New England Books and Authors

Do you want to be happy? Do you know how? Are you happy already? Happiness was Tuesday evening's topic at the Needham Public Library. The Robinson Report's Matt Robinson emceed an event featuring Doctors Sanjiv Chopra and Gina Vild, who were on hand to discuss their book "The Two Most Important Days". It was an evening filled with smiles and laughter as Chopra and Vild shared personal anecdotes and quoted philosophers and cultural figures throughout the evening, which started with Robinson asking both speakers how they would define "life purpose". "There are many types of meditation. They all work." - Sanjiv Chopra  "There are many ways to define purpose," Vild replied. "I think about purpose as alignment between Heaven and heart. Your purpose can change (over time). It's perfectly fine." "Another way people find their purpose is they witness something, and they say, 'This is unacceptable,'" Chopra added. C...

317 pages; Published by Scribner , ©2024 On February 29, 1704, the small village of Deerfield, Massachusetts was attacked by a band of French and Natives. What happened to the survivors and the long-term effects of the nighttime raid is the subject of James L. Swanson's "The Deerfield Massacre: A Surprise Attack, a Forced March, and the Fight for Survival in Early America". The Winter of 1703-04 was a typical one in New England: cold with lots of snow. It was the perfect time of year for settlers of Deerfield, Massachusetts to hunker down in front of blazing fires with mugs of ale or cider. Before turning in for the night, farmers gave a thought to the upcoming planting season. It wouldn't be long before crops would be planted, and fields would be sewn with what would be harvests that would feed the people of Deerfield for the following fall and winter months. As they went to bed, no one had any idea it would be the last night of rest for many. At the time, Deerfield ...

333 pages; Published by Mascot Books , ©2020 A nursing home is not somewhere you want to be. Oscar Green wants to change that. Using the family fortune he has inherited, Green wants to create a place where people can go and comfortably live out their days. His vision is called "Green Haven". It is a place of luxury where residents have all they could possibly want, and their families know they are well-taken care of. Oscar is so confident in his dream that one facility soon becomes three, and the rich and infirm have places to choose from for a comfortable end of life. But there is more to it than just luxury. Luca DiMatteo's book features a sinister plotline where patients are dying at an alarming rate, even for a nursing home. The suspicious nature of the deaths raises the curiosity of Cathy Arden, Green Haven's director of nursing. Arden realizes something is amiss, and she's not the only one. Kyle, Green Haven's administrator, has noticed an all-to-conven...

290 pages; Published by Peter E. Randall Publisher , ©2022 The name "John Silber" is known throughout Massachusetts. Not only was Silber remembered for being the president of Boston University and for an unsuccessful run for Governor of Massachusetts in 1990, but he is also known for being a brusque, blunt, maybe even cantankerous person who didn't mind giving his opinion on issues or even people. Silber had seven children, six of them daughters. One of those daughters, Rachel Silber Devlin, offers another side of her father. In her book, "Snapshots of my Father, John Silber" , Devlin shows a side her family and subordinates at Boston University (You didn't call it "B.U." around John Silber.) saw every day; A personable, affable, tender, loving man who enjoyed art and music, and who conversed with people outside the office in the same way he ran his meetings in the office, with probing questions and thoughtful insight that was meant to get at the ...

313 pages; Published by St. Martin's Griffin , ©2020 "Potato Famine" is a term synonymous with Ireland and her history. What many people outside of the Emerald Isle may not realize, however, is that there have been multiple outbreaks that have affected the Irish's most famous crop, and it has led to extreme hunger, grinding poverty, disease, and ultimately, thousands of people leaving their homeland in search of a better life. The events throughout Ireland and the actions it spurred on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean are told in Stephen Puleo's "Voyage of Mercy" . The book covers events from 1846-1850, including the period known as "Black '47", when the effects of the famine began to take hold, and the courses of action decided upon by American lawmakers and philanthropists. People across the United States are familiar with calls to aid after a disaster at home or abroad. These calls on the internet and through the media are taken for...

Eager readers and listeners were on hand at the Needham Public Library's Community Room this week to hear Rachel Silber Devlin speak about her book "Snapshots of my Father John Silber" and to find out from Silber's oldest daughter what the former President of Boston University was really like. The event was hosted by Matt Robinson of The Robinson Reporter , who that night wore the class ring of his late grandfather, who attended Boston University. Rachel Silber Devlin at the  Needham Public Library The evening opened with a six-minute slide show that featured pictures of Silber at various times in his public and private lives. Devlin said in her opening remarks following the slideshow that the abundance of pictures is, "one of the nice things in her book. Narrowing it down was difficult." Work Ethic and Expectations There were times John Silber would come home for dinner, and then return to his office to finish the day's work. Devlin spoke for a little ...