What I like most about Lynne Cherry's environmental history of the Nashua River is that it is not only the story of the death of a river, but also of its rival. "River Ran Wild" begins thousands of years ago when Indian peoples first came through the Nash-a-way River Valley. Cherry tells of the history of the river, surrounding her text with smaller drawings representing the changing cultures of the various times depicted opposite full-page pictures. The two most telling pictures are basically "before" and "after" shots of the same scene: an aerial view of the Nashua River winding through a factory town where the river changes color from blue to green to brown as factories dump their waste into the water, and a final shot of the river restored to health today. Cherry, who has devoted her life to environmental issues, includes a timeline and an introduction that covers in more detail how the ecological death of this river came about, and the various community efforts and governmental laws that resulted in fish and game finally return to the Nashua. All too often book like this can only mourn the loss of another part of our environment, so it is nice to see something that that celebrates one of the all too few instances of success in getting back to what we once had.

I used this book with my third grade class when they were studying the effects of water pollution on a large body of water. They had already studied Native Americans in second grade and this book just blended the two subjects together. The step by step portrayal of man's harm to the Nashua River helped my children learn about how they were harming the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Lynne Cherry is a fantastic author and presents two great subjects that are highly interesting to children. Any teacher that teaches either Native Americans or water pollution should include this book in their lessons!

This book was given to me at age 12. I am now 17 and it is still my favorite. I will never outgrow the beautiful pictures, or the very important lesson it teaches. Every page is expertly laid out, with exquisite paintings depicting the river and the era being discussed. The message of environmental conservation and protection is inspiring. Lynne Cherry makes this vital part of our existence understandable to young children, and even adults, often the harder group to reach. I highly reccommend this book for anyone who wants their children to appreciate the world around them and learn that they can, and should, do their best to save it.

This is Bree's third cruising narrative. The first was _In the Teeth of the Northeaster: A Solo Voyage on Lake Superior_ followed by _Call of the North Wind: Voyages and Adventures on Lake Superior_.

Bree is one of the better writers in a small sub-set of cruising narratives by singlehanded sailors who go coastal cruising in small yachts. Other writers in this genre include Philip Teece (_A Dream of Islands_ and _A Shimmer on the Horizon_) who cruises the waters around Vancouver Island and Robert DeGast (_Western Wind, Eastern Shore_ and _Five Fair Rivers_) and Howard Walker Schindler (_Between Two Bays and the Sea_) who sail in Chesapeake Bay.

Just as reading Teece makes you want to go sailing around Vancouver, Bree does the same thing for Lake Superior. Bree is an excellent story-teller and his books are always lively and filled with historical information and yarns that will shiver yer timbers.

Bree's latest work is extremely tense in parts and you will probably have a hard time putting it down after you start reading (especially since the 'Prologue' is a nail-biter). The book is centered around his experience with the July 4, 1999 "Green Storm" in which his home-made 20 foot wooden centerboard sloop *Persistence* was caught out on the Lake and knocked-down -- and experiences by other boaters with the same storm. There are other exciting moments -- like grounding on a reef and tense moments navigating through very narrow channels in the fog and dodging floating trees.

Like the other books referred to above, this book shows that you don't have to cross an ocean or own a big and expensive boat to find some adventure. And, for sailors cruising in other areas, it will instill some respect (if they don't have it already) for "Lake sailors".

This is a true story about a lone sailor on the biggest, most beautiful, and most violent lake in the world. The lake that can swallow a modern day 730 foot lake freighter in an instant. LAKE SUPERIOR! Marlin Bree was caught, without warning, in a storm that wreaked havoc across the land and exploded on to Lake Superior. It is the story of the skill and luck it takes to survive a short lived hurricane with winds in the 100 mph range. It tells the stories of others who were surprised, and survived the green monster. I witnessed this same storm, and can attest to the ferocity of it. This book tells about the stark contrast of the changing moods of what has become known as the inland sea. It is a lesson on the unpredictable nature of such an immense body of water that has been known to create it's own weather systems. It's no wonder most choose to admire her from the safety of her rugged shore line. This is the type of intense adventure that makes it difficult to put the book down.

It's been a long time since I have read a book that I truly enjoyed as much as "WAKE" It's one of those books where you just don't want to and CAN'T put it down because you sense and feel that you are there with Marlin sharing the adventures. Superior is well known for the fierce storms that drive across the lake. Ships of all types and sizes have sailed into these storms, never to be seen again....Marlin tells about some of these storms and his voyage aboard PERSISTENCE... a first hand account of the infamous "Green Storm", and other tales along Superiors North Shore..........

I live just a few miles from Oxford, Ohio and Miami University, where Dr. Green does his work when he's not away from civilization, and have sailed or swam many times at Acton Lake, which he uses in an early chapter to introduce the science of limnology, or the study of lakes.

This is a complex and ambitious book, and the result is thoroughly engrossing. It is an introduction to lake science, an adventure tale, and an account of how a scientist plans and executes his work, but these are just at the surface. It is also a personal exploration of the author's own memories and motives. Ultimately, it is a book about what moves mankind to keep learning and exploring, presented using the author as his own example.

