No comments about Ghost Hunters of New England.

1 comments about Rock Climbing New England (Regional Rock Climbing Series).

1. Let's get this straight, "Rock Climbing New England" is one of those select guidebooks. Author Stewart Green picks out 15 areas in all of New England and only describes certain climbs in each. That said, there are almost 750 climbs detailed, not at all an insignificant number, and from what I can tell most are done quite well.

   In some cases Green repeats information already available in Webster or other guides. Still, it does have some of the new climbs on Cathedral and Whitehorse, like George Hurley's great 10c addition to the Cathedral Ledge North End, Bailsafe. The coolest thing is that Green includes information on areas that to my knowledge have never been included in any guidebook, like Rose Ledge in central Mass and Owl's Head in New Hampshire.

   Sure there are those who will find fault, there always are. But in spite of having set a very lofty goal, "Rock Climbing New England" succeeds. If you can only afford one, or just want the only available info on one of those obscure places that you have only heard about through the grapevine, this guide will be well worth the investment.

1 comments about The Jews of Boston.

1. I purchased this book because it covered Jews in Colonial American and my prior knowledge had been confined to the very small Jewish communities (only a few dozen families) in New York City, Newport, Rhode Island, and Philadelphia before and during the Revolutionary War. I was somewhat disappointed to find that the Jew who came to Boston in 1649 remained in the colonies for less than three months. Others came and went for another century and apparently only one resided in Boston in 1695. New York remained the dominant Jewish community throughout and a permanent Jewish community was not truly established in Boston until 1843 when enough emigrants had arrived to ensure consistent minyanim.
   
   Of note is that Protestants in America including those in Boston actively recruited Jews from Central Europe to emigrate in the early 19th century. They sincerely hoped (and expected) the Jews would convert to Christianity and saw themselves as saviors doing God's work in saving Jewish souls. Of course, the reality was that few converted.
   
   The essays that make up this book are extremely well written although they add a gloss for the average reader. It is intended to generate a sense of pride in the Jewish community, and no doubt succeeds handsomely. Certainly this volume far eclipses works presenting histories of other ethnic and religious groups in the US such as Roman Catholics, Scotch-Irish, Germans, Presbyterians, etc. But the most valuable aspect for the non-Jew is that this volume presents the lives and histories of Jews for Jews, not Jews as how they want to be seen by non-Jews. Their posture towards a benevolent US, albeit heavily laced with virulent strains of anti-semitism, is fascinating. The US provided a (compared to the states in Europe) safe place for Jews to live and prosper and they responded with a surfeit of community activism and philanthropy.
   
   As a final aside, this volume did not materially aid me in my research into colonial America. In particular I was searching for Jewish participation in the Revolutionary War, and if the reader can offer any references that could be of use, I would be most appreciative. Unfortunately, this book skipped over such items, and indeed all wars in which the US participated, except for the recruitment of 8,000 Jewish men into the "Jewish Legion" of the British Army in 1917 which fought in Palestine. Perhaps a future volume could add an essay or two concerning Jews in the US military.

No comments about New England Bed & Breakfast Cookbook: From the Warmth & Hospitality of 107 New England B&B's and Country Inn (Bed & Breakfast Cookbook Series).

3 comments about When in Boston: A Time Line & Almanac.

1. When In Boston: A Time Line & Almanac is a reference chronology that traces landmark events in Boston year by year, from the 1600's to the present day. Each event is given an iconic category marker to distinguish its nature at an immediate glance, from hallmarks of social change, crimes, or disasters to events pertaining to religion, education, politics, sports and recreation, and much more. Vintage black-and-white photographs or reproductions of famous paintings illustrate this survey, and an index allows for swift lookup of pivotal events in Boston's history. A fascinating wealth of historical information, and an easy-to-use quick reference especially recommended for local Boston reporters, historians, and lay people or tourists interested in learning about the city's grand history.



2. This is the place to go for every question you ever wanted to ask about Boston's history.Accurate and deatiled there is simply nothng else like it!



3. I did take advice from the two reviews when deciding to take this book. This book turned out to be just what I was looking for - a gathering of "events" marking time - from beginning to present - in the city of Boston. I was particularly interested in the old photographs and wished the author had inserted more of them - as this added immense value to the written word and enhanced the historical experience. Almost every historical accounting where old photographs or prints are used seems to contain different selections - even when writing of similar events and I find the visuals very important.
   
   Further, it gives the reader an idea or two about places to visit while there - perhaps unintentionally, but it was a measure I took from it as I was on a family tree search at the time. Book recommended as an excellent source for a "cut to the chase", solid research of history of the City. I'm sure Bostonians could come up with a correction here and there and I did find the "elected governors" slightly confusing by his wording use of "elected again" when it would seem otherwise, but that was minor.

