NEW HAMPSHIRE BOOK COLUMN

by Eleanor O'Donnell
New Hampshire State Library

Brereton, Charles. PRIMARY POLITICS. Peter E. Randall, Publisher. 2003. $18.00
ISBN 1-931807-17-5
Charles Brereton has been covering and observing the premier primary for over three decades. His book provides insights, history, analysis, anecdotes, and first-person recollections, and serves as a guidebook to an antiquated but functioning electoral event where candidates still sit down and talk with real voters.

Gregg, Hugh, and William Gardner. WHY NEW HAMPSHIRE: THE FIRST IN THE NATION PRIMARY STATE. Published by Resources-NH. $24.00 ISBN 0-9637615-5-2
Written by the late former governor Hugh Gregg and the current New Hampshire Secretary of State, Bill Gardner, this book chronicles the first in the nation primary and contains valuable historical and anecdotal information. One presidential candidate, known as Chief Burning Wood, tried to beat the $1,000 filing fee. Instead, he sent the secretary of state a package of wampum - a four foot long length of snake skin. It got him enough national publicity that he didn't have to file!

Grossman, John. CELEBRATING 100 YEARS, 1903-2003 YMCA CAMP BELKNAP. 2003. Order from YMCA Camp Belknap, P.O. Box 1546, Wolfeboro, N.H. 03894. Tele. (603) 569-3475. $60.00 for standard edition; $85.00 for special sleeve edition. Online order form at http://www.campbelknap.org/alumni/index_100th.htm.
The first summer YMCA camp held in July 1903 was located on Timber Island in Lake Winnipesaukee and took the name of Camp Belknap. The total fee was $10.00, and nine boys attended. From this small beginning this camp has thrived 100 years. It relocated in 1907 to the shoreline in Tuftonboro. The history of the camp, its activities and the campers, who formed long lasting friendships are brought to life in this publication.

Higgins, Matthew. SANTA'S SURPRISE: A CHRISTMAS VERSE. Illustrated by Judith A. Gire. Duncross Books, 227 North Main Street, Concord, N.H. 03301. E-mail: mattxword@aol.com. 2003. $5.00, plus $1.50 S&H.
Many of you in New Hampshire libraryland will remember the State Library's former Director of Library Operations, Matt Higgins. Along with creating crosswords for the newspapers, the retired librarian has been busy writing another Christmas verse. This seasonal poem tells about a wicked elf's attempts to sabotage Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve, so that he won't be able to deliver the sacks of gifts to the children. With lively illustrations by Judy Gire, this little book is a fun read any time of year.

Hutchins, Robert. THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN. Browntrout Publishers. 2003. $9.95 ISBN 9-7631-8119-6
A photographic memorial of New Hampshire's beloved emblem, which collapsed on May 3, 2003, smashing below into thousands of fragments. William Johnson contributes his landscape portfolio, showing the changing aspects of the Old Man through all the seasons. The photographs taken by Dick Hamilton, member of the Old Man Revitalization Task Force, show the Old Man close up and personal, before and after the fall. Art images of the Old Man over the last two centuries were provided by New Hampshire Historical Society.

Jordan, Charles J. TALES TOLD IN THE SHADOWS OF THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. University Press of New England. 2003. $19.95. ISBN 1-58465-108-3
Over the years Charles Jordan, writer and editor of Northern New Hampshire Magazine, has covered many stories concerning strange, eerie, and supernatural tales of the region. Fourteen of these tales are presented here, featuring unsolved mysteries, murders, intriguing and varying curiosities. Native American apparitions, witches, ghosts, and local legends.

Kumin, Maxine. BRINGING TOGETHER; UNCOLLECTED EARLY POEMS, 1958-1988. Norton. 2003. $21.95 ISBN 0-393-05766-6
Collected here for the first time, these early poems examine the pain of loss, the idealism of youth and the endurance of the natural world. Pulitzer Prize winner Kumin lives in Warner.

Landis, J.D. THE TAKING. Ballantine Books. 2003. $24.95 ISBN 0-345-45006-X
A New England gothic novel set amid a sylvan cluster of towns, nestled in a valley that would be purposely flooded in the late 1930's to create the Quabbin Reservoir. The Exeter, N.H. author, previously wrote the critical acclaimed novel, Longing.

Lange, Willem. INTERMITTENT BLISS. University Press of New England. 2003. $15.95
ISBN 1-58465-304-3
Lange has collected his ruminations on relationships in the book, commenting on love at first sight, courtship and marriage, martial discord, trials of roughing it together in the New Hampshire woods, parenthood, and empty-nest syndrome.

Lauterbach, Barbara. POTATO SALAD: FIFTY FAVORITE RECIPES Chronicle Books. 2002. $18.95 ISBN 0-8118-3337-2
If you tried every recipe in this book you could have a different potato salad almost every week of the year. The color photographs in this book will tempt you to prepare these luscious salads. The author teaches cooking classes and hosts culinary weekends at her home in Center Harbor.

