New Hampshire Books

It is a tricky thing to adapt columns written with a particular region in mind into a book with a national audience -- a special trick, perhaps, when a kind of gardening calendar is retained to organize the text. Henry Homeyer's practical "reflections and observations" may seem most germane to gardeners in New England, but if you know enough to place his experience in your own climate, you will find plenty to interest you.

What I like best about this book are the pieces that transcend zones entirely, such as a report of his visit to White House gardens and his interview with Jamaica Kincaid. Discreet illustrations (block prints, a few black and white photos, and a few drawings) add to the text. And there is an excellent index, something which alas can no longer be taken for granted in gardening books.

Despite my misgivings about how serviceable some of these essays are beyond New England, Henry Homeyer's plain and personal prose reminded me of the great American garden writer, Henry Mitchell. I think Mitchell would not be unhappy to find this book on a shelf alongside his own.

I loved German teacher Glen Cady, and was wrapped up in his story over the course of one enjoyable weekend. Weesner does a great job of getting inside both the head of Glen Cady and the heart of this sad tale of splitting up, finding love on two continents, losing one's profession, and then finding happiness all over again. I especially liked the dual stories, set in the USA and Germany.

This is the account of a hike the author and a friend took in 1966 through the Mahoosuc range: the roughly (and rough!!) 35 miles of the Appalachian Trail between Gorham and Grafton Notch (the route has changed a bit since then). Their 5-night hike is described in great detail, along with flashbacks to trips they took all the way back to 1929.
I hiked this section last year and recommend the book to anybody who has been through the Mahoosucs (or plans to). It's probably more interesting to read after hiking than before, to compare their trip with yours.
The most interesting aspect is seeing how things have changed since 1966. Many of the sheer rock climbs they did (near Goose Eye... or is it Goose High?..., for example) now have ladders. Hiking techniques have changed a bit (they brought an axe, thought about uprooting bushes to make a campsite, used balsam boughs in shelters, etc.): this is pre-LNT! And they were alone for days at a time (not likely in early September nowadays).
A fascinating description of a tough hike (I take my hat off to the late Mr. Doan and his friend Claud).

Author Eric Purchase makes the case that New Hampshire's tourism industry took off after an 1826 tragedy in which the entire Willey family, who ran an inn in the Crawford Notch area, was killed trying to outrun an avalanche that left their home untouched. Along the way, we also learn a lot about America of the early 19th century -- tourism, literature, commerce and science -- all are discussed in this interesting literary portrait of a time before nature became romantic.

Lots of b&w photographs and illustrations, notes, references and an index.

Ten years ago Erin Delaney had big dreams so she left Stony Creek, New Hampshire. Sam Stone never asked her to stay although they were sweethearts.

Little did Sam or Erin know what Jill did to seperate them. Jill being Erin's younger sister and later Sam's wife and mother of Sara.

Erin has come back from her life in New York as a successful model because her younger brother, Rory, 18 is in trouble with the law.
And her mother was practictaly hysterical.

Sam Stone,29, is a successful lawyer and Erin,28, called him for help to save Rory from a criminal record.
Jill had wanted to stay in Boston with all the bright lights but Sam wanted to raise Sara in his home town.

There was a witness that claims Rory is the culpret in auto theft.
Little Sara is an engaging child and Erin finds herself falling for her niece so she tries to distance herself from both Sam and Sara.
She is bound and determined to return to New York.

Then there are clues to follow and [of course] a gigantic snow storm.
No matter their plans to seperate they still give into their hormones. [Yuk]mental attitude.

Erin is trying to find out what happened on the night that Jill was killed. Why is her mother so against Sam? When she practictaly raised him.
Sara wanted Erin to stay.

Wonderful story except ------ neat characters -
Definitely Recommend -- M --

The Appalachian Mountain Club is a New England Based hiking organization, that has blazed and hiked trails repeatedly through the Northeast part of the country. This expertise is evident in this guide, which covers southern New Hampshire most notably Mount Monadnock (the most hiked mountain in the world behind Fuji) and Mount Cardigan.

Precise routes, historical interest and ways to avoid heavy foot traffic are mentioned here. The best part is the foldout map with Monadnock on the front and Cardigan on the back. You will never get a more detailed trail map.

This is truly the quintessential guide for anyone who wants to hike this region of New Hampshire....I also recommend the other guide books for the state. Really excellent, comprehensive.

A story of the real Northern New England and the people who lived there. When men were men and the rivers ran wild. A story of when lumber was king and a man's word was as good as gold.

Scott Molloy is Rhode Island's foremost labor historian. Now a history professor and the University of Rhode Island, Molloy worked his way through graduate school working as a bus driver for the state's bus company. It was there that he began researching and studying the history of Rhode Island public transportation and the people who worked there.

In preparing this work, Molloy interviewed retired street car workers, poured through yellowed newspapers and dug through boxes of records sitting in the dusty corners of the bus driver's union.

His efforts have paid off. Trolley Wars tells the story of the rise of public transportation from the experiences of the people who made it work -- the workers.

I love to meander along back roads, and I've found this atlas to be far superior to the street level maps found in the Arrow Atlas of the same region. Several small towns, such as Sandown or Danville NH are not included in Arrow at all, and when I've found them in other atlases, they are segmented, attached to other towns, and spread across several pages. The Universal Atlas includes all of the towns in the region (no matter how small) shows the entire town on one page, and when it needs two pages, it makes sure you can open the book to see the whole map without flipping pages (which can be a bit of a driving hazard).

I've also found this atlas to be up-to-date on new roads and communities within small towns. I highly recommend this atlas over any other for the southern region of NH>

I read this book for a second time after Richard Russo's "Empire Falls" brought it to mind. Although it lacks the epic sweep of Russo's novel, "Whisper My Names" shares a similar setting (small town New England), eccentric and often comical characters, and a narrative informed by American realist traditions.

Hebert perfectly conveys the small-town rivalries, petty grievances, and endearing foibles that afflict the fictional town of Darby, New Hampshire, where two of his previous novels were set. The source of the town's current problems is a proposed shopping mall that (to some) promises new jobs and revenue and (to others) threatens the area's rustic way of life. The novel's characters are motivated by greed, principles, politics, and pretensions--and some of them just don't care. All in all, Darby is a microcosm of American life.

At the center of it all is Chance, a journalist covering the story while seeking the identity of his real father and pursuing Soapy, a young girl whose parentage is equally unclear. But the most memorable character is perhaps Ike Jordan, a churlish fraud and petty criminal from the wrong side of the tracks who has pretensions of becoming one of the town's leaders.

It's a shame this book is out of print. I can only hope that the University Press of New England, which has reprinted Hebert's first two Darby novels, will see its way to adding this book to its list.