4 comments about The House on Nauset Marsh: A Cape Cod Memoir, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition.

1. Wyman Richardson's account of life on Cape Cod, first published in 1947, is a delight to read even tho' much has changed on the Cape since then. This is a book to treasure in the dead of winter when one longs to 'feel the whims of the sea'or 'hear the slow low pitch of a cricket's song.' Richardson, besides being a physician, is a first rate nature writer. His 'other' life comes alive as he describes morning in the old farmhouse where 'you can look out the south windows over the ...grassy hills...over the blue water of Nauset Marsh' and in the early morning 'an orange moon slipping behind the western horizon.' Richardson paints pictures with words that draw the reader, however briefly, into the pages of his book. First rate. I loved it.



2. I picked up this book looking for a unique, personal perspective on life on Cape Cod. What I got was long-winded discussions of fishing. If you're into long descriptions of and justifications for fishing and duck hunting--you might like this book. The book is also annoyingly written. The author switches voice all over the place: back and for from "I" to "you" to "one." I found that very distracting. He doesn't seem to know that much about the Cape either. If you want ruminations on the quiet of nature--don't bother; try Thoreau's Cape Cod or Henry Beston's The Outermost House.



3. Set in a small farm house on a Cape Cod marsh in a the 1940s and early 50s, it portrays the Cape in a time before masses of visitors changed it from an isolated backwater to an overrun tourist destination (a change that seems to have taken over so many parts of our country). I spent summers on the Cape as a young boy in the late 50s and early sixties, and Richardson's writing brings back that sense of wild emptiness and special light that used to make Cape Cod so special. The writing and lovely illustrations recall a time when you could have a hand in the gathering of your own food and take joy in the beauty of the process. We have gained much smugness and lost so much else since then; the House on Nauset Marsh brings back a sense of how lives connected to nature used to be.



4. This is an important book because it, like Thoreau's journals, is a record of a particular place at a particular time. What did it look like then? What plants, birds, fish came and went? How did people think about the place? These questions are answered in writing that transports you back in time to an apparently quieter and more leisurely world. Yes, there's a bit too much on fishing and hunting for my taste, but I find that I just skip those chapters when I go back to this book, as I do every couple of years. A must for anyone trying to get a handle on Cape Cod.

5 comments about Boston Popout Map: Greater & Downtown Boston, Beacon Hill, Harvard Square, Subway (Popout Map).

1. This little number is about the size of a cd, but opens up like a childrens pop-up book. It features the city center, surrounding areas, subway routs, streets and places of interest. This is the only map you will need for your trip and is unobtrusive enough to open up and not look like a tourist. The freedom trail is clearly marked along with other historical items. Grab it!



2. I've bought this popout map for my visit to Boston and found it quite useful. I now have 3 or 4 of these for different cities and like the idea that I can stick it in my back pocket and pull it out when I need it. I do have to remember to bring reading glasses, however, the print can be difficult to read otherwise.



3. I bouth this for an early fall trip to Boston and used it 100% of the time over all other maps. Its small and convienient and fits right in your pocket.



4. I have used this map on two visits to Boston thus far. I was able to find everything I needed and the nice thing was I didn't have some bulky map to carrying around and unfold looking like the fish out of water tourist. It fit right into the back pocket of my jeans. I also loaned it to a friend for her trip to Boston and she raved about it as well. Buy the map and enjoy Boston!



5. This is what my wife and I used to get around Boston and Cambridge with for a week. It fits in your pocket, is concise and up to date. It doesn't matter where you are from in the world - this takes up no room and is the only map you will need.

5 comments about Walking with Thoreau: A Literary Guide to the New England Mountains.

1. Howarth is a very senior figure in the turbulent, often messy field of Thoreauvian studies, and "Walking With Thoreau" is a welcome follow-up to his excellent "The Book of Concord: Thoreau and His Journal." Howarth's scholarship is impeccable, making "Walking With Thoreau" literary commentary of a very high order, but it's also a great read for anyone who admires (or is baffled by) this American original. All who want to follow Thoreau's mountain treks for real should definitely slip this handsome edition in their day-packs, but those who enjoy both philosophy and mountaineering armchair-style will also enjoy Thoreau's accounts of his (often quite dangerous and daring) expeditions to ten New England heights, among them Katahdin and Tuckerman Ravine. Thoreau's mountain narratives are among his lesser-known but most important and heartfelt works; for all, Howarth supplies historical and critical context with clarity, wit and not a little affection.



