We all know about Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and Yorktown, but few know of the battles between the British and the Americans in the great North Woods Country which were Eastern New York and Vermont. It was there that Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys took Fort Ticonderoga "In the name of Jehova and The Continental Congress!" from a sleepy garrison of British Regulars. It was there that Benedict Arnold built his little fleet of lake warships and whipped the British at the Battle of Valcour Island. Only later did Arnold turn on his country.

The American War of Independence is only one episode in Ralph Nading Hill's sweeping review of the history of Lake Champlain, the critical gateway from Quebec to Lower New York. His retelling of the history of steam navigation on the Lake, and the Corporations which were founded to further its development, are at times hilarious, and are reminiscent of the story of the development of the railroads.

He also details the development of the Champlain Canal, which provided a direct water link between Quebec, Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, and thence to New York City, in the early 1800s. He shows the importance of the Canal, and later the railroads, in opening the markets of the Eastern Seaboard to Vermont lumber, milled from timber felled in Quebec and floated to saw mills in Vermont. Few realize that a substantial part of the housing in Boston and New York during the mid to late 19th Century, including the famous New York Brownstones, were built with Vermont lumber.

This is an easy, engrossing, and informative read by a master storyteller who made the telling of the North Woods History his life's work.

How many Americans Know that the birth of the American Navy really began on a lake. That the sea monster inhabiting lake champlain,was recorded by samuel champlain and native Americans as early as the 1600's, centuries before pt barnum offered a reward for it's body so he could display it with his travelling show. Lake Champlain is rich with beauty and history and this is a definative history of the region. It makes a great read too!

I loved this book.... And Lake Monsters even looks as good as it reads. The cover and design of the book are very stylish, which helps you get into it. There is even a map in the front of the book laying out the islands described inside. I frequently referred back to this map to get my bearings. And it helped me see truly what a sense of isolation the characters must have felt. You know I have to say, Lake Monsters didn't turn out to be what I expected; in the end, I think it actually turned out to be better! The book is not so much about hunting for and actually finding the monster inside the lake. The danger - which is even more terrifying - lurks elsewhere on the island. The protagonist's attempt to get his life together and do something meaningful by searching for the monster in the lake is intercepted by unforeseeable events, and scary isolationist island Vermonters. I love the beauty of Vermont, but after reading this book, there is no way I would ever set foot on such an island. Lake Monsters really has made a lasting impression on me. And the unexpected twist of an ending left me shocked and with my jaw on the floor. Lake Monsters will become one of few books I'll enjoy reading again and again!

One isolated island, a bunch of crazy off-beat characters, a
mysterious monastary and a "monster". That's what you get in the latest re-print by Hardscrabble Books. Originally titled Dark Twilight this is actually Joseph Citro's first novel. Citro is really one of the true under appreciated writers of all time.

Although this book does not go into great depth about the subject, it is well written and will leave the reader longing to make a trip to the lake. The author presents the controversy about the damn in a well balanced manner and keeps the focus of the book on the existing treasures of the lake.

This is the best book ever written about this subject. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the beauty and history of Utah.

As a classroom teacher of a high school level field biology/ecology/limnology class I just purchased this book as a classroom text to use! As someone else said, it has some beautiful, awe-inspiring pictures, but the content is what sets it apart. The pictures allow you to feel the moment, but the word allow you to smell it, touch it and feel it.

After reading Lake Superior: Story and Spirit.., we visited and interviewed the authors and publishers John and Ann Mahan and were overwhelmed with the research behind the development and eventual publishing of this outstanding book on the greatest of the great lakes! We rec. this book to anyone who seriously wants a dynamic combination of beauty AND content. The romance and reality of Lake Superior are wonderfully combined and shared with the reader.

We are upsetting nature and killing our lakes with lawns to the waters edge and removing all the natural vegetation. Read this book before you start landscaping. You can make it a win-win situation with you and nature.

As a lakeshore property owner in northern Minnesota I would like this book to be read by all lakeshore property owners. Lakeshore environments are in need of our best conservation efforts.

Learning about the role of "aquatic weeds," dead trees, "brush," and live trees enables us to improve lake water quality and our relationship with wildlife. The information, presented by authors with expertise, will be useful in the planning of your lakeshore while learning about and understanding the wonderful diversity of lakeshore environments.

The layout's inviting, full of graphics and easy to read. The nine chapters deal with lakeshore landscaping and problems, site preparation and plant installation, shoreline stabilization and maintenance, good stewardship and more.

There are also thirteen useful appendices that include the state rules of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, while other appendices help you identify and locate native plants and invasive non-native plants.

This is the perfect gift for every lakeshore property owner! Full of information and fun to read!

One of the best travel book series, with attention to detail, plus numerous color photographs and fine maps. Lots of instructions regarding practical travel matters. (Travel Books Review)

If these delectable guides' plentiful pix don't get you drooling to explore, you need to get your salivary glands checked. The text is also noteworthy. (NY Daily News)

Not just a great collector's item, but a well written story that one can't put down. The pictures draw you in and the writing makes you want more from this author. Their is too little written on this region that boasts a terrific rail history. There's something indescribable that keeps you pulling the book out and looking at it again and again.

Some well needed LVRR material from upstate New York. The pictures of the branch line action are GREAT.I keep on going back for more!!! I would like to see another come out with more photos of the upstate region.

Fr. Guardini, even in his early writings such as this collection of letters, never spoke with anything less than compassion, courage and clarity. In these reflections, he opens himself up to both the authentic good and the undeniable evil which accompanies modern technological progress, and critiques this progress unyieldingly by the measure of humankind's genuine needs and desires--needs and desires that have a driving force in culture for all of human history, and not the mistakened pseudo-needs of an disillusioned modern humankind. As with many of his writings, Guardini faces intimidating and dreadful challenges to all humanity with honesty and humility. And as many a great individual of faith, from this honesty and humility he finds the inspiring courage to speak the truth beautifully and forthrightly.

These letters address similiar concerns expressed by many of his comtemporaries, such as the philosopher Martin Heidegger. This book is highly recommended not just to the Christian, but to anyone seeking prespective on the existential challenge of technology and modernity.

This edition also includes a wonderful introduction by Louis Dupre which should not be overlooked.

Letters from Lake Como is a short book containing musings by Romano Guardini on technology, the evolution from a pre-technological world to our modern age, and, ultimately, the impact, or spirituality, in all of this. Guardini, a product of pre-technological Italy and post-technological Germany, and a thinker who could draw together science, art, philosophy, and theology (with great ease) shows the reader the profound difference between "organic" living (living before the machine) and a world centered around the machine, both in environmental and human terms. It is a poignant, thought-provoking look at what many people have (a) taken for granted and (b) not questioned, which is the direction current trends are taking us, and the impact this has on us as beings created in the image of God. It is at once a reminiscence, a warning, a critique, and a prophecy both taking to task technology, and enumerating its good points. That it was written so clearly and brilliantly in the early 1920s only highlights Guardini's gift as a spokesman and prophet for this century - he had truly inspiring insight and foresight on these matters. Highly recommended.

I like this book because it's funny. I like all the stories including the story about how January is a sorrowful month. This is a highly recommended book. It'll make you laugh yourself to tears.

I've only just discovered Keillor's wit in the past few weeks, but already the words, "It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon," make me listen intently. This is a great collection that I'm only half-way through b/c I want to savor each story. "Gladys and the Raccoon" is my favorite so far, followed closely by "The Risk Takers." There's no dull moment, thus far, and the stories hold their allure even in repetition.

(Planeta.com Journal) -- Lines in the Water (University of California Press, 2002), a beautifully written ethnography of rural fishermen and their families. The book's subtitle "Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca" specifies the center of action, but the scope is much broader and deeper. It's actually hard to find the words to say how delightful this book is. Author Ben Orlove is an environmental science professor at the University of California, Davis, and his book is based on three decades of trips to Peru and Bolivia. The book is a showcase of fresh writing and a major contribution to the literature about South America. Orlove provides a frank account of the role academics themselves play. He includes himself in this story and shares candid observations -- from his reactions to office politics to daydreaming about museums. This book is highly recommended. Eco travelers visiting Lake Titicaca would do well to read this book in advance.

This is a gem, written with great respect for the indigenous people who live aound Lake Titicaca, well-annotated and with wonderful photographs by the author. Orlove has broad interests - anthropology, economics, natural history, environmental issues, to name a few, and a talent for accessing interesting memories. He conveys his astute observations in clear and vivid prose.The book is organized nicely - I especially liked the material in the final chapter, entitled "Paths", which offers an antidote to the sad fact that roads and highways are so often destructive to local people and to biodiversity. Paths, literal or metaphorical, also provide valuable linkages and essential connections among the various components of this remote but very interesting and community with ancient roots. Orlove provides the reader with a sense of having traveled those paths for a short while with him.