1 comments about Let's Go Map Guide Boston (4th Ed).

1. It has brief descriptions of restaurants, nightclubs, stores, etc., but gives phone numbers only for museums and the like. Irritating. It wouldn't have been much trouble to add phone numbers and websites.
   
   Otherwise, it's fine, if all you are interested in is the downtown Boston-Cambridge area. Fits easily into a pocket.

4 comments about South of the Northeast Kingdom (National Geographic Directions).

1. "Aren't those Vermonters cute ?" "Aren't I profound ?" This collections of anecdotes, snippets, and name dropping sure doesn't sound like the people of Cabot, Vt., that I know. In Tom Wolfe's 'Bonfire of the Vanities', Wolfe left out writers. Keep watch on Mamet. If this book really expresses his thoughts, he should self-ignite soon.



2. I live just north of Mamet's hometown of Cabot, Vermont, and know many of the places and some of the people in the book (I've never met Mamet himself). For most of us who live in or close to the Northeast Kingdom, it is a beautiful, but gritty place to make a go of it. There is much to exult about and much to damn. Mamet's take is mostly dead on. While some of the book romanticizes life here, other passages criticize both himself (directly) and others (obliquely). I found myself agreeing with much of his analysis and many of his honest portrayals. Those inhabiting the right fringe of the political spectrum might find some of Mamet's opinions distasteful, but they have it coming.
   Although the word "vide" was used too often, I like a book that stretches one's vocabulary. Keep a dictionary close by if you buy this book. I also like a book whose whole is greater than the sum of the parts and that reads, at times, like poetry. The evocative black and white photos help capture this unique vision of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. I look forward to rereading this book.



3. I spent several years in Vermont and still go back as often as I can. Mamet captures much of the simple magic about the state and its people. The chapters are disconnected fragments, but that is fine. The impressions combine to give a good picture of life in this curiously unspoiled place.
   I have read 3 volumes in this National Geographic Discoveries series and have just ordered 3 more. They are short, insightful and written by some of the best writers out there. The whole series is worth a careful look. If they sold them on subscription, I would sign up. Someone good is doing the commisioning here.



4. A friend who lives near Cabot just sent me a copy of this and it is divine! I couldn't resist reading it to my husband in bed since we're both from Central Vermont although now transplanted to Massachusetts where there are a few more jobs. We finished it in one weekend night and were disappointed it was over so soon (not my husband's typical reaction to a book I like, trust me).
   
   I've read some of Mamet's other books (of course, I've seen more than a couple of his movies, too) and this is my favorite, by far. He writes well as you would expect.

No comments about Boston Freedom Trail.

1 comments about 25 Bicycle Tours in the Adirondacks: Road Adventures in the East's Largest Wilderness (25 Bicycle Tours).

1. It's not often that real authors (Bill McKibben and Sue Halpern) get in the outdoor guidebook business. This bike book is a winner.

1 comments about Greater Newburyport: A Photographic Portrait.

1. This book is filled with photographs that make me miss my home and make me excited to move back. The photos are stunning and the book is well done.

   My only minor critique is that some of the captions are slightly confusing. I spent a few minutes wondering where the 'train' was in the picture of the train station, only to reread the caption and realize that they are referring to a theoretical train and not one in the picture. Also, the little intro picture in the Newburyport section is really the southern point of Salisbury Beach, which also puzzled me a bit. Both minor points, but thats why only 4 stars from me.

No comments about England In The Age Of Wycliffe.

No comments about Mountain Bike! Vermont.

No comments about AMERICAN MAP SOUTH COAST MA STREET.

2 comments about The Boston Tea Party (Northeastern Classics Edition).

1. This book has aged remarkably well. First published in 1964, it remains the best account of the Boston Tea Party in or out of print. In fact, it's something of a classic. It's easy to read, tells the story in all its complexity (which involves going beyond Boston to look at how opposition to the Tea Act played out in Charleston, Philadelphia, and New York), and places the "tea party" in the larger story of the American Revolution.



2. Mr. Labaree's Boston Tea Party is an excellent chronology of the American Revolution from the Townshend Acts to the Boston Tea Party, culminating in the Coercive Acts and the beginnings of the Continental Congress. Labaree lays out the increasing tension between the American Colonies and Britian. He delves into the radical nature of the Revolution as a libertarian mass movement. Although the colonists were led by leaders like Samuel Adams, Dr. Thomas Young, and Joseph Warren, Labaree cogently lays out how the Revolution was a mass movement of the people. Hundreds, if not thousands of farmers became involved in assisting Boston after the passage of the Coercive Acts. Philadephia organized a mass meeting of over 8000 people to protest the tyrannical acts. After the passage of the Coercive Acts, Boston, Philadelphia, New Haven, Baltimore, Annapolis and other colonial cities were inflamed. This beginning of revolution was not a movement of only the rich, but of an enraged, passionate people defending their liberties.
   
   Most importantly Labaree shows how the British and Americans viewed imperial relations and the position of the colonies in the Empire. Overall a really fine read for those interested in our libertarian revolution.

No comments about Fodor's England 2009: with The Best of Wales (Fodor's Gold Guides).