Vermont Books

A very good read for anyone who dreams of ditching the rat race and living a more relaxed life that is in harmony with nature.

From what I've been able to piece together Helen and Scott must have been a couple of outcast university professors that were scorned for their anti-establishment (socialist?) teachings. I think they must have been what would later become beatniks (and later hippies).

Throughout their book (actually 2 books) they forecast the social disintegration of the US.

They believe people should only work 4 hours a day and play the rest of the day. To me they actually seem lazy.

They say that when they feel a cold coming on they do as the neighborhood dogs and cats do, they quit eating until they feel fit again. To me, that's a very silly way of treating a cold. When animals quit eating it's because they don't feel like eating. They don't say, "I must be sick so I shouldn't eat." Ridiculous.

They preach about not using animals for food or labor. They also refer to milk as a food not for adults but for baby animals and talk about being vegetarians. Then in one chapter they talk about 3 girls down the road that regularly deliver milk to their house (contrary to their teachings). There is also a photo of them using horses to plow a field and another photo of Helen driving a pair of horses (two more examples of them not following their own teachings) on a snow covered road while she's riding in the wagon or sled (can't tell which since the picture is taken from in front of the horses). ??? Were they hypocrites? Did they eat shrimp cocktail and prime rib on Sunday afternoons?

There is a lot of information that is repeated in the book.

This book is way overrated. It's more of a 'do as I say, not as I do' book. I got very annoyed at the often repeated refences to America's 'disintegrating society'. (Here were are fifty years after the first of the 2 books were written.)

I felt that they may have been frustrated by not being able to establish a large following (as prophets?) so they could create a large commune. Instead, people seemed to come and go from their homesteads.

It seems to be more of a treatise against capitalism and self motivation than for homesteading and self sufficiency. They simply wanted to barely get by. Were they lazy? (People that visited were talked out of working more than 4 hours a day.)

I'm reading it for the 3rd time in 25 years and it is enjoyable to read. There are much better books out there for those considering homesteading. If you are considering homesteading then read some books that are more up to date and don't have such political influences.

This is a fairly well written and somewhat entertaining book (actually 2 books in one) but it's worthless as a reference book for homesteaders.

I am profoundly grateful that the Nearings took the time and trouble to write this book. I am trying something similar in North Central Florida, and while their conditions in New England were quite different in some ways (a shorter growing season, and the availablity of stone are examples), their advice, enthusiasm and encouragement across the years are a great comfort, as well as a good read (by oil lamp!). This is an American Classic, and should never be forgotten.

They didnt fit in urban society and when they moved to the vermont woods the natives thought they were whacko's .Okay so they were communists/marxists but they were very interesting people,learned, avante guarde and diverse, helen was even into UFO research.In this book you will see there experiment was basicaly a failure even they admit it at one point.the mistake i believe they made was there constant building projects and basicaly what became makework in my view. they brought into the woods there modern urban assumptions such as the view of work for works sake ,they even buy a rock quarry and start mining so they can get more rocks.Hauling stones around and garden food did keep them in shape but they were terribly dependend on trucks ,draft horses and had constant maintanance work[something early on they vowed never to do}. Seems like alot of work for subsistance living,very engrossing read though.

I read this book as a freshman in college. At the time, I had never read anything like it. Leaving the big city, the Nearings set out to live a self-subsistant life. Part how-to manual and part philosophical treatise, the two books in this volume paint a picture of good old American independence. Over a lifetime, the Nearings try to live a life unemcumbered by the burdens piled on the average laborer in the twentieth century--and they succeed!

The quotes that introduce each chapter can get tedious, but they can also be ignored without missing the meat of the writing. From their experiments with farming to their commentary on living a simple life, it's a hard book to put down once you've been sucked in.

I have read this book. Ireally enjoyed it, especially the scenario of a member of aroyal family who runs away to America and meets the man/woman of his/her dreams. That's what I call a remake of Roman Holiday. Nora Roberts writes great love stories.

This was the first Nora Roberts I have been able to read all the way through. It was better than I thought it was going to be. Usually I can't take what she writes seriously. But this time I don't think she was taking it seriously, so it worked out well.

Its the usual undercover royalty storyline. I don't quite understand how a princess, who is clearly very good at being a princess is able to turn into a domestic goddess. She cleans and cooks like an army of Martha Stewarts, it seems.

And the little plot twist at the end is pretty silly, but I liked it, though clearly the male character was more than a little annoyed by it--as it is something that does not fit him or his family very well. It was a bit forced on Roberts part, a twist like that would have been better with a bit more foreshadowing.

However, the relationship between the main characters is pretty interesting. And it isn't a bad read.

I am a huge Nora Roberts fan but this book was not my favorite. I just couldn't get into the characters. I liked Del...but couldn't get a solid picture in my mind which doesn't happen very often when reading Nora's books....Cam was ok but typical....it was a fast read and I really liked the ending...the characters fought throughout the book...but it was a very romantic ending! It is worth the time but not her best work....

Courtesy of Love Romances
http://www.loveromances.com

Camilla de Cordina was tired of being a princess. She needed a break and took a few weeks off to experience life as an ordinary girl. After 10 days of her happy adventure, her car broke down in a storm and was rescued by a broken-armed archaeologist, Delaney Caine. Delaney stayed in Vermont trying to recover from injuries that happened during an archaeological dig in Florida. Vermont seemed to be the perfect place for Camilla to hide from the press. She was running out of money, so when Del asked her to work temporarily as his assistant and housekeeper in return for her lodgings in his cabin, she could not refuse. Camilla soon realized that Del was a brilliant archaeologist and fell in love with him. She wasn't sure if Del felt the same with her so she decided to seduce him. Would Del be able to resist this royal beauty?

