Maine Books

The above review is misplaced and was meant to be a review
for another publication of this author's entitled:
Peter Mills of Windsor, Connecticut.

Helen Ullmann is an experienced genealogist and author. Her research and resources are impeccable. Having several of this author's publications, I'm always assured of accuracy of information. This book is most interesting historical review of northern New England and the life and times of that era.

This book is an excellent guide to birding in Maine. You are given directions to all the great birding sites, plus a list of birds you should see there. I am enjoying the book and have used it on several occasions.

This is the best regional bird guide I have ever read. Not only is it indispensable for birders, but its a great guide for anyone who wants to find new places to explore. It is everything you would want in a birding guide.

I picked up this little book of poems not knowing what I was going to find, although I was aware of Lucy Day's skill with language and form, and I knew, too, that she was a scientist. I was unprepared, however, for being drawn so quickly into the poems and wanting to read and re-read the book at each sitting. Her lines are quotable in part because of her concise language and in part because they tickle the mind with their skewed questions and seemingly knock-off answers, as if she were talking to us over a Sunday lunch. She begins each answer with a somewhat scientific premise, always with vivid imagery, and then turns it deftly--a dance of imagination, wit, and language--to a spoof of scientific answer (or some such), and then she floats the answer to the ground with a personal, human-relationship reference. The poems speak to "you," true to the dialogue implied with each title's question and each body-of-the-poem answer.

One of the first things that struck me about The Book of Answers was the title question of each poem. This is the only chapbook I've read where one can spend an entire day ruminating on the contents page, which contains a number of delightfully illogical inquiries. Day's background in zoology infuses many of these pieces. "A dolphin sleeps with half its brain:/ one side swims in a dream/ while the other's wide awake/," she tells us in one piece that I particularly admire. But it is the love poems in this collection, with their fusion of sensuous language and images from the natural world, that I find the most touching.

I have wanted to make my own snowshoes since I was 14 years old but did not know how. I stumbled upon this book about a year ago and knew this is what I was looking for. I have read it several times and am in the process of building my steam box. This is the best, and as far as I can tell, only book on how to build snowshoe. It is extremely clear on the lacing and frame building proceedures. Thanks Gil!

Having misspent a great deal of time in the outdoors from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Alaska Range, I've wanted a quality pair of snowshoes for some time - and let's face it: plastic just doesn't cut it for serious outdoors gear, and neither do the mass-produced snowshoes meant to be hung over the fireplace - if you want good gear, build it yourself! This book is a detailed shop guide to building a pair of snowshoes that will beat anything you can buy. The directions are clear and well illustrated, and perhaps best of all the auther doesn't assume that you're a master woodworker with a complete shop at your disposal. There are several other books on how to build snowshoes (I have several of them), but my advice is don't waste your time looking for them - get this book first and use the time you saved to build a pair of snowshoes!

This is a book for people who listen when Katahdin calls and you answer by visiting, camping or living near this majestic mountain! A great read and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!

In 1947, when Ed Werler and his wife Mary Jane, along with their two dogs, Pepper and Mickey, arrived in Maine from Connecticut, they knew that this is where they wanted to be.
Although his goal was to own or operate a sporting camp in Maine, he took a job as a fire tower watchman on Daicey Mountain so that he could be closer to the area he wanted to live in.

As it turned out, he never did own a sporting camp, and it was years before he got the chance to operate one, and that was for only one season.

While the reality differed somewhat from the dream, as often happens, Ed was able to raise his family in one of the most beautiful places on the planet - the Katahdin area of Maine.

The Call of Katahdin: Life in Werler's Woods is the story of the almost thirteen years that Ed and MJ Werler were to spend in this area, from 1947 to 1960, when he accepted a position as Park Manager at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth and moved south.

Told in a simple, clear and compelling story-telling manner, Werler's account is a 176 page chronicle of his life here, from his summers on Daicey Mountain, his winters in Stacyville, and his move from Daicey Mountain to the park service as a Park Ranger for Baxter State Park, including a move to Smith Pond in the fall of 1956.

His stories of Katahdin area places and people who he had come to know, his record of a simpler but harder time, and his tales of the North Woods in general should appeal to anyone.

As a student of history, I loved it. As someone who may have been born and raised in the Katahdin area, perhaps even related to some of the characters contained in this book, I think you'll enjoy it.

borrowing from the other review, I'm biased as well. ok..he was my grandfather too. Anyway, this is a fantastic book that brings me back to when we grandchildren all tried to fit on the dumb-waiter to go from the first floor to the basement. I suppose that this is not particularly helpful to the objective peruser, but I can tell you that this book is filled with love and anecdotes that are not reserved to one family, but to a love of food and to a love of life. You can't go wrong. Drop a couple of bucks and get a look into a great man's life, family and mind.

I got this book as a gift from the first printing...you see, Lawson Aldrich was my grandfather. I re-read the book recently, however, and found that not only are the recipes sound, but the stories within are priceless as well; I believe that someone not of my family can enjoy the creation of good food contained in the book, and the exquisite tales too. (And darn if I didn't get some of those creative food skills from you grampa...we miss you)

John J. Pullen, in his seminal work "The Twentieth Maine" describes Ellis Spear as a determined man with a dry sense of humor, the kind to "take the convervative view of men and events." Ellis Spear, a schoolteacher prior to the war, joined the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a lieutenant in 1862. He would over the course of the Civil War rise to the commissioned rank of Colonel and the brevet rank of Brigadier General, a remarkable performance for a man with no prior military training. His duties with the 20th Maine would take him everywhere the Union Army of the Potomac traveled from late 1862 through Appomattox in 1865. As a Major, Spear was often the day-to-day commander of the 20th after August 1863.

The 20th Maine is rather more famous than most volunteer regiments, thanks to its heroic fight on Little Round Top on the second day of the Battle of Gettyburg, a stand dramatized by Jeff Shaara in the novel "Killer Angels" and in the movie "Gettysburg." Spear's recollection of that day varies in the details from the traditional account presented by Pullen but this probably says more about how confusing a battle can be, especially when recollected thirty or forty years later, than about any real contradition in facts.

"Recollections" actually has three parts: Spear's notes jotted down during the war itself; a first attempt at writing them up in narrative form around 1896, and a more finished attempt undertaken sometime after 1900. The post-1900 attempt is the most readable, and is presented first. It should be read in close conjunction with the end notes to understand the context in which Spear was writing. A comparison with the other versions provides an interesting lesson in historiography.

Spear's recollections document the life of the regiment in camp and on campaign. He details the challenges posed by the weather, the terrain, the poor food, the often indifferent leadership, and the Confederates themselves. Spear writes in a matter-of-fact manner, interspersed with the kind of understated dry humor well-known to those who have lived in Down East Maine. His story is a remarkable tribute to the toughness of Civil War volunteers, who soldiered under sometimes appallingly bad conditions with grumpy good humor and perseverence. Spear comes across in this narrative as a dedicated, common sense officer who conscientiously carries out his duties. Spear's gift for observation captures, among other events, some excellent vignettes of the temporary truces established by opposing picket lines, the sometimes strange persistence of good manners in the midst of war, and the inherent brutality of combat.

This book is highly recommended to students of the Civil War and to casual readers looking for a sense of the times.

Publishing this book was a life long dream of my father-in-law, Abbott Spear. He spent much of his life working to make it a reality and unfortunately, he passed away shortly before it was released. The book should be read by those interested in a first hand view of the civil war as seen through the eyes of an ordinary man (2nd in command under Chamberlain). It provides great insight into what daily life was like during the war. I found this book to be extremely moving...it made me proud of as well as grateful to those that lived through conditions most of us could never even imagine.

Catherine Schmitt is a thoughtful and talented writer. Her portrait of the Gulf of Maine, its flora and fauna, is evocative and enlightening. I highly recommend this book.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. It provides the reader with a wealth and variety of information about the natural history of the area interspersed with brief snippets of information about specific persons of interest, sometimes quotes and/or poems. All this information is presented in a diary, or almanac, form, with each day describing a specific event, sometimes historical, sometimes a natural occurrence (such as a description of the "strawberry moon", which is the full moon for June, close to strawberry time, this year on June 18.) Other "topics" include timely descriptions of the return of swallowtail butterflies and various migrating birds, "behaviors" of periwinkles, seaglass, etc. I look forward each day to reading the item of the day and have so far learned something at each reading. This book is a "must have" for anyone who loves the northeast coast in all its seasons.

John R. Walsh and Thomas Bradley are a pair of expert history and religion teachers. They draw upon their considerable expertise in A History Of The Irish Church 400-700 AD, offering the reader a straightforward overview of the 300 year time span that characterized a true golden age in Irish art and an era when Ireland earned its lasting and justifiable reputation as a land of saints and scholars. A deftly researched study, narrated in a style as completely accessible to non-specialist general readers as it is to history scholars, A History Of The Irish Church 400-700 AD is a welcome and recommended addition to Irish History and Christian Historical Studies supplemental reading lists and library reference collections.

