Most biographies are geared towards illustrating the life of a famous figure for the purpose of presenting or revisiting the accomplishments. This biography, however, does not give the central focus to the writings and finds of Charles Darwin; the thesis deals more with Darwin being a possible hypochondriac.

The preface and appendix discuss recent research regarding Darwin's being an invalid during parts of his life. Some research deals with a disease that he may have picked up in South America while on the voyage of the HMS Beagle; some research says that Darwin was merely obsessed with being sick and therefore created a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This brings us to the text. Although Darwin's life is shown to us, as well as some additional information on family and colleagues, the life is covered in regards to his worst periods of sickness. By plotting this out for us, Bowlby shows us that many of these periods are preceded by deaths of family members close to Darwin and by fierce scrutiny of his discoveries and writings.

Another idea is the family's way of dealing with intense emotion. Rather than express this emotion by crying or mourning, it was internalized. This internalization led to depression, which led to sickness.

This biography is written less as a narrative of Darwin's life, but more as a proof for the author's thoughts on Darwin's sickness. As a result, there are many points where the author becomes more noticeable.

This is still an intriguing book, and I would recommend reading it.

The life and times of Darwin are masterfully brought to our attention by child emotional development expert and pioneer John Bowlby. Darwin's biography and upbringing are masterfully revealed and how they relate to his lifelong behavior, health, choices, and decisions in life. A most interesting aspect of this book is how evolution unknowingly affected Darwin's behavior as he himself is formulating and writing his famous theories on evolution. Because of the voluminous and extremely revealing written personal and professional correspondence by Darwin and his acquaintances a very good record of his health can be deduced from it. A must for those interested in more details on Darwin's life and how evolution affected the emotions and behavior of the main founder of evolution himself; and written by child emotional development pioneer Bowlby. It is a very detailed and well written book. For a complete definitive traditional biography of Darwin you may want to go to a plethora of other books available on the subject.

My title probably says it all, but I will elaborate. I still think that janet Browne has made the best START to a biography, I just wish she would finish by giving us Vol. 2! In the meantime we have Bowlby and that isn't half bad. Full of interesting background material and written with a lively pace A NEW LIFE manages to steer through some of the perils of "psychohistory" that have damaged other authors and gives us an interesting and at times provocative look at Darwin and Darwin's time. Well worth the read.

The highlight of our recent trip to Boston was a game at Fenway. I bought the book for my husband who read it before we went and did not find it interesting. I read it when we got back and found very limited amount of specific information on Fenway. Much of it explained baseball and its oddities that are true in any park.
Fenway was quite accessible, and easily navigated. The fans and stadium personnel were relaxed, outgoing, and quite helpful. The fans themselves can give you any tips or explain any oddball yells. The ones in the book were not heard.
If you are going to enjoy the game and see the park, you don't need this book to do it. If you want to know the history and legends of Fenway, this book does not have it.

IN MY REVIEW OF YANKEE STADIUMIN YOUR POCKET:THE FAN'S GUIDE TO YANKEE STADIUM, I MENTIONEDTHAT THE OTHER MLB TEAMS NEEDED SUCH A BOOK FOR THEIR FANS. I FOUND THIS BOOK BY ACCIDENT AFTER WRITING THAT AND SEE THAT THE BOSOX ARE COVERED IN THAT RESPECT. HERE IS AN EXCELLENT GUIDE FOR ANYONE PLANNING THEIR 1ST OR 50TH TRIP TO FENWAY. IT'S ALL HERE. EVEN IF YOU DON'T PLAN TO EVER VISIT THIS LEGENDARY BALLPARK, THIS IS A GREAT POCKET-SIZED BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR BASEBALL COLLECTION. KEVIN DAME NEEDS TO GET BUSY ON THE REST OF THE MLB TEAMS (AL TEAMS FIRST PLEASE KEVIN) SO THAT THE FANS CAN MAXIMZE THEIR ENJOYMENT AT A NEARBY MLB BALLPARK. I'LL BUY THEM ALL JUST TO READ AND ENJOY.

Innovative, fun and informative.

