What do you think?
Rate this book
Here in New England: Unforgettable stories of people, places, and memories that connect us all
From the time he published his first story in Yankee in 1979 to the day he retired as its editor in 2025, Mel Allen's writing has captured the unique essence of New England and the people who call it home. Here for the first time, Allen has collected 45 of his favorite pieces, adding intimate new introductions and postscripts to put them in context. The feel and flavor of New England lives within the covers of this engaging collection.
402 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 3, 2026
Akin to Steve Hartman's 'On The Road' series the author focuses on largely unknown people in unknown places and most are stories of resilience and many end on an uplifting note.
New England consists of six states but the majority of the stories take place in the northern rural areas of Maine and New Hampshire. Rhode Island is the lone state without a story.
The book's title may limit its audience because it may sound too parochial but people in rural areas may find the people and places more familiar than I, a New Englander living in an urban area, did.
The book consists of seven thematic chapters from stories he wrote for Yankee Magazine. Some are from the late 70s and some as recently as 2024. All of the older stories have a brief update at the end of the article.
Section one (Always Believing) was okay but the weakest one for me. These stories felt less about people and more about place or ruralness. Section two (The Way We Love) was a bit more people oriented and a little more interesting. At this point I wasn't sure I wanted to continue but the stories are all pretty short and I didn't have anything else lined up so I continued on. The book found its stride in section three (Hard to Forget). This is where the author went full Steve Hartman and included some very touching human interest stories. Section four (Here in New England) was a bit mixed (a little too New Englandy for me) but good on balance. Section five (Courage and Resilience) returned to some truly excellent human interest stories and was a strong chapter. I wasn't looking forward to Section six (Good Sports) with its stories about Mike Eruzione, Doug Flutie and Ted Williams but it was pretty good. The Eruzione story was good because his family was interesting (Eruzione families living on all three floors of a triple decker going in and out of each others apartments, eking out a hardscrabble existence working multiple jobs). The Flutie and Ted Williams stories weren't worth the time. Section seven (Memories) had the shortest stories and brought the book to a satisfying conclusion. (The Boy Who Walked on the Moon was a particularly memorable heart breaker.)
I'd rate the book 3.5 stars if I could. My sense was that the author is a real people person and tries to present his subjects with genuine warmth and understanding.
New England consists of six states but the majority of the stories take place in the northern rural areas of Maine and New Hampshire. Rhode Island is the lone state without a story.
The book's title may limit its audience because it may sound too parochial but people in rural areas may find the people and places more familiar than I, a New Englander living in an urban area, did.
The book consists of seven thematic chapters from stories he wrote for Yankee Magazine. Some are from the late 70s and some as recently as 2024. All of the older stories have a brief update at the end of the article.
Section one (Always Believing) was okay but the weakest one for me. These stories felt less about people and more about place or ruralness. Section two (The Way We Love) was a bit more people oriented and a little more interesting. At this point I wasn't sure I wanted to continue but the stories are all pretty short and I didn't have anything else lined up so I continued on. The book found its stride in section three (Hard to Forget). This is where the author went full Steve Hartman and included some very touching human interest stories. Section four (Here in New England) was a bit mixed (a little too New Englandy for me) but good on balance. Section five (Courage and Resilience) returned to some truly excellent human interest stories and was a strong chapter. I wasn't looking forward to Section six (Good Sports) with its stories about Mike Eruzione, Doug Flutie and Ted Williams but it was pretty good. The Eruzione story was good because his family was interesting (Eruzione families living on all three floors of a triple decker going in and out of each others apartments, eking out a hardscrabble existence working multiple jobs). The Flutie and Ted Williams stories weren't worth the time. Section seven (Memories) had the shortest stories and brought the book to a satisfying conclusion. (The Boy Who Walked on the Moon was a particularly memorable heart breaker.)
I'd rate the book 3.5 stars if I could. My sense was that the author is a real people person and tries to present his subjects with genuine warmth and understanding.
Currently Reading
February 5, 2026This has been the perfect sit by the pellet stove NH winter book. I like to read Yankee Magazine but dont seen to get around to it enough.