Wondering about the powerful emotional draw that Antarctica exerts on him, the author is reminded of his boyhood, when Great Lakes winter storms would transform his town's landscape with a featureless cover of snow, allowing him to explore what became, in his imagination, an unexplored land. He describes the beauty that can be found, if one will allow himself, in the terrifying nothingness of the universe, whether it be seen in the vast coldness of space or the inhuman bleakness of an ice-covered continent. Some of his colleagues found Antactica intolerable, probably for the same reasons. He writes...

"The ice seemed a reminder of the universe at large, of the universe as accident, as matter blown and strewn and expanding, 'heartless' as Melville had described it, all moon-filled and dry, hung with poisoned worlds, incinerating stars, vacuums of frozen light. Loneliness, the warm sun as memory, as myth, the blankness of white landscape, in which we see no trace of ourselves, no artifact of our genius and cunning...". Reading this, I was taken back to my own boyhood to find my love of exploration awakened as I stood studying the cold and vastly distant stars from by back yard, and felt the fearful thrill of being sucked upward into the eternal void...

As a classicist and poet, I am shy - if not wary - of "hard science". I stumbled upon this book by accident, browsing the non-fiction shelves in the public library. It is unique! I have ordered it - and I'm not even quite finished with it - I am reluctant to finish this first reading, although it is five-star enjoyment. Water Ice and Stone is a "braided river" (read it and you'll see why the phrase is in quotation marks) of a) Green's personal passion for his field and his subject that took him to the Antarctic lakes again and again; b) scientific explanations of that field that are accessible and fascinating without being either patronizing or unscholarly; c)the personal reminiscences and experiences that led to his choice of profession and to the Anarctic; d) the daily observations, colleagues and acts of living while he was there; and e) the beauty and wonder and astonishment and inspiration that this world we live in has to offer any of us who will take the time to look, to understand, to see. The book is science and it is poetry; it is wonder and it is analysis; it is a marvel. My highest acolade for books in fields that I did NOT take up is: it makes me almost wish I had become a.... Water, Ice and Stone left me an almost-geochemist.

I first encountered Ceravolo almost 6 years ago, after first diving into Celan. The odd conjunction proved more fruitful than one might think. Underneath the green lake's awake surface, tense with linguistic wit and ingenuity (so characteristic of the New York School--for better or worse) is a dark depth that resonates long after the verbal fireworks are ashen. How a genuine and humane sorrow comes draped in such life-tuned language is a marvel no budding poet should miss, and for the poet in full bloom, Ceravolo's voice, like wind, will pollinate from afar. What plants spring up in spring are not narcissus around the lake--this lake, Ceravolo's lake, will be surrounded by flowers that are unique, are his own.

This past school year was my last, as I just retired after 28 years. My ED class read, listened on tape, and studied the book Holes. Of course, we went on a field trip to see the movie - awesome!. Stanley Yelnat's Survival Guide makes a very good companion for the book. I even ordered it knowing I was retiring - for 2 reasons. One because I wanted to read it for myself and the second reason was to give it to other teachers if I found it worthwhile. Two very lucky teachers with be getting Stanley Yelnat's Survival Guide. Buy!!

I *loved* the book Holes, I've read it over ten times, so I was a little unsure if this would be as good. Stanley Yelnats Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake is hilarious, just as good as the original, Holes.

This book is written "by" Stanley Yelnats, so it's really funny to read about what he thinks. He uses sarcasam to tell you what went on after he left, everything about how each camper (in his tent) got there, how to avoid the wildlife, and what not to say to the campers. There are also quizzes, which are hilarious, but the highlight of the book is definately the appendix-type thing in the back, which explains why each camper was there, and they're laugh-out loud funny.

I recommend this book if you liked the book or movie Holes, you won't be disappointed, the only thing is, dont read it in public, because you will laugh out loud!

Overall grade: A+

good short little book. i enjoyed it but you really need to read holes otherwise you won't like this book... go see the movie too 'cos it was AWESOME!!!

I was very disappointed with this guide. It left off many many key waters in the state. Granted what were there were indepth reports, but I was lead to believe by another review that this was a complete guide to the state. Nothing could be further from the truth. The author did not even cover major lakes like Lake Champlain, Lake Willoughby, Crystal Lake, Lake Memphremagog, Lake St. Catherine, Lake Whitingham, Sommerset Reservoir and Lake Bomoseen to name a few. I am located in the Southern part of the state and only four streams were discussed, and even the Connecticut River was not covered. If you are really looking for a general guide to the state, keep looking.

Being a Vermont resident, it's nice to have a guide that is so complete and detailed for rivers and lakes in the state. The author gives personal accounts of his experiences in different bodies of water; where the best trout or bass fishing is, what time of year to catch specific types of fish, what lures or flies to use. I found this very helpful as a resource to fishing my favorite Vermont river, the White River. There are great fishing holes in places on the river I never new existed till I read this book. This is a definite must-have for anyone interested in fishing in Vermont, whether it be flyfishing or spin-casting, I highly recommend it.