1 comments about The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England.

1. Godbeer argues that although Puritan clergy were vocally against the belief in magic and use of magical techniques, Puritan theology was ambiguous enough to allow even people who were considered to be "godly" church members to believe in and practice magical rituals without feeling as if they were going against their Puritan beliefs. Puritan theology blamed all human suffering on God's judgment of the people and taught that humans could do nothing to effect His plans. Folk magic, which was a strong part of English culture, however gave people the ability to try to alleviate their suffering, especially if they blamed the suffering on a witch or other "cunning person."

   Puritan ministers encouraged people to believe that suffering was the result of outside forces, but they wanted people to believe the "outside force" was God punishing them for sins. Many lay people agreed that suffering was the result of an outside force, but preferred to believe it was the result of magic, which could be neutralized by using counter-magic.

   The belief in magic was widespread, but not universal in Puritan New England. Although some "godly" church members practiced magic, others did not. Some people were so opposed to magic that they would take down horseshoes that had been put over doors. Even some ministers believed in magic, as evidenced by the ducking, or trial by water, conducted during the witchcraft trials.

1 comments about The Best of the Appalachian Trail Overnight Hikes, 2nd.

1. Just bought this and Best of the AT Day Hikes and am really enjoying them. I know I will never hike the whole trail, but these two books give me the best that the Appalachian Trail has to offer without having to hike evey inch of it. The books are well-organized and you can glean a lot of information at a glance; later you can go back and get the specifics of the hikes. This is edition has been a major revision of the first edition with more than a third of the hikes being brand new and all of the hike information--length, difficulty, trail route, driving directions, etc.--updated. I (and you will too) will be making great use of them.

1 comments about Writing on Stone: Scenes from a Maine Island Life Photographs by Peter Ralston With a Foreword by Philip W. Conkling.

1. This book is beautifully written and describes parts of island life from a summer resident's point of view, in addition to the deep feelings caused by the loss of a son who is now buried on the island and has, thus, become part of the island's history. Amazingly, there is nothing sentimental about this book; just heartfelt. Highly recommended to anyone who shares an interest in Maine's island heritage, or summer residents' place in it, or how one family has coped with their personal loss and incorporated it into Maine island culture. Thank you for sharing these very personal feelings and stories with a larger audience.

5 comments about The Blizzard of '78.

1. I was surprised to receive a copy of a book called The Blizzard of '78 for Christmas. I had totally forgotten that the 25th anniversary was in February. The pictures and stories have brought back many memories. It's funny how many folks I talk to can tell me where they were, what they were doing, and how much snow was in their part of MA. This ain't a book for the scientific meteorologist folks. This is a scrapbook for those that were there, in The Blizz of '78. Thanks to the author Mike Tougias. Great job!



2. "The Blizzard of '78" is an engaging and fun read. I loved the pictures, which brought back the innocence of that time, when there was no school for two weeks and everyone had to pull together to survive.

   I think this makes a great gift and can start some wonderful conversations. Anyone in New England who lived through the great "Blizzard of '78" and has a story to tell, will enjoy this book as a keepsake and rememberance.




3. As a Mass. native and a local history buff I must say that Mike Tougias has done an excellent job recounting and enlivening the blizzard of 78. The book is an essential for anyone doing research on New England weather, but Tougias' commentary along with plenty of great photographs also make it a great read for anybody who wants to relive snow bound memories or is even just curious about the subject. Blizzard of 78 was certainly worth the time and money I put into it and I strongly reccomend it for anybody interested in meteorology and/or New England.



4. Having gone through the Blizzard of 78 I was pleased there was mention that about two weeks before the Blizzard there was a substantial snow storm with plenty of snow still on the ground. This made the actual Blizzard much worse that it may otherwise have been. The book is interesting and shows pictures from many areas, along the coast, on Rt. 128 (now part is I95) and other places. The coast was extensively eroded and D Troop 5th Cav. had it's tracks on the seashore rescuing people. My son joined them seven years later.



5. I was There, Great book. Boston was under snow for a week it was like living back before cars. This book has it all. Thank you

5 comments about The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary.

1. This book was simply marvelous, if you are into the story of the origins of the Oxford English Dictionary, this is a book that captures the makings and includes the story of two gentlemen who's lives inevitably come together in bizzare but wonderful order of circumstances, if you Love words and their origins, you will be astounded by this book!



