The Black Brook is a book of many minor miracles, not a piece of fiction that ends with a bang and leaves you breathless. There's a somewhat cohesive overriding story here but it's the pieces of that story that make the book wonderful. This might be an example of the parts being greater and more important than their sum.

Drury has a fantastic wit, a true gift at characterization, and an astonishing eye for emotional detail. I found myself in local bookstores trying to find Drury's other novels before I had even managed to finish The Black Brook. Yet, despite the talent displayed here, the novel failed to pack the final emotional punch of which I thought it capable. The end was a let down, but in hindsight, those minor miracles were worth it.

There is no other writer like Tom Drury. He explores the common-place, and somehow, in a casual and off-hand way, ends up exploring the profound and universal. His books seem like real life, in that it isn't always apparent what the significance is of certain observations or characters. He is a very down-to-earth writer, who cares about the characters he creates, even if they appear only briefly. In "The Black Brook" the main character, Paul, is almost heart-breaking in his inability to connect with those around him. It is a beautiful and funny book, that ends up a bit scattered at the end. But it resonates.

Read The Black Brook. Drury is funny and poignant. The people are a little off the beaten track but that's what makes this a book to be read.

I travel a lot -- both nationally and internationally and I use travel books often. I took my first trip to Maine this summer and was excited to see that a book so highly rated was coming out with a new edition shortly before my trip. Unfortunately I found this book disappointing time and time again. If you like the way that Lonely Planet presents information (town maps, opinionated recommendations, and historical information) then stay away from this guide book. It offers very few of any of those things. It is more of a guide to available restaurants and lodgings with little or no real concrete information or opinions about those places.

For example, we traveled to Campobello and needed to stop for dinner. One of the restaurants they listed was "known for its fish and chips". Such a description doesn't reveal whether their fish and chips are actually worth the stop. We did stop and found the fish and chips to be VERY average and the microwaved fish chowder to be very bland. A B&B we stayed at was described as having "furnishings reminiscent of a simpler time". What does that mean? We found out but that description told us very little. The vague descriptions were frustrating when we were calling from one area of Maine to make reservations in another. We weren't sure what we were going to find. One more example: We were in Acadia driving the park loop and I reached for the book in hopes that it would give a brief description of the different sites on the tour. There was a sign for Bubble Rock and I wanted to know what that was in reference to. The book was of no help.

The book is also awkward to use. The key to their symbols are buried in the book. Their reference section is also awkward and lacks a "when to go" section among other useful information. Considering the fact that much of Maine consists of small towns whose streets are too small to show up on maps of Maine, it would have been such a help to have had small town maps in the book. I think there were a couple but nothing near what there should have been. This may be the best that is out there but if that is the case, then there is room for some one else to write a much more comprehensive and useful guide to Maine.

This is a terrific guide book. It's personal but thorough, and - like Maine - it has character and characters. It's written with an eye out for the personal experience and the hidden treasure. Maine is a beautiful place with a quirky side. Thanks to the Explorer's Guide for helping me get to know it.

This is a terrific guide, detailed accurate,judgemental when called for, funny and user friendly. The author clearly spends a lot of time traveling around Maine keeping in touch with changes and updating information. A new addition is virtually another, better book. So,I'm surprised that Amazon.Com listed the new 10th edition as No.3, behind two earlier editions.The two older editions certainly contain useful information and are more deeply discounted.However, when you're spending a lot of money on a trip or vacation it makes sense to have an up-to-date guidebook.

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

Now in a fully updated fifth edition, Allison Blake's The Chesapeake Bay Book is a comprehensive and thoroughly "user friendly: guide to all the great getaway adventures to be found in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland. Maps, indexes to the best places for lodging and dining, recreation opportunities by locale, and much more, enhance this superbly presented travel guide which is ideal for anyone planning a local day trip or an extended vacation in the Chesapeake Bay environs.

a college friend invited me to spend a few weeks with her in annapolis, but, when she got a job she couldn't refuse just before i arrived, i had to fend for myself entertainment-wise. thank heavens i wandered into a local bookstore and picked up this book. i didn't know a thing about the area. nor did my friend really. (i'm from texas, and she just moved there from connecticut.) but, with the help of this guidebook and a rental car, i wandered happily throughout the back roads of the chesapeake region. i found great little towns to stop in with its help, deliciously fattening restaurants to eat in and cool things to see. if you're a newbie there, i highly recommend that you pick it up!

