5 comments about Changes in the Land, Revised Edition: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England.

1. This text was assigned as part of a college history course. As part of my initial reading I found the text to be wordy, indirect and a little overly complicated. However, after reviewing the test for an essay it became far more easily to take meaningful information from. Cronon does an excellent job explaining the transition of Indian culture and society. He also does a very good job of explaining the complex interaction between Indians and European settlers and the American wilderness. In my opinion Cronon focuses on capitalism and the transitions towards capitialism and Indian society. Overall a good history read, very applicable to American history.



2. William Cronon's book was a seminal effort in 1983 that established a new way of thinking about history. It has stood the test of time. The book describes the modes and manner of the ecological impacts that English settlers had on the New England landscape in the colonial era. Some impacts were intentional, others not so much. For example, by the time first permanent settlements were established beginning at Plymouth in 1620, many Indian villages had already been devastated by European diseases (Europeans, especially fishermen had been frequenting the New England fisheries for decades).
   
   The English settlers brought the English methods of farming, new concepts of property, and a market economy that overwhelmed the tribes and transformed the landscape. Forests were cleared, beaver were over-hunted, fences erected, new and domesticated animals and plants were introduced.
   
   An added bonus in this 20th anniversary edition is a delightful afterword by the author reflecting on the book and how it came to be only through repeated serendipity. An added bonus for Wisconsin readers are his reflections on growing up in Madison as the son of a UW history professor and how those experiences shaped his professional life.
   
   Cronon sagely instructs us to asks 'how so Alien a Then could have become so familiar a Now'. Changes in the Land also wrought changes in the way we think.



3. This is not so much a book about New England per se as on how ecology should mould our understanding of history. For too long historians have ignored the ecological/environmental dimension to history, especially colonial history; and Cronon's book is one among a number of path-breaking works that serves to redress the balance.
   
   As Cronon convincingly argues, the strength of ecological analysis in writing history lies in its ability to uncover processes and long-term changes which might otherwise remain invisible. Indeed, ecological change is used throughout the book as a window through which to uncover the complex long-term changes wrought by the arrival of the puritans to New England since the seventeenth century. The full impact of European colonisation cannot be understood apart from the new relationship they established with the New England ecosystem though their commoditisation of resources and their involvement in the international capitalist economy, both of which greatly impacted the land and its previous inhabitants, the Indians. These changes were cultural as much as they were simply environmental or economic: the arrival of the pig, for one, was bound in a cultural relationship to, among other things, the fence, the dandelion, and a very special definition of property.
   
   Of course, the book also offers up fascinating insights into the changing New England landscape from 1600 to 1800. It corrects misconceptions about an unchanging primeval forest before the arrival of the Europeans, or of Indians as passive agents in subsequent changes wrought. It also establishes the origins of the environmental problems in the region such as deforestation, soil erosion, and resultant climate changes - the legacy of which we still live with today.
   
   If this book interests you, so should other landmark studies on ecological or environmental history, such as Alfred Crosby's `Ecological Imperialism' or Donald Worster's `Dust Bowl'.



4. This is a very good piece of work. Cronon manages to keep all possible biases aside. He attributes ecological changes or problems to both natives and colonists. However, he argues that English Colonists were responsible for the greatest amount of damage. It was not a 200 page book on Europe ruined America but a well written analysis on European, in particular England, ways of life and how they dramatically altered the face of America. Natives and Europeans has two completely different ideas of property, life, etc. Without criticizing the English he shows how the English colonists ideas of agriculture changed the face of New England. It was not a thirst for destruction but a way of life or agriculture that Europeans worked with for 2-3000 years. Cronon does a good job showing how English recognized the problem, although little was done to fix it, and attempted to find solutions. It was a well balanced piece of work and narrated from a neutral perspective.



