Massachusetts Books

The best daguerreotype portraits are some of the most striking photographic likenesses you'll ever see. Talk about verisimilitude: Those who posed for daguerreotypes in the last century seem about to start speaking, or to step right out of the image. The pictures are practically holographic in their three-dimensionality, and you feel you could almost reach out and touch the faces captured therein so long ago. The generally small size of the images doesn't detract from the experience; in fact, like the finest Mughal miniatures, the reverse is true. As you draw close to the frame, you find yourself entering the daguerreotype's exquisite little world. The experience is enhanced by the thought that, since daguerreotypes are positive images, the photograph before you is the only one in existence.

A daguerreotype's power is greatest when you're seeing the actual image before your eyes, of course, but the reproductions in this beautifully designed coffee-table book, many of which are reproduced in actual size, are so stunning that you're truly getting the next best thing. Here you'll find likenesses of some of the most famous figures to traipse through the 19th century -- Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry James, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jenny Lind, Tom Thumb, James Whistler, Dorothea Dix.

The author, Melissa Banta, a kind of curator-at-large at Harvard, was not content simply to ferret out all daguerreotypes then existing at Harvard (over 450 images, some of which are seeing the light of day for the first time here). She delved into the often compelling stories behind each image's creation, life history, and curation. In lyrically written short essays, we learn how the first daguerreotypes of the moon came into being in 1851, why Louis Agassiz had daguerreotypes taken of slaves forced to disrobe, what Harriet Beecher Stowe was thinking at the time her likeness was taken, why Asa Gray collected daguerreotypes of his fellow botanists (all images that appear here).

In short, this is a coffee-table book with substance and personality. It will serve as an excellent introduction to daguerreotypy for the layman, and a must-have compendium for the avid daguerreian. Highly recommended.

This book is well-written and an interesting mix of first-hand experience and clinical research. The voices of the two authors complement eachother nicely. I am a fan of Berman and I think his choice to co-author with Hatch Wallace was wise. Highly recommeded for cutters or those interested in cutting from a psychological or educational perspective.

rick boyer is w/out a doubt an amazing author-but this book stands out from all his other books, it is truly a do not put down book!!!!!!!!!

Caroline Healey Dall's (1822-1912) diary, written over 75 years, encompasses 45 volumes and most of the prominent people and ideas - Transcendentalism, slavery, women's rights - of the 19th century. As editor, Helen Deese has focused on the years from 1838 to 1865, distilling Caroline's output into one volume, well annotated and footnoted with a general introduction and summary prefaces to each new section.

The late 1830s and 40s were heady times for a young, devout, affluent, intellectual Unitarian like Caroline. Most of Boston's elite were Unitarians and the Transcendentalist movement, with its rejection of hard-line Calvinism, was blossoming. By the age of 18 Caroline was hobnobbing with the likes of Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Peabody (sister to Nathaniel Hawthorne's new wife) at Peabody's bookshop. She knew Emerson and Theodore Parker, the Unitarian minister whose denial of Biblical miracles and the divinity of Jesus created a furor. Always ardent, Dall was swayed by Parker and passionate in her defense of him. The Transcendental idea of finding God in everyone and every natural thing had a profound effect on her whole life.

Her early years were sheltered by class and family, leaving Caroline free to pursue a life of the mind. She had a strong will and intellectual self-confidence to match, though these were frequently undercut by her demanding father, for whom her efforts were never enough, and her exasperated mother who found her domestic skills wanting. Fuller and Peabody, as well, were sometimes critical of her vocal participation in meetings of her elders. The reader will sometimes share their impatience, though her parents do seem rather cold and erratic.

But when Caroline entered her 20s circumstances changed drastically. At the beginning of 1843 she looks back on a tumultuous year: "I was an heiress, somewhat a blue [stocking] - flattered and caressed and with few anxieties save - for the characters of my brothers and sisters, the sufferings of the poor - and a heavy care of my own reputation."

