Connecticut Books

This is one of the most painstakingly well-done travel guides you'll find on any region anywhere, let alone CT. The book intelligently divides the state into seven regions: Far Northwest (Litchfield Hills), Central Valley, Far Northeast, Seafaring Southeast, Lower CT River Valley, Southwest Coast, and the Housatonic and Naugatuck River Valleys. Each section starts with a clear map showing the towns and major roads in detail, along with an inset showing how that section fits into the state. The text is filled with wonderfully researched stories of local history, interspersed with logically laid out descriptions of local events, attractions, seasonal activities, and places to stay and eat. If you're serious about touring Connecticut and you want to carry along just one book, this is the one!

For full coverage of any travel destination, it often takes two different kinds of travel book. First, there are the books on the history, social and cultural highlights of an area. Many of these books have glossy pictures. Second, there are books with maps, directions, up-to-date information on prices and hours and a quality rating system.

This book has both. Ziffer gives full and interesting details on each of the different regions of Connecticut. Her history starts with geologic origins of the region, extends through Native American and Colonial times and continues up to the present. This alone is fascinating reading. She also gives good information on cultural, artistic and historic places of interest. Like a Mobil Travel Guide, she includes listings for various restaurants with indications of how expensive your meal will be. You can probably find the right hotel for you using this book.

However, this book is not a substitute for a Mobil Travel Guide-type book in a strictly practical sense. The maps are not detailed or particularly helpful for navigation. Restaurants, hotels and B&B's are reviewed, but there is no overall rating system. Unlike a Mobil Travel Guide, this book has many black and white pictures. And, the detail provided about each town provides a good sense of just what kind of place you will find. Ziffer gives many suggestions for interesting things to do, including various festivals and events throughout the year.

I highly recommend this book for anyone planning travel to or through Connecticut. It is a particular aid to anyone who likes to scratch below the surface of a place. I would also recommend a Mobil Travel Guide or Fodor's to bring along in the car for the nitty gritty details of the trip. But, I would start my trip planning here.

After having purchased, "Couldn't Keep It to Myself," by Wally Lamb and having enjoyed it immensely, I moved on to this collection of stories. I loved the honest protrayal of the women who are both incarcerated and in charge of the ward. The journalistic tone of this book certainly conveys the very humanity of these women, and that is something that I think we often don't consider when thinking of criminals. Certainly this is a heavier read than what most would choose for bedtime enjoyment, but it is a substantial work that deserves time and attention. I highly recommend Rierden's book to anyone.

This book offers an honest and sensative look at real human beings and their lives. Without getting overly romantic about their situation in prison, it yields a soft picture of a side of society we too easily forget, avoid or misunderstand. It expands your vision of the world and therefore is very much worth reading.

The book does a good job of describing the geology of CT as well as providing specific locations / sites, and direction to check out. It's a good book for teachers, Scouts, amateur geologists, or others interested in geology to plan day trips.

Do you drive around Connecticut wondering what those rocks are outside the car window? This book is for you. It tells the history of the Earth and describes how the rocks we see in CT got here. It turns out CT is a great place to discover geology. You can visit places where continents collided, where the supercontinent of Pangaea ripped apart, where glaciers left their marks, etc. Cool book! Great gift for your favorite rock hound or science teacher.

This book illuminates the "old" UConn teams of the 1960's and early 1970's, teams I remember as a high school student and as a UConn student. The games then were thrilling to fans even if UConn was "only" a regional power. The "stall" game of 1970 was unforgetable and Wayne Norman and Bob Porter bring it back with insight and gusto. It was UConn basketball's finest game.

The book was inspiring from page to page. It was very enjoyable to read the stories and learn so history of the Uconn men team and the environment. I got very evolved into it and I was hooked. Definitely a page-turner. I could read the stories I was more interested in then reading one-large story. Worth the purchase!

Lucille Kallen has a very light touch and never wonders too far from what she knows in Introducing C. B. Greenfield. The mystery is never very threatening or suspenseful (or, for that matter, mysterious) and it relies far too heavily on coincidence for its momentum. But is it still a joyful read if only for listening to the narrator Maggie's inner voice and her boss', C.B. Greenfield, outer one. The author uses her skills learned in writing comedy sketches for television to keep the slight story moving in a gentle, humourous fashion that may appeal more to readers of domestic comedies of an earlier generation (think Shirley Jackson's Raising Demons) than mystery readers. A little joy.

Good writing is good writing is good writing -- wherever one finds it. Even if you're not a fan of mysteries, if you love witty and excellent writing, as well as unforgettable characters and clever plots, you won't regret reading this book. If you remember "Your Show of Shows" from television's golden age, you'll understand the high praise for this book, because the author was one of the writers of that masterpiece of wit and erudition -- the only woman so honored.

Maggie Rome is a woman that other women will enjoy reading about: she has a husband, two sons, a dog, a career, and occasionally fibs about her age--but only by three years. She is perceptive, a good cook, although a somewhat recalcitrant housekeeper, an amateur pianist of some capability, and the star reporter of the Sloan's Ford Reporter. The C. B. Greenfield of the title is the owner and publisher of the weekly paper in upstate New York, a cellist and music lover, and a man whose way with words and love of puzzles exasperates Maggie almost beyond bearing. Sometimes.

