Compass American Guides : Maine [Paperback]

Charles C. Calhoun (Author), Thomas Mark Szelog (Photographer)

Book Description

Series: Compass American Guides | Publication Date: February 8, 2000

Compass Maine 3rd ed."The cultural material and the excellent color illustrations make this a reference book you are going to want to keep." -- Maine in Print

Created by local writers and photographers, Compass American Guides are the ultimate insider's guides, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture and character of America's most spectacular destinations. Covering everything there is to see and do as well as choice lodging and dining, these gorgeous full-color guides are perfect for new and longtime residents as well as vacationers who want a deep understanding of the region they're visiting.

Outstanding color photography, plus a wealth of archival images
Topical essays and literary extracts
Detailed color maps
Great ideas for things to see and do
Capsule reviews of hotels and restaurants

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Compass Maine 3rd ed."The cultural material and the excellent color illustrations make this a reference book you are going to want to keep." -- Maine in Print

Created by local writers and photographers, Compass American Guides are the ultimate insider's guides, providing in-depth coverage of the history, culture and character of America's most spectacular destinations. Covering everything there is to see and do as well as choice lodging and dining, these gorgeous full-color guides are perfect for new and longtime residents as well as vacationers who want a deep understanding of the region they're visiting.

Outstanding color photography, plus a wealth of archival images
Topical essays and literary extracts
Detailed color maps
Great ideas for things to see and do
Capsule reviews of hotels and restaurants

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

This book is written for travelers of an independent frame of mind, who are willing to take an occasional risk and stray from the beaten paths -- and in mid-summer Maine, some of them can be very well beaten indeed. If your time is very limited, it may make sense to take a package tour or hit the obvious spots. But if there is even one day to spare, I hope to lure you away from the U.S. Route 1 and I-95 corridor and the overcrowded resorts -- one almost indistinguishable now from another -- and to introduce you to a state many of whose most interesting features are barely known to the tourist indusrty.

The basic framework of this book consists of a series of itineraries which reflect the shape of the land. In the case of Maine, the best way to perceive this land is not as a coastal strip edging a huge, unexplored back country, but as a series of great river valleys reaching into the heart of the Northland, connecting the interior and the sea. This is the way the early French and British explorers saw the country, and the route the earliest settlers took in search of timber and farmland. The Piscataqua, the Androscoggin, the Kennebec, the Penobscot, and the St. Croix rivers flow through the forests and mountains of western and northern Maine, then meet the Atlantic along the state's legendary rocky shore. These are not simply rivers of great beauty but keys to understanding the land and people of Maine.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Compass America Guides; 3rd edition (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067900436X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679004363
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,147,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next best thing to going there, May 17, 2000

By 

Kimberly Borrowdale (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Compass American Guides : Maine (Paperback)

Charles Calhoun's MAINE is a departure from most travel guides. Rather than just pages and pages of lists of motels, restaurants, and things to see, Calhoun focuses on the state's people (past and present), natural history, and state-of-mind. Instead of simply an address and phone number for the famous L. L. Bean's (outdoor outfitters, for example, Calhoun gives us several pages, including the story of the founder of the company.

The book opens with a chapter entitled "Learning Maine" and is organized geographically into nine main sections which cover the entire state. The final chapter, "Practical Information" gives all the usual, plus "A Dozen Fun Places to Eat" and antiquarian booksellers. Scattered throughout the book are literary excerpts and topical essays by authors such as May Sarton, John McPhee, and Longfellow. There are maps, reproductions of period art, and plenty of gorgeous color photos. Whether the reader is planning a trip to Maine or merely wishes an intriguing armchair journey, this guide is a must.

Kimberly Borrowdale, Under the Covers Book Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting/Informative/Beautiful Pictures, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Compass American Guides : Maine (Paperback)

An excellent book to take along with you during your travels to Maine. The photos in this book are simply beautiful! The photographer, Thomas Mark Szelog actually lives in the lighthouse on the cover!! I was lucky enough to meet him and he was kind enough to show me some of his photgraphs. Absolutely beautiful work. This is a great book and I highly recommend it when you travel down east!

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good guide to a beautiful state, August 28, 2011

By 

C. B Collins Jr. (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Compass American Guides: Maine, 4th edition (Full-color Travel Guide) (Paperback)

All of the Compass American Guides are excellent and differ greatly from those travel guides that list hundreds of motels and restaurants. Like other Compass American Guides, the focus is on history, geography, natural sites, museums, and the life of the people. Throughout the book are short excerpts from noted authors about Maine. The photography is excellent. The book is organized around nine chapters which cover the entire geography of Maine. Because our trip was to the Penobscot Bay and River region and Mount Desert Island, this is the portions of the book we found most useful and on which I can compare the book to the actual sites mentioned or not mentioned.
Penobscot Bay is sweeping with its many islands and small towns along the coastline. In Rockland is the Farnsworth Museum. The guide book does not really prepare you for the fact that this museum is actually concentrated on the Wyeth family of artists. Paintings by the Wyeth family fill most of the galleries. There is section devoted to Maine native Louise Nevelson. It contains several large pieces of her sculpture, around 12 of her paintings, and a display of her small sculptural models for larger pieces. The paintings convince the viewer that she was a much better sculptor than a painter. The small models were excellent, tiny black jewels of tight intense composition. The museum houses the collection of the Wyeth family, including wonderful works by George Bellows and Eastman Johnson. It is the museum book store that is most revealing that this museum is focused primarily on the Wyeth family. The vast majority of books on sale were about the Wyeth family's art careers. Camden is a beautiful town with outstanding views from the hills overlooking the harbor. We took a schooner out for two hours into the bay which was outstanding. The Penobscot Marine museum at Searsport was a very good museum and many displays were especially oriented to children. Mount Desert Island is wonderful. There is no other way to describe the hiking trails that cross the entire massive collection of islands and lakes. The town of Bar Harbor was extremely crowded with tourists, which makes sense considering that the town is situated in such close proximity to the park and its many attractions. The Saint George Peninsula is outstanding with the Owl's Head Transportation Museum and the wonderful town of Port Clyde where famous astronomer Russell Porter once lived.
There are a few shortcomings of the book. Whereas there are maps, they do not contain sufficient detail to serve as both a guide book and map book. A good map of Maine from a gas station should supplement this book when going beyond main roads. Covering the entire state of Maine is a major task but I still found the subject matter rather limited in scope. Overall the book gets 4 out of 5 stars and I would recommend it for Maine visitors.