Robert R. Pyle Our sense of place and community is made up of memories—personal memories of first-hand experience; oral memories that recount our ancestors’ experiences; and f- mal, codified civic memories set down in laws, ceremonies, and rituals. Together they are vital building blocks of citizenship. In a vivid and meaningful way this book p- serves memories relevant to understanding the roots of communities on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The surnames of many of Mount Desert’s earliest settlers are still found in today’s telephone directories. In these families many oral traditions are passed down from generation to generation, building outward from a historical core like the rings of a tree. “Dad used to farm this field,” Fred L. Savage’s great-nephew Don Phillips told me once, gesturing toward an alder growth. “His father grew vegetables for the hotel, and my great-grandfather grew grains. This road used to go right on up over the hill, and they used it to move the cemetery up there from where the hotel is now. ” Describing the field, Don ignores the alders and the towering evergreens beyond them, for in his mind’s eye he sees yellow, waving wheat and rye, bare ground, and a narrow cart track leading up the hill into the distance, on which his ancestors tra- ported the remains of their own forebears to a new resting place. Oral traditions, living memory, set the stage for him, and he accepts the reality of things he has never seen.

"The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place." A book to be read for pleasure as well as a practical identification guide, The Edge of the Sea introduces a world of teeming life where the sea meets the land. A new generation of readers is discovering why Rachel Carson's books have become cornerstones of the environmental and conservation movements. New introduction by Sue Hubbell. (A Mariner Reissue)

An evocative, gorgeous four-season look at cooking in Maine, with 100 recipes No one can bring small-town America to life better than a native. Erin French grew up in Freedom, Maine (population 719), helping her father at the griddle in his diner. An entirely self-taught cook who used cookbooks to form her culinary education, she now helms her restaurant, The Lost Kitchen, in a historic mill in the same town, creating meals that draw locals and visitors from around the world to a dining room that feels like an extension of her home kitchen. The food has been called “brilliant in its simplicity and honesty” by Food & Wine, and it is exactly this pure approach that makes Erin’s cooking so appealing—and so easy to embrace at home. This stunning giftable package features a vellum jacket over a printed cover.

Presents decorating tips for cottages by the sea, on the lakefront, in the open countryside, and in the woods and mountains, covering furnishings, window treatments, floors, lighting, storage ideas, and accessories, and provides more than 150 color photos, a section on "outdoor rooms," and a source directory.

The simple, unique and interestingly appointed cottage is a place for escape, filled with art, books, color scents, sounds, textures, and memories. Vintage Cottages features unique and personalized decor ideas focused on style, color, and regional taste and liveliness that honors tradition while looking forward to a lifestyle that is uncluttered, unhurried, and reflective of rugged, unapologetic individuality. Molly Hyde English is the founder of Camps and Cottages (camps-cottages.com), a retail store in Laguna Beach, California, which maintains its uniqueness as a leading style source for designers. She is also the author of Camps and Cottages. Her work has been featured in Country Home, House Beautiful, and on HGTV. Tom Lamb is a landscape and architectural photographer and resides in Laguna Beach.

Cottages near the water tend to be snug and modest, with exteriors painted in sun-reflecting whites, nautical blues, or playful colors. The interiors of these houses likewise avoid formality in favor of a casual approach.