Distinctly Maine: Active Shakers, ice harvesting, a museum on wheels, and more! The first book devoted solely to the diverse and often unexpected museums in the Pine Tree State, Maine’s Museums: Art, Oddities & Artifacts showcases a broad range of art, history, maritime, children’s, and unusual museums. With world-class collections of fine art by past and contemporary masters as well as the true stories of people and industries that helped shape the state and the nation, Maine’s museums invite visitors to indulge their curiosities and passions to learn about lighthouses, whales, antique cars, seashore trolleys, sardine canning, and folk art. They open our eyes to how Native Americans, shipbuilders, fishermen, lumbermen, Civil War soldiers, artists, and immigrants all had a hand in developing the state. They inspire children to discover the world and they reopen more than one Victorian-era cabinet of curiosities. Whether you want to see great works of art or truly unique collections—from umbrella covers to strange creatures—you’ll find it in Maine and you’ll find it in Maine’s Museums.

Unknown Museums of Upstate New York is an informative and entertaining guide to the rich resources available at fifty small, often overlooked, regional museums. Even those familiar with the upstate area will likely have never visited and perhaps never heard of some of the treasures this guide unearths, such as the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum, the Kazoo Museum, and the Robert Louis Stevenson Cottage and Museum. D’Imperio tells each museum’s story, in light of its cultural and historical relevance, and he provides a wealth of information about the museums as places of interest to visit, not just to read about.

Folk art proves that producing utilitarian objects can provide an opportunity for self-expression. From decoys to sea chests, folk art is not only rooted in the useful but in the realities of living. Some folk art makes daily chores more fun, while others, such as mourning art, help people face life's saddest occasions. This volume is an introduction for the novice and a treasure for the collector.

The paranormal has long been a hotly contested topic, especially in academia. Most people are entertained by the paranormal or casually read a few books they come across on the topic, perhaps assuming that these topics are nothing more than campfire fodder. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being entertained by the paranormal, but how many people know that there is a long history of academic, scientific, and credible research into topics such as extrasensory perception, hauntings, poltergeists, cryptozoological sightings, near-death experiences, and more? In Researching the Paranormal, Courtney M. Block provides an overview of paranormal research and introduces readers to an assortment of resources that seriously examine various paranormal topics. She shows readers how to think critically about paranormal sources and how to apply the components of credibility when conducting their own paranormal investigations. Highlighting the long history of serious, academic inquiry into various paranormal topics, Block provides citations to primary source documents, journal articles, helpful databases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and books. In addition, she provides a historical overview of various paranormal phenomena such as parapsychology, cryptozoology, ufology, divination, ghosts, hauntings, and more.

Published on the occasion of an exhibition on view at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine, July 15-Oct. 16, 2011.