Massachusetts Books

I was almost done reading this book when an outrage took place in our local community. Using the tactics I learned from Wellstone's work with the OBRC I helped to organize opposition instantly. From a few angry people, our action grew. We delegated tasks, used the media to present our case, and signed on lawyers who threatened legal action. And you know what? We won! Unconditionally. There's a lot of practical advice on direct action along with profiles of activists and the challenges they face, and Wellstone is honest in pointing out pitfalls and shortcomings (including his own).

When Wellstone died in that plane crash last year, we lost one of our best.

This was an excellent book. It offers one of the finest explications of the concept of "organizing" and the process by which the rural poor (or people in general) can be taken from apathy to self-driven activism. Perhaps, the most important lessons for organizers reading this book concern what practices to avoid in establishing your community activist organization - Wellstone goes into great depth in analyzing areas in which his OBRC (Organization for a Better Rice County) failed, just as much as he highlights its notable successes.

Kristi Witker in 1972 was a journalist on a skiing vacation in Switzerland when she received an invitation to help with the McGovern campaign. It was the chance of lifetime. She took it.
She later decided she had made the wrong choice, but she stuck it out and wrote about it.

She received the offer because she traveled with Robert Kennedy's 1968 Presidential campaign,having been assigned to write a book on him for American Heritage Press. "Kennedy turned out to be an accessible candidate," she writes. "Traveling with the Kennedy campaign was a relaxing and enormously pleasureable experience."

This book by a young woman who later became a successful television reporter is both hilarious and profound. Reading it provides a baseline for the political progress women have made.

As Deputy Press Secretary, she was McGovern's highest ranking female staffer. Yet she was denied basic office furniture, and treated disrespectfully by other staff, who both withheld cooperation that she needed in order to do her job, and spread rumors about her sex life, which, she complains, was much more boring than she would have liked.

A basic problem of the McGovern campaign was that it was led by the remnants of the Robert Kennedy campaign, who saw in McGovern's politics a chance to reclaim Kennedy's vision. But McGovern was not as well known, as charismatic, as politically skilled, and--perhaps most importantly--anywhere near as wealthy as Kennedy.

"It looks like McGovern is nothing on his own, that he has to rely on the Kennedy ghost," Whitker fumes early in the campaign when a McGovern television commercial contains praise from RFK.

Running as the Kennedy legacy candidate is hampered by Ted Kennedy's disinclination to campaign for McGovern in the primaries, and his refusal to accept McGovern's offer of the Vice-Presidential nomination. Ultimately, after various false starts (remember Tom Eagleton?), McGovern winds up with Kennedy borther-in-law Sargent Shriver as a runningmate, but it is too little, too late to secure the Kennedy constituency and unite the Democratic Party.

She assails McGovern's lack of mastery of public policy mastery.
"We have to do something on the economy," he tells a staff member." The staffer members asks what. "Something," McGovern repeats. McGovern's hatred of being committed to specific details led to a fatal lack of clarity and inability to weed out bad ideas. His $1000 per person tax rebate was the quintessential bad idea.

The limitations of McGovern's staff were also deadly. "His campaign was at first a minor effort appropriately run by minors, but as he came up, they felt they owned him and were determined not to share him. The candidate became their captive and they, in time, his limitation. These kids always had wildly impractical, rigid, theological notions about politics....(E)veryone had a title which suggested he was the boss. In fact, no one was."

In the McGovern campaign, closeness to the center of the action was all. People wanted to be central staff, not field staff. Gary Hart did parlay his position as campaign manager (outranked by National Political Director Frank Mankiewcz though) into two terms in the U.S. Senate and two presidential candidacies. But a guy not mentioned in the book--Texas field staff director Bill Clinton--went a lot farther of course. So may his Texas co-worker Hillary Rodham, also not mentioned.

What Clinton learned from McGovern was the importance of conducting a primary election campaign with the general election in mind. McGovern taught this lesson by failing to understand it.

"Throughout the primaries," Witker writes,"McGovern and his staff had been running like a group of lemmings with blinders on, toward the sea, which, in their case, happened to be The Nomination. The Nomination was their only goal, a goal now out of all proportion because McGovern's longshot candidacy had made it seem unattainable. And because it had seemed unattainable, McGovern now credited it with mystical powers. If he won The Nomination, he would somehow become invincible and have anything he wanted."