The nice people at Nashua Public Library got the copy that I am presently reading Not sure if I will finish it this year as it is a nicely laid out series of magazine articles that one can pick up and put down.
The nice people at Nashua Public Library got the copy that I am presently reading Not sure if I will finish it this year as it is a nicely laid out series of magazine articles that one can pick up and put down.
April 18, 2026
Living in New Hampshire, I am very aware of Yankee Magazine. Perhaps you are too. If not, I can recommend it as a magazine dedicated to life in New England, as well as some of the quirks present here. Mel Allen was editor of the magazine, having retired from it in 2025. He has been on the staff since 1979, so he has seen much come and go in his years in New England. Here in New England is a collection of his writing through the years. Curated by Allen himself, he feels the 45 articles present in this book reflect his life’s work.
I was entertained a great deal while reading Here in New England. The articles span the years, with some early in his career, such as the time spent with the Eruzione family after Mike Eruzione’s famed goal in the U.S. vs. Soviet hockey game at the 1980 Olympics. I had the feel of an earnest young reporter chasing the most recent celebrity in New England, and at the center of it, he finds a family very different from his own that leaves him a bit mystified.
If there is any follow-up information to the stories, Allen writes an addendum to the article. For the more noted names, we might not need it. However, for many of the lesser-known people he celebrates, it provides closure of a sort. Tome has changed, and yet some of the stories still have deep meaning.
One of the stories that stuck with me was about Samantha Smith. Those of us who lived during the Cold War might recognize the name. Originally from Maine, she wrote a letter to Yuvi Andropov asking if he intended to start a nuclear war. Samantha became something of a folk hero in the Soviet Union after the letter was published there. Her story is tragic, though, and Allen’s writing focuses on her mother trying to still find meaning and purpose in a life without her daughter. We could use more Samantha Smiths right about now.
To read my complete review, please go to Here in New England by Mel Allen – Exploring New England Through Mel Allen’s Articles
I was entertained a great deal while reading Here in New England. The articles span the years, with some early in his career, such as the time spent with the Eruzione family after Mike Eruzione’s famed goal in the U.S. vs. Soviet hockey game at the 1980 Olympics. I had the feel of an earnest young reporter chasing the most recent celebrity in New England, and at the center of it, he finds a family very different from his own that leaves him a bit mystified.
If there is any follow-up information to the stories, Allen writes an addendum to the article. For the more noted names, we might not need it. However, for many of the lesser-known people he celebrates, it provides closure of a sort. Tome has changed, and yet some of the stories still have deep meaning.
One of the stories that stuck with me was about Samantha Smith. Those of us who lived during the Cold War might recognize the name. Originally from Maine, she wrote a letter to Yuvi Andropov asking if he intended to start a nuclear war. Samantha became something of a folk hero in the Soviet Union after the letter was published there. Her story is tragic, though, and Allen’s writing focuses on her mother trying to still find meaning and purpose in a life without her daughter. We could use more Samantha Smiths right about now.
To read my complete review, please go to Here in New England by Mel Allen – Exploring New England Through Mel Allen’s Articles
February 28, 2026
A very enjoyable collection of articles. They covered the decades the author wrote for Yankee Magazine with a great variety of topics, which all had a common thread of taking place in New England and the empathetic perspective of its writer. His empathy and style as a journalist are clear in all of his writing. As someone who has never been to New England, this made me fall in love with the region. Lovely example of creative non-fiction.
A few of my favorites were “The Town that Refused to Die”, “The Keeper of the Lighthouse Keeper”, and “The Worst 30 Minutes of my Life”.
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC.
A few of my favorites were “The Town that Refused to Die”, “The Keeper of the Lighthouse Keeper”, and “The Worst 30 Minutes of my Life”.
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC.
August 17, 2026
Other than a few years as a grade school teacher, almost all of the author’s career consisted of writing for, and then becoming editor of, Yankee Magazine, a mainstay of New England heartfelt and (mostly) heartwarming stories and vignettes.
The author goes back to 25-or-so old stories he wrote and updates them. Several are sports-related, such as one from 1982 about Ted Williams and his fishing buddy who was a Red Sox sportscaster.
