In this collection of Maine jokes, Bill Sawyer passes on a sampling of the sardonic humor of Maine and the islands.

This astonishing collection of historic photos is accompanied by narrative captions that inform and entertain. There is much that can be learned from the details of a photograph, and Bunting leads the eye with extraordinary skill as we see a lumber batteaux working a log jam, granite-cutting operations, an eccentric cobbler traveling from island to island by sailing scow, train wrecks, lumber camps, coastwise cargo schooners, deepwater ships, and much more. Bunting's text places the images in social and economic context, but this is not dry history; his research has uncovered a wealth of fascinating detail, and he makes frequent forays into the Maine storytelling tradition.

Maine is known for its beautiful shore along the Atlantic Ocean, where lighthouses, sandy beaches, and fishing villages can be found. Readers will learn why so many people travel to Maine, As they'll read about the inspiring and breath-taking landscape, including its rustic cabins, relaxing resorts, and expansive forests, which cover nearly 90 percent of the state. They'll read about flora and fauna, including the moose, black bear, beaver, bobcat, coyote, and mink. The economy-based on natural resources-is presented as well. Natives are also highlighted, including writers Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, E. B. White, and Stephen King, politicians Dorothea Dix, and Margaret Chase Smith, and inventor L. L. Bean.

Maine humor icon Tim Sample gives us a new collection of short essays and monologues about his growing up and living in Maine and throughout his long entertainment career. His wide range of subjects include things that could happen “Only in Maine,” how his dad invented the SUV, his long friendship with horror master Stephen King, the pitfalls of Maine’s fifth season (mud), and the right way to eat a lobster. Part whimsical anecdote, part hard-won wisdom, these stories are imbued with Sample’s distinct wry Yankee wit.