Massachusetts Books

I love Boston. I really do. This beautiful, progressive city known for being an academic, cultural and historical mecca is brilliantly presented in this delightful book.

This book will take readers alphabetically through the city that has long established itself as the Cradle of Amerian History. The alphabet format is good and effective as readers will more easily remember the sites in and around Boston. The map of the Boston area is also a good idea and an excellent added touch.

Using alliterative sentences is another good mnemonic device; readers will readily make associations with the places they are reading about in this delightful book about Boston. Readers also get text with chronicled detailed history about the places and historical events that took place in the Boston area. The lovely illustrations and rich history will delight readers of all ages. I highly recommend this one.

A wonderful book to see Boston and find out about Boston. I would recommend this to anyone (adults and children) about to visit Boston. I am looking forward to buying more books by this author and illustrator.

I discovered this book while doing a search for travel guides
to Boston. I was surprised when this book popped up 2nd in the
list, but since I collect children's illustrated books, I had to
take a look, and found it to be absolutely wonderful. I do have
to admit that it certainly would be for the very top end of the
picture book gang, not those just learning their ABC's. But so
what. It is wonderfully informative with beautiful illustrations.

Whenever I run into an ABC book, I first look to the X's to see
how the author handles that. I am pleased that this author
did not feel compelled to use X's in the beginning of the words.
Her X's became "Extraordinary Exhibits excite viewers." That is
so much better than yet another xylophone.

Perhaps my favorite page was "Y": Yarns have been spun at Ye Olde Union Oyster House for Years". The page was so compelling, I made special effort to get to the Oyster House though it wasn't
on my original agenda.

Besides a very attractive architectural illustration of the Oyster House, there is an insert that shows some of regional foods such as Boston Baked Beans and Boston Cream Pie. Below the
pictures is a short paragraph about the pictures. In this case
there is information about baked beans and why they were so popular with the Pilgrims. Below that is a wavy line (as there is on each page) with another bit of information, this time about
lobster which is usually available in the waters close by.

In September I am going to Cape Code and her A to Z book on
Cape Cod will be part of my planning. I hope she keeps this
wonderful series going, and if she branches out into Europe -
so much the better! If you are reading this, Martha, I am going
to London in the Spring next year and Venice in the fall, just
in case you are looking for your next subject.

Highly recommended.

JOURNEY AROUND BOSTON is another title in the series created by author, artist and one time teacher Martha Zschock. Zschock was a third grade teacher at the time she wrote the book. As a teacher she has the respects both the natural curiosity and intelligence of children. A mallard, a duck often associated with the city thanks to Robert McCloskey's immortal MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, leads visitors on a tour of Boston and the vicinity. Her book includes the familiar tourist attractions as well as lesser known and perhaps even ignored places in Boston. It serves as a wonderful introduction to Boston and its illustrious history.

This book is a must for any family with young visitors coming to the city of Boston. It will also be of interest to the children of Boston who wish to learn a bit about the city and its history.

It seems a bit strange to use an alphabet book format for middle schoolers, but the idea is well-executed in this nicely illustrated guide to Boston. The book begins with an undetailed map of the Boston vicinity, continues with a paragraph of introduction, and then moves on to the alphabet. Each letter gets a full page and has an alliterative title with a few explanatory sentences and some related factoids. For example, "M" is entitled "Minutemen made ready at a moment's notice"; text describes the events in Lexington and Concord on April 18, 1775; watercolor pictures show the Minuteman statue in Lexington and the Old North Bridge in Concord; factoids tell us that British soldiers were called "regulars" and that the midnight riders (Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott) called out "The regulars are out! The regulars are out!" as they rode through the night. End pages depict an alphabet of objects other than those seen in the book, such as Magnolia for "M".

With nice art and layout, this book imparts quite a few interesting facts about Boston, though one thinks it might have benefitted from an overarching coherence with which to motivate the more sophisticated young readers at which it is purportedly aimed.

Vygotsky and Piaget are the forerunners in today's educational thinking. Even though they lived a long time ago they are still focused on in educational thinking. Piaget and Stern theories about language and development are included. The book is all emcompassing with language development and thinking . If you need to know about language development this is the book you should be reading.