I await the Skydome in your Pocket edition

Picture in your mind a tweedy, gracefully aging celebrity sportsman fly fishing and bird hunting the world over with equally aging male celebrities. At least that was the public image. Curt Gowdy? Maybe if you only watched TV. If you were a reader in the 'fifties and 'sixties, you would likely think of Corey Ford, Field and Stream's most popular columnist for almost 20 years during the middle of the last century. Ford was an icon and inspiration to millions of split-level outdoorsman for whom he created a literary world where they could retreat with him even from the comfort of their armchairs and recliners, and hunt the field and fish the stream together, or swap lies about their angling and shooting exploits, real, imagined, or hoped for around the pot bellied stove in the general store of "Hardscrabble, " a fictional rural New England village based on people and places in the small towns of Ossipee, Effingham, and Freedom, New Hampshire.

This is what Laurie Bogart Morrow (a relative of Humphrey Bogart she claims) has sought to recreate and pay homage to, albeit in a more unisex way, in The Hardscrabble Chronicles. For most of the book she does an admirable job of it.

Ms. Morrow moved to Freedom, Ford's adopted home town, with her husband early in their married life, and quickly adapted to country New England living, much to the horror of her urban New York parents (yes Humphrey was from NYC). She learned how to fix up her drafty old farmhouse, cook on a woodstove, raise bird dogs, and she became an avid sportsperson and hunter herself. After she started her own family, the editor of an area newspaper persuaded her to take over a gossip column, once written by Mr. Ford, while the regular columnist was recovering from an illness. During her temporary tenure, she then began to learn more about Freedom's most famous citizen, and the more she learned the more she wanted to learn, developing such an interest in the man that she eventually obtained an authorization to write a Ford biography from Dartmouth University, which controls his literary estate and papers.

Most of The Hardscrabble Chronicles; however, is really a biography of Ms. Morrow's own experiences in Freedom, re-fictionalized again as Hardscrabble, but written in the same funny, character-driven anecdotal form as Mr. Ford's "Lower Forty" series that appeared in Field and Stream. Only the last chapter, styled an "afterward," is a biographical essay about Corey Ford (the pen name of James Hitchcock Ford, born 1902, died 1969).

In it we learn that the rumpled, curmudgeony, pipe smoking sportsman the world came to know in his fifties and sixties was, in his twenties, a member of fashionable New York literary society's Algonquin Roundtable, trading party barbs with legendary uptown wits and poseurs alike (apparently he was also a drinking buddy of Humphrey Bogart). In his thirties he was a Hollywood screenwriter whose main staple was romantic comedy and musicals. It was in his forties that he turned his back on the world of glitter and city lights where he was only really a minor player, and essentially "re-invented himself" as the bucolic personae who would finally achieve fame as a writer, becoming a sort of backwoods James Thurber for the hunting and fishing crowd. He was literate enough in his style to be taken seriously as a major American humorist, but folksy enough in his presentation to become loved by millions of people who never read anything more "highbrow" than the daily sports page, and his columns in Field and Stream.

Ms. Morrow presents in the afterward an edited, unpublished rough draft of Ford's most famous and evocative short story, "The Road to Tinkhamtown" that she found in the Dartmouth library, and then "put together." The published version is considered by many to be one of the best hunting fiction pieces ever written. Even if you are not a hunter, and I'm not one, you can appreciate the published story as a piece of well written, popular literature. This story served as my introduction to Corey Ford's writing. I first read it when I was about thirteen years old as a reprint in a Reader's Digest issue. Even at that age, as a city kid who had never hunted a day in his life, and judging it by the standards of my usual fare of horror and science fiction, I considered it one of my favorites, a masterwork, transcending genre. It is a timeless and otherworldly classic, melancholy without being maudlin, about a dying man and his long dead favorite bird dog going out together once more on the "last hunt." Less skillful pens than Ford's probably would have turned out a forgettable, sentimental mess using such subject matter.

The more wordy and less polished version presented in The Hardscrabble Chronicles' still contains the original story, but Ms. Morrow uses it along with inferences (but no real specifics) from one of Ford's diaries she uncovered in "carton 23" of the Ford papers at Dartmouth, along with details about Ford's own death experience, all in what seems almost like faint praise to probe into certain aspects of Ford's personal life, never to my knowledge revealed publicly before. Detailing her discomfort with her discoveries in Ford's papers, and how she managed to come to terms with them takes up much of the short biography chapter and makes it read at times like a bizarre, somewhat reluctant expose that's more suggestive of "Peyton Place" (in real life, Gilmanton, just "down the road apiece" from Freedom) than "Hardscrabble." After what seems (and I believe is genuinely) a loving and excellent paean to the literary legacy of this man, the dramatic shift in tone at the end of an otherwise inspired collection of Ford pastiches makes the book fascinating, if oddly uneven.

