Connecticut Books

This volume, essentially a listing of several hundred Hlack residents of Connecticut from 1650 to 1900 with, where available, their brief life stories, is indispensable to anyone working on African American history in southern New England. A labor of love, compiled in the index-card days before computers, the information here should be double-checked where possible. A relatively quick scan should be enough to disabuse any reader of the notion that the races were separate in Connecticut at any time.

I use this guide frequently to plan short vacations around the Connecticut River Valley. It provides a good balance of description of the land and river; a well-chosen set of sights to see, including many that are off the beaten path; and reliable reviews of inns. The idea of centering a guidebook on a river valley appeals to me. A trustworthy source of information.

How many of us know the origin of the roads we travel everyday? How many care? Most roads and highways today are boring, sterile paths that take us from point A to point B. There was at least one thruway that was designed for the motorist to enjoy - the Merritt Parkway. As we learn in Travelling the Merritt Parkway by Larry Learned, great thought and effort went into the design of the road and it's many Art Deco theme bridges. I've commuted on the Merritt for over 12 years and always wondered about the story behind the bridges. The book includes many original photographs showing the various stages of construction and how it looked when completed in 1938. There have been many changes over the years such as the landscape and the addition of guardrails, but the bridges remain unchanged. I found it interesting that the road was engineered to be driven at a speed less than 50 miles per hour so that the motorist could take in all the visual beauty. Today motorists are more concerned with arriving at their destination as soon as possible and cars often exceed 70 miles per hour - too fast to appreciate the intricate detail of the bridge fascia or its railings. I recommend this book to anyone interested in road or bridge construction as well as the New England motorists who travel it.

Short and Sweet...an excellent look back at New London Counties Storied Past.... the makings for a movie!

The first in an unfinished series meant to be a trilogy, The Wings of the Morning is an engaging historical novel based on actual events that took place in Wethersfield, CT, the author's place of birth. Tryon took some liberties with history, moving some events from nearby towns into Pequot Landing, but Wings presents a vivid, reasonably accurate picture of 19th century life in this still beautiful CT River location. While the names have been changed, many of the characters are based upon real people and the dramatic incidents in their lives (the massacre of his family by a failing farmer, for example). Several of the businesses, such as the seed company, still exist and continue to do a thriving trade. Alas, the only water craft inhabiting the Cove today are of the small pleasure variety - no more dashing seagoing captains - but it's a pleasure to read Tryon's version of life in a thriving inland port. You'll want to proceed directly to the sequel, In the Fires of Spring. (Unfortunately, Thomas Tryon died before he could complete the third and last installment. He was an actor (The Cardinal, Texas John Slaughter) before he returned to CT and became a successful novelist.)

Dayton's book argues that, in terms of courtroom cases, women in colonial Connecticut fared better under Puritan legal ideas than later when the laws became more like those in England. She takes the reader through five kinds of cases that involved women to show the changes in the law over time. Her style is easy to read, and she uses anecdotes about specific cases to illustrate her points. A very unique study, unlike any that I have encountered in colonial American history.

By Edward G. Schultz, author of "Morgan's Mission", "Christmas Stories For Adults" and "Poems For Those Who Don't Like Poetry". I was an avid listener to Bob Steele's radio show for more than 30 years, so naturally I enjoyed his book. But I really believe that any one who appreciates word usage, pronunciation and origin of words will thoroughly enjoy Bob's book.
Before retiring I had ambitions to become an author. I did finally get out my first novel, "Morgan's Mission", a tale based on actual early California history. Listening to Bob Steele all those years and then reading his book, helped me a great deal in my writing. I really mean that! Bob not only inspired me but he also caused me to have more determination to finish the book that I had started. Since then I have published two more books and hope to have another released by the end of 2008.
Another part of Bob Steele's book is a biography of Bob's very interesting life, incidents that occured during his 65 year radio career, (one of the longest of all radio personalities) an insight into his great sense of humor and a sampling of how radio changed during those 65 years. Bob was elected to the Radio Hall Of Fame about a year before his death at age 90+.
Bob's book is very enjoyable reading, and very educational too!

