New Hampshire Books

If you are researching your ancestry this book holds a lot of useful information. I got a lot of information for my genalogy and putting dates to when their deaths happen. I think that it would be a good investment for your research.
Gloria Brooks

"Fashionable Acts" is a closely-observed study of the microcosm of the audiences of the London opera world for what the changing behavior of this audience--i. e., the "fashionable acts"--tells about the process of democratization of the society. In the late 1700s, opera-going was essentially an occasion for socializing among the aristocracy; which at the time were the politically-connected and politically-influential. Socializing at the opera was a continuation of the socializing that was carried on at the social clubs, exclusive residences, and chambers of royalty that were in the same neighborhood as the major opera house, the Queen's theater. This socializing involved political dealmaking, searching for suitable marriage partners, ostentatious display of younger men, and indications of the rising or falling influence of various individuals as indicated by who was seated near whom and who was spending time with whom. Hall-Witt--an independent scholar teaching part-time at Smith--also observes the role of many aristocratic women as "gatekeepers" in that they held certain subscription boxes and remain seated for men to go them in their rounds of socializing. The opera being performed on the stage was almost incidental with the bustling socializing.

By the end of the 1800s, this had changed to where the audience silently, and appreciatively, watched the opera. Opera-going still had some vestiges of its former significant as a showplace for social standing. But this was communicated basically simply by attendance, to this extent copying a ritual of the aristocracy. Along with attendance, where one sat during a performance indicated one's social rank--which by then was more earned or assumed than granted by birthright--as the better seats cost more. By the latter 1800s, businessmen outnumbered aristocrats at the London operas. The socializing was replaced by silent watching not only because of new ideas about regard for others in public places; but also because members of the audience did not know one another as had those in the relatively small circle of aristocrats of the latter 1700s. Moreover, the growing class of businessmen who were becoming the new most significant political group conducted their affairs in the privacy of offices or at meetings.

Becoming examples of decorous behavior at the opera was one conspicuous way the aristocracy tried to maintain its social standing and influence. But in this, it was adopting behavior of the democratic social elements rather than confirming or exercising meaningful social or political force. Changes in opera reviewing with different periodicals, the diminished place of women, and new tastes in opera (e. g., preferences for Mozart over Italian operas) are among other germane topics brought in in this distinctive work of cultural studies in which Hall-Witt provides a bounty of material while keeping a sharp, revealing focus.

Small booklet (roughly 5 x 7 inches) of 47 pages . This is one of a collection of over 70 titles in the traditional fare series by J. Salmon publishing. There are 11 sepia reproductions of paintings of English landmarks and historical English life. There are no photographs or illustrations of the finished recipes. The book is put together like a travel memento. It's sentimental in a charming way. A bit of authentic England from yesteryear. A visit to Amazon UK shows the Traditional fare series are well regarded in England, they're rated quite favorably.

Although you don't need to know metric to use the recipes, it is important to realize that the recipes are from the UK, and there are differences in measurements compared with the US. For example, a pint is 20 ounces in the UK and 16 ounces in the US. A kitchen scale is essential, as dry ingredients are measured in ounces.

There are also a few differences in ingredients. Caster sugar is simply very fine white sugar, and ordinary table sugar works just as well. Mixed spice is roughly the equivalent of pumpkin pie spice. Demerara sugar is very large crystals of sugar sometimes found in the US as a decoration on muffins. It can readily be found in the baking section of the supermarket, and it's called "sugar in the raw". A useful website is Cook's Thesaurus at www.foodsubs.com.

Recipes included:

Bachelor's Pudding p. 26
Bean and Bacon Soup p. 10
Buttered Trout p. 31
Cornflour Cake p. 38
Cucumber and Stilton Mousse p. 35
Devilled Chicken p. 34
Farmhouse Halibut p. 16
Gypsy Bread p. 13
Hampshire Cod p. 7
Hampshire Drops p. 44
Hampshire Goose p. 20
Hampshire Haslet p. 37
Hampshire Herrings p. 41
Hampshire Roll p. 47
Hampshire Syllabub p. 43
Honey and Walnut Tartlets p. 11
Lardy Cake p. 28
Lenten Pie p. 19
Mothering Sunday Wafers p. 8
Mustard Rabbit p. 17
New Forest Venison p. 25
Picnic Cake p. 22
Poacher's Pie p. 40
Pork with Nuts p. 32
Strawberries in Syrup p. 14
Syrup Roll p. 5
Venison Casserole p. 4
Venison Pasty p. 46
Watercress Flan p. 23

Whether directing you along abandoned logging roads to vanished settlements or describing the geologic events that shaped the mountains, Barbara McMartin is a stimulating guide. Her keen observations on the wealth of natural and human history along these trails are as fascinating as they are informative.

