Books

Ghosts of Central Jersey

You don't have to have a connection to New Jersey in order to enjoy this book. All you need is an interest in ghosts.

What ghosts roam within the historic sites and buildings of Central New Jersey? How accurate are the traditional stories? From the shadowed woods of the Somerset Hills to the dappled banks of the Delaware River, Ghosts of Central Jersey: Historic Haunts of the Somerset Hills delivers a rich mix of factual history and the sound investigation of ghostly phenomena. The combination of an open-minded enthusiasm and a level-headed approach underscores this collection of reports that will inform, entertain, and lead the reader to places where the past is considered to be very much alive and entwined with the present.

 Foreword by noted parapsychologist Loyd Auerbach.

Now in it's fifth printing, Ghosts of Central Jersey is a perennial favorite and always in high demand as one of the best sellers for the History Press.

Tracing Infinity

Tracing Infinity will take you on a journey, one that will show you how close our lives are to heaven and the source of our existence. Meadows, mountains, gardens, coastlines, and open rangeland are all God’s classrooms, whatever you conceive God to be, and if you look close enough and learn how to “see,” you can find similar inspiration wherever you happen to be, even in your own backyards. Even when we feel we are in the wild-lands and winters of our lives, we are always in the presence of the eternal. We exist in the present and follow our futures in the same breath, literally tracing infinity. Discover how the Divine touches us all. 

"The kinds of stories that Gordon shares, and the spiritual sensibility they evoke, help bridge this 21st century divide – the gap between ourselves and the earth and God. A sense of connection to that which is greater than us, and to the earth, are our birthrights. Today, we need support to recognize these gifts on a regular basis and to integrate the benefits and challenges of that awareness into our deepest sense of ourselves. Gordon’s writing helps with that cultivation. For that, we owe him a debt of gratitude."
~ The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, GreenFaith ~ 

"Nature writers often hint at grand design. Gordon Thomas Ward does not hint! His insightful essays point the way toward understanding that our environment presents opportunities to learn how close we really are to the source of life with every breath we take, and that we can change with the next breath."
~ Mike Anderson, Sanctuary Director, N J Audubon Society ~ 

"Gordon Ward has been paying attention and watching the world with spiritual eyes. This book is crammed with heaven in the form of stories that stem from Gordon’s extensive knowledge of botany and history and poetry. Here, God is seen in the first blush of puppy love, the branches of a dead tree, the adventures of Lewis and Clark, and the experiences of fatherhood. Gordon Ward is indeed a spiritual being having a physical experience. Join him on this pilgrimage of life and learn to trace the Infinite around you."
~ Reverend Dr. Richard D. Sweeney ~

A Bit of Earth

If you want to read about how the geography of childhood is linked to history, you will find meaning in this book, no matter where you live.

A Bit of Earth in the Somerset Hills is a heart-felt memoir of growing up in a mid-century New Jersey town. What do you hold sacred from youth? For Gordon Ward, the rural landscape of Somersetin was a truly magical place. Combining the enchantment of youth with nostalgic memories of the landscape of Somerset, New Jersey, author Gordon Ward recalls in brilliant detail the Bernardsville neighborhood in which he grew up. In A Bit of Earth in the Somerset Hills, Ward recounts a neighborhood tale that will resonate with all whose growing-up years were filled by a sense of place. With echoes of Wordsworth and Thoreau, A Bit of Earth in the Somerset Hills is a timeless meditation on a special time and the special place that makes a “hometown.”

“Gordon Ward’s A Bit of Earth tells the rich human and natural history of a particular place over time, but it is much more than that. It is a touching memoir of—and a gentle plea to recapture—a rapidly vanishing type of unstructured, but profoundly rewarding, childhood. A Bit of Earth is also something of a primer and call to arms for all who want to develop a deeper and more subtle understanding of the often surprisingly complex history of their own local places and their links to the land and the past.” 
~ W. Barry Thomson, co-author of New Jersey Country Houses: The Somerset Hills, Volumes 1 and 2  ~

“‘...Somewhere in there,’ Gordon writes of his father's music-making, ‘somewhere in between the notes lay a message that reached out to me....’ That is what this book is like. It recreates a place, a time, and a young man growing through painstaking accretion of detail. And from somewhere between those carefully scribed explorations a truth emerges: there is a certain serenity and sense of wholeness that comes only with paying careful attention. Gordon Ward's gift to us, in this book is a recalling of a truth easily overlooked, that every life is a voyage of discovery and that it is careful attention to details - small and great alike - that will bring us to our own serene center.” 
~ George Ward (no relation to the author), professional folklorist/teacher/musician ~

Life on the Shoulder: Rediscovery and Inspiration along the Lewis and Clark Trail

If you'd like to know what it's like to bicycle, backpack, and canoe 1,800 miles of the Lewis and Clark Trail, this book is for you.

Life on the Shoulder is about a journey on many levels. It is one that travels back through time, experiencing the places known and recorded in the pages of history and the journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. It is also a journey through the current American West, an area of diverse environments, staggering beauty, and powerful natural forces. The landscape also proved to be one of emotional hills and valleys, mountains of elation, pits of exhaustion, prairies of boredom, storms of fear, anger and frustration, and stunning sun flashes of inspiration.

 "Like so many other Americans since the time of Lewis and Clark, Gordon Ward was inspired to follow in the great explorers' footsteps - except that he did it by bicycle, foot, and canoe. As in all great expeditions, he not only had memorable adventures and found new insights about the land and the people he encountered along the way, he made important discoveries about himself as well."
~ Dayton Duncan: Noted writer and co-producer with Ken Burns of the PBS-aired documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery and author of Out West: An American Journey ~

Windows

Windows includes poetry Mr. Ward has written from 1987-1994 and deals with topics that range from the spectacular and the sublime to the more daily occurrences. From the introductory “Invitation to the Moon” to “The Hands” and “Release,” the reader is taken on a personal journey through the author’s emotions and responses to seemingly commonplace events to reveal a deeper meaning. Many of the poems, such as “Acre,” written about the author's former home, and “Unknown Occupants,” a poem about the forgotten remains of a stone structure in the Fairmount, NJ, woods, reveal a response to a particular place in a manner that can be applied to many, similar locations. From the Christmas poem “Morning Glories” to “Free Fall,” a poem about a Monarch butterfly’s migration, there are delightful and powerful images captured and presented to the reader. Incorporating a full spectrum from darker thoughts to whimsical flights of the mind, many of these poems, such as “John's Brook,” offer a philosophical and often spiritual message of how we might adopt alternate views to perceive and deal with the events and environments that touch the lives of us all. Embracing a myriad of topics, emotions and insights, Windows is a book that will charm a variety of readers. Quantities limited!