In the recent history of the suburban community of Woburn Massachusetts, there are few who have left a mark. The early history however, is full of men who made a mark and changed the course of Woburn and Massachusetts history. This book is chock full of photos ( and a little text) that show Woburn in all its glory. Woburn was settled in 1642 and was one of the earliest towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From those beginnings, Woburn grew up to become America's leading producer of leather and tanning products, and then became the worlds largest producer of flowers grown in greenhouses. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Woburn History or the histroy of Massachusetts in general.

For anyone interested in theatre, and particularly womn who are involved in the theatre, this is an eye-opening experience! There are so many actresses, writers, directors and producers of theatre that were members of this famous American theatre company that we moderns have never heard of, have forgotten about or know so few details of. This book is full of fascinating personal and professional information, it makes you want to read abiographies of all concerned.

They lived in such an interesting time and this book illuminates the changing, highly charged atmosphere of the time, when ideologies like anarchy, communism, free love, feminism were in full bloom. Today we think of the sixties as the radical era and the beginnings of the feminist movement, but the sixties pale in comparison to this exciting and volatile time! To be able to effect so much change must have been so exciting and these were remarkable women indeed; all the more wonderful to learn more about them and their lives and considerable accomplishments. It's truly inspirational to women in the theatre who continue to this day to face discrimination and the perceived "novelty" of their success in male-dominated roles in the production of theatre as well as plays written about women, with strong, female characters and non-traditional lifestyles.

This reprint of the original (1954) much-praised memoir by the playwright S. N. Behrman contains photos, which the original lacked. Behrman grew up in 1890 - 1915 Worcester, Massachusetts, in a Jewish enclave of immigrants, alongside similar neighborhoods of Swedish-, Irish-, Italian-, and other European-Americans in this bustling industrial city 50 miles west of Boston. Behrman went on to become a highly popular playwright and essayist - this memoir arose from the acclaim following the publication of shorter pieces in The New Yorker magazine. It is especially interesting - and moving - as another century nears its end. Some of the episodes recounted are hilarious, some poignant, all compelling. You don't have to Jewish - or from Worcester - to be charmed by these memories. And you can find out why even in a tiny community of Jews, there are always at least two synagogues!

This is a great book about the way a man (my father) makes a hard and arduous life into on that is wonderful and fullfilling. Now gone his memory lives on in this book. For those who knew him it was a great lose and he is loved and missed. I love you and will always keep you close to my heart.

An eye witness acount, writen by a man who went to sea when he knew the age of whaling was coming to an end. The most incredible book on whaling I have ever read. A definate must buy!

Zagat's provides an easy-to-use directory for all different types of food in the Boston area. If you're craving sushi or anything else, it's easy to open the guide and find the nearest or cheapest or classiest restaurant. And they're 95% accurate!

This is a book about a family of many children and a resilient single mother who worked hard to do the best she could with the cards she was dealt. Truthfully, I picked it up thinking it might be a contempory and an American "Angela's Ashes" and because my Irish father was raised in poverty in Jersey City, NJ. On some level, it was. I had to wonder as I read it, does Southie contain any relatives of mine who may have migrated north? Clearly they were poor and Irish- the possibilty exists. Those of us who grew up Irish and Catholic can read and inherently know of what being Irish is all about. However, those of us who grew up in suburbia, as I did, can read this book and walk away a better person. We have never known true suffering- a broken heart, not having the exact dress we wanted for the prom, listening to our parents fighting, missing the bus for school: these were our issues. Michael MacDonald has done all of us a favor by so bravely sharing his family's story and exposing us to the real harsh realities of life. We should walk away from reading this grateful to have been born into the circumstances we were and committing ourselves to doing more for those who have so much less than we. Read the book- it is time well spent.

Michael McDonald's ability to tell a story - to observe the goings-on around him with the cold detachment of a brilliant narrator at the same time he was an actor in the drama that was unfolding between and among his family and friends - is simply breath-taking. His writing is so clear, so real and so immediate that you feel the heat, the energy and the pain of the streets of South Boston from beginning to end.

