McDaniel, George W. Hearth & Home: Preserving a People's Culture, American Civilization. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1982.
Hearth and Home: Preserving a People's Culture is a book primarily aimed at museum curators, folklorists, social historians and preservationists. George W. McDaniel conducted his research on the houses of rural southern Maryland African Americans (slaves and descendants). The main theme of the book is to make known through oral histories and an abundance of photographs the messages relayed through the construction and social use of interior space by African Americans. Heretofore a neglected dimension of the built environment, McDaniel seeks to inform our understanding of African American perception, negotiation, construction and use of interior spaces. McDaniel's book takes us into what he considers "homes" rather than "houses" of African Americans to illustrate how they "cultivate a sense of self and family." Though problematic because of its overgeneralizations about African American daily life, the book is strengthened by his inclusion of numerous photographs as well as his inceptive contribution to this aspect of the built environment . [P. Williams]