Amazon.com: Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son (9780595345724): Rose Waterman: Books


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son [Paperback]

Rose Waterman (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Price: $23.95 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Monday, February 27? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

March 29, 2005
In 1897, Maynard Bird, of Rockland, Maine, was visiting an insurance client, Fred Hall, on the island of Vinalhaven at the mouth of the Penobscot River. "You know, Maynard," Fred was saying, "staying in touch with the mainland is getting more important every day. I was thinking on how we might go about getting some telephone service out here."

"Let me look into it, Fred," Maynard responded. These sentences were enough to start him on one of his Adventures.

Born four years after the Civil War, Maynard saw life as a series of adventures. He was uniquely equipped, through his quick, mathematically analytical mind, and his adventurous spirit, to take advantage of an era of great commercial, industrial and technological innovation. At 24 he started his own insurance brokerage, founded the Knox County Telephone Company, a local bank and a successful investment brokerage. At fifty he met and married a beautiful concert singer. After her tragic death, he left Maine and resumed his career in New York. The Depression found him still affluent, but the final loss of his third wife left him alone bereft of her support. He died at 91, his resources largely depleted; too proud to admit his need to those who cared.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rose Waterman was born in Maine where she spent her early years. She is a graduate of Smith College, has been married for more than half a century and is the mother of three daughters. She and her husband have traveled extensively and now live in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 338 pages
  • Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (March 29, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0595345727
  • ISBN-13: 978-0595345724
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,121,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Much More than a Biography, September 7, 2005
This review is from: Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son (Paperback)
In this book, Rose Bird Waterman sheds light not just on her father's life, but the life and times of southeastern Maine, from the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The incredible richness of historical detail makes the reader feel transported in time. Maynard Bird's desire to carry on the family name and make something of himself through his innate gifts and self-motivation is indeed admirable. Rose has sprinkled the story with a charming use of language and touches of wit, that make it a very enjoyable, informative and inspiring read. I hope the people of southeastern Maine are aware of this fine addition to their recorded history.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring biography, August 31, 2005
By 
Robert Skole (Boston, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son (Paperback)
Rose Bird Waterman has written a biography that is far more than an inspiring saga of "a Maine son". This book may inspire many family genealogists to start working on their own family biographies. Just as the author's father, Maynard S. Bird, felt that each new business venture was an "adventure", the lives of many men and women are filled with adventures - as long as a biographer is fascinated with the subject and is determined to devote time and effort in research. And Rose Bird Waterman has done just that. Her father, in the last years of his life, had his business and personal papers destroyed. He wanted to be remembered as a plain man who built up his fortune and his standing in society by his own hard work and self-taught business and financial acumen. Thus, his daughter had to turn to public records, personal accounts, interviews and other "outside" sources to get full details for this exciting, poignant and, at times, heartbreaking biography. She describes historic events - from the Civil War through World War 2 - as background for her father's adventures, which ranged from founding a Maine telephone company at the age of 24 to being established as a respected New York venture capitalist, making deals with famous Wall St. financiers. But the biography is far deeper than just that of a shrewd Downeast business genius. It's the story of a family, a family like many others, with strengths and weaknesses, joys and sorrows, warmth and coldness. Besides being a book that every lover of Maine history and Maine folk will enjoy, it's a book many could learn from when writing a history of their own families and ancestors.

+++

(Robert Skole is a reporter, foreign correspondent and author of "Jumpin' Jimminy -- A World War II Baseball Saga: American Flyboys and Japanese Submariners Battle It Out in a Swedish World Series.")
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


5.0 out of 5 stars A Marvelous Maine Biography!!!!!, June 6, 2005
This review is from: Maynard S. Bird: The Saga of a Maine Son (Paperback)
Rose Bird Waterman has done more than create a loving picture of her remarkable father. She has contained in his story some of the amazing sweep of a 91 year life - from only 4 years after the American Civil War to the dawn of the 1960s - but more importantly helped to rescue, for the reader, a golden age in the history of the State of Maine. If social and political change forms the backdrop to Maynard S. Bird's story, the ways and manners of generations past are brought to colorful life. For those who long for simpler times, Ms. Waterman's narrative is filled with the details of home life, small town ways, tragedy, and good humor straight out of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Whether one is drawn to tales from Maine, stories of small town or 19th century life, or simply would like to spend time in good and honorable company, readers will find Ms. Waterman's fine narrative entertaining and uplifting.

Van Reid

Author of the Moosepath Saga
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews


Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
lime business
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Rose Bird Waterman, New York, New London, Bird Company, John Bird, United States, Maynard Bird, Annie Bird, New England, Walter Ladd, Miss Tyler, Greenfield Hill, School Street, Civil War, Blackington's Corner, Bowdoin Street, Rose Tyler, Main Street, Beach Club, Baby Rose, Shore Village, Ella Hawkins, Casco Bay, New Orleans, Joe Tyler
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Create a Listmania! list

So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject