Rhode Island Books

...This is simply a reprint of a book that was first published in the 1640s by Roger Williams, who was the founder of Rhode Island and a respected friend ("netop") of the Narragansett tribe.

That said -- this book is not simply a vocabulary, or a grammatical treatise. It also includes dozens of insights into the daily life of the Narragansett tribe, at a time when most of them lived as they had from time immemorial. Every chapter includes not only the actual vocabulary appropriate to the topic under discussion, but also several paragraphs talking about the lives of the Narragansett. Sometimes Roger Williams ends a chapter with a little pedantic poem, but hey, cut him some slack -- he was a creature of his times, as are we all.

Here are a couple of things that I wish someone had told ME about, before I discovered this amazing little volume. First and formost -- the table of contents is at the END of the book, not the beginning. It does exist, you didn't get a defective copy. Second -- for a funny, fascinating set of examples of early native american onomatopeia, look in the sections on "Fowles" and "Beastes." Evidently, the Narragansetts told Roger Williams that they called a duck a "quequecum," a wild goose was called a "honck-honck," and a horse (which they learned about from the English) was called a "nay-nay-oumewot." Maybe this is just my own sense of humor, but I enjoyed envisioning a stern, austere, Godly Puritan, wearing heavy black clothes in summertime (and the hat with the little buckle on front), sitting down with a solemn circle of sunburned sachems, and doing bird calls. I can just picture the Cambridge-educated Roger Williams earnestly scribbling notes in his notebook, while the sachems sat there, pointed at birds outside the wigwam, and went "quack quack" and "honk honk" for his edification. I thought the duck was especially funny -- "Ah yes.... we callum that birdum a quequecum, Good Reverend Williams."

That is a minor point, but it does make the book a little more fun. Basically, however, let me hasten to add that this book is far more than fun. It is ultimately VERY serious. It's one of the few remaining sources of information into the tongues spoken by the early natives of southern New England. If you are capable of appreciating this, I recommend you look for anything by Kathleen Bragdon, or Ives Goddard, who have done a lot of work trying to keep the memories of these lost languages alive. If you prefer libraries to the internet, try to find articles by the 19th century Connecticut state librarian J. Hammond Trumbull, who wrote many articles on native New England place names, and Eastern Algonquin languages in general. You may also wish to seek out John Eliot's "Indian Bible," which is incredibly hard to find in print, but was put on microfilm by University Microfilms in Michigan. The "Indian Bible" was composed, with the able assistance of native speakers, in the Massachusett dialect of Algonquin, which is very closely related to Narragansett. Another little gem is William Woods' "New England Prospect," which includes a handy little SHORT vocabulary. Also, if you're internet-savvy enough, you might enjoy seeking out the work of Jessie "Little Doe" Fermino, a native Wampanoag in Mashpee, Massachusetts, who has recently been developing language classes in the tongue of the Wampanoag tribe.

But back to this book -- it is highly informative, and a tremendous boon to students of early native Americans in New England. Two thumbs up.

I recently reviewed the 2000 edition for the Law Library Journal. It's a great publication full of useful information for law librarians and lawyers, at a reasonable price.

My favorite feature is the brief reviews of various titles, organized by subject matter or jurisdiction. The cost-saving tips are also handy, as is the information about update costs for each title reviewed.

This book is great if you require accurate and interesting infomation about this specific region. Well worth the money.

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Ideal for planing your trip to New England area. You will have several routs to explore this part of the country. Tips, Maps and Photographs that give you a very good picture of your trip. This will help you to don't miss any of the important places of the road.

My family has its roots in Rhode Island since its original founding and I was born and raised in Newport. This compendium is stunning and well worth the purchase price.

This book, drawn from portraits in the Newport Art Museum's collection and those of local collectors, spans the history of New England portraiture from Gilbert Stuart to Andy Warhol. It is well produced and has dozens of great paintings of, by or owned by Newporters.

Any one interested in creating an education system that is child centered, flexible and interesting should read this book.
The Met, a public highschool in Providence, RI., is the focus of a 2 year study by the author that culminated in this book. This is a special place where real learning takes place and children are valued for their interests and their individualism.
It almost makes me want to go back to highschool or atleast move to Providence so that my children can go there. Thank you to the author, eliot Levine, and to everyone associated at the Met for being brave enough to go against the tide and create a school that will hopefully be the model for all schools in the future.

Another gift purchase, but I did look through it, wonderful pictures of Rhode Island. Purchased as a gift for a Rhode Islander who has moved away. Know she will love it.

This little state has as huge a heritage as most of its bigger brothers. A lot of important history went down here, and this book will tell your students about it.

The "Portrait of America" series is a wonderful introduction for pre-teens to the 50 states and to the places and events that shaped the history of the United States. This "Rhode Island" installment is particularly good. The book is broken down into sections like "History", "Culture", "Economy" etc., and each section is thoughtfully written and edited. The "History" section is especially good and is very inclusive.

This book, as well as the entire "Portrait of America" series, will prove to be a valuable teaching tool to all primary school educators.