New Hampshire Books

Lewis Cole is back for a fourth adventure in "Killer Waves" and the series just keeps getting better and better. As this novel opens, late one night, Lewis awakens and eventually notices the pulsed flashes of blue and red lights through the trees just across from his home. The scene in question is a State Park located adjacent to his small beach home in Tyler Beach, New Hampshire.

Lewis, who used to be a research analyst in the "Puzzle Palace" (Pentagon) until a horrible day several years ago, never can leave things completely alone. Driven by a need to know what is going on, he walks over and finds local police as well as a couple of EMT's standing around a car in the Park parking lot. His press pass for the "Shoreline" (a regional magazine) allows him some access to the scene as well as the fact that in small towns everyone knows just about everyone else. However, his view of the person who died of a gunshot to the head while sitting in the rental car is abruptly ended when carloads of what appear to be government agents arrive. While they and their leader refuse to identify themselves, they have no problem throwing their considerable weight around at everyone.

Soon, Lewis detects the strong stench of yet another governmental cover-up and decides to leave things well enough alone. Because of his past, the last thing he wants is to rise to the attention of any governmental agency but that hope was gone as soon as they arrived at the initial crime scene. Showing even less finesse, the agents soon storm Lewis' home and he is extorted into helping the agents with their case. His forced cooperation leads Lewis into a deeper and deeper maze of murder, deceit, and counter espionage with links to World War Two. This time, not only is he in danger, but everyone he holds dear.

Once again, Author Brendan Dubois shows the complex plotting, deep character development, as well as just plain superior wring that led his work to be nominated three times in the past for the prestigious "Edgar Award' as well as winning numerous other awards. This novel, like the three preceding it of this engrossing series, is full of complicated characters in complex situations. His writing (which some have mistakenly compared to Travis McGee) reflects a unique depth and understanding of the human spirit. His stories constantly elude the reader with numerous plot twists and changes to the very last page along with some humor along the way.

This is the fourth novel of the Lewis Cole series and they really should be read in order because of the extensive back-story preceding the novels as well as character development issues. Details are revealed in this novel regarding earlier works and each novel takes place in a specific sequence-either a few weeks or a few months after the preceding novel. The novels in order are "Dead Sand," "Black Tide" and "Shattered Shell."

This novel, as are the other ones in the series, is proof that there are many good novels and authors that never make the so-called bestseller lists. As long as the American public supports what claims to be reality based television programming and their reading tastes remain the same in regards to authors that still remain on the lists even though their work is not at that level, Brendan DuBois and others may not get the recognition they so richly deserve. This does not mean they aren't worth reading. Brendan Dubois certainly is and if you ignore him, you do a tremendous disservice to the author as well as yourself.

In the first two books in this series, the main character, Lewis Cole, was constantly sweating...in this book, he's constantly shaking...the author would have you believe that it's due to the dangerous situations in which Lewis Cole finds himself...I think it's because he realizes what thin ice this series is on with this latest offering...Nazi uranium, indeed! Like the latest offerings from Robert Parker, this book seems to be written to fill pages and put money in the bank.

This book is a real page turner and the scary thing is that the premise of the story is based on fact. Missing Nazi uranium. If you enjoy a good spy story than I highly recommend this book.

I am beginning to believe that the same person is behind the spate of ugly reviews lately emanating from Publishers Weekly. Certainly, it's a shock every time to finish reading an enjoyable book and come to the site to post a review only to discover yet another nasty attack by a PW reviewer. Given that I come to the table with my critical faculties intact, a long-term knowledge of what goes into the writing of a book, and a healthy respect for the effort, I'm at a loss to comprehend why anyone would be so negative about this book.

Bottom line: I stayed up until after 3 a.m. this morning to finish this latest entry in the Lewis Cole series. That should say it all. Bad books don't keep you up long past your bedtime. And food, as well as roads taken, are a staple of most mysteries. That said, Killer Waves is compellingly readable, with a particularly well-fleshed cast of characters (most notably Keith Emerson--a touchingly rendered portrait of a man driven to self-hatred by well-founded fear.)

