Jonathan Strong's A CIRCLE AROUND HER is deceptively simple: a novel organized around a divorced middle-aged woman, Mary Lanaghan; her four children; her ex-husband and possible lovers; her friends; her neighbors in a Massachusetts community that is far from Boston ... almost. But beneath this transparent surface is a profound sense of time passing that recalls the worlds of Dorothea Brooke in MIDDLEMARCH and of Clarissa Dalloway. Whether it is the very fat neighbors, or the two gay men who run the local diner and the many locals who frequent it, or the marvelously individualized Lanaghan children, this novel offers some of the most generously rendered characters in contemporary fiction. They stand before us, warts and all, gloriously human and slyly beyond our typing of them, in a novel that begins on a Monday in May and ends on a Sunday in November, and always refuses the easily novelistic. This sense of time passing, in human life and in our daily history, provides much of the psychological layering that makes the characters so richly there and elusive, in a novel of rich compassion and sly humor and luminous prose. Strong has written other fine novels (AN UNTOLD TALE especially). A CIRCLE AROUND HER is something more, a picture of a woman and those around her in a "world [with] possibilities for beauty ... and nearly as many for disappointment."

In his most recent book, Civil War Boston, Boston College History Professor Thomas O'Connor illuminates how America's most devastating war impacted and changed the lives of Boston's citizens and its political climate. Although O'Connor's book is rife with detail and scholarship, he never losses sight of the great story he is telling. The author achieves a perfect balance of detailing the war on a national scale while reflecting on its impact in Boston. If you are tired of dry narratives of the Civil War, read this book and learn about the personal side and the dramatic change wrought by the divisive conflict.

Dawley packs this book with pertinent facts. This is a real page turner. There is not alot of published information about this particular area of the Industrial Revolution. So, the extensive research presented is greatly appreciated.

Who on earth would have thought that reading court records could be such fun?! Witness drunken brawls, teenaged boys setting their bare bottoms on the neighbor's loom, slander, etc., all the way to much more serious and heart-rending cases.

This is worth the price and the wait.

Susan Whitehurst does a nice job of getting in a lot of information about "The Colony of Massachusetts" in this slender little volume. The history of Massachusetts is covered from the Pilgriims leaving England for Plymouth to the Salem Witch Trials, before turning to the colony's pivotal role in the struggle for Independence. In fact, Whitehurst has so much to cover in terms of the history of the colony that she never has a chance to talk about what the people of Massachusetts did for a living, like she has done in several other volumes of The Thirteen Colonies and the Lost Colony Series. However, this book serves as an excellent introduction for young students to these topics, most of which they will be able to explore further in other books (Whitehurst has written several on the Pilgrims and their relationship with the Indians). This book is illustrated with full-page pictures, mostly historic in nature, with a paragraph of simple text on the facing page. The back of the book includes a look at Massachusetts today, along with a timeline, glossary, and index.

This, Robert Finch's first book, is a collection of essays about the wildlife, ecology, and "nature" of Cape Cod. It is pure delight -- the kind of book you might want to read at the end of a perfect day, with a glass of sherry following a good meal. The essays are short and conversational, always literate and almost always insightful. This is not specialized nature-lore, but intelligent musing on the world of Cape Cod -- ants, foxes, broken-down houses, getting lost at night. After you've read it, put it on the nightstand in the guest bedroom.

This book is a fascinating look at the people and times of America circa 1892-1893. The letters and other correspondence of Hosa Knowlton,Prosecuting Attorney of the Southern District of the Commonwealth of Mass. draw a vivid picture of people from all walks of life and their opinions and reactions to the murder of the Borden family. Anyone who has been drawn into the mystique of Lizzie Borden and her times will not regret the time spent with this book.

I'm a tour guide for the Boston area, and I frequently use this book for reference. I love this book. I've had to buy it twice because I ruined my first copy by reading it so much and taking it everywhere. It's small, light and totally portable, so if your here walking the trail it's the perfect companion. If your not here walking the trail, you should be! This book will take you step by step through the Freedom Trail, give you really good suggestions and directions, and bombard you with useful and interesting historical information. It also provides the times, and admission fees for sites. Basically, it is your very own tour guide minus the crowd and rush of the tour (not to mention the over enthusiastic, babbling, yet good natured guide). Take your time, learn and enjoy!

This book consists of the papers with regard to power transistors. It may give a middle or higher knowledge to people who want to know the knowledge of power transistors including compound semiconductor mateials.In these days, the Increasing demands of high speed and power amplifiers for the RF and Microwave application have become increased due to the expansion of the communication market. So, the importance of this book will also be increased.

In the summer of 1989, my uncle Rudy Camara, aunt Rosaline Cameron and I were cleaning-out the attic. My uncle really didn't want to throw anything away, so my aunt had to be ruthless. When we came across a wooden box full of glass-plate negatives, my aunt was at a loss. She was the one who had instilled in me a love of history, so how could she now insist that these be disposed of? We agreed to put them in her car with the proviso that she take them by the UMASS campus on the way to the dump. Evidently, Mr.Karabatsos and Mrs.Mayo liked what they saw, because they edited the material, added text, and the rest, as they say...is history.

Among my favorite photographs are: pages 8, and 9 (the lady close to the window). The photographer was undoubtedly Portuguese, but I'm inclined to say that these ladies appear to be of some other nationality, perhaps French-Canadian. I believe that it was the intent of the editors to show the Portuguese as part of the larger community, not in isolation.

p.22 - The little girl wearing the big crown. This was one of a series, and the most flattering. Other prints are available for study at the Mogan Center.

p.38&40, Character and clothing.

p.44 & back cover.

p.46, a girl and her soldier-boy.

p.51, men who know their business

p.52, Flappers

p.53 a roue' ?

p.58 the hand that rocks the cradle...whether or not that is a cradle she's touching.