After reading this book, if you are the curious sort like me, you may be tempted to visit the Corey Ford Papers at Dartmouth, and look in "carton 23" yourself, if such still exists, to see what's really there. I think I may do some hunting and fishing right there if I get up that way anytime.

As a faithful reader of Corey Ford's Lower Forty stories in Field and Stream in the late 50's, I wanted to like this book a lot. The problem is that the Hardscrabble of the 1950's doesn't transport well to today. Those lovable characters that I knew in an Upstate New York town much like Hardscrabble, are long gone. The hardware store has been replaced with a Gap and the general store that was filled with old curmudgeons is now a Starbucks populated with twenty-something latte drinkers. Ms. Morrow does an admirable job trying to resurrect the old place, but the lingering feeling that many readers will have is that old Hardscrabble is a faded photograph that is best left to the past and not "colorized" for the 21st Century. If you want the real Hardscrabble, read Corey Ford. Ms. Morrow is a good writer; she should apply her considerable talent to the word beyond Hardscrabble.

If you're looking for alot of urban excitement in your reading, this is not the book for you. If you're looking for depth and serenity for a good read in front of a fire on a winter's night, this IS the book for you. I found this in the library and decided to try it, in front of the fire on a winter's night of course, and actually enjoyed it more than I expected to. This will go in my list of good books read and I will seek out other titles by this author. This is a good, quiet read - enjoy!

The professor who required this book in the class I took a few years ago knows the author, Edmund Morgan, personally. She told a story of how she and several other professors were having dinner with Morgan during a History convention. One professor remarked that Morgan's resume must be as thick as a book due to his successful career. Morgan responded that he had no resume and the other professors realized that if Morgan needed funding for a certain project, his name was all that was needed. After reading this book, I can understand why Morgan is so respected in his field. Not only is this work well researched but the writing style is very engaging. Morgan covers the following topics: Puritan ideology and views on freedom; marriage (a husband's authority was actually more limited than in other societies); parents and children (children-even girls-left home to live with their master as an apprentice in their chosen, or their parent's chosen, calling or, in the case of girls, house keeping); the importance of early education; punishment; masters and servants (a master was as responsible for the soul of his servant as he was for the soul of his child); the church and social order (Puritans should live in families as solitude was cause for suspicion); and tribalism. In the first chapter, Morgan explains the paradox between good conduct and salvation in Puritan belief. Good conduct was regarded as the result of salvation not the cause of it. . Anyone interested in Puritan life will find this 186-page book an excellent introduction.

I wasn't sure whether this was going to be a positive or a negative survey of Puritan life and times when I started reading it. Most people don't have very many nice things to say about them- usually comments about black clothing and the Salem witch trials. But the truth is, although the Puritans had plenty of problems, they've gotten a bit of a bad rap in history. They were actually far more lively and earthy than most people would suspect; they had much more in common with Shakespeare's times than with Victorian England.

And so Morgan's thesis is not that the Puritan's were ascetics or prudes- they weren't. Rather, their real fault lay in a sort of 'Christian tribalism', in the belief that since the elect in any generation were few in number anyway, they could avoid evangelism in favor of spiritual isolationism. Since the reasoned that the Church of one generation was generally comprised of the children of the last generation, their only real task was to preach to the choir. And so they fell into a decay of the soul that manifested itself as outward prosperity and inward apathy. Their zeal dissipated into mere trans-generational commercial institutionalism and snobbery. And so the foundation they laid down gradually faded into the overall fabric of a quickly growing Colonial society.

But in spite of their faults, the Puritans contributed a vast amount of effort and philosophy towards the make-up of American society today. And although they may be remembered for their obsessions with the devil and witches, they were not in fact the sum of their mistakes. It's easy to criticize in retrospect. Morgan's book helps provide a more thorough understanding of the why's and not just the what's of their history. Once the reader comes to an understanding of how the Puritans thought, he will have more appreciation for their contributions and more charity in his assessment of their foibles.

The Puritan Family was an admirably balanced study of a people with a colorful past. It was first published over 50 years ago, and it certainly won't alter current perceptions of what Puritanism was, but it's still a very informative read for anyone who is interested in the truth, and not in stereotypes.