While the PW reviewer may have found the core thesis of this book far-fetched, I guess he neglected to read the author's note at the back of the book citing the true facts upon which he based his narrative. Truth, indeed, can be far stranger than fiction.

Cole's capitulation in the face of governmental coercion--literally stripping him of every last thing he owns --is very believable. They want his help; he says no. They'll force him to help. Works for me. And given his background as, in essence, a Pentagon researcher, Lewis doggedly goes forward, snapping and barking at his "masters" every so often in a viable depiction of man who'll do what he has to do but won't stand on his hind legs and do tricks for bisquits.

There is a most surprising twist at the climax of the book. I thought I saw this one coming but the author had a double whammy planned; one that is very nicely executed. In all, a diverting book with some interesting historical facts. And, finally, there is something heartfelt and believable in Cole's tracking of the space shuttle Endeavour.

Once again, ignore that PW review and get this book. It's well-worth reading.
Recommended.

This book totally failed to capture my interest. I found myself unable to care WHAT happened to the protagonist. I gave up a quarter of the way through (very rare for me). Oh, well. A lot of very good writers have written the occasional bomb (like Robert Ludlum, Patricia Cornwell, and Sue Grafton, for instance). I'll probably check out DuBois' next book. Hopefully this one is a fluke.

Everyone knows that "Josh" obviously works for one of the following competitors to College Prowler:

1. Princeton Review
2. US News
3. The Fiske Guide

These corporate giants can't handle students taking over the college guidebook industry.

At first, I hesitated, because I'm a bargain shopper. This book is priced a couple of dollars more than the Princeton Review and Fiske Guide. Could it be that much better?

Well, let me tell you this, if I was comparing it to the Princeton Review or Fiske Guide, I would have paid hundreds of dollars for this book.

Simply put, my daughter was not excited about the college selection process. When I brought home the Fiske and PR guides ... I found them in a closet with our old phone books.

I then heard about College Prowler from the NY Times, and immediately bought the guide to New England, as well as some of their single-school guides ... I'm in love with the single-school ones, but this guide to New England was the perfect book for my daughter to begin the college selection process.

When she flipped open to the middle of the book, and read a student testimonial about how attractive guys are on campus at Northeastern, but to watch out for players ... she was hooked.

The book sits at our dining table, and she blurts out random student reviews from different schools ... we get quite a laugh. Not only is the book tremendously funny, but it dissects the campus culture at each school. You get a feel what students are actually like, and where you'll fit in best. The new way to choose a college, is to choose one that's right for you, eventually, these College Prowler guides will be the industry standard, if they aren't already.

Sadatay.

I would like to recommend College Prowler's New England Colleges book to all sr. high school students. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, but was accepted into 4 elite schools, 3 of which are on the East Coast (Brown, Wesleyan, and BC). Fortunately for me, I ran across this guide in a local bookstore, and just a quick glance though its pages gave me the impression that this was no ordinary college resource, pamphlet, or biased review that I've been encountering in my extremely difficult task of evaluating which school is right for me. The most impressive aspect of this book is that it lets the students-from each individual college-tell their stories about what they really think about their school. There are a ton of student quotes on each school on just about every factor that a student like myself would be interested in: safety of campus, campus facilities, campus parties and organizations, local bars and restaurants, and more.

When I met with my academic advisor to discuss the college guide books I had been reading, she warned me that College Prowler is considered a reputable source of information by neither her nor any of her colleagues in academe.

Sure enough, when I came to Amazon just now to sell my two used College Prowler books, I noticed that shortly after each book had been published, a single person had submitted a five-star review for both books. In one review, he stated he's "from the East Coast," and in the other review he stated he's "from the Pacific Northwest."

It looks like my academic advisor was correct about College Prowler.

