Generally, I'm don't get scared by things I read or see on television. This book, however, was quite frightening. I definitely did its job. Many of the stories in this book occurred near where I live, and I never would have imagined these stories had even existed previously. I always knew that New England had a rather strange past, what with all the Salem Witch trials and all, but these stories actually dug deeper than all of that. For instance, could you imagine strange monsters inhabiting Bridgewater, or a strange spirit force on top of Mount Washington? Naturally, these stories are merely legends, but they really make you stop and think. The documentation for this book is also quite good, as first hand accounts are recorded. When people in the law enforcement agency see things, as in this book, you know that there's probably something going on. This book only took me two nights to read. That should give you some indication as to how addictive and gripping it is.

The book is well written, organized, and indexed, with plenty of interesting stories of today and years gone by, and I highly recommend the book. The only negative thing I can say about the book is that very little skeptical research is indicated. However, the author does provide a list of his sources, so that any skeptically-minded readers may check things out for themselves.

Having been a native Vermonter and New Englander, I had not realized the ghostlore involved with this section of the country. Many of the stories occur within minutes of my own location. This book points out the origins and as much fact as can be researched. The end result is left with the reader as to which can be explained and that that which can not. Read this book alone at night and you will hear sounds that you used to take for granted, or did you?......

June O'Neill has pulled off the very difficult feat of writing a book on a cryptozoological subject and making that book balanced, readable, and highly entertaining. This thoroughly researched examination of the New England "sea serpent" story - not just the celebrated events of 1817, but all sightings, from Colonial times through the present day - is enough to make even the most hardened skeptic gaze out to sea and ponder whether we may have overlooked a spectacular discovery. O'Neill doesn't try to argue the case for a large, unknown animal. She lets the witnesses speak for her and lets the reader draw the conclusions. Bottom line: This is a marvelous book. No one with an interest in marine life, cryptozoology, or the magic and mystery of the oceans should pass it by.

J.P. O'Neill's destined to become a classic work, "THE GREAT NEW ENGLAND SEA SERPENT...." is truly in a class of its own in terms of mass appeal. From the carefree sunbather on the shores of the Cape to the tenured cryptozoologist this book is an immediately engaging, thoroughly researched, and fascinating work. HIGHLY recommended!

Before I had read this book I had no idea who or what the New England Sea Serpent was. This book got me intersted and I found it amazing that something that large and mythical could actually be living at the bottom of the ocean.The way the book is written is so good and whole that it makes you want to read more and more. I recommend this book to absolutely anyone.

The Journey is the Destination: the Journals of Dan Eldon is a fabulous work. After my art teacher showed me this book, I went out and got it for myself. It shows the life and thoughts of a person who did great things during his short time on earth. The art is amazing, humerous, and thought provoking. It interested me and also made me want to do something to help those who need my help in other places such as Africa. The journals of Dan Eldon made me want to explore, help, create, and live my life to its fullest. If you would like a look at a very talented person who helped others while living a very interesting and entertaining life, this is a great book.

This book will put you in a trance and change your life. It reinforces what is real and important, and pulses with the brilliant existence of Dan Eldon, who lived to his maximum potential, passionately, fearlessly free.

We all have the ability to minimize our flaws and enhance our strengths. Dan reminds us of this. We have the ability to see beyond the ordinary to glimpse the majestic miracle of being alive. This book is filled with the dreams and reflections of a true romantic hero, a war correspondent willing to put his own life on the line to deliver the truth. It is a book of light and shadow, and rather than telling people what to think, Dan offered his own perspective.

This is a book for people of all ages because it removes the linearity from time, from age and development, and proves that the length of a life, in this case, twenty-two years, is a cross section of eternity. My perspectives on life and death have changed because the images in this book are so powerful.

You will find something new every time you open this book, if you look. You will be amazed, and grateful that Dan took the time to record so much. You might get the fever to start doing this on your own. This book spans the gamut of human emotion, and there is something in it for everyone.

When I am dead and gone how will my art work exist? This thought isn't one that I ever conssciously consider, but Dan Eldon's journals raise the question about art works having a life of their own. The magical and mysterious book that fell practically into my hands gave me immediate access into the the intimate life of Dan Eldon. Eldon, was a "Reuters photographer that was stoned to death in Somalia in July 1993 by a mob reacting to the United Nations bombing raid on the suspected headquaters of General Mohammed Farah Aidid. Only Twenty-two when he died, Dan already achieved prominience for his work as a war photographer. But his photographs told only half the story. The other half lay hidden away in seventeen black-bound journals filled with collages,writings,drawings,and photographs"(Eldon p5).