There have, over the past several years, been many texts highlighting the unique contribution of the Irish church to the preservation of the church, culture, and general literacy and administrative strength to Western civilisation. This book by John Walsh and Thomas Bradley fits well in this genre, exploring the history of the Irish church from the years 400-700, roughly corresponding to the time period from the fall of Rome to the beginnings of medievalism in Europe.

During this period, Ireland was saved much of the trouble caused during the general collapse of the Roman Imperial establishment and way of life across Western Europe, as such Imperium had never been established in Ireland. Even the Christianity that was brought over assumed a different character pastorally, academically and liturgically from its British and Continental sources. Walsh and Bradley begin with a brief chapter on Christianity prior to the advent of Patrick, and then devote three chapters to looking at Patrick, the great apostle to the Irish, in terms of who he was, his mission and its setting, and the Church at Armagh.

Following this, Walsh and Bradley look at Irish monasticism, its origins in France and Britain, and the way in which monastic structures came to rival the more traditional diocesan pattern of church authority and administration. Different theories are advanced, including the possibility of plague and the fact that Ireland lacked the secular Diocletian-instituted settings of administration the Continental church co-opted. Walsh and Bradley also look at the character of Irish monastic life liturgically, architecturally, administratively, and from a day-to-day living basis. Many leading Irish thinkers and saints came from the monastic tradition, and many of these leaders are highlighted.

Of particular note for Walsh and Bradley are Colum Cille, an Irish monastic who worked in Britain, and Columba, who saw as his mission field the areas of Continental Europe. Colum Cille was the first great Irish missionary abroad. Colum Cille might have had royal positions had he not turned his attention to the church instead. His upper-class connections likewise might have provided a respectability for the church among the royal and aristocratic classes, and ultimately providing it with an authority beyond simple moral authority. Colum Cille continued as a monastic to be involved in secular affairs, perhaps even being the cause of battles and strife such that he was driven into exile, where he established the community at Iona, famous to this day, and mother monastery to other famous places, such as Kells.

Columba is a very accessible person, having been a prolific writer who established communities and schools with libraries across the continent. Columba's missions took him all across Gaul, and into Italy and Germanic territories. His influence went even further afield, as did that of Irish monasticism generally, as people from Britain and the Continent decided to be trained and educated in the monasteries in Ireland, and then return to their homes with such influence as would be gained there.

Walsh and Bradley conclude by exploring issues such as the Easter-dating controversy and the wider issues it raised for local autonomy and diversity over against central authority and uniformity of practice, and by looking at the unique character and qualities of Celtic art as expressed through Irish Christian artists. Celtic crosses and illuminated manuscripts are but a few of the magnificent productions of this period.

Overall, this is a well-written and engaging book, meant for the casual reader as well as the general scholar. It includes a few endnotes with each chapter, and a bibliography arranged with general titles as well as resources specific to each chapter and topic covered. There are several basic but useful maps highlighting locations in Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe of monasteries, missions, and other important landmarks.

Columba Press (name for St. Columba, 'the dove of the church') is a growing press based in Ireland, begun in 1985 with three titles relating to religious and spiritual themes. Since then, they have grown substantially and now publish across a broad range of areas, including pastoral resources, spirituality, theology, the arts, and history. With over 200 books in print, they add another 30 or so each year. Additionally, they are the British/Irish/European distributors for many other titles in the same fields.

This is a book I read and return to, its poems like pearls, crafted and luminous. Walton's resonant voice recalls at times August Kleinzahler's, Wallace Stevens', and A.R. Ammons', but is maturely individual as well. Whether he pays homage to Etta James, draws in the natural rhythms of Maine, or evokes characters from a Midwestern night shift, the poet guides his material (and indeed this reader) where it is already inclined to go, namely towards the spirit of survival as it runs a footrace with the ordinary and extraordinary elements of life. Walton delicately but deliberately shapes a kind of comfort out of the discomfort of mortality. To me, it is a book about quiet resilience, and Walton deftly fingers creative production as a means both to make sense of and form that stunning characteristic.

Cricket Weather is a collection of poems and prints of the specific. The poems range in subject from music to nature to the study of the human mind, each full of details that engage the reader. Walton's sense of timing and sound in the lines of his poetry is clever and concise. This is a small book of carefully constructed poems that the reader can enjoy on the first read, or with more study, can understand the layers of their construction. I highly recommend it.