Being a trainer and an academic co-ordinator, I find that Vygostky is an essential reader for all trainers / teachers. He helps you understand how to teach better, how to use peer learning and when used with experiential learning gives the best results.

A contemporary of Piaget (developmental psychology)and Watson (behaviorism), Vygotsky launches a cogent critique and synthesis of these two scientific schools. His asserting that learning leads development is as fresh and valuable today as it was when he first wrote the text. Secondly, his calling for a functional analysis of language has been pursued only by the behavioral schools; a short-fall of cognitive and developmental psychology which focuses on the structure of language and hypothetical constructs of brain functioning. Vygotsky relied on observable behavior under contrived and natural conditions in developing his model of socially mediated learning. Although he does a bit of theorizing, his view of learning speech and thought--a skill taught and mediated by social forces--is an excellent bridge between the two schools of thought mentioned above. This book should be required reading for developmental psychologists, educators and behaviorists alike.

The only thing I can say about this book and the author is that this man was a genius! Worth every second spent reading it!

Vygotsky, who was a contemporary of Piaget, unfortunately never received nearly as much attention while still alive. Probably due to the fact that he was working in Russia and had a relatively short career his work seems to have taken a very long time to even get published for 'western' consumption. His theories also go against the grain of the dogma currently in vogue in psychology.

This book gives a brief overview of Vygotsky's life and career. Then it launches into Vygotsky's original manuscript which begins with a critique of some of the central themes of that time; oddly enough those themes are still being pursued by psychologists today. Vygotsky's critique is very interesting and demonstrates a very broad range of understanding of psychological, physical and philosophical knowledge throughout the section.

The second part of the book then advances Vygotsky's theories of thought and language development. And that is the crux of Vygotsky's theory: thought and language each develop in a manner that one might characterize as partially self-catalyzing in addition to behaving as one. Vygotsky also advanced some important ideas about child potential with his "zone of proximal development".

Vygotsky pointed out that development hinges on the social structure surrounding the child and is not similar to the idea of some computer operating system simply requiring some type of "load" instruction. That is, Vygotsky's work seems to dispel some of the hot air surrounding Chomsky's ideas about "deep grammar" structures existing and just waiting for the instructions to start working; instead thought and language develop, sometimes separately and sometimes requiring each other to act as catalysts.

Given recent advances in primate language studies, complex adaptive systems and Wittgenstein's contributions to the philosophy of systems I believe Vygotsky's work becomes all the more important and relevant. We are only just starting to grasp the importance of thinking about development in a systems mode as opposed to the old way of reductionism (and the weird dogmatic offshoot of this: strict materialism).

This is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about how we develop. Other interesting ideas and overviews can be found in Bogdan's "Minding Minds" and Faber's "Objectivity and Human Perception". Then there is the burgeoning field of complexity where a good general overview can be found in "Signs of Life". And for those who really want to get deeper, read some of the recent work done in EEG and meditation to help kids with ADD and other problems.

In school the time before The Revolutionary War is briefly touched. This book will enlighten those who read it with a new understanding of the persecution regarding the Freedom of Speech and religious bias.

The book is an easy read. This is an accomplishmnet with the heavy subject matters that are entailed in the book.

Please read this book and pass it along. We must learn from our past to avoid the mistakes that were made.

Ms. Brinton delivers a fascinating account of Mary Dyer's life which is vivid in both detail and authenticity. I found this work illuminating about the religious intolerance of the time and the particular suspicion that was cast on many women. Mary 's story should be taught in schools as an important part of our American history. The religious and social freedoms we enjoy today are due to martyrs such as Mary.

Elizabeth Brinton's fascinating historial novel 'My American Eden' brings home the suffering and eventual execution of Mary Dyer, a colonial spiritual leader who fought and died for religious freedom. I can't help but worry that our country is going to have to fight this battle again and again with the threat to our freedom by the current administration and it's followers. This book is a must-read for anyone who truly loves the principles this country was eventually founded on.