2. Simon Winchester has come up with a nifty little tale of the making of the OED. It's a fun little gem from history, and worth the read. My only complaints are: the book would have been more interesting if he had included some pictures, and the tale itself is pretty small. The publisher makes up for this by using large type, double spaced, with wide paragraph separation. But it's still a footnote in history, and you can't hide that fact.



3. There is a certain "Did you know..." factor about the "new" genre of creative nonfiction: we read it for both the informative componenet, and the fact that quite a bit of history is, well, interesting. Did you know, for example, that the main contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary was insane?
   
   Dr. W.C. Minor was an American soldier in the Civil War, who later moved to England, where he wound up shooting a man. He was placed in an asylum (not the greatest of places in those days), where he was given a few more perks than the other inmates, simply because he was non-violent (despite the reason for his incarceration) and intelligent. One day, he happened to come across an advertisement: Professor James Murray, along with an elite group of gentlemen, was creating the single-greatest compilation of the English language ever conceived. Minor, with nothing but time on his hands, decided to pitch in. Over ten-thousand words later, Minor was the single-greatest contributor to the single-greatest dictionary ever created.
   
   It is a compelling, surprising story, told in Winchester's usual novel-meets-nonfiction style. While I enjoy a good piece of creative nonfiction, I find myself time and time again returning to Winchester's work not necessarily because of the topic, but because I enjoy his style so much. (It just so happens he chooses interesting topics to write upon.) The "P.S." section of this book, as with the others, doesn't offer too much, though there is an intriguing little section: Winchester's favorite words from the OED. Still, you'll purchase "The Professor and the Madman" for the story itself--and it's a doozy. True, too. Funny, how facts can sometimes be more interesting--and harder to believe--than fiction.



4. Many academics and scholars border on creative madness, take Kierkegaard and Nietzsche for example. This book is marvellous reading since the dull subject of dictionary making is enlivened by eccentric personalities and mental disturbance. It reveals how a dictionary as prestigious as the Oxford English Dictionary was put together. Any author who can make such a dry subject as exciting as a murder mystery deserves a good deal of credit and acclaim.



5. Absent the anti-Christian bias of his geological disaster books, Winchester writes a very good tale about a fascinating sidebar of history during the compilation of the OED. The madman was an American military surgeon (son of missionaries to Sri Lanka!) who served in the Union army during the Civil War, whose slow spiral to insanity culminated in the shooting of an innocent man in London 15 years later. The professor was the editor of the OED who corresponded with the madman for 20 years at the asylum outside London where he made a full-time career of volunteering word lists and quotes to the OED editorial team.
   
   How their histories shadowed and paths crossed, and how the OED came to be, make for a great story. The book was lavishly praised and worthily so, reading like a psychological thriller that can't be put down. I literally read through this in less than 24 hours in just a few sittings.

5 comments about Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown (Crown Journeys).

1. I have never been a lover of P-town. As a child, my family made a yearly visit to climb the Pilgrim Monument, but as I got older, the long drive from our Harwich vacation home (also on Cape Cod) home made climbing the monument less appealing. Every now and then, I did visit the place, but more often than not, I found it crowded and congested, and always had trouble finding a parking space. The art galleries, a small book store, a store that sells all sorts of odds and ends, and of course the people made a visit to the town worthwhile, but I never realized what all the hype was about until I read this book. Lands End gave me an appreciation for the town and the people, and the history, and when I recently visited the town, I had a new appreciation for this interesting and varied community, largely due to Cunningham's ability to be a "tour guide."

   Cunningham's book is almost a guided tour, not by a tour director who is just doing a routine job, but one who actually loves the place being visited. As he takes readers on a tour of the sights and sounds of the town, we see a place where he grew both as a person and as a writer. Though the work is factual, it flows more like a book of prose than a piece of journalism. Cunningham's awe of the rugged beauty of this small town on the Atlantic coast is easy to detect. He also seems to feel as if he is a kindred spirit to the artists and writers who inhabit this town, known both on and off season as an art and writing colony. His book treats the locals with respect. Provincetown has become rather well known as a "gay Mecca." Cunningham certainly makes mention of the many aspects of this town that are part of a gay culture, but Cunningham writes in such a way that the entire Provincetown community-locals, gays and straights, artists, writers, business people, and tourists, all make Provincetown the beautiful, somewhat quirky, but interestingly cohesive community it is today.

   People who love Cape Cod will enjoy this book. Those who have visited the town will have a greater appreciation of the community after reading this book. Tourists will find the book a nice memory of a unique town. Provincetown visitors who are less than fans may find a new appreciation for the town and will once again struggle with the transportation woes of the town.




