Maine Books

I think all women should read this book and share it with others (family and children). Not only does Mr. Bach discuss how saving a little here and there can help with retirement, but he also gives women inspiration to live out (and especially to finance) their dreams. A wonderful book.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to become wealthy and this book details how easy it can be. If you're looking for glitz and glamour and "get rich quick" this isn't it. There's no such thing as an overnight success. Read David's book and get going on the road to wealth.

Love all his books - bought this, gave it someone and had to buy it again. It all depends what level you are on. Not too much non-common sense, but good for women to read.

I bought this book because I heard so many positive things about it. I am in my 50's, five years ago I went from having the wonderful life that all women dream of. I had the beautiful home in the suburbs, 2 beautiful children, friends, you name it I had it. Then I lost it all in the blink of an eye. I had relied on my husband to handle all the finances I couldn't tell you the balance in the check book. All I knew was he made the money and I spent it. Thank the Lord I was a RN, but I hadn't worked in quite a few years. I am not going to go into detail what happened but when I said I had nothing but the clothes on my back I mean just that. I have been working two jobs for the past five years making good money but I have NOTHING to show for it. By reading Suze book I was able to identify myself, it is so easy to understand that someone like myself with NO understanding of finance can take her suggestions and work them into my present life. It is going to take discipline on my part and learning to say NO to my children is going to be the hardest. But, I need to take care of myself. This book was just what I needed to read. I highlighted areas, I keep going back and re-reading certain sections. I keep it next to my bed. Buying this book was one of the best things I have done for myself.

Smart Women Finish Rich is a bit different from other financial books I've read. I have to admit I was surprised with how well David Bach addressed both the emotional and intellectual relationship women have with money. His grandmother taught him well.

I am going to say that Smart Women Finish Rich is more for a financial beginner than a woman with financial savvy. It's a well thought out system of gaining and keeping control of your financial self-sufficiency. Bach has filled this book with definitions, resources, quizzes, systems, exercises and tables. I was impressed and give it a must read if you're serious about becoming more financially organized.

David Bach addresses both the heart and the head in Smart Women Finish Rich. He used the lessons he learned from his grandmother, and his mother, as inspiration. After growing up with two such powerful role models, he was surprised by the number of financially uniformed women. Many of the women who came to him for financial advice, had no clue about building financial security.

Smart Women Finish Rich is easy to understand. I read it and "got it." This is a "how to" book that involves a commitment on your part to read, work and put the assignments and lessons into daily practice. Bach has carefully given us valuable financial keys, now it's up to us to follow through.

What you'll get out of this book is going to depend on what you're willing to put into it. It's a book that has the potential to give you a great foundation for financial self-sufficiency.

Here are some of the areas I found particularly useful:

1.The first exercise, "Financial Knowledge Quiz" is a great practical place to start. I found it to be thoughtful and quite an eye-opener. I learned about how well (and sometimes not so well) I understood the role money played in my life.

2. David Bach is adamant about pinpointing the reason money is important to you. To find this out, you'll need to examine your money values and ask yourself if your financial behavior matches those values. He provides a simple but thoughtful exercise called the "Values Ladder."

3. Smart Women Finish Rich is a great blend of exercises, systems, quizzes and practical "real world" information. For example, the "Finish Rich File Folder System" is a simple, easy-to-follow and yet an organizational time saver.

I definitely give Smart Women Finish Rich five stars! If you're ready and serious about getting your financial house and monetary priorities in order, this is the book for you!

Any true spiritual seeker cannot afford to pass this book up. Ironically, it's impossible to convey in words what it contains and why it is so valuable. It's left to each of us to find the way. Highly recommended, but bear in mind that it isn't "easy."

The book fascinated me, changed the way I considered things,made me think enlightment was really at hand. Three years later, I have changed my mind about it. The discerment and rethoric Nisargadat are just impressive, perhaps underrated in todays philosophic and spiritual world.
However, I must say it's up to the reader to believe if this is the real path to enlightment. I won't say here what I believe. The book is a jewell of the advaita philosophy. I don't remember skipping pages or being bored in the 400 or more pages this book has.
Recommendable investment.