2. A thoughtful book. No self-respecting nature lover should be unfamiliar with these passages from Thoreau. Read them, and then do what Thoreau would suggest: get off your chair, put on your boots, throw a sandwich in your backpack, and get out there and see the real Greylock, Katahdin, and Mt. Washington.



3. The compiler, "a very senior figure in ... Thoreauvian studies," as another reviewer refers to him, has simply changed the title of his 1982 Farrar, Straus, Giroux book of excerpts from Thoreau's writings (relating to Thoreau in the mountains) and republished it with Beacon Press. There's nothing new here at all, just republished stuff from almost twenty years ago! One would think that this fellow of "impeccable" scholarship would have had the decency to at least mention somewhere in this compilation that it is, in fact, nothing more than a reprint.



4. Henry David Thoreau is perhaps the most famous of the nineteenth century American naturalists and left behind a large body of work that is still very much read and appreciated today. Walking With Thoreau comprises Thoreau's writings about his own hikes up nine New England mountains including the Wachusett and Greylock in Massachusetts; Kathahdin and Kineo in Maine; Wantastiquet, Fall Mountain, Washington, Lafayette, and Monadnock in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Vermont. Thoreau expert William Howarth enhanced Walking With Thoreau with insightful commentaries for the contemporary reader replete with historical facts and anecdotes on Thoreau that are relevant to his tales of mountain experiences. Replete with specially drawn sate maps and day-by-day itineraries, Walking With Thoreau readily lends itself to anyone wishing to hike the same routes as were once taken by Thoreau. Walking With Thoreau is a "must" for all students of his work and writings, outdoor enthusiasts seeking to retrace the great man's steps, as well as armchair travelers with an appreciation for observant essays on hiking mountains in a bygone era.



5. The previous commentator seems to have a personal vendetta going with the editor of this text and its reviewers. He should take his psycho-drama elsewhere and stop trashing a book that so many others have found to be excellent. (As its sales rise, he seems to froth more at the mouth.)

   Most erroneous is his claim that "Walking with Thoreau" is a reprint. Apparently he has not actually read and compared the two editions. The later one is vastly revised, from a new introduction to fresh, updated notes throughout, reporting on changes in local details and new discoveries in Thoreau scholarship. The bibliography is much longer and arranged into topics, citing the latest publications on a wide range of natural history subjects. Beacon Press dropped the early illustrations but kept the lovely maps and added much more text, setting it in a compact, readable format. To my scholarly eyes, all those changes add up to a new, revised edition, and NOT a reprint.

   If you love Thoreau, take this book along on your next trip to the New England mountains. It's a superb guide to some little-known writings by one of America's great originals, whose call for a simple and thoughtful life has never been more timely. My students at Harvard have taken to giving it as a gift to their families!

2 comments about The Rough Guide to England 7 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. The Rough Guide has some wonderful historical sections on such attractions as Hampton Palace and the Tower of London. But the writer seems to be ashamed of England's history, and the apologies are a bit over the top.



2. It all depends on how much time you have to "indulge" into a travel guide. The rough guide compared to lonely planet satisfies me more because of the more mature approach to the writings, descriptions and presentations of the subject matter. I presume that both guide books offer more or less the same tourist info, so I choose this guide book for the simple fact which I value as most important that the authors take more time to make an enjoyable reading.

No comments about The English River.

No comments about This American River: Five Centuries of Writing about the Connecticut.

No comments about Cambridge: An Architectural Guide.

4 comments about Lady Robyn (War of the Roses).

1. For someone born in mellow California in the twentieth century, Lady Robyn of Pontefract has reasonably adapted to living in the fifteenth century. She blames no one but herself for her present displacement as her white witch dabbling transported her to 1461 and the War of the Roses. To avoid blunders, she uses her palm pilot to help her keep score between the Lancasters and the Yorks though often she errs on whose side someone belongs.