5. William Cronon's book Changes in the Land illuminates the relationship and impact the European colonial settlers had with their environment in New England. The main premise for this book is that different human cultures interact with their environment according to their cultural norms and subsequently have varying effects upon their surrounding environment as a result. Furthermore, Cronon illustrates that these effects created by humans on the environment have consequences which in turn affect the human population and its society. Ultimately he accomplishes the task of showing historically that Americans have the live it up now and pay for it later approach with the environment they live in and unfortunately most Americans still have not learned from previous mistakes with regards to the environment because they still think in terms of wastefulness instead of practical conservation. Even though the concept of Americans being wasteful with their natural resources is common knowledge today, this book truly shows the magnitude of wastefulness European colonial settlers had with their natural resources and the resulting negative consequences for the ecosystem and their own society. Changes in the Land does s superb job of highlighting the fact that this wasteful relationship that Americans have had with their environment has been ongoing since day one they set foot on the North American continent.
   
   William Cronon definitely has the expert knowledge to write a book on the subject of environmental history. In a sense you can say his whole life has involved history and the environment. The afterword in Changes in the Land clearly shows that this book was not only a work that was initially started while he was at Yale as a graduate student, but also was influenced by his own interest of history and the environment even from his childhood. According to Cronon he was inspired as a youngster by his father who was a professor of American history at the University of Wisconsin and by growing up in an area that already had citizens aware and concerned about environmental issues. (pp. 171,173) Furthermore, Cronon's list of academic positions, writings on environmental history, and professional memberships are too numerous to account for in this small book review. Needless to say, after reading his list of lifetime accomplishments in this area on his website it is overwhelmingly clear he wrote this book from an authoritative viewpoint on the subject at hand.
   
   Cronon accomplishes this authoritative viewpoint by juxtaposition of different perspectives and integrating evidence and information from other disciplines. Cronon initially uses the contrast of Henry Thoreau's account of the natural environment in1855 with an over two hundred years earlier account of the environment in New England by an English traveler named William Wood from 1633. Thoreau was obviously disenchanted with changes that had taken place in the environment since William Wood's day which was evident in his comment, "Is it not, a maimed and imperfect nature that I am conversant with?" (p. 4) Famous intellectuals, early naturalists, and traveler's documentation of the landscape were only some sources of evidence. Cronon also used a wide variety of other sources of information such as colonial town records from the courts and legislation, ecological data, and archeological records to build his case although he was wise enough to note that "caution is required in handling all these various forms of evidence (and nonevidence), together they provide a remarkably full portrait of ecological change in colonial New England." (p. 8) In chapters two through five he juxtaposes the European colonists' and Native Indians' society by comparing their relationship with and effect they respectively had on their environment. The general points Cronon makes, hopefully not oversimplifying too much, were firstly, Europeans viewed the natural resources of New England as commodities and the value they attached to them were based on whether or not the were valuable commodities in Europe. Secondly, Indians had a subsistence economy and moved to different locations depending on the season of the year which dictated where adequate food supplies could be found verses the Europeans who had fixed settlements in which they utilized agriculture and husbandry to generate food and eventually a profit for the excess that they cultivated. Thirdly, Indians' perspective of property was they owned the use of the resources on the land and shared the use of the resources with others where as Europeans perspective of owned property was that they owned a specific tract of land identified by clear boundaries in which the land and everything on it was owned by the individual. This comparison served to highlight the impact and consequences on the environment by European colonists due to the way the viewed land and natural resources of New England. The remainder of the book dealt with the consequences of the Europeans interaction with their environment.
   
   Chapter five more or less made the point that due to the impact of diseases on the Indian population and the subsequent restructuring of their social and political system they needed to find a way to survive. One way to survive was to trade with the Europeans and a commodity that was valuable to the Europeans was fur. Indians participated in the decimation of animals that provided these furs and hence they got sucked into the European mercantile trade economy in which eventually they ended up trading their way of life away and the environment suffered for it in the process by losing large populations of animals. Chapters six and seven clearly illustrated the wasteful practices of European colonists with the natural resources such as timber which lead to deforestation, hotter summers, colder winters, and more floods as a consequence. The wasteful shortsighted practices of European colonists were also pervasive by the use of their non-friendly environmental agriculture and husbandry practices which only resulted in a vicious cycle of destruction with the environment they lived in. Cronon used an eyewitness account of the colonial time period to conclude his book. A Swedish traveler Peter Kalm summarized nicely the shortsighted wasteful practices of the Europeans colonists by saying "the grain fields, the meadows, the forests, the cattle, etc. are treated with equal carelessness." (p. 168) Kalm concluded that "This kind of agriculture will do for a time, but it will afterwards have bad consequences, as everyone may clearly see." (p. 169)
   With that being said, Cronon did a wonderful job a presenting his case and providing evidence which made this book a very interesting read. The only downside for a reader (which is no fault of Cronon's because he is only the messenger), was the disappointing feeling and thought that this is typical behavior of humans when interacting with their environment and why don't people in general learn from their past mistakes?