This inspiring tale of the life, convictions and death of Mary Dyer captures the readers imagination from the first chapter.
Life in early America is well portrayed and is intricately woven with periods in England as Mary's tale unfolds.
It is difficult to grasp the severity of puritan law in Boston and the cruelty that early American settlers were subjected to. Elizabeth Brinton has skillfully brought this period in history to light by sharing with the reader the startling tale of Mary Dyer and Quaker followers in 1600 America.
We can wish it ended differently, but historically, it did not. A captivating and inspiring novel.

This is a wonderful book that tells an important and little told story of just how profound religious intolerance was as our country was being settled by colonists. We are skillfully taken on the courageous journey of a woman who ultimately martyrs herself for being a Quaker. Ms. Brinton helps us understand the daily consequences of Mary Dyer's struggles and the constant sacrifices necessary to be a woman with a spiritual calling. The author accomplishes this with a spunky narrator who takes us in to the family and household of Mary Dyer as her indentured servant who was Catholic. I liked this divergent voice of a woman who was of a different religious persuasion and yet able to respect and even love Dyer deeply. I benefited from the author's vivid descriptions of the daily life of a colonist and what it took to survive with very little community to support them. It is marvelous to read a piece of early American historical fiction that capably allows us to contemplate such facinating and still relevant motivations. I wanted to read more.

You cannot put a price on how many hours this book will save you! Has every possible side street. You will never get lost!

This guidebook's title is right on: it's not for tourists. It's for those of us who are moving to Boston and need good maps, information on T-stops and bus lines (very helpful, as no other guidebook I've seen shows bus lines), restaurants, bars, etc. We don't need information on fancy hotels and the Freedom Trail- for that, a different guidebook might do. But this is the one worth buying and keeping tucked in your purse or bag when you're out and about in the city.

I first picked up the NFT guide for New York City in May of 2006 when I was looking for a tourbook for a long weekend trip I had planned. I now have the Chicago and Boston books as well.

These books are the ultimate guide to a city and are not just for people new to the cities. They provide EXCELLENT coverage of the public transportation systems and numbered nieghborhood maps. As well as the locations of resturants, coffe shops, bookstores, edcuational instutions, hospitals, shopping and more.

The design of the books; compact with a black elastic band to either hold your place in the text or to keep items secure within the book, easy to read, and somewhat sarcastic demeanor; is a joy.

If you like to travel, these books are a must.

I bought this book off Amazon and was a little ticked off when it came because:
A) It was so small
B) Half of it was maps

However I have come to love this little book for precisely those reasons. It's the ultimate walking around the city book. It's small enough to fit in your pocket, yet the maps are detailed enough to show every street. The authors accomplish this two ways: there are a lot of map pages, and the guide doesn't try to cover too large an area. If you live in Medford or Arlington, you're out of luck. Somerville is as far north as the guide goes.

Since each map page covers such a small area, you have to turn pages fairly often, but this is not a big deal because:
A) The authors let the map pages overlap considerably, so it's easy to orient yourself on the new page.
B) The maps cover neighborhoods, using logical boundaries. For example, one map page will stop at the charles river, and the next will pick up on the other side.

By devoting three map pages to each neighbourhood (essentials, entertainment, and transportation), the book can convey a lot of information without being cluttered.

Since it fits in your back pocket, this guide is best suited to those taking public transportation. It covers probably ~85% of the T's network (some outlying areas are excluded) and also includes bus routes.

I have been using Rand McNally's street guide boston when I drive around. It's great in the suburban areas. Since its pages are big and is spiral bound, I can keep one page open in the passenger seat. However since it uses a grid system, the positioning of the page boundaries is arbitrary. Since there is no overlap between the pages, navigating around the page boundaries can be a pain.

If you move to Boston, you will need some type of map. There is no rhyme or reason to the streets here.

