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| We'll go straight to the shameless commerce dept... but check out the links on the left too. |
Hey,
hi! and thanks for stopping by. I am Virginia Thorndike, also known as
Dinnie. For over a decade I was living in Maine and writing about the
various interesting maritime endeavors to be found there - a number of
my books have been published, and you may read about them by scrolling
down this page.
Purchase books directly from me, if you like, either by using
PayPal or by sending me a check (email me for address etc.). I'll be
happy to sign them, if you like.
Currently, I've not got the Paypal automatic buttons working - but you
can still pay me that way, using my email address, below. Just contact
me to find out what the shipping cost will be.
Alternatively, though I make less this way, you may obtain any but the
Bowdoin book from your local or online bookstore. I have copies
available of the Bowdoin book. The Lobsterboat book is out of print and
I have no copies left myself, either.
Sorry not to have a link to automatically address email to me, but the link was picking up too many spammers. Here's my address:
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| LNG: A Level-Headed Look at the Liquefied Natural Gas Controversy |
There had been much fuss in Maine about a couple of early proposals for terminals, both of which disappeared amid public furor, but I became intrigued by the facts about LNG when my tugboating friends talked confidently about handling the
ships that would import the stuff. I had no idea what the truth was,
and I know there are many other people with the same questions I had.
There is plenty of information about liqufied natural gas on the web,
but the sources are, almost to a one, involved in the industry one way
or another. Company websites support their industry and say LNG is the
safest, cleanest source of energy at hand; reading those, one would
think LNG will be the salvation of civilization. There are also rabidly
anti-LNG sites suggesting that LNG will certainly bring doom to anyone
and anything within tens of miles of a facility.
The fact is,
the U.S. uses more and more energy, and other nations are increasing
their usage even more than we are. Is LNG a plausible source for some
of the required energy? That's what I consider in this book.
"This
book succeeds in giving an understanding of what LNG is, where it comes
from and how it gets here, and where it goes once it's here.... Anyone
with even a passing interest in LNG will find it very informative and
very readable." Chris Oelschlagel, Commander, USCG (Ret)
"Virginia
Thorndike brings a genuine, straightforward, and factual assessment of
LNG to a highly charged discussion." John Castellani, president of the
Business Roundtable
"Should be required reading for policy
makers and the public, both of whom are subjected to more spin than
helpful information on this critically important topic." Prof. Jerry
Havens, Univ. of Arkansas, co-developer of exclusion zone models for
LNG terminals
"Interesting insights into the people and entities
that make the decisions and form energy policy in the LNG world. Hat to
admit it, but I learned a lot!" Rob Wyatt, vice president of Downeast
LNG
256 pages, many illustrations, index (2007) $15.95
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| Islanders, Real Life on the Maine Islands |
from the blurb: "A handful of Maine islands are still populated year-round. Virginia Thorndike visted them all and put her listening skills to work, encouraging island-born natives and "transplants" alike to speak frankly about their lives. In these pages, they describe the practicalities of bringing groceries out and lugging garbage off, of generating electricity or managing without, of finding ways to keep their schools and provide care for elders so their communities don't wither away.
Often they speak of the ironies of island life: their kids willnever get lost, but they also might not get emergency medical care. The miles of rough water that make it inconvenient to fetch groceries and fuel seem to be no barrier against street drugs. Long, quiet winters are followed by intensely busy summers. Their grown daughters move off-island, but some of their sons will stay on.
From a review in the Camden Herald:
"'Islanders' punctures some of the romantic notions mainlanders have about island life, yet it also tells how deeply rewarding that life can be. Clearly, the people who have chosen to stay on these islands would say they chose well."
"It is harder, certainly more unusual, for an author to describe the truth about life in Maine than to paint a pretty picture of it. But it is definitely worth the effort... Once in a while a writer and a publisher venture further and tell a better story. Such a book is the recent 'Islanders: Real LIfe on the Maine Islands,' written by Virginia 'Dinnie' Thorndike, and published by Down East....
"'Islanders' is pretty much a work of journalism, although she occasionally lets people speak anonymously, as when talking about the historic prevalence of drugs, alcohol, spousal abuse and adultery. And some of these stories are frank enough for the author to place them on the fictional Smith Island, a place she creates to cover a multitude of sins. But everything else is reported in real time and places....
"This book's style, its wide-ranging treatment of a large number of topics, shows the good and the not so good, and the overall effect seems genuine. this suggests that it is a good piece of reporting, and a help to people who want to understand what life is like just off our coast."
320 pages, many photographs, index (2005) $16.95
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| On Tugboats - Stories of Work and Life Aboard |
From Hugh Ware, maritime writer and columnist:
"This is by far the best tugboat book I've ever read. Take Farley Mowat's two classic books about tugs and salvage and double the thrill! 'Dinnie' Thorndike is a superb educer of real-life stories from those that do and did and she captured their vernacular and accents, then interwove them (with some help from your truly) with hard-nosed looks at tugboating American-style. For example, her coverage of the New York tugboat strike has more depth and detail from its participants on both sides than I've ever seen before and she makes plain why Coast Guard regulations emperil tugboat workers. The result is a remarkably thorough yet off-beat survey of tugboating American-style, Dinnie is rapidly becoming a world-class writer (see her 'Bowdoin' and 'Maine Lobsterboats' for other examples). I rate her just behind John McFee."
384 pages, 113 photos and illustrations, glossary and index (2004). $18.95
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| Maine Lobsterboats - Builders and Lobstermen Speak of Their Craft |
Unfortunately, this book, although well-received, is no longer available, save used.
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| The Arctic Schooner Bowdoin - a Biography |
The 74-year-old Bowdoin comes alive through the personal journals, published records, and tales from dozens of people whose lives have been changed by their time spent with the schooner. Thorndike traces the Bowdoin's diverse lives from an exploration vessel and conscript in the Navy during WW II, to a museum exhibit and a classroom for Outward Bound. The biography includes historic, black-and-white photos of the Bowdoin and those who have sailed aboard her on more than 25 Arctic voyages, as well as outstanding color photos by acclaimed photographer Tom Stewart. Today, owned by Maine Maritime Academy, the Bowdoin is Maine's Official Sailing Vessel and a National Historic Landmark.
256 pages, 22 b/w and 11 color photos (1995). $16.95
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| Windjammer Watching on the Coast of Maine (3rd edition) |
A revision of what has become a well-known guide, Windjammer Watching on the Coast of Maine provides a systematic review of the windjammer fleet in midcoast Maine, as well as some from away that sail here. Virginia Thorndike tells us how to identify all the individual vessels and gives the histories and vital statistics for each. This is an essential guide for anyone interested in taking a windjammer cruise, for boaters cruising the coast of Maine who want to identify windjammers they see, and for armchair sailors who enjoy reading about these traditional sailing vessels, most of which began their careers as cargo carriers, pilot boats, fishermen, and private yachts.
"A useful little book ... peppered with anecdotes about boats, captains, and escapades." - Portland Press Herald
144 pages, many photos and drawings (2002). $12.95
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This book is a collection of personal stories of getting around in the State of Maine before automobiles took over, told by the Mainers who lived them. I spoke with a fellow who sailed as cook on a four-masted schooner, another who worked on a side-wheeling steamboat, and several told tales of horses, trolleys, Model Ts, coasting schooners, and trains.
We've only just gotten back to being able to get goods from Boston to Maine overnight - that was commonplace in the early part of the twentieth century.
Part of the fun of creating this book was chasing down the many period photographs that go well with the story-tellers' own words. The book makes a great present for older folks.
134 pages of stories and photos (1997) $16.95
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