5 comments about A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life.

1. JI Packer is a gifted scholar. Not because he has any unusual knowledge or superior intellect (altho he does possess these in abundance!) - but because he has chosen to make the past accessible to us.
   
   This past is not an everyday event. The age of the Puritans was uniquely God-seeking and Lord-exalting. These Puritans knew whom to fear, knew whom to turn to, knew whom to extol, knew whom to obey.
   
   In a century of persecution and The Great Assizes, during turbulent and antagonistic reigns, they made it known that they served only under One's rule. These men and women of the past, were fearless and absolutely committed to the Reformation. They were not satisfied with half-measures or the petty pay-offs their lords so regularly gave into.
   
   Even in their everyday life, they suffered trials of incredible variety.
   It is only an attestation to God's providence, His gracious benevolence, that they withstood the test of time.
   
   And so this is the premier work on those Giant Redwoods. It is inescapable in its scope and God-revering in its content.
   
   'The doctrine of revelation is in the melting-pot; the historic evangelical belief in verbal communication from God thru the Bible is at a discount; can Owen, the greatest British divine of his day, if not of all time, help us recover and re-establish the truth?
   
   Or is he himself vulnerable to criticism? One feature of the contemporary theological scene is the polemic of Karl Barth and some of his followers against expositors of Reformed orthodoxy for having, as they allege, foreshortened their doctrine of divine communication by 'freezing' the Spirit in the Scriptures.
   
   In fact, we shall find that the criticism, as applied to Owen, is wholly invalid, and that the point at which Barth regards Owen's generation deficient, is actually the point of Owen's greatest mastery.' pg 84
   
   The Puritans are being heard from the pulpits again, thanks to men like Packer and Lloyd-Jones. Their legitimate voice has many a word of advice to a complacent, under-achieving Western world, where once they ruled in submissive allegiance to a glorious God. They are the intellectual giants of our Christian culture.



2. I heard that this was a life changing book so I took advatange of ordering it on Amazon and have been greatly pleased.



3. J. I. Packer is one of the top thinkers of our day. His love for the Puritans is obvious from his devotion to their thoughts and theology. This is perhaps the best book Packer has written. Everyone should have this book on their shelf.



4. Packer does an outstanding job imparting the Purtain's' Christian beliefs and how it relates to our everyday walk with Christ.



5. In 336 densely packed pages and over several chapters, Packer, in his book, 'A Quest for Godliness,' brings the reader face to face with many different facets of Puritan life and ministry with historical precision and keen theological insight. Packer insists that an encounter like this with the Puritans is essential for Christians today who have all but lost any true sense of what Puritans believed, lived for, and sought to give to the church.
   
   In an introductory chapter, Packer explains why we need the Puritans; his reason is clear and unmistakable. "The answer, in one word, is maturity. Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity. The Puritans exemplified maturity; we don't. We are spiritual dwarfs" (22). In an earlier chapter, Packer compares the Puritans to giant Redwoods. Packer writes,
   
   "As Redwoods attract the eye, because they overtop other trees, so the mature holiness and seasoned fortitude of the great Puritans shine before us as a kind of beacon light, overtopping the stature of the majority of Christians in most eras, and certainly so in this age of crushing urban collectivism, when Western Christians sometimes feel and often look like ants on an anthill and puppets on a string (12)."
   