As a new Bostonian this book has saves me a million times already. If you are newly moved to Boston, this book is a definite must have. There is no rhyme or reason to the streets of the city. Boston was made before the grid pattern existed. Streets constantly change names and directions. Half of the time there is no street sign, and if there is it is microscopic. This perfect compact book fits nicely in your purse or pocket so it is extremely portable and easy to carry with you. It is filled with maps of all areas of Boston and also includes some surrounding areas. It is mostly a map book but also lists entertainment, nightlife, schools, liquor stores, grocery stores, restaurants, banks, etc. Has multiple maps of each area including a public transportation map and a key map. Maps are very user friendly and easy to read. I have gotten lost multiple times and this book has always helped me find my way. There is a street index in the back and an elastic band that you can use to hold the page you need. A small price to pay for your sanity while navigating the city!

If you like nature and have an introspective attitude, then this is a book for you. The author examines the life of a man who spent a life time "wedging down" into nature and communicating his insights to the rest of us through his writings and actions.

David Gessner does us all an immense service with this lovely description of his friendship with John Hay--the much-too-poorly-known dean of American nature writers. Gessner captures the spirt of this charming and visionary man at the end of his life. John Hay's dedication to place, family, and language, and his intense relationship with the natural world are an inspiration. Bravo!

Author David Gessner had always known of John Hay, who was his hero; but he only befriended the older naturalist when he returned to his childhood home on Cape Cod. His thought of writing a biography of the naturalist changed when their conversations became a record of Hay's naturalist knowledge, and thus THE PROPHET OF DRY HILL: LESSONS FROM A LIFE IN NATURE isn't just a survey of Hay's life and personality but a treasured collection of his seasoned observations on nature itself, packing in much more detail about nature than any biography would have achieved. Highly recommended.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

I have always imagined a dinner party with only the list of "pedestal people" in my life attending. David Gessner would be on that list. While reading this amazing book, I felt like I had walked silently behind David and John Hay on the Cape that is also so close to my heart. What an amazing gift of writing from Gessner.

I've read almost everything David Gessner has written, and this slim book towers above his already impressive body of work. Gessner's portrait of naturalist John Hay is frank and warm, and depicts Hay as a philosopher from whom we all could learn some profound lessons. Hay's commitment to the natural world, and his insistence that we look to nature for the questions and answers in our lives, rather than probing the inner recesses of our psyches, stands as a much-needed corrective to the easy psychologizing of daytime television and self-help books. Hay finds meaning in our lives in the passing of the seasons, and this book can help us find meaning there too. Gessner mirrors Hay's outlook by searching for meaning through his depiction of Hay, and by letting Hay speak for himself throughout the book, rather than philosophizing about Hay or dissecting his published work. This book is really a brilliant achievement of nonfiction writing in any genre, though of course it will have special appeal to anyone interested in the natural world.

Even though I'd never been to Cape Cod, I enjoyed the amusing stories captured in Shorr's little book "Provincetown".
It was particularly delightfull when I did visit the cape to have,to the amazement of the "locals",so much local knowledge, that in many cases, they themself did not hold. The stories in "P-town" truely capture the flavor and uniqueness of that little town on a hook shaped sandy spit in the Atlantic.

In the nineteen forties and fifties I went my family and I made day trips from Springfield, Mass. From 1970 to 1980 I owned a house at 214 Bradford Street. I have been a frequent adult visitor from 1962 until the present day. It's my favorite town in all the world with its gorgeous harbor, its flawless light for artists, its clean, fresh air, and the fierce independence of its people.
Kathy Shorr has a breezy style, the book is very readable, but not well organized; it has a lot about town oddities, and insider anecdotes about town characters. For PTowners a lot of colorful characters crop up, like Frenchie Chanel who rescued many animals. Good information on the historic shacks in the dunes will interest readers. A clever map in front of the book identifies the key places mentioned in the book.
The town in the first two decades of the twentieth century became a thriving artists colony for the visual, literary, and dramatic arts and took off as a bohemian center, an outpost for the very important Greenwich Village bohemian movement. Eugene O'Neill's early work alone would make the town historic. In 1899 Charles Hawthorne opened his art school, and by 1916 there were five schools all with differing philosophies.
I remember the very talented iconoclastic musical family of buskers, the Flying Neutrinos, and their strange barge-like home in the harbor.
The author recalls the John Waters film years from 1966 to 1981, the succession of town criers, the death of the railroad in 1960, the destruction of dozens of wharves in the Portland Gale of 1898, the early Pilgrim landing before Plymouth, the original settlement called Helltown, the towns maverick-pariah history, the mooncussers who deliberately wrecked ships, Hurricane Bob, the fish-eating cows, the salt-making industry, and the beginning of tourism.
Even a P'Town aficionado is going to learn some new information from this book. It has an excellent bibliography, but, unfortunately no index.
Shorr does not cover today's Provincetown where house values have soared so high that few but the wealthy can afford to buy there. A lot of the people who would be the service workers in a tourist town have been priced out of the market. You can travel over the entire wide world and never find a small town so artistically significant and so outlandish in its eccentric characters and events.
Nine Lives Too Many
The Daemon in Our Dreams
The Rice Queen Spy
Clawed Back from the Dead

