Maryland Books

Craig Hanken has given us a magnificent book on landscape painting written as a reflection of how paintings and a body of work develop over time. As a former student of the artist, I am continually taken with Leake's ability to use a narrow palette of color, and sometimes the same landscape over and over, to express an amazing range and depth of feeling about the landscape. This book is a joy to read and to use as a resource - Leake explains his use of color and choice of locations in terms that the general specator can appreciate and the student can try an emulate. The numerous images are well chosen and well reproduced. A classic.

I have owned this book for quite some time. My favorites include the recipe for Maryland Crabcakes and the Stuffed Mushrooms. There are several recipes from some of my favorite restaurants such as Phillip's Crab House and Rod 'n' Reel (just to name a few). There are also picture discriptions on how to fillet, shuck, clean, dress and freeze many of your favorite fish, crabs, lobster, clams, and oysters. This book is a must for a beginner on seafood preperation.

This book is very well written. This book has offered me several ways to enhance my knowledge-base. A must read if you want to keep up with the changes taking place in Maryland.

This was a wonderfully crafted history of Maryland horseracing. The archival photographic images are extensive and spectacular, as are the stories that accompany the photos. Anyone interested in horses, Maryland history or the racing community will enjoy and be informed by this book. Bravo!

This book is an enjoyable experience to read. A big fan of amusement parks and a Maryland resident, I never knew of these early parks or how amusement parks themselves came to be. This book gave me a new appreciation for thrill rides, and a historical context that helps me understand Maryland. Who would have thought a history lesson would come from such a great little book?

Paul Hanyok has done a wonderful job of telling us the history of wildlife enforcement in Maryland. Anyone who collects Maryland hunting & fishing licenses needs a copy. Very extensive research on the years of issuance, on the numbers issued. Many photographs of licenses and more. The first part of the book really tells the story of the early days of wildlife enforcement. Also tells the history of conservation laws in Maryland. Very interesting reading. I learned of many licenses I didn't even know existed. Thank you Paul for the fine book!

The book presents a complicated topic about as clearly as can possibly be done, without watering it down excessively. Quite a superb job, all in all. If you think you might be interested in the subject matter, you will probably be happy with this book.

As a Maryland resident, I've eaten at many of the restaurants included in the book. There are some great seafood dishes and for me, many memories as well.

As franchises, strip malls,highways, fast food and outlets become more prevelant in America, it is refreshing and enlightening to read John Sherwood's, "Maryland's Vanishing Lives." His colorful and poignant portraits of ways of life in Maryland (a one-room schoolhouse;Tool bridge operator etc.) are a reminder of how things have been, but are quickly giving way to the mass marketing approach in our nation. Sherwood preserves the varied ways of life that are quickly going by the wayside in our impersonal age, and does so with an exquisite human touch. Bravo!

If you lived in Maryland, but now live someplace else and sometimes pine for good old fashioned Maryland cooking, this is the book for you. The recipes run from "Mock Turtle" soup (made with a calf's head) to "Green Tomato Soy" sauce. But what you probably are looking for is seafood recipes. Of course there are crabcake recipes as well as baked rock fish and fried oysters. But do you have a recipe for "Oyster Pye"? If not, this is the place to get the recipe.
Just so you don't think all Marylanders eat is seafood, there is also many recipes for meat as well as poultry. There are also some awesome dessert recipes, such as strawberry rhubarb pie as well as lemon cookies.

If you've missed the taste of Maryland cooking, or maybe you just want to find out about this regional cusine, you should by the book.