Ohio Books

As I watch my husband in the subtle and beginning stages of this agonizing disease and read June Shiplett's Glass Full Of Tears, I can only imagine my years of care-giving yet to come. Her log of her husband's vascular dementia is becoming my calendar as well. Most books are written about Alzheimer's and even though multi-infarct dementia is a kissing cousin of alzheimers, there is a behavioral difference. Shiplett is walking me through my days and I wish I could hug her for writing this book...... it seems it is written just for me.

It is hard to put in writing how the book effected me. It was very moving and helped to understand some of the emotions that we experience when care giving to a loved one. I appreciate Mrs. Shiplett sharing such a private and special part of her life. It is by far her richest Love Story she has written.

Life in Peking (Beijing) China before World War II was the ultimate big frog in a small pond experience for Europeans and Americans. Persons of modest means and position, such as Marine Captain John Letcher, could live like pashas on a modest salary. Moreover, Peking had fabulous art, architecture, food, and a glorious culture to enjoy.

Life was not nearly so good for the Chinese and that was why Letcher was there. He was a member of a US Marine Corps contingent with the mission of protecting foreigners and property. The Chinese had the disconcerting habit of rising up occasionally and killing the Westerners enjoying their bounty. Captain Letcher's tour in Peking was made memorable by the beginning of World War II when Japanese and Chinese troops clashed at Marco Polo Bridge, just outside Peking. What is perhaps most remarkable is how little the war between China and Japan disrupted the good life of the foreigners inside the walls of Peking although there is a sense of gathering doom in Letcher's account.

This book consists of Letcher's letters and diary entries from 1936 to 1939. A lengthy introduction, a few photos and maps, extensive footnotes, and a bibliography supplement the text. Letcher has no startling insights or wisdom to impart, but his stories of daily life conjure up life in Peking pretty well and his eye-witness observations of the war are interesting. "Goodbye Old Peking" is a well done book of interest to scholars and those of us who are fascinated by old time China and the Westerners who lived there.

Smallchief

Mr. Letcher's letters were written in a style that gives the reader a "visual" description of pre World War II China. Although some of his opinions may not be politically correct by todays standards, I think he honestly expresses his feelings of the people and surroundings at the time. Some of his predictions regarding the upcoming war are almost right on--however his prediction that California would eventually be captured by the Japanese happily did not come true. Regardless of Mr. Letcher's personal opinions, his letters are well written and gives the reader the feeling of being there. A good story. The editors did a great job of keeping the story on track, and the footnote information was very informative (Their references led me to several other publications which I subsequently read). The copy I read was from the public library. I plan to buy the book for my collection in the near future.

Howard "Hopalong" Cassidy, Rex Kern, Archie Griffin and many more memories of Saturday afternoons in the "Shoe"

With so many Ohio State books out after the national title season, this book does a great job of capturing the essence of the final seasons. This is a must have for Ohio State fans to remember the greatest moments in Ohio State history, particularly the Fiesta Bowl season.

Halle Brothers was a Cleveland institution. It was, like many family-owned department stores, a vital player in the city's history. As the city grew, so did Halle Brothers. Author James Wood paints an interesting, vivid portrait of a store, the likes of which, are rarely seen in today's world of "cookie cutter" chains.

If you were a Clevelander in the 50's and 60's and wanted to shop in style, Halle's was your store. This book refreshes the memories of those who had the pleasure of shopping this retail institution while it told how a family of merchants experienced the successes and ultimate failure of a Cleveland retail icon.

If you are not a Clevelander, this book gives great detail of what "carriage trade" retail was and what happened to it.

Good reading, lots of memories, good fun.

The book is excellently compiled and written. Thank you, Charles E Finsley. The letters were written to my great aunt - Hannah Speaker and it is wonderful to read my ancestors thoughts.
My great thanks to Marchtotheseabks - for their prompt service in shipping the book the day after I placed my order. I had it within a week of ordering. It had to come from Tennessee to Washington state.

I would recommend this book to anyone curious about the Civil War. I was captivated start to finish and found it to be a great indicator of the time period.

Whether you've just gotten interested in Ellison's work or have been a fan for decades (I've been hooked since 1984 when a friend lent me "Strange Wine" at summer camp), this book offers an indispensable look at both the context and substance of HE's work--the 1950s pulp markets in which he published his earliest short stories; his seminal contributions to SF's "New Wave" of the late 1960s; and the various themes that run throughout his more mature stories of the 1970s and onward. Weil and Wolfe deserve high marks for their objectivity, neither excessively praising HE's unique talents nor damning his occasional lapses. Nearing 70, HE's output has slowed in recent years, so perhaps this is the ideal time for retrospective criticism of his career. This volume aptly summarizes one of the most notable talents in the history of speculative fiction.

Harlan Ellison: The Edge Of Forever by Ellen Weil (Professor of Humanities and English, Roosevelt University, Chicago) and Ellen Weil (Humanities and Holocaust Studies, Roosevelt University and the Newberry Library, Chicago) is a broad ranging volume of literary criticism concerning the short stories, novels, TV scripts and movie scripts of the world-famous author Harlan Ellison, best known to the general public for his unique contributions to the science fiction and fantasy genres. Harlan Ellison: The Edge Of Forever explores Ellison's impact upon the science fiction literary genre, as well as Ellison's numerous other works including his early crime stories and his latest experimental narratives. Harlan Ellison: The Edge Of Forever is a "must-read" for the legions of Ellison's fans, and an invaluable addition to academic 20th Century American Literature reference collections.