   To some, this description of the Puritans sounds exaggerated and contrived; a depiction not even close to the original. This is not surprising. The word `Puritan' was originally coined as a smear word implying, "peevishness, censoriousness, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy...it's primary reference...was...to what was seen as odd, furious, and ugly form of Protestant religion" (21). Many of the word's negative connotations have endured and hardened a prejudice toward the Puritans in much of the Western world. Fortunately, at the time that Packer wrote this book (1990), scholars, for the past half-century, had already begun to unearth the lost and forgotten treasures of Puritanism, while "meticulously wiping away the mud" from the original portrait. Since then, much ground has been regained in Puritan studies, and we now have a host of resources to which we can turn for insight into what the Puritans were really like.
   
   Nevertheless, I think Packer's book is still very important, despite the recent growth in Puritan literature. For one, Packer writes from the burden to demonstrate why we need the Puritans. Although it is wonderful to have Puritan resources at our fingertips and in abundance, it is equally important to understand why we should make it a priority to study them. Packer's explanation of why we should dig deep into the Puritans in chapters one and two of this book should be required reading for Christians of all walks of life.
   
   The remainder of the book is devoted to exploring five different aspects of these godly people we call the Puritans. Packer examines, in three chapters a piece, the Puritans and the Bible, the Puritans and the gospel, the Puritans and the Holy Spirit, and the Puritan Christian life, and the Puritans in ministry. Within the section on the Puritans and the gospel, one will find Packer's famous essay from his introduction to John Owen's Death of Death in the Death of Christ. Packer's heart-felt and rigorous defense of Calvinism and it's inexorable relation to the gospel is worth the price of this book alone.
   
   A fair and thorough reading of the section on the Puritan Christian life would probably help to dislodge our misconceptions about the so-called ridged formality and prudishness of the Puritans. Far from dull and unloving, the Puritans were those who cared deeply for the physical and spiritual well-being of their families, who sought to live all of life with great passion (not merely passion as a feeling, but passion for Christ), who desired to work with diligence and excellence in their calling, and who treasured marital devotion and fidelity.
   
   That is not to give the impression that the Puritans were flawless and worthy of emulation in every respect. They had their faults, and Packer deals with several of these squarely and with grace. But, in their case, the good far outweighs the bad, and their example in a multitude of areas should be admired and followed.
   
   Packer's book, overall, is excellent. His careful choice of words to describe the Puritans ("sweet, peaceful, patient, obedient, and hopeful," is just one edifying string of adjectives) and his insight into what makes the Puritans a valuable model for Christians today are only two of the many reasons why I thoroughly enjoyed this book. One weakness I did perceive (and this is minor), is the lack of chapter to chapter coherence in some cases. 'A Quest for Godliness' is not a book that Packer sat down and wrote from start to finish. Rather, it is a collection of essays on the Puritans previously written by Packer that have been tied together by a some introductory chapters and an identifiable theme. This, however, is only a small weakness, if one could call it a weakness. Regardless, Packer's book is definitely one that is worthy of close attention; not for the sake of raw information and an educated historical perspective, but for the good of our souls, as we learn from a group of men and women who walked near to God.

5 comments about Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey.

1. Jane Goodall's "Reason For Hope" is an engaging, richly detailed life story. Raised in England, a lucky break through a friend takes Goodall to Africa for a job as a secretary. There she meets Louis Leakey, who is very impressed with her and helps to shape her career. Although she completes a PhD and spends time on book tours and teaching gigs, Goodall is most at home living amidst the wildlife. In fact, she makes it clear that she is most comfortable alone, observing chimpanzees. She finds her sprirituality there, drawn on a Christian upbringing in the UK. She also marries twice and has a son, and oversees students who visit her compound.
   
   Although this is a traditional memoir, it is also very much about Goodall's faith. Despite many doubts about man's inhumanity to man, Goodall sees in nature (and in humans) several reasons to believe in a creator and in humankind. (She also has a supernatural encounter with a deceased relative.) Much of her spirituality is rooted in reverance for God's creation. Her life is an extraordinary one, but her faith is a common one.



2. I loan this book, give copies as gifts, and read it at least once a year. Dr. Jane Goodall's life, from her days as a young British girl with a love of animals and nature to her present incarnation as a world-renowned conservationist, advocate for threatened and endangered animals - particularly primates - and UN Messenger of Peace, is exemplary. In Dr. Goodall's own words, "We have a choice to use the gift of our lives to make the world a better place." Through this book, we may learn how Dr. Goodall has done just that.



