Boston's Harbor Islands

Rating:
Summary: You can't make everyone happy
Review: I thought that Boston's Harbor Islands was very insightful. It has beutiful pictures of the islands and tells a few great tales. Don't let others opinions sway you into not buying this great book. Who cares if a caption on page 32 is wrong. It just prooves there are people who have too much time on their hands and that you can't make everyone happy

Rating:
Summary: Fuzzy pictures, fuzzy facts about Boston Harbor
Review: This book is a collection of old pictures and drawings related (mostly) to the Boston harbor islands, with some text (mainly captions). It's obvious to me that the author has no first-hand familiarity with the harbor, nor has he edited his book with any care. In addition, many of the pictures are quite fuzzy. If it were possible to award no stars to this book, I would. (Review written by a sailor who spends as much time as possible in and around the Boston Harbor islands.)

Example: Page 6 shows a portion of a 1732 chart of Boston Harbor labelled (on the chart) "A new and accurate chart of (Boston Harbor)". This chart is actually quite interesting, showing names of the harbor islands which differ in several instances from those used today. Unfortunately, when the author on page 24 lists (without qualification) "The Islands of Boston Harbor", he uses the 1732 names. No current chart or map of the islands will show "Apthorp's Island", nor "Half Moon" nor "Egg", nor does the author ever explain why they are listed.

Previously, on page 8, the author had discussed the disappearance of some islands shown on the 1732 chart. Some were filled over to create Logan Airport. These include Apple, Governors, and Bird, not, as he states, "Apple, Winthrop, and Bird". Winthrop never was an island and is still a thriving town, close to the airport but certainly not under it.

On page 35, he repeats as fact the fanciful story that the erosion of Nixes Mate island was foretold by a man (Nix's mate) who was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. As far as I know, no research has ever validated this story. On page 41, he shows a picture of a monument marking the site of Nixes Mate, now a dangerous rocky sandbar. His caption describes the current marker, a black and white pyramid, but his picture shows, without explanation, an earlier, unstriped pyramid. For some reason, the material on Nixes Mate is included in the "Boston Light" chapter, although it is miles away. The intervening islands, Gallops and Lovells, are not covered, nor are Peddocks, Bumpkin, and Grape, all of which have colorful histories.

Chapter Four is devoted to Minot's Light, including a picture of a swimmer diving "into Boston Harbor from Minot's Ledge Lighthouse". This would be quite a trick, since Minot's Light is located off the town of Cohasset, seven miles from the nearest entrance to Boston Harbor!

On page 80, we learn that Thompson's Island was "Named for David Thompson, who acquired the island in 1626"; on the next page, that "the island was named for David Thompson, who was deeded the island from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1622."

The Boston Harbor Islands, now included in Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, have interesting, well-documented histories. Perhaps someday someone will publish an accurate, and comprehensive picture history book covering them. This book is not it.