CORDINA'S CROWN JEWEL is the extension of the Cordina' Royal Family series. As usual, Ms. Roberts has delivered another mesmerizing story of Royal romance. Camilla and Del are the princess and the knight in shining armour from two different worlds and backgrounds. Camilla is well liked by the public, well educated with social grace, where Del is bonehead with terrible manners and an outrageous temper. Camilla lives most of her life in luxuries and Del spends his life in sites recovering ancient bones. What brings them together are the passion and their interest in archaeology, and a little magic by the author.

Another winner by Nora Roberts.
Camilla needs some time alone, time to not be a princess. So off she goes on a trip alone. She gets a job working with an archeologist and thus begins the adventure of a lifetime. Del is interesting, sexy and in need of a feminine hand. As the sparks fly, Camilla learns to accept who she is and becomes ready to step into her role as leader of her country. Del has to come to grips with the fact that he has fallen in love and then with the information he has fallen in love with a princess.

A true romance and a true joy to read. It is short enough to read in a long night or a day. I enjoyed every minute of it and was sorry to see it end.

Enjoy.

A game with trolls, ghosts, ogres, and elves that you get to play with your best friend. The catch? Your best friend is your opponent. Brian Thatz and Gregory Buchanan are best friends, yet polar opposites. Gregory gets invited to his "Uncle's" mansion and is told to bring "a companion for your amusement, as long as he be of solid reputation and respectful and unspotted demeanor." Once they get to Gregory's uncle's mansion they are swept into the game. They are deciding whether two ancient colonies of people, from another world, will win the war. With a game board, Gregory and Brian play to win. This book was very confusing, and I would recommend it to people who like reading a book that takes a while to get into. But, then again, i don't like fantasy, so I'm not a good judge of literacy.

The Game of Sunken Places was very random, until the end when everything was put together. Gregory and Brian had to start playing the game as soon as they got to the mansion, without even as much as an explanation of the game or rules. Gregory and Brian woke up from sleeping outside playing the game, and there was a mountain made of metal, that they had to get inside. As Gregory and Brian were scaling the mountain to find somewhere to get in, they came across a village of elves. An elf started talking to them and told them that everyone was fake, they were all robots, he told them that the "Speculant" was going to take them away, and that they were going to be disqualified, yet they did not do anything wrong.

The Game of Sunken Places was very far-fetched. Brian and Gregory come across a troll that, despite his appearance, is very nice, has spirits come into his house and eat his food, has seizures whenever he gets near the ceremonial mound, and can't read but has an outstanding imagination. Gregory and Brian have to unknowingly sneak pass an ogre that is twenty feet tall, blind, has a very good sense of smell, and excellent hearing. But they, can't see anything and have thirty-pound sacks on their backs, and must sprint one hundred yards, while trying not to get themselves killed. Gregory and Brian come across two boxes with their names on them that, if they push the buttons on the boxes, they can go back in time to get a crown from an emperor, yet the button only allows two-minute increments back in time.

The Game of Sunken Places made you think outside the box. To pass the troll's bridge, they had to answer a riddle. Generic, right? But this time, to answer the riddle, they had to take the answer, like if the answer was "box"; they had to bring a box. So Gregory and Brian had to scale the mansion's roof, the mansion being a hundred feet tall, and get the weather vane off the roof. Gregory and Brian had to go underground, to a lake, and ride in a boat, but the boat didn't have a propeller. So Gregory and Brian searched all over for a propeller. When the game had started, Uncle Max gave Gregory an iron pinwheel, and told him that it would come in handy. So they used the pinwheel as a propeller. While Gregory and Brian were looking for the crown. A man named Jim Stimple came after them and started to run after them and was trying to kill Brian. As Gregory was putting the crown on a statue, Brian realized that Jack Stimple was an opposer, and was technically the "bad side", and wanted the bad side, or the Thusser, to win. Gregory was, unknowingly, the pawn for the Thusser side. Brian was the pawn for the "good" side, or the People of the Mound of Norumbega. So Brian, with the help of Gregory, fought off Jack Stimple, and won the game.

The Game of Sunken Places was an action-packed book, with far-fetched fantasy, randomness, and outsider thinking.

B. Rimando

Searching for a fantasy book with non-stop action and adventure? Then you're looking for The Game of Sunken Places by M.T. Anderson! This book is about 2 boys, Brian and Gregory, who, after receiving a strange letter from Gregory's Uncle Max, are lured to Max's strange mansion in Vermont. Did I mention that Uncle Max is strange nonetheless? Brian and Gregory are suddenly stuck in a dangerous, real-life board game called "The Game of Sunken Places." They face riddle-talking trolls, warring kingdoms, and chubby dwarfs. I like how M.T Anderson puts the characters through lots of action, then lets something funny happen while still keeping up the adventure. I would recommend this book for fantasy lovers, ages 8 and up, who aren't afraid of a good scare. I would highly recommend The Game of Sunken Places.

This book has about one or two mildly interesting parts, but it reminds me too much on Jumanji. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and after reading the book, i wanted to hit him! This book was hideously boring and confusing as times. Once i put it down, it fealt like i was taking a VERY heavy burden off of my shoulders. I reccomend that you do not read this book.

I'm 11 and I really enjoyed this book. It's a really good book for kids and adults. Anyone who's interested in science fiction mystery with some humor will love this book. There's really nothing I didn't like about it, it's the best thing I've ever read. It's kind of depressing that not many people know about it. Read it! This summer! Or else!