3 comments about Nantucket Ghosts.

1. I bought this book while vacationing on Nantucket in hopes for a good scare. Written by a children's book author, I was expecting the scares to be watered-down and the fantasy to be fluffed up. This was not the case. The stories are well-written and captivating. The author includes first-hand accounts from witnesses and has managed to round-up some really bizarre and extremely creepy ghost stories.



2. The people you will meet in these accounts are lovely people. People you'd want to have over for dinner, or ask to recommend a book to you. People you might have sit your dog or borrow a cup of sugar from. And they have some very scary things to say. You may or may not believe in ghosts when you begin this book, but after finishing it, you'll have to wonder. Not recommended for bedtime reading!



3. This book was a page-turner right from the beginning. This is quite simply one of the best ghost story collections I have ever read, especially for one that is concerned with such a concise regional area. The stories are well varied, the writing is snappy and moves right along, and the storytellers keep nicely to the point. There's no embellished fluff or rehashing of old legends here. ALL of these stories are first-hand accounts witnessed by contemporary people. Some of these tales will make you smile, some will make you chuckle, and others will quite effectivley put a lead ball in the pit of your stomach.
   
   The author has nicely captured the essence of Nantucket by letting the people describe their heritage for themselves. Her detailed descriptions of the architecture bring alive these places for you. Nantucket is one of those places you'll never forget once you have been there, and these candid people will help show you why. In addition to all the local history and genealogy, doors open and close, sturdy latches won't stay shut, lights turn on and off, voices of all types haunt present day residents, ghostly footsteps abound, and much more! I was especially intrigued by the lady whose entire family of ancestors seems to be staying on in her house with her.
   
   Having grown up in a Massachusetts home built in 1788, I can appreciate the value the residents place on preserving their historical and generational traditions. This book will give you a real sense of how these people relate to their island, their homes, and their living history. If you are interested in Nantucket, or just love curling up with a good ghost story or two, this one's for you.

No comments about The Practice of Piety: Puritan Devotional Disciplines in Seventeenth-Century New England (Published for the Institute of Early AME).

5 comments about Against the Tide of Years (Island in the Sea of Time).

1. This was entertaining, the research was extensive, the antagonists were exhausting and the protagonists were ethical to a fault (can ethics be a fault?). Like all second children this one had issues. There were lots of loose ends to be resolved in the next book, a "filler" feel to some of it as story lines were beefed up for the climax and that wonderful middle book introspection by the main characters as some of them got to take a breathe and consider their future. That said, there were some great battles, some exciting new plot lines and bunches and bunches of reasons to grab the next book and see what happens. My only suggestion... PROVIDE A MAP. Holy cow, we're all over the world here and I get confused easily.



2. A fun read for those who are interested in History of Civilization. It reminded me of the old Saturday Night Live skit, "What if Sparticus had an airplane". The writer obviously did his research, especially into indo-earopean languages.



3. This novel, the second in Stirling's trilogy of modern Nantucket mysteriously sent back in time to the Bronze Age, continues the story begun in Island in the Sea of Time. As with the first book in the trilogy, this book is fantastic - with a few provisos.
   
   The novel is set eight years after the Event that sent Nantucket three thousand years into the past. Over those eight years, Nantucket has become the Republic of Nantucket, with a democratic Council, Town Meeting, and a protectorate over Alba - the "White Isle", bronze age England. In the meantime, renegade Coast Guard officer William Walker has escaped to Greece with the help of his ally Isketerol of Tartessos, and built a tyranny based on modern technology in Agamemnon's Mycenae. Ultimately, both sides know that, in the long run, war is coming; the novel deals with the events that are leading to that ultimate conflict.
   
   From the scenes of the Nantucketers building an alliance with Shuriash of Babylon, to images of explorers led by Peter Giernas crossing North America in the late Archaic period, to the land and sea battles in Africa and on Nantucket itself, Stirling again shows he can build an entire past world in satisfying, rich detail. However, master though he is, Stirling stumbles a bit in this second novel in a few ways that detract from the book.
   
   First, as other reviewers have noted, there's the matter of times. Stirling tries to show, through flashbacks, what Walker has been doing through the time between the Event and the "current" events on Nantucket. Unfortunately, the dates he uses clash with the time frame set in the first novel, and don't always mesh with each other. A minor error, but crucial to the novel's plausibility.
   
