Massachusetts Books

Don't be put off this book by those who have sought to demonize Professor Rostow for his role in shaping policy toward South Vietnam as Policy Planning chief at the State Department during JFK's administration - and as National Security Advisor during LBJ's administration. Not only did Rostow have relatively little involvement during the JFK administration - but his greatest efforts under LBJ were in seeking some means of influencing North Vietnam to stop its involvement in South Vietnam - rather than in seeking to expand the war.

Moreover, as National Security Advisor, Rostow exercised his abilities in a far greater range than Vietnam policy - at a time of the Pueblo taking by North Korea, the USSR's invasion of Czechoslovakia, Israel's Six Day War, and the building of a process for disarmament talks with the USSR.

The truth is that Rostow is a fine penetrating thinker and writer. This book and its sequel, Diffusion of Power, are wonderful examinstions of American foreign policy - and the foreign elements that affected it - from the Second World War through the late 1950s. (Diffusion of Power covers the period from the late 1950s to 1973 - and serves also as a personal account from inside the White House of the LBJ administration's conduct of policy - however don't read Diffusion of Power for an account of the Nixon foreign policy -- it's rather light).

Two of the book's aspects that were particularly striking were:

A) The discussions of politics and economics in the third world during a period in which most of the world was gaining independence from colonial empires - and the American response to that challenge and opportunity. Rostow gives a convincing argument that the Eisenhower administration should have done more to "win" (my word) the new governments of the majority of people in the world to the causes of freedom and to prosperity through free enterprise.

B) Rostow's interesting analysis of the American relationship with the western European states that had been occupied only recently - were in many cases devastated by the occupation - and now faced the loss of their colonies as well as a sense of purpose.

This is a superb book on many levels - from its consistently superb dissection of domestic considerations in foreign policy(particularly Congress) to the simple role of human personality (e.g., Dean Acheson's vs. that of John Foster Dulles) in the relations of the world's statesmen.

I had written a paper on Rostow's Stages of Growth when I was in college.

Rostow is one of those rare academics who writes very well;

one of those rare foreign policy mavens who is as interested in the underdeveloped world as in Europe; and

one of those rare experts in 3rd World economics who is unapologetic about the necessity of sometimes using military force to prevent totalitarian groups from gaining sway over peoples.

Rostow writes very VERY well - and this book is a fascinating and extensive study of the first act of the Cold War in its Third World as well as East-West dimensions.

This book is particularly interesting reading today as the U.S. seeks more strongly than at any time in the last thirty-five years to influence nations to turn toward democracy.

I thank Professor Rostow for having written this - and its sequel - they've both given me enormous pleasure over the years.

Spellbinding! This is the finest analysis of comparative naval archicture in print. Should be required reading for all ship designers.

Used to be published by Information Publications of Palo Alto,CA.I am delighted that Edith Horner, editor, has taken on the task of continuing this publication.The book contains one page for every city and town in Massachusetts. The pages are arranged alphabetically,by town name.The data for each town is organized into 9 categories: Demographic & Socio-Economic Characteristics, General Information, Voters & Government Officials, Public Safety,Housing & Construction, Taxation, Municipal Finance, Library,and School System. For quick and up-to-date information on the various towns in Massachusetts, I find this book to be the best source. Dora Federico, Reference Librarian

This is a big, beautiful, lavishly illustrated love tribute to the whale species. About half the pages are for Williams' grand, celebratory poem--a poem of beauty and stark fact-- about whales, that includes history, biology, all the ways whales have enriched our society, both living and as a product, the tragic aspects regarding the thoughtless, non-sacred killing of the great beasts and details of hunting and processing, etc. Indeed, Williams' epic seems to include all aspects of the culture of the whale. The second half of the book contains hundreds of fascinating quotes about whales, culled from nearly every epoch of written human history, and serves the reader as a virtual encyclopedia about whales. The book is illustrated throughout with fine photographs, including beautiful full color photos of whales alive and well in their natural habitat, to photos depicting the myriad ways humans have exploited and profited from the whale. This is a good book, a song celebrating the sacredness of whales and lamenting our human society that has for the most part taken them for granted. This book is both a prayer and a textbook, celebrating whales with compassion and passion, and educating about whales with fascinating facts, history and photos. It is a work of art, both simple and grand.

