Hartford Books

I've just finished reading this wonderful book a few days ago. It was sweet and simple, yet Mary was obviously such an elegant lady. I took my time reading each page, savoring every moment she described of her life in CT. I truly didn't want this book to end. How I wish I had personally known Mary and had been able to sit down and have tea and cake with her. I can't stop thinking about Mary, her 1st and 2nd husbands, and her friends and family. Most of all, I keep thinking about Smoky, her precious German shepherd. I cried about Smoky, and then I cried about Mary when I found out she had passed, also. This was an extremely memorable book.

To the reviewer from Modesto - please email me, I know Mary would love to hear from you.

Mary's book read like a conversation between friends as she reminisced about the challenge of making a barn into a home and then adjusting to life as a single woman upon the death of her husband. Although for me it was reminiscent of similar experiences as I was her neighbor, living just over the hill, everyone will enjoy her style. In her telling of the love and support she found among neighbors, she reminds us all of a life and time many of us knew but now has been lost.

This is one of the best reads I have expereinced. Must admit that I am partial because I live in CT and much of what she describes I have seen. It is a touching love story. A book about the value of women learing to be independent well before her time. It is richly written. Our book club will be reading this book next month. I'm looking forward to the second reading. A must read in my humble opinion!

Mary was delighted to hear your raving reviews of her book. I am sad to tell you that she passed away August 18, 2001 at the age of 96. She was in the process of completing a sequal to "The Widow Down By The Brook". Had her body not given out, believe me, her mind would have finished it. I was fortunate to have spent the past year trying to keep up with her. The immediate personal connection you feel reading the words in her book are the same feelings you had meeting her. She found humor in every day. She was a delightful woman, a precious one that got away. She will be truely missed.

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.

This book had warm and wonderfull stories to which everyone can relate. We couldnt put it down. The tribute to Terry!s wife, Sue,was especially heart warming. We reccommend it to every reader.

Thank you so much, Dr. Grody, for sharing your stories of your medical career with us. Your book was so enjoyable! I laughed out loud many times. You are such a compassionate physician. I would have been honored to be your patient!

Rx for Happiness: An OB/GYN's Story

As someone who worked with Dr. Grody for eleven years, I loved this book. For those of you who have had the pleasure of working with him, hearing him lecture, or watching him operate, this collection of vignettes captures his larger-than-life personality and many great stories. For those interested in learning what it takes to be a wonderful doctor, you will enjoy seeing how Dr. Grody combines excellent technical skills, a thirst for knowledge, out-of-the-box thinking and a tremendous amount of empathy and concern for his patients to build his international reputation. The book also shows how it is possible to juggle life's many demands and tribulations, yet still maintain healthy relationships and an overall positive joy in life. I highly recommend this book!

These vignettes from a retired gynecologist have many very funny moments, but the underlying message is serious. Your doctor needs technical skills, which Dr. Grody clearly has in abundance, but the personal and human qualities are even more important. Dr. Grody clearly collaborates with his patients as he delivers their babies or cures their gynecological problems, and they end up laughing along with him. My wife and I lent our copy to her gynecologist, hoping she gets belly laughs, but also she will recognize the need for social skills.

Thank you Dr. Grody for allowing me to view what has been a truly remarkable career. Your book was insightful, sensitive, funny and moving; all the qualities I imagine you possess. The stories you share of your patients were at times comical, at others heart rendering. Through it all, you treated your patients with dignity and compassion. I cried when I read the last chapter which chronicles your illness- "The healer now needs healing." Though perhaps not the way you intended to end your auspicious career, you were given the chance to reflect on your life and share it with others. Thank you!

If you are muslim and can read english, you need to buy/read this book. By far best nikah book I have read.

I am not yet married but, like anyone looking foward to making such an investment, I believe there can be much benefit from reading up on this topic. I am very happy that the author went out of her way to quote Qur'aan and Hadeeths (aka "Islamic sources") as much as possible to support her statements. I've found this book to be quite an informative and valuable read for Muslim man, Muslim woman and even the married Muslim couple as it is a reminder of the couples' duties in fulfilling each others' spiritual and physical needs...

