A BITTER BREW: FAITH, POWER, AND POISON IN A SMALL NEW ENGLAND TOWN, by Christine Ellen Young, Berkley Books, New York, 2005, 256 pages, hardcover, $19.95. The jacket blurb says that author Christine Ellen Young’s “A Bitter Brew” reveals “the true story behind the Maine… Read More
Mountain Bike! Maine, A Guide to the Classic Trails, by Sarah Hale and David Gibbs, Menasha Ridge Press, 374 pages, $15.95 Even with the tremendous amount of new snowfall in Aroostook County, everyone in my household has turned their attention to mountain biking -planning our… Read More
Carl Little, the ubiquitous arts writer in Maine, was a latecomer to Monhegan Island. Artists have been going there steadily for 150 years, and Little’s first trip was in 1990, as research for a lecture he was preparing for the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. Still, it’s easy… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. KAYAKS YOU CAN BUILD: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO PLYWOOD CONSTRUCTION, by Ted Moores and Greg Rossel; Firefly Books, Buffalo, N.Y.,… Read More
Birds of Maine Field Guide: by Stan Tekiela; Adventure Publications, Inc., Cambridge, Minn., 295 pages, $13.95 Stan Tekiela’s “Birds of Maine Field Guide” is how I learned a wood thrush from a spotted sandpiper and a blue jay from a male belted kingfisher. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by authors, set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. TOOL AND DIE, by Sarah Graves, Bantam, New York, 2005, hardcover, 274 pages, $22. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
HIKING MAINE (second edition): by Tom Seymour, Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Conn., 203 pages, $15.95 The days in Maine are still short, dark, and cold. Below- zero temperatures may find you inside planning warmer weather outdoors pursuits. If so, you might have come across “Hiking… Read More
Ah, February. Month of teasing thaws followed by freezing rain and snow. Twenty-eight days of schizophrenic weather that leaves even the most hardy of souls reeling. Thank goodness it’s the shortest month. And thank goodness for indoor gardening. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by authors set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. THE PRINCE OF BEVERLY HILLS, by Stuart Woods, G.P. Putnam, New York, 2004, 315 pages, hardcover, $25.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
STONE BY STONE, by Robert M. Thorson, Walker & Company, New York, 2002, $14. The subtitle on the cover proclaims “The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls.” The first time around I read “of” instead of “in” and the difference is striking. “Of,” of… Read More
It was more than a decade ago that I happened upon Maine Cottage Furniture in Yarmouth. I remember the brightly colored wooden headboards, painted tables that were simple, whimsical and unpretentious, and paintings that exuded a real joy of life. When co-owner, designer and painter Carol Bass introduced… Read More
Editor’s Note: MaineBound is a column featuring new books set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. MAINE 24/7: AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY STATE, created by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen, DK Publishing, Sausalito, Calif.; 2004, 160 pages, $24.95. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
THE GRAND OLD MAN OF MAINE: SELECTED LETTERS OF JOSHUA LAWRENCE CHAMBERLAIN, 1865-1914, edited by Jeremiah E. Goulka, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 335 pages, $39.95. CHAMBERLAIN AT PETERSBURG: THE CHARGE AT FORT HELL, JUNE 18, 1864, edited by Diane Monroe… Read More
First Rite: A Christmas Tradition, by John Cole. Illustrated by Mary Beth Owens. Down East Books, Camden, 32 pages, clothbound, $12.95. The legacy of the late writer and editor John Cole (1923-2003) is substantial. As founder with Peter Cox of Maine Times, Cole was responsible… Read More
JINGLE CATS, by Michael McDermott, age 9, with accompanying music CD, photography by Scott Thomas, illustrations by Kristi Smith, 27 pages, Tommy Nelson, Division of Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, Tenn., 2004; hardcover $12.99; board book with CD, $9.99; board book without CD, $6.99. This holiday… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by authors set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. CENTER CUT, by John R. Corrigan, University Press of New England, Lebanon, N.H., 2004, 281 pages, hardcover, $24.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by authors, set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. UNSETTLED PAST, UNSETTLED FUTURE: THE STORY OF MAINE INDIANS by Neil Rolde, Tilbury House Publishers, Gardiner, 2004, 462 pages, softcover, $20. Read More
