1 comments about East of Boston: Notes from the Harbor Islands.

1. E-mail to author after attending a book signing at the Daily Catch Restaurant for the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands.
   My youngest son Eric called me after he finished his late Kung Fu Class and we met for a late supper. I'd brought along your book since I knew he would like it. He did. He loved it in fact.
   I could hardly get him to stop reading it while we ate. He particularly liked the story about the pet seal knocking three times on the door with his flipper so he could sleep inside his human friend's island home. He was even more interested in your book than the "All Star Home Run Derby" being broadcast live on The Uno Chicago Grill's many television screens. He only stopped to watch the rookie first tie, and then break the record. Then he was back to examining your book.
   He said he saw two coyotes when he and Ed and two of their ranger friends were camping on Bumpkin Island. The rangers were already sound to sleep, but Eric and his friend were startled by how close the two coyotes passed by them and their camp fire. They figured the canines had gotten to the island via the spit at low tide?
   Eric enjoyed visiting the islands for several years and even applied for a park ranger job. On another visit with his friend Bill this time, the rangers ordered a pizza by cell phone or radio, he couldn't remember which it was, and the four of them walked over the spit at low tide to pick it up and then carried it back over the low-water land bridge to Bumpkin Island to eat.
   I told Eric I'd give him my copy of the book as soon as I've finished reading it. If Eric is any judge, your book is going to receive a warm reception. The book is chuck full of interesting stories, legends, myths, historic photos and seems like a lost world--in the middle of Boston Harbor.
   
   The first impression that this book provoked in me was to create an over-whelming desire to take one or more of the many Boston Harbor Island boat tours that are available throughout the day. Since that's the main purpose of guidebooks, this one scored a bulls-eye on that score. Schorow is such a good writer that when she writes about local history it comes alive for her readers. My son's initial reaction was the same as mine, but while he had a favorable bias toward the harbor islands, I'd never visited any of them other than Castle Island. I was surprised at how much this book made me want to visit the islands this very weekend.
   Flying Santas, pirate treasure, former forts, hospitals, hotels and brothels, "cross-dressing ghosts", are among the topics discussed. The "Lady in Black" ghost of a woman who was supposedly hanged as a spy after attempting to help her husband escape from the Fort Warren Civil War prison, has been haunting the island for over a hundred years. She rowed to Georges Island dressed in men's clothing, but after she accidentally killed her husband while trying to shoot the fort's commander, she requested to be executed wearing her normal women's clothes, hence the cross-dressing ghost reference. That same Civil War Prison held six hundred Confederate prisoners of war including Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederate States of America. Several of the islands, including Hangmans Island, were the execution spots for pirates so that their rotting corpses twisting in the wind could be seen by any pirates sailing into port with thoughts of possibly misbehaving while visiting Boston.
   Naturally the natural wonders and wildlife of the harbor islands are also discussed including the elusive silver fox of Grape Island. That field guide material is enough to make reading the book worthwhile.
   Intertwined with accounts of her own camping trips to the various islands and the interesting people such as "the Birdinator" she met and the fascinating things she observed first-hand are wonderful bits of history such as: "Soldiers of the Twelfth Massachusetts Regiment station at Fort Warren, singing as they worked, created the famous song `John Brown's Body' to poke fun at a fellow soldier named John Brown, who shared his name with the abolitionist who led a failed armed insurrection in 1859 at Harpers Ferry. The song's catchy tune, based on the hymn `Say, Brothers Will You Meet Us?' in turn inspired Julia Ward Howe to write `The Battle Hymn of the Republic.'"
   With their long colorful history, the Boston Harbor Islands are now a wonderful National Park. There is nothing else quite like this geologist's paradise of a "'swarm' of drumlin islands that intersects a coastline." The islands have something for everyone to enjoy and provide a truly unique experience in the very heart of a major city.

No comments about Hidden History of New Hampshire.

1 comments about Trees of New England: A Natural History.