3. Jane Goodall is just a wise old soul...no matter what
   her age or yours. She brings good wisdom that is
   understandable and applicable for each one of us to
   be better stewards of the earth and ourselves.



4. I have read REASON FOR HOPE and find that Jane Goodall did an excellent job in describing her life in a way that gives reason for hope in life, especially in difficult times. I was very touched by her description of her relationship with her second husband, Derek, her life with him, and her feelings after his death. It brought back feelings I had after the death of my wife. Jane Goodall is an excellent humanist. Also, she merits the Nobel Peace Prize.



5. This is a very good book. It is a good description on the life of Jane Goodall. Very easy read.

5 comments about Where or When.

1. OK, I admit it up front: I've lived this plot in real life, but with a much happier ending! And my new husband and I have published a book to prove it!
   
   I like most of Anita Shreve, and when I noticed that Amazon said people buying my book, 28 Years Between Kisses, had also bought Where or When, I had to read it. I'm sure my having reconnected with a lover from nearly three decades ago (when we were in our 20s, so we're almost a generation ahead of the two lovers in Shreve's book)muddied my opinion of Where or When. I wanted it to be so much better.



2. Where or When aka Where or When Will This Ever End? A painful read made more painful by the ending.
   
   While I found the initial correspondence between the doomed lovers engaging, what follows is a whirlwind lustfest that has little based on actual love and respect and more based on self-indulgence and obsession.
   
   What I found most interesting was that the more Shreve let us into Charles' head, the more I disliked him. In a sane world, Sian would have been completely turned off by his desperate neediness. It's nice to be wanted but Shreve never convinces the reader that Sian is more than an object of lost and regained youth to Charles. Further, their love scenes were almost grotesque because I could not see Charles as having any motivation other than lust...not even a mature desire. The teenage encounter 31 years before has more sweetness and taste than anything that takes place between the older versions. If it weren't for the evidence of his three children, one would think he had never had sex before. Perhaps Shreve's message is that any sex without Sian didn't count, but c'mon. Our experiences are what makes us who we are and Charles wouldn't be the older Charles without the experiences of the younger Charles - other women and all.
   
   While Shreve manages to paint the background of the characters' lives adequately, she fails to convince the reader that they are living in misery. Or that they had even given each other a second thought in the many intervening years. Or that they would have had the same "connection" if they had spent the last 31 years together. One suspects that they were both looking for a way out and would have taken anyone who came along. Even though Charles and Sian try to prove they were only meant for each other by repeating various versions of "this never happened before", these zombies', I mean characters', dissatisfied and unfulfilled lives can not be traced back to a one week affair between 14 year olds, no matter how much they want to believe it.
   
   The ending is completely frustrating. Sinners punished! Lives ruined! Happiness averted! Shreve thought to make a weak story more powerful with a death (almost two!), yet she only manages to make her characters seem even more stupid and selfish. An abrupt end based on a theme that Shreve lamely attempts to weave through this story and reintroduce at the last minute.
   
   This is not a book I would recommend to friend or enemy.



3. I have to admit, I had high hopes for this book. However, the characters aren't likable and it's hard to believe that a one-week infatuation during summer camp when the characters were 13-14 would be so haunting later in life.



4. This was the first book of anita shreve i read and still is my favorite. The pilots wife was excellent. but this one really keep me reading til I finished it, could not put it down. She puts such twists in her stories. About the time you think you you know the way it will end, she blindsides you and you can't put down the book.



5. As with most of Anita Shreve's books, the reader feels the emotions and longings of the characters. I love the story line of many of her books and the ability she has to evoke strong emotions with her writing style. Even though the ending of this novel may disappoint readers, it was the perfect ending to a wonderful read. One of her best, however, "The Last Time They Met" is my all time favorite.

5 comments about New England Primer: Improved for the More Easy Attaining the True Reading of English : To Which Is Added the Assembly of Divines, and Mr. Cotton's Catechism.

1. Excellent product...should be implemented within public school systems. My children love the questions and the memory verses. No wonder this product was instrumental in the production of many of this country's great men and women.