This is the (slightly revised) doctoral dissertation by Edmund Morgan, one of the most renowned of all American historians. It analyzes Puritan society by exploring the relationships among these early New Englanders. Although he discusses master-servant relationships, his main focus is on the family. The reason for this is that the Puritans saw the family as the highest social institution, and as the foundation of their churches and government. Indeed, he shows how the family relationship is extended to explain their relationship to God (ie-they saw themselves as both the sons of God and as the bride of Christ).

It is one of Morgan's earliest works, and the concluding chapter sets the stage for his later "Visible Saints: The History of a Puritan Idea." No serious student of colonial New England can neglect this book, if only because of the enormous impact of its author.

This is another "postmodernist" history -- one that assumes that the Indians were a spiritual, peace loving, disease free people who communed with nature. Then came the big bad honkies with their diseases, guns and "total warfare."

Malone takes bits of information and constructs them in is to history. He finds an obscure record of a White who got in trouble with White authorities for selling a defective gun to an Indian. Obviously the Indian knew the gun was defective, claims Malone, he was just buying for parts and we can assume he was a technological genius.

Worse is that the book gives of very little information on the skulking tactics and technology of the Indians. For example, the Indian of was a master of deceit and subterfuge but Malone avoids that topic like a plague.

The Puritans won the war because of more men and virtually unlimited supplies, according only to Malone. Other authors such as Schultz (King Philip's War) and Leach (Flintlock and Tomahawk) tell us that the colonists were short of nearly everything, couldn't get their crops in, and faced starvation. Certainly the colonists had a larger population but fielded smaller army. The books by Leach and Schulz remain the only two good recent histories.

Researchers can use Malone's book for its references. And it's worth reading for those taking more than a casual interest in the 1775-1776 King Phillip's War.

In light of the present situation faced by our military - conducting special operations across the globe, Malone's book ties nicely into what we have now coined "modern combat". In Afghanistan, we have seen our special operations forces "going native" and "skulking" through the bush - adopting native cover and customs to fight an elusive enemy. Malone's seminal work on Native American tactics purports perhaps a vision of what we will see our military conduct in future combat in Iraq. "Red Mike" Edson was obviously a genius of military tactics during WWII and Malone's work should be a must for all present and future military leaders heading into harm's way. The lessons that Malone outlines along with the lessons we learned in Vietnam, must surely be applied in the near future in order for us to successfully locate, close with, and destroy those who use terror as a weapon. A great read!

In The Skulking Way Of War: Technology And Tactics Among The New England Indians, Patrick Malone (Senior Lecturer in the American Civilization department of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island) surveys the weaponry and tactics among the Native Americans of New England and how they changed after the arrival of the European settlers and the introduction of gunpowder. Borrowing and modifying the flintlock musket for their own use, Native American fighters developed superior tactics and became a deadly force in forest warfare. During King Philip's War (1675-1677), Native American groups wrought intense destruction upon European (largely British) settler's colonies, forcing the whites to adopt the same mode of forest combat. These new tactics would re-emerge during the Revolutionary War against Britain and in subsequent American wars down to this very day, altering combat throughout the world. The Skulking Way Of War is very highly recommended reading for students of American history, military history, and Native American studies.

Lately, I've come to really like the writings of Thoreau. It has taken me several years to return to this author...after being forced to read excerpts from Thoreau at a ridiculously fast pace during high school. Little time to read and less time for reflection left a bad impression of Thoreau in my mind that has, as I said, only recently been overcome.

But now, upon my return, I have found "A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" by Henry David Thoreau to be a very invigorating book...one to be savored and not read too quickly. Taken at a good pace, it has been a joy.

While transcendentalism still strikes me as a rather facile and egotistical philosophy, I have really come to see and appreciate the mystical quality in Thoreau's works. Like most mystical authors, Thoreau is not always engrossing--he is actually rather tedious in points, but his work is punctuated by passages of sheer brilliance.

Seeing nature through Henry's eyes has been a wake up call to me personally. This book breathes excitement and lust for life upon the reader. Even his long winded discussions of different kinds of fish serve to alert me to my own lack of wonder. This world, even in its current subjection to futility , is still a wonderful creation. Nature (and Thoreau's picture of these rivers especially) echo the declaration of the Psalmist: "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1).

I highly recommend this wonderful book.

