This well-researched and well-written book was a pleasant surprise for me. I was raised in the Church of the Brethren, but left it over 40 years ago. Now in reading this, I'm understanding and appreciating my heritage. The story of the Brethren, and the enormous changes they made in 100 years...the struggle to remain separate from the "world", yet to witness to the world...the questions of dress; of biblical interpretations; of love feasts and baptisms and church architecture...are well discussed and very interesting. I imagine all denominations have had to struggle with similar questions. I think this book would be enjoyed by anyone who is interested in Protestant church history. It is a MUST for all Church of the Brethren members!

Museum New York is a fresh look at the incredible variety of both cultural and artistic exhibits available in the New York area. I have visited NYC many times and seen many museums but with this book I was able to make informed descisions regarding where to spend my time. Delightful in its honesty and incredibly intelligently written, I beleive this book is a must for anyone visiting NYC.

While on the island of Nantucket I read this book and used it to take my own walking tour of many of the houses and historic buildings on the island. It is extremely well written and had hundreds of full color photos of the buildings, ocean, boats, and all that makes Nantucket so special. A must read for those planning a trip to the island and for those who visited and want to relive the pleasure of their trip.

This book is a keenly interesting look into the ways, the works, and the world-views of the early inhabitants of what today is Southern New England. Dr. Bragdon writes not in an historical style, but rather in the ethnographic tradition. Thus, her chapters are sometimes rather slow going unless you're an anthropologist. There's a lot of jargon. It's still a great read for the non-specialist, however. I would like to recommend keeping a dictionary handy, for times when the esoteric nomenclature of anthropology becomes as impenetrable as a pre-colonial flock of passenger pigeons.

The book is not divided up by tribe, as one might expect. Instead, Dr. Bragdon has divided her work by conceptual paradigms, or by umbrella descriptions of features of life shared by all the peoples of the land under discussion. Chapters delve into cosmology, ritual, or social relations, as well as "Kinship as Ideology," "Metaphors and Models of Livelihood," and "The Quotidian World:Work, Gender, Time, and Space."

By the way -- if you don't read fairly carefully at the beginning, you may miss something important. Dr. Bragdon has chosen to employ the term "Ninnimissinuok" as a blanket term for members of ALL the local Algonquian tribes. Just be aware that that what the word means -- otherwise you might waste a lot of time scratching your head, wondering who, exactly, these Ninnimissinuoks are supposed to be. I mention this because it's not nearly so well-known a term as, for example, Narragansett, or Wampanoag -- but perhaps it should be. The author demonstrates it's validity, and it's importance.

The bibliography at the end of this book is worth the book's price, all on it's own. There's a discouragingly large amount of poorly researched, pseudo-mystical writing out there, on the subject of Native Americans. Well, you won't find any here! All the cited works I've tried to locate have been of an extremely high caliber. The bibliography alone could keep you happily reading about the native peoples of Southern New England for many, many moons.

Again, this book can be a little steep going at times, if you aren't trained as an anthropologist, but it's worth the effort. Definitely two thumbs up.

Nature Walks In The Berkshire Hills is the latest title in the AMC "Nature Walks" series. This "hiker friendly" guidebook includes 42 nature-rich walks for all ages and abilities; detailed descriptions of flora, fauna, and geology; summaries of distance, time, and level of difficulty; detailed maps and directions for each walk; driving and parking information; local tales, legends, and lore; useful names, addresses, and phone numbers; trip planning and safety advice. This handy little pocket sized compendium is ideal for planning outdoor excursions in the beautiful and natural New England country that is just two hours from Boston and New York City.

Masterfully photographed, and printed on high quality paper, this book is a must have for any armchair traveller.
The book provides a map of the region on the inside cover, and then follows a brief and informative historical overview, which introduces the region to the reader. From that point onwards the book consists of one splendid photograph after the other, very often on a full page, or even spread over double pages, all with short descriptions to accompany them.
I am also the proud owner of Ireland (Photographic Tour) by the same author and photographer and as such, I can highly recommend any one of the books in this series.

New England Encounters: Indians & Euroamericans, ca. 1600-1850 is an impressive anthology of informative and scholarly essays focusing on key episodes of Indian-European contact in the first 250 years of New England history. The contributors cover a wide spectrum of Native American - European relations ranging from the Abenaki territory in Northern Maine to Pequot lands in southern Connecticut; from profitable commerce to devastating warfare; from religion persuasion to labor exploitation; from cultural mixing to nonviolent resistance; from literary representation to political argumentation. Editor Alden Vaughan enhances New England Encounters for the reader with an insightful introduction which places the diverse essays within the broader context of New England ethno-history. Of special merit is having the various contributors append postscripts to their original essays commenting on recent scholarship and interpretations since their essays were first written. New England Encounters is a truly impressive and very welcome contribution to Native American studies, American colonial and post-colonial history.

This calendar is salute the brave men and women who've risked their lives on the sea as commercial fishermen. The dramatic black & white historical photos make it an artistic and highly attractive wall display. The date boxes are nice and big and include moon phases--a necessity for boaters and fishermen! There's also an adaptable tide chart. Those who love the drama and setting of The Perfect Storm will enjoy this calendar. In fact, it has a wonderful photo of Gloucester Harbor on the cover.

Lighthouses here, and there. They Should be everywhere. You need this calendar to get a taste of New England Lights!

An excellent value. This collection of maps clearly depicts highways, towns (with population key), parks, points of interest, and colleges. It does not show railway lines and leaves out some very small towns, but in general it very thorough. The typeface is large enough to see easily even in dim light or while quickly glancing at a fork in the road. A lightweight reference tool, it offers a broad overview of New England's routes in a slim volume, for a bargain price.