider as the most frustrating side of becoming a published author and what has been the most rewarding?

I honestly enjoyed every moment I spent working on Industrial Pioneers. The most rewarding side of the process was receiving a final, bound copy of the book—I suddenly felt a wonderful, tactile feeling of accomplishment.

Are you married or single and how do you combine the writing life with home life?  Do you have support?

My girlfriend has not read the book yet, but my mom thinks it’s awesome.

Industrial Pioneers Can you tell us about your latest book and why you wrote it?

During the nineteenth century, Scranton, Pennsylvania was the Silicon Valley of the United States. The city produced the coal, iron, steel, and steam technology that drove the nation’s industrialization. Amazingly, the city went from a sleepy backwoods community of 100 residents to a booming metropolis of 100,000 in just sixty years. I wrote the book to discover how people transformed the way they viewed themselves and the world around them during this extraordinary period of change.

Can you share an excerpt?

In 1840, the area which is now Scranton, Pennsylvania, had changed little over the previous half-century. Four quiet villages had grown up at the intersections of the rough roads that ran though the wilderness, and small farms tucked into clearings in the woods dotted the region.  Most of the residents of the Lackawanna Valley traced their ancestry back to New England, and, according to one contemporary observer, still retained “the manners, the steady habits, the enterprise and intelligence, and even the pronunciation of their New England fathers.”  Slocum Hollow, which would grow into one of the most successful industrial centers in the United States within fifty years, consisted of 100 people, five dwellings, a cooper shop, a schoolhouse, a sawmill, and a gristmill.  Longfellow’s village blacksmith would have felt right at home.

Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I wrote most of the book at a nice, big desk I bought on Craigslist for $100.

What is one thing about your book that makes it different from other books on the market?

This is the only comprehensive book that looks at Scranton’s history in the nineteenth century and ties developments in the city into the larger changes sweeping the United States.

Tables are turned…what is one thing you’d like to say to your audience who might buy your book one day?

If you’re interested in Scranton, if you are interested in industrialization, if you are interested in labor, or if you are interested in how our nation’s history shapes the country we live in today, check out the book!

Thank you for this interview, Patrick. Good luck on your virtual book tour!

Thank you for having me! Just remember—all roads lead to Scranton.


2 Responses to “Pump Up Your Book Chats with Patrick Brown”

  1. Dorothy – thanks for a great interview with Patrick.

    All you history buffs out there – check out “Industrial Pioneers” – you will not be disappointed.

  2. It sounds like a wonderful book, Nicole. I love this part of the interview, “…if you are interested in how our nation’s history shapes the country we live in today…” I definitely believe in this.

    Cheryl

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