Some addictions are earned. Some are thrust upon us. I was born in Kenmore Square, a long foul from Fenway Park. I was raised in Irish Catholic West Roxbury, where the first religion was practiced at St. Theresa’s Church and the second at Fenway Park. Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or with other local ties. FROM HERE TO THERE & BACK AGAIN, by Sue Hubbell, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich, 175 pages, $26. Read More
THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON: A POP-UP BOOK based on the novel by Stephen King; text adaptation by Peter Abrahams; illustrations by Alan Dingman; paper engineering by Kees Moerbeck; Little Simon/Simon & Schuster, New York, 2004; $24.95. The weird energy Stephen King drives through… Read More
AROUND CAPE HORN, by Charles G. Davis, edited and introduced by Capt. Neal Parker, Downeast Books, Camden, 2004, $14.95. Charles G. Davis wrote in his journal Aug. 3, 1892, “Here was I, a gentleman’s son, who had always had a good home and loving parents,… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or with have other local ties. STONES AND BONES OF NEW ENGLAND: A GUIDE TO UNUSUAL, HISTORIC, AND OTHERWISE NOTABLE CEMETERIES, by Lisa Rogak, The… Read More
BANGOR IN VINTAGE POSTCARDS, Arcadia Publishing, Portsmouth, N.H., 126 pages, $19.99. More than 30 years ago, a 25-cent postcard kindled Richard Shaw’s lifelong interest in small snapshots of Bangor’s history. So it is that we now have “Bangor in Vintage Postcards,” a nice installment in… Read More
“THE BLIND PROPHET OF ARCHERLAND” by H.R. Coursen; Goose River Press, Waldoboro, Maine, 2004; 126 pages, paperback, $10.95. Writing a good fantasy novel is an extraordinarily difficult task. Most of them are quite bad, in some cases because the ambitions of the author fly too… Read More
THE FIRE BALLOON, by Ruth Moore. Blackberry Books, Nobleboro, Maine; 347 pages, $15, softbound. WHEN FOLEY CRADDOCK TORE OFF MY GRANDFATHER’S THUMB: THE COLLECTED STORIES OF RUTH MOORE & ELEANOR MAYO, edited by Sven Davisson, Blackberry Books, 247 pages, $14.59, softbound. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
ARTHUR THE MOOSE, story and illustrations by Cabot Lyford, Castlebay Inc., Round Pond, Maine, 2004, 36 pages, hardcover. $14.95. Cabot Lyford was born in Sayre, Pa., in 1925, served in World War II and attended Cornell University. After viewing the Winged Victory of Samothrace at… Read More
For more than a decade, Tilbury House Publishers in Gardiner has specialized in publishing books that address the difficult issues children often face. Many of these have been about the environment, but a few take on questions of social justice as it relates to children in and out… Read More
THE DARK TOWER VII: THE DARK TOWER, by Stephen King, Donald M. Grant/Scribner, New York, hardcover, 864 pages, $35. This massive volume (even by King’s standards) marks the end of a long and winding road in a number of ways. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
PERIPHERAL VISIONS: MEMOIRS OF A WASHINGTON CHILDHOOD, by Farnham Blair; Puckerbrush Press, Orono, Maine, 2004; 132 pages, paperback, $15.95. This is one of the strangest, and truest, books written in Maine in recent memory. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
FIDDLER’S GREEN, by Van Reid, Viking Press, New York, 300 pages, hardcover, $25.95. Author Van Reid originally planned three ripping adventures for the portly Portland gentleman Tobias Walton and his comrades in the Moosepath League. Fortunately for readers, the characters created by the Edgecomb novelist… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or that have other local ties. BODY DOUBLE, by Tess Gerritsen, Ballantine, New York, 339 pages, hardcover, $24.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
THE LOST VOYAGE OF JOHN CABOT, by Henry Garfield, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004, 312 pages, $16.95. Henry Garfield likes to say that his latest book, a novel for young adults set in the 15th century, is “speculative history.” googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
THE LOBSTER COAST; REBELS, RUSTICATORS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR A FORGOTTEN FRONTIER, by Colin Woodard, Viking, New York, 2004, 372 pages, $24.95. Near the end of his thought-provoking examination of the Maine coast, Colin Woodard asks a troubling question: “I wonder if, twenty years from… Read More
THE PATH: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe, by Chet Raymo, Walker & Co., New York, 197 pages, $12. For 37 years, Chet Raymo, a professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, has walked the same path from his home to his job at Stonehill College. Read More
