When their eighty-five-year-old father dies, sparring siblings Maggie and Jake must face a question: How to break the bad news to their sister Amy, who has Down syndrome and has lived in a state home for years? Along the way, the pair find out just how much they don’t know about their family and each other. It seems only Amy knows who she really is.

An original and approachable account of how archaeology can tell the story of the English village. Shapwick lies in the middle of Somerset, next to the important monastic centre of Glastonbury: the abbey owned the manor for 800 years from the 8th to the 16th century and its abbots and officials had a great influence on the lives of the peasants who lived there. It is possible that abbot Dunstan, one of the great reformers of tenth century monasticism directed the planning of the village. The Shapwick Project examined the development and history of an English parish and village over a ten thousand-year period. This was a truly multi-disciplinary project. Not only were a battery of archaeological and historical techniques explored - such as field walking, test-pitting, archaeological excavation, aerial reconnaissance, documentary research and cartographic analysis - but numerous other techniques such as building analysis, dendrochronological dating and soil analysis were undertaken on a large scale. The result is a fascinating study about how the community lived and prospered in Shapwick. In addition we learn how a group of enthusiastic and dedicated scholars unravelled this story. As such there is much here to inspire and enthuse others who might want to embark on a landscape study of a parish or village area. Seven of the ten chapters begin with a fictional vignette to bring the story of the village to life. Text-boxes elucidate re-occurring themes and techniques. Extensively illustrated in colour including 100 full page images.

"In addition to providing a much-needed resource for artists, teachers, and collectors, this book will form a bridge between book artists and their audience by providing ready access to information about a much discussed but little known art form."--Book jacket flap.

The picturesque Hopewell Valley is one of New Jerseys finest treasures. Sprawled over more than sixty square miles, the valley encompasses the boroughs of Hopewell and Pennington, the village of Titusville, and the township of Hopewell. From Christmas night of 1776, when George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River, to the twentieth century and the saga of Charles Lindberghs missing infant son, Hopewell Valley has been steeped in history and drama. Rare images gathered from the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and local residents make up this monumental pictorial journey. Hopewell Valley combines the famous and not-so-famous elements of these communities nestled between the Delaware River and the Sourland Mountains. Home to key figures in American history, the Hopewell Valley has also seen important developments in architecture and industry. Although modernization has taken hold, the rural character of the area remains intact. And although the area has been home to well-known faces and events, Hopewell Valley is peppered with the lesser-known faces and places that bring out the full flavor.