New Hampshire Books

Peter Randall is a New Hampshire native whose gift for capturing his local surroundings on film are only enhanced by his use of a panoramic camera. Using a special camera which records onto a 2.5 by 6.5 inch film, the author has collected images of the local scene which stop the casual browser and command close reading of the details within his compositions of farm, forest, and ordinary town scenes. This is a book to spend a quiet evening examining and exploring what someone with love of place and skill with camera can do

The Indian captivity narrative is one of the oldest genres of American literature. The earliest narratives were often Puritan ministers' retellings of captives' tales, sometimes in the form of a sermon, with predictable results: Native American captors were portrayed as Satan's spawns in the pay of their "Papist" masters in New France and the experience of captivity was seen as an arduous trial of faith. Likewise, late-18th and early 19th-century captivity narratives are frequently stylized and sentimental to an extreme. Written to make a moral point about virtue and trust in God, these narratives not only distorted the ordeal of the whites themselves, but also contributed to the misrepresentation of Native Americans as bloodthirsty savages.

However, narratives from the middle of the 18th century, around the time of King George's War, are in general more realistic and present a straightforward and fairer view of Native Americans and the experience of captivity on the colonial frontier. A pitfall of reading redeemed captives talk about what they underwent is that we can easily forget that there were thousands of whites who consciously chose not to return to the society they were born into and thus were unable to express their opinion in print. The existing literature of captivity, therefore, is generally one-sided. "North Country Captives" collects eight narratives from Vermont and New Hampshire that by and large give a more balanced view of the captivity experience.

For example, in a time when rape and abuse were common in white society, Isabella McCoy, abducted by Abenakis in New Hampshire in 1747, would have preferred to stay among her "captors" if it hadn't been for her children back home. Nehemiah How, seized in 1745 and marched across the Green Mountains into Canada, wrote consistently about the "very civil" treatment he received from the Abenakis and the French. It is also interesting to note that there were African-Americans adopted into Indian society, where they did not encounter the kind of racism prevalent in the colonies.

Being kidnapped was always a traumatic experience, at least initially. However, these narratives help correct the one-sided view that being "dragged off to the woods by savages" was universally "a fate worse than death".

I found this book at a library sale. I was sucked right in. What a wonderful bit of nostalgia.

My family has been going North to NH for all of my 41 years. Characters like the ones in Mr Tolman's wonderful and light book, bring back the wonderful memories of my youth. When you went to the local store, the McCormack spinster sisters ran the show and clearly weren't there for the money. Old timers sitting near the potbellied stove smoking pipes and cigars, told deer hunting stories or whatever the local gossip was. Always friendly.

Mr Tolman tells us about his life and adventures over by Keene NH somewhere back in the 30's through the 60's. He seems to convey that having fun is what it's all about and seems to spend most days birdhunting with his accomplished wife and other local characters. It really reflects priorities in a slower but changing age. All the local characters and their often amusing and sometime sad tales are told in a wonderful conversational style. Even got a story about a monkey in a tree in the middle of the NH woods. A monkey? How'd it get in the NH woods...Very good!

Loved it and read it in a day and read it again another day.
Really shows the way NH Yankees and their villages were, not so long ago. Wonderful.

This was an excellent book, a great keepsake.

I found this book to be an excellent account of travel and history in 18th and 19th century New Hampshire and a great record of travel and life during that period. Well written and informative. A must read for anyone studying that era. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a sense of American life during this time period.

Let me tell you something, Fender might be the closest thing to a literary sea writer since Patrick O'Brian died. He has an uncanny ear for period dialogue and a way of plopping you right down in the middle of a historical story in a way that makes you feel as if you were actually there and could touch it. Ignore some of the snooty reviews about his earlier books. The guy is a treasure!

This timely anthology is about war viewed through the eyes of 127 poets. The poems cover wars from the Peloponnesian War to 9/11 and the current events in Iraq. It is not, as I originally thought, a polemic against war but rather "...a view of the world in conflict through the eyes of poets." Contributors include Pulitzer Prize winner Maxine Kumin; numerous state Poet Laureates; war veterans including World War II, Vietnam and Iraq; a 16 year old girl killed by a suicide bomber; Palestinians; and a host of other writers including a newly translated poem by Chaucer. This is a thoughtful, bittersweet effort by writers of all stripes trying to make sense out of actions that often defy logic or sense. A fine example of the quality available through small presses.

When exploring a new area or even our hometown, this book helps me find the site and activity I'm looking for. Whether we want a baseball field to toss a few pitches around, a playground to swing and play at or a new spot to hike or fish we easily find it by county, town or site name. What a great guide to the outdoor community!

Fast shipping, the book is in excellent condition and it is a great book.

THIS BOOK IS VERY WELL WRITTEN AND A TRULY GOOD READ.THIS BOOK COMPILES POETRY THAT ALLOWS US THE READER TO TO QUESTION, THINK, AND THINK BACK TO WHAT WAS AND WHAT IS THROUGH PARTS OF HIS LIFE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR A RELAXING, YET ENLIGHTNING PIECE OF REALITY.