Thoreau sought the seclusion of the pond to write *this* book, not _Walden_. In 19th-century terms, this treatise is a modified travelogue based on a 13-day boat trip that Henry and his brother John took in 1839. By today's standards, contemporary editors and many an English teacher would decorate this manuscript with red ink and admonish the author that he strays too often and too far from the main subject. Bill Bryson's essays wander too, but he doesn't usually reach back and quote the Bhagavad-Gita, Homer, Chaucer, or Shakespeare. But whenever Henry takes in his surroundings, he is reminded of something else, and before you know it a serious discourse is off and running, and it has nothing to do with floating upstream or down. He expresses his opinions or offers his knowledge about fish, mythology, religion, poetry, reading, writing, history, government, traveling, waterfalls, friendship, love, life, nature, art, dreams, and science. He reminisces about a previous trip to the Berkshires and a sail down the Connecticut River. He breaks into poetry at whim -- sometimes his own words, more often someone else's. Along the way, the brothers paddle from Concord, Massachusetts, to the area around Concord, New Hampshire, and then turn around and go home. We meet some of the people they encounter along the way and get a glimpse of New England life during that time period. In some respects, the people and the land haven't changed much at all. We can see Thoreau's environmentalism when he talks about dams and their effects on the habits and habitats of fish -- concerns that are still with us today. We can laugh at his puns and enjoy his wordplay (i.e., "The shallowest still water is unfathomable" and Man needs "not only to be spiritualized, but *naturalized*, on the soil of earth.") Above all, we can explore these rivers and shorelines during a time period that we will never see personally, with the aid of a native naturalist who's in the habit of sharing his observations and thoughts.

Read _Walden_ first. And if you find you enjoy Henry's take on nature and civilization and life and living, pick up _A Week_. There are a few gems lurking in here that you might connect with.

[From Boating on the Catawba...in the
"Musketaquid"]

I will take the definite role of the
Nay-Sayer in the long line of aficianados
and idolators who insist that *Walden* is
Henry David Thoreau's masterpiece...
I will simply state that this work and
"Life Without Principle" are his great
contributions to literature, thought, and
value...

Take this quote from "Life Without Principle"
(before I get to 'A Week...'):
"To speak impartially, the best men that
I know are not serene, a world in themselves.
For the most part, they dwell in forms, and
flatter and study effect only more finely
than the rest. We select granite for the
underpinning of our houses and barns; we
build fences of stone; but we do not ourselves
rest on an underpinning of granite.
we do not teach one another the lessons of
honesty and sincerity that the brutes do, or
of steadiness and solidity that the rocks
do. The fault is commonly mutual, however;
for we do not habitually demand any more of
each other."

If that is not "preaching," but in the
sense of a prophet, not a mere sermonizer,
then there hasn't been any in a long time.
But Father Mapple's sermon in 'Moby-Dick' is
right up there with it.

If I had only known of Thoreau [and I had
not read much of him (and little then)except
at the University] and had to believe that
Thoreau was just what he seems to be in
'Walden,' then I would have given the man
short shrift...because there is not enough
of any sort of heart or soul in that work
to believe that he is even human. But
fortunately, a Thoreau worshipper (or rather,
*Walden* worshipper) forced me, by his own
imperious egotism, to try to understand this
man Thoreau and his views. It is fortunate
that I did, for I discovered 'A Week....'

This Penguin Classics edition is excellent
in a number of ways -- the two most important
being the notes in the back which explain the
allusions, and ancient Latin and Greek sources
and excerpts(for those who might not know them)
which Thoreau quotes and sometimes translates;
and the incredible "Introduction" by the editor,
H. Daniel Peck.
He can say his wondrous words himself:

"There is good reason for 'A Week's open
acknowledgment of the attritions of time
and loss. Conceived initially as a travel
book, 'A Week' was immeasurably deepened into
an elegiac account of experience by a tragic
event that occurrred in Thoreau's life in
the period following the 1839 voyage. In
1842, Thoreau's companion on that voyage,
his brother John, died suddenly, and in
agonizing pain, from lockjaw.
Without question this was the greatest loss
that Thoreau ever was to suffer. (He seems
to have undergone, in the aftermath of his
brother's death, a sympathetic case of the
illness that caused John's death, and the few
entries that appear in his journal in this
period are desperately mournful.) Interestingly,
though the pronoun 'we' characterizes the
narrator often in the book, the brother's
name is never mentioned -- an indication perhaps
of Thoreau's enduring need to distance himself
from this loss. there is nothing in 'A Week'
that directly refers to the death of John Thoreau.
Instead, his memory is evoked through various
symbolic strategies. For example, the long
digression on friendship in the chaper
'Wednesday' surely is intended to reflect the
intimacy Thoreau shared with his brother. Even
the ubiquitious 'we' of the narrator's voice
speaks to this intimacy. So intertwined are
the two brothers' identities in this pronoun
that it is often difficult to tell whether a
given action has been taken by Henry or John,
or both at once."