Mary Higgins Clark is by far one of my favorite authors because of her easy going and suspenseful writing style. This book is no exception. There are two main female characters, one a women on parole from being incarcerated for killing her husband and the other is a journalist. MHC does a great job developing both characters and provides a quite entertaining story. The twist and turns are many and there is never a dull moment.

First of all, it's hard to figure out who the heroine is, since there's two of them - Molly and Fran. It seems like Molly is the heroine, then suddenly it's Fran. Then it's Molly again. Even though she's weak and insipid and can't wait to kill herself.

The start of the book is fake, with Molly getting out of jail and returning to a house that somehow was paid for and maintained miraculously for 5-1/2 years while she was in jail. Everything is spic and span, no problems whatsoever, house was never broken into, appliances are all working perfectly, there's hot water, furnace works great, etc. No 3-foot high grass in the yard either, or piles of junk mail or rodents nesting in the house. And of course somehow the utilities are all turned on. Some of this was done by the previous housekeeper, who just happens to be sitting around available with no job even after 5-1/2 years and who no doubt doesn't mind putting all the utilities in her own name, paying the deposits, etc.

The rest of the book was ok, with a kind of convoluted plot that was overall sort of interesting. I never could like Molly though, she was such a weak spineless wimp. Of course, even though she was completely boring and lifeless, everybody wanted to visit her every day and she usually had about 19 guests over. Like nobody else had a life of their own but just existed to worry about Molly.

Anyway, I liked Ms. Clark's earlier books a lot better.

Some years ago I was discussing reading habits with a friend. I told him that I enjoyed Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark, P.D. James and a few others. He told me, "I don't read mainstream fiction".

I couldn't understand the man. We were a similar age. I did not consider him to be intellectually superior to me. Why then would he turn away from books read by millions of people?

The answer, I found, lay in the pages of books like "We'll Meet Again" by Mary Higgins Clark. Many times reading this book I was tempted to toss it across the room. The writing was just bad - simplistic, no character development, too many unimportant details such as catalogue descriptions of every bit of clothing worn by every character in the book.

As is my usual habit, I was reading another book while I read this one. That book - "Promise Not to Tell" by Jennifer McMahan - was an enjoyable read. McMahan's book is also a mystery but her book is well written. Her prose is rhythmic and sensory in its detail. If she describes what someone is wearing - "She wore a stained pink T-shirt with the same corduroy pants she'd had on for days." - it is done to help develop a character not just to pad pages.

I will finish "We'll Meet Again" because I find myself unable to leave a book unfinished once I start it. But in the future when somebody asks me what I read, like my friend, I will reply, "I don't read mainstream fiction".

MHC happens to be one of my favorite writer. I find most of her books fast paced, packed with interesting characters and of course a good mystery. Therefore I couldn't agree with one of the reviewer when he couldn't detect any mystery in this book. The story takes place 6 years after when Molly is out of jail on parole. She asks her friend Fran to investigate the murder of her husband. As Fran's investigation progresses, many hidden secrets began to surface. The ending was good too because I couldn't guess who the killer was till the final chapter. In my opinion this book deserves 5 stars.

I have always enjoyed Mary Higgins Clark's books, and this one is a real page-turner. But the audio version is a different story. It is hard to concentrate on the story as so many words are mispronounced. Greenwich, CT is not "Green-which," but "Grenn-ich." "Brusquely" is not "brooske-ly." And "been" rhymes with "bin," not "bean." The list goes on. (And then there is the reader for Sara Paretsky's Chicago-based mysteries who pronounces Chicago Cubs icon "Harry Caray" as "Harry Cuhh-RAY. Sheeshhhh......)

Twain spoils a promising premise with bloated preachifying, colorless prose, and an uneven, nigh-absurdist plot arc.

I have always received the best service when I have placed an order from you. Outstanding!!!!!