NINE, by Theodore Enslin; National Poetry Foundation, Orono, Maine, 2004, 296 pages, paperback, $22.95. Contrary to some popular academic beliefs of the last 50 years, the substance of a poem is not in its “message,” and Theodore Enslin’s new collection is evidence. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
THE GARDEN OF MARTYRS, by Michael C. White, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2004, 359 pages, $24.95. Americans have always mistrusted – hated is probably a more accurate word – certain groups of foreigners. In New England in 1805, much of that fear and loathing… Read More
DECORATING WITH FUNKY SHUI: HOW TO LIGHTEN UP, LOOSEN UP, AND HAVE FUN DECORATING YOUR HOME, by Jennifer and Kitty O’Neil, Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, 2004, 133 pages, $14.95. It seems like you just can’t turn on the TV these days without bumping into… Read More
FINDING ANNIE FARRELL: A FAMILY MEMOIR, by Beth Harpaz, St. Martin’s Press, 2004 hardcover, 271 pages, $24.95. What a daughter assumes she knows about her mother’s life may be very different from what the facts reveal. That is the starting pointing for The Associated Press… Read More
If you want to see handmade clay pots, glass vases, silver jewelry and wooden sculpture on Deer Isle, a community known for its dense population of craft artists, you can follow a well-worn trail of galleries and shops. But what if you wanted to read the work of… Read More
LIGHTHOUSE SEEDS, by Pamela Love, illustrated by Linda Warner, Down East Books, Camden, 2004, hardcover, 33 pages, $15.95. A CUB EXPLORES, by Pamela Love, illustrated by Shannon Sycks, Down East Books, Camden, 2003, hardcover, 29 pages, $15.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or that have other local ties. A PLACE ON WATER: ESSAYS” by Robert Kimber, Wesley McNair, Bill Roorbach; Tilbury House Publishers, Gardiner, Maine, 2003; 130… Read More
Food fight Health advocate sounds earnest alarm about America’s increasingly dire ‘obesity epidemic’
FOOD FIGHT: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America’s Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It, by Kelly D. Brownell and Katherine Battle Horgen, McGraw Hill Cos., New York, 2004, $24.95. Be warned: This earnest, humor-challenged manifesto on the “obesity epidemic” and… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or that have other local ties. DOWN THE SHORE: The Faces of Maine’s Coastal Fisheries, text by Michael Crowley and photos by Nancy Trueworthy, Down… Read More
ISLAND OF FIRST LIGHT, by Norman G. Gautreau, MacAdam/Cage Publishing, San Francisco, 2004, hardcover, 289 pages, $23. I, Father Jerome Dalou of the Company of Jesus, record these pages so it may be known what perfidies and treacheries the English antipapists have perpetrated on an… Read More
ONE BREATH AT A TIME: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps, by Kevin Griffin, Rodale Books, Emmaus, Pa., 2004, 304 pages, $13.95. Buddhism is a religion of meditative study that points the way to spiritual growth and enlightenment. AA’s Twelve Steps are tools to reach and… Read More
FRENCHVILLE – Tyler Dufour can’t hear, but at 2, he talks more than most children his age. He just does it with his hands. The inspiration for a new children’s book, “Tyler Talks With His Hands,” written by his mother, Angel Dufour of Frenchville, Tyler… Read More
“BARBARA BUSH; Matriarch of a Dynasty,” by Pamela Kilian, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 2003, paperback, 237 pages, $14.95. Daughter. Prankster. Wife. Mother. Grandmother. First lady. America’s grandmother. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var… Read More
“THE DARK TOWER VI: SONG OF SUSANNAH,” by Stephen King, Donald M. Grant/Scribner, New York, 2004, hardcover, 432 pages, $30. Stephen King has returned again to his “Dark Tower” series, which is set in an alternate world – which, based on this new sixth book,… Read More
In an era of quick-hit technology, John Griesemer’s second novel, “Signal & Noise,” an international best seller, is a slow read. And that’s not such a bad thing. In fact, it’s downright Victorian. The book, which is set in the mid-19th century, draws on the… Read More
OUT OF THE DEEP I CRY, by Julia Spencer-Fleming, 2004, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, 308 pages, hardcover, $23.95. Julia Spencer-Fleming has hit her stride. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var… Read More
MALLETS AFORETHOUGHT, by Sarah Graves, Bantam, New York, 2004, hardcover, 352 pages, $21.95. Only Sarah Graves could come up with a locked-room mystery that involved house renovations. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