The books are like travel-logs with imagery that Eldon actively creates with either his camera or his hands producing personal knowledge of the artist's life. The work is fun to look at. The densely layered pages and the visual wit that Eldon forms causes an instant attraction quality. It is like what poets look for----travel, freedom, exotic places, and the imagery and text does not indulge in the boredom and loneliness associated with travel. Words are covered over by pictures and pictures are covered by words telling stories of adventure by bits and pieces that the viewer must put together.

The work Dan Eldon produced in his sketch books is not like anyone else's because it is a record of a particular individual's life and thoughts. It is like a collection of some kind, stored in a closet waiting to be found. The young death of Eldon makes the work meaningful because it cannot continue but only influence anyone who invests the time in exploring this person's life.

I found the Eyewitness Guide to be unexpectedly detailed in listing the various sights of the city, though not nearly as much as a more textual guide, e.g., the Fodor's. I'm sure, however, the photography is an element which helps tourists orient themselves quite a bit more easily than the more cumbersome (but more informative) Fodor's. That said, quite a bit of history and explanation is woven into the Eyewitness as well, and it makes up for its relative conciseness with enticing design. The guide is a book which would actually make one want to visit New York, and one which makes navigation within it quite simplified. Furthermore, it seems more portable. Combining quite a bit of information with the visual beauty of a National Geographic guide made this a success.

The guide does seem to be tailored quite a bit toward non-American tourists, with descriptions of how payphones work and of American cuisine. Still, a bit of laughably obvious information to Americans is made up for with such features as two page spreads for relatively unvisited museums and attractions, with isometric diagrams and "must-see" exhibits.

I have been collecting DK's travel guides for a long time and the least I can say about them is that there are absolutely no such travel guides available in bookshops like these ones. They capture all the very best of the cities and countries and allow you to enjoy the most of your travel destination.

Concerning to New York City, DK again manages to do a great job. I doubt there is a better way to explore NY.

I've been in NY three times. At the end of June, I will be there again. How could I get in the plane without DK travel guide???

It's a must buy, believe me. Guarantee your copy right away!!!

I live outside of New York City and rarely visit the city. But after Sept 11th I wanted a guide that I could use to explore the places I've never been to (as well as ones I have been to). The DK Guides are great for the amount of information they provide and this guide is no exception. There is information in this book that even a native New Yorker may not know. The book talks about the history and architecture of buildings that you may otherwise walk by. There are museums that I've never heard of. There are street by street maps of some of Manhattan's great neighborhoods. I have used the book to plan a walking trip from Penn Station to Rockefeller Center and back via Time Square. I am planning many future walking trips with this book. If the book is two heavy to carry, buy two. One for permanent reference and the other to "rip out" the pages of the places you are planning to visit. This guide book is well worth the money.

I liked "The Primrose Way" because even though the story seems dull and boring in the beginning, it gets better as you learn to understand some of the Indian language, customs, and ways of life. In the beginning, you're on your way to 'the new world'. Once you get there, you're on your way to Agawam, the colony your father is at. You get there, and immediately, you're disappointed. A baren, empty, wasteland is all that seems to be there. But then, you see the Indians. Right away you know you want to meet them and talk to them, just learn to understand them a little better. So you invite one of the young Indian girls to come and live in your village, so you can learn each others languages.

To me, the best part of te book was when Rebekah realized, that she was in love. She really loved Meshannock. This let her realize, eben though something may not be looked upon too highly by the elders in the colony, it still doesn't change how she feels, and makes all the more important to follow through with. This aspect of the book makes the book whole, it ties it all together.

The two most vivid elements in "The Primrose Way" were the characters, the settings, and how they were described. Every time you observed a new setting, or met a new character, it was almost as if it was real. Everything is so well described, with every detail imaginable. It describes the color and feeling of the fabrics in their clothes, what shade of brown or tan their skin was, what the buildings looked like, and how they were made. It made it all so real, like I was back in 1633, in the shoes of Rebekah Hall.

The author spent much time researching her information. She does a great job of weaving historical facts into a fictional story. The Primrose Way allows the reader to step back in time and truly understand what life was like for the people arriving in America from their native country of England. It also paints a very accurate but sad picture of how the Puritans arrival and customs impacted the lives of the Native Americans. I would highly recommend this book to both teens and adults.