Let me start by saying that other reviewers seem to be in the process of choosing a college, so they do not realize how inaccurate these guides are. I am a junior in college, and when I saw my little brother reading this guide I decided to see what it said about my school. Not a single one of the categories was even close to the truth. And I'm not just complaining that my school got too many poor remarks, it got graded high in areas it shouldn't have and vice versa. Being from the New England area, I have friends that go to many of the colleges listed, and most of them say that their school is wrongly represented as well. There are a lot of other (cheaper) guides out there that are way better and that list more schools.

I really enjoyed this series. It reminds me quite strongly of the Kenneth Roberts classics Arundel, Rabble in Arms and Oliver Wiswell. The period speach adds to the charm and I would hate to see it any other way. A big poroblem though is that the auther several times drips in sentences in Portugese or even Chinese..with no translations provided except for the structure of the story. I would like to have the direct translation at least as a footnote. The main problem with this series though is that the two softback volumes I got have the most miserable binding you can put on a book. It demands you use two hands to read it unless you are OK with breaking the spine. In short, it just will not lay open flat. I bought the third volume, used, in hardback and wish I had done so for the others. Go ahead and buy the book, you will enjoy it. But buy the used hard back volumes and avoid the problem.

This series of naval adventure novels set during the American Revolution continues to develop. In the earlier two books, Captain Geoffrey Frost was almost heroic to a fault; in this book, he becomes a somewhat darker, more complex character with a streak of violence in him. Most of these naval series seem to have a few volumes that are set on land; much of this story involves Frost's efforts to transport some supplies overland from New England to Washington's troops in Pennsylvania. Perhaps it's because Frost is now "out of his element," but he comes across as a more interesting, and somewhat more flawed, person.

It's a nice bit of character development for an exciting series.

I anxiously awaited "Our Lives, Our Fortunes", feeling that Fender's first two Geoffrey Frost, Mariner, offerings were amongst the very best new sea literature out, British or American. However, it turned into a land novel, covering ground much trod on by Civil War historians, and therefore, to me. as a fan of sea action, somewhat disappointing. Much too mental, little action.
This doesn't mean I am not just as anxiously awaiting his next offering, but it is in hopes that Frost gets back to his roots of a dashing sea hero who is more than willing, and capable, of "twisting the lions tail".

Have read all three of this series, and will read no more. Geoffrey Frost, the lead character, never quite reaches two dimensions, let alone three. He is always perfect in his tactics, his plans, and his response to any situation. The dialogue is wooden, and self-consciously done in the style of the period, to the point that it becomes a distraction. In this book, the story is also highly implausible, and requires a suspension of belief that belies its intention as an authentic period piece. And it's not just the primary character who is perfect: the "woods-cruizers" are all always in exactly the right place at exactly the right time, never miss a shot, always give sage counsel, and so on. The few villains that show up are all quickly redeemed by their mere exposure to Geoffrey Frost. I admit that I am holding this series to standards of Hornblower and Aubrey/Maturin, which are classics, and by that standard, Geoffrey Frost only rates a C+. If you absolutely must read this series, do so at the library's expense, and not your own.

R.C. Binstock has once again written a book that explores the depth of human passion and possibility with remarkable insight and tenderness. Emotionally blocked and embittered, the writer Phillip has cloistered himself away to avoid further injury from the world, and perhaps, also, to avoid burdening others with his pain. But in a gesture that surprises even himself, he opens the door to a troubled, young woman and offers her refuge and companionship, things he had thought himself no longer capable of giving. The two begin a sensual dance, grounded in need, but drawing them into a dangerous territory beyond society's limits and their own. THE SOLDIER takes the reader on a journey into the deepest wells of feeling and to the boundaries of the self and self-imposed exile. Breathtaking prose and an unforgettable story.

