Massachusetts Books

The title tells it all. This is a fun book to read and it got my wife and me all excited about our trip way before we even packed our bags. All the suggestions were very good.

Living in Chicago, I'm always longing for summer. Now I'm also longing to go to the Cape area. Enchanted Summer paints a great picture of what should be a great summer vacation. The book is well written, well organized and well..enchanting. Can't wait to check out the recommendations.

This book is what travel guides are supposed to be: informative, interesting, and most of all--fun. Great research and the author's warm writing style make planning a leisurely holiday a pleasant experience. Great suggestions for romantic getaways, but there's plenty here for the whole family, if you really want to bring the kids.

The author captures the very essence of the Cape Cod shores and the Vineyard and Nantucket. And the charming illustrations add to the call of life at another pace and that life can truly be enjoyed, one B & B at a time.

EXTRAVAGANZA KING: Robert Barnet and the Boston Musical Theatre
by Anne Alison Barnet (2004, Northeastern University Press, Boston, MA ISBN 1-55553-611-5)
In the 1890s and the 1900s, Robert Barnet brought together Boston Brahmins, Bankers, Bohemians and Billy Dalton to create a series of successful extravaganzas featuring young men of fine families cavorting in female drag to the benefit of Boston’s own First Corps of Cadets and their ambitions for an Armory. Designed by one of their own, the architect William Gibbons Preston, they built, show by show and wall by wall, “a rusticated granite fortress with a six story head-house, a two-hundred-foot long drill hall, and fortress like details: triple doors to defend against mob attack, a drawbridge and a light well that looked like a moat.” The fear of the day was not Islamists, communists, anarchists but immigrants—-especially Irish Catholics.
The author, Ms. Alison Barnet, is the great granddaughter of Robert Barnet, the man whose annual extravaganzas raised the money to complete the bastion of Boston’s Back Bay where, in its quirky glory, it still stands at the corner of Columbus Avenue and Arlington Street. Ms. Barnet writes with elegance and subtle humor. Unlike run-of the-mill biographies of family members, she writes neither to exalt nor vilify. She is removed in time, circumstance and relation from her subject and takes us along as she pieces together the story of a man who was bound to Boston but would have succeeded on Broadway. A number of his shows were staged on Broadway: Excelsior, Jr., Jack and the Beanstalk, Three Little Lambs, Miss Pocahontas, My Lady, Up to Date, Miss Simplicity, The Show Girl or the Magic Cap, 1492 and Tabasco, but even the shows that went no further than Boston were covered by the New York drama critics.
Too often the history of show business and the stage is confined to the goings-on in New York City. Boston was home to the Fox-Howard clan, the birthplace of vaudeville and the stage for all manner of presentations from lecture series to dime store curio museums to classic and contemporary drama. Extravaganza King fills in missing pieces about the history of the American stage, and its appeal should extend well beyond city limits.
The cast members for Mr. Barnet’s extravaganzas were cadets, veterans of Harvard College’s Hasty Pudding shows rather than armed conflicts. Occasionally a ‘ringer’ made his way into the cast. One was Billy Dalton, a young man who liked to dress as a girl and entertain the two-fisted patrons of Butte, Montana’s dance halls. His father banished Billy to Boston, which it must be allowed was not much of a punishment. He entered dancing school where he soon shined, and he was hired to perform in several of Barnet’s extravaganzas. Young master Dalton, encouraged by reviews and applause, changed his name to Julian Eltinge in 1903, went to Manhattan to play musical comedy and vaudeville as a female impersonator and eventually had a Broadway theatre named for him.
Ms. Barnet brings various Boston amateurs and professionals back for a final bow, and traces her great grandfather’s arc of success and eventual decline through the 1910s into 20 years of obscurity.
By sketching the plots and production numbers of various Barnet shows and tracing their incubation and production, Ms Barnet She fills a void that statistics cannot. This is a wryly told and useful book for theatre buffs.

