PORTSMOUTH
Photographs by Nancy Horton
Text by Laura Pope
Commonwealth Editions
Hardcover, 80 pages, color
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To all those who have cried for years that there is no affordable color gift book about Portsmouth in print – take heart. Nancy Horton has filled that empty space at last. Square, small and sturdy, this hardcover photo book is the souvenir everyone can afford. We saw them stacked high at Barnes and Noble yesterday and, we assume, they will be restacking them again and again.

Horton is a well-respected local photographer who knows Portsmouth well. Her overview here hits all the highlights – bridges over the Piscataqua, historic Strawbery Banke, the commercial waterfront, cultural hotspots, the brick-lined downtown and Market Square, and a quick trip out to the Isles of Shoals. Laura Pope, equally known for her artistic writing about the region, fills in a concise overview of Portsmouth history, sprinkled with insightful quotations.

The only problem with this gem is that it may leave readers wanting to see more and larger images by this accomplished photographer. To reach Nancy Hornton directly, visit her WEB SITE here.

Settled more for its economic potential than for any religious freedom it might have provided, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has been a vibrant commercial city for much of its history. Ideally located at the mouth of the resource-rich Piscataqua River and about midway between the bigger Boston and Portland, it takes a back seat to no New England city-especially today when the city buzzes with renewed economic life, a younger generation is discovering its hip pleasures, and cultural life, from galleries to restaurants, attracts thousands of visitors a week. In the apt words of Laura Pope, Portsmouth is "the resilient river city by the sea."

Photographer Nancy Horton has captured the beauty and the funky, gritty liveliness of today's Portsmouth in this latest addition to our "New England Landmarks" series. It's all here, from the salt piles by along the river (highlighted by a glorious setting sun) to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (which, despite its name and association with the city, is actually in Maine). Daily life circulates around historic Market Square; costumed reenactors delight at Strawbery Banke; an impressive array of Georgian homes stand tall on residential streets; Horton even offers a wonderful photo of Portsmouth's own beloved poet Robert Dunn alongside one of his poems.A city of merchants, a little cosmopolis of poets and artists, Portsmouth is truly one of New England's treasures.