2. We heard about this small book and have now bought more than 30 or them. When we show it to our friends, they all want one. People have bought them for their children, grandchildren, and as gifts. It is the perfect illustration of the religious and Christian roots of our nation. It is incredible to think that this was a public school text! Buy it, and share it with your family and friends.



3. This is a great reference book to help us learn what the first schools in America taught. This book is referenced in the The Truth Project by Focus On The Family which goes in to much more detail about where our school system started and where it is today. To see how Christianity started the American school system get this book and read it. Hopefully this will provoke more thought about why our government is taking/has taken Christianity out of American schools.



4. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God...the Lord's Prayer...the young Infant's or Child's morning and evening prayers...A Dialogue between CHRIST,Youth,and the Devil. The New England Primer, Improved for the more easy attaining the true reading of English. To which is added;The Assembly of Divines, and Mr. Cotton's Catechism.
   Wow!
   This was foundational material in the educational training of the Founding Fathers.
   This is the foundation that God blessed in our nation's history. A totally opposite worldview was instilled in the youth of the past, as compared to what is taught today. What an amazing treasure this little book is.



5. The 1777 Primer was the text for the children of Early America. The only book, besides the Bible, that was found in every home and used by every student. The alphabet, prayers and lessons were memorized and studied by all the grades from Kindergarten to six the grade.
   
   The publisher has done an excellent job in reprinting The Primer. After reading the primer we bought seven copies for friends and family. I would like to see a copy in every home again.

5 comments about Maine Lighthouses Map & Guide.

1. My wife and I just returned from a trip to Maine. We found the info in this guide to be very helpful in finding 21 lighthouses, most of which were well hidden. Without this map/guide, we would not have found most of them since they are usually not well sign posted.



2. On medium-weight, semi-glossy paper, this beautiful and durable map folds out to approximately 2 feet by 3 feet. On one side is a three-color highway map of the coast of Maine, inlaid with paragraphs on many of the lighthouses and framed by watercolor pictures of about two dozen. The reverse side describes all 65 of Maine's lighthouses; the descriptions give a short history, the optimal viewing spot, directions, contact information, hours of operation, transportation options, etc.

   If you are interested in lighthouses, Maine, nautical history or maps, you will probably love this great map. Travellers will find it indispensable. What a bargain!




3. I actually expected a booklet. All you get is a single piece of paper folded like a map. The descriptions are OK, and it does point out locations accurately. But, I really expected more.



4. This guide will surely come in handy, but as someone has already stated, real lighthouse pictures would have been better than illustrations.
   Still, I wish I had had(?) one of these for directions to lighthouses in other trips we've made to New England. So many are really hard to find...especially for tourists!
   It was "as advertised."
   Thanks.



5. This guide is a concise and fairly informative pamphlet for those travelling along the Maine coast. It is very inexpensive, and does not take up much space, but covers all the lighthouses one might run into along the coast.

1 comments about The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings (Modern Library Classics).

1. When we think of Transcendentalism, we first turn to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. But the literary movement was made up of more personalities than just those two men; and while "Nature" and "Walden" are key writings, they're not the only examples anyone can or should read. Hence the need and attraction of any transcendental anthology: it brings us multiple voices, perhaps even some unfamiliar or unusual ones.
   
   This volume is a treasure-trove of transcendental goodies, containing more than 100 selections from 32 writers. Emerson's "Nature" and part of Thoreau's "Walden" are here, along with dozens of essays, sermons, and poems from a variety of personalities, men and women, too numerous to mention. Some pieces will be familiar to anyone who's read about the mid-1800s; others are refreshlingly new to most of us. Thanks to reading this book from cover to cover, I have discovered that I like Theodore Parker's writing quite a bit. I may have to stray off my Thoreauvian path and delve into Parker a bit more.
   