I recently visited Cape Cod for a week, staying in Provincetown. I happened upon this book during a visit to a Borders in Hyannis. Breezing through it, it sounded interesting, and I was glad I had decided to pick it up. I read the book nightly during the visit, and it was perfect timing.

Exploring for a couple of days previously, I had already familiarized myself with the lay of the land. Delving into the book, I learned some interesting tidbits of history and specific areas of town that I had bypassed without giving a second glance. Knowing their significance, I went back to see some places/things I may otherwise not have, had I not learned their historical significance.

My only disappointment with the book was that it didn't have more stories about pre-1900 P-town, as these were the eras of Provincetown that truly fascinated me. Otherwise, this book not only proved to provide history presented in interesting stories, but it also proved to be an invaluable travel guide during my visit! A must for any P-town visitor!

What a wonderful book. What a terrific read. Shorr succeeds in giving a marvelous sense of place and history to those who already know Provincetown and also introducing it to those who've never been there. Even if you thought you knew Provincetown, this book will make it new for you. It is filled with things you never knew, clarifies vague things you'd thought you'd heard, and explains why Provincetown remains one of the most mythic and well-loved places in the country. The book is filled with the same kind of quirky humor and good spirits that so many of us associate with the town itself. Lost and lots of fun. Thoughtful, well-written, funny, engaging. A perfect little book.

I've been going to Cape Cod for a gazillion years and thoughtI knew just about all the stories hidden up Provincetown's sleeve. How wrong I was. Ms. Shorr's breezy book offers a wealth of stories I had never known and was delighted to hear. Her easy style combined with well-researched facts makes for delightful story-telling. Reading her book is like sitting at the dining table late into the night with a new best friend who is spinning tales of their life. You know you should go to bed but you don't want to miss one word.

The author, a direct descendant of Samuel Sewall, provides a much-needed full assessment of the life of her notorious ancestor. The most important fact in this book is provided in the frontispiece illustration--a portrait of Sewell's apology before his congregation for his role in the witch trials and executions, known by few, if any, readers outside Massachusetts' students of history. Sewell was the only judge to apologize for his role in this horrific episode in American history.
More fascinating, though, are the other extraordinary acts of repentance enacted by the judge over his long life. And his writings are nothing less than astounding--including examinations of experiences of various groups and even a piece on women - making him an equalitarian of the first order centuries ahead of his time. At the least, official historical accounts of what happened at Salem need to include information about Sewall's apology and repentance.

The note I wrote on the inside page of this book reads as follows:"Absolutely fascinating!" How come? Because Ms. LaPlante presents us with a character who lived as a giant in his own time. But more, she offers a clear picture of the potent religious world view and powerful lens of faith through which citizens of Puritan New England perceived the world and their place in it. The reader will find this approach not only interesting but, as the author describes Sewall's engagement with life and with his God, both existentially and theologcally terrifying. The witch trials arise from the nexus of life's uncertainty in 17th century Massachusetts and a fierce and unpredictable God through whom the likes of Samuel Sewall try to discern the "realities" of good and evil. He,his neighbors and colleagues can discern wrongly . . . as Sewall himself confessed some five years after the trials he oversaw as judge.
But enough of this. Ms LaPlante mines Sewall's diaries and public writings for - yes - romance! In addition, she finds him a humane and civil defender of Native Americans amid local, social contempt.Sewall wrote the first Anti-slavery tract in North America, a touching and compassionate piece. He testified from a vivid Biblical perspective in behalf of gender equality when such thinking brought widespread disdain. His personal and public presence as described by the author represent a monumental figure in early American history. You will find the book clearly written and every effort made to explain to ignorant moderns 17th century language and cultural nuances. The title tags Sewall as "Witch Judge." OK. But really, so much more. Indeed, absolutely fascinating!

