"According to many sources, New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee has been a tourist destination for more than a century, and the Town of Wolfeboro became the “Oldest Summer Resort in America” when Colonial Governor John Wentworth established a summer home there in 1770.The Native American name Winnipesaukee means either “Smile of the Great Spirit” or “Beautiful water in a high place”, depending on whose translation you use.Islands are places of discovery, mystery, isolation and adventure. There is also a certain dreaminess and romance to the idea of traveling to and living on an island. Think of the many movies that featured island life: Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson, Treasure Island, Blue Lagoon, and Cast Away to name a few.Bizer Corporation, one of the premier makers of boating charts for Lake Winnipesaukee, has a list of 253 islands on the lake, and old wives tales claim there are 365 islands, one for every day of the year.In The Islands of Winnipesaukee, the authors document their kayaking adventures to all of the islands on the lake, with more than 275 beautiful, full-color photographs and remembrances."

A world unto itself, Lake Winnipesaukee and its environs have attracted and sustained a variety of cultures over the past centuries, from early American Indian tribes, to New World settlers, to today's seasonal tourists. Whether Indian hunter, aspiring pioneer, or modern-day angler, each, in turn, fell for the region's wild allure: its sheer natural beauty, fertile soils, and waters teeming with an assortment of fish, including great quantities of shad, salmon, pickerel, smelt, and trout. Within this magnificent setting, scores of hardy, resolute frontier men and women worked tirelessly to fashion homes and towns along the bays, tributaries, islands, and shoreline of the lake. Lake Winnipesaukee documents the history of the region from its early Native American heritage to the lasting legacy of the first American settlers. With over 150 accompanying illustrations, the many stories recorded in this unique volume evoke memories of a simpler way of life, when the lake was evolving from a scattering of humble villages, like Laconia, Meredith, and Wolfeboro, and just beginning to toy with a budding tourist industry. Readers of many generations will enjoy reliving the early summer camps, upstart businesses, and the variety of entertainment and recreation the lake's waters have provided, such as canoe trips, steamships rides, and ski boat adventures.

With more than 200 rare images spanning a century of memories, The Lakes Region of New Hampshire, Volume II explores central New Hampshire's resort communities, its early rail service, and the recreation of the area. Author and historian Bruce D. Heald, Ph.D., has combined an exciting collection of images with a thoroughly researched text to continue the story of these unique communities. Discover the fascinating history of the region around Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam, Newfound, and Lake Wentworth. Visit the villages of Wolfeboro, Sandwich, Laconia, Franklin, the Ossipees, and Plymouth. Dr. Heald's experiences as an author, professor, and as Chief Purser aboard the MS Mount Washington for more than 30 years contribute greatly to this impressive pictorial collection.

The town of Wolfeboro lies on the southeastern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Blessed with beautiful hills and vistas, the area was frequented by hunters and trappers but had no settlement until the eighteenth century, when British governors, including John Wentworth, urged coastal dwellers to move inland. In 1759, it was named Wolfeboro in honor of Battle of Quebec hero Gen. James Wolfe, and on August 1, 1770, King George II granted the township to the settlers. Wolfeboro unfolds a visual perspective of town life from the 1800s through the mid-1900s. Breathtaking views of the several lakes and mountains are combined with photographs of the people and the structures they built to further the town's growth and progress: the stunning homes, the museums, and the buildings in and around Wolfeboro. Seven scenes highlight the changes over a period of eighty years in the downtown area, which is known as the Bridge. Also depicted are the Carry at Wolfeboro Neck that was used long ago by Native Americans, the ice pylons, the shoe factory, Fisherville on the lake, the hotels in all their splendor, and the prominent Brewster Memorial Hall, which today serves as town hall.

Collection of vintage photograph postcards of the annual motorcycle rally in Laconia, New Hampshire.

Ursula Hegi returns with a luminous epic of a bicultural family filled with passion and aspirations, tragedy, and redemption. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Stefan Blau, whom readers will remember from Stones from the River, flees Burgdorf, a small town in Germany, and comes to America in search of the vision he has dreamed of every night. The novel closes nearly a century later with Stefan's granddaughter, Emma, and the legacy of his dream: the Wasserburg, a once-grand apartment house filled with the hidden truths of its inhabitants both past and present. The Vision of Emma Blau illustrates a fascinating picture of immigrants in America, including their dreams and disappointments, the challenges of assimilation, the frailty of language and its transcendence, the love that bonds generations and the cultural wedges that drive them apart.