Sheri Lynch knows her parents had a difficult time raising children. The problems were many: poverty, a bad marriage, too many offspring. “And in my family, we like to add crystal methamphetamine, drug addiction, violence and abandonment,” said the only girl in an Irish-Italian Catholic… Read More
BALANCE OF TRADE, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Meisha Merlin Publishing, Decatur, Ga., 2004, hardcover, 464 pages, $25. Winslow authors Lee and Miller have returned with the latest installment in their intelligent space adventure series, set in their well-realized Liaden Universe. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
IF I WERE WRITING THIS, by Robert Creeley, New Directions Books, 2003, 104 pages, hardcover, $21.95. For five decades, Robert Creeley has sounded a poetic voice of as much intelligence and common sense as any American poet. His intensely honest revelations about the qualities of… Read More
THE SAME GREAT STRUGGLE: The History of the Vickery Family of Unity, Maine, 1634-1997, by Andrea Constantine Hawkes, 2003, Tilbury House Publishers, 306 pages, $30 (hardcover), $15 (softcover). When I was a struggling freelance writer back in the ’70s, I used to pick the brain… Read More
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle is best known as one of the finest craft education centers on the East Coast. Whether a student, teacher, administrator or visitor, Haystack imparts a powerful creative energy at the end of the winding lane that leads to one of… Read More
Dr. Judith Sulzberger has a simple message in her first novel: “Be careful what you wish for.” In “Younger” (Apple Tree Productions, $24.95), Sulzberger, a Lubec summer resident, takes readers inside the world of genetics research. It’s a place that Sulzberger knows well, as she… Read More
WOLF KAHN’S AMERICA: AN ARTIST’S TRAVELS, by Wolf Kahn, introduction by John Updike, Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York, 168 pages, hardbound. $45. “Wolf Kahn is a painter who loves paint.” That’s how Alan Gussow described the German-born, Hans Hofmann-trained artist in his classic book… Read More
SUBJECT MATTER: POEMS, by Baron Wormser; Sarabande Books, Louisville, Ky., 2003; 72 pages, paperback, $12.95. Somewhere in between deep personal seriousness and detached postmodern meaninglessness floats the poetic world of Maine’s poet laureate, Baron Wormser. His sixth collection, “Subject Matter,” contains the microscopic linguistic refinement… Read More
NEW WAYS TO APPLIQUE, edited by Jeanne Stauffer and Sandra L. Hatch, House of White Birches, 2003, hardcover, $24.95, 176 pages. From the very first page, which features a photograph of Sue Harvey’s Lollipop Flowers quilt, “New Ways to Applique” draws the erstwhile seeker of… Read More
Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or that have other local ties. NEVER ALONE-UNTIL ADMIRAL HALSEY LEFT … WITH EVERYONE ELSE, by Harrison E. Lemont, Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc.; Pittsburgh, Pa., 2003; 94… Read More
One of the best Essential books on Lincoln under one cover He believed in God, but wasn’t much of a Christian. And to ease the stress of his agonizing years in the White House, he laughed out loud at a good barnyard joke. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
BASEBALL’s FIRST INDIAN LOUIS SOCKALEXIS: PENOBSCOT LEGEND, CLEVELAND INDIAN, by Ed Rice, Tide-mark Press, Windsor, Conn., 2003; 176 pages, hardcover, $24.95. In the winter (or spring) a young (or old) man’s fancy turns to baseball. A great cabin fever antidote is a good book on… Read More
YES & NO, by Linda Tatelbaum; About Time Press, Appleton, Maine, 2004; 240 pages, paperback, $14.95. Linda Tatelbaum’s new novel, “Yes & No,” is the story of an American graduate student living in Paris during the winter of 1969-70. Naomi Weiss’ professors at Cornell University… Read More
Maine Bound is a column featuring new books written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or that have other local ties. CAPITAL CRIMES, by Stuart Woods, Putnam, New York, 2003, hardcover, 288 pages, $25.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes… Read More
KNUCKLEBOOM LOADERS LOAD LOGS – A TRIP TO THE SAWMILL, by Joyce Slayton Mitchell, photos by Steven Borns, The Overlook Press, Woodstock and New York, N.Y., 2003, hardcover, $15.95. If your child can get past the klutzy title, maybe this book is for your budding… Read More
OWLS HEAD, by Rosamond Purcell, The Quantuck Lane Press, New York, 2003, 240 pages, $25. In the summer of 1991, while teaching a class at the Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport, Boston-based photographer Rosamond Purcell took her students on a field trip along the coast,… Read More
