By Eleanor O'Donnell

BIRTHS RECORDED IN THE TOWN REPORTS OF PETERBORO, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1887-1951. American-French Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 2113, Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02861. 1994. $35.00

MARRIAGES RECORDED IN THE TOWN REPORTS OF PETERBORO, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 1887-1951. American-French Genealogical Society. 1994. $35.00
These two books listing births and marriages in Peterborough, New Hampshire, are arranged alphabetically by last name. Marriage records include names and places of birth of parents, where known.

Bowles, F. Douglas. DIRECTORY OF NH EX-POWS. Kingswood Press, Wolfeboro. Order from F. Douglas Bowles, P.O. Box 66, Mirror Lake, N.H. 03853. 1997. $20.00
Lists over 300 New Hampshire ex-prisoners of war. Includes a history of N.H. ex-POWS in Chapter No. 1.

CELIA THAXTER: SELECTED WRITINGS. Edited by Julia Older. Appledore Books. 1997. $14.50 ISBN 0-962716243
For this collection of Celia Thaxter's writings Julia Older has selected excerpts from Among the Isles of Shoals, Collected Verse, An Island Garden, Letters, Stories, and A Memorable Murder. The selection reflects the versatility of the nineteenth century New Hampshire writer, and will inspire the reader to seek out the complete works. A biographical sketch of the author prefaces the selections.

Coomer, Joe. BEACHCOMBING FOR A SHIPWRECKED GOD. Graywolf. 1995. $22.95 ISBN 1-55597-228-4
Charlotte, newly widowed after her husband dies in a car crash, escapes to Portsmouth, New Hampshire to get away from her in-laws, and deal with her own grief. She rents a room on a wooden houseboat, which she shares with an emotional seventeen-year-old girl, and the boat's owner, an aging blue-haired widow, becoming involved in their lives. She joins an archaeological dig, working to reconstruct the past of an ancient graveyard while burying her own recent history.

Curren, Thomas S. A SMALL TOWN BY THE RIVER: THE HISTORY OF NORTHFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE. Published by North-field Historical Society. Order from Eliza Conde, Northfield Town Hall, 21 Summer Street, Northfield, N.H. 03276. Tel. 286-4482. 1997. $35.00 hardbound; $20.00 softbound.
Northfield became a town in 1780, in response to petitions from its settlers. Until then, this area had been the north fields section of Canterbury. This work summarizes the town's history from its first settlers in 1760 through the 1990s.

CURRENTS II: AWARD WINNING POETRY, FICTION AND NON-FICTION. Seacoast Writers Association, P.O. Box 6552, Portsmouth, N.H. 03802-6553. 1997. $8.75
Second anthology published by Seacoast Writers Association.

Dickerman, Mike. WHY I'LL NEVER HIKE THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL: MORE WRITINGS FROM A WHITE MOUNTAIN TRAMPER. 1997 Bondcliff Books, P.O. Box 385, Littleton, N.H. 03561. 1997. $14.95 ISBN 0-9657475-1-4
Second collection of tales from the author's popular hiking column, The Beaten Path. Includes informative pieces on early White Mountain exploration, winter life atop Mount Washington, mountaineering accidents, use of cellular phones in the backcountry, and a "top notch" quiz to test your knowledge of the White Mountains.

Eslick, Tom. TRACKED IN THE WHITES. Write Way. 1997. $21.95 ISBN 1-885173-32-6
During a student-teacher hike in the White Mountains, one of the students disappears and is found murdered. The science teacher, who is leading the expedition, is the prime suspect. He escapes from custody and sets out to clear himself. The author of this mystery novel is a teacher at Proctor Academy.

French, Francis O. GROWING UP ON CAPITOL HILL: A YOUNG WASHINGTONIAN'S JOURNAL, 1850-1852. Library of Congress. 1997. Price unknown.
Francis Ormond French was twelve years old when he started this journal on January 1, 1850, a unique record of a young person living on Capitol Hill. His father was Benjamin Brown French, a native of Chester, New Hampshire, who came to Washington to work as a clerk in the House of Representatives and later served as Commissioner of Public Buildings. Frank returned to New Hampshire, attended Phillips-Exeter Academy, then Harvard. He moved back to Exeter to practice law with his father-in-law, Amos Tuck.

Hall, Sidney. SMALL TOWN TALES; A BROOKLINE BOYHOOD. Hobblebush Books, Brookline, N.H. 1997. $12.95
Collection of columns originally published in Hollis/Brookline Journal. The author recollects his boyhood in Brookline, New Hampshire.

Hersh, Burton. THE SHADOW PRESIDENT: TED KENNEDY IN OPPOSITION. Steerforth Press. 1997. $23.00 ISBN 1-883642-30-2
New Hampshire author, Burton Hersh, continues his study of Ted Kennedy, which he began in The Education of Edward Kennedy, published in 1972. Hersh asserts that Ted Kennedy has come to be the most influential political figure of this generation, respected by Democratic and Republican senators. He has spent his political life doing the hard work of writing laws, fighting the issues, and defending the core values of the Democratic Party.

INTERVIEWS WITH ROBERT FROST. Edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Jeffrey Norton, Publishers. 1997. $29.00 ISBN 0-88432-888-0
First published in 1966, this new edition includes an index. The selection of interviews spans a period of nearly half a century, from 1915, the year when Frost returned to America from England, to 1962, just a few weeks before his death.