Extravaganza King: Robert Barnet And Boston Musical Theater by Anne Alison Barnet (writer, researcher, public speaker, and the great-grandaughter of Robert Barnet) is the biographical story of a remarkable man and which will bring him out of an undeserved obscurity by documenting his singular accomplishments and contributions to the history of American musical theatre. Robert Barnet (1853-1933) was a successful sugar merchant who wrote and directed incredibly popular musical theatricals for the First Corps of Cadets, a volunteer militia of young, upper-class Boston businessmen seeking money for an armory to use in defense against feared immigrant revolts or riots. In a tradition reminiscent of Shakespeare, men played all the roles, and Barnet himself was known to take upon the role of Queen Isabella of Spain in "1492", his most famous work. Black-and-white photographs, a wealth of information from scrapbooks and family memorabilia, extensive research and more follow Barnet's spectacular successes, and eventual enduring failures, when he moved in 1908 to New York City but was unable to adapt his talents to people's changing tastes in musical entertainment. A lively and fascinating true tale.

This is a funny book about an almost forgotten form of entertainment. It's hard to imagine the current governor of Massachusetts attending live entertainment featuring men dressed as women, but that's what happened more than 100 years ago. Nor is it typical to associate the Victorian era with men dressed in drag. In addition to being a readable and amusing account of theatrical events, Barnet's book is a terrific look at the people and places of Boston's past.

This isn't a topic I would normally be interested in but Ms Barnet writes so engagingly that I couldn't put the book down until I'd read the whole thing. The story of her great-grandfather is like a visit to another time and place. A very interesting time and place. And I loved the way the author's own humor kept shining through the narrative.

Very well written and documented history of the Pike lines stemming from John Pike who came over from England in 1635 and settled in MA. His lines spread mainly through New England and the book covers twelve generations. A genealogy of this type will be of interest primarily to those who have the Pike name in their ancestry. However, if one is starting to prepare a published account of a member of their line, this is an excellent source for study and how to organize material. It is a large book, some 875 pages. However,it is well done and attractive. There is a significant amount of information here that may prove to be of immense value. Different typing fonts are used very effectively in high lighting names, dates, and lines of decent. In many cases, short biographies of numerous individuals are given. This adds an unusual slant and offers an insite into the lives of the people discussed. Wills are reproduced where available and in several cases weddings are described. An appendix is attached and gives family lines for allied groups which tie into the Pike line. Examples are the Carr, French, Bradbury, Plummer, Stockman, Cutts, Worth, Bloomfield, True, Fletcher and Coolidge families. An excellent bibliography is given along with a complete every-name index. Mr. Allen R. Pike is to commended for assembling this material into a usuable and interesting form. It had to be a monumental effort and the result is an exceptional addition to the family history library.

The book begins with John 1 Pike arriving in America in 1635 and proceeds to share with us twelve generations of the descendants, along with excerpts from some of the more well known Pike personalities. The author, a tireless searcher of the past, gives us a well sourced, factual genealogical look at one of the more important families of Newbury, MA, and Woodbridge, NJ. Along the way there are real life stories of our ancestors, telling us what life was like in the past, that we might more fully be able to comprehend the joys of living today. You will know the thrill of hearing one of your ancestors tell you about his or her struggles and then as you share that joy with other new found cousins you will be blessed again. This book is truly a classic which will bring joy to countless generation in the future. It is well indexed and contains the names of other Pike Family members researching other lines. The author has given us a base to build a more complete genealogy of the Pike Family. With 800 plus pages and thousands of persons at your fingertips you will soon be wanting to add your ancestors and descendants to his lists. You then can pass this on as a gift to the future. Thanks to Allen for the thousands of hours of labor he has given to our family.

In 1635, at the age of 62, John Pike embarked from Southampton, England to Suffolk, Massachusetts with two grown sons and three daughters. This book looks at their descendants who, after 14 generations, have spread through the United States from the shores of New England to the Gulf Coast and to the Pacific Ocean, covering over 350 years. Families are organized and presented within generations. Brief family histories and individual biographies add greatly to the well-presented family group and personal information. The author's personal insights and explanations increase the book's value and understanding. The index includes some 14,000 names. (Genealogical Helper, May-June 1997, p.198)

The ansestors of John Pike of Newbury, Massachusetts owe a debt of gratitude to Allen R. Pike for the substance, content and joy contained in his book. He strikes out from the first ship's manifests, journals, wills, deeds and letters of John and his family upon their arrival and generation by generation builds upon the family story and connection.

