New Hampshire Books

Along with being a decent mystery, Crosswired offers an exceptionally creepy look into the mind of a serial killer. Periodic forays into the fictional killer's head are accompanied by insights that the author has gleaned from research of actual cases. People who know the Seattle area will enjoy following the case through some of their favorite haunts, which, after reading the book, might seem truly haunting!

An intesting book about the story of the narrow minded puritans fighting back against the british army ,once a great powerful one. A great book espescilly when the army are made out to be fools. A well written book of life in 1777.

In 1943, Caroline Lord became the librarian of the George Holmes Bixby Memorial Library, serving the small community of Francestown, New Hampshire. She was new to the profession, did most of the work by herself, and wasn't always sure she was doing things "properly." Perhaps that's why she kept a journal, jotting down encounters with people and books, and reacting to current events as they affected the library and her town. The result is a book that's interesting on a variety of levels, as it recounts not only the culture of a possibly simpler time in small-town New England, but also the day-to-day operations of the pre-automated library. Ms. Lord retired from her position in December 1960. She has provided for us a nice reminscence of the past. And yet, for better or for worse, librarians of today will connect and commiserate with Ms. Lord's laments about limited finances, limited space for limited resources, and unruly young adult patrons. Librarians in similiar small towns and especially in New England will find themselves nodding their heads at Ms. Lord's notes. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Recommended for librarians of all ages and professional stages, as a diversion and respite from their regular "required" reading.

When I was growing up in suburban New York, my parents sent me to a summer camp in rural New Hampshire for a number of summers. During these summers, I fell in love with the beauty and ruggedness of New Hampshire. I spent my summers riding horses, hiking mountains and swimming in ice cold lakes. I also spent my summers swatting mosquitoes and battling poison ivy. Donald Hall's anthology, Eagle Pond, brought back memories of these summers long gone, evoking memories both sweet and bitter-sweet. Hall's writing is lyrical and poetic, using words sparingly to evoke sounds, thoughts and memories. His commentary on the shallowness of our lives when they are based purely on the present and lack historical depth is right on target.

I wish that I had read Hall's works separately. Unfortunately, they do not work too well together in anthology form. There is too much repetition, which sometimes gets annoying. This repetition is necessary if each volume stands alone, but it becomes redundant in anthology form. This does not decrease the beauty of the writing, but it does lessen the beauty of the book as a whole.

After the title, the cover mentions 150 destinations... While the information contained in this volume is accurate for the lights that I am familiar with, at the same time, the volume is not nearly as comprehensive as the recently published "The Lighthouse Handbook - New England" by Jeremy D'Entremont, which also lives on my bookshelf. Elinor's book is a nice companion to Jeremy's and it is certainly worth having both. Elinor has information on when individual lights are open, telephone numbers, etc. broken out into colored boxes, which makes this information readily spotted, whereas Jeremy's Field Guide has the same information contained in the text pertaining to each light.

This series of alphabet books is a great concept to share with kids that have connections, such as travel, relatives, or other interest in a variety of states. They include a good cross section of points of interest from each state and are fun to share. I have nieces and nephews out of state, and I bought this book to share a little bit about their cousins home state. One point worth making in G Is For Granite is that page "T" is for Tuckerman's Ravine. Check the map, it isn't a possesive and should be "Tuckerman Ravine". The folks at Friends of Tuckerman take that pretty seriously. Must have fallen off the headwall a time or two.

This book probably has limited appeal, but is valuable in that it shows a parting view of an authentic New England fishing village that vanished when the hotel on Star Island was built in the 1870s. The text and photographs of the fishing village are priceless for those who have visited Star Island. A fascinating bit of history.

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.