Wow! Once in a while a book comes along that is so satisfying that one wonders if you really read it. I can't praise the author enough for bringing to life the life of Maine 100 years ago.

BOOK REVIEW

A Day's Work: A Sampler of Historic Maine Photographs, 1860-1920, Part I, annotated and compiled by W. H. Bunting. Sponsored by Maine Preservation, Tilbury House Publishers, 132 Water St., Gardiner, ME 04345, 1997. 380 pp., oversize, paperback, $35.00

This is a wonderful book, so don't let the title drive you away. You must read halfway through that forbidding title to find out that it's about Maine, farther yet to learn that it's photographic, and "Part I" leaves you dangling. I would have called it Maine at Work, 1860-1920: Photographs and Text; the rest is superfluous--and I have added the word "text" because the text is just as delightful as the photos. I am writing this review because it's a book that people who love Maine shouldn't miss.

I have been summering in Maine for about forty years. The mountains and the skies and the rockbound coast make one constantly aware that Maine is different--the most northern and most eastern state in the USA, with a thousand of miles of shoreline and huge expanses of forest wilderness. Its wild geography has shaped its people and determined how they live. Vestiges of the past are everywhere, from the old docks and windjammers and lighthouses to the barns and sawmills and huge piles of firewood. If one wants an understanding and a feeling for those old times, this book is for you.

William Bunting's fascination with these historical photographs is communicated through the text. He has spent decades immersing himself in local history, and he not only explains each photo but goes behind it, delving into the history and significance of what is shown. If you want to know how to make hard cider, see p. 150 opposite the superb photo of the farmyard with a pile of apples by the old barn. The complex process of logging in the wilderness and getting the logs downriver to the mills and eventually by ship to market is followed through many photos with descriptive text (see pp. 34-44, 86-88, and more). Many buildings in Boston and points south were built of Maine granite; here you can see the granite cutters and the ships and men that carried that heavy cargo to market. Would you like to know and see how in the old days lobster fishing, seining, dip-netting, and canning were done? Or railroading, hunting, or harvesting ice? They're all here, and much more.

Start reading at the Introduction, a fine evocation of Maine today in relation to the past, and a convincing demonstration of the value of photos as historical documents. You will also discover that the author raises cattle and is a bulldozer operator, which doesn't quite explain his mastery of local history (this is his third book) but puts him closer to the down-to-earth people in the pictures. The introduction takes you directly into the text; there are no breaks or chapter headings. Bunting explains that the book is like "taking a journey," one that he took himself--and fortunately it has a good index. I began by looking up the places I know best: Waldoboro, Boothbay, Edgecomb, Casco, Bath, Damariscotta, but the book is a trap--once in, it's hard to get out. You go from photo to photo and from text to text.

The content of the pictures and text is absorbing, but I have said nothing about the aesthetic quality of the photographs. These old black and whites, from the days of heavy cameras and glass plate negatives, have a crispness and wealth of detail rarely seen in today's polychromatic action photos with artificial photo-effects. Many of them were taken for the purpose of making a record, and they project an authenticity that makes the viewer a participant. They have the grip of reality. The photos are worth the price of the book, and the text multiplies their value.

A Day's Work (Part I) focuses on many economic aspects of life in Maine in the late eighteenth and early twentieth century. The author, or annotator and compiler as he calls himself, says that some topics will appear in both volumes, but Part II will emphasize the pulp and paper industries, cotton textiles, coopering, axe manufacturing, etc. Perhaps he's waiting to sit down with the photographs and see where the journey leads. If it's anything like this one, it will be worth waiting for.

Herbert S. Bailey, Jr.
Fearrington Post 248
Pittsboro, NC 27312

This author is one of the main voices in the Mesoamerican calendar debate. His approach is clearly defined for you. Many websites have his articles posted. This book's chart (1900 thru 2000) for determining your "day sign" involves less calculating than his later "Signs of Time" but you do need to count days. It includes the Maya AND Aztec names & glyphs, but he uses the English translation of the Aztec sign names. This field covers a variety of peoples: Maya, Toltec, Zapotec, Mixtec & Aztec. While there are variations between each group, the "Tonalpouhalli" (Aztec)/"Tzolkin" (Mayan) or Sacred Calendar(260-Day) follows the same day & number order regardless of the naming & year-bearer systems.