The Game of Sunken Places
By: M.T. Anderson

I am a 6th grader from New York. I recently just finished reading the book The Game of Sunken Places. In my opinion I think it was a very good book. This book is a fantasy book written by M.T. Anderson. The whole story is mainly about two boys, Gregory Buchanan, and his best friend, Brian Thatz, visiting Gregory's cousin and her adopted dad, [Gregory's uncle.] The two boys travel all the way to a huge mansion deep in a forest where Gregory's cousin and uncle live. It is a very old mansion and the uncle seems to like old stuff because he dresses in clothes from the 17 to 1800s! After the two boys get to the mansion they find an old board game called The Game of Sunken Places. After that Gregory and Brian go through many obstacles and find out many surprising secrets. Out of 5 stars I would give this book 4 star. I would give it 4 stars because I found the ending a little disappointing because it felt like the author cut it short. By that I mean he didn't explain things as well as I hoped. I hope M.T. Anderson comes out with a sequel to The Game of Sunken Places then I think he would tell you what I think he didn't tell you in the first book. My favorite part of the book was near the middle to the end of the book. I can't tell you it because that would ruin the whole book for you! I would recommend this book to someone who likes fantasy books. Overall I think the book was a very good book.

I found this novel to be a play of two concepts; that of Amish life and shunning, along with that of camp life and community. The juxtaposition of the two concepts went well throughout the novel. Making relations between the amish life and the summer camp was interesting. Overall I found the main character a little creepy, albeit that's what made me appreciate the author more; since the main character is very flawed. The story seemed a bit contrived or perhaps overdone, but I think the way it was told was new and original. I was surprised to see it end as it did, but the message of avoidance became much more prevalent when the ending was considered.

It's almost a typical tragedy story, but it has some interesting twists. It was well written, though some larger words popped up here and there that seemed superfluous, the idea that it was being written by a man working on a degree shone through. It wasn't really for me, but I liked the emotion it brought out in my mind.

As an aside, I didn't really see this as "gay fiction". The whole thing seemed like a big misnomer to tag it as in the first place. It's as if gay is being equated with child molester, which is as far from the truth as you can get. I understand the main character's struggle with his sexuality in the context of the story, but still, it's more of a story of molestation and shunned behaviors than anything else.

okay...so i pick up this book on amazon.it got great reviews from the customers. it got a decent review from publishers weekly. but gay fiction is often predictable and trite.there.i said it. while the characters and plot are interesting to me,particularly,the amish subplot, the language seemed stilted,especially when max would talk in 'teen speak'. i actually flinched in the bathtub reading it.then i read it out loud and started laughing.for all the wrong reasons. its been a few months and i dont feel like finding the book to transcribe the offending passages but i will say that it was a disappointment.i felt like michael lowenthal had the recipe for a very good novel and it turned into a lifetime movie starring tori spelling and chad allen.

For me this complex and compelling drama can be summed up in one word:CHOICES
It shows us that any choice a person makes,is, what they feel is the correct choice. But we don't know it is the right choice in life until the consequences of the choice has fully evolved into circumstances.
The Amish man who sought the world of the 'English' was his choice.
For Jeremy Stull, his choice was always Ironwood summer Camp and then as a young man, working there in the summer. He will later examine this choice and it's consequences.
His choice was also to study and live with an Amish family and learn about them and specifically the BANS; in order to write his doctorate.
But he had to make the choice of a lifetime when a 14year old camper, called Max attends camp.Max is a street-wise,young man with attitude and a seductive charm that affects Jeremy in unexpected ways.
Jeremy had to confront his own desires regarding Max. He became besotted with Max, looking for him, wanting to know all about him..waiting for an opportunity to touch him.
Jeremy Stull made a choice that impacted not only his life, and everything he thought he knew about Ironwood.
There is so much in this story it is hard to pin it down to readable synopsis.The surprising turn of events in the camp always juxtaposed with the Amish woman, Beulah and her life now. Consequences of choices.
Lowenthal manages to convey to the reader the desire,the want the sexual urges that Jeremy had toward Max.
In the end, Jeremy made many choices regarding Max, the camp and those that he grew up with. Ultimately he made the choice of a lifetime.Was it right or wrong? Was it correct or ill-fated? Only time will tell.
I ached for Jeremy. I ached for Max. I ached for the camp.I ached for Beulah, the amish woman who also made a choice.
Excellent story! Detailed writing but never boring.So much to think about! Kudos to Lowenthal for writing about a sensitive subject in a brilliantly!

Make no mistake about it: this is a story about child abuse. Physical and mental. However beautifully written (and it is), it is about child abuse. Three major characters engage in it and one even manages to get away with it. (Jeremy has never before acted on his impulses but what about Ruff and Charlie? One has spent decades and the other years in a summer camp for boys. It seems highly unlikely that they only did this once.)
Layered over the shenanigans at Camp Ironwood is a second storyline about Jeremy's thesis on the Amish. While I get the author's parallels, I found the whole Amish angle somewhat extraneous. So that leaves Max, the 14-year-old who has led a really hard life, but who becomes the star of this story. He is precocious and adorable. Overall, this is an engrossing read, but it treats adults who diddle with young teens a little too easily.

Absolutely outstanding. This novel is a work of brilliance on so many levels: unique, effortless prose without pretension; three-dimensional characters who deftly creep inside your mind; a beautifully constructed, poignant tale that is tense, powerful and thought-provoking. The sort of novel that is deemed 'controversial' and 'provocative' by the mindless masses, 'Avoidance' deals with the conflicts between love and reason; between sense and sensibility; between loyalty to the inner-self and the self that is presented to the outside world.

A postgraduate student in his late-20s, Jeremy is Assistant Director at a summer camp for boys - a camp which he himself attended as a child. At first curiously asexual, Jeremy's passion and inner-conflict erupt upon the arrival of 14-year old Max at the summer camp. Brash, enigmatic and alluring, Max seduces everyone with his roguish charm and sweaty-adolescent sexuality (everyone orbits around Max, "as the sun from which they fear losing warmth"). Clearly, trouble lies ahead, and the tension mounts excruciatingly as Jeremy is tormented by his own desires - and those of others.

The exceptionally apt background story (of Jeremy's term-time research into the Amish people, and specifically into those members who have been expelled by the Amish community) serves to illuminate the conundrum that he must now attempt to resolve: "Can you be loyal to your old self but also to the new? To outside laws and also inner ones?" This is the truly haunting aspect of the novel: its potential lose-lose scenario; the loneliness of the decision that must be made - and the complete absence of any possibility of compromise.

