4 comments about Gardens Maine Style.

1. This is a fairly good and helpful book on gardening in Maine. Being a citizen of Maine myself I know a thing or two about gardening up here, for instance there is a very short season here. If you have trouble gardening, no matter what type, being herb, vegetable, spices, fruits, or even trees this book will most likely give you some long awaited answers. This book even shows you how to garden indoors for those times you don't feel like getting eaten by bugs. So if you love gardening then this is a fairly good choice, but look into some other books first.



2. This book is very inspiring, brilliant and incredibly colorful. It showcases some of the great variety of gardens, and also points out the challenges that face the gardener in this northern most New England state. It is well designed, with many large photos, and the reading is very easy, but informative. The photos have been choosen to inspire and delight, and the captions are hardworking-explaining tasks and identifying the plants. A very beautiful piece of work!



3. This is a model garden book. The superb photographs provide the backbone of the book. The text is short, not filled out with unecessary words copied from other garden books as is often the case. The photos show what is working in other peoples' gardens and are replete with good ideas.



4. This book is more of a coffee table kind of book. The photos are beautiful, but I wish there were more descriptors, more info on the plantings themselves.

No comments about Maine Fishing Map Book (Maine Fishing Map Books).

No comments about Acadia National Park & Mount Desert Island.

3 comments about Portland Undercover : How to Visit New England's Hippest City Without Looking Like A Tourist.

1. We just got back from a mini-vacation to Portland and it was one of the most enjoyable trips we've had. A lot of that is thanks to Mr. Barry's handy guide. We've been to Portland previously, but had not seen or experienced it the way we did this time. We would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is going to the area for the first time or even, like us, has been to the area before. We both probably still looked like tourists, but I bet that we experienced many things not normally experienced by other tourists, unless they had purchased this guide.



2. This book is a little silly. We are told to tip the waitstaff well since they really could be artists (as opposed to a mother trying to support her child?) If you can get past the hype about the city, and it is a great city, the book is well organized and offers solid suggestions for exploring the town. There is a section on the history of the town describing Indian raids and the destruction of the city twice by fire. The final rebuilding in the 1860's and 70's accounts for it's consistent architectural style.

   Restaurants by category, wine bars, biker bars, coffee houses, dance spots, theatre, where to hear live music - this book tells all. It is exhaustive enough to provide plenty of suggestions but not overwhelming in it's coverage.

   As far as looking like a tourist, don't worry about it. We love tourists, and I picked up a copy myself.




3. I actually live in Portland - but I still love this book, and I often turn to it when I'm looking for somewhere new to eat or something new to see. It gives an insiders look into all the different restaurants, bars, beaches, and shopping experiences that you could want. Though a couple of the restaurants he lists are now closed - this book can stand the tests of time. Portland is full of tourists in the summer, so don't worry about sticking out. Just get this book to make sure that you don't miss out on any of the great things the city has to offer.

No comments about Northern Forest Canoe Trail: Allagash Region, South, Maine, Umbazooksus Stream to Umsaskis Lake (Northern Forest Canoe Trail Maps).

No comments about Winter harbor.

5 comments about Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast.

1. Whether it's your first trip cruising the Maine Coast or you've sailed here for years, you'll find this your second most valuable resource ( nothing beats a good set of charts [and radar when the fog rolls in]) because when you need to decide where you are going to drop the hook for the night the charts won't be nearly as helpful as the Tafts' years of experience. Where to go, where not go, how to approach the anchorage, what to see ashore are all combined with slices of history and dry witted anecdotes. A bit of advice to the summer cruiser-- equip your boat with mosquito netting if you want a peaceful evening in one of the most wonderful places in the world!!



2. Please note that the authors of this book are Haft and Curtis Rindlaub



3. One of the best cruising guides around, definitely the best for Maine. Well written, organized and easy to use. Great sketch charts and all of the info that cruisers (not tourists) really need, as well as a good bit of local color.



4. After sailing tens of thousands of miles in the Americas and Caribbean and using dozens of cruising guides I can honestly say this cruising guide is unsurpassed. It contains detailed information about anchorages, approaches and services available in an easy to use format. With numerous anecdotes and historical stories this book is a pleasure to just sit down and read.