   And yet, I disagree with some of the editor's observations in this volume. Unlike Buell, I don't think Thoreau considered surveying "a day job he didn't particularly care for," and I'm fairly certain he was never a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. I'm also not fond of the titles Buell created for some of the selections, because that method makes it difficult to compare his anthology with others or with the original works. For example, what is labelled here as Thoreau's "Christianity and Hinduism Compared" is really a portion from the book "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers." "A Walk to Walden" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is really an excerpt from "The American Notebooks." But the sheer diversity, variety, and thematic arrangement of the selections far out-weighs any misgivings about their titling. If you are interested in transcendentalism, this is a wonderful book to start with. It's a nicely-priced paperback that's easy to carry around, which is important, because it'll take you a while to pore over and absorb (or even skip) its entries.
   
   In addition, three older anthologies of transcendental writings may interest readers: "Transcendentalism: A Reader" (Joel Myerson, ed., 2000); "The Transcendentalists: An Anthology" (Perry Miller, 1977), and "The American Transcendentalists: Their Prose and Poetry" (Perry Miller, 1957). Each anthology has a focus, and surprisingly little overlap occurs when comparing their contents. And each contains a few jewels not found in any other contemporary anthology. Happy hunting!

3 comments about Boston (City Guide).

1. I went to Boston in the middle of winter over the long-weekend. Without this book, I would have probably been lost and much colder than I was. This book covered the things I looked at and much more... and has given me the chance to think about going back to Boston in the summer or fall.
   
   The details on the hotels, the areas, the closest metro stations and the Boston in X days features are common to Lonely Planet books and are very useful.



2. Every time I travel, I have purchased Lonely Planet Travel guides. They offer accurate and "real time" facts about the place you're visiting, as well as the most complete information in comparison to other travel guides. The best travel companion.



3. This guide is great as an overview to this fabulous city and accurancy for the more permanent tourist attractions (Freedom Trail, for instance!) is good - but several restaurants have already shut down/changed names/management so be wary of those reviews.

3 comments about Mary Poppins.

1. We are pretty selective in our bedtime reading, and chose this as a classic. Unfortunately it wasn't what we expected. It should come as no surprise that Disney rewrites books, but in this case most of what we loved about the movie were things they added. While this, the original, Mary is magical, she is also strict, vein and not particularly loving. While it didn't actually scare anyone out of bed (like the original Wizard of Oz has), it wasn't particularly soothing either. By the end of it I was a bit of a loss as to why the children were sorry to see her fly away. I know I wasn't.



2. The entire Mary Poppins book series by the wonderful P.L. Travers is fantastic. I'm so glad to see they have finally arrived in hardcover with the original covers. No, this is not the sugary Disney movie--but this, the original story, will take your breath away with its magic and wonder. Give it a try. I think if you take these stories for what they are you will appreciate the wit and the adventure.



3. After my daughter (and I) fell in love with the movie and the Broadway musical, we wanted to read the book. She's in [...], and she appreciated the wry humor of this book. This book is full of fantasy and descriptive imagery and imagination. P.L. Travers is a great storyteller. The book is quite different from the movie, but it is a wonderful story that will stick with you for a long time leaving you thinking about dancing cows, talking dogs, fallen stars and the secret life of babies.

4 comments about Moon Coastal Maine (Moon Handbooks).

1. After spending last summer in southern Maine, I was delighted to see this book. It provides information such as travel strategies and touring itineraries. The author lives on the mid-coast, but grew up around Portland.
   You know the format for these handbooks means you get solid information on an area. I'm looking forward to another summer in Maine where I'll see so much more with this handbook to guide me.



2. The Monn Handbook Coastal Maine was invaluable in planning and during our Sept. trip to ME. We used the info to make reservations at motels and restaurants and we were never dissapointed. It also included excellent craft shop recommendations and places to see that were really off the beaten path. I would recommend this guide book for anyone planning a trip to ME.



3. Don't even think about planning a trip to Maine without first reading the Moon's Handbook Coastal Maine. It is the best travel guide. The author offers lots of great information.



4. MOON HANDBOOKS COASTAL MAINE is yet another great book about the Maine Coast, with plenty of information about great shopping, dining, and recreational activities to help you look great for your significant other and/or your favorite celebrity. However, there is a flaw- the failure in the section on the Portland area to mention either any independent music stores (Bull Moose Music) or the Maine Mall. Overall, however, this is a wonderful book that anyone with geographical interests will love.