Timothy Garton Ash has mastered the art of telling a story in an involving and interesting way, yet without sacrificing scholarly exactitude or resorting to simplification. In this, his most scholarly work, Garton Ash takes a hard look at Germany's political history in the centre of Europe, focusing on the theme of 'Ostpolitik' -- West Germany's policy of how to deal with the East: East Germany, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union. He presents two sides for every position, yet his own thinking permeates the book.

Because of its scholarly nature, this book is less accessible to the general audience than Garton Ash's other books, but for those interested in Germany's role in Europe's past, present and future, this book is an absolute must.

What an excellent book! The editor deserves much praise due to the fact of the excellent editing and focusing on interesting observations of the North East Native Americans by early settlers and explorers of North America. From the first recorded encounter by the Dutch, English and French to later observations by settlers and villagers each observation of various Indian Tribes (Huron, Mohawk, Alganquin, etc) is described in an interesting and easy to read prose, no doubt due to the excellent editing by the editor Ronald Dale Karr.

It is excellent that a book finally describes observations of Native Americans and their way of life in the Northeast by explorers and settlers. At first very friendly relations between the two cultures (Europeans and Native Americans) flourished, but unfortunately the greed and exploitation of the Native Americans sealed their fate in the Northeast and eventually spread west and south to all Native American Tribes.

This is a book that vividly describes the customs, clothing, ceremonies, and types of food the Northeast Indians had during Colonial America and I learned alot more and wish that they were still here is the U.S. so we could respect and learn from them and ultimately ourselves.

Highly Recommended reading to all U.S. History/Native American Historians.

This book is a terrific example of local history, and a highly sensitive examination of Native American issues in 17th and 18th century New England. Readers of this text will learn virtually all there is to know about the scantily-documented Nipmuck tribes of central Massachusetts, and the adjacent corners of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

I would like to point out, to prospective readers, that most New England tribes, especially in this time frame, are often viewed through the prism of the wars of the era. These wars most prominently include the Pequot war of the 1630s, and King Phillip's War of the 1670s. You might want to prepare for this book, by getting some kind of an overview of these wars. At least take an hour to read about them in an encyclopedia, or online. This book does not assume any prior knowledge on the part of the reader, but you will get more out of it if you prepare yourself in this manner. You may also want to pick up a road map of Massachusetts, or (better) New England. The maps included here are hand-drawn, and, while adequate, do not necessarily provide quite as full a sense of geographical context as one might get from a good road map.

Most of the information about social structure, food sources, and ways of life are covered in the first chapter. I would have liked to see some more about this, but the fact is that Dennis Connole has completely exhausted all the information about this topic. There are plenty of more general books about this topic, notably "Handbook of North American Indians: Northeast, Vol.15," published by the Smithsonian Institution, and edited by William C. Sturtevant.

A lot of this book focuses on issues of land ownership, and the significance of these questions to Nipmuck tribal life. In my opinion, the most fascinating chapter is Chapter Eight, about a Nipmuck named John Wampus, given an elite education, from a young age, by upper-crust Puritans in Boston. He eventually became caught up in some land-related struggles between the Nipmucks and the Massachusetts Bay Company officials. It's amazing to see the struggles he went through while trying to juggle traditional Nipmuck ideas about land, with the English ideas he picked up in school. He eventually argued some issues before the Lords of the Kings Council, in London, and died thousands of miles from his Central Massachusetts home.

Another interesting anecdote to watch for is in Chapter Thirteen. Apparently, some Nipmucks were actually sold into slavery in Africa, and survived for at least seven or eight years in Tangier. Eventually they got word to the Puritan "apostle to the indians," John Eliot, about their situation, and requested that he intercede on their behalf. We do not learn the ending of this amazing tale. I can't help but feel for these poor folks, who grew up right where I did, serving out a terrible term of servitude under a megalomanical sultan in Morocco. I'm glad that Dennis Connole lets us know of their plight, even if it is 300 years too late to help.