   Second, Stirling's characters tend towards being - all of them, even the villains - logical rationalists. The problem is that people rarely operate logically in the real world, and the people of the past would have relied far more on belief in magic and the supernatural than people of the modern day. While at least some of this is evident in the scenes from Babylon, particularly the revolt provoked by an unintentionally introduced smallpox epidemic, I'd like to have seen a bit more emotion from the principal characters, given the circumstances.
   
   Third and last, the growth of Tartessos, the ally of Walker, as a "modern" power isn't fleshed out as well as it could be. The reader is presented with Isketerol as king, in a modernized Tartessos, at the novel's start; given that the first book ended with him transporting Walker from Alba as a fugitive, I found this "presentation" rushed and not as convincing as it should have been.
   
   However, these bobbles are relatively minor in what is, on the whole, a worthy successor to the first novel in the trilogy. Against the Tide of Years is a great read, and leads well towards the final showdown.



4. I started reading the Sea of Time series after I read the later 'Change' first trilogy. I can tell Stirling's writing has improved between the two series.
   But,back to Against the Tide of Years. Stirling's weakest points are his characters and his descriptions of the natural environment I generally skip the latter as they are nothing more than tedious enumerations. He could learn a lot from Poul Anderson's evocations, which are shorter, but brimming with atmosphere.
   The characters, unfortunately, you cannot escape. Most are settled in their ways and reading Marion Alston's thoughts for the umpteenth time is not very entertaining.
   Speaking of Marion, her love affair and relationship with Swindapa is very awkwardly presented. I'm not one to skip erotic passages, yet in this book I always felt embarrassed when the lights went out in the Commodore's cabin or her room. As a side note, Stirling's romance and sex presentation has improved a lot with 'Dies the Fire'. But there is still plenty of room for improvement.
   I like the action sequences and the overall evolution of the plot. Also the realistic technological evolution, although I feel some more creative contraptions should have emerged from the Island's shops.
   In this aspect, Leo Frankowski's 'Conrad Stargard' series shines in comparison. I'd rather lead the Christian Army rather than the Nantucket Marines any day :) Conrad started with nothing and built ...well, let's not spoil it for everyone.
   And if we're comparing the two series, Leo's zany books offer a lot more humor, zany characters and sensuality. Too bad he started slipping after the fifth book in the Conrad series.
   You got to hand it to Stirling. He's a lot more meticulous and thinks of the finished product versus going off on amusing, but sometimes failing, tangents, a la Frankowski.
   Overall, I give the book a 3 out of 5 stars.
   Pluses: scope, details and battles.
   Minuses: characters and descriptions.



5. Eight years after the Event, the Nantucketers finally decide that William Walker must be brought to justice. (What took them so long?) This is the first (not quite) half of that story, and I found it even more enjoyable than the first book, Island in the Sea of Time (Island), which you should read first because it provides the background.
   
   Most of the action in ATTOY takes place in the (then) fertile crescent where Western civilization began, and some history of which is known, which I think is part of why I enjoyed it more than ISLAND, much of which took place in the British Isles before any recorded history thereof. (Stonehenge was already there, but all we know about it is what was learned from the artifact itself.) ATTOY has to (and does) accord with the known history of the region, except for the changes caused by the Nantucketers.
   
   One jarring note: near the bottom of page 294 (paperback) is the sentence
   
   "That was where the Chamberlain was under repair in the spanking-new dry dock, and a second being was constructed." We never learn the nature of the being that was constructed, and it doesn't figure in the plot, so why even mention it?
   
   Three things I wish were included in these books: (1) maps of the region(s), (2) Cast of characters, both such as are provided in Eric Flint's 1632 (The Assiti Shards) and 1633; and (3) historical notes, such as Miriam Grace Monfredo includes in Seneca Falls Inheritance and its sequels.
   
   Even without those, I greatly enjoyed IITSOT and ATTOY, and am currently enjoying the third book, On the Oceans of Eternity, and I heartily recommend them. Enjoy!
   
   watziznaym@gmail.com

No comments about The Great Meadow: Farmers and the Land in Colonial Concord (Yale Agrarian Studies Series).

5 comments about New England Forests Through Time : Insights from the Harvard Forest Dioramas.

1. Imagine yourself transported back in time to an ancient forest in central New England prior to settlement. As in a time lapsed movie, the ecosystem is transformed before your eyes into a subsistence farm surrounded by forest, to one dominated by prosperous farms with only remnant patches of forest dotting the land, to the forest reclaiming the abandoned farm landscape. This was part of an ubiquitous land use history that was replicated througout much of New England. The history is superbly depicted in Foster's and O'Keefe's "New England Forest Through Time: Insights from The Harvard Forest Dioramas". The narrative and photographs of the breath-taking dioramas capture the economic and natural forces that shaped the New England Landscape. The description and pictorials cover the abuses the land suffered from deforestation, overgrazing, and widespread clearcutting, and exacerbated by unnaturally high incidence of fire. The book expounds upon the different wildlife habitat associated with the changes that have occured as well as forest management techniques and current forestry issue. This book is an excellent tool for natural resource managers and educators as well as the layman who wants to know why there are apple trees, stone walls, cellar holes in the middle of the woods.