Lessard, Betty, and Holly Babin. PICTURING MANCHESTER: A SELECTION OF IMAGES FROM THE MANCHESTER HISTORIC ASSOCIATION. Order from the Manchester Historic Association, 129 Amherst Street, Manchester, N.H. 03101. 1997. $19.95, plus $3.50 postage.
Published in honor of the Manchester Historic Association's centennial, this selection of photographs from their collection provides a visual history of Manchester from 1865 to 1990. The accompanying text provides a historical description of the subject of each photograph.

Lucier, Armand Francis. NEW ENGLAND CHRONICLE, NEWS OF NEW ENGLAND FROM JANUARY 1722 - DECEMBER 1731. Heritage Books, Inc. Catalog No. L816. 1997. $19.00 ISBN 0-7884-0634-5
Newspaper abstracts from New England, chiefly Boston newspapers, convey what life was like in the years 1722 through 1731. Articles about Indian raids and kidnappings, smallpox, piracy, duels, accidents with ships, firearms, millwheels, lightning, and bear maulings are interspersed with advertisements for merchants, brides, missing persons, lectures, social, and public events. The news for August 17, 1727 notes the death of King George the First, and an angry husband refusing to pay the debts of his estranged wife.

Morgan, Katherine Redington, editor. MY EVER DEAR DAUGHTER, MY OWN DEAR MOTHER: THE CORRESPONDENCE OF JULIA STONE TOWNE AND MARY JULIA TOWNE, 1868-1882. University of Iowa Press. 1996. cloth $32.95 ISBN 0-87745-563-5; paper $16.95 ISBN 0-87745-564-3
Mary Towne leaves her mother's home in Topsfield, Massachusetts, to pursue a teaching career in Chicago. The selection of their correspondence between mother and daughter chronicles the personal events in their lives. The editor's introduction includes a history of the Towne family. The editor of these letters lives in Durham, New Hampshire, and is the great granddaughter of one of these letter writers, and great great granddaughter of the other.

New Hampshire Council of Churches. THE DEATH PENALTY AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. Order from the New Hampshire Council of Churches, PO Box 1087, Concord, N.H. 03301-1087. Tel. 224-1352; fax 224-9161. 1997. Free
New Hampshire reinstated capital punishment in 1977, but the issue is still being debated in the Legislature. This booklet traces the history of the death penalty, and outlines the current laws relating to capital punishment. A resource/study packet is also available for those wishing to study the imposition of the death penalty in greater depth.

Noyes, Alice. A WALK WITH MOLLY OCKETT. Order from Alice Noyes, 144 Exchange Avenue, Manchester, N.H. 03104 or fax 664-5210. 1997. $15.00
Molly Ockett, the legendary Medicine Woman, who carried a pocket of coins around her neck, traveled around visiting the sick through the White Mountains, over to Andover and Bethel, and even into Vermont. This book about the woman who claimed to be the last of the Pigwackets, is appropriate for middle and high school level.

Patten, Matthew. DIARY OF MATTHEW PATTEN OF BEDFORD, N.H. FROM 1754-1788. Picton Press 1993. $49.50 ISBN 0-89725-11-3
First published in 1903 by the Town of Bedford, this new and expanded edition includes a name index. Matthew Patten was a carpenter and joiner, a farmer, a surveyor, and a probate judge. His diary, written in the form of daily account books, provides a comprehensive record of daily life in Bedford in the second half of the 18th century.

Ricker, Percy Leroy, and Edwin R. Holland. GENEALOGY OF THE RICKER FAMILY. Heritage Books. 1996. 2 vols. $53.50 Catalog No. R315
The Ricker family was one of the first New Hampshire families. This genealogy begins with brothers, George and Maturin Ricker, immigrants from the Isle of Jersey, who settled in present-day Dover, New Hampshire, in the late 17th century.

Silverberg, Judith K. NEW HAMPSHIRE WILDLIFE VIEWING GUIDE. Falcon Press. Order from New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 2 Hazen Drive, Concord, N.H. 03301. 1997. $8.95 ISBN 1-56055-544-0
A volume in the Watchable Wildlife series, the New Hampshire Wildlife Viewing Guide lists 73 sites for viewing wildlife, with information on species present, optional times for viewing, detailed directions, access and facilities. Illustrated with magnificent color photos and artwork.

Tinklepaugh, Joan. HOLLIS FAMILY ALBUM. Hollis Historical Society, c/o Hollis Social Library, Monument Square, P.O. Box 659, Hollis, N.H. 03049-0659. $40.00
Joan Tinklepaugh, genealogical chairperson of the Hollis Historical Society, has compiled a history of the founding families of Hollis, New Hampshire. She has researched the family trees of 28 families who settled the town before the Revolutionary War.

Vincent, C. Paul. HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF GERMANY'S WEIMAR REPUBLIC, 1918-1933. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1997. $115.00 ISBN 0-313-27376-6
This historical dictionary is a reference source for the study of modern German history. Includes entries on individuals as diverse as Bertolt Brecht, Adolf Hitler, and physicist, Lise Meitner, and on events such as the Beerhall Putsch, the French occupation of the Ruhr, and various organizations and institutions, political parties, treaties and agreements. Vincent was formerly library director at Keene State College.