Rating: 
Summary: THE BOOK TO READ FOR KNOWLEDGE ON SEARS HOMES
Review: This book is amazing. If you love Sears Catalog Homes, you will love this one. I have found more information in the authors books about Sears Catalog Homes than from any other sources. It covers everything from what a Sears Catalog Home is to the missing sears homes. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I do!
Rating:
Summary: This book is amazing
Review: This book is amazing. The author gives good detail; as if you are write there next to her as she writes the book. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in Sears homes.
Rating: 
Summary: The Houses That Sears Built
Review: This book is basically a collection of photocopies and not very professionally done. The author could have spent more time making better maps and providing more research for the cost of this book. One gets tired of seeing "smiley faces" in a research book. The author provides her e-mail address which would have made the difference to this purchaser, but she does not answer inquiries. Therefore, I cannot give a very good rating. The author assumes responsibility when publishing contact information for those who have purchased her book. Disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Better than other books about Sears Houses
Review: This is the only book about Sears House that really has details and information about the company, the houses, and their construction. General information about the company is backed-up with details and solid research. Colorful stories about specific Sears communities such as Carlinville Illinois illustrates why these houses were so popular. Unlike other Sears books, this one tells how the company got them themselves into trouble with its mortgage program during the depression. The chapters on myths and misinformation about Sears house, and the followup chapter on frequently asked questions about Sears Houses, is very informative and enlightening. If you enjoy architecture you will need to keep a copy of this book in your car.
Rating:
Summary: I found my house!
Review: This was a very helpful book as I was able to find the home I was purchasing in Saranac Lake, NY. It's really exciting to know more about it's history. This is a must-have book if you are interested in learning more about the Sears homes.
Rating:
Summary: The Houses That Sears Built
Review: This wonderful book gives you everything you always wanted to know about Sears houses. It has photographs of various models as well as some interior views. It shows ways to indicate if the house is truly a Sears house (and not a Montgomery Ward house)! It tells the cities which had a Sears Modern Homes Sales office (where there is likely to be more Sears houses) and the prices that the houses sold for. Includes testimonials and frequestly asked questions about Sears house. Nice book and interesting reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great info!!!
Review: We purchased and read this book and it was tremendously helpful. Ms. Thornton furnished names to search for in the county records--without those names we most likely would never have found the courthouse documents we were looking for. We have now confirmed that we are the proud owners of a Sears kit house, built in 1920. If you are looking for a comprehensive book on Sears houses, this is the book for you!!
Rating:
Summary: Great info!!!
Review: We purchased and read this book and it was tremendously helpful. Ms. Thornton furnished names to search for in the county records--without those names we most likely would never have found the courthouse documents we were looking for. We have now confirmed that we are the proud owners of a Sears kit house, built in 1920. If you are looking for a comprehensive book on Sears houses, this is the book for you!!
Rating:
Summary: THE LORE OF THE CATALOG IS ESSENTIAL AMERICANA!
Review: When I was a young child growing up in Arizona in the 50's, I remember the catalogs that would arrive at a distant relatives house. Everything I ever wanted was in that book! Especially the toys...Even in the late 60's and early 70's, when there still was an opportunity to live and work for the railroad in smaller towns west of the Mississippi, one of the main links to the outside world was the catalog. Sears, Wards and JC Penney all had catalog agents who would set up shop in a storefront on Main Street (not necessarily in the same town) and sell goods from the company they represented. Yes, there may have been a locally owned store or two that might have sold major appliances, but I always seemed to shop for such big ticket items from the well-stocked catalog. It was how (to paraphrase a yellow pages ad), I let my fingers do the walking. It was all there -- in one book!! Everything you ever wanted...... By now, I graduated from toys to tools. What wasn't there in any of the catalogs of my day, however,were homes. I was too young to have known about the fact that Sears, at one time, also sold complete homes through their catalog. Through Rosemary Thornton's book, I found out that Sears manufactured and shipped, part by part, item by item, numbered and organized, homes all over the country where the purchasers put them together following detailed instructions furnished with the purchase. It was a way of catering to an era of more self-reliance and independence rather than dependence. I live in a big city now and catalogs aren't important in Minneapolis/St. Paul as they were in small town Arizona, Nebraska and Wyoming of years past. Many catalog distribution centers have been closed including both Sears and Wards in the Twin Cities. But the lore of the catalog lives on and there are many of those old catalog homes across the nation still serving the successors to the old Sears customers of days past. Ms. Thornton has done an excellent job researching available records, old catalogs and other material. Her book is enjoyable, quite readable and fills, in my opinion, a huge gap in American business history. Rosemary Thornton tells a fascinating story well and those interested in basic Americana, will not want to miss it. 5 stars -- and then some.....
Rating:
Summary: THE LORE OF THE CATALOG IS ESSENTIAL AMERICANA!
Review: When I was a young child growing up in Arizona in the 50's, I remember the catalogs that would arrive at a distant relatives house. Everything I ever wanted was in that book! Especially the toys... Even in the late 60's and early 70's, when there still was an opportunity to live and work for the railroad in smaller towns west of the Mississippi, one of the main links to the outside world was the catalog. Sears, Wards and JC Penney all had catalog agents who would set up shop in a storefront on Main Street (not necessarily in the same town) and sell goods from the company they represented. Yes, there may have been a locally owned store or two that might have sold major appliances, but I always seemed to shop for such big ticket items from the well-stocked catalog. It was how (to paraphrase a yellow pages ad), I let my fingers do the walking. It was all there -- in one book!! Everything you ever wanted...... By now, I graduated from toys to tools. What wasn't there in any of the catalogs of my day, however,were homes. I was too young to have known about the fact that Sears, at one time, also sold complete homes through their catalog. Through Rosemary Thornton's book, I found out that Sears manufactured and shipped, part by part, item by item, numbered and organized, homes all over the country where the purchasers put them together following detailed instructions furnished with the purchase. It was a way of catering to an era of more self-reliance and independence rather than dependence. I live in a big city now and catalogs aren't important in Minneapolis/St. Paul as they were in small town Arizona, Nebraska and Wyoming of years past. Many catalog distribution centers have been closed including both Sears and Wards in the Twin Cities. But the lore of the catalog lives on and there are many of those old catalog homes across the nation still serving the successors to the old Sears customers of days past. Ms. Thornton has done an excellent job researching available records, old catalogs and other material. Her book is enjoyable, quite readable and fills, in my opinion, a huge gap in American business history. Rosemary Thornton tells a fascinating story well and those interested in basic Americana, will not want to miss it. 5 stars -- and then some.....
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