Thumbs up!

This is a great book for married couples who would like to have a good marriage from beggining to end. It is really like a book that tells you how you should act together, and you have to do the work yourself. I really enjoyed the list of THINGS TO AVOID it gave a listing of men or women you should avoid before you concider them for marriage. There is so much information in this book, so many ayat of Quran backing all of her words, and so many adhadith that support her paragraphs, you can not argue with your spouse again because there is an answer for every problem. If you are thinking of getting married, please buy this book!

Absolutely, the best marriage book I have come across, that is actually useful, and appliable. Each chapter is filled with hadith and Quran that we all have read but never took time to apply with those we love. The advice in this book is clearly the truth, and it will save all of us a lot of time if we understand the content before we get married, or even consider marriage.

This book opens the door to communication to those who are married and who find themselves "trapped" or making the wrong desisions over and over, this book puts a halt to waswisa, and bad communication skills learned throughout the years.

This book is even better for those who are thinking of getting married, but who are not quite sure who to marry, or who to look for! AN EXCELLENT TEXT BY AN EXCELLENT TEACHER!

Ronald Fernandez did an outstanding job on this book. It is very obvious the level of research he conducted in completing it--at times very daring research. Besides that, his writing style is compelling, and each subsequent chapter pulls you deeper into the story, giving the reader insight into the events and forces that came together to make Victor Gerena the man he became.

I would love to see this book published as a 2nd edition, updated to include the events from the 90s and early 21st century, including the Clinton pardons and the unusual circumstances that lead to the death of Filiberto Ojeda Rios on September 23, 2005, a day that independentistas on the island and abroad celebrate the anniversary of El Grito de Lares.

This book is a must for those who want to understand Puerto Rico's political situation. In a straightforward way, Ronald Fernandez presents the political and economic aspects of Puerto Rican society. He concisely explains how the island, as a 500-year old colony, evolved through history to acquire its actual form. In this book the reader will find more than the official line. Using the legendary robbery by Los Macheteros (The Machete Wielders) to the Wells Fargo in 1983 as an epicenter, Fernandez presents the story behind the scenes, and explains why Puerto Rico is "an island that handled ignorantly, could easily become America's Northern Ireland."

Fernandez provides a detailed and knowledgeable analysis of an often overlooked political faction in Puerto Rican politics and analyses one of several acts of "terrorism" attributed to the Macheteros. Fernandez also provides the reader with a brief, yet enlightening, history of Puerto Rico and its relations to the United States and in doing so lays the groundwork for an explanation of the motives that lead the "Macheteros" to advocate independence for Puerto Rico by any means necessary. A must read for anyone interested in the hypocrisy of U.S. domestic (foreign to the macheteros) policy and for those interested in finding out some of the history behind the release of the Puerto Rican political prisoners several months ago.

The book starts in Fairfield but ends in Hartford, Connecticut.
I went to that school and let me tell you, it's all dead on true.
It's weird to read at first because the concept is the narrator is burnt out writing this last day of school, trying to figure out who he is before his parents' arrival. But if you've ever been to university or have any fascination on what goes on, I think you'll like it.

Decadent Decay in a Hartford Empty Room is an excellent critque of college life. From the emptiness of getting stoned to the over indulgence of prodigal children who have way too much of daddy's money to spend. The narrator is a jaded suburban straight edge student who went to college with dreams of higher education without ever assuming that the HIGH would be more focused on than the education. At times the narrator is so jaded that the wording seems strange and jumbled but once I read through the entire book I understood what had actually happened. From the very beginning to the very end this book will have you in it's grasp. A fast read too at a little under 200 pages, it's definitely something you could read on a train or during a long car ride, or in the middle of Central Park on a warm day. I haven't enjoyed a fast and fun read this much since THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, and with the jaded progression of the narrator the comparison is inevitable. Much enjoyed and suggested for all!