I have read this author's other works at the recommendation of my boss and I must say that it is very helpful for me in my career. Mayo A. Shattuck knows how to clearly lay out a subject and really engage the reader on topics that may be a little bit dry. "The Massachusetts rule of trust investments" is a short read that will really help deepen your understanding of financial history. Mayo Shattuck is an excellent author and anyone who is involved in the financial fields should take some time to read his treatises.

This is a short but charming book from Amherst College Press, published for the centennial of Emily Dickinson?s 1886 death, edited with an introduction and manuscript comments by R. W. Franklin. Ralph Franklin is arguably the best current Dickinson manuscript scholar and also edited ?The Poems of Emily Dickinson?, to my eyes the current definitive edition of Dickinson.

The Master Letters are three letters, actually drafts of three letters, to a person Emily addresses as ?Master?. They are undated by Dickinson, but some sleuthing and careful handwriting analysis described in the introduction put them in a credible chronologic order. No other version of these letters or the other side of this correspondence is known. A wonderful mystery.

For decades only a fragment of one letter was known to the public, published with Dickinson poems because of the poetic qualities abundant in these letters. The full letters were suppressed, presumably because of their intimate emotional content. The mildest letter was published in 1931, the final two waited until 1955 for publication.

Because of Dickinson?s original and idiosyncratic use of punctuation, capitalization, and word and line spacing, it is currently fashionable to read Dickinson in the original, usually meaning reproductions of the handwritten originals. Standard print has no equivalent of her dashes of various lengths, for example. This text includes full page photographs of every page of the letters with a faithful printed version on the facing page. Plus, as a real treat, an insert envelope contains complete reproductions of all the original leaves. A beautiful touch. The hand of the author is very present in scratch outs, overwrites, and corrections - giving hints at Emily?s creative and editing process. The handwriting is clear and legible but takes some study to read fluidly.

I feel very close to Emily Dickinson reading and holding these letters. This text is a must for Dickinson fans, and will be appreciated by many bibliophiles and scholars.

Boston's Museum of Fine Arts contains one of the most pleasing permanent collections in America. This book is a fine sampler of some favorites among the paintings, lavishly reproduced in color and featuring intelligent commentaries about each one. Highlights include famous works by Sargent, Rembrandt, Munch, and Renoir, although you may also discover some hidden gems that you were not previously aware of. If you have ever visited the musuem, this book makes a fine souvenir. If you have not, it will certainly whet your appetite. For anyone intereted in art, or wishing to be, this makes a good gift.

The collaborative effort of the Plimoth Plantation, authors Peter Arenstam, John Kemp, and Catherine O'Neill Grace, and photographers Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson, Mayflower 1620: A New Look At A Pilgrim Voyage is a superb picture book retelling of history for young people, about the voyage of the Mayflower ship and the lives of the colonists who braved hardship for a new future. Gorgeous, full-color photographs capture reenactments of how life aboard the Mayflower was like, and the down-to-earth text presents the events of history in detail. An enthusiastically recommended and enthralling educational read, Mayflower 1620 is ideal for young readers seeking to broaden and improve their knowledge of American colonial history as well as their basic reading skills.

If you want information about the Mayflower passengers, this is the best book for that I have seen. It is not a history of the Pilgrims but rather a series of about 50 biographies on all the Mayflower families, each bio is anywhere between 1 to 20 pages. It is full of names and dates and places like a reference book but still reads like biographies making it interesting to genealogists and history buffs both. Very detailed and well researched and lots of endnotes.

The series is well-researched and well-documented. It has an index which allows researchers to locate their family and gives the original source; it is best used in conjunction with "Vital Records of (town), Massachusetts to 1850."