"To emphasize the elegiac aspects of 'A Week'
is to remind ourselves that throughout Western
history, rivers -- and voyages upon them --
have served as metaphors of transience and
mortality. Yet, as I indicated earlier,
'A Week' is not solely a mournful book. Its
rivers also support a spiritual buoyancy, and
provide the setting for exploration and adventure.
Most important, however, the book's larger
structure enables it to 'transcend and redeem'
the individual losses that it recounts."

[wonderful writing here!]
"In general, the outward-bound voyage of 'A Week'
dramatizes the writer's encounter with time and
its losses; on that voyage, he pays close
attention to the shore -- which, in its discreet
scenes of spoliation and historical change,
symbolizes the passage of time. The homeward
voyage, on the other hand, suggests assimilation,
resolution, and renewal. If the primary mode of
perception on the outward voyage had been
observation (of the shore), then the primary
mode of the return voyage is contemplation.
Now we are involved in an inward exploration,
and, symbolically, our vision leaves the shore
and returns to the river and the flow of
consciousness that it represents."
-- H. Daniel Peck; "Introduction."

The Age of Homespun was an age created out of American myth, but behind this mythology Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has found many treasures of true lives led. The author takes fourteen objects and spins out a story of cultures clashing and times changing. It is a fascinating series of narratives richly written with economy and style. Ulrich is most effective in showing the Indian struggle in this settlers' Age of Homespun. The author leaves no one out of the story and her selection of objects reflects this care as she cleverly creates a complete mosiac for this age. The only struggle I had with the book was my own ignorance of spinning, weaving, carding, etc., therefore being confused by some of the terms and concepts. An interesting book and a pleasure to read.

Read this book to find out how the impulse to fill our closets with old textiles and oddments fulfills a cultural tradition so deeply imbedded that it may as well be a genetic imperative. Ulrich's sensitive descriptions of the nuances of colonial society explain how bits of fabric evoke class distinctions, wealth, and a sense of self worth. Perhaps even more interestingly, the interpretations that the decendants give to these items tell us more about their contemporary society than genuine colonial history -- something to muse over as we wish for the "good old days" (My goodness, who would EVER have thought the 1970's would be something to remember fondly?!?)

This is a scholarly book, and the earlier review that suggests readers may be tempted to give up halfway through is correct. Stick with it though -- there are rewarding insights in the final chapters. Throughout, the early colonial history is fascinating and the personal details are tantalizing.

Excellent book! I had no idea that provenance could be so exciting! Ms. Ulrich is detail oriented and that is definitely a plus. She'll begin talking about a seemingly simple basket then launch into a social history of the place, people and time that basket was used by examining articles and announcements in the newspaper lining the basket. Brilliant! I learned so much about our America that I didn't know. Lemuel Haynes, revered 18th century black Reverend, wow! I was shocked and amused to find that people were struggling with what to do with the homeless back in 1795! What a complex and interesting place we live in. As a huge fan of American history I found this book to be a treasure. Read it if you want to know more about your American self.

An Unkindness of Ravens marks yet another Inspector Wexford mystery and it revolves around the disappearance of a neighbor and a militant feminist group. The story holds together well enough and it's a super fast read. As I've read more Ruth Rendell novels, I am disappointed in the rushed pace of the novel. A story like this needs to unfold slowly. Not that I want to make a novel overly long, but I feel a tad more background information on the recurring characters and the current suspects would work to her advantage. It's not her best. It's not her worst. It's a serviceable mystery that is over before it starts.

I've been looking for an English mystery writer to match PD James and I've found her. Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford is intelligent and cultured, just like Dalgliesh. This was a fun read, interesting, and one that kept me guessing. I'm looking forward to reading more.

