Rhode Island Books

This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it for its honesty and depth. Thank you Arlene Violet for being an excellent role model for women as the first nun to earn a law degree from the state of Rhode Island -- and for using your education for a higher purpose. MORE POWER TO WOMEN!

I came across this book on a holiday in Crete. It looked like one of thousands of war stories. But it was not. It turned out to be one of the most absorbing books I ever read. The book is a completely true and accurate story about a Cretan dispatch runner in the British intelligence service seen from the Cretan side. As his translator and former superior intelligence officer, Patrick Leigh Fermor, put it:
"...like a Rualla beduin, by sudden miracle of literacy, had given us the Arab version of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom!"
By some terrible error the author and dispatch runner, Georgio Psychoundakis, was imprisoned as a deserter after the war. He spent 16 months in jail in spite of beeing honoured by the British with BEM. There, in jail, in desperation he wrote down everthing he could remember from his time in the British service.
The reading of this very well written book has painted a most fascinating picture of Crete, its people and their resistance to the blood soaked german occupation. All seen through the eyes of the dispatch runner.
Through this book he has given a face to all the anonymus and ordinary people of Crete who fought for their freedom of their country.
The book can also be used as a most magnetic travelling guide covering the sentral Crete.
In later years Georgio Psychoudakis translated the works of Homer to Cretan dialect. En impressive feat for a scholar. Not to speak of a shepherd with two or three years of occational education.
He is now (2005) 85 yars and living in Xania, Crete.

Just a simple 4 stars for Mr Schroder and Ms Emma for their book about the Seabees at Davisville, Rhode Island. Excellent photographic history of this unique military organization. The Navy Seabees continue to be an important part of our military.

This is a very nice book to have. An author wrote about every nice places and every activities you could do within 2 hours drive around Baltimore...He also included the phone numbers and the addresses of every place he had mentioned in the book..It's also good for escaping.

As a lifelong Rhode Island native (25 years and counting), I found this book captured the unique arena that is the real Providence. The city itself is a character, yet it's presence is subtle enough to make this book easy to connect no matter where you hail from. The local shops, bars, restaurants and locations set the scene and show the Providence that I have come to love, yet they are portrayed ambiguously enough that they could pop up in any city.

The characters are identifiably unique and quirky, pouring out witty yet cynical dialogue all over the place, making for very memorable scenes. Even though they sometimes maintain a crass banter between one another, you can perceive a malleable bond between the protagonist, Victor, and his best friend, Wix. This twosome have invariably different views on life and most importantly faith, yet they share character traits that adhere them to one another during their rough an riotous ride through what they think may be the end of their lives as they know them. Along the way, they pick up an old schoolyard "acquaintance", Ralph T. Willbury, a bonafide oaf with a genuine friendliness, contradicted by his years of being labeled as a terminally anti-social buffoon. Although his presence may seem small, he starts to rub off on Victor and Wix, and ends up passing unto them a lesson in friendship. It's heartwarming how a ostracized, overweight and poverty raised kid can teach the closest of friends a thing or two about friendship; paralelled by his seemingly self imposed lack of friends in school.

The story, told through a letter written by our antisocial hero, Victor Meeks, is one that flows easily despite change in time and location. The characters are heavily built upon in flashbacks, memories and dreams, and they solidify themselves during their current escapades. The story takes place over the period of only about 24 to 36 hours, and this day is filled with content: sometimes seeming to be overfilled, but heh, these kids are on a mission! The writing is very intelligent, as is most of the dialogue, which may scare some away. But the imagery certainly makes the tale easy to descend into, so I think most readers should not have a hard time at all.

On the whole, this book was a heartwarming yarn with some loveable (yet self-loathing) characters, that give a very true glimpse into the real, uncompromised and most oft unseen Providence. I read this cover to cover in just a couple of days, not wanting to put it down and chance missing what happens next to the cynical friends. I thoroughly enjoyed the read, and surmise that most would also, even if they have never personally seen the sights of Rhode Island. I recommend picking it up; it is something you won't label a regret.

"Death Seem'd to Stare" marks Joseph Lee Boyle's third book honoring the identities of the heroes of the six-month encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-1778. His previous volumes, "Fire Cake and Water" and "What Can't Brave Americans Endure?" identify the Connecticut and New Jersey soldiers, respectively, who were among the 30,000 individuals whose names appear on the National Archives muster and payroll records of the beleaguered Valley Forge encampment. Boyle's latest volume examines the New Hampshire and Rhode Island contingents.

Mr. Boyle's informative Introduction traces the service of the New Hampshire and Rhode Island regiments before and after they joined General Washington in November 1777. The New Hampshire units, for example, fought opposite portions of General Burgoyne's army at Hubbardton, Vermont; and, later, under General Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Freeman's Farm. For their part, the Rhode Island regiments participated in the American defeat of a Hessian assault on Fort Mercer, New Jersey, in October of the same year. During the Valley Forge winter of 1778, however, "virtually half the New Hampshire units were destitute of any kind of shoes or stockings to their feet." Their Rhode Island counterparts "at this Sevear Season of the year, are, the greatest part of them almost Stark naked, Destitute of Every necessary of life...." Despite these privations, the New Hampshire regiments would later fight victoriously at the Battle of Newtown in 1779. At the Battle of Rhode Island, in August 1778, "The first Rhode Island distinguished itself, and the bravery of the Black soldiers was praised by a number of officers."

Like the other two books, the core of "Death Seem'd to Stare" consists of an alphabetical list in excess of 2,500 New Hampshire and Rhode Island soldiers abstracted from Revolutionary War muster and payrolls. Each patriot is identified by name, rank, date, and term of enlistment or commission, names of regiment and company, and a variety of supporting details, such as date of furlough or discharge, when wounded, when and where promoted, etc. In support of the abstracts, the author has prepared a detailed glossary of terms found in the rosters, an explanatory list of locations referred to in the entries, and a lengthy, up-to-date bibliography.

Like its predecessors, "Death Seem'd to Stare" is a significant contribution to our understanding of one of the most critical moments in the American past.

I would like to read this book again sometime. It has that kind of substance that will bear up to a second read. There are books that stay on my shelf for just that reason. I will return to it with pleasure.

This book is basically an annotated list of places to wet a line in the ocean state. It includes some useful info about each location and maps. Recommended for people who (like me) are new to RI.

I moved to Florida and really miss stiper fishing in the Boston area. This guide gives you pretty much everything you need to learn about the area. There is a lot of good fishing around if you are willing to be a little adventuresome. Now I sight fish for redfish. Almost as good.

I love the Easyfinder laminated maps from Rand McNally. They are extremely durable, meaning I won't have to repurchase a map that gets torn, spilled on, or just plain worn out. Even better, I can mark my routes & destinations on them with dry erase marker, then just wipe off when no longer needed. Map detail is top notch, as you would expect from Rand McNally. Great for local tag sale bargain hunting or longer trips. 5 stars, definitely my favorite maps.