Bücher veröffentlicht von Down East Books

Whether he was trying to geld a spooked stallion in a blizzard or found himself in the middle of an all-out fracas involving a monkey's abscessed tooth and a shotgun, he took it in stride, with great affection for both his four-legged patients and his two-legged clients.

Whether he's escaping the personal vendetta of a bull named Killer (I was a matador without a cape), entangled with a rabid cow, chasing a stallion (well, not quite, anymore...) through downtown Bangor, performing heart surgery in an arena, or having a close encounter?while airborne?with a B-52 bomber, this vet regards it all as part of a (long) working day.

The headlines have been full of controversy over casinos, racinos, land claims settlements, and sovereign rights for Native Americans in Maine-and it's likely that we'll be talking about these complex issues for some time yet. A capable historian with an enjoyable narrative style, Neil Rolde puts these controversies in context by telling the larger story of Maine Indians since earliest times. There are many generous voices in this book, sharing their stories and hopes and fears. It's a privilege to listen to them and broaden our understanding of the issues faced by Native Americans in Maine.

The Stones of Riverton is a collection of linked fictional stories that are based on cemetery markers in a small Maine town. Together, they tell a history of unexplained deaths and deeply held secrets in a community that is divided both culturally and economically.

Young newlyweds Peter and Dorothy Muilenburg found their way from New Hampshire to the Virgin Islands. He had been a civil rights Freedom Fighter, jailed in Mississippi while protesting racial injustice. In St. John, she founded the Pine Peace School. They both taught. On an East End beach, he built a sailboat strong enough to take them anywhere, and they put to sea with their two young sons. But their crew was not yet complete. Santos, a schipperke, came to them as a tiny puppy and sailed with them all his life-75,000 deep-sea miles-four times across the Atlantic, crisscrossing the Caribbean, coasting the U.S. eastern seaboard, exploring the Med, ranging up African rivers. A lightning rod for trouble, he survived a kidnapping, hurricanes, raging surf, being lost overboard at sea, and was twice given up for dead. And he watched over his family with fierce and abiding devotion. If you want to see the world-really see it-go by sailboat. And if you want to absorb the world through every pore, take a venturesome dog as your guide. The bright spirit named Santos became a legend to millions of readers through the pages of SAIL and Reader's Digest magazines. Now Peter Muilenburg-a wise and observant chronicler with a true wanderer's desire to engage the world on authentic terms-has written this captivating story of familial love and adventure, unforgettable people and places, and an amazing schipperke who has sailed right into the sea dog hall of fame.

In 1884 Republican James G. Blaine came within 1,047 votes of becoming the President of the United States. This was the margin by which he lost New York State--and thus the election--to Grover Cleveland in what has been called the dirtiest campaign in American history. Yet his career--arguably the most sensational of any American politician of the so-called Gilded Age--did not end there. He was twice U.S. secretary of state, credited with having started our country on the path to acting like a world power, a powerful speaker of the house in Congress, and a United States senator from his adopted State of Maine. He was also, in the eyes of his opponents, "The Continental Liar From the State of Maine" or "Slippery Jim"--a sort of amiable "Tricky Dick Nixon," as he's been later called. He was hated by certain members of his own party, yet loved by millions of others, including some of his enemies in the Democratic Party. The press called him The Magnetic Man, due to his charisma. This is the fascinating biography of a man who dominated the American political stage, starting just before the Civil War and continuing until the twentieth century.

Growing up in rural poverty, their advantages were few, but together they left a record of achievement that will probably never be equaled again by a single generation of any American family.

In the last few miles above the Cape Cod Canal, visitors to the Cape pass through the towns of Middleboro, Carver, and Wareham. To most, these places will never be more than a roadside sign, but there is life here--of a very particular sort. Beyond the highway are 11,000 acres of bog, and each fall, after the tourists have gone home, men and machines appear to harvest a third of the nation's cranberries, turkey's tablemate.This book looks at the history of this tart and diminutive fruit, the ways it is cultivated, cared for, and consumed. It looks into the lives and livelihoods of those who harvest it--some families have been in the business for five generations. It provides a rich and surprising story of this under-appreciated berry.

A chronicle of changes through the seasons both above and within the sea, A COASTAL COMPANION follows the arrival and departure of migrating shorebirds in spring and fall, schools of fish as they move in and out of our region, and the natural cycles of our bays, rivers, marshes, and coastal forests. Part field guide, part almanac, the book also highlights writers, artists, and scientists who have chosen the Gulf of Maine as their subject matter. Poems by twelve contemporary poets open each chapter, and illustrations by two Maine artists, Kimberleigh Martul-March and Margaret Campbell, are featured throughout the text. This is a book to keep close at hand, to be read not all at once, but through the seasons, one day at a time, and enjoyed year after year.

Although the representatives from the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe don't have voting power on the house floor, they serve on committees and may chair committees. Donna's first session as representative of the Penobscot Nation was a difficult one a personal struggle to have a voice, but also because of the issues: changing offensive names, teaching Native American history in Maine schools, casinos and racinos, and the interpretation of sovereign rights for tribes. Some of the struggles and issues remain as she continues to serve, and the perspective she offers as a Native American and as a legislator is both valuable and fascinating.

Living along Maine's rugged coast requires a combination of industriousness, flexibility, and self-sufficiency, all coupled with a profound sense of community. Like barnacles on a tidal ledge, these close-knit communities cling to the edge of the sea. They have salt in their veins, and the Maine coast is their ecosystem. In this book about people, Charlie Wing talks with some of the hardy folk who call this place home. Here are stories of lobstermen, boatbuilders, artists, writers, and teachers who opened up to Charlie and share their feelings on world events, government, the weather, and people from away.

Robert Kimber has led a largely rural life as a farmer, writer, and woodsman. The essays gathered in this wide-ranging collection reflect a lifetime of adventures and misadventures. Kimber writes of canoeing and fishing, stubborn sheep and old tractors, and the joys of roaming the woods with his dog. Seasoned with a dash of wit and self-irony, this paean to the upcountry life is as fresh and bracing as it is affectionate.

WHEN CHARLIE BAKER'S PARENTS ANNOUNCE that they're taking him and his sister-the drama queen Clarissa-to a cabin in Maine for two weeks, Charlie thinks they're kidding. Then their mom adds something else. "There's no electricity," she tells them. "And you leave your cell phones at home." They weren't kidding.When the Bakers arrive at Lake Fortune, they are welcomed by a rickety cabin with an outhouse, a thunderstorm, and a creature in the attic that masquerades as a ghost. "Is this a scientific experiment?" asks Clarissa. "Is the government paying us?"But the true adventure begins when they discover a clue left in a mason jar on a tiny island in the lake. That clue-written by The Mystery Traveler-leads them to a second clue. Soon, they are on the path of an exciting treasure hunt, one that brings Charlie and the bossy Clarissa together for the first time. Not only do they bond as brother and big sister, they have the summer of their lives.

When the Island had Fish is the story of a tiny island, Vinalhaven Maine, that offers a close look at the significant history of Maine fishing particularly, but also provides a meditation on America's past and future. Vinalhaven's fishing history is in every way America's history. It's a story of habitations by native peoples and European-American settlers, their use of natural resources, their communities and kin, and their efforts to find ways to live in a harsh environment. Anyone interested in creating a viable collective future will learn from reading about the Penobscot Bay fisheries and fishermen, and about Vinalhaven's citizens' expansive knowledge of craft, husbandry, self-governance and community independence, and interdependence.