2. Michaeal Cunningham loves Provincetown and conveys that love in every sentence in this beautifully written book about a great town. He ably does what every travel writer should do: he convinces those who have never been to Provincetown to visit and makes those who have been there want to return.

   Mr. Cunningham does a thorough job of describing the town's geography as well as both the famous artists who lived there in the past and those of the present, also the "town characters" one can run into on the busy streets on any summer day. There is also poems by Mark Doty, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky and Melvin Dixon, among others included throughout the book.

   Finally Mr. Cunningham discusses the effect AIDS has had on the gay population of Provincetown in a chapter called "Death and Life" and pays tribute to a friend named Billy who died from AIDS. "Provincetown has been widowed by the AIDS epidemic. It will never fully recover, though it is accustomed to loss. . . Provincetown possesses, has always possessed, a steady, grieving competence in the face of all that can happen to people. It watches and waits; it keeps the lights burning. If you are a man or woman with AIDS there, someone will always drive you to your doctor's appointments, get your groceries if you can't get them yourself, and take care of whatever needs taking care of."

   Is there any wonder why this writer loves Provincetown?




3. I bought this book having read another book in the series about Nantucket, and having lived on the Cape for a good part of my life, I am always interested in adding another book on the Cape to my small collection. This book however is not so much about Provincetown, a town on Cape Cod, as it is a gay guy's experience of life in P-town. It begins well enough. Then the author shares with us that he prefers the company of men. Okay, do we really need to know? Well, apparently, because he goes on and on until he takes us into an almost surreal Breugel-esque night landscape of men languishing after men's love. One has the impression that beyond every dune, behind every door and around every corner there are men having sex- not just any men, but painfully beautiful men according to the author. On page 119, I learn that Provincetown is being "widowed by AIDS"- being a widow myself I wonder what the comparison is that he is making- will we be left with only the natural beauty of the Cape to comfort us? Will we be able to go to the beach without having to ask how to get to the heterosexual family beach? (Well, I did learn that much). One can only hope. I agree with another reviewer that the research is meager- the anecdotes uninteresting. What a disappointment.



4. This slight book reads like a leisurely travel article from a magazine that offers good wine with the article. Cunningham gets the facts and history of Provincetown straight but he adds to his narrative his personal anecdotes. This is what wonderful writing is: a perfect blend of the factual and the personal. Having lived in this place that is heaven on earth---Provincetown---I was touched deeply by this little book. Many times while reading it and certainly when I finished I wished I could leave cloudy Los Angeles for the golden perfect light of Cape Cod. Bravo, Mr. Cunningham, for another lovely piece of writing.



5. In this little volume Cunningham is able to capture the essence of Provincetown which is no mean feat because it is probably the most idiosyncratic and elusive town to encapsulate in the United States. He uses poetic prose and quotes some poems in his search for evoking the essential nature of the place.
   Before World War II my family brought me to the town on day trips. We would drive from Springfield, Mass. to Boston and then take the ferry across to this end-of-the world place. In 1962 I made my first visit as an adult and then became a very frequent visitor often staying for weeks at a time. Between 1970 and 1980 I owned a house and cottage there with a dear friend, and we rented out four units. The winters in P'Town are dreary and nasty, and I never spent a winter there, although I've been there every month of the year. In summers the 4,000 resident population swells to about 40,000.
   By carefully selecting details and lifestyles, Cunningham is able to paint a picture of the sexual, artistic, literary, and social strands of this bohemian town. Gays and lesbians form an important element in the town. A great many famous writers and visual artists made the town their home. It has one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, and the main drag, Commercial Street goes on for three miles along the waterfront.
   This book is a very personal account by a gay man. Because he is able to weave his own experiences into the narrative, the book becomes much more meaningful and a joy for P'Towners to read. People and places that I have saved and savored in my memory pop out as he tells this story. This book catches the look, the spirit, the personality, and the soul of America's most unique town, my beloved Provincetown. I too have spread the ashes of a loved one closeby the place where Cunningham scattered ashes of a close friend.
   Nine Lives Too Many
   The Daemon in Our Dreams
   The Rice Queen Spy
   Clawed Back from the Dead

5 comments about Stonewall Kitchen Harvest: Celebrating the Bounty of the Seasons.