Included in this line are: Major Robert Pike, whose force of personality and logical defenses finally put an end to the public madness known as the Salem witch trials; General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, known for his exploration of the southern reaches of the Louisana Purchase lands at the same time that Lewis and Clark explored the north; he who was to discover Pike's Peak in Colorado, the mountain top that provided the inspiration for the song "America" and which provided the early settlers traveling east with a beacon and a slogan "Pike's Peak or Bust"; or there was General Albert Pike, commander in the Confederate army, who resigned his commission rather than carry out an order to enlist the Indians to attack the Union army and he who later became the most celebrated Freemason and whose statue stands at the corner of Third and Indiana Streets in Washington DC.

Family members and historians seeking to know and understand the impact of an early American family on the shaping of the country will find many samples in the stories of the men and women of this family. While not a narrative per se, tracing the lines from generation to generation gives a great account of the forces at work and the personalities.

Decendants should take to heart the importance of keeping a record of the accomplishments and notable accounts of their family members for archive and future studies of the family heritage.

Marshall Pike, Acting Sec.-Treas., Pike Family Association of America

The first amendment gives us the right to free speech and for the most part this is a fairly simple concept right? Well in 1994 in Massachusetts this became a complex legal issue that turned a simple parade into chaos.

Riveting from beginning to the very end, this 600-page fact filled legal expose on how our court system really works, is like nothing else you'll ever read. The authors take you on a journey from the state court right the steps of the highest court in the land.

Using actual trial transcripts and painstaking detail, the author's leave no stone unturned. I was simply amazed at how much information was packed into the book. I was simply astounded by the way the system works.

Law professors and students of law need to take and read this work. It is most likely the best book of the first amendment law. A great work in the legal field and a very good read - well done!

As an attorney, what I found most interesting about this book was the use of trial transcripts to help frame the debate on the larger First Amendment constitutional issues. The authors did a superb job of telling a complex story from beginning to end. I would recommend some of my old professors take a close look at this work, and consider using it in trial advocacy and constitutional law classes. I don't remember anything like this when I was at school, but can say it told me a lot more about how the judicial process works than I learned in the classroom.

By far, this book tops all others on how our courts operate. The authors have given a detailed look at the legal system at every level, state and federal, and cover so much territory in so short a space that the book borders on being overwhelming. This is the definitive book on "process". Using rich citation to trial transcripts the authors show in meticulous detail how some judges try to unwrap constitutional guarantees to achieve what they think the law shoud be. I read three other works which aspired to this detail: "Out of Order", "Civil Action" and "Closed Chambers" and can state that none were as insightful as this. This is truly a remarkable work, and should be mandatory reading in every law school in this country.

"Riveting..." National Law Journal; "Compelling... well-written..." Bimonthly Review of Law Books; "Tremendously engaging..." AOB News; "One of the most informativbe law books I have read..." Journal of the Indiana Bar Assoc.; "Chilling, troubling, Kafkaesque..." Prof. Charles E. Rounds Jr., Suffolk Law School

If one lives and Boston and was curious about what the city looked like 100, 200, 300, or 400 years ago this is the book for you. I discovered that somewhere between 1837 and 1851 the street I lived in was filled and went from being underwater to land.
An incredibly well-researched history of how people altered the landscape of Boston.

Disclaimer: I was very fortunate to take the Harvard University class tought by the author, which uses this book as the class text.

This book is a spectacular work of research and writing. The author truly shows her passion for the subject.
The text presents a unique view of Boston history, with stunning detail and even intrigue. The historical and original maps are without equal, and the photographs and illustrations are superb selections.
Pardon the cliché, but truly I found myself unable to put this book down!

Her recent book Walking Tours of Boston's Made Land is also a must-have for anyone who wants to get close-up and personal with Boston history.

This is a wonderful book about how Boston changed in the last 200+ years. It is very readable, but I especially enjoyed the pictures and maps. It is an excellent book for anyone interested in the subject.