An incredibly engaging work, (seemingly) effortlessly penned by a tremendously talented author, Michael Lowenthal's 'Avoidance' climbs easily into a small clique of novels (such as Rod Downey's 'The Moralist') that will quietly take up residence in a corner of your mind forever. Exceptional.

"Not only are we going to New Hampshire, Tom Harkin, we're going to South Carolina and Oklahoma and Arizona and North Dakota and New Mexico, and we're going to California and Texas and New York ... And we're going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan. And then we're going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Byaaah!!!"

This is a must have for anyone who loves America and is doing their part to strengthen it. Howard Dean has had all the answers all along and even if you aren't a Dean fan, you will love his insight and point of view on the problems we face daily. Dean is hard on Dems as well as Rebublicans and wants us to know that power is ours, now we just have to use it. This book reads easily and is worth every penny. A must have.

"We need to restore the balance between corporate power and the ballot box."

HOWARD, YOU ARE PANDERING A LITTLE TOO MUCH TO THE CORPORATE POWERS ARE EVIL LINE?

"We need to restore the balance between corporate rights and citizen's rights." TRUE, CITIZENS RIGHTS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT HE DIDN'T ELABORATE SUFFICIENTLY IN THE BOOK TO MAKE ANY STRONG POINTS IN THIS AREA.
"We need to narrow the wealth gap to show people that capitalism works for them." HOW DO WE DO THIS? HE NEVER TELLS US.

"We need to always stand up against the politics of division and fear, whether we are progressive or conservative or in the middle." I TOTALLY AGREE WITH DEAN HERE. THIS DIVIDE AND CONQUER PHILOSOPHY IS NOT PERSON-CENTERED.

"We need political institutions that people can believe in." AMEN HERE. TOO MUCH APATHY IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS!

"And we need a media willing to perform their watchdog role and hold politicians accountable for telling the truth.... "
YES INDEED, BUT HOW DO WE HOLD POLITICIANS MORE ACCOUNTABLE? HOW MUST PEOPLES' BEHAVIOR CHANGE TO ENABLE THIS DRAMATIC CHANGE?

"We need campaign finance reform." OLD WORN OUT LINE

"We need more corporate accountability...." YES, I THINK WE HEARD THIS ONE TOO MUCH OVER AND OVER IN THE BOOK. TELL US HOW WE MORE EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH CORPORATION LEADERS THEN.

The inspiring words of the man who is now the Chairman of the entire Democratic Party. This book is a must read!

Dean wrote this book after John Kerry won the Presidential nomination, but before the 2004 elections. Dean show's real class by working to unite the Democratic Party, even after he was denied the chance to run for president.

His words make you believe that we can still bring an end to the corruption in American politics. And he gives clear and specific ideas about how we can do it as well. This book is part political strategy, part autobiography and part self-help. But all of it is an impressive work written by an impressive man.

Howard Dean is proving himself to be one of the Democratic Party's more enduring leaders. Not yet 60, he has already served as Governor of Vermont, head of the Democratic Governors Association, a Democratic candidate for the party's 2004 presidential nomination, head of the political action committee Democracy for America, and since, February, 2005, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. With the Democrats poised to make big gains in 2006, Dean's future relevance is likely to continue for some time.

I am not a neutral observer. I was a Dean delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004--his only delegate from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or the Mid-Atlantic states. And I have actively participated in Democracy for America and urged Pennsylvania's members of the Democratic National Committee to support his candidacy for this position.

Dean's ascension to the Chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee from the ranks of unsuccessful Presidential candidates is unprecedented. Most Democratic National Committee chairs have been fundraisers and/or political technicians. Dean is the rare Democratic National Committee with a visible policy platform and a coherent set of ideas.

This book is a summary and integration of Dean's views in a variety of areas: public policy platform; critiques of the Democratic Party (including Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council), the Republican Party (including George Bush, Newt Gingrich and the radical right), the media (including coverage of him and coverage of President Bush), a mix of moral exhortations to get actively involved in the political process, and pragmatic suggestions on how to strengthen the Democratic Party and why doing so is absolutely necessary.

This book is also an excellent summary of how his two decades in Vermont's state government have shaped his worldview; he is a strong patriot for Vermont as well as for America. "Ours is a very nurturing state with a sense of neighborly obligation. You typically see this in rural states, where communities had to band together because they were relatively isolated and self-supporting. There's a strong ethic that says we're all in it together; and it translates into an almost ingrained sense of collective responsibility and a deep commitment to public programs that tie people together...."

Dean's signature programs as Governor of Vermont were business tax cuts, an expansion of social welfare programs from the poor to the middle class by raising income eligibility requirments, parenting training programs for low-income families, offering home visits from social workers and nurses to mothers of newborns, annually balancing the budget, and saying no to undramatic traditional government spending in order to be able to finance some bold initiatives.

"All because Vermonters believed that our community of like-minded, stable, middle-class citizens could be expanded to draw in people at risk. In other words, we really tried to help everyone enjoy the kind of security and stability that in much of America is now reserved for the upper reaches of the middle class and the wealthy. We rejected social Darwinism....

"We did what Republicans and Democrats in Washington have never been able to do: bring health care and child care supports and good public schools and help with higher education to those outside the upper middle class--without breaking the bank.

"We made our ideals about community and social responsibility into reality without getting caught up in overspending or spiraling debt."

It is probably the best book ever written by a man on the cusp of becoming Democratic National Chairman. Written with the brevity, incisiveness and passion that has characterized Dean's public persona, it helps answer the questions of who Dean is, why he has a national constituency, what he stands for, and why both he and the Democratic Party are likely to have a long and successful future.

The last chapter provides a good summary of his public policy beliefs:

"We need to restore the balance between corporate power and the ballot box.

"We need to restore the balance between corporate rights and citizen's rights.