1. When looking for a New England tree field guide, I chose this book over "Native and Naturalized Trees of New England and Adjacent Canada: A Field Guide" by DeGraaf and Sendak because "Trees of New England" appeared to have more and better illustrations. A closer inspection proved that "Trees" didn't have as many as I thought. While this is my biggest criticism of the work, they can be forgiven because this book isn't primarily a field guide, but a natural history book. Also, what illustrations it does have are of exceptional quality. Amelia Hansen should be commended. I will look for other books that she has worked on.
   
   One thing that struck me was frequent references to other books that I have read, like Tom Wessels' "Reading the Forested Landscape" and Bernd Heinrich's "The Trees in my Forest", both very special works. "Trees", however, should have come first. While Wessels, Heinrich, and others will layer rich detail about specific trees or situations, they don't give the reader an overall picture of area trees. Hence, I needed a field guide.
   
   Charles Fergus lists 75 native trees and 15 common introduced species, tells us about their size, range, and other basic information, then gives us some history and maybe tells us about his personal experience with it. I much appreciated the inclusion of lumber uses of the tree. This information is given primarily in paragraph form rather than chart form, which can make a quick lookup difficult. He will repeat himself from section to sections, which can be a little annoying if you read the book cover to cover like I did, but necessary for those who read the sections reference style.
   
   If I were to nitpick, I would have grouped the Populus trees together (aspens, cottonwoods, and poplar), included the introduced trees in the main section rather than in a chapter in the back, and included more of Amelia's wonderful illustrations. The first two nits, I realize, are personal preference, and the last might have made the book larger and more expensive than the publisher might have wanted. This book offers great foundation knowledge and more. Not entirely a natural history book, not exactly a field guide, but a great balance between them.

4 comments about New England Style.

1. "I love New England's historic homes and villages, the seasons and traditions, and to share that passion with Tommy Hilfiger, was a special opportunity." Anna Kasabian author quote

   Popular Boston author Anna Kasabian explores the nooks and crannies of New England in New England Style, published by Rizzoli, USA with a foreword written by Tommy Hilfiger. Anna Kasabian, shares the people, culture, history, and especially the houses of New England with the reader through essays, stories, and observations. Arranged according to the seasons and anchored with profiles of timeless New England Houses, New England Style transports the reader onto the little traveled back roads and provides a memorable journey.




2. While the photography is stunning (by Kindra Clineff, whose name is misspelled on the cover), the text is wishy-washy and pointless. There is very little specific information on the places mentioned (history, architectural styles, etc) but rather vague inspiration for the home decorator. It's likely I'm the wrong audience for this book, but I came away from it feeling like I didn't learn anything about New England.



3. Organized into the seasons, New England Style captures the mood of the New England lifestyle. With Beautiful Photographs and season discriptions, the book perfectly captures the traditions, pastimes and familiar places we all know and visit through out the years. From the cold winter nights in an eighteenth century snowbound cottage to the rural Pumpkin Patch in Cumberland Maine, this book excites you to enjoy all New England and it's seasons have to offer. It's truly a wonderful book. I give you my word!



4. I think that the only criticism that I can level at this book is that the authors could have elaborated more on the locality of where the pictures were taken. In some cases they do, and in others they don't. Overall, however, this book provides the reader a colorful and clear glimpse into the pellucid sanctuaries that make up New England. The trees, the houses, the gardens, lakes and seas!! Great book.

4 comments about Lost Boston.

1. What a handsome book this is! I can't decide whether I liked the photos more or the text. The history is elegantly written and fascinating. How many people realize that Boston was literally created from the marshlands, spoonful by spoonful. The cast of characters who lived in this so-called Athens of America had an equally splendid selection of architects and places to live. The photos are a real treasure. I keep turning back to so many. The first edition was a classic, my mother told me. And this updated one has not only the older traditional rownhouses and state house and the pictures of the monumental construction of such attractions as the PUblic Garden and Common but a new cast. There are images of neon lights and amusement parks and the author (whose last book Asphalt Nation was a stunner with a polemic cast) has added photos of saved and threatened buildings to tell the 2lst century story. I couldn't recommend this more.