Seasholes must have combed every archive and walked every inch of Boston to produce this monumental book. Not only is it exhaustive, but it is entertaining as well. Although this is a handsome book it is not a cooffe table enterprise. This is a book you will want to take with you as you walk the streets of Boston. This book is destined to become dog eared and underlined. It is simply a must for anyone interested in the history of this great city.

David Daniel's descriptions of place and atmosphere in GOOFY FOOT are right on the mark. In the seaside town of Standish you can feel the salt air and hear bar music drifting through the fog. "Goofy foot" is slang for a surfer who leads with the off-foot. But it also means "how you sometimes get the intuitive stuff...inklings." The reader, like Alex himself, gets inklings of what's going on and comes to understand things intuitively, the way it usually happens in real life. With another writer this lack of specificity might be annoying, but Daniel has brought the reader so completely into the story, and Alex has been so honest with his thoughts, that in GOOFY FOOT all seems as it should be.

This was an all-around super book! I loved it, just the way I loved Daniel's last book, WHITE RABBIT. So it looks like David Daniel is just a terrific writer and anything he produces has a good chance of being a great read.

After last year's excellent and underrated classic, "White Rabbit" David Daniel's returns with "Goofy Foot" the third installment of his Alex Rasmussen mystery series.

Though the plot of a missing girl is less than innovative, Daniel structures it nicely and his character development is par excellence. "Goofy Foot" bounces from great storytelling to literature in a way that keeps the pages turning. His protagonist, hard-boiled Alex Rasmussen is a modern day Philip Marlowe. In the Lowell settings, you can feel at once the working-class pride and the grinding existence, and the reader looks forward to his next Rasmussen blues' book and his "Ghost of Kerouac."

Daniel has stories to tell.

In Lowell, Massachusetts, Paula Jensen hires private sleuth Alex Rasmussen because she has not heard from her daughter Michelle in two days. Paula explains that Michelle was visiting her father Ben Nickerson in California, but should have been home by now even with Ben breaking their agreement and driving her home cross country, but they should have arrived already.

Alex makes inquiries and quickly learns that the seemingly perfect family paragon of the Jensen household is a fake. Michelle's sister Katie insists that her sibling has a strained relationship with her mom and especially her stepfather Ross. The local Police Chief Delcastro feels there is nothing to investigate as two bickering parents are involved and the teen will show up. Besides Michelle missing, Ben also seems to have vanished. When the last known person to admit to seeing Ben alive suddenly dies in a dubious car crash, Alex knows that his client's teenage daughter in danger, but anyone who might be able to help seems lethargically reluctant to get involved.

In some ways this delightful private investigate tale reads more like a cozy as the cast led by the hero is passive to the extreme of wondering if anyone is breathing in Massachusetts. Thus anyone seeking brawls inside a suburban noir should look elsewhere. However, readers who appreciate a solid leg work sleuth tale starring an amiable protagonist will enjoy David Daniel's cold footed detective story that is no warm day at the beach.

Harriet Klausner

In the third book in the Alex Rasmussen mystery series David Daniel gives us a book which is hard to put down and even harder to figure out who is who and what is what.

In a background of aging surfers, small town police, missing persons and get rich land barons, we find our hero trying to figure out who is missing and who is dead. As he travels from Lowell to a small Massachusetts vacation resort town to try and find a missing father and daughter, Alex runs into more intrigue and trouble than he baragins for.

If you are a fan of the Alex Rasmussen series, you will love this book and if you are just now reading your first A.R. mystery, I am sure that you will want to catch up with the others.

Surf's up, dudes, but the waves are high and treacherous in this non-stop thriller. Grab your board and go for the ride of your life.

I found this to be a well researched and mostly through book covering a wide selection of architectural examples from the Berkshires. It has a good mix of numerous previously published historical photos (the Lenox Library put out a photography book of note, too) but also many photos I have not seen before. While many of the properties are still standing today few of the photographs used are current, which is a shame, and fewer still are from the middle of the last century.

The title is more sterile in comparison to the almost Bible-like reference on the Berkshire estates, Carole Owens' "Berkshires Cottages: A Vanishing Era" from 1984. The Owens title came out when architecturally the "Inland Newport" was just starting to awaken from years of abuse and neglect of many of these delightful white elephants of the Gilded Age. Now this title, "Houses of the Berkshires", is being released when the area couldn't be any more desirable and vibrant with almost none of the remaining and covered Berkshires `cottages' in any state of disrepair. A large exception is the in-restoration Rotch & Tilden designed Ventfort Hall. It would be nice, as a means to better appreciate these homes, to also share in such a book as this the state to which many of these homes sank before they rebounded to the condition they are in today.

The book is more brief then I'd prefer on some homes, but often those noted residences have been far better covered in books devoted to the architect or the family. Case in point, Elm Court was best detailed in the 1991 book "The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901" and High Lawn in the 2003 title, "The Architecture of Delano & Aldrich". Although the latter seems to be a place forever cloaked in mystery matching its beautiful fa?ade and vast feudal landholdings.

Published by Acanthus Press who republished the brilliant architect Harrie Thomas Lindeberg's 1940 original "Domestic Architecture" as well as an assortment of reflective regional focused titles with areas of wealth and architectural significance. Among those titles is the delightful "The Main Line: Country Houses of Philadelphia's Storied Suburb, 1870-1930". This book is recommendable for those who enjoy grand domestic architecture mated with true landscaping skill which should be preserved and harkens back to a time when having money did result in good taste - at least for the Berkshires.

A beautiful book, beautifully written, about a memorable part of American history, architectural and otherwise.

Acanthus is the gold standard publisher of books of this kind and their latest book does not disappoint. Mr. White does a supurb job of selecting wonderful images of these amazing estates and his research is scholarly and highly informative. If you appreciate beautifully crafted books on Gilded Age residential architecture, then I can't imagine you not loving this book. I have never had the pleasure of visiting the Bershires, so I guess this will have to be the next best thing to experiencing in person.

Mr. Millen brings up some criticisms that are valid but are misplaced. This is not an ENTIRELY fresh view of the Berkshires but local authors Gilder and Jackson bring to light much fresh architectural and social history. Also, they have found a number of previously unpublished photographs that delight, such as the early view of Naumkeag that appears inside and on the back cover. Ms. Owen's work was groundbreaking, but this work supercedes it, particularly in the great production values for which this publisher is famous.
Most curious about Mr. Millen's criticism is his desire to see the houses in mid-century ruin. There is romance in ruin, but this exquisite book's goal was to show these great estates in their glory days. Perhaps he should approach the publisher to produce his very own "Berkshires in Ruins" volume. That might indeed be a charming tome and one I would consider buying.
I highly recommend this book as an intelligent and distinctive coverage of the great houses of Lenox and Stockbridge and environs.

This is one of the best books in management. Some might find it a bit too mathematical, but the insights and general theory are one of the best contributions to the field of management.

I am Professor in the field that the author created, and (many years ago) one of the author's students. I may be biased about the field's importance, but not about this book's extraordinary clarity and continuing relevance to the field.

The book presents the philosophy, the mathematics and the computer modeling needed to take a fresh and practical perspective on managing social systems. The book's implications go far beyond "industrial" systems(though people interested in the dynamics of businesses won't be disappointed). The principles presented in this book have subsequently been applied to understanding issues in all sorts of social systems: cities, the environment, epidemics, romantic relationships, and terrorism to name just a few.

Industrial Dynamics was the first book published in system dynamics, a field founded by Jay Forrester (the author) at MIT. Nothing in this book is outdated. The fundamentals of the field remain as Jay Forrester described them in 1961. Forrester's insistance that the field be relevant and understandable has no better incarnation than this book.

A very high quality study of the information-feedback characteristics of industrial activity; describing how the flows of information, money, orders, materials, personnel, and capital plant interact to produce the system's behavior over time; relating organizational structure & corporate policy to corporate growth and stability.

I agree with the previous reviewer, that Mr.Forresters book was one the most important and yet most ignored books on dynamics/strategy in the 20th century.

Forresters basic insight was: translate the evolution of a market segment into cybernetic circles, translate those circles into differential equation, and those equations into a computer language like DYNAMO.