While I have lived in Massachusetts for most of my life and have some appreciation for the larger events that were unfolding throughout the course of Michael's book, he brings it all home with an eye for detail and an appreciation for what was happening on the ground that is astonishing. His observations about and real-life experiences with cops, forced busing, drugs, welfare, racism, classism, corruption and poverty are eye-opening, to say the least.

This book will move you no matter where you live or how old you are. It is heart-felt, beautifully constructed, and - in many ways - a tale for all times. It is a classic tale about one family's life in urban America during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. I am sure it will become a "must-read" in high school and college classrooms across the country.

This piece of literature has it all: it's moving, riveting, gripping, and revealing; and it's very well written. The author's clearly a talented story teller, and he's very courageous to put this revealing story of his family's tragic experiences in the public domain. Michael MacDonald(and Ma) should be commended just for that courage, not even considering his literary talents. I can't imagine the level of pain he endured writing it because of the pain I felt just reading it. The book's emotional spectrum runs the whole gamut from sadness, grief, and despair to sheer hilartity...there's that Irish wit and humor throughout.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone and everyone in our American society. The story had to be told: it's poverty and class, folks, not race! Whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, etc., whatever ethnic or racial group there is, those at the poor end of the specrum will suffer until society changes."All Souls" teaches us that. Hopefully we'll learn from this marvelous work, and things will improve.

Like Michael, I'm someone born and brought up in a Southie housing project(The Old Harbor Village), albeit some 25 years earlier. I was luckier than Michael and his siblings because I had two parents, and drugs and guns were virtually nonexistent in Southie's projects in the 40's, 50's, and early 60's when I was there. However, I can identify with and testify to the existence of "Southie Pride", and the insular nature of "The Town", that "us versus the rest of the world" mentality. Combine that with the forced busing saga produced by a self-serving state legislature which passed laws to insure their lily-white towns wouldn't be affected by busing, and a judge from Wellesley who didn't have a clue, along with extreme poverty, organized crime controlling Southie ,an incompetent and/or corrupt police force, a similarly corrupt local FBI contingent, guns, drugs, and booze pouring in uninhibited by law enforcement, and lo and behold, you have the perfect formula for the disaster that ensued, the anger, hate, despair, misery, grief, the premature deaths, suicides, murders, ODs' etc, the exacerbation of Southie's natural introversion! Thanks to this wonderful book, the story is out there,and the healing process has begun.

I really hope all of America reads the book, especially those non-Southies who live in Boston and its environs. I guarantee you will all change your perspective of Southie afterwards. I would also recommend that "All Souls" be mandatory in the high school English courses of the Boston Public School system, as well as those across the country. There'a a major lesson to be learned here.

Michael MacDonald..Thank you for your story, and I'll be waiting for to write more!

In the last 30 day I've read all five of Lehane' Kinzie/Gennaro books, finishing Prayers for Rain last night. Lehane has created a terrific franchise in the mystery/thriller arena with his realistic and (more importantly) entertaining pair of detectives. You like these people he's created and believe their motives for what they choose to do as they trek through the plot. Clearly I've found a lot of compelling entertainment in these stories.

The first book in the series, A Drink Before the War, really sucked me in, being in the same vein as the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais which I also recommend. Both series are consistently well-written, a clear step (or two) above pop/trash/beach fiction, funny, intelligent stories where the plot make sense, and the characters seem frighteningly real. It turned out that the first Kinzie/Gennaro yarn was the lightest. Each one after has ratcheted up the twists and turns, but kept the personality of the characters growing and building. The stories definitely got blacker and bleaker in the depraved actions of the bad guys. By Prayers for Rain, the villain is a hardcore-fulltime psychopath, and Patrick and Angie are a-little-further-than-borderline vigilantes.

After racing through five of the books in so short a period, I am struck with a sense of vulnerability. If some bad dude makes it their career to mess with you, and if they have no normal limits to their behavior, you're just screwed. How can a normal, follow the rules type of citizen even comprehend the introduction of aggression and violence into their regular lives? Unless you have friends to help you out like Kenzie and Gennaro you might as well move out of the country and hope you're never found. Read these, you'll like them.

Mr. lehane delivers fast-paced, intricately plotted thrills once again with Prayers for Rain. As with his previous Kenzie-Gennarro novels, the reader is drawn into the story instantly...the apparent suicide of Emily Post-like Karen Nichols just doesn't make any sense. Patrick vows to find out what or who made her do this, even though he has been warned to leave well-enough alone. This book will make you almost stand up and cheer on Kenzie, Angela and their lunatic, yet lovable friend Bubba Rogowski as they journey closer and closer to the truth and the root of the evil. My only hope is that Mr. Lehane does not tire of continuing this fantastic series, much like some writers have in the past(ie, Patricia Cornwell). And my only regret is that I finished the book in one day, now i have to wait another year for the next chapter.

I LOVE reading Dennis Lehane's novels, and I love his main characters: Patrick, Angie, & Bubba. I feel like I know them now, and I also feel like I can count on Lehane to be authentic to their characaters, through action and dialogue and interaction. The main characters are flawed, but good at the core, and strive to work for right. There's something I find very satisfying in that basic goal.

When I first discovered Dennis Lehane a few years ago when his third novel was published, I was hooked. I immediately went back and read his first two. And since then I have been waiting very impatiently for each new book.

What do I like best about his books? His multi-faceted main characters, the way he exposes the dark side of humankind while not burying us in it or leaving us feeling hopeless, the snappy and witty dialogue of all characters, (especially between Patrick & Angie), and his creativity and inventiveness. His descriptions have a way of making me feel like I really know the character or the place or the feeling. Being from Massachusetts, I also enjoy having a first-hand sense of place. And that he ventured off to Plymouth in this novel was even better as I live only 15 minutes away from Plymouth.

I just hope he gives us more of Angie & Patrick & Bubba. (Good to see that Bubba is made more real and multi-dimensional in this book.) They are great characters, and the stories always make me think. Thanks, Dennis.

Nora Roberts always gives a solid read, even if her books vary between being very good and being outstandingly good. I read this and The Villa, her newest romantic suspense, within a day of each other. And I have to say, this is my favorite of her recent books.

Nell, although understandably skittish, didn't come off as weak or meek, unlike Jude from the Jewels trilogy. She'd been through hell, she was beating herself up for it, and she's getting on with her life, with the help of her new boss and mentor, Mia, who is the town witch.

Thank you, Nora, for not making witchcraft and Wicca silly or unbelievable. While no Wiccans I know can create fire out of thin air or instantly heal a almost-dead plant, the attitudes and philosophies Mia teaches Nell are real and true. At a guess, I would say Nora has a close friend who is Wiccan, and won't let her get away with misrepresenting the beliefs and faiths. Go Nora!

Even if you don't believe in witchcraft and magick, the book is a great character study and a enjoyable read. And gee, I haven't even mentioned how great a hero Sheriff Zach Todd is. And I can't wait for the next book in the trilogy...

While I own every single book written by Nora Roberts, I have to say that I usually enjoy her paperback novels better than the hardcover books (Not that it stops me from buying every one of them!).

This particular novel tells the story of Nell, a woman fleeing from an abusive husband to a fictitous island off the coast of Massachusetts, Three Sisters. There she finds her first real feeling of home, friends that she has a mystical bond with and a handsome sheriff who is her soulmate.

The novel nicely blends the charm of a small town and the mystical events that we expect from Nora Roberts. It also is effective at setting up the two upcoming novels that will complete the trilogy. Packed with likeable characters and well paced, the novel is worthy of her "Born in" series.

I really loved this book. It was a surprising and satisfying read that kept me turing pages long into the night. I recommend it highly.

this a story about three women who are strong in mind and soft in heart. they have magic in them which makes them special, it's a vital part of them. you can feel it with every word you read. Air. Fire. Earth. they form a circle together and share a destiny. they have their flaws and their fears but they also have each other. it's a trilogy about their lives and their magic. Nell is a simple woman who wants simple things such as a home, friends an freedom. running away from her abusive husband, faking her own death and ending up on the three sisters island she gets all this and more. she finds her solemates and a new world she never knew existed, one filled with magic and joy. she becomes a part of a legend which started three hundred years ago. she also finds love and happiness with the island sheriff - Zack. she starts believing she can make anew life for her - a fresh start, until her past in the form of her mad husband comes to the island to haunt her. now, she has to trust her life in the hands of the man she loves and in the hands of her recently discovered magic. this is a book that makes you want to weep just because it's so lovely. you can feal warmer and richer and all you have tp do is red a book. this book.