This is the first of five stories about Maggie and C.B.,--I'd already read one of the others--and have every intention of reading the others. In fact, I intend to search out all the books and add them to my collection; I need them handy to re-read when I need a pick-me-up. I wish that one of the publishers of mystery stories would bring them out again in new editions. Unfortunately, it would be too late for the author, whose pen was stilled in January 1999. We're all diminished by her passing.

This book is excellent, the more you read it, the more you will continue to re-read it. It gave me information to build upon for my own personal research and clues about other family ancestors, of which I had no idea. It's a great book, especially if you're interested in the Christian Indian movement, I highly recommend it.
I reach for it all the time, when researching.

The Native Americans of New England have received scant genealogical attention despite 350 years of documented history. This ground-breaking book is an excellent study of one branch of a Connecticut tribe who migrated to Brothertown, New York, in the late 1700's. The first fifty pages review the long and troubled history of the Pequots and the mass migration of many Pequots, Mohegans, and others to the Brothertown community, led by minister Samson Occum. The genealogical section, arranged in Register format, begins with a sachem called Nimrod, born about 1580, and details the lives and times of five generations down to one Sampson of Mashantucket, born about 1730. The authors have attempted, with admirable success, to trace all the descendants of his son James Sampson, the Brothertown settler, down to the 1980's. Each chapter is well footnoted. The book is further supplemented by The Sampson Photo Album, a separate 177-page volume of 1,500 to 2,000 faces photocopied from photographs.

A Man Called Sampson is as much an historical document as a genealogical register; in a loving tribute to their own family history, the Otterys bring Native Americans out of a fabled and romanticized past to be seen as individuals with a strong sense of identity, family and community, and as tenacious survivors sharing in the American pioneer experience. This book should be read by all serious American Indian scholars, as well as genealogy buffs; no longer is New England family history the preserve of Pilgrims and Puritans.

Reviewed by R. Andrew Pierce

Darrell Stark tells a compelling story of the world at its worst during the depression and World War II, and with a gentle honesty his book illustrates the strength and hope and compassion of the human spirit. His book reminded me once more that it's great to be alive.

This book is an excellent read and is a very good memoir of a man who lived a full and interesting life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in WWII or that particular generation.

I like this book, it's very interesting. I don't usually like to read but I enjoyed this book because it was interesting. It kept you guessing at what was going to happen next, and I liked the way some of the words were spelled; it showed how they pronounced the words. If you like suspense, then I would recommend this book.

It was just so awsome and my imagination is still bogiling from the solving of the mysteries like Jake Dunlap stealing the diamonds.

Being an enthusiastic amateur treasure hunter myself, in years past, I diligently read each and every volume of Mr. Terry's exhaustively researched works. Although I found some the information erroneous or far from exact - for instance many locations cited as "ghost towns" are FAR from being one - there are so many intriguing stories of legends, factual evidence & stories of past recoveries that any true TH'r will be enthralled. Treasure hunting is supposedly America's fastest growing hobby: it's uniquely enjoyable for the adventure, historical aspects & healthy outdoor recreation. And when you really find something decent...Boy Howdy!! Not as easy as it sounds, though. To be a professional TH'r, one has to have patience, applying oneself with the perseverance of a detective: because that's what it takes to be successful. Exhaustive research is the key: going where people gathered long ago (old picnic grounds & abandoned schoolyards, for instance) will be beneficial for coin shooters who are after more than modern coins....for me, finding modern coins was a complete waste of time & energy. Going for the gold? Go where it is KNOWN to be & be creative: the better your equipment - i.e. a decent detector which finds gold & common sense makes this a most fascinating hobby. For some, it's a life's career. Good luck!!

Found this to be a very interesting paperback book for anyone dreaming of treasure hunting/finds. But, I wish it was updated. I'm sure there are more interesting things about Florida. Not all of Fla. treasure finds are in the sea as this book notes. Worth reading.Open anywhere and begin reading.

While I enjoyed this story very much, it seemed to have two definite separate parts: one part contemporary love story, one part mystery. Not to complain, because I love detail and background and motivation in any plot, but, I kept anticipating the mystery part to happen and to have some sort of investigation take place! It seemed that it was a lot of plot buildup and the mystery part of the story seemed very glossed over and almost rushed at the end. This story could have been longer,with more thriller type things happening. I wouldn't have minded a longer book at all. It always kept my attention and kept the pages turning. I just wasn't satisfied with the mystery plotline. So, if you love romance, with a little thrill thrown in, this is for you. But, if you were looking for a real thriller/mystery you might be disappointed, but only a very little bit. I still felt it was a worthwhile read and I don't feel as if I was wasting my time.

Lainey, the main character, has to move in and take over her best friend's life aftger her friend is mysteriously killed. You go through all of Lainey's very real and believable problems - getting a ready-made family with two kids, dealing with a no-respect job, a failing love life, and figuring out exactly what happened to her best friend, Farrel, and Farrel's husband. This book is awesome and I couldn't put it down. I went out and bought all of Cynthia Victor's books after I read this one!