As a life-long Cape Cod reader it was a treat to read of people and places I recognized. From the familiar trip out of Barnstable to"Nick" Nickerson, who taught my drivers education class in 1973 before going back to fishing full time. I gained a new regard for my neighbors who work on the sea. A very good read.

I thought this was a great book to learn about the bluefin and the fishng for them. It is crazy the amount of money these fish go for. These fish hav incredible power I believeit states in here that if you tied a bluefin to a marlin tail to tail the blufin would win. great book give it a try.

Excellent book In depth behavior of fishermen for this fish and of the fish

I found this book a disappointment because the author allowed his personal issues and problems (e.g. family problems, illness, drug use) to interfere with the picture he was trying to paint. Henry Beston's THE OUTERMOST HOUSE, A YEAR OF LIFE ON THE GREAT BEACH OF CAPE COD, is much more to my liking, because of the beautiful prose and the full concentration of Mr. Beston on the topic at hand (i.e. the Cape, its history, its beauty, its wildness). I find it incongruous for this author, David Gessner, to make the effort to get in touch with nature by living out in the wilds by the ocean, and then to take the unnatural step of using drugs while doing so. It offends my senses almost as much as do the actions of people who play boomboxes at the beach while supposedly enjoying nature. I guess I like my nature natural and without the distractions of these other modern day intrusions. And I like my information and insights gleaned from my readings to be based on reality not drug induced fantasy. These personal issues (which in another context, might have been appropriately raised and interesting) seemed only to be undesired distractions in this context.

I had the pleasure of meeting Gessner at a bookstore he made an appearance at. I bought two of his books, "Wild Rank.." and "Return of the Osprey." I was almost unable to put down "Wild Rank." It was so moving...so touching...so brilliantly honest, I kept the pages open as I did mundane things so I could peek over occassionally and be mesmerized by his essay. The book is a mix of so many things -- there's a little "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" in his brutal honesty. Then there's a little Thoreau when he briefs us on what the marshes and the "Suet" mean to him. This book is a must read for anyone who understands or wants to understand that life on life's terms is the only way we can exist -- and one of life's terms is that we take care of the land. Another of those terms is that our parents, for whatever faults they have, shape us in ways we can neither forget nor sometimes identify. David, I'm so glad I met you -- the book has been one of those wonderful surprises in life that change you a little bit when you encounter them. Kudos!

Mr. Gessner has created a powerful memoir of his childhood on Cape Cod, the loss of his father and his love for the harsh Cape environment that is emblematic of personal struggles Gessner has faced and, with humor and intelligence, ultimately overcome. A thoughtful and thought-provoking work from a promising young author.

When rating Shakespeare, I am rating it against other Shakespeare; otherwise, the consistent 4-5 stars wouldn't tell you much. So if you want to know how this book rates against the general selection of books in the world, I suppose it might rate four stars; it certainly rates three. The language, as usual in Shakespeare, is beautiful. Still, it's far from Shakespeare's best.

For one thing, this is one of those cases, not uncommon in Shakespeare's comedies, in which the play has suffered a great deal by the changes in the language since Shakespeare's time; it loses a great deal of the humor inherent in a play when the reader needs to keep checking the footnotes to see what's happening, and this play, particularly the first half of it, virtually can't be read without constant reference to the notes; even with them, there's frequently a question as to what's being said. At least in the edition that I read (the Dover Thrift edition) the notes frequently admit that there's some question as to the meaning of the lines, and there is mention of different changes in them in different folios.