When I discovered this work it was a dream come true..For many years I have taught American History to 8th graders. The classes that I have require truly engaging texts and this is one. I have used the book for the past three years to teach valuable lessons about the Puritans and the Native Americans. The author is very accurate in her description of the events and the picture of the climate between the two groups has am impact on the students. What a perfect way to teach historical fiction. I have my students research what is history and what is fiction. They must prove the histroical parts in a defense paper. If you are a teacher lookng for total engagement and a valuable way to relate to this age, buy and use this book. If you are a young adult reader that wants to curl up with a great book this summer you have found a winner. Discover the beauty of a young girl's interaction with her Native American friends. Seek another point of view about the history of this period. Surpise you teacher next year with your knowledge while you read a wonderfully constructed story. Enjoy!

I owned and read this book years ago, but it got ruined. I liked it a lot, because I've been looking for it for years. I recall that it had me on the edge of my chair. It's full of suspense, mystery, and the supernatural, and I'm hoping Amazon.com can find it for me so I get to read it again!

I am so delighted to see that other people have the same kind of memories about this book that I do. It is hard to pinpoint exactly why this book struck such a chord with me--but it did. I've reread this book as an adult, and I think one thing that made this book such a compelling read is that it is about a nine-year-old girl, but it is written from the point of view of an eighteen-year-old girl. This perspective allows the pre-adolescent reader for whom the book is intended to identify with the emotions and issues facing both children and young adults. After all, don't most twelve-year-olds feel like a child one moment, and then nearly grown up the next? Also, Jane-Emily deals with an astounding number of issues in more depth than you'd think possible in such a short book: death, fear of abandonment, romantic love, love between parent and child, friendship, and the classic battle between good and evil. I wouldn't argue that Jane-Emily is the best-written book for children I've ever come across. (It's good, not great, in that regard.) But for pre and early adolescent girls, this book is just a dead-on perfect hit. It really is magic.

I first read this book back in grade school, so many times I can't remember. I loved it! I hope that Amazon.com can find a copy so that I can share it with my nieces. I think of it every summer as I look at pansies or a reflecting ball in a garden.

I am blessed to own some woodland in New England, and my forester recommended this book.

The author writes with the same love for the land that I have, but with much more knowledge. He really enjoys the wonderful details that exist in a forest, and he illuminates them with clear explanations of how the landscape has evolved. The general tone of the book is one of guided investigation for the curious, so there is a great deal of warmth in it.

I don't know how well it works for those who do not have a basic knowledge of trees. If you are not already familiar with the different kinds of tree, you may want a tree identification book too.

I can't give this book five stars because the illustrations were not as helpful as I would have liked. I wanted color and a better sense of the textures. Illustrations of indicator plants would have been a big bonus in the appendix, and I wish they had been provided.

For a more technical book, see Working with Your Woodland by Mollie Beattie. It contains more information and is geared to the landowner, but it doesn't have nearly as much soul. For example, Wessels' book describes stumps with a keen loving eye. They barely get a mention in Beattie's book, and their significance is lost.

Reading the Forested Landscape, A Natural History of New England, reminded me that many general biology students will wander through woodlands and prairie perhaps aware of molecular happenings and yet oblivious to what the landscape is saying. This book can add delight to an ordinary stroll through an overgrown pasture or a drive through what at first glance appears to be monotonous countryside. Deducing the past history of a landscape invites more detailed observations than casual hiking even if the landscape is far from New England. This thin volume contains original high quality etchings of different landscapes. Each etching is accompanied by a detailed interpretation of the history of the forest. Human additions to the landscapes are included as a natural and important part of the history. The strength of the book lies in the insights into the reasoning behind conclusions. This reasoning has allowed me to make some transitions to the semiarid portions of Texas where I spend most of my time. The history of New England is naturally and liberally integrated into the stories of the landscape. This is not a forced history/science link but a very natural and intriguing story that unfolds with each new etching. A glimpse into the future is provided in the last chapter, rounding out a wonderful view of landscapes.

This book is a guide to understanding clues that explain the varied forest patterns of Central New England.

Each chapter focuses on a single form of disturbance - either man made or natural - that impacts the region's forests. The chapters focus on logging, pasture abandonment, fire, beaver activity, blow downs, forest blights, topography and substrate and their impact on the plants located near these disturbances.

Each chapter discusses the disturbance and then in a section entitled "A Look Back" the disturbance is related to the site's natural history. This new way of seeing a forest and its history adds to my walks in the woods. I feel a connection, a reverence, an enhancement and an inclusion that was not part of my previous walks. Although most of my hikes are in the Green Mountains of Vermont, I am convinced this process of reading the forest can be applied to any woodland in North America.

Diana Muir has written a thoughtful and well-researched book about the history of the eco-systems of New England through the lens of her life and experiences at Bullough's Pond. Lest the reader suppose that this book is related in some way to a famous predecessor also written from the viewpoint of a life by a pond, let me allay those prejudgments right here and now. Walden was a philosophical tract while Diana Muir has penned a rather enjoyable history of the ecology of New England and how it was changed (not necessarily for the better) by each wave of human settlers.

