Although I did find the book somewhat useful in giving an overview of what people might do for a weekend at the Shore, I was a little disappointed in how briefly the author described many of the attractions. The book didn't really seem to give a sense of what the places were really . Would especially have liked to know more about good places to eat, like mini-reviews, not just a few short listings. Also wuld have liked more general stuff to read and more detail on activities for children in preschool to middle school range. Just didn't seem to be a really serious effort to help first-time visitors or people in need of real information.

Never could I have imagined a writer so eloquently describing the New Jersey Shore. I look forward to reading Mr. Edelstein's next product. Where in the world has this guy been? Buy it you'll love it!

This book is quite enjoyable. Mr. Edelstein's prose is both witty and informative. A true gem for anyone who vacations, or plans to vacation, at the Jersey shore.

The story was ok. I felt like I was reading a Nancy Drew or a Bobsy Twins book. It feels like it was written for an audience of 10 or 12 years old.

Hired to remodel the grandest old house on Cape May Island, Josie Pigeon finds her employer murdered before she can lift a hammer.

Josie Pigeon has landed a dream remodeling job. A millionaire has bought the Point House, the largest house on the island, and plans on remodeling it as a summer home for himself and his daughters. Josie and yet another new crew of carpenters have only just started to work on the building when a hurricane hits. Just before she is forcibly evacuated from the island, she sees the body of the owner, Mr. Hudson, dead in the living room. Unfortunately, the house is completely wiped out by the storm. Josie and her friends and crew, while rebuilding the island, have to solve the murder.

While I wish that the construction crew would retain at least one steady member, at least Betty returns to help Josie. The locals are as eccentric as ever and the mystery is entertaining. I can't wait to read the next one.

Father Paul LeBlanc is a troubled priest--good-looking and witty--too witty--gets in trouble with the local hierarchy--is "exiled" from his South Boston parish to the New Hampshire coast. There he is supposed to be assisting the pastor, Father Tom Moriarty, who is dying of Lou Gehrig's disease. As he struggles with his vocation, spirituality, sexuality, trying to be a good priest, he is peripherally involved in a miracle. A girl who seemed to be dead, but then is alive.

If this is a turning point for the troubled priest, it is hard to say where it takes him. Confusion, irritability, conflicts about intimacy, a night of wild lovemaking with his housekeeper, terrible guilt, questions about his vocation, and finally his decision to renounce the priesthood.

It could have been a great story, but it left me disappointed. The characters seem to have been sent over from central casting, and--in spite of much introspection about their inner conflicts--they remain poorly developed. The troubled priest, the alcoholic priest, the alcoholic town doctor, the woman who fears commitment, the dying priest who is reputed to be a "saint" or at least to have great wisdom--all remain sketchy and hard to connect with. The story meanders to an inconclusive ending.

L'heureux writes well, and the book is an easy read. I found it entertaining. It could have been so much better.

John L'Heureux's The Miracle is a very well written novel that it witty and contemplative at the same time. Father Paul LeBlanc is a priest in Boston in the early seventies when his ideas on the Vietnam War and birth control, among others, gets him sent to a small beach community in New Hampshire to care for a dying priest. This setting gets him in much more trouble. He witnesses the death of a young woman who "miraculously" comes back to life. This miracle plunges him into, for the lack of a better word, soul searching, where he deeply questions his vocation. L'Heureux writes well and this is a quick, engrossing read. I found a couple of the characters a little unconvincing, but other than that, an excellent novel.

Reminded me at times of John Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY and some of Gail Godwin's writing. I wish it was longer -- at just over 200 pages, it is a "fast read" and you'll probably miss the characters when it's over. (How cliche is that?!)

"Summerland" has a strong premise, four interesting characters, and an author with a lot of guts - it takes some nerve for a first-timer to deliberately court comparisons with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Madox Ford. Unfortunately, the gamble doesn't entirely pay off. For me, the enterprise is ultimately undone by the narrator's journalistic tone of detached amusement. It's as if he never really knew these people, never really had these experiences, and is only pretending to care. I sense no real pain in Richard's telling, no real regret, so as the story of a man whose life has been obliterated by treachery it just didn't ring true. The voice fights with itself, wamndering into anecdotes and tangential ramblings in a tone suggesting Knox might have been happier writing an essay entitled 'Reflections on the Ruling Class.' I think I would have been happier reading it. Knox clearly has a good mind and a sharp appreciation for the cant and hypocrisy of Sydney's idle rich. He's a good writer, too. But I think his talent could have made more of this material as an extended sociological essay - much like Lewis Lapham's "Money & Class In America." No one has exposed the rotten core of Sydney High Society in that way, and I reckon Knox is just the man for the job. It's still an enjoyable read. But perhaps asking for comparisons with Fitzgerald sets the wrong expectations up front.

This fantastic narrative of the very privilaged life of a cluelessly happy man, his conniving wife, and their life long friends tells you from the begining that disaster has already struck. The narrator then draggs you back to the begining of their story and takes you through their life, ever moving slowly forward to that inevitable end. I could not put down the book in suspense as to how their lives would play out. It was really really great - teasing and suspenseful without being overly so.

I just finished reading "SUMMERLAND" by Malcolm Knox this morning and I must say that after struggling through the beginning of this book that in the end I really did enjoy it. Summerland is not an action packed novel of lies and deceit, rather it is a story that is slowly unwound by a man who missed the entire thing. Richard is telling the story of the affair of his wife and his best friend.

