Massachusetts Books

Mother, May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen covers the relatively short but extremely brutal service of the Fifty-Seventh Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers from initial recruitment in the fall of 1863, through Grant's Overland Campaign, and on to the trenches surrounding Petersburg, Virginia. Of the 900+ members who started with the regiment when it left Worcester, Massachusetts, in early spring 1864, only ten men made it through the last year of the war unscathed. The regiment was one of Fox's famous "300 fighting regiments", having lost 19.1% killed or mortally wounded. Wilkinson disputes this figure, and his calculations raise the total to 20.5% of the total killed or mortally wounded. Regardless of the exact numbers, this regiment suffered appalling casualties in a short amount of time. This story is dramatic enough in the hands of a pedestrian writer. Wilkinson, however, kept me interested sentence by sentence, page by page through 371 total pages of text. Wilkinson describes the experiences of these men, both the good and the bad, in great detail. He doesn't fall prey to idolizing his subject matter. A reader learns that these were men with human failings, but that some were able to rise above these failings to fight resolutely for their cause. The roster located just after the text is amazing as well. Even privates receive quite a lot of attention. The roster runs from page 403 to page 623, and is a valuable reference for genealogists and other researchers. Wilkinson is not finished there, however. His appendices relate even more useful information on the regiment in easily read tables. The first appendix shows regimental strengths and casualties broken down by company for all of the major engagements of the 57th Massachusetts. Wargamers in particular will be interested in this material. If every author of a unit history included this information in as detailed a manner as Wilkinson did, there would be no need for unit strength research in the National Archives. The last two appendices cover statistical summaries of the men in the regiment, and a list of the ten who made it through the war without getting killed or wounded.

In conclusion, I am very glad I picked this particular volume to start seriously reading unit histories. To everyone who recommended that I read the book, I thank you. I truly believe this book would appeal to a wide range of readers, even those who are not necessarily Civil War "buffs". In the same way Glory is an excellent, far-reaching film, Mother, May You Never See The Sights I Have Seen has the ability to reach out to a larger audience. I plan to recommend this book to those that ask me why I'm so interested in the Civil War. It hooks you and doesn't let go, much like a well-written novel. Although I've read only a couple of unit histories, I get the feeling that few I read in the future will be as good as this one. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I read this book about 10 years ago. It is really superb. Very gritty, poignant, detailed. I have a copy in my collection. It is that good.

This is a comprehensive and authoritative regimental history, and really sets the standard for this genre. What I like most about it, since I research Canadians who served in the Civil War, was the detailed regimental roster that the authors compiled. Unfortunately, this book is out of print and may be difficult and/or costly to track down, but should you get your hands on a copy, you will not be disappointed.

In Oleksiw's fifth book of this series, two drug-related deaths draw Police Chief Joe Silva into the shady underworld of Mellingham. When his investigation crosses paths with teens of the town, one of whom is his live-in girlfriend's son, it becomes personal for Joe. Once again, Oleksiw has depicted small town life in New England with a clear eye to the contrast between traditions and worldliness, and all that is encompassed therein, both good and bad. Her characters are real and you know them; they live down the street. The plot is real; you read about it in the newspapers, and the idea that it could happen in your town, maybe with your own children terrifies you. Beautifully written, A Murderous Innocence keeps the reader guessing through twists and turns until the final chilling outcome.

Most of the townsfolk of Mellingham attended the funeral of Ron Faroli, a former drug user. Not long afterward, Ron's friend, also a member of the Mellingham Community Center, Miles Stine's falls out of a third floor window. Chief of Police Joe Silva feels the coincidence is too much to ignore though the evidence points towards an accident.

Other former addict pals of Ron and Miles are nervous that they will be next. Meanwhile Joe tries to keep everyone calm as he makes inquiries. He especially is concerned with the parents of the recently deceased as George Faroli and Edna Stine are popular life residents. However, as he digs deeper into the Stine death, Joe begins thinking it is a homicide by someone who knew the second victim, but wonders who would want him dead and why, the answer of which remains elusive as the ties between the deaths lead nowhere.