This inexpensive book is well researched and an interesting read. If you have an interest in railroad dining car operations, especially from a northeast line, this would be an excellent addition to your collection or reference library. Last Thanksgiving we tried out a couple of recipes from the book and they turned out very well. Highly recommended.

Marc Frattasio has done a wonderful job of telling the story of the New Haven Railroad's dining car department and onboard food service in Dining on the Shore Line Route. This book has something to appeal to every railroad fan; well-researched historical narratives, loads of photos, and a big selection of recipes. I especially appreciated the photographs of the train crews (especially all the hostesses and other women), the first-person stories by railroad workers about their adventures working on the trains, the illustrations (and stories) about all the dining car china patterns used by the railroad, and of course the interesting recipes. This is a great book on an interesting aspect of the New Haven's history that up until now has been undocumented.

This limited edition, commemorative book is a must have for anyone interested in Hartford, Connecticut history or the American Park Movement. This book contains a comprehensive history of Elizabeth Park, celebrating the centennial of its famous rose garden in 2004. It also contains a brief history of the American Park Movement and Forestry movement. The book features all aspects of the park including its perennial, annual, and rock gardens, trees, natural and architectural features, and activities. The 20 historical photographs are highly interesting and the 130 color photographs are spectacularly done by area photographer William Shepard. The cover art is by local artist Diana Lyn Cote. For more information, please refer to EPCENTURY.

This limited edition, commemorative book is a must have for anyone interested in Hartford, Connecticut history or the American Park Movement. This book contains a comprehensive history of Elizabeth Park, celebrating the centennial of its famous rose garden in 2004. It also contains a brief history of the American Park Movement and Forestry movement. The book features all aspects of the park including its perennial, annual, and rock gardens, trees, natural and architectural features, and activities. The 20 historical photographs are highly interesting and the 130 color photographs are spectacularly done by area photographer William Shepard. The cover art is by local artist Diana Lyn Cote. For more information, please refer to EPCENTURY.

This book is a great read for anyone who is interested in bluegrass, early country music, or rural American life in the 1930s. It takes distant musical legends that we now take for granted and gives them faces and voices. It draws an unforgettable bridge between early 20th century itinerant traveling musicians and the teething early world of recording and radio. It reads like "O Brother, Where Art Thou", but with real-life musical pioneers and heroes.

When I got my copy of this book, I started thumbing through it, and the next thing I knew, it was two hours later and I was still glued to it! Until I finished it --and I read some parts twice just because they were so interesting-- the dishes went unwashed, the family went unfed, the house went uncleaned, the instruments went untouched (and that is hardly an exaggeration!). I certainly recommend it!

Reja Jager
President, Northern Illinois Bluegrass Association

I don't know what is more relentlessly compelling: the story of the "Orange Blossom Special" or the story of the man who wrote it.
In the end, of course, the stories end up being intertwined, and the author pulls both up out of the swamps of the Everglades and places them in the realm of legend. History was made by real people, and Ervin Rouse was about as real as you get--if you consider "truly strange" to be "real." But he produced from deep inside himself (real deep, it seems) one of the great tunes of our times. I love the story; I love the writing.

The 3rd story of this series is intense. It was hard to put the book down as I hoped for a way for Daniel and Taregon to make peace with their past and the things that drove them apart. After Daniel unwittingly betrayed his family I was in agony as I wondered how everything was going to work out in the end. It is so good to read about a piece of history that is so often neglected in our American history books. I greatly enjoy reading about the Native Americans and wish things could have worked out differently and wonder what our world would be like today if they had.

The third installment in this wonderful series. This one started a little slower but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I am anxious to get into the 4th book. I know I will be sorry there are only 5. However, I have now purchased several of her other books. She is a wonderful writer. Thank you Angela Hunt--keep writing!