5. CGTTMC is only slightly less essential for succesful Maine crusing than charts and tide tables (and beer, of course). In addition to being incredibly comprehensive, it's also beautifully written... so one can still vicariously experience Maine's spectacular coastline when the boat is in the hard.
   
   My one quibble with the book has to do with its indexing. All major (and many minor) subjects are listed, but some of the more obscure ones are not. The book contains a lot of great "color" information in sidebars and boxes; these are generally stumbled upon and, because they're not always indexed, can be hard to find later without flipping through the book.
   
   And flipping through the book is NOT a good idea, because you'll invariably stumble upon something fascinating and start reading whole sections anew...

No comments about Acadia: The Story Behind the Scenery.

5 comments about Against the Wind: A Maine to Alaska Bicycling Adventure.

1. As a work of literature, this book doesn't quite make it. Sentence structure is poor, and it is riddled with grammatical problems and sloppy typos. However, this could be a very useful book for a cyclist planning a long-distance trip. Some of the author's observations are very interesting (although his way of describing them is often annoying) and he details some of the hardships and adventures involved in such a journey. His description of a temporary riding mate and their undesired reunion later was amusing.

   Still, this book could have used a good proofreader, as the author (though he claims to be a journalist) has very little understanding of apostrophe and comma use, and his attempts to be amusing with wordplay end up looking clumsy. His writing style is often confusing and I found myself rereading passages several times to figure out what he was talking about. If you love biking and don't care about grammar and sentence structure, this is a good book for you.




2. As a work of literature, this book doesn't quite make it. Sentence structure is poor, and it is riddled with grammatical problems and sloppy typos. However, this could be a very useful book for a cyclist planning a long-distance trip. Some of the author's observations are very interesting (although his way of describing them is often annoying) and he details some of the hardships and adventures involved in such a journey. His description of a temporary riding mate and their undesired reunion later was amusing.

   Still, this book could have used a good proofreader, as the author (though he claims to be a journalist) has very little understanding of apostrophe and comma use, and his attempts to be amusing with wordplay end up looking clumsy. His writing style is often confusing and I found myself rereading passages several times to figure out what he was talking about. If you love biking and don't care about grammar, sentence structure or interesting writing, then this is a book for you.




3. I tend to agree with the reviewer from Chicago - the author could have used a (better) proofreader. This is one of those books where the reader almost begins to look for the next mistake. At one point the last line on one page is repeated in its entirety as the first line of the next page. And, as was noted in the other review, the proper use of apostrophes is very inconsistent.

   The adventures the author experienced cannot be discounted, however. There are many interesting stories that, if you're a cyclist, cause you to pause and try to imagine yourself in those situations. One that especially struck me - other than his "bear/human interaction" - was having a mechanical failure with the closest bike shop being 300 miles distant. Also, the number of "it's a small world" incidents Basch experienced on the trip makes for interesting reading.

   If you are a cyclist who enjoys touring, and can overlook the typos and such, you will probably find this book a quick, entertaining read.




4. This book is amazing. It described a wonderful adventure of a man fulfilling his dream despite many risks.The author faced many obstacles including weather, aggressive drivers, bears and yet perservered to the end while managing to have fun, learn many things, and meet a wide variety of people. He wrote about it from a laptop computer which he carried with him. Anyone who noticed any mistakes in grammar doesn't deserve to read this book. I recommend that you get it as soon as you can and pass to anyone who loves to read, travel or ride a bicycle.



5. This book feels like an accumulation of unedited e-mail. If punctuation and grammar are important to you, this book might get on your nerves.

1 comments about A Century Apart.

1. A Century Apart: Maine Then & Now is a gorgeous visual and historic tour of Maine's landscapes and cities. Author Cindy McIntyre was an avid collector of Maine postcards; inspired by the vintage photographs, she sought to compare snapshots of present-day Maine with images past, revealing striking differences and similarities. The text recounts changes in the last hundred years in various Maine towns, while the full-color paintings and photographs often display striking contrasts when placed side by side. A superb souvenir book for Maine vacationers, and a trip down memory lane for longtime Maine residents.