If you're a native of this state, this book would be fantastic as a coffee table book, or as part of a library's reference collection. At more than 150 oversized pages, replete with full-color illustrations, it contains vastly more information than one might anticipate. But this doesn't mean the book is confusing -- far from it.

This atlas is organized into two primary sections. First, there is "The Historical Landscape," which focuses mainly upon more hard-nosed ways of viewing the human experience. By this I mean that it deals with political and economic power, and how they were manifested, both in the colonial period and as part of the United States. I hasten to add that this section starts out with a terrific set of maps about the native American presence in Massachusetts, prior to Verrazano, and prior to the Pilgrims. Maps show specifically where the most ancient native settlements were located, shortly after the Ice Age. Moving forward, they help us see how local tribal groups divided up the state territory; they show locations of native villages and footpaths; and detail interactions between tribes and early traders and explorers. The rest of this section breaks up the colonial period via a variety of helpful, cartographic means, such as the spread of towns across the state, and depictions of colonial Boston in various stages. Next, it deals with Massachusetts after the industrial and American revolutions. Demographic trends are helpfully depicted pictorially, such as Boston's burgeoning growth over the decades; the spread of railroads; and the growing number of wage-earners statewide.

The second section of this useful tome tends more toward the "soft sciences," although it is somewhat equivocally entitled "The Political and Social Landscape." This part of the atlas includes chapters giving cartographic presentations of "Women and Society," "Ethnicity and Race," "Health and the Social Order," and "Architecture and the Built Environment." Subsequent chapters in this section focus on technological developments, such as communications, transportation, and energy, and how these issues have affected Massachusetts demographics. The book ends with an interesting little chapter on the Quabbin Reservoir, and its environmental and social impact.

Don't miss the terrific bibliography, in the section near the end called "Sources." There is a helpful statistical appendix also, giving various figures for each town, going up to 1995. The 1995 figures were projected (this book came out in 1991).

One of my personal favorite maps in this book is on page 5, where the authors helpfully present a breakdown of the origins of Massachusetts town names. We see that most are named after English towns, while quite a few take their names from early Puritan or American settlers. Native American place names are fairly well represented in town names (Mattapoisett, Seekonk, Agawam, Scituate, etc.) as, of course, in the name of our state.

This book is not only useful, it's also fascinating and fun. I'd recommend it to anyone... I've reviewed a lot of books on Amazon.com, and because I usually review what I like, I tend to give a lot of stars. This one makes me wish I was more cautious in my awarding of stars, so my five star ranking of this great book would mean more.

Volumes III and IV are available from The Jewett Family of America, Box 254, Rowley MA 01969 Contact Ted Herrmann, Publisher, at 201 569-6611 or Ted Loranz, V.P. at 508 429-8750. Library of Congress No. 95-81192. Original Volumes I and II were published in 1908.

Description: Two volumes, hard-bound with title stamped in gold. 1,758 pages, hundreds of illustrations, Jewett genealogical data concentrating on period 1908-1995, with newly assigned JFA numbers of family members. The alphabetically arranged INDEX covers every name found in BOTH volumes. There is some detail on the Norman origins of the Jewett name and some history of the Jewett Coat-of-Arms, including derivation, French roots in Jouatte, Jouett, Jowitt, etc. Also contains a copy of the orignal Charter of the Jewett Family of America from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1910.

Size 6-1/2 x 9-3/4" emulating the size and style of the first two volumes I and II by Dr. Frederick Clarke Jewett, printed in 1908. Endpaper illustrations include a map of the original Ezekiel Rogers plantation established at Rowley, MA in 1639; a Civil War political cartoon; pen and ink wash drawing by William Samuel Lyon Jewett of New York Harbor in 1871 entitled "Sail and Steam"; and a reproduction of original sheet music written for the first National JFA (Jewett Family of America) Reunion in 1855.

This is a reprint of a large, difficult-to-find battery history that was assembled by a regimental committee. The narrative history of this battery, which served predominantly in the 5th Corps, is chronological. The diaries, letters, and records of Captain Charles A. Phillips, the battery commander from October 1862 until it mustered out in June 1865, serve as the centerpiece of this informative masterpiece. Supplementing the Phillips material are numerous letters, journal excerpts, and personal reminiscences supplied by battery members. Exploits of these cannoneers describe in detail actions at Yorktown, Hanover Court House, Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bethesda Church, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, and Hatcher's Run. This battery suffered the greatest percentage of loss in battle of any light battery in volunteer service.

My interest is the history of golf. I found the author's account of its early development in Massachusetts both informative and readable. The book also contains much of interest about the early history of tennis and especially its early social context in the United States. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in these topics.

"Many volunteer cavalry regiments which distinguished themselves on the battle fields of the Civil War, have had their histories written and published in a style well calculated to perpetuate, for the use of their descendants and future historians of the war, the memory of the unparalleled services rendered by them for the preservation of the Union; many of these have been issued in an attractive and useful form, but none have, up to present time, approached in completeness and luxury that which has lately appeared to commemorate the services and chronicle the history of the officers and enlisted men of the First Massachusetts Cavalry." Book review from Journal of the U.S. Cavalry Association.

I attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from September 1964 through June 1972; I worked at the MIT Lincoln Laboratories in the summers of 1968 and 1970. I was given this book by the MIT Alumni Association, and found it to be remarkable in its truthful rendition of events that I lived through, and things that came afterwards (going to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in the 1990s), and seeing that Howard Johnson guided MIT through the late 1960s and beyond and the Museum of Fine Arts into a rebirth, and made it all look so easy. I look forward to the video that should accompany this!

I wanna read this book. This book is good. I have no money and time. If possible, I send money later. please...

This collection of essays has a rather tight focus: it was compiled to mark the centennial of the "Shaw Memorial" in Boston by examining the events which inspired that sculpture, how the artist joined other media in celebrating the courage of black soldiers and their white companions, and how the saga of the 54th has moved out of Boston to take on a national life since the Civil War and especially since 1897. Thus the various essays present a nuanced picture of a widening cultural movement. Especially in the past half-century, black contributions to our national life have stepped forward to take their rightful place in our national consciousness, though much remains to be found out and held up to American society. Hopefully this volume marks the beginning of a national pride in which all can celebrate what blacks have achieved (generally at dreadful personal cost). I would have been interested in learning more about the poetry and fiction this regiment--and "the Shaw," its memorial--have inspired over the past 140 years. Whether they're wonderful or dreadful (and there have been plenty of both), stories and poems also demonstrate how our consciousness of black achievement has developed. We need all the help we can get, to learn from the past and move beyond it, but this book is a good start.`

Images of America: Hopedale is another winner in this delightful series. It depicts Hopedale from its utopian inception through the Draper heydays. Rich in black and white photographs of excellent quality, this work gives the reader a glimpse into the history of this small experimental commune turned company town. The book is well organized with the beginning chapters devoted to history and subsequent chapters dealing with other aspects of the town including architecture, employment and more. While not a comprehensive history of Hopedale, this volume will give the reader an excellent overview of life in Hopedale through the years. A must read for anyone interested in developing a feel for small town America.

I was sent jeffs book as a gift along with other items I must honestly say what a fantastic read it is too. the insight to the hous is superb the invaluable tying and usage descriptions are second to non although I have never been to the states reading jeffs book you can actually imagine being threr

thanks jeff a really treasured gift