2. What a treat to have this updated version of the author's classic history of Boston. The photos still resonate with the sadness of their loss and the beauty of their existence. But this isn't just a coffee table book. It remains the best history of this fascinating old, and new, city. I especially liked the supplement telling what had been saved, what was threatened and what was lost. I bought the first version 20 years ago and have bought the second to give to the next generation in my household to say how cities grow and should grow. A splendid book!



3. Boston has a reputation for being something of a Puritanical stick-in-the-mud. It is surprising, then, that it has experimented so vigorously and persistently with its urban design. Some of those experiments - the Back Bay and the Emerald Necklace - we recognize as glittering successes, while others - the creation of Government Center and the Fitzgerald Expressway - are festering failures that the city is only beginning to address today. Of the numerous histories and narratives that this tremendously fertile subject has produced (many of which I've read), the most wide-ranging, elegantly written and well illustrated that I have found is Jane Holtz Kay's Lost Boston. It works equally well as a coffee table book and a curl-up-on-the-couch book.

   The creation and evolution of Boston is arranged here chronologically, starting with the first settlements in 1630 and concluding with an epilogue on urban renewal and it's ramifications at the close of the 20th century. Even though it is an accurate history, it tells a great story without becoming dry or academic. The language is descriptive and accessible, introducing major players in the Boston scene, from Charles Bulfinch to James Michael Curley. You also get a wonderful feel not just for the power brokers, but the neighborhoods, people and places that made the city a vibrant place. There is a warmth to Kay's writing, without delving into sentimentality. Because the background history - the day-to-day development that made Boston the Hub of the Universe - is so readable, it helped me understand the context of major events in the city's history: filling of Back Bay, the Great Fire of November 1872 and the razing of the West End in the 1960's. Instead of examining these as isolated events, they are knit together to show the city as a living, evolving organism. It was fascinating to see how Boston reinvented itself after the Fire, to see the creation of Frederick Law Olmstead's Emerald Necklace, only to lose its way, lured by the siren song of renewal.

   And throughout are some of the best photographs and period illustrations of old Boston you're likely to ever see. There are the bustling wharfs on Atlantic Avenue, the original Museum of Fine Arts (where the Hancock Tower now stands), and the graceful mansions of Roxbury. There are dozens of examples of the Boston Granite style that dominated the city's architecture before the Great Fire. For me, the most moving photographs were the ones of Adams and Scollay Square and the West End, all of which fell victim to the wrecking ball to make way for Government Center and urban renewal. They themselves serve as simple, eloquent statements for common sense and reason when it comes to grand urban experiments.

   And yet, it's an unfinished history. The Big Dig - the largest public works project in American history - is nearing completion, which will bring down the despised Fitzgerald Expressway. The land cleared for that highway will yet again be developed into inhabitable space and add another major chapter in the history of the city's evolution. So as history loops back on itself in Boston, it does so in new and unforeseen ways. In that, Lost Boston serves us well as a history and a speculation on the future of the city.




4. A 1999 revised edition of the 1980 classic by one-time Boston Globe and current Nation architectural critic Jane Kay, this beautiful book is filled with images of buildings and squares tragically allowed to fall into disrepair, destroyed by fire or bulldozed for parking lots and malls. Pictures, maps and photographs are black & white, and are interspersed throughout the book, organized into subjects such as signs, spires, schools, etc. The text is arranged chronologically, and is generally well-written and highly accessible. The author delves into the history, policies and people of various times from 1630 to the present day.

   Many of the buildings and areas depicted are truly beautiful, some destroyed as recently as the 1970s, when you'd think people would have known better. Scenes after the fire of November 1872 make you want to cry. I have a fair number of pictorial histories of The Hub, and still found some pictures in here that I hadn't seen elsewhere, and the author's perspective is worthwhile reading.

   The book is constructed of high quality paper and concludes with picture credits, a selected bibliography and a good index. It should be of interest to those with some connection to Boston, architecture or history, particularly of the 18th and 19th century.

No comments about Wine Mondays: Simple Wine Pairings with Seasonal Menus.

2 comments about 50 More Hikes in New Hampshire: Day Hikes and Backpacking Trips from Mount Monadnock to Mount Magalloway, Fifth Edition (50 Hikes).