"We need to narrow the wealth gap to show people that capitalism works for them.

"We need to always stand up against the politics of division and fear, whether we are progressive or conservative or in the middle.

"We need political institutions that people can believe in.

"And we need a media willing to perform their watchdog role and hold politicians accountable for telling the truth....

"We need campaign finance reform....

"We need more corporate accountability....

"We have to reempower labor....

"We need to increase voter turnout....

"Voting is not enough....

"Politicians can't solve our problems for us...."

Dean makes clear that he is a genuine centrist who believes in balanced budgets and not a liberal in the 1960's free-spending sense of the word. He supported Jimmy Carter over Ted Kennedy for the 1980 Presidential nomination, and somewhat defines himself by that choice. In today's right-wing dominated climate, of course, the distinctions between Carter's centrism and Kennedy's liberalism have generally paled into insignificance.

This is a great book for those seeking an introduction to Dean's beliefs, the Democratic Party's beliefs, and the public policy differences within the Democratic Party and between the Democratic and Republican parties. It is also a good book for those deeply enmeshed in the political process who would benefit from a good summary volume. There are far more detailed books, however, on all these subjects, as well as on the 2004 Presidential campaign and Dean's role as a leading opponent of the war in Iraq.

I am still trying to figure out why this woman did not question more about her husbands depression. I really enjoyed the book, but like anyone am confused about the people. These two led a more "by the numbers" life than I do. Just because they lived in the country does not mean they did not have the same pressures we all have. they just had them in a different way. Don't look to these two to start or continue a good marriage. this is not how to communicate.

I still wonder about the events with his sons (read the book and you will see). How could a father not go looking...??????

very interesting book, and highly recommended.

frustrating, but interesting review of how we are as people.

"Losing the Garden" is a love story. An unusual love story of a couple involved in an unusual life style. Laura and Guy Waterman homesteaded in the mountains of Vermont. Their personal detailed account of everyday life is fascinating. I happen to know Laura personnaly; as her father and my husband taught at The Lawrenceville School, her father was an emininant Emily Dickinson scholar. Because of this fact I was very interested in reading Laura's book and subsequently I rated it five stars. Every page was fascinating in many ways which included their daily rituals, and a loving relationship with a complex, anguished partner. I whole-heartedly recommend reading "Losing the Garden."

I had read "Good Morning Midnight" by Chip Brown relating Guy Waterman's life. I was interested in Laura's story. It was a good read, kept my attention and give new information about their chosen lifestyle.

I couldn't decide which character I disliked more in this book--the depressed husband or the enabler wife. Their marriage never seemed like one of true love to me. He treated her as a working roommate and she never (or rarely) stood up for herself and what she wanted. He was not a likeable character. His relationships with his children should have been an indicator to her that he was not capable of sustaining a long term, normal, loving relationship. And the strange, year-long waiting period before he actually committed suicide seemed ridiculous.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. It was depressing and uninteresting, and in no way did I feel empathy for the author.

Laura Waterman's gem, a memoir of her marriage to Guy Waterman, reminds me of the paintings of Vermeer. Her exquisite, understated prose conceals as much as it reveals in its simplicity. It's not a modern tell-all core dump. We don't hear about the underside of marriage: sex, personal hygiene, quarrels. This is instead a beautiful and heart-felt portrait of a lost love.

The Guy Waterman Laura describes in her biographical sketch was a well-educated and highly accomplished man. He lived with at least four diagnosable psychiatric conditions and had made a mess of his first marriage and fatherhood. Yet he continued on, with the support of Laura's unconditional love, until he could bear life no longer. After making sure Laura was financially secure, he died on his own schedule and in his own fashion.

Disturbed he was, yet what astonishing creativity and productivity along the way! Aside from his writings on the outdoors, which continue to be influential, among many other things he for years played a game of baseball in his head based on Milton's "Paradise Lost". This reminds me of the story in Robert Lindner's "The 50-minute Hour" called "The Rocket-propelled Couch", in which the patient (rumored to have been Robert Oppenheimer while working on the Manhatten Project) builds an imaginary universe so fascinating in its workings that the analyst takes it over and thereby cures the patient. It's a great tragedy that Waterman's experience with psychiatry, as described by Laura, was so aversive.

The Watermans attempted to live according to the 19th century Romantics. Wordsworth would have approved of their naming the trees at Barra. Their life was simplified, pared to the bare essentials. Every half-hour of every day was scheduled, though Laura describes never feeling rushed. But it was organized to be maximally productive, a necessity if they were to make their mode of living work. And the things scheduled were fine things: reading, writing, music; and the chores of 19th century living: baking, wood-cutting, gardening, syruping. Their amusements were 19th century amusements: reading aloud, writing letters, playing the piano.

The Watermans lived out their dream at Barra of life as they thought it ought to be lived. They might be accused of a lack of seriousness, and indeed much of Guy's activity - counting blueberries, baseball to Milton, climbing the peaks of the White Mountains from the four points of the compass in all weathers - can only be described as useless activity - in a word, play. Yet it is play of such a high order as to transcend ordinary life and perhaps touch the eternal. Guy is reported to have told someone that the only time he ever felt good was above timberline in a snowstorm. Perhaps in his last frozen moments on Mt. Lafayette he found the peace that had eluded him for so many years.

What about Laura? She had her own burdens to live with, and did better with them than most. About her marriage we learn only that love is its own justification. And that's all we need to know.

