Connecticut Books

When Henry King, former chief of the national security council, moves to Newbury, Connecticut, he buys the Zarega homestead and turns it into a country estate, Fox Trot. Mr. King's land is right where he plan to build a lake. King's next door neighbor, dairy farmer Ron Butler, leases a piece of land that the ex-statesman wants to buy but the two men can't come to any agreement.

King asks the town real estate agent Ben Abbot to try and mediate the dispute but Mr. Butler is a stubborn man who just wants to be left in peace on land his family owned for three generations. When Henry throws a house party, an explosion occurs and the man-made lake is destroyed. Killed in the blast is Mr. Butler's son and the state police believe that the former, an expert in setting explosives, set the bomb. They arrest him and Ben is hired to help his lawyer find some evidence to clear his client because if Mr. Butler isn't released from jail soon, he is going to go insane.

After writing HARDSCAPE AND STONEDUST Justin Scott took a hiatus from the Ben Abbott mysteries until now. Ben Abbot returns in FROSTLINE and this novel is even better than the first two books in the series. This is not a pretty novel and for the most part the characters aren't likable but it is a very interesting and colorful amateur sleuth tale starring a hero who did time and turned his life around. Using misdirection and red herrings Mr. Scott keeps the reader guessing about the identity of the bomber until he chooses to reveal it.

Harriet Klausner

Perfect for reading to oneself or sharing with the whole family. Hastings manages to bring alive the past, sharing tales of a long-ago culture. My only complaint with this book is that I wished there'd been a bit more dialogue and less description. Do try the recipe for old-fashioned baked beans - it was popular in our house.

It should be noted from the outset that this book is not primarily on the Hartford fire itself, although it is covered in the first chapter. It is on the legal and financial fallout from the disaster. The authors explain that an out of court agreement was reached whereby the circus would be kept running while its owners paid out claims. The receiver for the case refused payment until all claims had been handled. Litigation arose only when it came time to pay the receiver, and he asked for $175,000. Had the circus declared bankruptcy as expected at first, claimants would have gotten next to nothing. The authors see this as a model settlement for mass disaster claims.

When I first picked this book up, I expected it to be a legal bore and almost returned it. But it was actually quite good. It presented a perspective on the Hartford fire and on disasters in general one rarely gets from most books. It is especially recommended for trial lawyers and litigants. Still, those interested in more standard accounts are urged to look at other books on the fire.

The authors are right to applaud the Hartford settlement and encourage alternative dispute resolution, but two questions are raised. First of all, as they admit, the fact that everyone was reasonable and efficient in 1944 during the war does not mean they will act that way today. Secondly, I fear that lawyers may use the threat of expensive litigation to coerce innocent defendants into paying up during mediation, sending us all back to square one.

But don't let the size put you off.

The first thing you will notice upon browsing this book, beyond its small size, is that there is a whole lot more to New Haven than Yale University. If you're looking for a comprehensive guide to buildings at Yale, this is not the book. While Yale has its proper inclusion, so do all of New Haven's other fascinating neighborhoods. New Haven's history includes a significant period of industrialization, so most of its colonial core is gone. Though there are a few remaining examples, colonial and federal structures made way for mid to late 19th century romantic styles. Lovers of Victorian architecture have to consider New Haven a treasure.

Since the guide is small and the building stock in New Haven is rich, the entries are exceptionally short. Most simply include an address, building name, date of construction and a brief description. There are a few black & white photographs scattered about, but the author hasn't attempted to add one for each entry. There are few really good photographs, but there are still a few.

Since the book is arranged around walking tours (and a few driving tours), there are nice maps for each chapter that exactly pinpoint the building locations. You're going to do a lot of walking to cover all this material, that's for sure. There are no historical essays to introduce the city or the architecture, rather, the author chooses to get us right to the architecture itself. And there are no architect biographies.

I know I seem to be talking a lot about what this book isn't, but perhaps I should mention what it is; a surprisingly complete and effective catalog of historic New Haven meant for the curious traveler and casual architecture enthusiast.

Note the title: There's no modernism here, but there's a drop-dead beautiful church on every corner (and every page).

Although there are only 2 dozen trails described, the author provides very good trail descriptions and directions to the trailhead. Repro's of USGS maps for the trails are included but are a little hard to read because of their reduced size. Still, all-in-all, I recommend it.

This book was OK. It really should get a 3-star rating. But it is packed full of good information so I cannot bear to kill it with just a 3-star vote. For a couple of years now I have been reading just about everything I can find on the estate settlement process in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. And through my readings I have come to realize that there are no really good publications on estate administration, probating an estate, and/or calculating and paying estate taxes. The chief problem the writers have is they either confuse "estate planning" with "estate adminstration." Or they confuse "estate administration" with "probating an estate." Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, the author of the instant book being reviewed has confused all three topics when the book's title declares that the content will focus on "probating an estate."