1. I found this book to be extremely helpful. It makes planning a hiking agenda easy. Great maps and detailed overviews. This book gives you the confidence to allow you to explore more of New Hampshire. No matter which trail you decide to take on...you will know what to expect. Even gives guides to "rainy day" hikes. The only drawback is that you will want to pack it with you!



2. I have over a dozen books on hiking in New Hampshire (my favorite state and place to climb) but this has to be one of the few that really gets detailed on the trail's good points and bad ones and what to watch for.
   The trails are varied, some long and more of 'getting there' attitude and some short but very scenic. The authors really let you know about spots to stop at and why and other neat things to watch for.
   I have done at least 12 of the 50 and plan on all if I am able in this short life, lol. No complaints about the descriptions. Also very pleased with the accurate info on parking and directions to the trailhead, which is confusing in some other books.
   This is the second book to the 50 Hikes series for New Hampshire, both are unbelievable and invaluable in their information. This one takes us from Barrett Mountain in Southern NH (which by the way is impossible to find informative hiking information on)through the Whites and even one in the Far North. There are quite a few essential 4,000 footers in here, so don't miss out!
   
   Tracy Talley~@

No comments about Foghorn Outdoors New England Biking: 100 of the Best Road and Trail Rides (Foghorn Outdoors).

3 comments about Wishbone Classic #06 Adv of Robin Hood (Wishbone Classics).

1. This author is truly wonderful,because he/she uses action, horror, fantsy and suprise.



2. I read a book called: WISHBONE THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD. It was really good.A funny part was when little John tricked the sheriff that he was bad.I liked it a lot. The author is Joan Mattern.The book had a lot of bow and arrow shooting and a lot of fighting so if you like books with kings and knights and outlaws you'll like this one!



3. If you love the stories of Robin Hood then you'll love this book.It's some of the many stories of Robin Hood with Wishbone as your guide.It's good for young kids because Wishbone is right there explaining things like what is chain mail armor.I don't think I could give this book any thing but 5 stars.

3 comments about A New England Town : The First Hundred Years : Dedham, Massachusetts, 1636-1736 (Norton Essays in American History).

1. Lockridge, a new socialist writer, bases his text on wills, deeds, and other hard evidence. This makes for an acedemically full but un-interesting read. He does do a good job of showing how the Puritans failed by succeeding. For anyone looking for the most complete view of early New England, this is it.



2. "A New England Town" is a fascinating exploration of the evolution of Dedham, Massachusetts, from its founding as a haven for English Puritans in 1636 over its first century. An example of the local historical investigations in vogue during the latter 1960s, in which the author teases out details about an individual community but effectively draws linkages to broader concerns and themes, Kenneth Lockridge offered a compelling portrait of colonial life, society, economics, and politics in New England. Lockridge is a follower of the French Annales School most identified with Marc Bloch, Lucien Febvre, and Ferdinand Braudel which seeks to shift the focus from conventional historical themes and methods toward comprehensive human activity and large-scale social change over long periods of time.
   
   "A New England Town" carries out this task quite effectively. Most importantly, Lockridge explodes the myth of the democratic New England town in which resolute Yeoman farmers and common tradesmen made the laws in a consensus manner. What we find is that while Dedham started as a utopian, communal experiment, it quickly evolved into something else as competing world views demolished Puritan hegemony. In that conflict all parties had to ensure that the rights of the minority were not trampled upon. In an irony too great to ignore, Lockridge documents how political conflict fostered the rise of democratic institutions as bulwarks against oppression. It was the second and third generations of Dedham's inhabitants who created this system, and ensured minority protection, not the original Puritans who founded the town.
   
   I first read "A New England Town" in graduate school in the latter 1970s and was impressed with what seemed its exceptionally fresh approach, both in terms of methodology (heavily demographic), and perspective (the Annales school). Having just reread the work, I find that it remains an important benchmark in the historiography of colonial North America and Puritanism. I recommend it as a foundational work on the subject.



3. Double descendent of founders. No doubt distressed given current antithesis to their strict mores.
   O tempora! O mores!