These two annotated reading guides to Boston's political and social history developed out of lecture sequences offered at the Boston Public Library under the National Endowment for the Humanities Library Learning Program. The first, which cites 28 titles focusing on various community leaders of Boston from the coming of the Puritans to the 1970's, is divided into the eight general areas covered by the lectures: Bibles, Bluebloods, Brahmins, Benefactors, Beautifiers, Bosses, Bureaucrats, and Bewilderment. The l6 readings listed for the second course examine the structures and functions of families in order to gain deeper insight into the organization of society. Included are works from the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, and literature, with a particular emphasis on materials linked to the Boston area. (RAA)