She finds the habitat fragile from the start, due to the climate and location. Each wave of human settlers has changed the environment. As the population of the first settlers, American Indians grew past what the land was able to sustain, deforestation and agriculture began as maize and beans became important sources of food. Fishing was also a way of life, particularly oyster harvesting. When settlers arrived from Europe they found land friendly to agriculture, but over-farming and poor land management doomed the thin topsoil. Fishing would later join agriculture on New England's endangered list; even the oyster was soon gone, a victim of overfishing.

But Ms. Muir's story is also one of pure Yankee inventiveness. Industry soon took the major role and, helped by waves of immigration from Europe, made New England a major player in America's economy, providing the manufactured goods needed by the North to win the Civil War. And it was New England's ecology that supplied the backbone for the industrial revolution through the use of water power. The price New England paid for that was the polllution of these very power sources, making them unfit for drinking, or life.

As the rest of America caught up with New England, new technologies emerged to give her a new foothold in America's economy, but the ecological problems remained the same. Her solutions, as seen from her foothold in Bullough's Pond, are not new, but are based in thoughtful reflection, unlike some other solutions I have seen, and bear reflection.

Except for the chapter on the waterways, where she descends into a jeremiad, stating the all-too-obvious, this is a restrained book that lets the facts speak for themselves. Especially delightful, and to the point, is her description of the dredging of the pond by the county due in large part to Winter run-offs. One note of warning: the writing style is such that once you pick it up, you'll find it hard to put down.

Diana Muir, the author, read one of my Amazon reviews and sent me an E mail suggesting that I might like her book. Well, I have this to say to Ms Muir... "thank you so much! I love it! " This wonderful story of the economic development of New England is written with a pond near Ms Muir's home (Bullough's Pond) as a backdrop. She tastefully weaves her personal experiences into the story she tells of the growth of New England's economy. We learn about the industriousness of the beaver and its effect on the New England ecosystem. We learn of the Native American's effect. Ms Muir traces settlers' early efforts at living off the land and how Yankee ingenuity led to the development of industry when the population grew to the point in which the New England landscape could no longer support farming. She further illustrates how small industries grew large. This book is a celebration of the average person's ability to thrive and adapt. Of course,there are the environmemntal costs which Ms Muir well illustrates. However, she is not judgmental, rather, she records the environmental consequences without ranting against the ingenious people who made New England prosperous. What is particularly wonderful about this book is that the people she writes about are not the famous families of New England but are normal people who carved out their niches. Of course the cream of this group prospered. I love this book and I have sent copies to others as gifts they will certainly enjoy. This book is serious history written with charm and style. I highly recommend it.

From the inspiration of a nearby pond in a small Massachusetts town comes a reconstruction & interpretation of New England's natural history & the generations of people & animals who have lived there since pre-Columbian times. In the grand tradition of Bronowski, Burke & Attenborough, Diana Muir has written the ultimate connection/romance between photosynthesis & water & all who have been fed, clothed & housed as a result.

If I were to use all the adjectives that bloomed in my brain as I read this book, you would accuse me of gushing. Suffice to say: this is one remarkable read! A keeper to which I shall return again & again to engross myself in Diana Muir's matchless writing skill, impeccably cited resources & fascinating Notes. This is a symphony of a book that has not only changed my mind, it has entertained & educated me as no history course or teacher before. It is a must for anyone remotely interested in how land & water, fire & wind work together to create this Eden in which we live & to remember, once again, how very ingenious & inventive are we humans & what a profound impact we have upon this orb. Fascinating! For my full review & eInterview with the author do check out: [my website].

Make no mistake about it. An interdisciplinary interpretation of history is here to stay. Thanks to farsighted historians like Dr. William Cronon and his ethno-ecological study of New England, circa 1600 to1800, entitled Changes in the Land, an enlightening perception of colonial times in New England is depicted by a well-documented mix of anthropology, ecology, sociology, biology, and environmental history. The actual text of the book comprises 171 pages with no less than 35 pages of notes, and an innovative bibliographical essay encourages further study. Cronon clearly states his thesis and purpose for the book in the preface, "the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes" (vii). Cronon not only evaluates the reorganization of people but also stresses the effects of changes on the New England plant and animal populations. With political and military history kept to a minimum, an intriguing analysis compares the ecological histories of the New England Indians to the European settlers and reveals the resulting environmental alterations incurred. There were basic ethno-ecological differences between how both cultures viewed the earth. The New England Indians perceived the natural world with reciprocal sustenance (63) for 10,000 years (33), but the colonists envisioned commodities and wealth in what the earth could provide (75). Within the short period of two hundred years, the environment of New England could not sustain the few Indians who survived the diseases of the Europeans, because the land, plants, animals, and even the climate had changed (169).