   Robyn has become engaged to Prince Edward, but problems exist for the duo. His family believes she is beneath him and wants their relationship to end. Meanwhile, aristocratic men want her killed as a witch, jailed for betting on the wrong side, or seek sex with her. Though a kind nurturing soul to all she meets, the noble female spouses want her dead. With reality intruding on history classes and romantic images, Robyn feels happy about her life, but would not mind returning to fast food California.

   This is an engaging time travel romance that is clearly for fans of the series. New readers will feel more displaced than Robyn did when she first appeared in 1461. Robyn is a pragmatic and delightful lead protagonist and the rest of the ensemble either provides insight into her or the chaotic era. Fans of R. Garcia Y Robertson will enjoy the latest entry, as it is a fun tale.

   Harriet Klausner




2. I won't go into the plot or story line! I picked this up at the library and was dismayed to see that it was part 2 of a trilogy. I don't usually like to start in the middle but figured what the heck.
   
   I won't bother reading the rest of them.
   
   His use of witchcraft as a device for the unity of women was interesting if not ignorant of knowledge of the time, and or course of witchcraft itself. The book is poorly researched in this area and it shows.
   
   Had Robyn truly been transported into the middle ages she would never have evaded execution. Her open use of 20th century technology would have seen her burnt at the stake at first opportunity. People dealt with the unknown by through superstition. Her wristwatch, and even her coffee were enough to send her to her death, and unlike the book she would have found most people recoiling in fear from her.
   
   This book didn't work for me. High humor, maybe, but when I read I like to be carried away by plausibility...to imagine that it just MIGHT could happen. All I found here were instance after instance to execute Robyn.
   
   If you're interested in a plausible time travel book read the series by DIANA GABALDON, not only plausible but outstanding. In this genre she's the hands down champ.



3. As a time-travel romance, this is great fun. Historically, it's pretty good. But if I was in Robyn's situation, I'm not at all sure I could be strong enough NOT to check on my medieval boyfriend's future...



4. This was a well written 2nd book to a 3 book series. Robyn is a satisfying character with depth and the plot leaves you wanting more. It is necessary to have the 3rd book waiting on your TBR pile, so immediate consumption is possible. Nicely done Mr.Robertson... Nicely done indeed.

No comments about Woodall's New York, New England & Eastern Canada Campground Guide, 2008 (Woodall's New York, New England and Eastern Canada Campground Guide).

2 comments about Connecticut Walk Book (Publication / Connecticut Forest and Park Association,).

1. The Connecticut walk book over all is a good resource of the hiking trails in Connecticut. However, it does have flaws. When using this book as a guide be sure to read the description thoroughly. The book tends to jump around in its descriptions. The author discusses one trail and in mid paragraph begins to describe an intersecting side trail. With out missing a beat the author will fall right back to the original trail. This has proven to be a good technique for getting hikers off track and temporarily lost.

   The book does provide maps for all the trails it discusses. However, not all the maps have north marked on them and many of them are hand-drawn. Several of the maps or not clear as to which trail is which but can be deciphered by reading the descriptions. A few maps have seemingly been reproduced so many times they are no longer clear. It is much like when you make a copy of a copy of a copy of anything, you start to loose information.

   Although the descriptions may jump a little there is a great detail of information in them. These detailed descriptions often provide you with pinpoint accuracy as to where you are on the hike. If combined with purchased topographical maps of the area the book provides you with some outstanding hikes. Some great adventures have been had by many on these hikes and it is recommended you try some out for yourself. Overall the Connecticut Walk Book is an excellent research but the new hike should prepare properly before venturing on a hike.




2. Each trail in this comprehensive book is described from start to finish with mileage given at each marker. The VERY detailed verbal descriptions of terrain, trail features, and surrounding flora MORE than make up for the maps, which are pretty unhelpful. In fact, for shorter hikes, the excellent descriptions render maps unnecessary (although I NOT endorsing hiking without a map). Although I'm rating this book a 4 out of 5 stars for the poor maps, I HIGHLY recommend this book to any and all hikers - you can get topo maps anywhere, but the top-notch trail guides in this book are hard to come by. Besides, it comes in a small 3-ring binder so you can take out just the pages you need or carry the tough, durable binder with you.