This hiking classic, which presents 360 miles of the Adirondacks' best trails, has been completely revised by McMartin. Two entirely new hikes are included, and the others have been rehiked and thoroughly updated. All maps have been redone for greater clarity and up-to-date accuracy, and many new photographs have been included.

Primarily concentrating on day trips, this guide is for hikers of all ages and degrees of experience. It includes short walks to introduce novices and vacationers to the pleasures of the Adirondacks and several strenuous extended hikes into the wilderness to challenge the most experienced backpacker.
--- from book's back cover.

I have just read Richard Archer's newly published "Fissures in the Rock: New England in the Seventeenth Century." This wonderfully informative and entertaining work details how the people of seventeenth century New England, while often differing from one another when viewed close in, were at the same time, in the larger sense, participants in a common culture.

In this comprehensive and well-researched study, Professor Archer describes relations, often rocky, between the colonists and the native Americans; the spiritual, social, and political role of the colonists' religion; how women and men experienced, individually and together, their family life, along with their life cycles; what it was to trod the moral fringes of that society; how the culture functioned economically; and the several types of New England towns, which I found particularly enlightening.

To illustrate these areas, the author gives us the lives, some darn good stories, of such colorful individuals as George Walton, Herodias Long, Robert Keayne, Ann Hutchinson, and John Cotton, to name a few.

With a satisfying concluding chapter, extensive footnotes, bibliography, and appendixes, this work has something for everyone.

When on a dare last December I read Morison's "The European Discovery of American: The Northern Voyages A.D. 500-1600" I felt another shoe waiting to drop. Well, here is that other shoe. I highly recommend that everyone try it on.

FODOR'S MAINE, VERMONT & NEW HAMPSHIRE, 11TH EDITION is an excellent overview of the northernmost New England states. In addition to telling the reader about available opportunities in each area for recreation, dining, nightlife, shopping, and lodging, it also discusses the history of the area and mentions where you can go to learn about the history of each state. Anyone who, in 1984, saw the based-on-fact movie WHY ME?, in which the lead character's face is virtually destroyed in a car wreck caused by a drunk driver, might enjoy reading the Maine section's blurb on the home of anti-alcohol crusader Neal Dow, who invented Prohibition in 1851, while people who want inspiration to fight for what's important to them will love the parts of the Vermont section about Ethan Allen-related sites. Granted, this book does manage to miss some independent book and record stores, and includes little or nothing about radio stations in each area, but overall, it gives you a great picture of what northern New England is really like.

This book was very useful. However, it doesn't cover each state in depth, so if you are just visiting one state, you might look for a more comprehensive guide for that state.

The writer really knows what he's talking about and has some great practical advice. The book's layout made it easy for me to arrange hiking trips with my friends, since it tells me the difficult of each hiking trail. Very informative and invaluable.

As a long time New Englander and traveler to the White Mountains, I found this book provided not only a tremendous historical background to the places I love to visit in and around Franconia Notch, but also a reason as to why the groups that were involved in acquiring the land for the WMNF wanted to protect it from future development.

In my younger days as an Eagle Scout, I hiked the Appalachian Trail through the Presidential Range, stayed at the Lake of the Clouds hut, walked the Flume and gazed upon the Old Man (may he rest in peace). Now, as a father, I take my kids back to those places and hope they get the same appreciation, as I once did, for the beauty, solitude and uniqueness of that spot on Earth.

Ms. Jarvis has done a great job of pulling together facts, stories (and pictures!) and weaving them together so you feel the emotional struggle the members of the SPNHF and NHFWC must have felt while in the midst of fighting to save Franconia Notch. One also gets a sense of amazement that, even back "then", citizens of New Hampshire and the rest of New England were into protecting forest and land.

For anyone wanting a new appreciation of the White Mountain National Forest, an understanding of why the Old Man of the Mountain is a symbol of New Hampshire, or simply requiring a historical perspective on Franconia Notch and the surrounding areas, this book delivers.

I purchased this for my wife and she has found a wealth of information on our family's genealogy and other families she has researched. She would recommend this for anyone with family roots in New Hampshire.