John Gould

When John Gould was young, a boy learned about the sea--and arithmetic and knots and geography and life--from the old deep-water men living out their lives in snug harbors. He grew up knowing the woods; the way a church supper smells; the way the Ladies Aid bargained together before a food sale. The friendly, close-knit community life and the deep family affection gave him a foundation of sound sense to last through the years ahead. This is a book to read and reread. You will be glad to know that once, in Maine, a boy could have this kind of childhood; and you might be envious because you did not.

John Gould's unrestrained humor is a pleasure--the dry Yankee kind that makes you laugh in retrospect. Throughout Neither Hay Nor Grass radiates the happy glow of warm family relationships studded with shrewd appraisals of nature--human, animal, governmental, and divine. Gould's signature salty irreverence is on full display as water pollution, bankers, income tax, education, and interior decorators all come in for a hearty lacing. At the same time, his articulate and boundless delight in everyday things is deeply refreshing.

Twelve Grindstones continues the laughter and wisdom, the leg-pulling and the literate chuckling of John Gould. Starting down the road to hilarity, there are some old stories and some new stories, all of them great stories from the canon of Maine folklore. Within are some long and some tall tales about blueberry picking, railroading, wood buying, lobster wars, and bootlegging. So sit down and put your feet up and prepare for some of the most amusing, preposterous, and heartwarming tales you’ve likely heard in a very long time. You’re in for a treat.

"You know that fall is here and winter comes soon when the summer people leave and Maine is restored to righteousness." So says celebrated essayist John Gould in this wonderful collection inspired by the changing of the seasons in Maine. These forty-nine essays revel in the seasonal magnificence the state has to offer and offer just enough humor, seasoned with country lore and wisdom to keep you turning the pages as you read in front of the wood stove on a cold winter afternoon. No wonder the critic Mark Kramer said, "If there is reincarnation, I'm selfish enough to wish that the next time around John Gould would come back as a writer again."

For more than six decades, John Gould charmed readers of the Christian Science Monitor with his regular column Dispatches from the Farm," in which he extolled the virtues of Maine life. Gathered here are fifty favorites from among his "dispatches," comprising a wholesome potpourri of Yankee wit. With its zany variety, native flavor, and good-natured needling, this collection will warm the hearts of both Down Easters and folks from away.

Unparalleled tall tales and heroes wander freely through this collection of John Gould's "reminiscences" of life in Maine. Here you'll find stories of unlicensed Maine guide Flint Johnson and his group of Yankees and Red Sox ball players, the time L. L. Bean invited the whole town of Freeport to help him choose the best ax, and Gould's grandfather's claim to have fired the shot that started the Battle of Gettysburg. Gould does not wish his memories to be in any way taken as an autobiography, but rather they are intended to convey just how much fun he has had living and writing in Maine.

Beginning with the legendary story of a man in Jonesport (or was it Dexter or Waterford or Litchfield?) who raffled off his horse, which incidentally had been dead for some time, these twenty-nine tales cover the length and breadth of Maine and extend back to the sixteenth-century fishing camps that were set up a hundred years before Jamestown and Plymouth. Learn about the origin and history of “schoolmarms,” along with other classic tales on Down East thrift, the evils of drink, Maine weather, lumbering folklore, and Paul Bunyan. These yarns often pull your leg, so keep a sharp eye! Such a collection makes for an encyclopedia of the great cultural achievement of Mainers, which has been compared to the Rosetta Stone and the birth of Chaucer. But essentially The Jonesport Raffle is a book of the highest humor that will be a source of infinite enjoyment.

The Birds of New Guinea and the Adjacent Papuan Islands - Volume 1 is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1875. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

Companion to Gould's Handbook - Or, synopsis of the birds of Australia. Containing nearly one-third of the whole, or about 220 examples, for the most part from the original drawings is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1877. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

The Birds of New Guinea and the Adjacent Papuan Islands - including many new species recently discovered in Australia - Vol. 2 is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1875. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

Maine curmudgeon John Gould offers humorous tongue-in-cheek advice for fathers-to-be with a non-medical, non-technical, non-scientific explanation of the masculine side of the matter, with much that is useful and nothing that is wholly useless.

"We left our Maine and our United States at home and we journeyed amongst other peoples with courtesy to them and credit to ourselves." That is John Gould's definition of good travelers; and he and his wife are charming examples of this as they tour through Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, France, England, and Scotland. You'll discover what a delight it is to travel Gould family style, for that is Maine style with the extra sparkle of Gould's wry Down East humor. It's a friendly book, but Gould lets no country, group, individual, or menu get away with pomposity or an unearned reputation. There is much to discover, both good and bad as the Goulds search for the quality of European life and bring readers into the presence of ordinary, and fascinating, Europeans.