Are you awake? wondering why the old "ego entity" is still causing trouble? "I Am That" is probably the best medicine you can take during the "relative" process of unfolding. What a gem! Boy am I sorry I missed meeting this guy!

I have a library of hundreds of spiritual books, representing every major religious and mystical tradition.

Few possess the clarity, the startling immediacy, the actual life-altering power of this volume.

If there is such a thing as a holy book, here is one.

What more can be said?

I purchased my first copy of this book 25 years ago, have purchased or read hundreds since and never found any writing more essential to Self-realization than I Am That. Every mind blowing word comes from a simple man who had never received a formal education beyond primary learning. His photo alone will send you into the mystery.

Nisargadatta's teaching is simple and radical. Give every spare second of your free time to being conscious to the only fact you know...I Am. What is that? Look, intuit, be still and realize. Stay with what you truly know and be this awareness always. I am not aware of any spiritual teacher who has offered more truth than this book contains in its 110 dialogues with students. Yet, as Nisargadatta says himself, "A quiet mind is all you need..." Our freedom is realized within and as our own Self. Nisargadatta points where we must BE. Anyone who takes up his advice as their own contemplation can realize the Absolute Self. This book is never the same in any reading and it nourishes the true in you. It flows like water that's headed home to the ocean. Jump in and let the current have you. I Am That is a timeless classic. Don't just read it, live it and be happy.

Sundance Burke, Author Free Spirit: A Guide to Enlightened Being

What a wonderfully heartfelt story. After meeting & talking with Melinda at an author event recently, her novel took on even more depth & stimulated lots of conversation amongst the attendees. A MUST-READ for new parents......just to let them know - we're ALL in the same boat raising our children!! Peace.

What a wonderful book....you will enjoy it from page one and not put it down. An exceptional look at true friendship and everyday life, and the power of laughter.
You won't be disappointed. Enjoy.

this book was so fun to read! I could relate to so many parts of the story. Our whole book club loved it!

Not especially well written but story was very good. Easy read over weekend and the message it left me with was a great motivator to return to journaling and the value it becomes for others in years and generations to come. Very warm story, reminds us of the importance of friends and family in our lives.

This book is wonderful. after reading it I recomended it to my book club and many members have called me in in tears or laughter , just enjoying every chapter. i think its a must read for mothers at any age. The book has made me cherish my friends and grow my friendships deeper. The author writes in a way that makes you relate to every situation but the book is not predictiable. I loved the book !!!

This is destined to become a favorite story. It has the elements that make kids come back: happy endings, mystery & discovery, and love. The illustrations--done in oil--truly enhance the beauty of the book. This is a beautiful story that explains adoption without hitting the child over the head with the concept like many other books do. The narrative style allows the reader to embrace the idea, and not walk away saying "but that's not how I was adopted." Instead, you enjoy its uniqueness, sense the joy of Seaborne's arrival, and share in the excitement of the baby soon to arrive.

The Sea Chest is about an only child named Maita and her father, a light housekeeper. One night they face a terrible storm together. The next morning father and daughter find a sea chest washed up on the beach. Inside the sea chest they find an infant girl. The family adopts the child and the story goes on to tell how the two girls become inseparable and grow up together. Towards the end we discover that Maita is an old woman telling the story to her niece as they wait for the niece's newly adopted sister to arrive. As always Grandpre's illustrations are radiant and add new levels of intimacy to the story.

Preston McClear, ...

I recently sat down to read this to my daughter thinking it was just another children's book. Boy was I wrong! I could barely finish it, as I was all choked up. An amazing story, beautifully told.