Eve LaPlante's book on Samuel Sewell, one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials (and her distant ancestor) is extraordinarily well researched, and her prose is easy to follow. Those not intimately familiar with the history of the time will appreciate her care in explaining details that many have now forgotten.

Ms. LaPlante's style is worthy of comparison to Claire Tomalin's (the author of the great biography of Sewell's contemporary, Samuel Pepys). She well explains the beliefs and folkways of the times, i.e., Massachusetts in the last half of the 17th century. She reminds us of the extraordinary "dangers, toils and snares" (to quote a later hymn) that the New England colonies had gone through after the first, pleasant, and peaceful foundation of the colonies at Boston and Plymouth, exacerbated by the sudden war with France that followed the accession of William and Mary in 1688. All these people could do was to ascribe to witchcraft the disasters that in reality were the inevitable result of our ancestor's struggle to make their homes in a world that had finally become hostile to them.

Remarkably, Sewell was semi-ostracized by his pastor, who came to feel the witch trials were unjust, and in response, he made a public confession of the sinfulness of his Court's proceedings -- the only judge to do so.

The book should be read along with the great book about the era, "Manitou and Providence", with the sermons of Cotton Mather and his father, Increase (some of them, at least) and of course with Arthur Miller's play, "The Crucible", which takes some license with historical fact, in the service of a very good story.

Author Eve LaPlante, who is a descendant of witchcraft judge Samuel Sewall, covers her subject well in this book. Life was difficult in Puritan New England with death being a common visitor to families with many children lucky to live beyond the age of five. Puritans came to America for land and religious freedom, but were not accepting to those whose beliefs differed from their own. People often questioned their salvation and figured that hard times such as diseases and death among family members was due to having angered God in some way. Prayer was the most accepted method of dealing with a sick individual. A vaccination for smallpox was viewed by many as unacceptable. Surprisingly enough, Cotton Mather was open to the idea. Women certainly took a back seat in Puritan New England with their job being the bearing of children. Puritans even questioned whether or not women would be in God's heavenly kingdom. Approximately half of the book deals with the witchcraft craze of 1692, a belief they brought over from Europe. The question of whether or not the girls believed they were afflicted will never be settled. If they did it to spice up their otherwise humdrum lives they could be charged with murder. Judge Samuel Sewall had the courage to own up to his mistake while the other judges did not. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne added a "w" to his last name to disassociate himself from his ancestor John Hathorne who was an unrepentant judge at the trials. It seems difficult to believe that judges could convict people based on spectral evidence whereby you could prove where you were at a certain time, but you couldn't prove where your "shape" was. The final section of the book relates the latter part of Judge Samuel Sewall's life and others who were influential during this time period. The author also provides us with directions to visit sites mentioned in the book. I have done previous reading on this subject during my college days, and this is one of the best sources I have come across.

This fascinating account of an early American leader's
public and private life is the story of a good man who
was guilty of a terrible mistake. Seeing he did wrong,
Samuel Sewall had the courage to say so, and repent.
Eve LaPlante paints a vivid portrait of life in early
New England, especially the world of the educated
elite. Religion and the Bible were the dominant
intellectual features of a world ruled by fears and
disagreements only too comprehensible to us now.
Sewall and his peers worried about foreign relations
and governmental debt, and lived in constant fear of
attacks by Indians, pirates, and the French. "Salem
Witch Judge" offers an intriguing journey into a world
as far away as colonial America, yet at the same time
as close as the human heart.

This book about a girl 12 years old in a puritan community and how she lives with her dad and her best friend Elizabeth. I loved this book.