A wonderful story about the love one young man has for his family

I picked up this book because of a jacket blurb by Reynolds Price, who calls it "a grave and beautiful surprise." Price is right. There are no spectacular events in Wil Haygood's story of growing up as a black kid in love with basketball in Columbus, Ohio, in the 1950s and 1960s, but his accumulation of little ones -- living with his dependable grandparents Willie and Emily, going to movies, throwing rocks at a house once lived in by James Thurber (and that Haygood himself would later live in), moving out with his mother and sisters, meeting his half-brother Macaroni (whose end, after a career as pimp and petty thief, will surprise you), transferring from school to school to play basketball, being the first in his family to finish college, trying to make it in New York as an actor. For Haygood himself, this is a success story; he ends as an author. For his family, the success is less obvious, but it is there: they left Alabama in the 1930s and 1940s, got jobs in Ohio, invited brothers and sisters and cousins to live with them while they got on their feet. Not everyone makes it -- there are deaths and jail sentences -- but this is a cheerful book, a hymn to families and grandmothers and sisters who encourage, help, or send money. Best of all, Haygood is a fine writer, able to portray his scatterbrained mother sympathetically and to convey his gratitude to the people who helped him along the way (one is the father of singer Nancy Wilson).

For the asking price, Historic Photos of Cincinnati is a steal, since someone could have spent years seeking out the photographs gathered for this treasure of a book and not located half of them. Revealing daily life and special events in Cincinnati from the 1860's to the 1960's, this collection can't have enough good things written about it. I only wish photos from the generation before 1860, when the Queen City of the West was billed as "the fastest-growing metropolis on earth," had been included as well, particularly the famous 1840's panoramic daguerreotype of the riverfront on an early Sunday morning, but, hey, what's already in here makes for hours of interesting study. Some of the pictures, such as the 1892 shot of workers in P&G's central office, are especially fascinating for the details they reveal about everyday goings on. That and so many other photos are worth more than a casual glance, since they justify long examinations of the expressions and clothing and hairstyles of the workers, the contents of the desktops, the gas piping that crisscrossed the ceiling, the wire wastepaper baskets, all that and much else which tells more about the environment of a nineteenth-century office than an entire paragraph of description. I particularly liked page thirteen's picture of the militiamen in the 1880's assembled at Music Hall in the wake of the Courthouse Riots, Gatling guns loaded and at the ready, but my favorite image might be on page 131, wherein a half-completed Carew Tower is shown rising above Fifth and Vine, in 1930. Cincinnati is now into its third century, and it's gratifying to see that even as its people move toward the future, the fullness of the past is appreciated and unforgotten.

I've lived in Cincy on and off my whole life and this is the best pictorial I've ever seen! Thumbs up to Ms. Bailey for her compilation. We all should thank the existence of the Cincy museum that occupies the old Union Station.

I ordered and received this book a couple days ago and have already read through it twice. Author Gregory Miller has picked the most awesome historical photos of Toledo for this book and added captions. The book is just GREAT!!!!!!
Greg has helped me often while at the Local History Department of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library and has always proved to be most helpful and knowledgeable about the Lucas County, Ohio area. Greg you did an excellent job!!!!
Gaye Gindy, Sylvania, Ohio

Toledo is a solid mid-western industrial town with a lot of history and the ups and downs we in the Great Lakes region are used to. If you look at the Southern border of Michigan, you will notice that it isn't straight across as you might have thought. That jut northward on the Eastern part, including Toledo, was claimed by both Michigan and Toledo and was the subject of a "war" that involved a lot of walking around in the woods and drinking without any shooting. In the end, Toledo went to Ohio and Michigan got the Upper Peninsula. Ya! We sure did!

This fascinating book of large format photos picks up after the Civil War and ends with a pair of pictures from the 1970s. One is the urban renewal project that tore down the Town Hall Burlesque Theater, showing it in ruins. The other is of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Seven of the crew lost when that ship went down in 1975 were from Northwest Ohio - including its captain.

The book is divided into four periods. 1870-1899 when Toldeo was and up and coming city. The second period is from 1900-1929 showing Toledo as a rising industrial, entrepreneurial, and commercial center with its port and river access playing an important part. While there are many cool shots, the one of Roy Knabenshue and his dirigible earning his $500 prize by taking off and landing from the A. L. Spitzer building is pretty near the top. (pg. 41).

The third chapter take us from 1930-1949 and shows us the effects of the Great Depression and World War II on the life and work of the people of Toledo. The last chapter takes us from 1950-1975 and the rise and fall of the American mid-west's industrial might.

Gregory Miller provides excellent chapter introductions and captions for the photographs he selected for the book. The back jacket information says that he has been curator of photographs for the Local History Department of the Toledo Lucas County Public Library since 1991. They provide internet access to more than 100,000 images through their website.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

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