Based on a legend, this book is very touching. Children are thoroughly engaged in this book whether they are reading it on their own or having it read to them. It is superbly illustrated which enhances the book. Children can easily connect with the emotions in the text. I like the lessons it teaches children about love, caring, and family. I bought this book to use a s a read aloud in my classroom this year. It will be one I will return to each year. This book was recommended to me at a teaching conference and I am happy I made the purchase. Definitely try this one.

Whenever we read this book my kids always ask 'Mommy, why are you crying?' It's a beautiful, touching tale about family, love, and adoption. I bought it because my family was formed through adoption, like the little girl's in the book, but I think this book could be appreciated by anyone. The pictures are gorgeous, the themes of the sea, the chest, and love carried throughout, and the writing is excellent.

If you are an adoptive parent this is a must-have for your child's library, particularly if, like the family in the book, your child comes from "so far across the wide Atlantic."

Sam is a basketball hero. He is from a small Maine town, and he dominates his high school team. After winning the championship, he makes a statement that the next year it will be not only the boys' team but also the girls' team bringing home a trophy. It is a bold statement, although the girls' team is also very good, but Sam is determined to make it a reality.

The key element in Sam's plan is Deanie, most often called The Mutant by the student body. She shaves her head, has tattoos, and wears chains through the rings in her face. Despite her weird appearance and antisocial behavior, Deanie is a powerhouse on the basketball court and pushes her team to win.

Sam finds himself intrigued by Deanie, especially by the fact that she seems to hate his guts and repels any advances by him. He continues to try to find ways to become her friend.

When Deanie does start to let Sam into her life, though, he finds himself horrified by what he sees. He begins to wonder if his affection and attention will be enough to pull her out of her bad situation.

I liked Sam's family. They were down-to-earth and very solid, despite their problems. I also liked seeing Deanie's evolution from the beginning of the book to the end, when she had things much more together.

It was hard for me to understand, though, why Sam was so attracted to Deanie and why he continued to pursue her after she continually repelled his advances. It's hard to believe any high-school boy would be that persistent in the face of so much rejection.

"One on One" tells the coming-of-age story of two unique teens. Sam Styles is a popular basketball captain, aiming for the championships, who also has his own unpopular ethical code amongst his peers. Deenie Gauthier is a "townie" who is also a basketball star, but whose poverty and attitude have made her an outsider. Sam becomes intrigued by her, and they begin a mercurial relationship which eventually becomes sexual. The contrast between Sam's close-knit family is made more poignant when compared to Deanie's abusive homelife. But Sam has his own scars, and though the two are made for each other, their union will not be an easy one.

Only two things bothered me. Every few pages we get yet another description of Deanie's appearance. The reader "gets" that she's unusual looking but still beautiful without her skin being compared to a narcissus petal or fine wood constantly. If the reader doesn't like the character or feel sympathy, they'd have put the book down by now. The other was that there were an excessive amount of sex scenes. I'm not a prude, but it got a bit tiresome; there are only so many ways you can describe certain sexual acts that teens perform. I would rather have had more basketball scenes - and I'm not a jock.

Please buy this book!!! I can think of no other way to get Tabitha King to write a second piece to this tale. I am a big reader and love series books. After reading all of Jennifer Weiner's books last month I was looking for someone else, on her website or a fansite of Jennifer's it mentioned Pearl. I went to the library and picked up a copy. Read it immediately and loved it instantly. I told my husband that Tabitha King writes like her husband, always leaving you with wanting more. I went to the trusty WWW and found that there was a whole series to be read and I happened upon them in the middle with Pearl. After work I was at the library picking up the remainder of the series. I didn't read them in order, you don't have to, they work well independently. One on One was the last for me to pick up. I read it in no time and lost much sleep because of it. I took it to work with me and was HAPPY to be in a 1 hour traffic jam so I could have more time to read it. I was captivated by Sam and Deanie, and hungry to know more about Pearl and Reuben. I did something I have never done. I did't put it down. Upon finishing it I started back on the first page again. She writes sex scenes like they should be written, raw, real, and not perfect. I want more from her...that is why you have to buy this book. Hopefully she will see there is a surge in her sales and decide to feed her fans with MORE. I am just upset I didn't know her work until now. She is just amazing. Buy it.

I'm a novelist myself, and began reading Stephen King at the age of ten. About seven years ago, I was browsing through the S. Kings at the library looking for something that I hadn't read fifteen times when I ran across One on One completely by accident. Because the particular S. King that I was looking for wasn't on the shelf, I decided to "broaden my horizons" and take it for a "test drive," and what a decision that was! I couldn't put it down - I read it cover to cover twice, then bought my own copy. I've since ventured into Tabby's other offerings and they're equally wonderful, but One on One will always be my favorite read - and my favorite inspiration.

Tabitha King has a wonderful talent with bending the written word in such a way that it captivates the reader to the point of not being able to put the book down until the very last page. Unfortunately, though I am a great fan of Stephen King, Tabitha gets very little of the spotlight and I am disappointed that none of her books are available to buy as new books.

My 8 year old thought it was old and boring but he did seem interested in a few parts of the story. Probably a little outdated for kids these days but I loved it. It was the kind of story I would read when I was little, but I am going on 50.

This is a very long, very wordy book. It's not suitable for last minute bedtimes, nor for toddlers.

It's very suitable for kids in the older end of the 4-8 range, or littler kids with a good attention span, though.

Not much happens in the story - girl loses a tooth, gets her wish of ice cream, has clam chowder for lunch - which is just the way real life works. It's so well-written that you don't even *notice* that the story moves slowly, you might as well be talking about your own life.

I really sound like I'm criticizing, but I'm not. All the points I'm mentioning actually make it a good book. Really :) Definitely don't pass this classic book by.

This has to be one of my favorites and no child should be without it. The text is lively and easy to read and reads like people really talk, which gives the story a lot of warmth. The illustrations are beautifully drawn with lots of detail and humor and also look true to life, from the pained expression on the dad's face as he's rowing the boat, to sister Jane peeking from the top of the stairs or chasing the cat under the bench in Mr. Condon's store. Jane is depicted just as most children her age really are - a real livewire who is both curious and active, climbing and getting into things - she reminds me of my 16 month old daughter! And Sal is accurately portrayed as a typical preschooler - asking detailed questions about everything and talking up a storm.

You won't be disappointed. This classic is a must for any preschooler.

This book is a beautiful picture book, and I still enjoy looking at it. The pictures are gorgeous. And this isn't a cheesy book. It's a wonderful story for children, and I highly recommend it! Buy it. You won't be disappointed.

To a child, every morning is a new start with infinite possibilities; at least that's how it should be. In this classic 1953 book Robert McCloskey brings a child's simple world to life. McCloskey, better known for his Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal, gives us another look at little Sal. The story is timeless and his line drawings bring the children to life.

The simple coastal lifestyle of more than half a century ago may be hard to find today, in part because of the high local tax valuation of shore and island properties. Still, if you were to take a child to the rocky coast of Maine this summer, she could be little Sal in the clam flats. One Morning in Maine (Picture Puffin) is full of that magical atmosphere where the land and ocean meet. We all want that magic!

McCloskey's Caldecott-honored book tells a simple story. Young Sal wakes up on a sunny morning in Maine with an adventure in store. She and her little sister are going with their father in the boat to Buck's Harbor to dig clams. There are idyllic family scenes, lessons from their father about the world around them, ice cream cones at the store, and the disappointment of a loose tooth lost in the clam flats.

Simple stuff? It certainly is, and just the sort of simple stuff children thrive on. Sal's morning may be long ago and far away, but the curiosity and wonder of a child's new day will be with us forever.

Linda Bulger, 2008

I've read this book at least 'more than' 15 times. I don't
know where I got it, as a birthday gift, I believe, but wherever,
I took to it as I have to few books in my life. I was unathletic
as a kid, though not as smart as the fictional Herbie, so that
helps. The book is dated, though not in a bad way, one can say
it just increased its attractiveness as a historic reference. Hard to
say how much Mr. Wouk is recalling his own childhood, but one can tell
he loves the characters, and it shows.

This is one of Herman Wouk's first books, if not his first. It is a wonderful story of a young man's growth in New York City. A perfect book for readers looking to introduce themselves to the novel; easy to read; a story of young love and of facing the universal emotional problems of youth.

This book reminded me quite a bit of the trite wisdom and stereotypes we see so often portrayed on modern family sitcoms and in fortune cookies...bullies never win, bad people always get whats coming to them, a kid who is smart enough can outsmart a whole group of teachers, love conquers all embarrassment and humiliation, rich girls are fickle snobs, the smartest kids are fat and/or ugly, and the best athletes never do well in school (and many, many more). None of which is true in the real world.

Yet, in this book, these very traits are exaggerated JUST enough to very colorfully and accurately display the vivid emotions of 11 year old Herbie just coming of age in 1920s New York, which makes the whole story a very entertaining read. What appeals most is Herbie's highly developed imagination, which brings him great trouble in his passion for Lucille, the horribly obnoxious girl who as soon snobbishly deserts him when he shows the slightest flaw as fawns over him when he shows outwardly just how wonderful his inner qualities can be.

But the same imagination also brings him great reward, leading him on a life-changing adventure with is average cousin Cliff, the final result of which wins the admiration not only of Lucille but of the entire summer camp (save for bully Lennie who has to wear a nurses dress and the unscrupulous smarmy camp owner/school principal Mr. Gauss). And, upon his return home from camp, an important moral lesson from his father.

Interspersed with this are hilarious moments, most especially with Clever Sam the perverse horse and the whole "Camper's Day" scenario.

A read I highly recommend!

At a loss for something to read, I picked this book at random - and then read it in three days flat! So nearly one of the best books I have read, it's full of true-to-life characters, plenty of touching moments and a lot of laugh-out-loud ones too.

The main character is obviously Herbie Bookbinder, an eleven year old growing up in the Bronx in the early 20th century. He is a fat but very intelligent boy, so intelligent he skips a year in school. However his main flaw in the book is that he falls hopelessly in love with a girl, Lucille Glass, a love so intense that he is led to do some truly extraordinary things. The intensely passionate feelings he has for this girl are to me what makes the character of Herbie so real.

The main event of the book is Herbie, his cousin Cliff, his arch-enemy Lennie and Lucille (among others) going to a summer camp, Camp Manitou. This turns out to be a fairly prison-like establishment, but dissent is kept to a minimum by shrewd calculation on the part of the camp owner, Mr. Gauss.

With Mr. Gauss, Herman Wouk has made into a person all those unpleasant characteristics we encounter in everyday life - greed, cunning, false charm and many more. He feeds the children ice cream on the first night, to dull their unhappiness at the dismal nature of the camp, and when the camp is defeated at games with another camp, Mr. Gauss manages, somehow, to inculcate a feeling that in fact Manitou won a great victory. As the final outrage Mr. Gauss effectively steals money from the naive Herbie.

The climax of the book comes with the confession of Herbie stealing from his father. It is very noticeable that the book gets a lot more serious towards the end, but it is never overly serious, and the warmth of it still shines through.

There are a lot of extremely funny moments, mostly involving a horse by the name of Clever Sam, and Wouk's dry humour at these points really had me laughing out loud.

The only thing that spoiled the book for me was the very end. Here it seems that Herbie and Lucille are finally going to realise their love for each other and perhaps share a truly romantic moment which has eluded them for so long - but instead the book ends with an extremely ambiguous encounter with an older boy whom Lucille seems to like. Even though this ending was obviously meant to be ambiguous in this way, I found it unsatisfying given all that Herbie and Lucille have gone through before. I really wanted to know for sure if they would ever get together.

Still, if anything this shows what real and sympathetic characters Wouk has created, and this small point did not seriously affect my view of the book as a whole. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing read, and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone!

Set in the Bronx in 1928, this Herman Wouk novel (his second) is all about Herbie Bookbinder and his experiences growing up during that time period. The scenes are warm and humorous, and move from one to another like the episodes in a good situation comedy. Two of my favorite funny scenes from the many to choose from are when Herbie and his friends are trying to get home on the subway and they don't have the nickel to ride, sneak on, get caught, and promise to send the nickel to the subway authority the next day (which they do); and the school play about the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, which has too many hilarious components to summarize. The writing is light and breezy, yet very assured, and Wouk keeps himself out of it so it doesn't come across as nostalgia in the form of a novel. It's an interesting book about growing up and childhood experiences, and deserves a place on the shelf next to TOM SAWYER and the stories of Jean Shepard.

I think the book should be titled "Mildred Gillars". The "Axis Sally" period, although the most notorious part of her life was relatively short. Mildred Gillars life took so many turns I found it difficult to put the book down. The story is a real page turner. I applaud the author Fuller for doing an outstanding job of writing and organizing the story. The book should be made into a movie.

I must admit when I purchased the book I was expecting a bland biography of Mildred "Axis Sally" Gillars, but my curiosity of this person was strong. For years, the media likened the deeds of various women to Axis Sally without an explanation of her. Who was she? What did she do? M. Williams Fuller tells us by going beyond the limits of a biography and breathing life into the story with dialogue, and what a wild story it is.

I just finished reading Axis Sally and as often happened when reading a good book; I wanted the writer to go on. I'm sure the remaining part of Mildred Gillars life was a story in itself that someday will be told. .

Fascinating, entertaining, historical, thought provoking, all the above plus. This is a totally well rounded story of a woman unwilling to be satisfied with a mundane status quo life. The author had me laughing, crying and wondering all the while what next? My criticism is that I found it difficult to stop reading and get on with my work. I was constantly tempted to turn just one more page

Reading Axis Sally, I am amazed at the ability of the author to revive the era and quickly get into the person of Mildred Gillers as she is entering Hunter College as awkward freshman in the fall of 1925. At first, I felt a kinship to Mildred Gillars and her desire to exceed her ordinary birth given fate. As she proceeded to make choices to achieve recognition, I wanted to caution her as to the ramifications of the directions she was taking, but of then, I am only the reader. In the end, the recognition she received far exceeded her wildest expectations or nightmares. It is a magnetizing, story of one of the most notorious women of the 20th century. The author does an outstanding job of bring the people, the times and the events to life.

I just finished reading this book to my Nursing home residents. They were rapt in attention as we read the final two chapters quickly realizing this was not a "normal" Christmas tale. The ending is lovely, and considering WHEN it was written... true at this date.
A wonderful read for old and young alike....The tale will help you send your dreams to others for the holidays.

My interest in Richard Preston goes back to "The Hot Zone" and recently I was thinking about him and wondering if he had written any new books. I found this book listed in the card catalog and picked the worn out book from the stack and took it home to read. Like many of the lessons from God, this one was apparent only when I opened my heart to it and looked for the hidden message. If you are reading this review, then something has guided you to this book, and it will contain a lesson you are supposed to discover.

The Boat of Dreams by Richard Preston is a heart-warming tale of hope and love, which was originally written for his friend who was dying of breast cancer. This is a wonderful story to share with the entire family, especially during the holidays.

Preston brings Santa to life in a very `realistic" way, much to both the horror and delight of thirteen-year-old Will and his six-year-old sister, Lila. "Santa" teaches Will and Lila to dream their biggest dreams, allowing their love to flow for everyone, as they transverse the world on Christmas Eve in their departed father's beloved lobster boat. Magic and miracles are in the air as Will and Lila have the adventure of their life on this unforgettable night. They learn that things are not what they seem and that love does indeed create miracles.

This Christmas tale will fill one with hope and love, with several chuckles along the way and will leave the reader with a warm spot in his or her heart along with a tear or two!

I heartily recommend this book!

The Boat of Dreams is a simple Christmas tale of a brother and sister in 1969 whose dad is missing-in-action in Vietnam. Their mother works day and night to support them and sitting next to their trailer home is a shiny, beautiful boat, the Sarah Ann named after their mother - their dad's pride and joy. Not surprisingly, the children are saddened and angry by the apparent loss of their father.

In steps Santa Claus - an unkempt Santa Claus that reminds me of the sometimes drunk uncle played by Jim Belushi or Randy Quaid. Santa turns the Sarah Ann into a magical flying boat and takes the children on an adventure to brighten their spirits.

At times this book is fun; mostly during the interactions between the boy - getting to that defiant age - and his younger sister that he protects. But, unfortunately, it is also a bit predictable; especially, the ended - which I won't give away.

I bought this book when it was $15.00 - reasonable for a small, seasonal hardcover book, but now it appears to gone up to $27.00 for the 2006 Christmas season; what a shame - that is too much for such a thin book.

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A Guide to my Book Rating System:

1 star = The wood pulp would have been better utilized as toilet paper.
2 stars = Don't bother, clean your bathroom instead.
3 stars = Wasn't a waste of time, but it was time wasted.
4 stars = Good book, but not life altering.
5 stars = This book changed my world in at least some small way.

Contrary to other opinions posted here, which appear to me as flavors of a press release, not a very good book. An attempt to interleave fictional characters with everyday reality to construe an inspirational teaching fails because the foundation is not developed or more often because it is established on arbitrary sentimental perspectives. This book is a conglomeration of possessive infantile clichés that are prevalent throughout mass media in present day society.

I read "Cache Lake Country" in 1968. I was delighted to find it in print again...like meeting an old friend.
Thank you.

I have read a lot of outdoor books over the last 40 years, and this is one of the best. I am going to research the author, John J. Rowlands, because he was obviously a fascinating man who lead a very interesting life. This book tells about 12 months living in a cabin on a lake in Northern Onatario. At the time Rowlands was working as a timber cruiser, evaluating forests for use as lumber. He happened upon his ideal lake and was lucky enough to get stationed there by his company. He was also very lucky to have two great friends living within miles (within signaling distance via the various drums, horns etc. they engineered), on other little lakes. Together the three lived every outdoor boy's dream life of independence and adventure. This book has stuff about canoes, wild animals, sled dogs, snowshoes, knives, axes, the history of the lumber camps, and many boy-scout like craft projects. I just wish it was a lot longer.

A good book but I didn't think it was as easy to read as friends lead me to believe. A tremendous amount of reference material, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I found the book enlightening and informative. Thank you for the opportunity to enjoy and learn from this book.

I'm going to be a little less enthusiastic, but only a little, than some of the other reviewers here. I really did like this book, but for some reason it just didn't quite pull me into the time, place, space the way it did some others- although it didn't miss by much.

This is a very unique book-probably reminding me of my old Boy Scout Fieldbook (a little more detailed and survival-oriented than the handbook) more than a typical non-fiction work. The illustrations are great as well as occasionally light-hearted, and if you are at all handy or have an engineering or for that matter, culinary bent, you will find plenty of recipes and blueprints for food, tools, gadgets- even crystal radio sets or birch bark canoes. While some of these you'd probably have to find some supplemental information to make, most come so well described and diagrammed that you could probably build them or bake them directly from the book.

For me the best part is the author's midwest and at times almost cowboy way of describing life. His time around rough loggers in the days when horses and two man saws were still the order of the day especially captured my imagination. Like many readers, I'm a lot hermit, and the thought of life in a cabin in the north woods with nothing but snow, bear, moose, and wind has a certain charm, and I'm grateful to Rowlands for giving enough of a story to enjoy a bit of that charm vicariously. An excellent and unique book, and for some it will probably become a treasured possession.