1. I live to cook. I love to eat. The Stonewall Kitchen Harvest cookbook is an inspiration for both. Call me a "foodie", but as they say, "Don't call me late." Cook your way through this user-friendly book and you're going to have a lot fun in the kitchen and meal-after-meal of really good food. I've been a fan of Stonewall's since discovering their jams a dozen or so years ago and when I saw the book, I thought it was just a collection of recipes using their products. Not. If their first book is this good, I'm going to order a used one. On second thought, I don't think I want a used cookbook. Eeeuu!



2. Stonewall Kitchen Harvest is everything one wants in a new cookbook; lucious recipes and photos that lure the reader in. My first glimpse into the book elicited an "ooh, I want to try that" response. I was reminded that there is a small thrill in finding the freshest of ingrediants and this book celebrates those ingrediants with recipes that seem eminently do-able. Between Jim Stott and Jonathan King's stylish approach and Kathy's irresistable writing, they have produced a gorgeous cookbook.



3. This was a gift from a friend. I'm not a wonderful cook but I like to try new recipes. I have made made several recipes from this book and each has been perfect - very tasty - and not too difficult. Recently some friends came over for dinner and I made one of the dishes, and my friend now wants to go out and get it too. Highest praise, I'd say.



4. This is a wonderful cookbook. Great range of recipes wih fresh fruits and vegetables as the stars of these colorful dishes. Great for casual dinners with friends. The extra information on cooking tips, serving suggestions are helpful. This also makes a great gift - the photos are beautiful.



5. This book presents an incredible array of possibilities for entertaining friends and family with easy to prepare dishes. It pulls together many New England classics from my favorite region. The approach is so simple and straight-forward, that even a kitchen-klutz like myself can muster an admirable presentation! The photos alone will make your stomach growl! It was a finalist in the IACP cookbook awards for 2005.

No comments about Mountain Park (Images of America: Massachusetts).

5 comments about Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires.

1. A note about the reviewer who stated Michael Bell explores graveyards with a camera and tape recorder, like an aspiring Art Bell wanna be.

   If you read this book, which I strongly recommed for anyone who is looking for a fresh perspective on the tapestry of folklore and legends, you will discover Michael Bell is neither superstitous nor prone to fantasy. He playfully mocks those who lurk in churchyards, hoping to record a whisper from the grave and give themselves a thrill at the same time. "Food for the Dead" seeks to explore how concepts like "modern" vampirism and other legends develop and exist, using genealogical research and good sense. If you're looking for a good scare and juicy ghost stories, keep shopping. In search of a fascinating read? You found it, enjoy!




2. A series of case studies involving the (still-common) belief that the dead can be jealous of the living and return to capture them, Food for the Dead is meticulously researched. It should be noted that documentary evidence concerning digging up the dead in New England is sparse. I attended a lecture given by Bell last autumn, and he certainly seems to know everything there is to know about the topic. The book is somewhat repetitive, however, which makes it difficult to sustain interest.



3. I received all of the other books that I ordered at Christmas except this one. I would still like to receive this. At first they said it would be shipped in March, but it never was sent to us. Please advise. Thanks.



4. Forget everything you know about vampires and join the author on his 20 year investigation of "vampire" stories in New England. In an age where germ theory was not yet understood and rural communities at the edges of established Puritan religion struggled to make sense of consumption (tuberculosis) as it decimated entire families and regions, old folk remedies and legends led to the exhumation of the dead and the burning of hearts and lungs. Folklorist-historian Bell does an excellent job of researching these events and placing them within their historical context while bringing alive the human emotional response to the drama and horror involved. Definitely a worth while read and very eye-opening.



5. Food for the Death is a great book for anybody interested in New England history, vampires, and how folklore works. Michael E. Bell basically went hunting for vampires in the history of the small towns and back roads of New England. And found them. The question he has, besides did people really believe their dead were causing death and illness, was HOW did these folks come to the knowledge on how to due with the undead. Many came from England yet the methods used were those from Eastern Europe. Did they invite them on their own or did the ideas somehow come across the ocean? And how did one family in one state learn about how to deal with vampires from another family incident in another state, a event that happened generations ago? How did the cities and churches handle the hunt for the undead and why do people still believe today that VAMPIRES still exist? The book mostly focuses on how folklore grows and changes over time, changing hard facts into misty legends.

1 comments about Fishing New England : A Cape Cod Shore Guide.

1. A must for all who enjoy fishing from the shorelines of Cape Cod. Loved the format with directions and tips. Well done and great buy for the money.