It's been several years since I read a book by Mr. Mosher, and I welcomed a return to Kingdom Common. These books don't have heroes or villains, just ordinary people living relatively ordinary lives, even if some of them are a bit eccentric. Talking to a statue near a town ball field might qualify as eccentric, but the statue, believe it or not, is essential to the plot, and seems perfectly plausible as part of it. This book is a homage to an almost extinct form of sport, the town ball teams that regularly played other local teams in their area. These were not pros, you understand, but local working men who just played for the love of the game. As a young boy, I remember going to watch my dad play softball for one of the local garment facory teams, and even then found it unusual that he played center field without using a glove! Intertwined into this local scene is the rabid Red Sox rooters of new England, fiercely determined to see their beloved Sox win their first World Series since 1918 (of course, now that they've won two since then, some of the urgency has appeared to be diminished, but not the enthusiasm). Read the book for the glimpse of small town life it gives you, the way ordinary people go about making their way in the world, and enjoy reading about the mythical World Series between the Sox and the Mets, while the Sox are managed by "the Legendary Spence"! It's enjoyable from beginning to end.

I am an avid Red Sox fan, I know what it is like to live and die with the Sox for more years than I care to admit. I loved this book, not because it is a story that includes the Sox, but for the way the author brings to life the small town in Vermont. The town of Kingdom Common, I believe, is suppose to be contemporary, but I think it captured small town New England so well that I could smell the hay and feel the summer heat and remember a time that is long past.

I didn't give this book five stars because of the characters. Most were unbelievable, but this is a fantasy of sorts, so I guess the characters could be over the top. I did, however, love the character of Gran, she made me laugh out loud several times and her observations of the Red Sox and baseball were a hoot.

All in all, an enjoyable read for those long days of summer. Go out in your back yard, lie in a hammock with a good baseball game on the radio and enjoy reading every young boy's and this girl's favorite fantasy about baseball and the Red Sox.

This is one of those stories that will stick with you and keep you smiling days after you have finished it. It is almost magical, in the vein of The Natural and other great story-telling.
I really loved this little fable and the way it is told. What a joy!

I am a fan of "coming of age" stories, New England of past years, and a Red Sox fan so this book touched all three buttons and I found it thoroughly enjoyable. Since I spent ages 10-15 in a small NH town I could relate to the setting and the offbeat characters. I read the book sitting on the dock of a camp on Lake Winnepesaukee, having arrived in New Hampshire to attend the 40th reunion of the graduates of that small town school.

While the reviews below give some of the major plot outline, I enjoyed Mosher's ability to create the setting, the use of some fairly interesting plot twists and "red herrings" keep it interesting as it moves to an easily anticipated conclusion.

Still, it brought back some great memories for this member of the "Red Sox Nation".

Waiting for Teddy Williams is a baseball story that reads like a great modern myth. It involves a young protagonist and baseball phenomena Ethan Allen, a boy from northern Vermont, who lives, eats and sleeps baseball. Allen whose namesake was a leader-to-be of the 18th century Green Mountain Boys, fought against the New Yorkers for Vermont and for himself. The real Ethan Allen, proved to be an early "Yankee hater".

Mosher is a fabulous writer and creative storyteller, producing images that are clear and mentally pleasing. Writers can often over use oddities in characters, introducing traits just to cause a stir within the reader. The characters Mosher writes are just quirky enough to be believable, interesting and loveable, remaining true to themselves and to the readers.

In the novel, Allen is the son of Teddy Williams a baseball man, ex-convict and drifter, who appears unexpectedly into the life the young Allen. Williams, no relation to the famous Number 9, spends time with the boy, trains him and develops Ethan's baseball talents, the ones that Teddy himself could only use catching for a prison team in Texas.

Mosher fills the book with memorable and outrageous scenes, lined with character-based humor. Allen's mother, Gypsy Lee works as an escort and a honky-tonk singer in order to put food on the table. Her work is introduced and presented as matter-of-fact, and often leads to hilarious images and situations. She is a strong, likeable character, the backbone of young Allen, and the novel flourishes in nearly every scene she is involved in.

As strong myths go, things can be too good or too predictable to be true. Ethan's rise to the Red Sox and how the team uses him would never occur. Mosher's fictional Red Sox would never have won anything based on the season's scenario Mosher creates. This though is Mosher's point: the Red Sox will never ever win a championship. There is numerous mentions of 1918, Carlton Fisk, Bucky Dent, Bill Buckner, and the Red Sox as the loveable losers that they are. It will take a miraculous improbability for a championship to come to the City of Boston. It is rather unfortunate for the book, released the same year the team actually did win the World Series.

There are also a few minor factual inaccuracies found (i.e. World Series Game Seven would never be a day game), but generally these will be missed by most, except the scholars of the game. Despite this, the book is well written and interesting. It is a well-struck work that curves just foul. It is a one-run heartbreaking loss that can still be appreciated by the lovers of the game as well as the lovers of fine writing.

Tim Gager/ Ibbetson Update/Sept 2005.

*Tim Gager is the cofounder of "the Somerville News Writers Festival" [...]

After watching the rather splendid movie adaptation from this book (renamed hope springs), I decided to purchase this vocal book. The premise for this book is around an English character who, after breaking up with his partner back in England, travels to a small US town where he falls in love, only to have he's ex partner come back into their lives. Although this book can be dialog driven at times it is still an easy fast flowing book that, as long as you are not looking for any great meaning, should enjoy.

Here is a novel that reads more like a play. It has virtually no narration and all dialogue. It is about an English gentleman (Colin) who gets dumped by his girlfriend (Vera) and comes to America to forget her. He somehow ends up in the small New England town of New Cardiff. He claims he stopped there because the town monument looked fascinating. Wherever Colin goes in the town the people are very friendly and curious about him. Every time he sees an interesting face he wants to sketch that person's portrait. The author does something quite interesting by including the sketches of each person in the book (reminiscent of Jack Finney's "From Time to Time"). Colin is "fixed" up by the owner of the Inn where he is staying, with a troubled woman who is a massage therapist in a medical facility (Mandy).

Mandy's skills help her to immediately help Colin forget Vera. Some of their dialogue exchanges are hilarious, reminiscent of Benjamin's and Mrs. Robinson's in "The Graduate" (of course that was by the same author). The plot gets interesting when Vera suddenly arrives and announces that she never really dumped Colin but through the influence of her sister, played an elaborate joke on him. So begins an interesting triangle.