Then her father, a merchant and speculator, went bankrupt, a younger brother died and the man she loved rejected her. Caroline became a schoolteacher in Georgetown, near Washington D.C. Unitarianism was suspect and slaves were ubiquitous. The diary takes on a deeper, more mature character over this difficult period. Although she stayed only a year, it was enough to change her laissez-faire attitude about slavery and to get her engaged to a likeminded, but weaker willed minister.

From this point Caroline's diary is increasingly intense. While her father's financial affairs improved, her relations with him deteriorated over her abolitionist writing and activity, which he feared would harm him in business. Her husband was often disturbed by her forward behavior and his own politics made it difficult for him to keep a post. Caroline grieved that he could not provide her the emotional support she provided him, and poverty, pregnancy, drudgery and emotional turmoil all took their toll.

Deeply ambitious, she was thwarted by gender, but was also a product of her times. "I desire to be a perfect housekeeper - but am always afraid lest in a higher love of better things, I should omit some necessary trifle. I would not add to the reproaches cast upon literary women...." Still, she read and wrote voraciously, publishing numerous articles (though she was mortified when she had to publish "for bread") on books, lectures, issues and ideas.

As the years passed, her convictions became tempered with experience and her moral view - particularly on marriage - became more complex. But she remained proud of her iron will and steadfastness. Discussing Margaret Fuller's autobiography, she reflected, "Margaret says, `the lasting evil was to learn to distrust my own heart.' I could never do that. Instant is the decision of my nature in a given case, and I have never once had occasion to revoke or dismiss it." And "When my husband first knew me, he used to say that I reminded him, of two passages of Scripture, `for judgment - am I come' - and ` he shall judge the quick and the dead -` so trenchant were my decisions, and so absolute my convictions."

Brilliant and rather Puritan, Caroline would not have been an easy person to live with. But her honesty and acute self-examination over the course of a difficult marriage make her absorbing and appealing. Personal passages - including a horrific birth, a long self-examination in comparison with Margaret Fuller, despair over relations with her parents and husband, wrestling with her feelings for another man - will capture the general reader.

Caroline always intended her diary to survive her and be read by others, if only her children. Indeed, at the end of her life she arranged to donate them to the Massachusetts Historical Society. But except for some self-consciousness in the earliest sections, it never reads as if there's an audience in mind. Some of it is so raw and painful, in fact, it's surprising she did not rip out more pages (she did remove some). But that's part of the honesty that makes her interesting and sympathetic.

Those interested in the political and social events of the time will find day-to-day mentions and interactions with most of the prominent politicians, literary and religious figures. Neither Caroline nor her editor explain much about the historical context of these interactions so those not already well-versed in 19th century history may find themselves googling some occasionally cryptic passages.

But Deese's notes are extensive. She identifies everyone and every work or speech alluded to. For historians, the diary is a treasure trove. For everyone else it's a moving and fascinating portrait of a lonely, passionate, idealistic and conflicted woman who was very much of her times.

--Portsmouth Herald

What was it like for the people who tended the lamps in lighthouses and guided ships to safety?

Thomas Knox was the son of a lighthouse keeper and had been in a lighthouse in Boston Harbor all his life. The colonists set fire to the lighthouse in 1775, to keep the British from getting it. The British repaired it, but when they left Boston, they burned it again! After the Revolution, the lighthouse was rebuilt on the same spot.

Lighthouses have been around since 280 BC, but Boston Light was the first lighthouse in America and eleven more eventually were added along the East Coast by 1776. Differences in colors and patterns helped ships navigators and captains to see where they were.

But a lighthouse keeper's life can be dangerous, when he has to climb outside the tower for repair work and rescue sailors. Lighthouse keepers were well paid, given a house, garden fire wood and opportunities to earn more as a harbor pilot. It took a special kind of person to do this job.

This book is filled with wonderful illustrations, contains a glossary and a website for more reading.

Recommended!

