1 comments about Islanders.

1. It is sort of strange to buy a book on a whim and find it peopled by folks you know and having pictures of where you live. Living on an island myself, I bought it for its title. I am from Away, but I have lived on this island more than half my life. I can say from experience that this book is quite accurate and gives a good picture of island life. Put it together with "The Lobster Coast" by Colin Woodard, and you have a very complete picture. I present this review with a plea not to move to an island unless you have children who will go to school here.

No comments about Bruce Davidson: England/Scotland 1960.

1 comments about Moon Handbooks Rhode Island (Moon Handbooks).

1. This book is great if you require accurate and interesting infomation about this specific region. Well worth the money.

2 comments about New England Seacoast Adventures: A Complete Guide to Outdoor Recreation from Connecticut to Maine.

1. New England Seacoast Adventures: A Complete Guide To Outdoor Recreatoin From Connecticut To Maine is an engaging travel guide by experienced travel writer Stephen Jermanok and written specifically for anyone with an interest in enjoying outdoor activities to be found along the seacoast of of all the Atlantic bordering New England states. Listing data sport-by-sport for each state, along with information on state parks, camping places, historical landmarks and much more, New England Seacoast Adventures is a superbly presented and highly recommended "user friendly" guide for people who enjoy camping, kayaking, sailing, beachcombing, rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing, golfing, fishing, camping, or a wide variety of other memorable seacoast area activities.



2. New England Seacoast Adventures: A Complete Guide To Outdoor Recreatoin From Connecticut To Maine is an engaging travel guide by experienced travel writer Stephen Jermanok and written specifically for anyone with an interest in enjoying outdoor activities to be found along the seacoast of of all the Atlantic bordering New England states. Listing data sport-by-sport for each state, along with information on state parks, camping places, historical landmarks and much more, New England Seacoast Adventures is a superbly presented and highly recommended "user friendly" guide for people who enjoy camping, kayaking, sailing, beachcombing, rock climbing, scuba diving, surfing, golfing, fishing, camping, or a wide variety of other memorable seacoast area activities.

No comments about Diners Of New England.

1 comments about Backroad Bicycling in Vermont, Fourth Edition (Backroad Bicycling).

1. My husband and I are avid road cyclists, and we found this book to be a perfect guide for our recent vacation in Vermont. Rides are in all geographic locations across the state. The author features great rides with extremely clear directions, as well as tourist-focused descriptions for each of the towns that he takes you through. The rides are incredibly scenic, and the information on places to tour and eat along the way were invaluable to us. The only very minor complaint I have is that the charm of a few of the listed attractions are sometimes a little too enthusiastically stated - although all information was factually accurate. Make sure that you're getting the latest (2006) edition!

5 comments about Sufferings in Africa: The Astonishing Account of a New England Sea Captain Enslaved by North African Arabs.

1. We should all be grateful that his book was reissued. It is truly a remarkable account of the danger of seafaring merchants during the early 19th C. Written in the style and the variable spelling of that period, the book prompted me to search out a map of northwestern Africa so I could follow the plight of Riley and his crew. Given that this narration was one of the few books owned by the young Abe Lincoln, one can already see the seeds of the abolition movement after the slavery tables were turned (English speaking whites being enslaved by Africans). One detail not in the book is that a cousin, Justus Riley, from Weathersfield, Connecticut, owned the brig Commerce along with his partners, the Savages of Hartford. Ship insurance would have paid the owners for the loss of the ship, but not the master of the ship, in this case James Riley. It is fortunate James wrote his account as it permitted him to move to Ohio during the US western expansion. Anyone who loves the O'Brien books will love this book -- I keep hoping it will be made into a screenplay.



2. After the war of 1812, Captain James Riley was employed as master and supercargo of the brig Commerce from Hartford, Connecticut. He shipped a crew of George Williams, chief mate, Aaron Savage, second mate, William Porter, Archibald Robbins, Thomas Burns and several others. He sailed for New Orleans in May 1815, passed the Bahamas and Florida Keys, (not without incident: the ship ran aground, before Riley freed her) and, in early August, reached Gibraltar. While headed for Cape de Verds, Riley ran the Commerce off course, and was shipwrecked in breakers off the Sahara.
   
   One man was slaughtered on the beach.
   
   Conditions for the rest were pure hell. Captain Riley and those remaining were forced to sell themselves into slavery in order to survive. The party was then divided. Some men were never seen again, and were presumed to have spent the duration of their days in privation and servitude.
   
   Riley and four others were saved in November 1815; in late September, Riley had convinced an Arab merchant to buy himself and those companions, transport them across the desert to Mogadore, and there to ransom them to the British embassy. He tells in great detail the sufferings the men endured during their slavery and travel through the desert. Nineteen months afterwards, Archibald Robbins was ransomed as well. Subsequently, he wrote at length on his own experiences in slavery. During the 19th century, a volume including both this book and Robbins' tale became a bestseller. Today, a copy of Robbins' account is hard to come by.
   
   The conditions endured by the infidel slaves is almost unbelievable. This book, reprinted dozens of times in its day, sold millions of copies and influenced abolitionists of Riley's time. The book was of the works that the young Abraham Lincoln read by firelight in Illinois, and strongly influenced his thinking about slavery, as did a visit to the slave market in New Orleans.
   