It's easy to understand why Binstock's "The Soldier" is out of print. It is a scattered and confusing tale whose characters fail to gain sympathy or enthusiasm. Phillip is a writer whose life is focused entirely on creating his novels. Unfortunately, the energy Binstock focuses on Phillip's writing process is laboriously detailed and patently uninteresting other than to a budding novelist looking to see the life habits of how other unsuccessful writers work. Into Phillip's life comes his young cousin Jennie who Phillip immediately wants to bed. We spend about half the novel dealing with Phillip's anxiety over the propriety of the relationship; but that thread is soon dropped after the deed is done. Jennie, the only bright spot in the novel, eventually loses our sympathy as she apparently assumes a lesbian attraction for Phillip's old girlfriend. Add to this a construction where you have Binstock interjecting two story lines of a ghost who wanders the property and a soldier who dies in a war. The three story lines appear to be intertwined much as a deck of cards is shuffled together in random sequence. Often, I had to read about three pages to figure out who the characters were. Then you have flashbacks of characters not in the present story line who are supposed to explain the emotional past of a character we don't care about anyway. The one thing that I did enjoy in Binstock's tale is the sense of place in the rural New Hampshire locale. This is a tale to be missed. Taxi!

A disappointing read after "Tree of Heaven." I felt that the sub-plots detracted from the main storyline of the book. After a slow start, the book had confusing threads: part self-indulgent confession, part folk tale. I was frustrated by this lack of focus, plus the entire hermetic writer theme. I just couldn't sympathize or empathize with most of the characters. They seemed curiously flat. I had a feeling about the way the book was going to end, and was disappointed to be right. Couldn't tell if I just didn't "get it" or if it was really not that great of a read.

In "The Soldier," R.C. Binstock expertly weaves a number of story lines together to create a unified theme of love and loss. The main narrative, involving a reclusive author and the young, female cousin who comes to stay with him, is a moving and sensitive portrayal of one man's paralyzing sense of disconnection and yearning, and the difficulty he has in reaching out to experience love. Other story threads -- involving a middle-aged woman coming to terms with her own losses; a civil war soldier struggling with the horrors of war; and a benign, ghostly presence -- illuminate the main narrative in ways that are both surprising and subtle. This is a challenging novel that reveals itself to the reader slowly and unexpectedly, long after one has finished reading. Mr. Binstock's style is poetic, without compromising a sense of realism. In addition, the book is powerfully erotic -- the charge between the main character and his young houseguest, from their first scene together, keeps the reader riveted to the story. Like the ghostly visitor, "The Soldier" has a way of haunting the reader. It is a triumph and a treasure.

When I first read this book, many years ago, it moved me in ways I never thought a book could. It transported me, and still does, again and again and again. I grew to love the characters and cheer them on, cry with them, and dream of the life they led. Their stories have been a part of my life since this book was published. It's Mr. Irving's greatest and should I ever get to meet him, I will thank him.
I'm not a total fan of all Mr. Irving's work and shouldn't be considered a slave to it. I speak only for this book where, for the time he took to write it, he connected with my and so many others.
I could write volumes about this book. The sadness and death, the joy and perserverence, the love of family despite incredible hardships and outrageous happenings. Instead, however, I will encourage the person who is considering this book to keep and open mind and allow him/herself to be transported in a way only a REAL GOOD BOOK can do. Enjoy.

This book was horrible...no plots, no metaphores; nothing I do not agree with the writing style of the author and I don't think that anyone who knows a good book when they read one, would either.

Este es uno de los mejores libros de John Irving. Yo lo considero a el uno de los mejores escritores contemporaneos norteamericanos. La historia de esta familia es triste, comica, y increiblemente adictiva. Yo le recomiendo esto libro a todos mis amigos, y pare ser honesta yo siempre recomiendo todo lo que este escritor escribe.

As a canoeist I can only pray for titles similar to this series to span the continent. These guides offer listings by region and alphabetical indices, area maps, launch site directions and parking advice. Wilson mentions special points of interest -- geologic formations, settlements, graveyards, and odd indigenous species -- with sidebars covering nature lore. A super gift for the New England canoodler in your life.