Police procedural fans will enjoy A MURDEROUS INNOCENCE as Joe struggles with a homicide investigation in which the evidence seems more like a coincidental accident caused by drugs; still he persists because the twin deaths nag at his mind. The townsfolk know one another so they prefer that Joe stop digging and accept the deaths as an accident as they cannot accept one of them as a killer. Thus Joe has his work cut out for him while readers obtain a strong mystery.

Harriet Klausner

After reading this book, you feel as though you've just spent a summer on the Cape and can't wait to go back next year. It's like a vacation without leaving home. An excellent read!

This book is a wonderful escape for anyone who picks it up, but if you are familiar with Cape Cod or the coastline of New England you'll find it even more appealing. The people and places so accurately described in Taber's work will make you a convert and read all of her books. Her prose is so superb that you forget you're reading at all and feel that you're having a conversation with Gladys herself. Gone from this world for over two decades, Gladys is still alive with such a presence in these pages that I open her books when I need comfort and I feel as if I'm speaking to my grandmother. An accomplished professor of Writing, a Wellesley grad, a naturalist, and a New Englander, Gladys Taber will remind you that all is and can be right with the world.

The lush, romanticized illustrations--in the same tradition as Norman Rockwell--by renowned American artist N.C. Wyeth, are what first draws young readers to this book. While the paintings taken from Wyeth's murals may not always line up with the clear, concise writing of Robert San Souci, it doesn't detract from the narrative.

This is a classy book for middle grade students, providing a readable account of the Pilgrim's journey aboard the Mayflower and first year in New England. While the illustrations may be idealized, San Souci leaves no doubt that life was difficult for the settlers of Plymouth.

Notes at the end of the book provide interesting and helpful background on the writing of the book and information about the artist, who died in 1945, and the murals that are the source of these illustrations.

This is a nice addition for information on New England colonial life, as well as the feast of Thanksgiving.

I thought that this book was a really good book. The best part about it was that it had to do with history. I think it will still keep the interest of kids while teaching them about what happened back then. It also had great pictures. While I was reading it, the pictures jumped out at me. It wasn't too lengthy either. I found that to be quite nice. I would recommend it to children if they are looking for an interesting and educational book. With this book, you can not only enjoy it, but you can also learn. That is why I gave it 5 stars.

Goddard and Bragdon did a great service in the compilation of this work, containing "an edition of all known manuscript writings in the Massachusett language by Native speakers." Published in two parts, this book includes photographs of historical manuscript texts with verbatim transcription and English translation. Includes an historical, anthropological, and linguistic introduction to these rare and precious documents, grammatical sketch, and separate indices for Massachusett and English words. Not only for the specialist, this book provides a fascinating glimpse into Native literacy, culture, politics, and worldview in 17th through 19th century Massachusetts. Bragdon's wonderful book, Native Peoples of New England, is well-paired with Native Writings in Massachusetts.

...already did a good job of describing what to expect from this fascinating book. I would just like to add a few small points.

A reader might have trouble finding Kathleen Bragdon's other, related publication, based on the way the earlier reviewer described it. The correct title of that book is "Native People of Southern New England, 1500-1650." It is very interesting, and it greatly expands the information given in the volume that I'm primarily discussing here.

Another point, which I feel prospective buyers might wish to be aware of, is that "Native Writings in Massachusett" is composed almost entirely of historical minutiae. What I mean by this is that most of the documents here are of extremely slight historical import. Don't expect major treaties, or folk literature. The writings here are fascinating precisely because of their pedestrian, mundane, quotidian nature. They include marriage vows, marginalia from old bibles, personal wills, or land deeds (an issue of overwhelming significance, to be sure, but the actual documents here tend to be of very small transactions). There are about 150 of these short documents. In every case, we first see a xerox of the original, almost always handwritten document, which is usually very faded and difficult to read. There follows a transcription of the Massachusett text. Next, there is a translation into English, or an effort to translate. Sometimes there are words that no one understands anymore...