The book is a lot shorter than it looks because it is mostly dialogue, which takes up a lot less on each page than a normal narrative story. Also, the dialogue for the most part is interesting and "different" from most books, which makes this a fun read.

"New Cardiff" describes the American vacation of London artist Colin Ware, who flees a failed love affair and finds himself washed up in the small town of New Cardiff, Vermont, home to an assortment of strange Americans and a struggling tourist industry. He manages to forget his troubles briefly, sketching townspeople and developing a relationship with another woman, but when his old girlfriend journeys from England to retrieve him his new life goes suddenly awry.

This story has much going for it. It's a classic love story complete with jealous rivalry, a long journey, and the promise (or threat) of marriage, but with quirky and entertaining plot twists to keep it fresh. The dialogue is rapid and often witty. The residents of New Cardiff are an amusing set of characters and provide comic relief.

But there's nothing in the story to provide comic relief *from*. The author never really gets into his story. The book is - despite its heft - actually quite short, with lots of blank space on each page, and is almost entirely composed of dialogue. The limitations of this format - no description or exposition - nearly overwhelm the story, and make any exploration of the characters or of the larger themes of the book impossible.

The book's continuous banter is surprisingly easy to read, and a hundred pages can fly by in an hour. But this ease and speed have a price: the whole book - all 354 pages of it - can be read in an evening and forgotten by the next morning, a frivolous waste of a story that could be so much more interesting.

Charles Webb is best known for writing the soulless novel that inspired classic film "The Graduate." In "New Cardiff" he tackles a somewhat softer story, but his minimalist writing and flat supporting characters make it a story as light and forgettable as a breath of smoke.

Colin Ware is an English guy who has just been dumped for another man. Miserable, he decides to get over her (in the tradition of old novels) by going to the US, and somehow ends up in the dinky Vermont town of New Cardiff. The inhabitants are a bit odd but friendly, and Colin befriends quite a few when he sketches their portraits. He also becomes acquainted with Mandy, a smart, supportive young woman who starts giving him therapy for his broken heart.

But then Vera -- the woman who dumped Colin -- comes onto the scene. She reveals that the guy she supposedly dumped him for was all part of an elaborate joke. Colin forgives her for her involvement in tricking him, but now he's got an awkward love triangle to deal with. Vera is determined to scupper his new relationship with Mandy, and Mandy is saying that she never wants to see him again.

"New Cardiff" starts off on a promising note, with a guy going to new places to mend his broken heart. And the basic plot is a classic one -- a love triangle where the third party has to deal with old and new lovers, as represented by the countries they come from. But it feels instantly forgettable. Webb adds nothing new to the tale, and despite being around 350 pages long, the story itself is very short.

But Webb's writing is not up to the task -- it's suspended somewhere between bland screenplay and not-detailed-enough fiction. No descriptions, little action -- just page after page of dialogue. And the dialogue isn't exactly Shakespeare either: "It doesn't really show." "It doesn't?" "We've had worse." "Than this?" "Much." There are stretches of dialogue that are ALMOST witty, but they fall short because they are so underwritten.

And as a result, the characterization suffers. There's plenty of chemistry and cute bits between Mandy and Colin -- although his tale of first having sex with Vera is cringingly bad -- but unfortunately Vera is a cardboard cutout. The villagers also are bogged down with basic personalities and nothing else-- the nosy guy, the Jesus freak, and so on.

"New Cardiff" suffers from a terrible case of underwriting and an overabundance of cliches. While it has some cute moments, it's underwritten and overlong, and nothing you'll remember.

One of the funniest, witty stories I've read in a long time.

Brit artist escapes collapsed love affair to regain equilibrium in a New England town. Webb's dialogue has not been bettered for sure-eared parody of English as she is spoke both sides of the Atlantic. I assume CW is American, and he lives in England, which explains his utter skill.

It's slated for a movie, and what a killer it'll make, and what plum parts all round.

A brilliant touch is to have sketches of the people that the central character draws and they are perfect. The temptation is to turn to the end of the chapter to see what 'Fred' (Webb's partner) has come up with. Every one a winner.

I've given it as a gift to so many loved ones and with one accord they've phoned to thank and congratulate on my unerring choice.

Of course, what else from the pen of 'The Graduate'? But this really *is* special and no one will be disappointed.

This is one of the best Archer Mayor books and I have read them all. My only disappointment was in the ending where I was left to wonder about the final fate of the characters in the subplot. It was hard not to wish for a better outcome because 2 of those characters were written so sympathetically as to give hope that second chances are possible. Was Joe honest with Nancy or leading her on? What happened to her after all was said and done? Did Mel receive just punishment or remain a threat able to haunt Nancy even from jail? When character development is done so well, a bit more closure is important. Looking at the other reviews, no one else seemed to feel shortchanged at the ending so I am no doubt a minority. I agreed with another reviewer about hopefully getting rid of Joe's previous long term relationship. Most of the women the "heros" get involved with seem to end up being a royal pain. It's good to dispose of them so the guys can have another interest, but they never seem to learn. The next one is usually just as bad.

Some mystery writers like to limit their work to a particular city. Archer Mayor's character, Joe Gunther, used to be confined to Brattleboro, but now that he's been promoted to the VBI he ranges throughout all of Vermont. Many large cities probably have more murders in an evening than the Green Mountain State has all year. Mr. Mayor is forced to dredge up evil flatlanders from New York who drift into Bennington and commit mayhem.

I am quite familiar with Southern Vermont, and read this novel with keen interest. Congratulations to the author for his careful recreation of towns, streets and buildings. Everything seems accurately described and his directions are perfect. (I can think of a couple big-time mystery writers who are very casual about geography- streets misnamed, directions backwards, etc.) Of course, no Vermonter would tolerate an author who didn't know the quickest way to Wilmington.