Nobody does trilogies as well as Nora Roberts, and this seris does not disappoint. While Ripley's "witch denial" gets a little irritating at times, Ms. Roberts ability to make her characters ring true, (with real human qualities), remains consistent in this book. It's only natural that some characters are more appealing than others. But in the end, a good romance writer will find a way to reconcile their imperfections to the satisfaction of the reader. That's exactly what happens in Ripley's case.

I live with an "absent minded professor", and Mac's imperfections were right on. Through my work, I once met a doctorate in paranormal activity who, just like Mac, had designed equipment for reading paranormal "activity". He traveled to haunted houses and castles all over the world. Perhaps some readers thought that Mac's professional was a figment of the writer's imagination. It is not. While she may have embellished, much of what she wrote was very consistent with my experience.

Another great read!

In this, the second installment of the Three Sisters Island trilogy, Ms. Roberts has once again hit the jackpot in this clever mix of romance, wit, and witchcraft.

Deputy Ripley Todd was a little irritated. Outsider MacAllister Booke had just rented Mia Devlin's yellow cottage for the duration of his stay on Three Sisters Island, off the coast of Massachusetts. Bad enough that Ripley wanted to rent the cottage to escape her home and newlywed brother, Zack, and his likeable wife, Nell. But Mac is visiting to conduct research on witchcraft and its history on the island. As legend would have it, three witches who separated it from the mainland created Three Sisters Island. Nell, Ripley, and Mia are descendants of the original three, only Ripley shows great disdain for the power she was born with.

In a crafty mix of the paranormal complete with visions and dreams of the past, Ripley comes face to face with her ancestor and senses a dark force that could destroy all that she holds dear. As the romance between the bookish Mac and Ripley builds, she is forced to let down some of her tough gal defenses and learns to trust him and their love. And the steamy love scenes will melt the pages as Ripley's supernatural powers take her attraction to Mac to a whole new level. Only time will tell if Ripley will join forces with her fellow sisters, Mia and Nell, to bind together and repel the evil that threatens to destroy them as it did their predecessors.

Fascinating characters, a picturesque seaside town, and paranormal events form the foundation in this riveting read. Even the romance reader not enamored of the supernatural will find the allure in this latest from Ms. Roberts, who just keeps getting better and better.

"Heaven and Earth" is the second book in Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island trilogy and it is utterly enchanting. NR's writing has reached new levels of excellence in this provocative romance. This book held me from the minute I picked it up, and I couldn't put it down until it was done.

Ripley Todd is happy with her quiet life on Three Sisters working as a sheriff's deputy. She enjoys life without complications, which is made difficult for her by the fact that she has incredible powers that confuse and frighten her. She has become great friends with Nell, who has just married her brother, Zack, and remains at odds with Mia Devlin, her childhood friend and the island's known witch.

When MacAllister Booke arrives on Three Sisters to research the stories of witchcraft, Ripley originally scoffs at him and his work. But Ripley's tough exterior doesn't prevent Mac from falling head over heels for her. Nor can Ripley deny that she feels something powerful for this handsome researcher. In addition to their intense attraction, Mac senses and soon confirms that Ripley is no ordinary woman. He is fascinated by her struggle to deny the power that she holds inside her and embarks on a journey to help her accept who she is.

When Mac and Ripley are together the scenes really sizzle. There are a number of highly sexy scenes that these two share, but their romance is also quite touching. As these two fall in love, the walls Ripley has built up around herself begin to fall down. But love isn't all Ripley's future holds. Something evil is coming their way, something that will be the ultimate test of Ripley's will and her powers. In order to fight this centuries old evil that threatens their island, Ripley must embrace her power and come together with Mia and Nell before it's too late!

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are all complex and well-developed and the story is gripping. Mac is strong yet sensitive and he is a hero all readers will love. Ripley's road to self-discovery is fascinating and moving, and despite her flaws, readers will become very attached to this feisty heroine. This book will grab you right from the start and transport you to the haunting shores of New England where Nell, Ripley and Mia face their destinies. "Heaven and Earth" is a prime example of romance writing at its best. This book is NOT to be missed!