These changes seemed very subtle at first. In order to trade for metal utensils, the Indians killed more and more beaver (83). In this way the Indians started to view nature, or their environment, as a commodity instead of a gift to be shared (92). Cronon does not assume that the Indians had no effect upon their native environment (viii) nor that the colonists came to a pristine wilderness (11). What Cronon does enumerate is how the two sets of ecological relationships, Indian and colonist, came to live upon the same land (15). Early in the affiliation, the European settlers came to disrespect the Indians, because although the Indians lived in a land overflowing with natural "wealth," the Indians looked like the poor back in Europe (54). Marshall Sahlins is quoted by Cronon, "there are in fact two ways to be rich, [. . .] Wants may be 'easily satisfied' either by producing much or desiring little" (79-80). The indigenous residents of New England desired little, while the European colonists seemed economically motivated to produce much from the land and introduced the Old World concepts of value and scarcity, using cost as the only constraint to consider (81) (168).

Unfortunately, neither the land nor the Indians could withstand the monumental alterations to come: an Indian "money" system in the form of wampum (97), epidemics which wiped out entire villages (85-90), the severe reduction in native animal populations (98-101), domesticated animals that grazed wildly on indigenous plants and even ocean clams (128-150), deforestation (109-126), the surface of the earth responding more drastically to climatic changes (122-123), flooding (124), the "drying up of streams and springs" (125), land ownership and pastoralism replacing shared land conservation (137-141), soil depletion (147-152), and the introduction of weeds and migrant pests (153-155). The New England landscape went from forests and freedom to "fields and fences" (156). This book vividly correlates the significant and divergent relationship between the New England Indians, the colonial settlers, and the environment they could no longer share. Changes in the Land by William Cronon, winner of the 1984 Francis Parkman Prize, serves as a fine academic example in cross-curricular historical documentation.

At one point in my life, I read every single thing ever written on the Puritans; I was preparing for a dissertation that took me a year to prepare for, only to find somebody else published almost exactly what I was working on a month before I sat down to write. To this day, I have an inordinate fondness for books on the Puritans that mystifies my friends. Like all fans, I know everything there is to know about the subject at hand. So my joy in discovering "Changes in the Land" was in finding a book that told me much that I didn't know about the Puritans. William Cronon, a student of my favorite colonial historian Edmund Morgan, has come up with an excellent mix of ecology and anthropology, history and theology. The development of New England as a land separate from the Indians, and from their uses of the land, is one which resonates throughout American mythology. From the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving (wherein their wholesale adoption of Indian agriculture kept them starving) to the wholesale abandonment of New England farms in the early 1800s due to their miniscule returns, Cronon covers all the bases. A truly fine read for anybody wishing to know more about the history of ecology, the dynamics of invasion, or the Puritans themselves.

I have never read a book that explains the complex interactions between Native Americans, Europeans and their environments quite so well. It is the common sense conclusion that results when you consider the written records of the day, the pollen records available, and the ecology of the New England landscape today. The first time I read it, I found myself saying 'of course' over and over again. Of all the books I've read on the ecological history of this country, this is the ONE I recommend most.

This cookbook is a wonderful addition to your collection of cookbooks. Fabulous recipies include a tortelini salad with sundried tomatoes and peperoni, curry chicken salad, and a red potato salad.

I'm a personal chef and caterer and this is one of my mainstay cookbooks. Everything I've ever cooked from it has been distinctive and wonderful--especially the Shrimp Salad recipe that has Pernod in it. The recipes are totally reliable and great for entertaining. Beautiful, delicious, wonderful use of good ingredients.

I don't know how anyone looking through this book could resist it -- recipes like Orange Rosemary Muffins with Sliced Duck Breast (you can skip the duck; the muffins are great with any salad); scrumptious Bruschetta; lovely, peppercorn-studded Marinated Goat Cheese; savory Summer Vegetable Couscous; mouthwatering Ham, Cheese, Mushroom and Walnut Salad; Tri-Berry Muffins with their sugar-crackled tops; addictive Orange Shortbread; and Honey Herb Rolls, my favorite bread of all time (toss any leftover herb-oil mixture with pasta and grated Asiago). This and Ms. Chase's Cold-Weather Cooking are sure to become much-used favorites.