But beyond this, as an overweight, balding, middle-aged libertine, I object to the concept that Falstaff is ridiculous just because he is in fact unwilling to concede that it is impossible that a woman could want him. Granted, he's NOT particularly attractive, but that has more to do with his greed, his callousness, and his perfect willingness to use people for his own ends, to say nothing of his utter lack of subtlety.

Is it truly so funny that an older, overweight man might attempt to find a dalliance? So funny that the very fact that he does so leaves him open to being played for the fool? Remember, it isn't as though he refused to take "no" for an answer; he never GOT a "no". He was consistently led on, only to be tormented for his audacity. Nor is he making passes at a nubile young girl; the target of his amorous approaches is clearly herself middle-aged; after all, she is the MOTHER of a nubile young marriageable girl. And given the fact that she is married to an obnoxious, possessive, bullying and suspicious husband, it is not at all unreasonable for Falstaff to think that she might be unhappy enough in her marriage to accept a dalliance with someone else.

If laughing at fat old men who have the audacity not to spend the last twenty years of their lives with sufficient dignity to make it seem as if they were dead already is your idea of a good time, you should love this play. I'll pass.

i've just finished reading/watching all of shakespeare's comedies and mww is one of the funnier ones. it is a lighthearted look at marital jealousy and features one of shakespeare's great fools, falstaff (of henry iv fame). the out-and-out funniest shakepearean play is still "taming of the shrew", imho, but mwv runs well ahead of the laggards, and certainly well ahead of such better known plays as "twelfth night" and "as you like it".

Shakespeare, considering he wrote this little gem of a comedy in a mere 14 days for the Virgin Queen, pulls off a play that proves both witty and fun. Unequivocally, The Merry Wives of Windsor makes for a more enjoyable play if seen live. Nonetheless, reading it is the 2nd best thing.

Sir John Falstaff is once again such a fool - but a lovable and hilarious one at that. Having read Henry V - where Falstaff ostensibly had met his end - I was pleased to see him so alive(pardon the pun) in this short, albeit clever play. It is no surprise that The Merry Wives of Windsor enjoyed such a long and successful stage run during Shakespeare's day and continues to be one of his most popularly staged plays. Recommended as a fun break from the more serious and murderous Shakespearean tragedies.

"Why, then the world's mine oyster,
Which I with sword will open." - Pistol

This book, and I've read them all, is terrific! The signs are so obvious, modern archeologists would be well advised to read Sitchin before they take themselves too seriously!

Once again Zecharia Sitchin uses his broad-based knowledge of history, science and religion to advance our understanding of fundamental concepts. This book is not an "easy read". Sitchin is not afraid to use mathematics to make his point at times, and make it he does. If you crave a deeper understanding of calendrical and astrological principles and their origin, you need to read this book. But, be ready to spend some time getting a grasp of the fundamentals! It is helpful to be thoroughly familiar with the rest of the "Earth Chronicles", there are many subjects that overlap. Highly recommended.

Like ALL of his books, this one too is amazing, compelling, persuasive, enlightening, builds rationally and logically to each of its points BUT (there's alway a "but")is a bit difficult to read. Also, as with ALL his books, Zecharia draws his concise conclusions by bringing the knowledge of many sciences together. It is a must read for anyone with an open mind and thirst for knowledge.

This is an excellent book about the Cape and its history.
There are lots of nuggets of interesting and original information. The book, however, suffers from its rambling and discursive format. It really is a ramble.

I thought that Schneider attacks this book with the best of intentions and scores on many points, specifically the history of the Naussets, Champlain's adventure on the Cape and early whaling ships (including the Essex). Where he failed was in the telling: too often he jumped from event to event in a disjointed history or re-related events in a clumsy narrative. Too skimpy to be history, too spotty to cover the entire Cape, I liked this book despite its problems because it gave me some great historical perspectives of the beaches and sea where I live.

The amazing deluge of tourism each summer truly ignores the elaborate history of some of New England's most beautiful coastline. For many of us who live or travel there when time and traffic allow there is this fine book to fill in the grey areas.