I purchased this book as a guide book for kayaking lakes that I may have not known about. I found the book lacking on listing ALL the possible lakes not just some the author knew. I was looking for a lake guide book that list every lake, pond, maybe river not just a few. I had the older book and that listed even less. This also concentrates on the wildlife and plant life rather than describing the actual lake. This could be a really good guide book if it were done better...........

Excellent book, I recommend this to anyone. I use this book for canoe trip planning with my family. Detailed information is given here. As usual it is another fine book by AMC.

Looking through the Book, I will keep it with me while on road trips and when planning camping trips. I bought the book to see if I could learn anything more about my area central & northern New Hampshire. It only dedicates about 10 pages to Northern NH and everything that is listed on central NH I already knew.

Actually, I would normally rate this book a 4 but I thought the previous rating showing a 2 was too low. I found the book to be very helpful. Not being familar with Maine, VT, or NH, I was able to quicky determine not just where to fish but where not to fish. The book is targeted more toward fly fishermen (I am one of those) and it lists what hatches are on the stream. A familar fly fisherman knows roughly what month such hatches are around. I would highly recommend this book over a Maine Gazette map which will not give you the detailed directions to some popular fishing spots.

A nice collection of maps and general info, however, this title doesn't supply much more information than the NH Gazetteer. Can't speak as specifically to the VT and ME sections. Little info on when to fish, just general descriptions of how to get there and what may or may not be stocked. Really just a surface survey.

Far superior to JUDGEMENT RIDGE, which gave the overblown, Boston-style treatment to the same material. Very authetic atmosphere (Hartford High, class of '73).

What's that song? Something happened here. What it is ain't exactly clear?

If you observe Owen's Ann Rule rule (No Peaking at the pictures in the middle until the suspect(s) are identified in the text,) and also reserve the spoiler-laden Intro, Acknowledgements and cover until after The End, then this True Crime saga reads like a taut fictional murder mystery - until The End that is no End.

Who murdered 2 Dartmouth Profs on Super Bowl Saturday, 2001? Why? In due time, author Eric Francis supplies the "Who?" But, due to publishing before the conclusion of legal proceedings, the reader of his book will be left wanting for "Why?" This reader had to get that off Google - who sent me to Court TV - for free. Reviewed by TundraVision

Except for about 16 color plates, all the reproductions are in black and white. Would not recommend if you are interested in the color plates. From the front cover, it looks like all the reproductions would be in color, which is not the case.

I have listened to Bob McGrath lecture on this famous school of landscape painting in the White Mountains of NH. I also wrote a paper for MacIntosh College in my Art History course. It is about 20 pages+ long, and reflects my knowledge of the Passaconaway area of the National Forest, where I attended the last UNH Forestry Camp in 1964, and first learned of this legend and lore from Dr. Clark Stevens. Now, there is a resurgence of interest in this old art form of seeing the creator in these works of nature--for which this beautiful area is so famous.

Congrats to Dartmouth's Bob McGrath for producing such a painstaking piece of work on this school. Also look for Catherine Crawford's book on indexing all the available paintings she could note in her book for the Forest Society. John Henderson has a great web page on them, too.

I produced an article for the MountainEar newspaper after this course, in time for the annual sales of these historic paintings by enthusiastic collectors. There will also soon be an exhibition and interpretative display in a newly constructed Intervale Overlook building in North Conway, where this scene attracted many of the old artists in its time.

I highly recommend this guide to anyone who will be traveling in the Northeast as well as Canada. This guide gives you everything from upcoming events for the year to where to stay & eat. The maps are easy to read and follow. I have been a reader of the Mobil Guide for many years and it is continuing to give the most accurate, up-to-date travel information. This is the MUST-HAVE for the Northeast traveler.

The book gives a good overview of the areas with many addresses. Anyhow I found it a bit too black and white. It gives useful maps, but no coloured pictures from the areas, which would make it a bit more pleasant to read.