Other interesting parts are in later chapters, when we learn of Nipmucs who essentially became refugees after King Phillips War. Some moved to Connecticut, some to Pennsylvania, and some to Schaghticoke in New York. Interestingly, the descendants of some of these Nipmucks are still part of a native American community in Quebec, -- the St. Francis indians (or St. Francois) of Odanak, Quebec, near Montreal.

I think this book is pretty terrific. Dennis Connole fills a real gap in the literature, in descibing for us the lives of these people. If you'd like to learn more about the Nipmucks, try using your internet skills to see what comes up, if you run a search on the word "Hassanamisco," "Nipmuck," or, alternately, "Nipmuc." An all-around great book. Two thumbs up!

Whether you're a biologist, an environmentalist, or just someone who loves fish/fishing, this book is a must. Written for both academics and lay-persons, with easy to understand text, it includes information on methods for determining the identity of local freshwater fish, with beautiful illustrations and color plates.

This is a great, family-oriented book. Unlike many guides to Maine, which generally seem to be oriented to the bed and breakfast, antique browsing set, this book has a much broader range. It's also more down to earth. Its breezy, casual narrative style, and well laid out pages make it a pleasure to read. It's told me more about Mt. Desert Island and the surrounding area than any other book I've seen.

I found this guide to be both thorough and user friendly. Loaded with great photographs, it made planning our activties as a family really fun. The suggested routes are very well explained and mapped, and we enjoyed following them around Martha's Vineyard. Next stop, Nantucket!

This guide's photographs are fantastic, and really convey the spirit and natural beauty of New England. I found the writing style very engaging, and the listings at the back (inns, restaurants, etc) to be very well organized and accurate. This was my first time using an Insight Pocket Guide (I have only ever used their larger sized guides before), and I am now enchanted with this format - it is really easy to travel with. The pullout map at the back was the icing on the cake for our road trip. I highly recommend this guide to anyone planning a trip to New England.

This is a well-written analysis of a much misunderstood event in western history. Lambert attempts to explain the establishment and perpetuation of the First Great Awakening in the American colonies and effectively argues his case that the event was one of deliberate planning and execution rather than a spontaneous, pervasive religious revival. The reader is drawn into Lambert's discussion of the causes and effects of the Awakening on both sides of the Atlantic and can not help making comparisons to modern evangelists attempts to spread their messages to the masses. While not of interest to all, this book is a rewarding and entertaining read. I eagerly await his next opus.

To say the novel is about a father's lack of tenacity to pursue his dream in life is a bit simplistic to my thinking. Eberstadt, a brilliant talent with keen and broad intellect scope, creates a small range of characters; Sam & Mattie and their sons Issac and Taylor around which to present what truly is an astounding mental prowess; her own. Eberstadt, like Melville, manages to provide insight into thousands of prismatic subjects along the way: the light of her tortured soul just will not go out. Isaac, overweight, over-educated and unhappy, reminded me in some ways of Ignatius Reilly, of O'Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. (The misunderstood genius in love with a chivalrous past stuck in 20th century redneck America; be it New Orleans or as in this case, Vermont). However, it is Eberstadt that is so compelling; Eberstadt the omniscient narrator, weaver of incredibly perceptive description, psychological insight and above all derisive wit gone mad. The book is to say the least intellectually stimulating even if the actual story is not in itself frightfully compelling, a boy-genius falling in love with an spinster teacher. It is the telling of the tale itself and all the author's breadth and depth makes it a must read. I really liked this book and can't wait to read Low Tide. If the author reads this review; please, please autograph my tome!!!

Through the eyes of Matthias we watch the times change from a bucolic country life by the sea to a vacation haven for the rich and wealthy mainlanders. But throughout Matthias and his family strive to keep the island beautiful and respect the old ways passing them on from one generation to the next. The pastoral illustrations convey the warmth of this possibly best of Barbara Cooney's tales. Boys will especially like it, although my daughters loved it, too.