Volume two is basically a guide to the grammar of the language. Be warned, volume two is written for trained linguists, so it can be difficult to make your way through the pages. There's a lot of linguistics jargon. It isn't like a Berlitz book. Still, I think you should give it a shot -- it's more than worth it. If you need help with the linguistics terminology, try using "A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics," by David Crystal

Beyond these issues, the other reviewer has already made all the salient points, in my opinion. I would just like to add that it really is an amazing experience to leaf through this book. If you live in Eastern Massachusetts, or went to school there, this book has serious potential to enrich your library, and your mind. I grew up mostly in Massachusetts, and I remember always being curious about some of the odd names of places I would hear. Places like Lake Hocomoc, Mount Wachusett, Lake Quinebequin, Lake Quinsigamond, the place called Mishawum... As a child I used to wonder if maybe some of these odd words were perhaps Irish in origin, at least the names of the lakes, as I had friends with the last name Quinn and knew this word to be Irish. Of course, the Irish came to Massachusetts far too late to play a major role in the naming of places. The words that so many of us find to be enthralling are, in fact, of the ancient Massachusett tongue. Today, this tongue is very difficult to find examples of.

It may seem odd to devote attention to the tongue that was spoken in Massachusetts for so long, before the arrival of English. I hope you try to confront this feeling of oddness, and face it down. This book evokes a certain wrenching of one's customary paradigm, when one thinks of the copper-colored folk who lived in Massachusetts for innumerable cycles of years, fishing and hunting, working and playing, living and loving, before the arrival of the English. This book helps you to feel that once Massachusetts was just a place like any other, with no broader significance in the worlds of politics, science, or education. Today the ancient Massachusett tribe exists only in the Ponkapoag band, spread out across many neighborhoods in towns to the south of Boston. Their language is preserved in these magical pages. In fact, this very book has helped a member of the nearby, more populous Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, Jessie "Little Doe" Fermino, to revitalize the almost identical lost Wampanoag tongue.

If you'd like to show some interest and respect for the people who walked the paths, fished the rivers, and knew the forests of Eastern Massachusetts for unknown centuries before our current civilization came into being, you could do worse than to purchase these books. I'd also like to strongly recommend that you alert your local library to its existence.

Morton is readable and approachable...until you come upon his allegorical poetry. Dr. Jack Dempsey has unlocked the dense stanzas of Morton. I first encountered Morton years ago and dismissed him as did almost every major New England historian. Not Dempsey. Through his scholarship 'mine eyes have been opened'. Morton loved New England in a very modern sense. His relationship to the Indians and the environment are worth studying. Morton was trained in Latin and understood the mythological figures. Morton related those ancient figures to the circumstances of the 1620's and 1630's. Morton stands in stark contrast to his neighbors twenty five miles away: the Pilgrims at New Plimoth. Adventure, Compassion, Courage...it is all there. Bravo Jack Dempsey!

Thomas Morton's life and influence on early America is under appreciated.In a very entertaining section of the book Dempsey reveals how Morton has been received during the course of our history.Dempsey brings to life the ebullient,prickly,roguish character that Morton was.I learned a great deal about the politics of colonial religious life especially as it effected Native Americans. Of course this influence is still with us today and Dempsey's exegesis on this subject is powerful and persuasive.This book is scholarly but also lots of naughty fun.

A wonderful collection of stories about Norfolk Hunt - both past and present - but can be enjoyed by anyone facinated by the sport of foxhunting. Great for the coffee table.

A wonderful collection of stories about Norfolk Hunt - both past and present - but can be enjoyed by anyone facinated by the sport of foxhunting. Great for the coffee table.

