Massachusetts Books

To all aspiring poets, professional poets, wannabe poets, and loves of poetry - if you read no other book about poetry - READ THIS BOOK. Robert Francis has a wit and mind like no other. Less a technical manual and more a philosophy book, it truly is, in its teachings, poetry itself.

This is an easy to read and comprehendible modified version of the novel Scarlet Letter that is read by high school students. It is perfect for special education students as the reading level is adapted to lower level readers and it follows the plot of the non modified version.

The article would be helpful for any parks and recreation professional who works in an urban area. The trend of public/private parternships has been becoming more popular and this article gives a little "how-to" mixed with a success story.

If you're interested in architectural history and Nantucket or American architecture of New England, then you'll want to read and keep this meticulously researched book that is both a good read and informative. Also, it contains beautiful photographs of Nantucket's most important homes. Kudos to the authors and photographer!

I really liked this book. Not only were there a large number of well-researched trips, but there were lots of extras that made the book a great resource.

The first section of the book is a review of basic kayaking information. Having read this type of information before, I nonetheless found Ms. Evans' text easy to read and helpful. I particularly liked her treatment of hypothermia, one of the main hazards of sea kayaking.

The main section of this book consists of 42 of carefully detailed trips. Each one begins with a overview of important information about tides, local hazards, and NOAA charts. One of the things I liked about the text is that Ms. Evans wasn't afraid to include a few subjective statements such as: "Nauset Marsh is one of the most beautiful places in Massachusetts for paddling serene, unspoiled, and protected water." I found these comments helpful in making trip choices.

In addition to trip details, Ms. Evans includes quite a bit of information about local access, conservation and environmental issues. Information such as why horseshoe crabs are important, why over-development harms local waters (nitrogen overloading causes oxygen depletion), and why the preservation of salt marshes is so important (they give food and shelter to 2/3rds of all commercially valuable fish and shellfish). It makes sense that Ms. Evans knows about these issues since she practices environmental law in Boston.

All in all a valuable resource for Massachusetts paddlers.

I found this book in a used bookstore in Manhattan, Gotham Book Mart to be precise. It's postively the most wonderful book I've ever read on drama, very inspiring, and moving. It really gets at the haunting mystery behind the motives of the Gods, which is really a metaphor for the mystery of death. In clear writing, and with comparisons of classics to modern works, it's a good introduction to tragedy.

The Seekers

I rate this book five stars. I liked this book because it kept me wanting to read it, it was very suspenseful. I also liked it because it was like a love story and I like love stories. This was a very unique book. Not many books have the same theme as The Seekers, but one book I know is Titanic, the Long Night. It was a love story and a journey to the New World, which then was called New York. This story was very different form others I have read. I like that, it means that it doesn't copy other themes and has a mind of it's own. IT has a plot whish will make you want to read it over and over again. It is not only fictional, but historical too. It talks about the hardships that the people on the journey have to the New World and what they had to face when they got there. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic and adventure stories. It will make you want t read it, not like those fake books that are not suspenseful. It's short but very adventurous. I had fun reading it. This book makes you think how committed you are to your love ones. The people in this book care about each other very much, for example Edward is so committed to his love one Rebecca, that he goes all the way to the New World just to be with her. But also there is men in the story who loves adventure, but also can be caring. This book should be read, I recommend it.

Beautifully written works; that make the gears of the mind flow like a water fall.

The Reverend Notebook of Samuel Parris offers insight into the dynamic and complex relationship betweem a minister and his congregation.

Read in conjuction with the village church records, probate records, and the acutal witch trial transcripts(which are available free online), the sermons paint a chilling and fascinating picture of the Salem witch trials beyond what is commonly accessible to most people.

I would recommend this purchase to anyone seeking a better grasp of the power struggles and positions that facilitated the witch trial conflict.

This is a smart and interesting account of what colonial men thought about sex and how it was part of their daily lives and their identities as men. Eighteenth-century people were surprisingly open about sex. This was definitely not part of my college history class! The book covers a lot of topics including marriage, homosexuality, race, and courtship. I
recommend this book to people interested in the history of homosexuality, sexuality, or colonial America. I learned a lot about eighteenth century America while being entertained by interesting (and factual!) stories about colonial relationships. I loved the stories depicting "courtship" and divorce. It was interesting to see how some of those ideas still carry forward to today.