Guess what? Crochet is not just for lacy doilies, pillowslip edgings and afghans. It’s for socks. The authors of “Crocheted Socks” have done good things in their book – their sock designs are so lively I want to make several pairs to wear with my… Read More
THE MAINE POETS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF VERSE, edited by Wesley McNair; Down East Books, Camden, Maine, 2003; 260 pages, hardcover; $25. “The Maine Poets,” Wesley McNair informs us in his introduction, reveals “an ongoing tradition” of Maine poetry by collecting together verse of Maine’s poets… Read More
Maine’s farmhouses are so spruced up these days, with canning jars sitting like trophies atop polished granite counters, that it’s hard to imagine what used to go on in the kitchen, the baking biscuits before dawn and long days of canning over blazing wood stoves even on the… Read More
Are aliens kidnapping the snowmobilers from the hills around Stratton? You might think so if you labored through “River of Fear” (Morningstar Communications, 2003) by Rod Davis. Davis, who owns land in the Stratton area and loves to snowmobile, tells us that a “circle of… Read More
SIMPLE CROCHET, by Erika Knight, Clarkson Potter Publishers, New York, 2003, 129 pages, paperback, $19.95. Erika Knight has a simple idea – create a series of books that present knitting and crochet patterns in a way that is easy and accessible. Her third book, “Simple… Read More
CELEBRITY SCARVES, by Abra Edelman, introduction by Isaac Mizrahi, Sixth&Spring Books, 2003, hardcover, $24.95. “Celebrity Scarves” lets you knit with the stars – 25 of them. Some you’ll recognize easily, some you may not, but what they all have in common – besides gorgeous faces… Read More
MAINE’S COVERED BRIDGES, by Joseph D. Conwill, Images of America series, Arcadia Publishing, Dover, N.H., 2003, 128 pages, $19.99. Do you know why bridges were covered? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
My Journey, by Rabbi Harry Sky With jolly bearded men perched on housetops, lights shimmering across the snow and advertisements promoting holiday shopping at every turn, this season can be a time of dilemma, if not downright confusion, for those who do not celebrate Christmas. Read More
THE FIRST FEUD: BETWEEN THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SEA, A FABLE, by Lynn Plourde; pictures by Jim Sollers; Down East Books, Camden, Maine, 2003; $15.95, hardcover. With the publication of “The First Feud: Between the Mountain and the Sea,” Lynn Plourde joins the ranks of… Read More
Many children’s books get described as sweet. But a new volume written by an East Blue Hill author truly qualifies for that label. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i =… Read More
IN PERIL, by Skip Strong and Twain Braden, The Lyons Press, 2003, 272 pages, hardcover, $22.95. “Steve, how far from the shoal?” I yell into the chartroom. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false;… Read More
Editor’s Note: Bangor native Amanda Dumond works as a reporter at the Aroostook Republican and News in Caribou. She reviewed the following new Thanksgiving-related children’s books in light of the coming holiday. THIS FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY: A COUNTING STORY, by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by… Read More
MEANWHILE, NEXT DOOR TO THE GOOD LIFE, by Jean Hay Bright, BrightBerry Press, Dixmont, Maine, 2003, $20. When I came to Maine in 1970, everyone I met talked about buying some land, homesteading and leaving the consumer economy behind. Most of us never had the… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a periodic column featuring new books that are either by authors, set in the Pine Tree State or have other local ties. CHAT ROOM, by Linda Hall, 2003, Multnomah Publishers, Sisters, Ore., 314 pages, paperback, $11.99 googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
In the recently published book, “Climb To Conquer,” on the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division, author Peter Shelton writes a fascinating story of the creation of the “ski troops,” the actions they participated in during World War II and the post-war contributions the veterans made to outdoor recreation. Read More
KNITTING INTO THE MYSTERY: A GUIDE TO THE SHAWL-KNITTING MINISTRY, by Susan S. Jorgensen and Susan S. Izard, Morehouse Publishing, 2003, 160 pages, $17.95. Like most knitters, Susan Izard and Susan Jorgensen, authors of “Knitting into the Mystery: A Guide to the Shawl-Knitting Ministry,” have… Read More
Through Stephen King’s long career, the Dark Tower has loomed in the background. The Bangor author has followed his muse wherever it led, be it writing novels, short stories, nonfiction or screenplays, producing movies or TV programs, or even (God help us) making Hitchcockesque cameos… Read More