If the book were to be true to its title, then it would have a Table of Contents that would look something like the following:

I. THE BASICS
1. What is probate?
2. When must an estate be probated?
3. How is probate affected if decedent dies with a will?
4. How is probate affected if decedent dies without a will?
5. Who is an executor?
6. What does an executor do with regard to probate?
7. How does an executor get appointed?
8. What is an executor's fiduciary duty?
9. To what or whom does an executor owe its fidciary duty?
II. THE PROCESS
10. The probate court
11. An overview of the probate court process
12. The specific things an executor must do to get through the probate court process
13. What property is subject to probate?
14. What property is not subject to probate?
15. What are the different property types a decedent could own?
16. The probate process and various tax returns
III. MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS
17. Does the probate court have jurisdiction over real estate in a state other than the probate court's state?
18. The probate process and guardianships of minors
19. The probate process and conservators
20. The probate process and will contests
21. The probate process and problem executors
22. How to find an estates and trusts lawyer
IV. APPENDIX MATERIAL
A1. Text of State Probate Code
A2. The probate court forms or templates available to an executor
A3. Schedule of Probate Court Fees and Costs

Unfortunately, most of these topics are either not discussed or discussed in a cursory manner. And don't expect to see a copy of Connecticut's probate code or the forms you would need when probating an estate.

By definition "Probate" is the mechanism to transfer ownership of property AFTER the owner's death. A book about probate should not be providing estate planning advice which relates to a time BEFORE a property owner's death. With the exception of chapters 1, 4, 6, 9, and 20, the instant book's chapters address estate planning topics. Arguably Chapter 17 might also be relevant to the probate process, but I figure the reader is reading this book so she can avoid paying for legal help.

The book is split between its body (pages 1-142) and its appendix materials (pages 143-379). To me that is quite a lopsided split of pages. Is the book at 142 pages worth its cover price? Do the appendix materials help justify the book's cover price? Does the content in the body of the book address the subject matter of the book well? My answer to all three of these questions is "no." This is especially true for the appendix material since appendices 1B, 1C, 4A, and 12A (the bulk of the appendices that relate to probate) can be downloaded for free off the Internet.

I wish there were another book I could refer you to that covers the probate process well. Unfortunately I am not aware of one. Interestingly enough, the State of Connecticut has a pretty good Web site devoted to the subject and I recommend you find and study its contents if you are interested in the subject matter of the instant book. To find it just Google "probate court of connecticut." 4 stars!

PS. Examine the Search Inside feature Amazon provides for this book to see what the Table of Contents includes. My review may make a little more sense to you if you look at the TOC since I do not list chapter titles or appendix titles in my review.

I have read all of the Hometown Hero series and really enjoyed them. I wish she would wite some more. Although they are about senior citizens, which I am not, I think they appeal to all adult age groups. Great plots and just enough mayhem to make it interesting.

Set against the backdrop of the First World War, this is a wonderful story about the struggle for technological progress and of ill-fated love. Our lovers are frustrated by their perceptions of their roles in society, and struggle to resolve their feelings for each other without betraying their responsibilities. Alongside this bittersweet story, we are also treated to the struggle to create the modern electric power grid. The technical details are clearly described, and the author does a good job of describing the obstacles and the visions of the engineers that brought electricity to America. He also does a good job in showing the role of patents in this process. This is a wonderful book that paints a vivid portrait of the early part of the previous century and the people who lived then.

(This review is based on a pre-publication Advanced Reading Edition.)

This book covers the procees of the creation of the book in the Middle Ages. It contains detailed photographs and facsimile pages of manuscripts in various stages: ruled for writing, written and awaiting illumination, waiting for binding, and in use. Some of the details provided in Ms. Shailor's book are wonderful and rarely found in other affordable books on the subject. Further, the manuscripts selected for study are not limitied to the best-of-the-best books made for the nobility and the church, as is usually seen, but also includes information on manuscripts made for every day life. Individuals interested in the actual tools and processes of making medieval manuscript books would be well-served if they obtained this book.

Waughs books were written in the 40's and 50's, for the most part, and are largely now forgotten. This is unfortunate. He invented the police procedural, with THE MISSING MAN being one of those from a small-town Connecticut police department headed by Fellows. This one has the usual splendid ending, after a methodical chase for a clever murderer/con man. Waugh never cuts through the more humdrum procedures of the police in favor of tough-guy glitz and plot-cheating; nor does he make it boring as one follows along Fellows' methodical tracking to a satisfying, well-earned, ending. This novel, modest yet crafted with care, is one reason that Waugh belongs in the canon of American mystery writers.