Another is about local hero Doug Flutie, quarterback for Boston College, who cemented use of the football term “Hail Mary pass” in the 1984 championship. Mostly the story from 1989 is about Flutie’s father and the role he played in Doug’s career in the US and Canada. In 2015 Flutie’s father died of heart attack at home and his mother found him and died an hour later, of a broken heart, Flutie said.
Somewhere in the picture above (from Facebook) is Gerard Phelan who caught Flutie’s pass. Phelan was drafted by the New England Patriots the next year but a knee injury quickly ended his pro career.
There’s the 1982 story of Larry Joel, the first Black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam (1967). Joel died in 1984. Allen’s update tells us that Joel didn’t live to see the removal of that honor from Arlington National Cemetery in the current administration’s purge of any honor that mentions someone was not a white male.
A 2008 story was about a farmer in New Hampshire who had lived 71 years in the house he was born in and still made a living by being (probably) the last horse-and-buggy seller in the country. He goes to local towns selling eggs, vegetables, firewood and pork sausages.
The author has a story of when he was one of a group of 7 who climbed up to the observatory on Mt. Washington and stayed there during a blizzard with 113 mph winds. There is a memorial plaque to the 140 people who have died on the mountain.
Not all stories are upbeat. One is about a 30-year-old man who died of rabies despite all efforts by doctors. And in 1975 a 4-year-old boy disappeared in a remote campground in Maine – no traffic in or out. More than a thousand searchers with helicopters and bloodhounds looked for him for a week. He was never found.
There are stories of a hero of the Boston Marathon bombing; the annual shad fish run on the Connecticut River, and a story of the Playing for Peace Foundation in Vermont that deliberately brings musicians together from war-torn areas – Protestants and Catholics from Northern Ireland; Palestinians and Jews; Turks and Greeks from Cyprus, etc.
There is a story of a hoarder who collected ‘antiques.’ After he died the family turned the house into a quirky tea room and wedding venue. Then there’s the woman from Vermont who saw Champ, the Lake Champlain sea monster, and left her money to a fund to keep searching for it.
How are things in Bucksport, Maine? A town of 5,000 where 1,000 people once worked in the paper mill. The story is of the last layoff of the 500 remaining workers and the closing of the mill.
The abandoned paper mill in Bucksport. Photo from Squarespace on cdn.com
Yankee Magazine is about New England, so we have to have an interview with…Stephen King!
Great human-interest stories for everyone, New Englander or not. And thank you to my sister (a New Englander) for giving me this book.
The author goes back to 25-or-so old stories he wrote and updates them. Several are sports-related, such as one from 1982 about Ted Williams and his fishing buddy who was a Red Sox sportscaster.
Another is about local hero Doug Flutie, quarterback for Boston College, who cemented use of the football term “Hail Mary pass” in the 1984 championship. Mostly the story from 1989 is about Flutie’s father and the role he played in Doug’s career in the US and Canada. In 2015 Flutie’s father died of heart attack at home and his mother found him and died an hour later, of a broken heart, Flutie said.
Somewhere in the picture above (from Facebook) is Gerard Phelan who caught Flutie’s pass. Phelan was drafted by the New England Patriots the next year but a knee injury quickly ended his pro career.
There’s the 1982 story of Larry Joel, the first Black soldier to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam (1967). Joel died in 1984. Allen’s update tells us that Joel didn’t live to see the removal of that honor from Arlington National Cemetery in the current administration’s purge of any honor that mentions someone was not a white male.
A 2008 story was about a farmer in New Hampshire who had lived 71 years in the house he was born in and still made a living by being (probably) the last horse-and-buggy seller in the country. He goes to local towns selling eggs, vegetables, firewood and pork sausages.
The author has a story of when he was one of a group of 7 who climbed up to the observatory on Mt. Washington and stayed there during a blizzard with 113 mph winds. There is a memorial plaque to the 140 people who have died on the mountain.
Not all stories are upbeat. One is about a 30-year-old man who died of rabies despite all efforts by doctors. And in 1975 a 4-year-old boy disappeared in a remote campground in Maine – no traffic in or out. More than a thousand searchers with helicopters and bloodhounds looked for him for a week. He was never found.