Unfortunately, regional history is not as popular to most readers as a spy novel or biography. This book bounces between the author's journeys in Kayak along the islands and coastline and the chronological history of travellers and settlers to the coast. There are humorous accounts of indian encounters, misguided settlers and an all too unpleasant tale of life aboard the Mayflower. Not all as we had once been told in grammar school.

The endnotes are substantial and the book can at times seem more academic than entertaining. However, I passed this on to two friends and we have laughed and shared our favorite stories over beverages. A good book and a nice read.

This is the best and most unbiased history of King Philip's war. Leach wrote the book; Morrison only wrote the two-page introduction. Leach tends to be a little "politically correct" but in generally he gives us an unbiased history. This is an interesting book and I've just finished rereading after a 10-year gap. It is still interesting.

This was an amazing war between Puritans, who were would poorly equipped in nearly every way, against Indians who would were born and raised in warfare. For many months the Whites lost virtually all the battles. King Philips' war was one of desperate sieges of tiny garrisons and ambushes of those Whites trying to rescue those besieged.

Just when you think the Whites are about to get the upper hand, the Indians attack new targets and the Whites are losing again. The most amazing thing is that the colonists had not one English soldier or ship to help them. They raised and equipped their own little militia companies. Unlike some other Indian wars that only had a few battles, this little war had dozens if not hundreds of little battles.

The Indian was as well armed with flintlocks, as was the White. In this war, the Indian was far superior in tactics and he was never beaten when he could fight his guerrilla style warfare. This was the Indians' last chance to push the White man into the sea. Providence (Rhode Island) was nearly destroyed and the Indian raided the towns adjacent to Boston. Town after town was destroyed.

I think this book is a little superior to Schultz's "King Philip's War," which is a little bit too PC. But both are well worth reading.

Of all the accounts of KPW, this is by far the best. Though not as detailed as others, I found this gave an excellent birds-eye view of the war.

I part with the other reviewers in the analysis of Leach's objectivity. Most of the KPW authors of the last forty years appear to hate the Puritans as much as the KPW authors of the 1920s and earlier hated the First Nations.

Leach's work, I think, holds a good balance. He clearly acknowledges English arrogance, stupidity, all-out barbarism, and total failure in the area of evangelism, without making ridiculous leaps about English psychology.

It's an outstanding work.

If there is solid criticism of Leach and Morison, let it be founded on fact, not based on bias. In these days of political correctness, anything that shows settlers as good and Native Americans as less than perfect is derided as inaccurate. In fact, there were wonderful cases of heroism and despicable acts of barbaric cruelty on both sides of this fight, and this book presents them better than any book I've ever seen. I'm puzzled by those who feel it's pro-English; some of the most disgusting portrayals are of English leaders. I believe King Philip's War set the tone for European-Indian relationships for centuries. This book does a superb job of documenting the cultural chasms that brought about this tragedy. The truth can be uncomfortable for supporters of either side, but we should seek the truth, even when it upsets us, and apply the lessons of history to our day.

I have recently rediscovered Belva Plain and have been avidly reading her books. I have read about six in the past three months and found each of them, while not "can't put it down, stay up all night", thoroughly enjoyable and readable. Then I started on "Secrecy" and was totally disappointed. The plot, the characters, the ending...just didn't seem like the same author I had enjoyed so much. Won't stop me from continuing to read this author, but hope I don't run into any more like this one.

This book revolved around the secrets of a family. Each person's secret affected everyone. It was an enjoyable book to read and was pleased with the ending.

I truly enjoyed "Secrecy" and plan, now, to get my hands on every Belva Plain novel that I can. Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher lovers should find "Secrecy" immensely satisfying. Plain's writing style is flowing and enjoyable, and I found Charlotte to be a very brave but humanly likable character, and loved the sensitive Roger. The story took a very interesting twist near the end, when Charlotte and Roger's plans for Dawes Square were mysteriously vehemently opposed by Charlotte's father, himself hiding a shocking secret. The "mob" aspect of the story was a very minimal, peripheral part of the book.