Our family found The Legend of Katama to be a story that has something for everyone. For younger kids it's a great "read aloud" book, beautifully written, easy to listen to, and wonderfully illustrated. For older kids, the story is one that can teach values and American Indian history. For adults, it is a story that highlights the beauty of Martha's Vineyard and some of our country's rich heritage.

My children were given The Legend of Katama as a Christmas gift. This book is a wonderful story that teaches an ancient lesson of peace and love that touches both children and adults. This message is an important link between the past, present and future of our world. My children were fascinated by the story and the beautiful illustrations. As an adult, the story moved me deeply with its beautiful message. The author's descriptive words wove a story that captured me in a warm embrace and painted a vivid picture enabling me to feel as though I was a nearby observer of this tale. I highly recommend this book to become a part of any family's home library and in our school and public libraries as well.

Not just a beautiful story with a lovely message, but a book that opens a window on Martha's Vineyard, a place many of us know about, but don't really know at all. I loved the effortless learning about the history and native culture of the Vineyard; my 9-year-old daughter just loved the whole experience of this book...period. Highly recommended!

I thought this book has a place in the historical archives for illuminating the history and beauty of the Indian tribe of Martha's Vineyard. The illustrations captured the tone and colors of the Vineyard and in a primitive way led the imagination down the path to explore the legend. It is a beautiful book to read to your children and have on your booksleves for generations to read. What could be more wonderful then looking out to sea and imaging the beauty of creatures being created out of love.

Jay Atkinson is to New England what William Faulkner is to the South (or, specifically, Yoknapatawpha County). Here, in similar fashion to his crowning achievement (to date), "Ice Time," Atkinson demonstrates an impeccable ability to chronicle the talking, walking, living, and dying of New Englanders in such vivid description where every page crackles with rich imagery and sounds.

Just as Ice Time isn't REALLY about hockey, Legends isn't REALLY about cops and con men. Both are about relationships and traditions. And, even where Atkinson puts himself in the stories being told, he always retains the position of discreet voyeur; demonstrating beneath his masculine persona a remarkable talent to convey the innermost joys and melancholy of his characters. That is where Atkinson lives, and he invites us all to come along. Any fan of great writing will accept the invitation.

Jay Atkinson is to New England what William Faulkner is to the South (or, specifically, Yoknapatawpha County). Here, in similar fashion to his crowning achievement (to date), "Ice Time," Atkinson demonstrates an impeccable ability to chronicle the talking, walking, living, and dying of New Englanders in such vivid description where every page crackles with rich imagery and sounds.

Just as Ice Time isn't REALLY about hockey, Legends isn't REALLY about cops and con men. Both are about relationships and traditions. And, even where Atkinson puts himself in the stories being told, he always retains the position of discreet voyeur; demonstrating beneath his masculine persona a remarkable talent to convey the innermost joys and melancholy of his characters. That is where Atkinson lives, and he invites us all to come along. Any fan of great writing will accept the invitation.

Okay, the title is a bit much. But I enjoyed this book tremendously. Some of the criticisms point to the elements I liked best. The routine cases, how they were approached, and the results were a revelation to someone who has no real idea of police work except what I've seen on "Cops" (constant action and crisis!). There was a new story on every page, and I wound up reading until 1 a.m. on a work day because I just couldn't help reading "one more page". The descriptions of the surroundings, the characters, the sounds and smells of the settings, conjured up a real sense of being there. I was fascinated by the character faults and virtues of the people in the book, as Atkinson tried to remain true to McCain's philosophy that most people aren't entirely good or bad. As a resident of the area, I finally understand the gang wars that were taking place when I was growing up (I remember the old Boston Record American newpaper with the crime scene photos splashed across the front). I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who lives in the Northeast, and to others who'd like a glimpse into how Boston politics are practiced in every profession!

I could not disagree more with the review by Publisher's Weekly! I thought that Atkinson did an outstanding job in depicting the Boston area and some of its most important members of the law enforcement community. Atkinson's vivid depictions of setting and his uncanny ear for authentic dialogue help to create a mesmerizing and hypnotic narrative about cop life and private investigation. In today's society, in which we find organized crime figures to be charming and endearing, and our heroes are limited to vapid low life reality television stars, Atkinsons tale of Joe McCain, a police officer to be truly admired, is a breath of fresh air.