I love to snowshoe, so I got this book in anticipation of a snowy Maine winter. It has some wonderful ideas of places to go for a satisfying snowshoe treck! It gives good directions, has topo maps, and also gives tips on the level of difficulty. It tells you the scenic highlights of each trail, whetting your appetite for each & every one. There aren't enough weekends in a Maine winter to try them all! It even offers info on nearby motels and grocery stores (so you can pack a lunch). Looks like it offers a lot of information for the cross-country skiier, too. I've snowshoed for years, but this offers a multitude of new ideas of wonderful places to go. Now I can't wait for the first "heavy dumper."

Yes! This book is very unique in that is written for a few, specific winter activities (x-country skiing or snowshoeing) in a few very specific locations (New Hampshire and Vermont). If you are in the market for such a book, you don't have many choices to begin with. You'll be happy to know that this book does its subject justice.

People in the Northeast will truly enjoy this book as it covers the best winter activity locations primarily in both the Green and White mountains but also in a few other various locations in each state (including Southern New Hampshire and Vermont). The guide includes point-to-point trail directions, specific maps, driving directions, facility information, and the usual historical fun facts that always fill hiking books.

I grew up in New Hampshire and now live in Vermont. To find this book that covers both of my outdoor winter playgrounds was a true find. If you are a big outdoorsy person looking for a guide to places to help you with winter activities, this book by Marty Basch will be a welcome addition to your library or backpack.

As I recall, I read this book about ten years ago, at, appropriately, the time of the winter solstice, but, because of several moves and several redistributions,lendings, shufflings, etc., I realize that this fine book is, unfortunately, no longer in my possession, but I recommend it highly as a way to emerse yourself, vicariously, in the winter landscape of rural Vermont. Diana kappel-Smith admonishes herself to--and this is a paraphrase--"put away the field lens" and "burrow yourself, like the vole, into the snow." This is truly a celebration of winter in which the reader becomes the vole, the owl, the fox through the authors vivid descriptions and narratives. The author and the reader become the woods, the snow, the trees, the rocks, the sky! Who needs the handlens when they've already become the thing they would discover under the glass!? Great! Written with the enthusiasm of the novice and the expertise of the trained naturalist!

Sometimes it's forgotten that the witchcraft trials in Salem Village in 1692 were more the climax than the beginning of such happenings in 17th c. New England. In this excellent collection of hard-to-find documentary materials, David D. Hall covers the phenomenon from its first stirrings to the hysteria of 1692. In the process of persuing these materials, the reader realizes how widespread and complicated the situation was. After reading this book, you may not have many answers as to why the witchcraft persecutions happened when and where they did, but you will have a much better appreciation of what actually happened. Good accompanying reading: _Entertaining Satan_ by John Putnam Demos.

Bunny McBride has written a rare and special book - a book that takes you in a heretofore unexamined aspect of Native American culture - the lives of Indian women. "Women of the Dawn" tells the story of four women whose lives span the entire history of contact with European. Yet, it is far more than a well-documented anthroplogical tome. By taking a bit of literary license and mixing it with imagination and historical fact, Ms. McBride has painted a vivid poirtrait of these women's lives that in a way is perhaps a far more true and accurate retelling of their lives than a dry litany of facts. This is a book that will take you to four different times and let you look out at the world through the eyes of four remarkable native American women. A real triumph.

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!

Worcester, Massachusetts, while well known to those in the center of the state, is a city ignored by many. This selection of pictures and text gives those who live here and new visitors a great look into the past. The city developed with an immigrant population and has continued to grow with each decade. The photographs here give readers a glimpse into an engaging past. While many people in the state consider only the areas around Boston as important, this author proves them wrong. Pictures are rich, text is illuminating; the combination is an excellent work. Keep an eye out for "Worcester, Vol.2." Don't pass this selection by....you will regret your folly!!!

If you've read and reread all of Louisa May Alcott's books, and loved her portrayals of brave girls trying to make their way in a harsh world, you must read this "lost" novel, "Work." It is well-written, engaging and humorous, very much in the same style as her other novels for girls, yet with more of a depth of maturity to her characters. If you've read "An Old Fashioned Girl" you will see a lot of "Polly" in the working girls portrayed in this novel. Read it and rejoice in this "new" Alcott novel!

Hall uses the popular religion of early New England to argue that for clergy and lay people alike religion was a part of everyday life, and although the clergy and lay people's religious interpretations of events could differ their choices of interpretation were limited by their shared culture. Hall argues that the vast majority of the early New Englanders shared a common middle class background and a common religious background influenced by the Reformation. Both the clergy and lay people agreed that it was especially important for each person to be able to read the Bible on his own. But, the power to read the Bible also gave lay people the confidence to have interpretations of the Bible that differed from those of their ministers. The belief in wonders, supernatural events or extraordinary events (earthquakes, meteors, etc.), was a remnant of their Elizabethan culture. Both clergy and lay people attributed religious meanings to wonders, with the clergy sometimes writing popular books detailing wonders. The popularity of these stories encouraged the printing of wonder books not written by clergy as well. By the later 1600's, the clergy were increasingly attributing wonders to explainable natural events, but with the self-confidence gained by their literacy lay people still often gave religious significance to natural events. Their shared culture made universal literacy extremely important, but literacy empowered lay people to disagree with clergy sanctioned interpretations of Scripture. This empowerment of the lay people went so far as to have them feel confident enough to disagree with their ministers over the issue of sacraments, particularly baptism and the rites of the Last Supper. This confidence also gave lay people the ability to break rituals, such as confession, weddings (dancing even though it was prohibited), and sickness (relying on doctors and folk medicine instead of only on prayer).

This cookbook contains a pleasing variety of recipes, from the simplest soups and breads to elegant entrees and desserts. A collection of family and hometown favorites from the New England area, it is sure to bring fresh ideas into the kitchens of its readers. Many of the recipes are suited to certain seasons, including a chapter of hearty stews and chowders that will bring the warm fuzzies to the coldest winter day. For those who garden or love fresh produce, the Vegetables and Side Dishes chapter is filled with unique ways to enjoy the produce all summer. Having sampled many of the recipes, I have tasted elegance from the Herbed Cheese Spread all the way to the Chocolate Cheesecake! Many of the recipes are designed to be time savers for the busy family and some can be made the day before serving. The fact that most of them can be made from ingredients that are already in stock is an extra bonus for cooks on the go. There is also a handy section on Recipes to Feed a Crowd that can stretch your offerings into servings for 20 - 100. Whether you are hoping for a new twist on an old classic, or something to impress the neighbors at your own potluck, this is a must read for cooks and food lovers alike. Complete with helpful hints and a few vignettes for your reading pleasure, the recipes offered within will have even your finicky eaters asking for seconds.