There are stories of a hero of the Boston Marathon bombing; the annual shad fish run on the Connecticut River, and a story of the Playing for Peace Foundation in Vermont that deliberately brings musicians together from war-torn areas – Protestants and Catholics from Northern Ireland; Palestinians and Jews; Turks and Greeks from Cyprus, etc.
There is a story of a hoarder who collected ‘antiques.’ After he died the family turned the house into a quirky tea room and wedding venue. Then there’s the woman from Vermont who saw Champ, the Lake Champlain sea monster, and left her money to a fund to keep searching for it.
How are things in Bucksport, Maine? A town of 5,000 where 1,000 people once worked in the paper mill. The story is of the last layoff of the 500 remaining workers and the closing of the mill.
The abandoned paper mill in Bucksport. Photo from Squarespace on cdn.com
Yankee Magazine is about New England, so we have to have an interview with…Stephen King!
Great human-interest stories for everyone, New Englander or not. And thank you to my sister (a New Englander) for giving me this book.
February 7, 2026
I have spent a lot of my life in New England (birthplace, summer vacations as a child, college, my first job) and I have been reading "Yankee Magazine" since I was growing up. Mel Allen went to work at Yankee in 1979 and became its editor in 2006, so I have been reading his work for a long time. He retired in 2025, and this book is a collection of the pieces that he wrote for Yankee (even a couple that he wrote as a Maine journalist). Anyone who is a fan of Yankee Magazine and/or has spent time in New England will find this book a fun, nostalgic, moving journey. Mel Allen is a very good writer and and an excellent story teller, and the book is filled (primarily) with stories of New Englanders, both the obscure (a couple who lived their entire life "off the grid," a cruise boat captain) and famous (Mike Eruzione of "Miracle on Ice" fame, Doug Flutie, Ted Williams). Allen gets at the soul and character of this region through the tales of these unique individuals. The book does not really focus on the places that make New England special, but that was never his speciality when he wrote for the magazine (and it doesn't have the beautiful color photographs that make Yankee so gorgeous). There was one section of the book (four separate pieces) that presented some very tragic and sad stories that I tried to get through as quickly as possible (and in my opinion the book would not have suffered had they been left out). But all in all, the book is a fast-moving enjoyable read.
November 14, 2025
As a lifelong New Englander I love how Mel Allen captures the essence of the people and places so effectively that by time I finish a chapter I feel like I've been to the place and I've met the people myself. Each story reminds me why New England is different and how the culture here is unlike anything I've experienced elsewhere.
Every chapter will elicit an array of emotions as you learn about people and places that most would have never know. Some pages will likely have you thinking about planning a trip. I'm grateful that someone took the time to preserve these memories so that others can enjoy them and I find myself wondering how many more amazing New England stories are out there.
Every chapter will elicit an array of emotions as you learn about people and places that most would have never know. Some pages will likely have you thinking about planning a trip. I'm grateful that someone took the time to preserve these memories so that others can enjoy them and I find myself wondering how many more amazing New England stories are out there.
December 21, 2025
This is simply one of the finest anthologies I've ever read.
That Mel Allen worked for and edited Yankee magazine from 1979-2025 is in itself remarkable.
That he was able to choose 45 of his favorite pieces is just plain right.
I'm so full of the stories right now that I can't detail one by one - just a beautiful book.
That Mel Allen worked for and edited Yankee magazine from 1979-2025 is in itself remarkable.
That he was able to choose 45 of his favorite pieces is just plain right.
I'm so full of the stories right now that I can't detail one by one - just a beautiful book.
March 11, 2026
How can a Yankee named Mel Allen be a Boston Red Sox fan? Oh is the other kind of Yankee the one that lives in New England. And also gave the name to a magazine that Mel edited and worked for for half a century. Do you want to know New England, and Yankees? Read the stories in this book and you’ll know all.
November 22, 2025
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was an interesting read about how life is in New England and the various stories. I thought it was interesting to get a glimpse into peoples’ lives.
February 17, 2026
Mel Allen has a rich and engaging writing style which paints a beautiful picture of the New England states and captures the essence of its people and history that makes you feel like you are right there with him!
January 16, 2026
Thoroughly enjoyed all the heartwarming tales of New England.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews