New Hampshire Books

"A Century in Captivity" is an excellent book and provides a lot of interesting information on the history of the Newgate and Wethersfield prisons in Connecticut, but when I started to read the book I expected to read about Prince Mortimer himself and not the details of two very significant prisons. The author admits that there really isn't a lot about Prince's life to go on and includes what he can here and there, but that doesn't excuse the poor choice for a title, which I think was meant to add shock value in order to sell books.

In "A Century in Captivity...", the author tells a fascinating story about a rarely seen part of American history...life behind the walls of Connecticut state prisons in the 1820s and '30s. It is, of course, much more than that. The story explores societal classes, the legal and penal systems, living conditions and slavery in eighteenth and nineteenth Connecticut. Often working with what he admits are the smallest fragments of documentation, the author succeeds in providing interesting observations on fairly obscure details on Prince Mortimer's life, while at the same time keeping the story moving forward. Well researched and well presented...highly recommended.

Having been to see the New England autumn colors myself, and taken some (amateur) photos, I wanted a compilation of professional photos to remind me of the "oooh" and "aaah" feeling I had. This book had quite a few really nice photos, but I expected a more wide-view show of the variations of color. There were too many close-up photos of rivers & rocks with some colorful leaves; I would've preferred a grander panorama of colorful trees in different stages of the season. There was too few photos of lakes reflecting colors, for example. I wouldn't say I totally regretted buying this book - it was Okay, but it could've been better.

This is a book for people who love the fall season in New England. New Hampshire photographers Jerry and Marcy Monkman have masterfully used their cameras to capture the beauty of autumn in this region of the country in their book THE COLORS OF FALL. The two are authors of Appalachian Trail guides to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Arcadia National Park (as a matter of fact, they love Arcadia National park so much, the even named their first child Arcadia). Their knowledge and love of the area is evident in the photos presented in the book. Some of the shots are of familiar places, others are less well known. Many of the photographs contained in this book are grand scenic shots of the mountains in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, or the raging rivers in New Hampshire. Yet they also include close ups of smaller detailed subjects that are often ignored when we make foliage trips. Many of these shots demonstrate the Monkmans mastery of the camera.

Those who have not had the opportunity to visit New England in the fall can take a vicarious trip with this book. For those of us who live in New England, the book gives us the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of this place we call home.

The book provides a lot of information regarding the types of activity at each location, but lacks any photos of said activity. There are occasional references to websites for the reader to goto to see or hear captured evidence. There is little entertainment value and the book reads like an encyclopedia. Could be better written and include more than publicity photos of locations.

Thomas D'Agostino's HAUNTED NEW HAMPSHIRE, in contrast, covers the entire state, surveying small towns and haunted establishments from restaurants and taverns to even a dead pirate or an island banshee. Tourists hoping to catch a ghostly glimpse are treated to clear directions to each place, while small black and white photos accompany each description of a ghostly experience. Both ghost enthusiasts in general and New Hampshire local history collections will relish these.

Well, I think it's the only book ever written about the AMC's high huts in the White Mountains. And it is quite informative and useful if you plan to do a lot of hut hikes. The maps and short hike info definitely enhanced my hut trip.

But I would rather see something a little less blandly "official" and a little more "behind the scenes." I'd have appreciated more anecdotes about what goes on during those long summer days when the hut crews have spare time. I know that the crews famously play pranks on each other. And surely the advent of "co-ed" crews has resulted in some, eh, hanky panky? If there are such interesting stories, they are not in this book.

My dad and I love to go to AMC huts and this book is my bible. I read it all the time, and bring i t with me when going to huts. Just be warned, if you are hiking on the gulfside trail from Madison Springs Hut to Lakes of the Clouds hut, the book says 4.5 hours. WRONG. The correct time is 9.5 hours.

I am in the process of section hiking the AT, and this book was a great supplement to the regular guides and maps. It was especially helpful in the more difficult sections such as the Mahoosuc Range because it identified the most and least strenous sections - very useful in planning where to stop and how many miles to try in a day. For example, for northbound hikers, the first 9-10 miles from Route 2 north are not too bad, while the rest are a real challenge. Instead of trying for the usual 10 or more miles per day, I knew where to plan for 5-mile days. I was not disappointed - these were TOUGH miles.

In general, the authors' descriptions of difficulty matched my experience on the trail. I am sometimes a little slower than they predict, but then, I am a little older than most of the people on the trail!

The book is NOT a complete guide to the AT sections - almost all of the hikes use other trails to access the AT. But it is still very useful.

In addition, the authors provide lots of human and natural history. Example: Want to know why there is a trail called Six Husbands in the White Mountains? It's because an Amerindian queen decided she wanted that many mates. They do refer to her as "polygamous" rather than "polyandrous," but that'a a quibble.