What is the difference between tonalpohualli and tomalamatl and Mayan astrology. When I was in Mexico my Tonalamatl was done. I am an obsidian butterfly, jaguar, cassa and hummingbird. When I used Bruce Scofield's book I came up with different symbols. Tonalamatl is based on the Codice Borgio. Is Scofield's the same version? My birthday is Sept. 10, 1948 in Canada. I want to learn the tomalamatl and want to know if that is what Bruce's book will teach me. My e-mail is: heatherhess@hotmail.com PLEASE ADVISE

Like Helen Keller, Taha Hussain overcame the challenges of his blindness to be an inspiration to everyone who knew him. Born in 1889 in a small village in Egypt, the 7th of 13 children, and blinded in his early childhood by a mistake of the local barber (and village surgeon!), one would expect Taha Hussein to become just another statistic. Instead, his brilliant mind led him to receive the highest levels of education in Egypt, followed by a PhD from the Sorbonne University in France, and achieve wide recognition and honors as a writer, faculty member, dean, minister of education, and a Nobel prize nominee in literature. There are few human beings who overcome adversity of such magnitude. Taha Hussein's autobiography is unique and sometimes controversial, but certainly an inspiration to anyone who reads it. This edition, which includes all 3 parts of his biography now joined in one book, is well worth it and a must read.

This is a must read for those interested in Egypt and Egyptian culture. It is an absolute classic, wonderfully written and well translated. The story of a poor blind boy with incomparable talent and motivation, It is also a beautiful love story, cross cultural marriage, conflict between civilizations and the push and pull between the sacred and the secular. Taha Hussien rose from very poor and humble origin to the heights of Egyptian society.

Each of the three parts of this book was translated by a different person, as a result it takes a bit of time to get adjusted to the new style as well as a new phase of the life of Taha Hussien.

The first part of the book, specially with the third person style can get a bit tedious but if you perceiver through that you will get the double reward of enjoying the book and learning more about this truly unique man.

I just finished this book and was mightily impressed. My esteemed predecessor in these reviews has summarized the book very well, leaving me the opportunity to comment on a single important aspect of the book. When you mention Weill's name, people think of only one thing (if they know him at all). The Three Penny Opera. This book emphatically puts his '20 something work with Brecht in perspective, showing that he continued to grow and develop throughout his career. The narrative is keen and passionate. The details of the creative periods and production periods of various works are gripping. My net response is: there is a lot more to this man's creative output than just The Three Penny Opera and Mahagony (son of 3-penny?). He deserves to be heard; will he?

Biographies (especially those of people from the entertainment industry) have become a fad since the early 80's, and most of them, however entertaining, don't add much to our knowledge of their subject and time. One admirable exception is this account about Kurt Weill and his lifetime by Ronald Sanders. Since the very beginning, Mr. Sanders manages to give us a vivid portrait of how was Germany since the years before Weill was born, how was life like in those days for Jewish people there, and the great composer's musical roots: his father was a Cantor, and many of his ancestors were professional or amateur musicians. To say only that Mr. Sanders' account is full of painstainkingly researched details would be unjust, for he goes far beyond that. He uses all these details to make us understand and feel in depth the makings of a remarkable career that unfortunately didn't last so long (Weill died prematurely, at 50). Mr. Sanders not only treats us to an unforgettable tour of 20th Century's troubled first half but also gives us a thorough knowledge of how music evolved from the days of Ferrucio Busoni and Gustav Mahler to Kurt Weill's works in the U.S., with lots of information about other great artists like Arnold Schoenberg, Bertolt Brecht, Lotte Lenya, how Weill created such masterpieces as "Dreigroschenoper", "Knickerbocker Holiday", "Lady in the Dark", and so on. You can say that this is a cliché, but, if you are, like me, interested in anything related to the best music that was produced in the 20th Century, don't miss "The Days Grow Short". And if you are already a fan of Kurt Weill's, this book will make you even more appreciative of him and his music. I recommend that you read this biography with your CD player on. You'll enjoy it even more when Mr. Sanders speaks of Weill's perennial creations, like "Mack the Knife", "September Song", "Speak Low", "Lost in the Stars", "My Ship"...

"Days Like This" is the perfect introduction to poetry for a small child. The sketchy, squiggly illustrations are just as captivating as the simple, sweet poems that accompany them. Each illustration tells a story by itself--a refreshing story of the wide, open world--while the poems focus the reader (or listener) to consider a single aspect of that world. The text and the pictures worked so beautifully together that I'm not sure if I can say which was illustrating which. It's a symbiosis I've never experienced in a book of poetry before, but let me assure you, it is thoroughly enjoyable!

This lovely picture book of small poems captivated my youngson. Simon James' pen and watercolor illustrations beautifully setoff a collection of whimsical verse that spans the four seasons. "The Wind came running over the sand, it caught and held me by the hand."

Shmuel Katz was there. First he was an Israeli newspaper reporter. Then, the personal assistant to pioneering zionist Ze'ev Jabotinsky. Next a leader of the Irgun alongside David Raziel and Menachem Begin. An account of all that went down with Britain's hope of crushing Israel, David Ben-Gurion's traitorous Haganah, what happened at Dir Yassin, the King David hotel bombing. I take great pride in having read this book as a truth seeking Israeli Jew and all others like me should clamor to have this amazing predecessor to Katz' "Battleground" republished. It's Israeli history at its best (and worst). Plus, its easy to read. 5 Magens!!