Montgomery, Sy. THE WILD OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW; EXPLORING NATURE NEAR AT HAND. Down East Books. 2002. 415.95 ISBN 0-89272-575-3
In this collection of essays, most of which appeared in the author's Boston Globe column Nature Journal Montgomery takes the reader on a season-by-season tour of the wilderness. You will discover the hidden beauty of the plants, animals, birds, and even bugs that share our space. The author lives in Hancock.

Noon, Jack. FISHING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: A HISTORY. (New Hampshire fishing series vol. II). Moose Country Press, Warner, N.H. 2003. $26.00 ISBN 1-89386302-6
This history of freshwater fishing in New Hampshire extends from the Abenaki Indians fishing for food to the sport fishing of the present day. Chapters focus on the Piscataqua River, Amoskeag Falls, and the Merrimack River, Bellows Falls, and the Connecticut River, and Lake Sunapee, chronicling the abundance of fish when the European settlers arrived to the decline and extinction of many species due to pollution. Noon also writes about the various fish found in these waters through the years. The book is illustrated by color fish chromolithographs created by Sherman F. Denton over a century ago.

Older, Julia, and Steve Sherman. GRAND MONADNOCK: EXPLORING THE MOST POPULAR MOUNTAIN IN AMERICA. 2nd edition. 2003. $20.00 ISBN 0-9741488-0-6
Known as the most climbed mountain in the world, Grand Monadnock's summit provides spectacular panoramic views of the six New England states on a clear day. This book describes its trails, its geological formation, the taverns and inns in the area, its effect on literature and arts, its flora and fauna, and efforts to protect the mountain. The authors have hiked it in every season. The beautiful color photographs in the book attest to their love for this magnificent peak and the surrounding area.

Page, Ralph G. NIGHT OF HORROR: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE HURRICANE OF 1938 IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Historical Society of Cheshire County, P.O. Box 803, Keene, N.H. 03431. E-mail: hscc@cheshire.net. $4.00, plus $1.50 S&H.
Ralph Page, noted local musician, author, and historian, was living at his family farm in Nelson when the hurricane of 1938 struck southwestern New Hampshire. On the 65th anniversary of the hurricane, the Historical Society of Cheshire County has published this eyewitness account which described the unbelievable force of the storm at his own home and related the experiences of others throughout Nelson and the region. Historical photos show the devastation wreaked by the storm.

Peery, Susan. A LEGACY OF GOOD WORKS SINCE 1815: THE HISTORY OF THE LADIES' CHARITABLE SOCIETY OF KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE. Historical Society of Cheshire County, P.O. 803, Keene, N.H. 03431. $14.00, plus $2.00 S&H.
On July 1, 1815, a group of women met in the village of Keene to form a reading society. Each member agreed to pay one cent a week in dues. The women began to use the money to help the needy in their community. The society is still in existence, providing scholarships and community aid. From the publication we better understand the concerns of those who preceded us, what they valued, the problems they dealt with and the bonds of union between friends and neighbors.

Rudell, B.J. ONLY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: MY JOURNEY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Plaidswede Publishing. 2003. $16.95 ISBN 0-9626832-5-6
The author was an organizer for Bill Bradley's campaign in New Hampshire in 2000. He recounts his experience as a grassroots campaigner, recruiting and mobilizing volunteers, organizing local events, attempting to convert voters and dealing with day-to-day political tactics.

SONGS OF THE SEASONS: FAMILY & COMMUNITY TRADITIONS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. Order Compact Discs from Traditional Arts Program, New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, 2« Beacon Street, Concord, N.H. 03301. Tele. (603) 271-8418. $10.00 per copy, $3.00 each S&H. Make check payable to Park Street Foundation.
New Hampshire is home to a variety of musical traditions, including a wide range of songs. On this recording, some of New Hampshire's families, friends, and solos artists share a sampling of tradition-based songs, sewn together with a few instrumental tunes. French-Canadian, Irish, Scottish, Spanish, and Polish tunes are included in this collection, capturing the very spirit of community and family life, work, worship, and celebration.

Theuner, Douglas E. CHOOSE LIFE: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, EMPHASIZING THE YEARS 1952-2002. Make checks payable to the Diocese of New Hampshire, 63 Green Street, Concord, N.H. 03301. 2003. $15.00, plus $5.00 S&H.
This book covers 200 years of Anglicanism in New Hampshire prior to the establishment of the diocese and the fifty years that have elapsed since the publication A History of the Diocese of New Hampshire 1802-1952 by Robert Hayes Dunn (reprinted within).

Timmerman, John H. JANE KENYON, A LITERARY LIFE. Eerdsman Publishing. 2002. $28.00
ISBN 0-8028-3943-6
In this first critical biography of Jane Kenyon, Timmerman draws on unpublished journals and papers of hers and recollections by her husband, Donald Hall, showing how the poet's art grew out of her life.
The following two reference works are available from Clark Bensen at the POLIDATA Demographic and Political Guides, 3112 Cave Court, Suite C, Lake Ridge, VA 22192-1167. E-mail clark@polidata.org.

DEMOGRAPHIC GUIDE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE: TOWNS, CITIES AND PLACES. 2000 CENSUS EDITION. Published in 2003. $128.00.

ELECTION HISTORY FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE: COUNTIES AND MEDIA MARKETS, 2003-2004 EDITION. $124.00.