The maps (topographic and elevation profile) are a helpful reference, and information about road access is also helpful in planning.

Highly recommended!

A Helpful guide to hikes along the Appalation Trail in Maine. The guide gives general information as well as specific information about the trail. Each hike includes specific places, distances, where to find a lean-to, and water.

I enjoyed the historical review of the Town, from its earliest beginnings to the early part of the 20th century. Pictures are abundant and there are two fold-out maps from the 19th century. My family lived in Rye for several generations and I found that the genealogy presented for my family to be accurate going back ten generations.

While the historical half of this book is well-written and interesting, be forewarned that the section containing genealogy of Rye families is riddled with errors, and any information you take from that source should be verified elsewhere.

As a budding genealogist, I have depended upon this text for invaluable leads on my families and some of the history of early Hampton, NH. I have discovered a few mistakes here and there, but having access to so many more sources, I have been able to substantiate them. I give Mr. Dow and all those who took the time, many kudos for at least attempting to set history down. It boggles one's mind to think just how terribly tedious and self isolating this task was. I am descended from many of the original settlers of Hampton ie Clifford, Dow, Griffin, Hilliard, Tilton, Moulton, Brown, not to mention my favorite; Reverend Stephen Batchelder and his nemesis, Reverned Timothy Dalton.

As a budding genealogist, I have depended upon this text for invaluable leads on my families and some of the history of early Hampton, NH. I have discovered a few mistakes here and there, but having access to so many more sources, I have been able to substantiate them. I give Mr. Dow and all those who took the time, many kudos for at least attempting to set history down. It boggles one's mind to think just how terribly tedious and self isolating this task was. I am descended from many of the original settlers of Hampton ie Clifford, Dow, Griffin, Hilliard, Tilton, Moulton, Brown, not to mention my favorite; Reverend Stephen Batchelder and his nemesis, Reverned Timothy Dalton.

The Mobile book has great maps. However, the layout of the book other than the maps is not user friendly. When we traveled in New England, we went to "regions" not just cities. The book is laid out with recommendations under each city. Some of the other books we used had regional groups rather than just cities. The maps were the most detailed and were what we relied upon most of the trip.

We checked out the Mobil Travel Guide New England 2005 from the library for our trip to Maine. We thought it was so good, that on our return we ordered it to have for the other states. The hotels, inns, and restaurants were very accurately described. No disappointments.

I really like the Moon Window. I like it because even though it is some what slow in the beginning, it is in pretty good detail. I find it interesting bercause Jo Ellen has so many emotions and when things get tough, she always tries to either fix it or go along with it until she can do something about it.

I think the best part of the book is when Jo Ellen dreams that she is running away. When she woke up, she was in the clothes that she originally planned to run away in. Her hair was messed up and she was very dirty.

I believe that Jane Louise Curry did a great job on showing how the characters felt, especially Jo Ellen. Each character had something unique about them whether it was their family background or their ambition. Thoughout the whole book you can tell what the conflict is. Jo Ellen is constantly battling herself and other people that are around her on her feelings, family and how she wants and wishes her life to be.

JoEllen has has her mom all to herself for a long time until her mom meets George in the church choir and decides to get married. During the honeymoom, JoEllen gets shipped off to her Granty's mansion. Her plan is to escape during the night and be home by late morning. She finds the perfect way to get out, a moon window in the attic leading out to a sturdy tree branch. All is going well until she discovers that she is walking through the past. She returns to the mansion only to travel through the moon window again and again and learn more and more about her past.

This book is so perfect for family and for leisure riders! It is not the "carry-your-bike-up-the-legdge-and bushwhack-through-the-bushes" kind of book. Rather, you're biking on pine-needle covered trails a lot and having a chance to share in nature. It if perfect for starting a family tradition. The author does a super job of combining riding with your kids and doing other things (watching great blue herons fish, observing beavers building their lodges at a state reservoir, a visit to a science center on the Seacoast that's a part of a state park--Odiorne Point).

My kids look at this as such a family thing to do. I want to cultivate this kind of activity with my family so that video games and other sedentary activities take a back seat.

It's a gift to have all these state resources in the scenic state of New Hampshire readily available for the taking. Count me in! Let's go summer--load those bikes up. Don your helmets, kids. We're ready to roll. Ride softly!

This book is a great start when you are looking for places to bike in New Hampshire. However, beware of the maps provided in this book, they are very general and WILL GET YOU LOST. I would advise using the book to select a ride then getting a topographical map of the area, or, obtaining a Forestry Service map. Either way, you are preparing yourself for a fun day of riding in a great state! Let's face it, getting lost riding is fun, right up until it's nighttime and getting cold.