With each Twain novel I read, I am amazed at how he can be so funny while packing such astute insights about life. This novel is no exception as Twain strikes the balance between the two again here. The premise for this novel is perhaps Twain's most original idea (when did Tom Sawyer ever time travel?) and the story and characters satisify at every turn. While this isn't Twain's best work, I think that some of his funniest moments are in this novel. I recommend Tom Sawyer as the place to begin reading Twain, but if you are already a fan then this book is a must-read.

Although I usually enjoy Twain's writing style, and his sense of wry humor, there was something about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court that was less than satisfying.

Some of the situations that the protagonist gets himself into are "classic" Twain. When the narrator is transported back to the time of Camelot, he begins to speculate about rituals, customs and general style of life. There is one part where the townspeople are convinced that he can perform great magical feats (he actually has Merlin as his rival), and when they corner him about performing one, he has to think of a way to please them or face punishment. He realizes that he can remember when an eclipse is going to come, and there is the way out of his situation. There are many adventures, where the narrator becomes critical of their ways, as a time warp will do. He is a fish out of water in many ways in this new world, not understanding, for instance, their need to have extravagant adventures: "Hardly a month went by without one of these tramps arriving; and generally loaded with some tale about some princess or other wanting help to get her out of some faraway castle where she was being held in captivity by a lawless scoundrel..." Because of his ability to perform great acts, he becomes known as the Boss, and helps to free some poor peasants from terrible punishments.

Maybe what made this less of a story was that it became too "preachy" and filled with social commentary. Although this is what usually makes Twain's novels, here it seemed to detract from the over all story. I was much more interested in hearing about the next adventure, but the narrator continued to rattle on and on about what he felt was wrong with this society. You get the feeling that Twain, not the narrator, is speaking after awhile. In the end, I guess it wasn't really the book I expected it to be. Still, it has its moments, and there are some parts that will have you chuckling to yourself as you read.

I consider Twain to be one of my favorite authors, but this is one of his lesser achievements.

I have always loved Mark Twain since reading Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as a kid. At one point I had even memorized "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" as a seventh-grader in Catholic school. Twain has always held a sentimental place close to my heart, so when our book club chose to read and discuss A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, I was all for it.

I had heard vaguely of Twain's atheist mindset and his antagonism toward religion in general. But until I read Connecticut Yankee, I had no idea how much irrational and unfounded antipathy Twain had for the Catholic Church in particular. The pervasive theme in Connecticut Yankee is that our modern enlightened world is far superior to that which went before and that the "bad old days" of slavery and oppression were almost completely the fault of the Catholic Church. This anti-Catholic sentiment can hardly be denied as Twain himself urged reviewers not to mention it when the book first came out. "Please don't let on that there are any slurs at the Church," he told a sympathetic reviewer in the Boston Herald. "I want to catch the reader unawares, and modify his views if I can."

So Twain engaged in what we know today as the "last acceptable prejudice." By way of a simple comparison, let us imagine that, instead of Catholics, Twain had chosen Jews, Mormons, or Evangelicals as the villains of Connecticut Yankee. Would it still occupy the exalted position it does as an American classic? Or would it be relegated to those dusty shelves where reside other scurrilous works or racist manifestos to be studied as a historical curiosity of a meaner age?

For me, the most annoying aspect of Connecticut Yankee was Twain's almost total ignorance of history--or, perhaps more accurately, his decision to turn history on its head to better fit his polemical aims of blaming all the ills of society on the Catholic Church. This is a classic example of what happens, I suppose, when a journalist with a wide breadth of knowledge but no depth attempts to novelize about a historical subject. To address some of Twain's errors:

1.) Slavery in antiquity was in no way the fault of the Church. That pernicious institution long predated Christianity and was endemic to classical pagan societies. Indeed, the Church has a long history of making the lot of slaves more tolerable and being among the premier abolitionist institutions in the world.

2.) The idea that the Church suppresses intellectual freedom is a fable made up during the Protestant rebellion, though it is heartily embraced by Twain. Far more erudite scholars than I have examined this fallacy in detail, so rather than address this topic in detail here, I would point the reader to Tom Woods's excellent book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.