2. Perhaps microcosm is not quite the world, Forests Through Time offers a fascinating angle of insight into one aspect of the ecological development of New England. For a wider angle, one reads Bullough's Pond, and for the complete picture of the land in colonial times, Changes in the Land. This however is a fascinating view and well worth perusing.



3. Many people do not realize that Harvard University has its own forest in New England. The forest has been a source of study for silviculture since its founding in 1907 for almost 100 years.

   In the late 1920s, Harvard professor Richard T. Fisher joined with a philanthropist, Dr. Ernest G. Stillman, and talented artisans in the studio of Guernsey and Pitman in Harvard Square to develop a remarkable series of dioramas to capture conservation issues for future generations of silviculture students to study. These dioramas are the basis for the text and illustrations in this book.

   New England was mostly ancient forest when the European settlers arrived. The small Native American population cleared only a modest portion of the forests, and used the game from the forests rather more than the timber. With immigration, New England rapidly became one big farm. So much for the original forests. Next, the New England farms were put out of business by richer, midwestern farms shipping their goods to the east. Within a few decades, new forests arose to cover the temporarily cleared and abandoned fields. With rapid growth in pines, a second wave of clearing occurred about a hundred years ago, leaving the forests to start to regrow again. The current hardwood-dominated forests are a result of this man-driven process. These experiences provide many lessons for understanding the impact that people have on forests, and for suggesting better practices for the future.

   In one sequence of seven dioramas depicting the same place over time, you can see the whole historical process take place. I found it fascinating. I recognized in each image places that I had visited in New England. Now I can connect each site to what it represents in terms of environmental circumstances. That is like learning to read nature in the way I can read a book to get a message.

   Today, we think ahead further (but probably not yet far enough) to consider the implications of our actions on future generations and other species. These dioramas show the importance of capturing the natural history of an area to begin to draw those lessons.

   Another set of dioramas were designed to exemplify the conservation issues in New England forests, including loss of old-growth forests, habitat needs for wildlife, natural losses due to hurricanes, erosion from cutting forests, imported pests that feed on forests, and the impact of natural fires and fighting forest fires.

   To me the most fascinating part was in the suggested good principles of forestry management. Each stage of forest growth and regrowth is displayed, along with what needs to be done for each stage. This reminded me of being asked about what to do by a client with very large holdings of forests in Maine a few years ago. If I had known about these dioramas, I could have given much more appropriate and valuable advice. I do feel quite a pang of regret at the missed opportunity, as a result.

   The final section of the book shows the detail of how the dioramas were created.

   The book also tells you about the history of the Harvard Forest and how to reach the Fisher Museum where the dioramas are displayed. I recommend the visit!

   The reference to Bullough's Pond in the title of this review is for the highly regarded book that slightly preceded this one, about the ecological history of a man-made pond in Newton, Massachusetts. If you have not yet read that fine work, you have a real treat ahead of you. Anyone who is interested in understanding the rhythms between humans and nature can learn much from these two books.

   Having read these two books, a new question occurs to me. At one time, forest fires were aggressively avoided in New England. The current view is that these are a natural process and should not be so aggressively countered. Where else do our views need to be shifted to reflect the long-term best interests of all?

   How should use of forests and water reserves be adjusted to reflect optimum benefits for the next ten generations? How would our use change if this question were stretched to cover twenty generations? Do we even know how to think about these questions? Do we have plans to be able to learn how?

   Overcome the presumption that only the here and now is important. What we do here and now is very important, but our decisions need to be much more independent of momentary needs and perspectives.




4. This book is the result of a three-way collaboration between a scientist, a philanthropist and artist dedicated to producing a diorama depicting 300 years of New England's natural and cultural history.

   The work, started in the late 1920, captures the essence of the Harvard Forest approach to environmental science, in which a solid understanding of the landscape history provides a basis for interpretation and conservation of nature.

   Lifelike and detailed, the dioramas' historical and ecological approach remains relevant today as it becomes more apparent that changes in nature can only be assessed through long-term perspectives.




5. Major overlook. The Indians did not cut down many trees, but changed the forest ecology dramatically by burning out the underbrush once or twice a year in massive fires, so that they could move and hunt more freely (and move silently). This omission spoils the understanding of forest life by injecting a modern political angle of environmentalism that would be better left out.