New Hampshire Books

A great book for anyone who's a fan of New England architecture. This guide devotes two to three pages to each historic building. Each listing includes an address, owner, builder's name and date plus a detailed description and some history of the building. Some photos are included, but not for every building. I do wish there were more photos, as I read about semi-elliptical fanlights, open belfreys, and shouldered architraves. It might be handy to have an architectural dictionary at hand while reading this.
The buildings are grouped this way:
Public Buildings: town halls, schools, libraries, churches
Residential Buildings
Industrial Buildings
Commercial Buildings
Transportation: boathouse, bridges, railroad stations
and a monument
If you're interested in architecture and planning a visit to New Hampshire's lakes region, get a copy of this book and plan to see these fascinating and unique buildings.

I grew up in this area, and it was wonderful to see the pictoral history.

If you are looking for a History of one of the toughest Fighting Units in the Civil War, this book is for you. The 6th NHVI fought in over 22 engagements and traversed over 17 states, the men fought in battles such as Fredricksburg, Antietam, VIcksburg, and The Mine at Petersburg. This regimental History takes you through the war as seen through the eyes of the men of the Granite State. Many men had never seen anywhere outside of their own County at home. This Regimental provides accurate accounts of the battles, and also amusing incidents and Biographies of the more well known commanding officers. It is a great book to read, It has large print and is very easy to read as well. Even though it looks as though most of it has been photocopied, and some areas have letters missing, but all in all a very good book.

Daniel Doan was a man who loved the land, particularly the land of New Hampshire. He spent a great deal of his life hiking the woods and mountains in this State.His thoroughly researched and highly readable book demonstrates both his New Hampshire education (Dartmouth)and his respect for the hardy people who settled here. It covers the period from 1785, when trappers built the first cabins along the Connecticut River in what is now Pittsburg,NH, until 1842, when the Webster-Ashburton Treaty finally established the border as we know it today. During this period, Mr. Doan makes us familiar with many of the principal players in the process that led to New Hampshire simply annexing this disputed territory by force. It is a very good read, but it leaves us with some unanswered questions, such as,"What happened to the Canadian settlers that simply moved north when the militia marched in?" and "What happened to Luther Parker and his family that caused him to hastily depart the territory for Wisconsin?"
I would recommend reading the treaty that was negotiated for us by Daniel Webster, at least the parts relating to the New England-Canadian border. It is available on the internet thanks to a Yale University graduate study program, and helps the reader to relate the border to the topography of northern New Hampshire. And many thanks to Ruth Doan MacDougall, who published her father's book shortly after he died. The book had gone unpublished for 30 years.

An insight into a complicated man's mind. This book is for historians who are trying to put together their own pictures of John Paul Jones. Most people would find this book dull and for them I would recommend one of the many books written about the founder of the American Navy.

People who love lighthouses know that the Maine coast is dotted with lighthouses and that this portion of New England is a lighthouse lover's paradise. LIGHTHOUSES AND LIFE SAVING ALONG THE MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE COAST is a must for East Coast lighthouse lovers. The book is similar to Claflin's other books on lighthouses and life saving in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is filled with older photographs of the places and people involved in this way of life. Readers who have visited the lighthouses and life saving stations of Maine in recent years will be amazed at how remote some of these locations once were. The small commentaries that follow many of the pictures helps create a sense of history of these bygone days. This book helps recreate the romantic appeal of the days when lighthouses and life saving stations were in their glory, but a reader will also get a sense of the dangers and sacrifice involved on the part of those who dedicated their lives to this service.

Today we visit historic spots like Colonial Williamsburg and Plimoth Plantation and we take their configurations for granted. If their buildings were not already standing when decisions about preservation or re-creation were made, then someone had to determine exactly what originally stood and where. To those of us who haven't given it much thought, we might not understand what that process entails. In fact, the field of historical archaeology is relatively new, having developed during our Baby Boomer lifetimes.

One-time window washer and handyman Roland Robbins was an unlikely figure in that occupation, having neither high school diploma nor advanced degree. After he uncovered the exact position of Henry David Thoreau's house at Walden Pond in the mid-1940s, he began to make a career of digging around historic properties, unearthing what had been covered by soil for decades. His work contributed to the restoration of the Saugus Iron Works in Massachusetts, the Philipsburg Manor Upper Mills in New York, and other mostly northeastern sites. While Robbins' meticulous note-taking has proven to be a researcher's delight, his intrusive excavation methods and personal disposition didn't always make for good relationships with his colleagues. According to Linebaugh, Robbins had a habit of abandoning a dig whenever he encountered insurmountable disputes with local officials or others associated with the place. He was a good lecturer, was charismatic and had a great sense of humor; but he wasn't what we would now call a team player. (In all fairness: It seems only natural that an archaeologist would feel some connection, even ownership, of a site after he put so much of himself into the work of revealing its footprint and operational purpose.) And when the realm of historical archaeology grew to be dominated by academicians, Robbins was left out on the edge as a mere "Pick and Shovel Historian," in spite of his past successes.

This book offers a look at one person's career as considered from the greater view of an evolving professional community. It makes for an educational and enjoyable read, not only for devoted Thoreauvians but also for anyone interested in American history, historic preservation, cultural anthropology, or archaeology.

I purchased this book after meeting Steve. I really enjoyed the fact that it was written by someone who lives in New England. The plot was exciting and kept you wanting to read more. Never really a dull moment. Good Book for "New Englanders" as you can relate to much of what is going on as far as the way of life.

Color Sgt Buffum did a workmanlike job. He captured the movement history, but also the life and times of the soldiers in his unit. His sections on their ties with home, their actions under fire, and the magnificent accounts of the historical events they witnessed makes this a good research source.

Rather than being a dry account, with names, dates, places, and actions, this was an account of morals, urges, fears, hopes, loves, and the full spectrum of emotions of the infantry soldier in his many duties at war. One cannot read the section on music and the soldier without a surge of emotion. The section entitled "boxes" draws an "awwwwwww" and a shared feeling of the love bond with home that was the lifeline for many.

The history was there: Sheridan and the Opequan, the procession of Jeff Davis on his way to prison (I stood on the corner from which the author saw this.), the guard duty in D.C., and along the Potomac with Moseby raiding their supplies. There are the expected tables of wounds and casualties. He wrote some of the personal histories of some of the officers and men.

If you want a Civil War book that takes you there, this is it. -CW3 John Buffum, Great Great Grandson-

This is actually standard Micheline guide
You can use as well as attraction descriptions as tourist paths