Massachusetts Books

I love the Easyfinder laminated maps from Rand McNally. They are extremely durable, meaning I won't have to repurchase a map that gets torn, spilled on, or just plain worn out. Even better, I can mark my routes & destinations on them with dry erase marker, then just wipe off when no longer needed. Map detail is top notch, as you would expect from Rand McNally. Great for local tag sale bargain hunting or longer trips. 5 stars, definitely my favorite maps. From the Big Dig to the Museum of Science, this is the one that goes in my pocket.

Raytheon's history begins in 1922, when the Cambridge company became a major innovator in the electronics industry and moved to become a major contributor of the war effort and beyond. Technology and business writer Earls has produced high-tech stories since the early 1980s, while co-author Edwards is a forty-three-year veteran of Raytheon: together they provide a vivid company history. It's the very local region histories of small cities in Massachusetts where Arcadia really shines.

Leigh Greenwood proves his mettle as a historical fiction writer by writing `Rebel Enchantress'. I had automatically assumed it was set in the Civil War. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that he had chosen a little talked about era in US History: reconstruction after the Revolutionary War, and Shay's Rebellion. The events outside of the world created by Delilah Stowbridge and Nathan Trent are based on the build up and reasons for Shay's Rebellion.

Shackled by high taxes, Delilah Stowbridge runs to one person who her family owes a great sum of money by post-Revolutionary War standards. She is nothing but a farmer's daughter living on her brother's farm with his small family and she offers her limited but proper services to Nathan Trent's family. Nathan Trent is British born and suffers the wrath of his aunt's and many other local townspeople's dislike simply because he is British. A secret he keeps even closer to his breast is that he is as poor as Delilah. When Delilah lets her brother Rueben know of her plan to help their family, Rueben presses Delilah into spying on Nathan Trent, certain that he is helping the British make their lives as members of a new country worse with uncontrolled taxes and a desire to once again quell the insurrection that had happened only a few short years before. Their relationship grows steadily, and does not instantly give into their slowly budding realization of attraction. The cast of support characters Serna Noys (Nathan's aunt), Lester (a black servant), Pricilla (Nathan's cousin and Serena's daughter), Mrs. Stebbins (the cook) all contribute adding support to Delilah's passage from the farmer's existence to that of the grander company Nathan's world of an early American land owner.

As an urban planning student (B.A. 2003), who is especially interested in public housing, I have read dozens of books and articles on the subject.

Reclaiming Public Housing is the best I have read yet. The stories of the three redeveloped public housing projects (one was a failure, one a widely-recognized success, and one a mixed-success) are beautifully written - rich with detail and imagery. This book is a far cry from the usual dull statistical tomes that tend to plaque the urban planning/sociology fields. Instead, it represents the perfect balance of statistics and anecdotal evidence, topped off with a wide selection of photos.

Anyone wishing to better understand the past, present, and future of public housing should definitely buy this book.

Description
(From the booklet)

The three chapters of this booklet reproduce the substance of three talks given at Boston a few months after the meetings of the World Council of Churches of Christ in Evanston, Ill., during August, 1954. At those meetings part of the discussion was over the hope of the Lord's Return. The discussion, it was recognized by all, was by no means concluded, and the talks here presented are an effort to present what the writer's church, The Church of the New Jerusalem, has to offer for discussion.
Contents

1. The Return of the Christ: The Scripture Promises
2. A Fulfillment: In Renewal of Christianity
3. A Fulfillment: In a World Redemption

Boylan has carefully documented both the public and private lives of two almost forgotten socialists of the early 20th century. His book is well written and makes for entertaining reading as well as fine scholarship of an overlooked era in American politics.

Professor of Political Science C. Bradley Thompson has selected an array of principle shorter writings by an American Founding Father in The Revolutionary Writings of John Adams, an anthology of Adams' discussions of the prospect of revolution and the ideal form of government for the newly born United States. Additional documents from before the Revolution reflect upon the nature of the British Constitution and the meaning of rights, sovereignty, representation, and obligation. A principled primary source of political philosophy and enduring wisdom, especially recommended for public library and American History reference shelves.

This book covers the Rewey family from 1660 on. It involved 30 years of research by my parents. If you would like a copy of this book, please contact me. rewey001@umn.edu

I really enjoyed this book. If you are at all interested in Cape Cod history, this is worth reading! Crows Pond is a beautiful part of Chatham with a very interesting story of how it came to be the "hidden gem" that it is today.

Here is a bit of truth in advertising...I met the author during one of her restaurant tours...at Darwin's in Cambridge. And I suggested visiting the Quebrada bakery (my favorite) a few miles away in Arlington. Both of these are described...lovingly and appropriately in the book.

But it was reading about the other breakfast places, and visiting a few, that has sold me on her writing and her choices. The stories about each restaurant's background, the delicious descriptions of equally delicious foods, and the general "take" on this kind of dining all give the book a refreshing optimism about one of life's true joys.

This book is a little gem of a guide, and I have relished each exploration of a previously unknown eatery.