3.) Twain writes naively of democracy, putting in Hank Morgan's mouth the notion that "Where every man in a state has a vote, brutal laws are impossible." One wonders what Twain would have made of our modern America, where not only every man, but every woman has a vote, and yet the ghastly practice of abortion is not only legal, but enshrined as a human right. Democracy of itself does not ensure enlightened government. Without the temper of religion, democracy is as likely to produce brutal and repulsive laws as the worst monarchy. De Tocqueville understood this. It's a wonder that Twain did not.

There are many more, but this review is already more prolix that I had intended.

As always, Twain's writing sparkles in Connecticut Yankee and his lampooning of the style of Mallory is very funny. His characters, however, viewed 120 years later, are crudely drawn. Hank Morgan is an Alger-esque self-made man whose compendious knowledge of all subjects is just a little too convenient. The legendary Arthurians are all soulless pawns that Twain moves around to further his polemic. No insight is offered into their characters at all. They are all cruel and completely self-serving--as they must be in Twain's mind because they belong to the aristocracy. The story ends on a bizarrely depressing note for a tale that was predominantly a humorous satire for the first seven-eighths of its length.

In short, this is not a book I will be reading to my kids as a bedtime story. For me, it is to be considered a shameful period piece, written at a time when it was acceptable and even laudatory to be a Know-Nothing and make up slanders about the Catholic Church. That it is a cleverly-written slander is only another mark against it. Amusing slanders are pleasing to read but have the potential to do real harm both to the target and the reader.

I think that this book could have been a great cautionary tale for teenagers that are too into chat rooms, and meeting people online. Even though it's more accepted now, people still need to take precautions (watch: To Catch A Predator) Back in 1995, when chat rooms were first introduced, even I used to stay on for hours, "chatting" with whomever came across my path.

The unfortunate part is the fact that this book is not written well. It took a couple of chapters to get to the part where she first met "Mark." Even though she seemed very grown up for 13, I think that a lot of the details could be tied into one chapter. She went on and on about how the area in which she lived is very into appearances, and everyone had a lot of money. Okay, we get it. I think if you are going to write something in a memoir, it should have some connection to the story. I didn't really care that she was trying to figure out what her Christmas presents were or the very detailed information about her swimming on the team. I just didn't think that she was a very good writer.

Even still, this is a very important book to be out there. Some reviewers have said that if she just didn't go to meet him, she would be fine, and someone else said, "She wasn't even raped." I think that people need to be educated on that topic and what it is. She was touched where she didn't want to be, she was manipulated by a man more than three times her senior, and I do feel sorry for her, and everyone else that this has happened to.

Some have been critical of the author, but keep in mind, she was only a teenager, and it is told from her perspective. I enjoyed the story, and it is a quick read.

Plot: 14 year old chats with older guy on AOL...they meet in person.

Pros: Engaging, quick read, no big words, appeals to teens, adults, parents. The mother and stepfather come off as jerks, and I love reading about messed up folks

Cons: Ending wasn't enough of a "conclusion" for me, I would've liked to know more and was kind of let down.

Other Thoughts: Although the title did catch my eye, it is essentially a lie as no .com figures into the story and the book isn't about a specific web site. The book reads like it was written by a teenager. Granted it was written by a teenager but the writing made me very aware of this fact. While not badly written, the prose is unimpressive

Regardless of the content of this book, the publisher Penguin has deliberately 'hijacked' the katie.com domain from its legitimate UK owner - Mrs Katie Jones.

They have ruined her small online business by deliberately naming the book and an ensuing TV program "Katie.com" even though they knew the domain belonged to someone else. So a hard-pressed mother gets thousands of often unpleasant emails, while the 'heroine' of the book enjoys TV celebrity.

Please don't support this type of greedy commercial behaviour. Buy another book.

This book was poorly written and plain old boring. It's like just sitting there going through a teen girls email inbox. I could do that for free. None of the characters are likeable and you really can't feel sorry for the protagonist.