McGovern, a strong moral leader and an enduring political figure in the years since his 1972 campaign, could have been elected with a better campaign, Witker implies. That is difficult to say: in the 20th Century only Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton were able to defeat incumbent Republican presidents, and all had the benefit of deeply divided a Republican Party at the time.

Both Witker's humor and political insights are still valuable today. No one should attempt to put together a large scale political operation without reading this book. And anyone grappling with the problems of how to run an extensive volunteer operation of any kind would also benefit. This is a great case study of the human resources issues involved in running a large volunteer operation.

The campaign "was a once in a lifetime experience," Witker concludes. And, indeed, she never worked in a Presidential campaign again.

Her summary of Republican appeal is an enduring one. "It was already a depressing year on top of a succession of depressing years: rising prices, falling stock market, scandals, the War, crime. Who wanted to think about goodness and justice and truth just now? It only reminded you of how little of it was around. Not many people trusted Nixon, but he wasn't taking away their money, or so they believed. No one knew whether to trust McGovern, but he was threatening to take away their money, so why bother to find out? Why listen?"

Those who listen to Kristi Witker will benefit from the experience. If you are reading this review, you should read this book.

Just one thing I want to know. Is this the same Kristi Witker who C. David Heymann alleges had an affair with RFK?

My husband and I were given this book as a gift, and having grown up in Hull, it was very special. We learned a lot about the town we had known for 20 years; I only wish I knew about it while living there. The photos were wonderful. I am now going to buy this book for my parents, who have sinced moved away from Hull but who I know will enjoy the book immensely.

What a great book, I gave it as a gift to someone who grew up in Hull and they enjoyed the book. The photos brought back great memories reminded them of the history of the area. If you are from the area of Massachusettes that Nantasket Beach is and want to learn the history I would recommend you pick up this book, there is a lot more to the place than the beach!

This book to me is a must have for any lover of Salem, or anyone interested in knowing the real story of the Witch Hunts. If you are planning a trip to Salem then this book is truly a must have as it tells you all the places to visit, what happened at those places, and most importantly directions on how to get to those places! Truly a wonderful book to have for all the information it provides.

This is much more than just a guide book. It gives a detailed, fascinating, lucid and very readable account of what happened in Salem in 1692, from when the girls in Salem Village parsonage started going into fits to when the last accused witches were released from jail and compensation was finally paid and names cleared. With surprising subtelty, given its concision, it clarifies such issues as whether the accusing girls were hysterical or faking and what the relationships were between all the main leaders of the witch hunt. Both for people visiting Salem, who want to be taken back in time by exploring what remains from those days, and for people who would like to visit Salem but can't, this is the perfect introduction to the witch trials. With many maps and illustrations and an easy to read format, it's suitable for all ages.

A 13 year old girl gives a pictorial introduction to all aspects of her equestrian lifestyle: jumping, trail riding, equipment, horse care, competing, teaching. Shows a young person working and being responsible while enjoying her dream. A positive role model, Eve Shinerock shares her love of horses with her readers.

If you know an adolescent girl, (or boy), who loves horses, this may be the perfect book. It certainly makes a wonderful gift. Thirteen-year-old Eve Shinerock has been raised around horses. Her Mom is a riding instructor and Eve has had her own horse, Lightning, half Arabian and half Connemara pony, since she was very small.

This real life story, told in Eve's own words, is about the strong bond between a girl and her horse. She tells about owning, caring for and riding her horse, competing in contests, and the wonderful bond that develops between girl and animal. Eve's life seems to be one that many kids dream of, until she and her family plan to move to a new house - and they can't take Lightning with them.

The books is illustrated with more than 75 extraordinary black and white photographs, by award-winning photographer Jane Feldman, of Eve and Lightning. "I Am a Rider" gives girls and horse fans of all ages a glimpse into the everyday life of a young equestrienne and the horse she loves. This is a wonderful book!
JANA

92 year old Victoria Trumbull is out for a walk with her granddaughter when she spots a body. The police say the death was caused by an accidental fall off a cliff, but Victoria thinks someone murdered her neighbor. She is convinced the murder has something to do with the debate over whether or not to have a casino on Martha's Vineyard, where she lives. When a friend disappears and is presumed dead after a house fire, Victoria is determined to find out the truth. Add in a motorcycle rally, a stolen computer, and a kidnapping and Victoria is one busy lady.