I was just looking for a quick mystery to read but got much more. Being from Boston I was intrigued by the setting of the book [Boston] and while reading it I enjoyed recognizing places I know well. Only someone who knows both the city and it's crime could write about it this accurately. I was also impressed with the easy humor that Johnny Barnes incorporates into the dialog. The dialog flows easily and naturally and some of the best laughs come at some of the tensest moments. [as all good laughs do!] Written before the much touted book MYSTIC RIVER, by Dennis Lehane,[another local boy] DEAD MEN TALK, has the same quality characters and real life setting. They both posess an ability to write from inside the different characters heads, not just the lead character. In my opionion this book [as stated on the back cover] could easily be translated into film.
I recently read an article about the author and it stated that he has completed a second book titled, SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD which continues the saga of lead character Jack Kelly. I will definetly read it. Johnny Barnes obviously is able to write and having been in police work for over 20 years adds all the authenticity one needs to write a good murder mystery. My only complaint was that it could have been longer because the characters were enjoyable. Hope there's lots more Jack Kelly to come!

The story opens with Asey trying to avoid one of cousin Jenny's friends until the woman shows up with a 22 rifle. Then he wants to know why. It's early 1940's war time, the women are organizing themselves into the Women's League to Defend America at all Costs with Action. Asey, of course, opposes the whole idea of women running around with firearms and tells them to return the assorted weapons that they've gathered. But then, he's shot at as he heads off to the Yacht Club and once there, he finds a woman guest has been poisoned. She'd called and wanted to talk to him too. He's off detecting with some help from a reporter and his pretty young illustrator AND the local housewives with their guns. They've decided he might be doing defense work and needs protection. Sometimes their efforts are rather ineffective, such as when one of these gals with a gun doesn't recognize him, but other times they prove to be a Godsend. There are bits here and there that are laugh out loud funny.
Everyone is obsessed with listening to the radio for war news, there's a second poisoning, but as always Asey manages to sort it all out and even relents about women bearing arms.
Not Atwood Taylor at her very best, but still an entertaining read.

As a first in the Merry Folger series, this book provided all the great elements of a classic mystery: developed characters, suspense & a puzzle to gnaw your teeth on. The death of Peter Mason's brother draws detective Merry Folger into a relationship with the bog owner, providing a touch of romance woven into the web of mystery. The characters are so well written, without being sentimental, that by the end of the book, you feel they live next door - you want to know what happens next in their lives. The mystery itself rates with the best of them, and the setting of Nantucket is so well written, you'll want to be on the next ferry - but not without someone watching your back!

as the Massachusetts ratification of the Constitution was pivotal as went the subsequent states deciding the issue. As it was, the Constitution was only ratified by 19 votes; but were it not for John Hancock's extreme vanity, and greed, it most likely would not have been ratified.

_Caveat_: As this is a reprint of the 1856 volume, it is not possible that it cites to the books listed on this page as being cited to. Who puts this database together?

This is a book detailing the entire history of a Boston neighborhood I lived in for 5 years ('89-'94). And...it's good! It's well-written, comprehensive, & thoroughly researched.

The point of the book was how the neighborhood rebounded after degenerating into one of the worst & most notorious housing projects in the country. Due to a few local businessmen dedicated to their home city & a team of local community leaders (strong-willed housewives & grandmothers, mainly), the neglected, miserable-looking brick buildings were eradicated (along with the tainted "Columbia Point" name) & smartly-designed townhouses & apartment complexes took their place. The key to it all was the fusing of considerable private funds (the local businessmen) with state & federal funds to create an attractive profit-generating mixed-income developement that would appeal to professionals while at the same time treating the poorer long-time residents as equal partners in community decisions. In addition, because of all the funding, the landscaping was greatly improved, a private security force was created, and amenities like tennis courts, a gym, & a pool were added. And as a result, Harbor Point WAS a decent place to live.

Brilliant!

Why can't ALL housing projects be redone like this?