THE INMATES AND THE ASYLUM: THE BANGOR CHILDREN’S HOME, 1835-2002, by Trudy Irene Scee, published by the Hilltop School, Bangor, 420 pages, $24. When I heard that local author Trudy Irene Scee had written a history of the Bangor Children’s Home, I knew it would… Read More
Editor’s Note: Features new books that are either by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or have other local ties. Steve Perrin is a Bar Harbor retiree who enjoys quiet marathon hikes; Stephen Gorman is a Vermont adventurer who seeks out high-octane wilderness. Read More
THE LOST NEW ENGLAND NINE, by Will Anderson, Anderson and Sons’ Publishing Co., Bath, Maine, 2003, 140 pages, $19.95. It was the recurring dream on the endless, dusty summer afternoons spent in right field on a baseball field in some rocky, vacant lot. Some of… Read More
One of my fondest childhood memories is hopping into the family Plymouth, riding 12 miles to Old Town and watching the Bangor Band perform in the local bandstand. Trumpeter Ward Shaw, gussied up in white shirt, blue blazer and black trousers, helped fill the summer air with the… Read More
Editor’s Note: Features new books that are either by authors, set in the Pine Tree State or have other local ties. A MOOSE AND A LOBSTER WALKED INTO A BAR…, by John McDonald, Islandport Press, Frenchboro, Maine; 2003, $14.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
YEAR OF GRACE: A NOVEL, by Margaret Hope Bacon, Quaker Press, Philadelphia, 2002, 191 pages, $12.95. Faith Smedley is a Quaker, 76 years old and dying of cancer – but readers of Margaret Hope Bacon’s novel don’t have to be any of these things to… Read More
If I were 10 years old with a yen to knit, I’d want Melanie Falick’s “Kids Knitting” (Artisan, 2003) in my backpack and I’d probably lug it around until it was dog-eared and bent. And no doubt I’d have the backpack stuffed with yarn and I’d be toting… Read More
The season of leaf and petal is fading fast, but there’s still time to preserve the remaining blooms to serve as reminders of gardens past and gardens to come. Dahlias, marigolds, zinnias, hydrangea, yarrow and even a few roses are still in bloom. All are likely candidates for… Read More
Without even blinking an eye, Al Bernstein recalls the exact date he began penning his personal manuscript: Jan. 30, 1954. Escaping to the early-morning solitude of his Bangor home’s furnace room, he would sit at a folding table, under a single light bulb, and pour… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound features new books that are either by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or have other local ties. STALIN’S EYES by Tony Brinkley, Puckerbrush Press, Orono, Maine, 2002; 214 pages, trade paperback, $19.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
Little Cranberry Island (also known as Islesford), off the coast of Mount Desert Island, has always been a favorite for artists, with its fishermen, its docks, its scenes of schooners and fish boats, its rocky shore, its churning surf, and its meandering roads and picturesque houses, some of… Read More
MEMOIRS OF A BABY STEALER, by Mary Callahan, Pinewoods Press, Lisbon, Maine, 2003, $9.95, 225 pages. The title of Mary Callahan’s new book neatly sums up her quarrel with Maine’s foster care system. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes… Read More
THIS SPLENDID GAME: MAINE CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS, 1940-2002, by Christian P. Potholm, Lexington Books, Lanham, Md., 2003, 243 pages, paperback, $25.95. It’s not unusual for college and university professors to write textbooks for the courses they teach. It is rare for such a tome to… Read More
Editor’s Note: Maine Bound is a column featuring new books that are either written by Maine authors, set in the Pine Tree State or have other local ties. THE SINNER, by Tess Gerritsen, Ballantine, New York, 2003, 352 pages, hardcover, $24.95. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More
LETTERS FROM A CIVIL WAR SURGEON, by Dr. William Child, Polar Bear & Company, Solon, 400 pages, $25. The Civil War has been explored from every angle by legions of professional historians to the point, where there is nothing new under the literary sun. Or… Read More
IMAGES OF RAIL: MAINE NARROW GAUGE RAILROADS, by Robert L. MacDonald, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, S.C., 2003, 128 pages, paperback, $19.99. Narrow-gauge railroads are much more human in scale than standard-gauge railways. They are kid-sized in comparison to the standard-gauge trains that still rumble through Maine… Read More