"An Unkindness of Ravens" by Ruth Rendell, Recorded Books, Inc. Version, read by Davina Porter.

When a neighbor of Chief Inspector Wexford is reported missing, you just know that this is the murder required for this mystery. Sure enough, a dog sniffs out the body of Rodney Williams, shallow grave!, and Inspector Wexford begins to track down the last days of his neighbor's life.

But, who would have thought? In England? There are two Mrs. Williams, each claiming not to know about the existence of the other. Bigamy! And then, incest! Rodney's two daughters, separated by miles but so alike in genes. Was Rodney Williams involved in incest with his oldest daughter, Sarah? And preparing the other daughter, Veronica, (by the second Mrs. Williams, Wendy) for a turn in the incestuous bed?

Did he deserve to die? The autopsy shows that Rodney was drugged before he was stabbed to death, which leads to the secondary murder,(a necessary cover-up), of the daughter of the local pharmacist. All young ladies were members of the local feminist group. Inspector Wexford investigates this feminist group, whose logo is a raven with the head of a woman, hence the title of the book. As the Inspector uncovers more and more, it seems that Joy Williams, the first Mrs., has to be guilty. But, so much took place at the home of Wendy, the second Mrs. She had to be guilty, or they were working together ...which they deny. At the end, everything comes to nice and surprising conclusion, but you still have to wonder: all this in modern-day England? Who would have thought?

The book is well read by Davina Porter, who has the capability of developing an individual, almost unique voice for the Inspector. Of course, every time the Inspector asks what a person was doing on April 15th, the night of Rodney's murder, I would say to myself that I knew exactly what I was doing. In the book, in England, the alibis were always weak. In the United States, however, the usual answer would have been a very acceptable alibi: "I was doing my income taxes!"

This book does provide good trail descriptions for a reasonable number of hikes in Vermont. I've hiked about a dozen of the trails listed in here, of those 10 there were:

2 in which the directions to the trailhead listed the wrong forest service road to take.

3 in which I saw other trails at junctions that weren't mentioned in this book leading to nearby attractions (without giving full descriptions it would be nice to mention alternatives for longer hikes available).

1 in which the directions led to a difficult hike, but it turned out talking to people at the top that a much easier hike was available to reach the same destination from the same trailhead.

Having said that, this book does give the visitor an easy way to plan some hikes in Vermont. The Falcon guide looks to be similar, so it might be useful to read both before planning your hikes.

I liked this book - easy to read and informative. The only problem was it didn't have very specific information on things like shelters, camping, etc. - it's more of a day-hike book. I phoned the Green Mountain Club (the authors) to get more info, and it turns out that they have written a book of their own called "The Long Trail Guide")that is much more comprehensive and they recommend it more than this one. I would check that book out before you get this one. But if you just want a good book for day hikes, I like this one fine.

The fifth edition of this book, written by two members of the Green Mountain Club, covers hikes everywhere in the State. To no one's surprise, the majority are located along the Appalachian trail and the area with the least hikes covered is in the Northeast Kingdom.

The authors offer a very good "At A Glance" section in the beginning with hike name, location, and so forth-- many of the things also covered in the individual hikes, but what stands out in this secion is whether or not each hike has a view, good for kids, nearby camping, good for winter, and my personal fav, notes that state whether the hike is good for x-c skiing, snowshoeing, waterfalls, historical interest, etc. The book also contains a "hiker's" guide to trail map symbols, safety, what the pack and more.

There are no surprises in the write-up for each hike. The authors have not left anything out: distance, hiking time, vertical rise, difficulty rating, pictures and topographical maps.

You won't find a better book about hiking in Vermont for this reasonable price.

all this book has done is denounce women and witches. the writer should review how her "subjects" really are before she strikes them down! VERY DISTATSEFUL

Reis' book is an excellent and original analysis concerning the role of gender in the Salem Witchcraft trials. A welcome addition to the extensive corpus of literature already available on the subject. "Ciacat" should read the books she reviews before she strikes them down.

Reis manages to make us look at the Salem trials as a religious event that takes place in a religious society. Rather than concentrating upon the petty squabbles that may (or may not) have provided the immediate catalyst for accusations, she shows us how Puritan women were taught to view sin and how they increasingly thought of themselves as inherently sinful. Somehow, she manages to make us understand the terrible torment that the accused women suffered in their trials but also in their souls. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the Salem episode or women and religion.