101 Things To Do In Marthas Vineyard

Take an informative journey of 101 things to do and see in the popular summer playground island of Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. Through 231 stunning photographs, explore the streets lined with majestic white-clapboard captains' mansions in Edgartown, reach for the brass ring on a Victorian carousel in Oak Bluffs, hike the scenic clay cliffs in Aquinnah, pick blueberries right from the bush in Chilmark, and feast on a freshly steamed lobster as the sun sets over the fishing village of Menemsha. Whether it's your first trip to the island or you're a frequent visitor, you are sure to find something new and exciting that Martha's Vineyard has to offer.

An eminent ecologist shows how an iconic New England island has been shaped by nature and human history, and how its beloved landscape can be protected Full of surprises, bedecked with gorgeous photographs and maps, and supported by unprecedented historical and ecological research, this book awakens a new perspective on the renowned New England island Martha's Vineyard. David Foster explores the powerful natural and cultural forces that have shaped the storied island to arrive at a new interpretation of the land today and a well-informed guide to its conservation in the future. Two decades of research by Foster and his colleagues at the Harvard Forest encompass the native people and prehistory of the Vineyard, climate change and coastal dynamics, colonial farming and modern tourism, as well as land planning and conservation efforts. Each of these has helped shape the island of today, and each also illuminates possibilities for future caretakers of the island's ecology. Foster affirms that Martha's Vineyard is far more than just a haven for celebrities, presidents, and moguls; it is a special place with a remarkable history and a population with a proud legacy of caring for the land and its future.

Each year the pristine beaches, lush pine forests, and picturesque New England towns of Martha’s Vineyard draw tens of thousands of admirers to this beautiful island. Some of these visitors have become part-time residents, building contemporary homes alongside the traditional Victorian cottages, sea captains’ mansions, and colonial farmhouses that comprise the island’s cultural and architectural heritage. Rarely does one find such a concentration of outstanding contemporary design. Authors Keith Moskow and Robert Linn expand their 2005 survey of Vineyard residential design to present twenty-five new houses that extend the traditional Vineyard vernacular of shingled houses and cottages. Each of the architects has described the goals for the project and the source of the design. Some reference nautical themes, others environmental concerns, and still others appropriateness of materials and scale. A significant number rely on a plan strategy based on a series of pavilions to minimize intrusion in the landscape while still taking advantage of views and prevailing breezes. What links the houses is that they are all built to stand the test of time in the sometimes extreme marine environment and they respectfully break with tradition.

In Cats of Martha's Vineyard you will meet one hundred and one island families who welcomed the photographer into their homes, farms, offices, shops, barns and fields to get to know their resident cats. Some of the owners are famous, some just regular folks who love their cats. Each cat was photographed in its natural environment -- making for some funny, charming, and personal photos. The cat families were asked to write or tell something unique about their cat -- a short text of their own words. If you love cats, you'll love this book.

Celebrated local historian Thomas Dresser unearths the little-known stories that laid the foundations for the community of Martha's Vineyard. Behind the mansions and presidential vacations of Martha's Vineyard hide the lost stories and forgotten events of small-town America. What was the island's role in the Underground Railroad? Why do chickens festoon Nancy Luce's grave? And how did the people of the Vineyard react in 1923 when the rum running ship John Dwight sank with the island's supply of liquor aboard? Delve deep below the surface of history to discover the origin and meaning of local place names and the significance of beloved landmarks.

Two brothers join a fantastical nighttime musical celebration by the plants and animals on their farm on Martha's Vineyard.

A mind-expanding dive into a lost chapter of 1968, featuring the famous and forgotten: Van Morrison, folkie-turned-cult-leader Mel Lyman, Timothy Leary, James Brown, and many more Van Morrison's Astral Weeks is an iconic rock album shrouded in legend, a masterpiece that has touched generations of listeners and influenced everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Martin Scorsese. In his first book, acclaimed musician and journalist Ryan H. Walsh unearths the album's fascinating backstory--along with the untold secrets of the time and place that birthed it: Boston 1968. On the 50th anniversary of that tumultuous year, Walsh's book follows a criss-crossing cast of musicians and visionaries, artists and hippie entrepreneurs, from a young Tufts English professor who walks into a job as a host for TV's wildest show (one episode required two sets, each tuned to a different channel) to the mystically inclined owner of radio station WBCN, who believed he was the reincarnation of a scientist from Atlantis. Most penetratingly powerful of all is Mel Lyman, the folk-music star who decided he was God, then controlled the lives of his many followers via acid, astrology, and an underground newspaper called Avatar. A mesmerizing group of boldface names pops to life in Astral Weeks: James Brown quells tensions the night after Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated; the real-life crimes of the Boston Strangler come to the movie screen via Tony Curtis; Howard Zinn testifies for Avatar in the courtroom. From life-changing concerts and chilling crimes, to acid experiments and film shoots, Astral Weeks is the secret, wild history of a unique time and place. One of LitHub's 15 Books You Should Read This March

"In the winter of 1982, long before she became the watercolor artist and author we know today, Susan Branch, 34-years-old and heartbroken from the sudden and unexpected end of her marriage in California, "ran away from home" to the Island of Martha's Vineyard hoping to gain perspective. It was meant to be temporary, a three-month time-out from the daily grind of being broken up and miserable, but within days of her arrival, alone and not quite in her right mind, Susan "accidentally" bought a tiny one-bedroom cottage in the woods - which is how she discovered she was moving 3,000 miles away from everyone and everything she had known and loved. Funny, observant, touching, and addictive (you are not going to want this book to end), based on the diaries she has kept all her life, Susan Branch relates her inspirational tale of lost love and self discovery, her search for roots, purpose, and destiny with laugh-out-loud honesty. A road map for overcoming loss, following your heart, and making dreams come true, charmingly hand-lettered and watercolored in Susan's inimitable style, there are diary excerpts, recipes, and hundreds of photographs."--Provided by Amazon.com.