This is Sarton's story of her quest for a home that will provide her with physical shelter and the space, solitude, and spiritual sustenance she requires to write. It is also the story of her search to bring all the various parts of her past - her parents and their European roots, precious physical keepsakes, and the spirits of those who had touched her life deeply - together under one roof.

Sarton finds what she was looking for in a run down old colonial house in the remote township of Nelson, New Hampshire. There she embarks on renovations and adjustments that profoundly change how she sees and lives her life.

For anyone who is interested in Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep offers a revealing look at the artist's inner procees. It also allows us to see her in the context of a community. Over the course of time, we are introduced her many and charismatic neighbors. There is Bessie Lyman who lived in Turkey and speaks Arabic, Quig the deepely introspective artist, and Mildred his distinguished wife, Newt who helps her with woodchucks, and Perley who helps her transform her land into a garden. And then there are the people who are not physically present who nevertheless seem as real to Sarton as her next door neighbors. Set against the backdrop of the New England seasons, and defined by the various events and crises that occur in her personal and professional lives, the writing is rich with experience and Sarton's own peculiar blend of poetics and matter-of-fact whimsy. This is a book that any fan of Sarton will enjoy.

May Sarton is not for everyone, and in this text she goes even deeper into the contemplative stillness that marks her work. She writes beautifully about her life and the living creatures (human, vegetative and otherwise) that fill it. For some strange reason I read this book for the first time as a teenager, and it was a great antidote to the hormone-induced fervor of adolescent life. It actually made me look forward to what life would be like once I got old...

If you tend to wake up in the middle of the night to worry, this book will soothe your mind. Donald Hall writes beautifully about his life in New Hampshire in a house and a town he clearly loves. He will remind you of beauties in your own life -the sound of a snow plow clearing the roads at night, remembering your grandparents' house, gazing at a pond with mist rising from it. This may sound like the book is too sentimental - but actually it is just peaceful.The woodcut illustrations are also a pleasure.

Every word of this work of prose is chiseled to perfection by Donald Hall, one of America's most gifted poets. This slight volume is among the most treasured in my personal library.

If you want to learn about the art of pewtering from a master craftsman, this is the book for you. If you're looking for ways to raise a large, talented, responsible family, you'll want to read these tales. If you want a book filled with interesting stories about a plethora of subjects, all warmly told with humor and intelligence, here's a book to try. Raymond Gibson has written a charming memoir about his double life as a Congregational minister in the winter and a pewter craftsman in the summers, where his children learn a craft that will help them all earn money for college, while spending valuable time together with this master story teller. This book is a must for the thoughtful person's library. You will love it.

This is the story of how a family can work together and create a business that takes on a life of its own. The creation of pewter items has a very long history. It has been used in many countries, and is still done today. This is the story of Ray Gibson and how he discovered that the passion that he has for living and his family could have an outlet in creating art. He was very lucky to find good teachers who were willing to share their knowledge and part of their soul with him. In return he shares this with his family and friends and customers. Ray is a talented author who is able to convey the excitement and sometimes the torture of having an artistic soul. He is able to explain the path of a developing artist/craftsman. It is also nice to hear of a family that was able to stay together and work on common interests. The development of craftsmanship brings with it the obligation to meet high standards, and these standards are applicable to "normal life" also. The story is charmingly told, the book was hard to put down, and it did convey some of the technical knowledge of the craft, but it is not a do-it-yourself book (unless the topic is how to lead a blessed life).

This delightful book about a small town on the Maine coast was published in England in 1984. Only now was it brought across the Atlantic. Why the delay? Maybe because it is not your normal routine American mystery with a middle aged detective who hasn't slept in weeks , forgot to eat for days on end, but gets soused every day. Here we find sheriff Jenkins who believes in educating people by overlooking minor infractions. But where is the borderline to major mayhem? And there is his redneck deputy Wilbur Cox who loves to beat up his wife and anybody in his path. Where is his borderline? Add three delicious young women renting a cottage for the summer; what is their game? Not to forget assorted political heavies; do they have any borderline at all?

The answers will surprise you in this tightly written worthwhile book.

WOW! Make sure you can pull your chaise lounge & this summer-reading treat into some shade--you'll need to get out of that hot sun because of the heat in the tightly coiled plot of Widow's Walk.

Andrew Coburn's writing is taut. Tense. The language is crisp, tearing right along the perforated line. His characters are so close, they pluck, poke and puncture.

Paul Jenkins, Boar Bluff's chief of police, is someone we think we know, but don't. His sergeant, Wilbur Cox, brawn and bloat, is a man we never want to know, but do.

The three summering visitors, Joan Weiss, Laura Kimball and Pamela Comeau, ice-sculpture beautiful, shimmer in the reflection of the bloodied East Coast waters, and are witness to Boar Bluff's underbelly as the summer days melt into night and reveal secrets, savvy and slayings.

Among the cast of characters who give spring to the coil is the man-child Bud Brown who is "a mistake in his mother's life;" and Skelly, the manly woman who runs the Mobile station whose mother's mantra, when Skelly was but a bit of a kid, was "leave 'em be, Ralph...just leave 'em be" (but Skelly's father didn't let 'em be) and who later sought safety in the grown-up body Mother Nature gave her to hide in; then there's Hazel Cox whose strength lies covered up like a dormant volcano. And the coils heat up in this sunny New Hampshire town.

Andrew Coburn's Widow's Walk is not a plot with character. It is characters with plot, and those characters--complex, ironic and layered--irk, beckon and repel. They pluck at you. Poke at you. Punctuate the summer days so real that you feel like you are a caught, sweating Peeping Tom.

But you can move to the shade... I'd highly recommed this sizzler!

a true example of brillance, in subject matter and illustrations....!!!!!!!!!

David Carroll marvelously mixes the arts with science: true to his art, he is a refined Thoreau. His love and understanding for his subject is clearly evident.

I found this book to be extremely helpful. It makes planning a hiking agenda easy. Great maps and detailed overviews. This book gives you the confidence to allow you to explore more of New Hampshire. No matter which trail you decide to take on...you will know what to expect. Even gives guides to "rainy day" hikes. The only drawback is that you will want to pack it with you!

I use this book everytime I go hikin

absoute evil,this book will slowly but surely curdle your blood.dynamite from start to finish,with an ending you will not forget.

This is volume two in this series, which is set during the American Revolution and features a licensed privateer named Geoffrey Frost. It is every bit as exciting as volume one. Frost is a larger than life hero: learned, brave, and honorable. The sea battles are exciting and there's even a (peaceful) encounter with the explorer Cook.