This is an excellent book! As soon as I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It was very exciting to read. I reccomend this book to anyone who likes exciting books.

This is a lovely book! I bought it for my daughter and we both enjoyed it

This book was about 12 year old Sarah who lives in Puritan New England. Her mother is no longer living and her Father is thinking about marrying a woman Sarah doesn't care for. On the Sabbath, a very strict day in Puritan Society, Sarah walks home with her best friend Elizabeth. But before she walks with her she gets a coat from Elizabeth's brother, because she is cold. So they walk, and Elizabeth slips. But after she realized how fun it was she did it some more and Sarah just had to try. But they were doing something awful. Laughing and playing on Sabbath. The woman Sarah's dad wants to marry hears them and walks over to get a closer look. She reconizes Elizabeth but she mistakens Sarah for Elizabeth's brother (you know, she's wearing his coat). So she runs off and tells everyone. But Sarah feels guilty. She should be the one to blame, not him. Sarah faces moral dilema and tries to do what she knows is right in her heart.

Sarah is a twelve-year-old Puritan girl living in Massachusetts in 1651. She is dreadfully unhappy because she fears her widowed father plans to marry a strict woman who dislikes Sarah and considers her to be poorly behaved. Playing on Sundays is strictly forbidden by the Puritan church. But one Sunday after a snow storm, Sarah and her best friend, Elizabeth (whose parents are considered to be somewhat freethinking for Puritans) can't help themselves, and they start to play in the snow, when they notice someone watching them and flee. Later, Mistress Goddard (Sarah's potential future stepmother) comes forward and announces that she saw Elizabeth and her brother Roger (she thought Sarah was Roger because she had borrowed his coat) broke the rules of the Sabbath. Now Roger will be punished when Sarah is the one who broke the rules. Can Sarah find the courage to come forward with the truth? I highly reccomend this excellant, detailed historical novel.

Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is almost holy ground if you are a biologist. Founded by Louis Agassiz, it has seen many of the greatest biologists of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, including Lynn Margulis and E. O. Wilson, among many others. Sippewissett Marsh is close to Woods Hole and as such is one of the most studied of all salt marshes.

Like most wild or semi-wild places, salt marshes are nearly magical (if a scientist can use that term). My main memory of a salt marsh is of a spartina marsh along the Gulf Coast of Florida on a botanical field trip, during which we often sank in the mud while trying to reach some rare or unusual plant. Also by happenstance I passed close to Sippewissett on a trip to Martha's Vineyard via Falmouth Harbor. Thus I have at least a slight acquaintance with the ecosystem and the specific area involved.

Tim Traver has now published a enchanting account of Sippewissett, simply titled "Sippewissett: Or, Life on a Salt Marsh." It is a delight to read and probably one of the best collections of nature and philosophy essays that I've seen in recent times.

Traver certainly loves the area. This comes across with every paragraph. Here he fishes, does research for conservation work, watches birds, and generally makes observations of life and the human interaction with the salt marsh as a microcosm of the human interaction with the natural world. He fishes with a fundamentalist who tell him nature is too high in complexity to have evolved, he discusses Agassiz and his association with the marsh, Lynn Margulis' and James Lovelock's ideas of Gaia, and he brings to reader face to face with the results of oil spills, hurricanes and other destructive forces in the salt marsh. The discussions are humane and interesting. His style is in no way polemic and he comes across as a person who is genuinely interested in the marsh and the opinions of other people, whether he agrees with them or not. This is a truly rare commodity in today's constant drone of absolute opinions.

I highly recommend this excellent collection of essays on one of the most endangered and productive ecosystems on the planet.

We bought four more copies for friends and family. Our UU minister is building a service around just part of this. Add our emphasis on the incredible continuous dedication to researching life of this marsh over 75 years starting with Rachel Carson.

A delight! Well written story of one man's life-long enjoyment of and study of one of Cape Cod's best kept treasures - Sippewisset Salt Marsh. This is an accessible account of the value of salt marshes in protecting our environment and how important it is to preserve marshes for the future.

