By trekking hundreds of miles, everywhere asking about legendary natural features or curiosities, Dean Bennett discovered an intriguing array of places where the original New England remains -- unusual, often beautiful, sometimes awe-inspiring, and ever fascinating. Pockets of old growth forest stand unharvested. Caves and dinosaur footprints and half-forgotten curiosities such as Devil's Foot Rock lie hidden. Undammed rivers form spectacular waterfalls. Rare animals and plants maintain toeholds here and there. Bennett's book shows you all of these and more.
Step Out of Your Car and Right into Nature! New England’s Roadside Ecology guides you through 30 spectacular natural sites, all within an easy walk from the road. The sites include the forests, wetlands, alpines, dunes, and geologic ecosystems that make up New England. Author Tom Wessels is the perfect guide. Each entry starts with the brief description of the hike's level of difficulty—all are gentle to moderate and cover no more than two miles. Entries also include turn-by-turn directions and clear descriptions of the flora, fauna, and fungi you are likely to encounter along the way. New England’s Roadside Ecology is a must-have guide for outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, and tourists in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
An up-to-date overview of Vermont's geological, natural, and land use histories, in the context of past, present, and future human interactions with the landscape
New England is home to abandoned towns and forgotten main streets that once bustled with life and commerce. From villages sunk underwater to cities undone by the rise and fall of mill life, madness or just plain bad luck, these ghost towns offer a unique look into the rich history of the past. Get a glimpse into what early life was really like through historical accounts of abandoned villages. Discover the history behind the ruins of towns like Connecticut's religious community Gay City, the former New Hampshire resort town of Unity Springs and Massachusetts's famed Dogtown--before nature reclaims them entirely. Join local author Renee Mallett as she uncovers the heydays of some of New England's most fascinating lost towns.
In the dramatic narratives that comprise The Republic of Nature, Mark Fiege reframes the canonical account of American history based on the simple but radical premise that nothing in the nation's past can be considered apart from the natural circumstances in which it occurred. Revisiting historical icons so familiar that schoolchildren learn to take them for granted, he makes surprising connections that enable readers to see old stories in a new light. Among the historical moments revisited here, a revolutionary nation arises from its environment and struggles to reconcile the diversity of its people with the claim that nature is the source of liberty. Abraham Lincoln, an unlettered citizen from the countryside, steers the Union through a moment of extreme peril, guided by his clear-eyed vision of nature's capacity for improvement. In Topeka, Kansas, transformations of land and life prompt a lawsuit that culminates in the momentous civil rights case of Brown v. Board of Education. By focusing on materials and processes intrinsic to all things and by highlighting the nature of the United States, Fiege recovers the forgotten and overlooked ground on which so much history has unfolded. In these pages, the nation's birth and development, pain and sorrow, ideals and enduring promise come to life as never before, making a once-familiar past seem new. The Republic of Nature points to a startlingly different version of history that calls on readers to reconnect with fundamental forces that shaped the American experience. For more information, visit the author's website: http://republicofnature.com/
Nature Incorporated explores the Industrial Revolution in New England from an environmental perspective. The advent of the industrial age brought about significant changes in gender and class relations, and also in work and culture. But it also involved a fundamental change in the way the natural world was handled. Focusing on the legendary Waltham-Lowell style mills, this book examines how these textile factories brought water under their exclusive control. It examines the legal issues that arose in settling disputes over water, and describes the far reaching ecological consequences of industrial change.
Excerpt from The Woods and by Ways of New England In describing the aspects of. Nature, I have selected such views as afl'ord me the most pleasure, endeavoring by my manner of presenting them to inspire the reader with the same agreeable sensations. I have aimed, not so much to make a graphic picture of any scene from which a painter might with his brush or pencil obtain a copy on canvas, as, on the other hand, to make the reader feel as he would in the presence of it. I have also confined my descriptions to ordi nary scenes. These alone have been my study. The objects that meet our view in our walks outside of any village in the country, the beauty of a plain cottage and its picturesque in mates, with their baskets of whortleberries and their bundles of dried herbs, and the common trees and shrubs of the forest and the wayside, form the subjects of my essays. From them I have studied the oracles of nature, and in these pages I have given their interpretations as I understand them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
