I live out west now. I just returned to the east for a visit. I drove down to the NJ Pine Barrens and I camped out one night in the Plains (the dwarf forest), no doubt in violation of millions of New Jersey rules and regulations. The benign peacefulness of the place, the smell of the pines, the sound of the wind, all swept over me. I used to live in Manhattan. I'd often make the 2 1/2 or 3 hour drive to hike and canoe and camp in the Barrens. I love that magical forest, the dark bogs, the open plains, the pure rivers, the endless sandy roads. John McPhee's book truly captures the atmosphere of this very special place in the world.

Ecological, both natural and social, books abound these days, but that wasn't the case back in 1967 when this book was first published. Hopefully in the intervening years, McPhee's elegant but spare prose has helped remove or at least, temper the damage done early in the Twentieth Century to the reputation of the Pine Barrens and its denizens by well-meaning, if arrogant, social scientists. The Barrens is truly a glorious piece of nature and those who dwell there have their own unique charm and grace. McPhee, a consummate raconteur, reveals both with intelligence and a warm empathy. It's still hard to believe that the Barrens exist, mere miles from the rambunctious urbanity of Philadelphia and New York City, but McPhee's book, still vital and relevant after all these years, truly makes you want to visit and maybe even stay.

When I was growing up in New Jersey, people occasionally spoke of "The Pines", a mysterious forest to the south that was home to an asylum where escapees roamed and murdered unsuspecting travelers. McPhee not only explains the origins of this half-myth, he also divulges numerous other secrets about the the New Jersey pine barrens and their fascinating inhabitants, affectionately known as "Pineys." This remarkable and enormous wilderness area lies directly between New York and Philadelphia and, incredibly, remains undeveloped, but it's full of history and a wealth of extraordinary flora and fauna. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to New Jersey-ites and anyone else interested in unique natural places.

Geology is not usually one of my favorite topics. I remember slogging through John McPhee's interminable series of articles for The New Yorker and vowing to avoid the topic at all costs.

My attitude has changed radically since reading Kevin Krajick's book Barren Lands. Somehow, he has managed to convert a dry topic into a thrilling adventure narrative, weaving hundreds of years of history into this story about the idiosyncratic characters who prospect for diamonds.

I highly value my sleep, but I actually stayed up late to finish this book. My only criticism is that I would have liked to see photographs of the driven, eccentric characters that populate the book, and the actual landscape they prospected.

...is certainly not always gold...or diamonds for that matter. This book, however shines from cover to cover. There is something for everybody in Mr.Krajick's book Barren Lands. In dealing witht the overall subject of the 400+ year search for diamonds in North America, the author took me through a graphic history of adventure, intrigue and science. Krajick's style of story telling brings the tale of the search for diamonds thru-out the world to life and kept me rivited page after page. After reading of how some folks just stumbled across diamonds in their back yards I will probably always have one eye to the ground from now on.

The more recent North America activities of Fipke and Blusson, around whom much of the book revolves, is told in a personal and intimate manner, as only an author with first hand experience and contact could have related. There is also a good dose of the author's wry sense of humor and irony thrown in throughout his book. Please take special note of his tips on how to use a port-o-potty in 40 degree below zero weather on the tundra.

Probably the best book since reading Stephen Ambrose's book about Lewis and Clarke, Undaunted Courage. My only disapointment was reaching the last page.

Did you know that in about half of the states of the US people have found diamonds? Diamonds of more than two carats have been found, for example, in Ohio and Alabama, and finding them is often just child's play. Kids are the ones who pick these gems up, because kids are close to the ground and always looking for treasures. Finding a reliable supply of diamonds is much more difficult; the ones found on the ground are often chance deposits that were dropped when a glacier melted, but the glacier must have carried them from somewhere rich in diamonds. There aren't many such places, and it was a surprise that over the past decade, the Northwest Territories of Canada were deemed to be diamond mining country. The eerie, exciting, and disturbing story of how this came to be is told in _Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic_ (Times Books) by Kevin Krajick. The lure of diamonds has proved inescapable for a certain class of men for centuries, and Krajick's book tells about some of them he met while he did his research.

The Barren Lands (yes, that is the designation you will see on maps) is a half million square mile region as far north as Americans can go. There are no roads and no people, and it is called barren because it is above the northern limits which trees can reach, Since diamond exploration has started, however, it could well be populated with workers producing gold, uranium, and other minerals. At the heart of the story of exploration here is Chuck Fipke, a weird little guy who does nothing to improve the image of geologists. When Fipke was in charge of a prospecting expedition, he drove his men ruthlessly, especially his own son with distressing ferocity ("When you're not eating or sleeping, you're working for me."). Fipke was just one of a long line of explorers to the region, and their history is well covered here. The unbelievable hardships of traversing the area, or working in it, are well described in many sections of the book; bears, mosquitoes, and deerflies all supply annoyance or danger. Then there were the people. Fipke could not keep his operation secret for long, and DeBeers and other mining firms shouldered in. Fipke's team painted the plywood cubicles that held the drills with camouflage paint that would prevent detection from the air, and even ordered army-surplus camouflage nets to cover supplies. This was not paranoia; there were commercial spy planes making regular flights to see what was up.

The prospectors faced challenges from the environmentalists, who worried that the caribou, wolves, falcons, wolverines, and bears would get shoved aside by the industrialization of a previously pristine area, and the local tribes worried about water pollution, looting of artifacts left by their ancestors, and "perhaps most of all they worried that they might be left out of the profits." Barren Lands now has a hugely expensive mining factory, and will simply churn out millions of dollars worth of diamonds every year. There is a pressure to build roads and power lines to the site, which will mean more alteration of a basically natural area, but profits like these cannot be resisted. While Fipke and his partners are all now unimaginably rich, they are not unimaginably happy. Fipke alienated many of his crew, and shattered his family during the most intense of the mining preparations. He admits that putting all his energy into his mine had its price. "But that was _cool_! To do all that we did? It was _fun_!" It is not surprising that with this attitude, all the riches and all the family problems haven't made a difference: he is still out there looking for the next strike.

Robin Truth Goodman draws together in persuasive thematic mode materials from science, literature and environmental journalism to illuminate the work of Conrad, Vargas Llosa and Carpentier. Beyond the gift of careful readings of texts, this book offers ways to read cultural representations of the body, lesbianism, and reproduction. We see how our current preoccupations are rooted in basic concepts like Darwinian science and ancient constructions of gender in our own and other cultures. I'll never look at Conrad again without thinking of Goodman's "barren bodies," and at the same time when I contemplate "saving the rainforest" I will now have critical thinking tools to recognize narrative control and class struggle inherent in well-meant hopes for environmental activism. goodman's work is helpful for a range of disciplines, from courses on empire in the British lit offerings to studies of global issues in the women's and gender studies program. Most important of all is the way Goodman shows how to think across the constricting divides that limit our ability to hear, see, and act in the world.

"Infertility's: exploring fictions of barren bodies" by Robin Truth Goodman is a compelling read. It points to the role of lesbian representation and reproductive politics in ongoing critiques of globalism. It is a book that can be used as a companion reader to those interested in queer studies, feminist and postcolonial theories.

It is a book that explores how global market ideas about family, femininity, and reproduction are traded on as if they were a currency. Goodman takes Darwin's studies on sterility between species as her starting point, exploring evolutionary science as the intersection of a colonial worldview based on class struggle while pathologizing female identities that fall outside reproductive normalcy. She also examines Joseph Conrad constructs a vision of femininity as a product of miscegenation. She discusses how ecological devastation of the Brazilian Amazon is envisioned through failed Indian marriages.

This book, about two boys who's canoes broke and were lost in the barrenlands is another great book by Farley Mowat. The book is action-packed with adventure. Read it and you won't be able to stop.I read this book in two days. I was reading it till the late hours of the night until I had finished it and then I had wanted to read it again. The sequel Curse of the Viking Grave, I have not been able to read yet but I will be reading it soon. Hats off to Farley Mowat.

This is a tale of adventure, growing up, making bad decisions and living with the consequenses, but most of all friendship.
Jamie and Awasin want an adventure into the Arctic, but don't count on having to do it alone. Together they learn from each other how to survive in very brutal conditions. The story contains great descriptions of survival techniques and of the Arctic wilderness and the creatures that survive there.

I first read this book under the title "Two Against the North", back in the 1970's. I found it had been re issued under this current name when I was searching for it for my nephews. If your reader is interested with Gary Paulson(Hatchet,etc) or Jean Craighead George (My Side of the Mountain,etc) They will certainly enjoy this as well.

I read this book in 1963 at age 14 and was captivated by it. My friends and I were hunters and campers and we read all the books about the northern wilderness that we could find even though North Carolina was a far ways from the frozen tundra. As a kid I ranked this book above "White Fang". I bought a copy for my son several years ago and it helped stimulate his interest in reading. It's about Jamie, a greenhorn kid from the city and his new friend, a Canadian Indian boy named Awasin. They become stranded in the wilderness with winter coming on and have to improvise survival techniques. A classic.

I admit it: I hold a degree in English, I read literary criticism in my spare time, and I'd analyze metaphors in an Entertainment Weekly article if you coaxed me long enough. That being said, I don't think Kathleen DeMarco's Cranberry Queen was intended for readers like me. I picked up the book this past winter after coming off a long string of heavy nonfiction reads. I hadn't read any contemporary fiction in several months, and I was eager to see what was out there in the world of first-time novelists. What I found was a simple and generally enjoyable story -- the language is familiar and won't require you to go reaching for a dictionary, and the plot won't throw you any curves. In short, Diana, a saucy, single New Yorker in her early 30s, can't face the trappings of her daily life when her parents and brother are killed in a car accident. She heads out on an aimless journey through New Jersey, and crashes (literally) into the quirky grandmother Rosie and her granddaughter Louisa in the cranberry country of the Pine Barrens. The bulk of the story's action takes place over the few days that Diana spends in the Pine Barrens, exploring life in the isolated countryside and coming to understand and accept her grief.

DeMarco really loves her characters, and she wants the reader to share her love. Sometimes this is done well, through subtle descriptions that let the reader come to her own judgements and conclusions about the characters. Sometimes, though, you get the idea that DeMarco is itching to pop out of the novel, grab you by the shoulders, and command you to "love them!" The character of Diana is at her best when she's being witty and self-deprecating, especially when she's both analyzing and casually making fun of herself for not being able to get over her ex-boyfriend "The Monster." She loses much of her depth and relatability when she rattles along in the numbness of her grief, seeming more like your average tortured-yet-plucky chick flick heroine rather than the Harvard graduate she's supposed to be.

Nevertheless, Cranberry Queen kept me entertained. The story moves well, with new characters and revelations poppping up at the right times. The ending aims to please -- and succeeds. If you've been pricked by the magic of the ancient and contemporary classics of literature, you won't find anything particularly challenging -- emotionally or linguistically -- about Cranberry Queen. But I certainly don't regret the time I spent reading about Diana and the Pine Barrens.

If a 3.5 rating was available that would be my choice for "Cranberry Queen". It's not that this is a bad book, in fact I enjoyed it in parts quite a bit. It's just that when Diana finds herself in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, things began to take a turn for the "unreal". She meets up with a group of people after an unusual event and within moments these total strangers are treating her like their long lost best friend. Now I know Diana is grief-stricken and still in a state of shock, and it may be that the residents of this part of New Jersey are the friendliest people in the world, but this whole idea seemed so unlikely and contrived that I could not get past it. While some reviewers had difficulty with the character of Diana, I was more put off by Louisa. Yes, we kept being told how beautiful she was, but other than that I could not for the life of me understand why anyone would want to have anything to do with her. Overall this is a quick read that touches on some important issues about grief and healing, but it's certainly not a story that will stay with me.

Cranberry Queen gets two very BIG, thumbs up!!!! It's been a long time since I picked up a book and read it cover to cover (which entailed spending an entire day in bed laughing and crying and laughing again). Thank you Kathleen DeMarco for writing such a compelling,honest and heartfelt story for all of us to identify with. For anyone who has ever lost a loved one or felt lost themselves, I highly recommend this book! You won't be disappointed as you live vicariously through the unique self-journey of Diana Moore. Cranberry Queen is not just another great novel, it is more -- incredibly uplifting, inspiring and great motivation to recognize and appreciate life!

This book is very depressing. The girl at the beginning is full of hope and she is a little naive. Then the world begins to crash down upon her. Almost everything bad that can happen does.
I almost had a nervous breakdown reading this. It makes you lose faith in the world and in man.

Excellent. One of her best novels. The prevalent element of naturalism strongly reinforces the theme and setting of the story, giving the reader a good taste of southern literature. The growth of Dorinda's character can be measured by the symbolism of each of the three parts of the novel (broomsedge, pine, and life-everlasting). A wonderful addition to women's literature as well as southern literature.

This lengthy story covers the life of a farm girl in rural Virginia around 1890 through the early 1920's. The novel starts out with her madly in love with another villager. A day before her wedding she is dumped. Her financee decides he is going to marry another villager.

She decides she is through with love and finds that men are more trouble than they are worth. The character's reasons, resoltuions, and actions are extremely admirable. Not focusing on relationships, she is able to rise from poverty to run a successful dairy farm. On the other hand, just about everyone else in the town become failures and poor (including her financee and his wife).

Sometimes, I found myself admiring the main character, Dorinda, and other times feeling pity that her loveless life was filled with work only. It seemed one-faceted and at times filled with biting man-hating resentment. There was a lot of substance to this book and much could be written and studied about it. Another book to be filled under "read again."

This is definitely one of Glasgow's best pieces of work.

This is one of the view novels Georgette Heyer (her own sternest critic) suppressed. If youre expecting one of the lighthearted, feel-good romances Georgette Heyer usually writes, prepare yourself for a shock. The title is aptly chosen and rather gives it away: this book is barren, lacking warmth. Dont get me wrong, it is very well written and you find no difficulty in falling in love with the heroin, crying when she cries,but unable to laugh for the simple reason that there is nothing to laugh at. The story is devoid of even a light sprinkle of wit or irony, leaving it rather stark and chilling. Heyer also fails to provide us with her usual charming hero, which could have been a saving grace. A good book, well worth reading, but if this is your first Heyer novel it might be wise to start with another titel, as this will give you quite a wrong immpression of the rest of Heyers incomparable works.

This contemporary novel of Heyer's (i.e. one that she placed in the 1900s) isn't quite as powerful as her other novels, "Pastel" and "Helen", but it nevertheless a wonderful book in the best tradition of Heyer. Heyer touches upon the difficulties of marriages between a woman who was bred in the middle class, and a man bred in the aristocratic class, in an age and society not quite tolerant towards such unions. In a way, Heyer seems to say that "love does not conquer all", which is a realistic moral and confirms with Heyer's conservative values, if a somewhat distasteful one to our more tolerant age. I still thinks it holds, however, and in a way Heyer presents a realisic, if not satisfactory, story. The ending is still a trifle dramatic, but it touched me as a reader (I actually liked Laura better than some other Heyer heroines like Helen, though the book itself was artistically inferior). Overall, a very good book.

Although the fast paced development of this area makes a guide such as this very difficult to keep updated and current, this was a much needed revision to the original guides. The history, obstacles, maps & charts, launch & rental sites, approximate paddling times, and grades for each river make this guide ideal for both canoeists and kayakers. Listings for Pinelands preservation and conservation organizations are also included so those who treasure these rivers can support the cause. If you are paddling in NJ, you won't want to miss at least one of the Pine Barren Rivers and this is the guide you will need.

Brief history of the area precedes descriptive listing of the river as you proceed downstream, listing water character, potential obstructions, scenery, and distances between points, as well as put in and take out choices. Maps, and distance charts are excellant. Canoe rentals, town facilities are listed. Must keep in mind that descriptions depend on time of year visited. I've had my copy, well annotated by me, for more than 10 years and review it before every day trip.Its pocket size makes it handy to bring along.

"And then you must remember that most readers don't really read...We all read too much nowadays to be able to read properly. We read with the eyes alone, not with the imagination." Thus speaks Mr. Cardan, a character in Aldous Huxley's "Those Barren Leaves," and all I can say in reply is, "Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa." Wanting to rush into the plot, I found myself annoyed with Huxley's slow, careful unfolding of the characters--the upper-class English guests at the Tuscan castle of the pretentious, amorous Mrs. Aldwinkle--and their long-winded conversations about Balzac and Diderot. I started to agree with Elizabeth Bowen's comment that Huxley was "the stupid person's idea of the clever person." After I had slowed down, however, and started to really read Huxley's painstaking dialogue and careful descriptions of the Italian countryside, I began to appreciate his brilliant evisceration of the motley crew around the impossible Mrs. Aldwinkle: Mr. Cardan, the Epicurean philosopher; Calamy, the amorist who is beginning to wonder if there is more to life than bedding women; Mary Thriplow, the novelist who never stops writing, even when making love; Chelifer, the disillusioned poet; and the hapless Grace Elver, a sort of female Forrest Gump without Forrest's lucky star. This wickedly funny yet meditative book repays the work of thoughtful readers, it has much to say about what is really important in life, and how expert people are at self-delusion. People who liked "My Dinner with Andre" or Robertson Davies' Cornish Trilogy should like "Those Barren Leaves."

A hard-to-find book--I came across it as a yellowed old paperback at a rummage sale, and I'm glad I did. Full of characters you're ready to hate, you end up loving nearly every one. Extraordinarily beautiful language, the writing is the cream of the crop. Not much of a plot, to be sure, as it is filled mostly with conversation that asks all of life's profoundest questions. He doesn't answer all the questions--no one can!--but gives you ample food for thought. The book is set in Italy after WWI, and abounds in beautiful scenery. Read it when you're relaxed and have time to chew on it.

This book takes a refreshing look at the New Jersey Pine Barrens in regards to its landscape and the land use management practices surrounding it. The landscape is described in scientific terms, yet remains readable for the average person. Protecting the New Jersey Pinelands : A New Direction in Land-Use Management is enjoyable and interesting for all readers, regardless of prior exposure.