Richard and Pup, Hugh and Helen were best friends since their teenage years, which is when Hugh and Pup actually began their affair that lasted well over a decade. The four of them had a yearly tradition of summering at Palm Beach a tradition that unbeknownst to Richard, was built on lies from the very beginning. Even Helen the beautiful wife of Hugh knew of the affair and in many ways had a hand in controlling it. Now years later after the whole story has been revealed to him by Helen, Richard attempts to recant the stories of his friendship with Hugh, his marriage to Pup, the marriage of Hugh and Helen and the affair that ultimately ruined all of them.

As I said, and I cannot emphasize this enough, I struggled through the first few chapters of this book. I thought it was over written and a bit slow but as I read on I became more engrossed in these four lives and very interested to see how, in the end, everything played out. I can honestly say that I am glad that I did not give up on this book in the beginning because I would have missed out on a really entertaining novel.

This book was a wonderful testament to the mother-daughter relationship. How sad it is that we take our Moms for granted and it is only in crisis that we see the light. Maybe this book will help to mend those relationships before a crisis occurs! Loved It!!!

Maggie arranges for her and her two grown daughters to spend an uninterrupted week together at the beach, not realizing that they will want to spend all of their time on the phone and computer. Finally she is forced to tell the truth: she has cancer, and thinks that her time left is very limited. They try to spend the rest of the week enjoying and appreciating each other before it's too late. I recently heard Blackstock in a radio interview say that a novella can be read in one sittting, and you will certainly be able to do that with Seaside because you will want to know how it ends. Although I like Blackstock's mystery/thrillers better than Seaside, I did find this book very thought-provoking and enjoyed reading it.

I have read alot of Terri Blackstock books and this one was good as well.

This small, inexpensive yet elegant little book captures the essence of seaside or even island living. It would appeal to those considering building in tropical climes as well as those lucky enough to already live by the sea but who may need some ideas to enhance their suroundings to take full advantage of their natural environment.

un tres bon exemple de ce que la litterature anglaise nous offre en ce moment de l'humour, du cynisme,et un plus une lecture rapide de la classe moyenne anglaise, defauts et qualite en prime, dommage que ce titre soit le seul traduit en francais.

When i saw the cover of this book i thought this would be a great book. I wanted to find pictures of beautiful decorated houses,nice gardens and offcourse the habitants of the mansions. Well, that's not quite what's inside this book. For the most only pictures of houses taken in the 50's and 60's and a lot of text!! I want pictures of Aerin Lauder and the Miller sisters!!

Wonderfully written and researched. Architecturally lacking photographs, drawings, or any substance for inspiration or idea generation. Cover and size of book suggests more pictorial content, but fails to deliver.

Finally got the chance to sit and read Gordon's excellent text in Weekend Utopia. The book goes way beyond an illustrated coffee book. Gordon manages to weave together stories about the characters who shaped the place (like developer Carl Fisher who created Montauk to be the "Miami Beach of the North")with stories about the flamboyant architecture, post-war artists like Pollock and Motherwell and his own personal memories as a boy spending summers there. While the book has a large format with hundreds of illustrations it is most readable and explains so much about how a rural American landscape was transformed into a resort for show-offs. I loved it and can't comprehend what reviewers from Hong Kong and the Netherlands were talking about. It is neither trying to be a professional book on architecture nor a cheap gossip book about pseudo-celebrities. It is an intelligent cultural history that also happens to be well designed and illustrated. It warmed my soul on a chilly winter weekend and made me want to go to the beach as soon as possible.

I found this book to be a real disappointment; the "cottages" would be better identified as sea side mansions. Moreover, if you've done any type of browsing through home plan books, you'll recognize this collection--the plans have been printed in many other books albeit without the soft pastel colors added to the pictures of the "cottages" contained in this book. The colors, combined with a high grade printing paper make for a wonderful coffee table book but, zero practicality lies within the pages.

These plans offer perfect solutions for families seeking a
plan for that perfect waterfront property! They offer open
casual living and ample size for all the grandkids.
I highly recommend this book!

I owned this book for several years until Mr.Right came along.
We built a cottage from this books plans. I love it. Watch out for closet space though, there isnt any but the ceilings are high and the choice of colors, especially if you turn to the Coral Beaches of Key West for inspiration are perfect for this house. I recommend the book. The pictures are watercolors though so you'll need to use your imagination.

I have an abiding interest in homes on the sea. I've ordered a batch of them. When I saw this book, I assumed that it was a book about a variety of seaside homes of varying architectural styles. I was disappointed to find that it was a book about a single community in Florida, most of the homes being done in an architecturally consistent style. If you're looking for a book of relatively contemporary homes in Florida, this might be of interest to you, as it's well done from that perspective. Otherwise, I'd look at the other available titles, many of which are quite beautifully done.

This book is mostly a historical account as Seaside, the development in the panhandle of Florida, is being developed. It mostly shows photographs of the different houses built so both architects and designers can get an intimate view. It is a great book as a reference for building in the Florida vernacular...

This exquisitely-photographed book about the 80-acre northern Florida community is the perfect antidote to the winter blues or for anyone wishing to take an armchair trip to this breathtaking beach area. Located approximately 70 miles east of Pensacola in the Florida panhandle, Seaside was featured as the perfect city in the movie "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey. The movie itself was dreadful, and the real star was Seaside. ( )