"Indian Pipes" is an enjoyable mystery. Victoria is a great creation - at 92 she is sharp as a tack, energetic, stubborn, and a deputy assisting police chief Casey O'Neill. Her granddaughter Elizabeth is also well written - recovering from a divorce, she would like her grandmother to be more politically correct, not realizing how open to today's world Victoria really is. Author Cynthia Riggs does a good job of capturing life on Martha's Vineyard and the gambling plot line is a timely one as casinos are indeed being talked about in Massachusetts. The mystery aspects are nicely done and there are plenty of suspects to keep readers guessing who the murderer is. Besides the murder, there are also several smaller mysteries in the book that are all well developed and Riggs nicely takes her time in letting readers know the solution.

"Indian Pipes" is a nice cozy mystery.

In West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard, ninety-two years old Deputy Sheriff Victoria Trumbull and her granddaughter Elizabeth are walking together when they see a person apparently fall from a nearby cliff. The nonagenarian soon learns the corpse is that of her reclusive neighbor Jube Burkhardt. The crime scene and what Victoria and Elizabeth observed even from a distance lend credence to Jube accidentally falling off a nearby ledge.

Victoria learns that Jube, an engineer, attended a meeting called by the local Wampanoag tribal council to discuss soil testing in support of their proposed casino. Though she vowed to stay out of the casino controversy, she finds the link to Jube too tempting to ignore as the residents of West Tisbrury are divided over the gambling project. Motivated to uncover the identity of the killer, Victoria soon finds a second dead person and an arson set fire. As she gets closer to the truth, the culprit tries to silence the persistent cop.

As with the five previous delightful Martha's Vineyard Mystery, INDIAN PIPES is a superb whodunit starring a feisty protagonist, who though geriatric has not lost much of her step (just ask her granddaughter). The story line is exciting as a reluctant Victoria investigates the death and more. The story is terrific and the heroine wonderful and as always, Cynthia Riggs provides an eccentric support cast, this time a motorcycle biking professor and his hogs that turns the tale into a colorful winner.

Harriet Klausner

Whether you're a biologist, an environmentalist, or just someone who loves fish/fishing, this book is a must. Written for both academics and lay-persons, with easy to understand text, it includes information on methods for determining the identity of local freshwater fish, with beautiful illustrations and color plates.

Whether you're a biologist, an environmentalist, or just someone who loves fish/fishing, this book is a must. Written for both academics and lay-persons, with easy to understand text, it includes information on methods for determining the identity of local freshwater fish, with beautiful illustrations and color plates.

I found the suggested routes and hotel/gallery/hotel listings espacially useful. This is the only guide I used for my vist to Boston, and it worked well for me.

This is a great compact guide, which is easy to tote around and refer to. The travel tips section suggested a great variety of galleries and restaurants, and was helpful in planning how to get around the city (my first time in Boston). I used Insight Guide: Boston to plan my trip, and then carried the compact guide around in my purse when touring the city. Both the Insight Guide and the Insight Compact Guide to Boston were great fo rme, and I would recommed either or both to anyone planning a trip to (the really nice) city of Boston.

This handy little guide really proved useful and fun to read, and suggested sites we probably wouldn't have located without it. We visited a number of the restaurants and galleries it suggested and were never disappointed. I recommend this book.

I found this guide to be both thorough and user friendly. Loaded with great photographs, it made planning our activties as a family really fun. The suggested routes are very well explained and mapped, and we enjoyed following them around Martha's Vineyard. Next stop, Nantucket!

This extraordinary book brings together a confluence of compelling themes: The history of a city and its self concept; the evolution of city planning and the politics of public space; visionary thinking and the implications of decisions on the future of urban living; and the visual record of 19th century Boston through historical photographs and maps. These ideas have been woven into a highly readable book, stunningly designed by Yasuyo Iguchi. For anyone who lives in or has lived in Boston, this book is the best history of the city's evolution. For others who may not be as compelled by the specific story of how the Charles River came to be or the significance of the Big Dig, this book is a fascinating and provocative exploration of the implications that face all cities as they envision themselves into the future. How should public space be used? Who decides what is the public good? Haglund cares passionately about these issues and has assembled a thoughtful, readable and provocative response to these important questions. Don't miss it.

This book received an Award of Honor from the American Society of Landscape Architects Professional Awards Program in 2003.