For those of us who gravitate toward the written record of one person's life as a lens through which to understand broader historical trends -- and those of us who are particularly interested in 19th century American, religious, New England, and of course Shaker history -- this book is a gem. It brings the American Shaker religious sect to life in the person of Isaac Newton Youngs, a member of the New Lebanon, NY Society of Believers. For this we have not only the author to thank, but also her subject, who left 4,000 diary pages for her study. Through these pages we see more than a glimpse of Isaac's daily life. We get a comprehensive view of his spiritual, emotional, and vocational development from the age of 13, when he joins the New Lebanon Shakers, through adolescence (including a surprisingly frank account of his decades-long struggle to live in a celibate society), adulthood, and his shocking end. The author's sympathetic yet insightful analysis of this material puts Isaac's travails in religious, social, and psychological context, so that we understand Isaac and the world he lived in, and how it was perceived by outsiders. We are left with the sense of having known someone intimately, despite the spatial, chronological, and cultural remove.

So often, history affords us just a glimpse of any one life. We are left to wonder just what that time and place was really like. This is not one of those books.

ONE SHAKER LIFE by Glendyne Wergland is one of the finest pieces of scholarship ever done on the Shakers. There is so much of merit, it is difficult to choose a few aspects to highlight. When the entirety of the book is considered, however, perhaps the most intriguing chapters are numbers three and seven.
Number Three, "Youth and Lust" provides a totally new and detailed account of the struggle a young Shaker man faced trying to live a celibate life. Wergland uses vivid passages from his diaries and speaks of his guilt and efforts to confess. At the same time she uses nineteenth century literature on related sexual topics to contextualize these temptations.
Chaper Seven, "Intimacy between Men in Shaker Society" continues this frank discussion. No previous author has so skillfully discussed issues raised by the use of flowery and sexual language between Shaker men in their correspondence, nor has possible Shaker homosexuality ever been so clearly and rationally explained. As a result, her treatment of Isaac's friendships shows a balanced and fairly accurate account of the relationships formed between Shaker men in the early nineteenth century.
Other chapters of note include the one dealing with Isaac's involvement in the Era of Manifestations. We glimpse him as both an instrument as well as one who is given the task of testing the validity of these visionists. Another chapter deals with his contributions as a master clockmaker, the final craftsman in a three generations old family tradition. The book also has clear and well explained illustrations.
In summary, Wergland has used previously unanalyzed primary resources to create a work of insight that informs. This effort helps give a correct and complete view of one particular Shaker during the earlier years of Shaker history.

If anyone has Portuguese or Irish ancestry, whose relatives immigrated to the Cape Cod & Islands in the 1800's, this book is a treasure trove of information.

There are family histories, celebrations, stories about what motivated them, what brought them joy. PLEASE, buy a copy for your children. NO ONE knows this history anymore.

Fran Karttunen has contributed a sumptuous clambake for islanders and the millions of 'coofs' among us, that is, off-islanders of every sort: tourists, summertime residents, historians, artists, fishing enthusiasts, day-laborers, weekend executives. And what do we find?
We discover a meticulously researched story of those who often lived behind the veil. They were those who rarely lived on Main Street where only those who counted resided, those mythical stoic Anglophile Yankee 'CAPTAINS.' But who "pulled Nantucket's oars" aboard the fragile whale boats and who labored behind the scenes, Karttunen asks? Who bunked in the fo'c'sles, hearded the sheep, cooked and served meals, erected homes then and now, lost indigenous property, or were themselves the enslaved property of others? Beyond the island's first people of color were the Canackas, Portuguese, Irish, Azorians, Jamaicans, Germans, Latvians .... They were and are us, Americans of every color and creed who have bonded together in some mysterious way by falling in love with this 'far away isle.' Fran Karttunen, herself of island stock, masterfully and compassionately unvails this untold story of the "other" islanders.

Dorothy Sterling describes the Outer Lands (The Cape, Long Island, Nantucket, etc.) very eloquently, using understandable, interesting language. She adds charming local folklore and local sights, as well as maps and drawings that contribute so much to the book. This book is great for leasure reading as well as a textbook for a marine biology class.

Dorothy Sterling describes the Outer Lands (The Cape, Long Island, Nantucket, etc.) very eloquently, using understandable, interesting language. She adds charming local folklore and local sights, as well as maps and drawings that contribute so much to the book. This book is great for leasure reading as well as a textbook for a marine biology class.