Joe Gunther may lack some urbanity, but he is a shrewd investigator with an appealing laid-back style. Archer Mayer's prose continues to sparkle. He's not on the P.D. James level, but certainly as good or better than most of those famous guys.

I loved the book as I have enjoyed all of the books in this series. I am originally from the southern Vermont area and feel Mayor does a splendid job of describing the weather, the terrain ,the locals and the "flatlanders" who infiltrate and others who are up to no good. The cast of characters is consistant and Joe Gunther is portrayed as a real human being. There is not a lot of action per se in this particular book but Mayor sets a mood piece much like Donna Leon in her observations about Inspector Brunneti in Venice. It is a wonderful armchair read and I didn't want to put it down until I finished it.

Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther mysteries are always well written, and full of interesting (and realistic, as far as I can tell from occasional ventures to Vermont) local color. I'm giving this a full 5 *'s because two traits that had bothered me somewhat throughout the series are abated: First, Joe is in at least temporary remission from his self-obsessed, on-again-off-again long time significant other Gail. (Why can't New England mystery guy's find girlfriends that don't make your teeth crawl -- think Spencer's Sarah Silverman, and Roxanne in Gerry Boyle's Jack McMorrow series.) Second, unlike so many of Mayor's books, the action and mysteries don't revolve around bad guys from out of state or country.

The book has two threads of crime. First, Joe (who works for Vermont's fictional major crimes outfit, the Vermont Bureau of Investigation), drops in on what seems at first to be the "natural" death of Michelle Fisher, a corpse seemingly at peace and leaving no clues other than a missing cat. There is an obvious suspect, her dead husband's father who wants her out of the house he owns, but no obvious cause of death. Second, we follow the career of three smalltime South Vermont lowlifes, the hapless Ellis and Nancy and Nancy's brutal and dominating husband Mel, as Mel's penchant for violence escalates. Joe also goes to bat for longtime colleague, chief medical examiner Beverly Hillstrom, who is threatened with blackmail and political revenge, and they even advance to first name basis (astonishing as that may seem to long term readers of the series).

Mayor expertly tugs at our heartstrings as we follow multiple threads of love/relationship, as well as our whodunnit logic as we try to anticipate what's going to happen with Mel's posse and to figure out what happened to Michelle. The resolutions of both threads, as well as Joe's resolution of Beverly's problems, are satisfying and surprising. Altogether the best read in the series for some time.

In my quest for serious mysteries Mayor ranks near the top and it's a pleasure to find one I haven't read. Several strands this time including the end of a longterm relationship Joe has had and the possible beginning or change with a doctor he respects and worked with for years. The team looks into a possible suicide or murder and ironically this leads to the second crime involving drugs and small-timers trying to make it big and plus a sad love affair that ends with a bang. The Vermont scene is well described and the characters including the less important ones all come alive. I'm looking forward to more.

This was a fun read. If you want depth, read "Stranger in the Kingdom" by Mosher. But the characters in THIS book were too outrageous to take TOO seriously. Yet each character was remarkably interesting and quirky. A little campy at times,and certainly they behaved in unrealistic ways but that's what made this book fun. You had no idea what would happen next. I liked it- it was a great beach book.

This was a fun read. If you want depth, read "Stranger in the Kingdom" by Mosher. But the characters in THIS book were too outrageous to take TOO seriously. Yet each character was remarkably interesting and quirky. A little campy at times,and certainly they behaved in unrealistic ways but that's what made this book fun. You had no idea what would happen next. I liked it- it was a great beach book.

Mr. Mosher has a great love of time and place, and this love shows quite clearly in his series of novels about the fictional Kingdom County, Vermont, in the mid part of this century. I've read several of his works, and thoroughly enjoyed all of them. When I began this latest one, I had assumed, because of its structure, that it was simply a series of short stories. Eventually I realized that it was, indeed, a novel, and a wonderful one at that! I loved the characters and the often bizarre situations in which they found themselves. Readers will, I'm sure, be way ahead of the narrator in discovering what is going on around him, but the charm of the writing, and the pure beauty of the story (and its perhaps too-sentimental ending) will enchant you. If you yearn for things the way they used to be, when life just seemed to be simpler and more fulfilling, you'll enjoy reading this book.

I was quite impressed with the first half of this book, the first I've read by Mosher. Each early chapter stands almost as a self-contained short story about colorful, but well-developed characters in a small Vermont-Canadian border town, mid-20th century. Some outstanding writing, with quirky details about family histories done especially well. Unfortunately, as the connections between the stories get developed, you can see from a mile away where the main story is going, and after all the characters are introduced you focus more on the dialogue, which isn't quite as well-written. Still, the strengths of this book encouraged me to read more Mosher. Stranger in the Kingdom was a huge disappointment--trite, predictable, and with nothing new to say. But I'm still going to read at least one more Mosher.

The Fall of the Year is a wonderful book, especially for dedicated Mosher Fans. I'd like to point out to first-time readers of his novels that his masterpiece is A Stranger in the Kingdom and I strongly recommend reading that first. Most of the people in the town and county where his books are set are featured in considerable detail in that book. That is the place to really get to know them, so that when you pick up one of his other books, you recognize the person being written about and have a better understanding of his/her character. Also, don't be surprised that he sprinkles many of his books with touches of the surreal or supernatural. You wont get a concrete explanantion of some of these phenomena, but it's obvious that Kingdom County (real life Orleans County, Vermont) is a magic place for him and he makes both wonderful and terrible things happen there. I'm proud to own every one of his books, I was hooked after A Stranger in the Kingdom and even led my book discussion group in it a few years ago. You can re-enter a time and place that is fast disappearing from this country; many things about the way of life he describes are already gone for good. But dont pass up Mosher, whatever you do. If you read this book and felt you didnt get much out of it, read Stranger in the Kingdom and then come back. All his books run through the whole history of the area and are worth having as collectors items.