Tim Traver writes with grace, humor and insight. He tells the compelling story of a small salt marsh on Cape Cod - where he, his family and friends spent endless summers discovering the world and themselves. His story blends intimate memories of growing up - fearless and curious - with science history and the broad progress of ecological inquiry. Readers are drawn into a thoughtful journey that reveals our place in the living, still-breathing world. Traver's salt marsh is transformed into a harbinger of the planet's health. We learn that everything we do matters.

Traver's stories in Sippewissett make the progression of environmentalists in the Eastern United States a tale of interest, rather than one of dry history. And the recounting of Traver's childhood, young adulthood, and recent visits to the magnificient marsh bring this place and its inhabitants of all kinds to life. I can almost hear the birds cry and feel the slimey smoothness of the fish. What a wonderful read. I've even shared some of the passages with my teenage son.

Such a delightful book!

This is a book that is easy to read for anyone interested in animals. The story of the discovery of the true nature of the coyote is told in a down to earth engaging manner. Dr. Way's research will probably be historically pivotal in animal relationships with humans, personal and political. People who live in coyote country (which is almost everywhere) cannot afford NOT to read this book.

Suburban Howls is a must read for anyone interested in wildlife or coyotes in general. Dr Way's descriptive and passionate writing makes for a page turning journey paralleled by few books of non fiction. At times I felt as if I was actually riding around with Jon tracking these wonderful animals. Dr Way's use of humor at times almost had me falling out of my chair with laughter. Do yourself a favor, buy this book and take yourself on a quest of coyote knowledge.

Passionate, fact-filled and providing the reader of a feeling of actually being out in the eastern woodlands at 3am in the morning observing the coyotes. What a revealing, thorough and eye opening book Suburban Howls is. Jonathan Way writes for all of us............clear,insightful and revealing about how all of natures creatures including the top predators like man and the coyote have a role to play in the circle of life.

People kill for food.............so do the coyotes.........This makes neither man or coyote evil.............The age old predator and prey interaction that makes the prey species so lithe, agile and swift is directly connected to the intelligence, perseverance and problem solving of what is chasing it, be it man, coyote, wolf, cougar, bear, wolverine, marten, fisher or bobcat.

May Jon's book open peoples eyes to the need and the right for all of the suite of apex predators to once again take their rightful place in our backyards.............the Eastern forests, meadows, streams and rivers of the USA.--

Suburban Howls is written from the perspective of a research biologist who manages to reach out and capture the attention of the general reader interested in wildlife ecology. He gives vivid details (sometimes heart-wrenching) of his experiences tracking coyotes while educating with scientific detail on Canis latrans. Great pictures, informative appendices and the personal story of a researcher who obviously has a dedication to his study. Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to hear this author's story. If I had any misconceptions about coyotes before reading this book they are now replaced with an understanding and respect for this Canid who is simply trying to survive their environment just like the rest of us.

Wildlife Biologist Jonathan Way raises the clarion call for coyotes and leaves some indelible tracks behind in this wonderful and engaging book. My appreciation for canis latrans has doubled since delving into Suburban Howls. I enjoyed it immensely and will recommend it to anyone who is interested in wildlife, the politics of it and the sometimes tumultuous relationship that ensues when worlds collide. In its pages you will find a book that jogs comfortably between scientific research, autobiography and activism. Reading the book I was alternately saddened and elated by the loses and discoveries of Jonathan and his research team. Herein you will find power struggles,and tragic endings tempered by moments of revelation and jubilant vernal beginnings. The author's insightful documentation and intimate observations of these wonderful social creatures will go a long way in demystifying them and hopefully defang the imaginary danger that lurks in the minds of the ignorant. I look forward to a day when people will feel that these animals are not something to be maligned, needlessly destroyed and cast out to the margins of our world. Jonathan's tireless research and dedication to the subject is testament to his devotion to these ecologically important creatures and their proper management. Many a human could learn a lesson from their fealty and industriousness, not only theirs but Jon's as well.

Not easily pigeonholed into any particular genre this book will rest comfortably next to other noteworthy nature authors such as John Hay and Robert Finch. Perhaps the next time you hear a howl instead of raising your hairs let it peak your interest in the fascinating wild world just beyond your back door.