For anyone who is tired of the propaganda surrounding the creation of the state of Israel, and is interested in either a great read, or an amazingly detailed bibliography with which to start their research on the above subject, this is the book for you.

We're a homeschooling family who've just finished up studying the Middle Ages. We're always looking for resources, just like this one, that let the kids make things and pretend. To get a real taste (literally!) of the way things were a thousand years ago.

The thing my wife and I like about Knights and Damsels, is that the kids can take charge of their own projects with only a little supervision from Mom & Dad. What a timesaver for homeschool parents.

Also, although there are some obvious compromises in costume-making and food preparation, there's still enough there to give our kids the "look and feel" of more primitive times, from making butter from scratch, to various costumes, to games kids (and grownups) played in medieval times. I bet they remember more, too, as their studies continue and they get older. And when they have an opportunity to dig deeper into this era academically, I'm betting they'll be pretty motivated.

If you want your kids to be excited about history, this hands-on, low maintenance book may be your answer.

Our outreach education company does interactive historypresentations and medieval theme birthday parties and we areconstantly recommending this book to both educators and parents alike.We suggest it as a primer for activities and decorations to go along with our presentations. Simple yet fun, this book lays out, in easy to follow steps, how to design, build, and play with the suggestions provided. It includes costuming, props, games, recipes, accessories... for ages up to about 12. It is not a historical treatise (it shows how to make a mirror from cardboard and aluminum foil rather than burnished copper for example) but is a fun way to "get the feel" of the time, if a bit fanciful. This book is a delight for the harried parent or teacher. GregRobin Smith and Cymbric Early-Smith.

This is one of the best WWII social histories I've read (and I've read a few since I am grad student studying society during WWII). It is thorough, covers a variety of topics, and is engagingly written. A must for any history buff or student of WWII.

In doing research on life in the United States and events leading to World War II, I stumbled upon this book. The details and the varied information in this book leaves me thinking that Mr. Perrett's work is a marvelous achievement. I was between 8 and 12 during World War II, and no work I have seen better covers these war years on the homefront.

I was impressed by this book and am not surprised that it won the Pultizer Prize. It was a well written telling of the struggles of the German Jews.

I had heard about Rabbi Baeck several years ago but had never read about his life. He was a brilliant scholar and very influential in Reformed Judaism. I'd have liked to know more about his wife. She was an essential companion in his life.

He refused to go to the Gestapo office on his Holy days even when commanded. He remained a great source of courage to the Jewish community and refused to leave them even when offered safe emigration.

He is a great example of a man of peace. I once read in a magazine his moving and controversial prayer for the forgiveness of the Nazis. This is an excellent and readable book.

Leonard Baker's Pulitzer Prize winning biography is an compilation of the life of one of history's greatest unknowns. In addition to taking the reader through the life of the "seelsorger" known as Leo Baeck, Baker shows the changes in Germany from the beginning of the twentieth century through the horrors of the Second World War. One can see first hand how the bitterness losing in World War I evolved into the greatest and most frightening regimes to ever take power. This book is perfect for those interested in German history, the Holocaust, and anyone who loves biographies. By the end of this book, you will answer Patrick Dolan's question of, "Who the Hell is Leo Baeck?"

This book, besides being an invaluable first-hand account of the Armenian Genocide, is actually quite readable and entertaining. Written by an American missionary living in Turkey in 1915, it is an insightful chronology of the events that unfolded in his town, Harpoot. The great thing is, Riggs is an American and quite unbiased. Turks and Armenians alike in many ways annoy and befuddle him. But he knows the country well, and describes that it was quite obvious that there was a centrally-planned massacre going on. The book is written in so much detail--of how the deportations and massacres unfolded--that it is hard to believe that there are some who question the existence of the Armenian Genocide. This is probably the best primary account of the Armenian Genocide out there, because it's not told through the eyes of one survivor, but through the eyes of someone who saw all of the events unfolding before him. This book is must read for historians and experts on the subject and is certainly a "thorn in the side" for revisionists who claim that the wholesale massacre of Armenians didn't take place.

I hate to say this about a book that deals with massacres, but this is a funny, sad book. The author has no love for Armenians or Turks. He just tells it like he sees it. I had to laugh when the Turkish officer beat up the Kurdish conscript for defecating on the street, and the Kurd snapped to attention, saluted and resumed the squatting position. Turns out that he didn't speak a word of Turkish. Turks are from Mars and Kurds are from Venus?

On a more serious note, this is great storytelling. We get to know the people Rev. Riggs knew. We get to learn their terrible fate with him. We see him desparately trying to get the bigshots he plays cards with to spare the lives of the condemned race. I've read quite a few memoirs, and this is definitely the best.

The book is apparently taken from an archive that includes numerous other reports about the Armenian massacres. The rest of the reports are shorter, and they are compiled in James Barton, "Turkish Atrocities."