Tougias, Michael J. 1955–

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Tougias, Michael J. 1955–

PERSONAL: Surname pronounced "TOE-gis"; born April 27, 1955, in Springfield, MA; son of Arthur and Geraldine Tougias; married; wife's name Mary Ellen; children: Brian, Kristin. Education: St. Michael's College, B.A., 1977.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—P.O. Box 72, Norfolk, MA 02056.

CAREER: Writer. Lecturer and presenter.

AWARDS, HONORS: Best Nature Book of 2003, Independent Publishers Association.

WRITINGS:

The Hidden Charles: A Guide to Exploring the River with History, Anecdotes, and Suggested Outings, Yankee Books (Camden, ME), 1991.

Country Roads of Massachusetts, illustrated by Victoria Sheridan, Country Roads Press (Castine, ME), 1992, third edition published as Country Roads of Massachusetts: Drives, Day Trips, and Weekend Excursions, 1999.

Nature Walks in Eastern Massachusetts, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 1993, second edition published as Nature Walks in Eastern Massachusetts: Nature-Rich Walks Within an Hour of Boston, Features the Bay Circuit Trail, 1998.

(With brother, Mark Tougias) Autumn Trails: An Explorer's Guide to New England's Best Fall Colors, Country Roads Press (Oaks, PA), 1996, published as Autumn Rambles of New England: An Explorer's Guide to the Best Fall Colors, Hunter Publishing (Walpole, MA), 1998.

(With René Laubach) Nature Walks in Central Massachusetts, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 1996, second edition published as Nature Walks in Central and Western Massachusetts, 2000.

Exploring the Hidden Charles: A Guide to Outdoor Activities on Boston's Celebrated River, Appalachian Club Books (Boston, MA), 1997.

More Nature Walks in Eastern Massachusetts, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 1998.

(With Eric B. Schultz) King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict, Countryman Press (Woodstock, VT), 1999.

River Days: Exploring the Connecticut River and Its History from Source to Sea, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 2001.

Until I Have No Country: A Novel of the King Philip War in New England, Weekender, 2001.

Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide, On Cape Publications (Yarmouth Port, MA), 2002.

There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe (memoir), Capital Books (Sterling, VA), 2002.

The Blizzard of '78, On Cape Publications (Yarmouth Port, MA), 2003.

Ten Hours until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy aboard the Can Do, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2005.

AMC's Best Day Hikes Near Boston: Four-Season Guide to Fifty of the Best Trails in Eastern Massachusetts, Appalachian Mountain Club Books (Boston, MA), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Michael J. Tougias is an author of both history and natural history books. He has written many guide books about Massachusetts, including two about the Charles River and another about the Quabbin Reservoir area. His books advise readers on the best housing, trails, leaf color, and other outdoor treasures of this area of New England. In several of his volumes, including Autumn Trails: An Explorer's Guide to New England's Best Fall Colors, which he wrote with his brother Mark Tougias, Tougias travels south to Connecticut as well, exploring areas that include Litchfield County.

Also the author of books not related to nature and travel, Tougias collaborated with Eric B. Shultz to write King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict. This work documents a seventeenth-century Indian war between New England settlers and native tribes that lasted for two years. In 1622 Wampanoag chief Massasoit and the English agreed to a treaty that guaranteed the safety of the colonists, but English expansion so threatened the native people that war broke out in 1675. The following year, the impaled head of King Philip, Massasoit's son, was carried through Plymouth Colony. With his death, the English became unopposed occupiers. The book is divided into three sections, with the first and third providing a history of the war and accounts of the battles. The middle section offers details about each battle fought. American History contributor Floyd B. Largent, Jr., wrote that the volume "makes a fine addition to the canon of colonial American history."

Tougias wrote The Blizzard of '78, to recount a major snowstorm with hurricane-force winds that blanketed New England, and in Ten Hours until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy aboard the Can Do he documents a failed rescue attempt that was initiated during that storm. When the oil tanker Global Hope ran aground off Salem, Massachusetts, the U.S. Coast Guard attempted a rescue but ended up putting themselves in danger. Frank Quirk, the captain of a pilot boat, went to the aid of both, but his boat, the Can Do, went down, and all hands were lost at sea. Roland Green wrote in a Booklist review that Tougias "has made the book accessible even to relative newcomers to maritime literature."

In his memoir There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe, Tougias relates his personal story, beginning in 1978, when the then-twenty-two-year-old Tougias bought a cabin and six acres in Vermont. He writes of his life there as he ages, until his own children are able to enjoy the beauty of the getaway with him. The porcupines of the title dug a shelter under his outhouse, and their activity was disconcerting to anyone who used the facility.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Tougias, Michael J., There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse: Misadventures of a Mountain Man Wannabe, Capital Books (Sterling, VA), 2002.

PERIODICALS

American History, April, 2000, Floyd B. Largent Jr., review of King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict, p. 68.

Booklist, October 1, 1999, Jay Freeman, review of King Philip's War, p. 342; July, 2005, Roland Green, review of Ten Hours until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy aboard the Can Do, p. 1882.

Dallas Morning News, January 2, 2003, Dan R. Barber, review of There's a Porcupine in My Outhouse.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2005, review of Ten Hours until Dawn, p. 581.

Library Bookwatch, October, 2005, review of Ten Hours until Dawn.

Library Journal, August, 1988, Linda M. Kaufmann, review of Autumn Rambles of New England: An Explorer's Guide to the Best Fall Colors, p. 120; October 1, 1999, Charles K. Piehl, review of King Philip's War, p. 111.

Weatherwise, July-August, 2004, review of The Blizzard of '78, p. 58.