Chappell, best known for her Sam and Hollis mysteries, is also the author of two collections of short stories about a village out on the marsh called Oysterback, a place where anything can happen and frequently does. These stories are a delight, full of magical realism and the extraordinary realism of day to day living.

Helen Chappell's great genius is in her characters and her sense of magical realism.

Social interaction and belief systems converge in this provocative extension of consumer analysis by Paul Mullins. In his award-winning study of African-Americans in Annapolis, Maryland, 1850Ð1930 (Mullins won the 1999 John L. Cotter Prize given by the Society for Historical Archaeology for best book published by a young scholar in the field), Mullins departs from models of consumption based solely on exchange value (price) or on essentialist notions of material symbolism and cultural identity. Mullins asserts the Ôcentrality of desireÕÑÔthe belief that an object will realize or contribute to some idealization when it is consumedÕ (p. 31; emphasis in original) is critical in the construction and contestation of subjectivity. Subjectivity occurs when members of a subgroup forge and renegotiate a cultural identity within the bounds of specific physical conditions and power relationships that are not under their control. Subjectivity is neither essential nor imposed; it does not increase or decrease status, although it enables the development of new personas. The book is finely written and thoroughly researched, combining historical research with analysis of archaeologically-recovered material culture. Mullins's research makes it clear that there were no universal African-American consumption patterns. Instead he found "strong consistencies in African-American consumption [that] suggest how African Americans negotiated common structural conditions and constantly transformed a shared heritage" (pp. 187Ð88). The objects Mullins studies are ordinary ones as likely to be found at Euro-American home sites as they are at African-American sites. MullinsÕs interest, however, is not in the artifact patterns per se but in the clusters of beliefs that African Americans projected onto, saw reflected in, or as flowing from material goods. Setting this form of consumerism within its racial setting, Mullins links consumption with African-American desires for full citizenship. His work departs dramatically from the emphases of earlier consumer studies in historical archaeology. It is a call for archaeologists to avoid reductionism, and to question materiality in and of itself. Mullins asks us to revise our ways of thinking about racial ideologies and the mystification of ideas about race by taking a novel and rewarding approach to African-American consumerism.

Submitted by Mary C. Beaudry, Department of Archaeology, Boston University

A really helpful tool when planning a trip. Each entry has a list that front which includes contact info, how many rooms, extras, grounds, rates and directions. Then there's a writeup that gives you some flavor about the B&B, the owners, the interior design and the cooking. There are a set of indexes in the back that are really helpful for those seeking particular features (e.g. B&Bs with swimming pools, B&Bs that accept pets, near bodies of waters or mountain B&Bs) or particular location (B&Bs in the Finger Lakes region).

Return to a time when life was simpler. Discover classic river towns, mountain retreats and coastal fishing villages, small towns where you can still shop on Main Street, where the hardware store and the bookstore are not part of a national chain, old buildings are restored and historic places are preserved. The Burnhams, also co-authors of The Virginia Handbook, have discovered and explored scores of these delightful towns. Destinations include Onancock, on Virginia's Eastern Shore; Irvington, a hip town built around The Tides resort; Strasburg and Front Royal, towns rich in Shenandoah Valley history; as well as coastal towns such as St. Michael's, Crisfield and St. Mary's. The places featured in this book have charming inns and B&Bs, in addition to good, locally owned restaurants. There are enough attractions to satisfy any traveler, but there is also space and time to tarry, to sit in a park or on a shaded bench and watch life pass by.

Seattle Job Source is a professional job hunter's guide to careers int he Seattle area, featuring listings and contacts for over 3,000 employers in just about every field imaginable. The majority of this guide is simply a cover-to-cover listing of addresses, phone numbers, and websites. Seattle Job Source is a very nicely organized, "user friendly", and highly recommended reference for any Seattle-area job-hunter.

Mrs. Russell offers insight and understanding to this often misunderstood population. She is a voice for all of the silent sisters.

There are seemingly as many books on the American Civil War as there are stars in the sky, and one would think that every conceivable topic has been covered adnauseam and in truth, many have been. However, in Slavery on the Middle Ground, Professor Fields has written on a subject which, regrettably, heretofore has gone practically ignored. We need more history books like this one, for of all the many tomes I've read on the Civil War this ranks among the most revealing and interesting. I am not trying to appear politically correct by saying this. I must admit that I picked up this book with some trepidation. My only previous knowledge of Professor Fields was what I saw of her in Ken Burns famous documentary and to be quite frank, my perception was that, while being obviously very knowledgable, her perspective was a bit too narrow. But to my delight, I found this book, while at times justifiably pointed, to be quite balanced in its perspective.

Like all too many, I have viewed slavery in the border states, most particularly in my native State of Maryland, as having been almost benign. After all, nearly half of all blacks living in the state were already free before the first shot was fired. Therefore, I assumed that Marylanders must have held a more enlightened view of chattle slavery than their fellow southerners, hence the ratification of the State Constitution of 1864 that emancipated the remaining slaves. Reading this book has taught me how wrong that impression was and has also given me a great deal of insight into the special, though no less horrible, realities of slavery as it existed in Maryland before and during the Civil War. For instance, I found the attempt by southern and eastern shore slaveholders to re-enslave free blacks living within the state's borders prior to the outbreak of hostilities particularly enlightening. I never would have learned about it had I not read this book since, not surprisingly, it was not covered in any other history book that I've read. Nor, for that matter, was the virtual re-enslavement of free blacks through the use of what was euphemistically called apprenticeship laws.

Thank you Professor Fields for shedding much needed light on a very difficult subject!

I highly recommend this book to those who have an interest in folklore and legends, particularly to persons that live in the shadow of South Mountain itself. Being a resident of this area, and a descendant of folk who lived on the mountain itself, I have always been familiar with the tales and stories contained within this book, as they were told to me as "ghost stories" by my parents, grandparents, aunts, etc. Hardcover versions of this book are now out-of-print.I am very pleased that Lethe Press re-released this timeless book as an affordable paperback. If you have an interest in folklore, legends, ghosts, or the supernatural......then read this book. You may find the legends of this area, such as the Black Dog, very interesting.

This large format book was well worth the hunt! Elly Sienkiewicz is THE authority on Baltimore Album Quilts and self published this book in 1983. Time has not dulled it's appeal to fans of this technique. 'Spoken Without A Word' is the diffinative work if we 'Beyond' Baltimore mid 18C Quilters are to include timeless values into our work, and for us to understand and evolve our endevours to take our quilts to new levels.