"When Antoine Dutot opened the Kittatinny Hotel - the first tourist hotel in the Poconos - in 1829, little did he know that he was a pioneer in what would become one of the largest and most diverse tourist and recreation areas on the East Coast. Although his initial venture failed, the tourist industry of the Poconos has been a long-term success, evolving and adapting to change. Better in the Poconos tells the story of Pennsylvania's premier vacationland from its earliest days to the present.".

"Better in the Poconos re-creates that scene and the people who brought it to life - not only the innkeepers, souvenir sellers, laborers, and service workers but also the community leaders and visionaries who promoted the vacation economy and sought to guide it.

The proper Victorians, the devoted sportsmen, the young newlyweds, the families and singles, the staid ladies of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (and the sinners whose vices they wished to temper), the members of the Ku Klux Klan, the rich Quakers, the Jewish socialists, and the immigrants - all these, and more, make up the humanly rich mosaic of the Poconos."--BOOK JACKET.