4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Grandeur of the Granite State, December 11, 2007
This review is from: Art of the State: New Hampshire (Hardcover)
Years ago, when preparing for my three-year 50-state road trip I'd purchased a load of travel guides to help me plan what to see in each state, and was satisfied with guides until I stumbled upon my first ART OF STATE book in an Iowa museum. This unique book made all other travel books pale by comparison. Although small and slim the books throughout this series are packed with meaningful information. Beautifully designed and written, they are thoroughly engaging and a joy to read--like finding an ancestor's scrapbook or diary in the attic and reading a fascinating family heritage while viewing the images of a buried past. Each ART OF STATE story is lovingly told by someone with a deep appreciation of the state--and not just its good features, but the blemishes, too, all described evenhandedly and complemented by photographs of architecture, landscapes paintings, crafts and memorabilia. Each book presents the state's history, climate, landscape, traditions, symbols, recipes, must-see destinations as well as a statewide calendar of events. I've since purchased all the books in the series (19 of the 50 states as of 2007). If your budget won't allow you to buy all 19, at least buy two: one of your home state and one of your adopted state. You'll be amazed at what you'll discover about your former and current home state.
I apologize for raving so much about THE ART OF STATE series, but it was such a find for me, like discovering a diamond in a sea of glass. I can't help but gush.
The frontispiece of each book has a wallpaper design featuring a state motif. For New Hampshire, the motif is a moose: tiny golden brown moose, like polka dots, stand against a robins egg blue background. Sweet.
Now about the New Hampshire volume. Although New Hampshire is my adopted home, I never knew so many artist colonies began here the 19th and 20th century, from followers of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Cornish to the Hudson River School camp in the soaring White Mountains (called "the Alps of America" back then) to the renowned MacDowell Art Colony in the west that inspired writers and artists from Thornton Wilder to Maxfield Parrish to Leonard Bernstein, and continues to offer a sanctuary for creative minds. I learned that New Hampshire was the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain. (Rhode Island makes this claim, but New Hampshire was first by five months), and the significance of the OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC and YANKEE magazines, the Mount Washington Weather Station, Portsmouth harbor and the difference between lakes, kettles, potholes and basins. I met the first Granite State inhabitants, the Penacook Confederacy. Or were they predated by even earlier inhabitants who left their mark on Mystery Hill in Salem, a 4,000-year-old rock formation nicknamed "America' Stonehendge." Each historic entry, art commentary, poetic observation made me excited about my adopted home, a place I had previously thought boring and lackluster. This book makes me want to pack my bag and visit every section of my state. A fantastic reference book and escape into the grandeur of the Granite State.
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