   Mogadore was once a flourishing city, Riley observed, but when he became a freed man there, he observed that "superstition, fanaticism, and tyranny bear sway...[and] have swept away, with their pernicious breath, the whole wealth of its once industrious and highly favored inhabitants;--have driven the foreigner from their shores, and it seems as if the curse of Heaven had fallen on the whole land...."
   
   --Alyssa A. Lappen



3. Considering that this book was written in the early 1800's and is a true story, I am totally impressed. The whole concept of slavery and how it applied to white and black people in the early 19th century in Africa before it even became an issue! Extraordinary accounting of true life at it's most extreme.



4. The author of the book, Captain James Riley, bravely wrote and acknowledged his role in his ship's disaster of wrecking off the North African coast back in 1815. This is an incredible tale of survival under the most brutal and pain-racking conditions one can imagine. The American brig, Commerce, hit a storm off the North African coast and was wrecked. The crew manages to reach the beach in their boats and collapse with exhaustion. However, the wreck and chance of plunder attracts an Arab nomad band to the scene. It is at this point that the captain and crew get a taste of the welcome they that will be met with from natives who are as merciless and unforgiving as the Sahara desert they live in.
   
   Although they manage to avoid capture and probable execution on their first encounter with the Arab nomads, the second encounter finds them starved, hopeless, and without water for several days running. So, they are enslaved and stripped naked by their captors. Their skin sizzles and blisters horribly under the ferocious Saharan sun while they walk barefooted and bloody over the sharp, rocky desert floor for many days - each day weaker with the spark of life slowly ebbing from their eyes. Then their band encounters their personal savior, Abdallah, who is an Arab merchant crossing the Sahara along with his brother. He buys the captain and most of the crew at Riley's repeated emotional entreaties, planning to sell them back to the English consul, Mr. Willshire, in far away Mogadore (for a profit, of course).
   
   Yet despite their new master and his profit motive, their continued survival is highly tentative as starvation, thirst, fatigue, continual danger of brigands, and even Abdallah's own brother conspire to steal these forsaken, hapless captives. And even though Riley must have suffered immeasurably he still managed to sear his inconceivable experiences into his memory and learned to speak some Arabic as well. Their thirst was often so remorseless that they routinely drank camel urine and subsisted on the most meager food imaginable.
   
   This is a remarkable true story and one which vividly portrays the unspeakable sufferings by the unprepared and unwary stranded in the deserts of North Africa. Read the book, skip the visit!



5. A must read. This is a wonderful read of the account of the U.S. Merchant Mariners on the Brig Commerce by her Capt.
   
   Secondly, the Brig Commerce's seaman Archibald Robbins who got separated from Capt. Riley wrote his own account as well. It can be found on g**gle books for free. Hopefully this link will work:
   
   http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=MQkPAAAAYAAJ&dq=Archibald+Robbins&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6jkFuOattw&sig=8oAQIZb2R0qWl9ENBY3AL5g7ImE&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPR1,M1

5 comments about New England's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide.

1. I found this book to be very helpful so far... I only visited a couple of the waterfalls in the book so far and the directions seemed to be right on. If you are seeking waterfalls in NE then this may be the book you are looking for.



2. This book was well worth the money. There was only 1 mistake in directions(p.136, Bement Br.,NH, should be west on NH103). We used it for bridges in Mass.,Me.,NH, and VT.



3. This is another book I bought as a Christmas present for my grandson when I learned of his interest in covered bridges. This is a good history of covered bridges in New England. I enjoyed this because of the excellent pictures and know my grandson will enjoy it too.



4. This book is very professionally done and is a great bargain at this price. It's a compact size which makes it convienent to carry with you on trips. Another thing I like is the GPS coordinates that they have recorded for each bridge. Anyone who enjoys seeking out old covered bridges should have this book. I highly recommend it! 5 STARS!
   
   Brian McKee, Editor of "The Bridge-Covered Quarterly"



5. This book has been like a bible to me as I set out to photograph covered bridges in New Hampshire and Vermont.
   
   I've used the book in conjunction with my laptop based GPS system to plan my trips and prioritize which bridges to look at. The book is very clearly written, gives interesting historical and structural information, and most importantly, directions for finding the bridges.
   
   The color photos are high quality, so you get a good idea what to expect when you get there. If you're into touring the covered bridges of New England, New England's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide is a worthwhile investment.

1 comments about Landmark Visitors Guide Oxford (Landmark Visitors Guides) (Landmark Visitors Guides).

1. This is my first Landmark book purchase and it won't be the last. This
   guide is enjoyable to read and the information for the visitor is excellently written.

1 comments about Simon & Barklee in England.

1. Simon & Barklee In England is the latest book in the adventurous Simon & Barklee series for children. The exciting tale is of a best-friends dog and bird duo exploring a new country, visiting Shakespeare's home town, and singing for the Queen among numerous other amazing activities. Simon & Barklee features not only playful color illustrations, but also a simple map of England and a glossary of British English words that differ from their American counterparts, making the engaging exploits of the animal companions as educational as it is entertaining! Also highly recommended is the Simon & Barklee In England Fun Book (0970466153, $4.00), a consumable companion workbook for young folks, who can undertake 22 different exercises of three different challenge levels, from coloring the Union Jack flag to measuring in metrics and learning what happens when one crosses the International Date Line.