Ohio Books

Compiled and edited by Emily Foster, American Grit: A Woman's Letters From The Ohio Frontier is an inherently fascinating collection of correspondence from the first half of the nineteenth century, written by Anna Briggs Bentley, a devout Quaker wife determined not to lose contact with her mother and sister. Filled with emotion, a willingness to work, love for her family and her many children, and a great deal more, American Grit provides contemporary readers with a compelling and enjoyable look through a kind of "window of time" at daily life in rugged terrain. A fine work enhanced with brief annotations for clarity, American Grit is very highly recommended for Women's Studies and American History Studies collections and reading lists.

Reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's Notebooks is a very different experience than reading those of Henry James, Steinbeck, Thomas Mann (Diaries), Robert Musil or even those published by Reynolds Price. The self mannered awareness that the future will prize their "private" thoughts and ideas is absent. These were truly private workbooks. Hawthorne writes in full voice as someone for whom communication is vital and difficult. Open this work anywhere and read what sounds like the inner voice of someone practiced at concealing his thoughts publicly. Expansive, suggestive, and illuminating for all those who would like to know more of the deep thought and artfullness that went into his major works. Some of his working ideas for stories sound absolutely modern. One story idea develops the possibility of having two men talking and discussing their difficulties while waiting and waiting for someone who never comes. They don't know what to do, so they continue to wait and discussing the one who never comes. Sound familar? A little like "Waiting for Godot"? If you love great literature and if you love Hawthorne, then dig deep and buy this expensive but magnificent book.

This is an great book on an amazing building. This building is probably the most famous symbol of democracy and when you see it in person you can't help but feel chills, the way it was sited by Enfant on a slight hilltop with commanding views of the city. This is truly a building that is spectacular both inside and out. This book exhaustively covers the architectural artistry of this famous building and does so in a scholarly manner. The images are nicely produced as well. If you have any interest in American History or just spectacular architecture and artistry then I believe you will be pleased with this book. Well done tribute to an American Icon.

ANAIS NIN OBSERVED is a companion to the 1976 film of the same name. It is 115 pages of dialogue from the movie, text from Anais Nin's diaries, and black-and-white pictures of Anais Nin and the people in her life, as well as her greatest influences (Henry Miller, Antonin Artaud, Martha Graham, etc.). We also get pictures of Nin from her early childhood up to her days in the limelight as a famous diarist, author, and college lecturer. And that is my favorite part of the book: the portrayal of Anais Nin as a popular college lecturer. One of the first pictures we get is a full length portrait of her standing on stage before an audience at UC Berkeley in the late 1970s. This is a woman who began her literary career in the 1930s in a small town outside of Paris. She was ignored by the literary world for three decades. Finally, she got the acclaim she'd always desired. I find that very moving. Oh, how I would have loved to have been one of the dozen or so students who got to visit her home and sit on the plush pillows on her livingroom floor and talk about literature (picture enclosed). The pictures of a solitary Nin in her Zen garden are equally poignant.

Andrew Parodi

Anais Nin came into my life about five years ago in the usual way: via the diaries. A kind lady at the book buyer's counter at Powell's City of Books had given me the entire sent of the expurgated editions (this beat-up set was passed over by the clerk). I had never heard of this woman with the odd name I had no idea how to pronounce, and I had no idea why her diaries had been published. The only diaries I'd been previously exposed to were of people famous for things other than diary writing, such as Andy Warhol, or who lived through horrendous situations, such as Anne Frank. Apparently, neither scenario applied to Anais Nin. I didn't get why she should have published her diaries or why I should read them. But I couldn't see passing up an entire set of books. I took the books home and put them on my self. Occasionally I'd open them and stumble upon a passage beautiful enough to make me wish I could understand the point of it all. Alas, I couldn't. I eventually threw away the entire set because, well, the clerk was right. They were just too beat up (a few volumes were literally falling apart).

A few years later a friend sent me a card that contained a beautiful quote by Anais Nin. My interest was rekindled. I decided to give the diaries a second shot, and I have slowly rebuilt my collection. Only this time I decided I would understand what Anais was talking about. This is where ANAIS NIN: AN INTRODUCTION comes in. Benjamin Franklin V and Duane Schneider, both associates of Anais Nin, provide the linear and straightforward interpretation of the diaries that I had longed for, devoting one entire chapter to each volume. They also take you through all of Anais Nin's most important fiction: HOUSE OF INCEST, WINTER OF ARTIFICE, UNDER A GLASS BELL, LADDERS TO FIRE, CHILDREN OF THE ALBATROSS, THE FOUR-CHAMBERED HEART, A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE, SEDUCITON OF THE MINOTAUR, and COLLAGES. Anais Nin's works of literary criticism are also discussed, as are the books A WOMAN SPEAKS (a collection of interviews and transcripts of lectures Anais Nin gave in the 1970s) and IN FAVOR OF THE SENSITIVE MAN (another book of interviews).

Benjamin Franklin V and Duane Schneider have opened my eyes to a depth in Anais Nin's work of which I had been completely ignorant, and in the process they have given me an education in literature for which I am grateful. And, ironic for a book that has helped me understand the works of Anais Nin, ANAIS NIN: AN INTRODUCTION has made me realize that understanding Anais is not so much the point. Anais Nin simply had a beautiful way with words, a dream-like style and a diction unlike any other I've seen. I suppose the American mind is so geared toward a linear telling of stories that it can be a little intimidating at first when such a thing is not readily detectable (Benjamin Franklin V and Duane Schneider actually write that American audiences, more than Europeans, shy away from works that are not linear and pragmatic in progression).

Andrew Parodi

Judith Hall manages to deal with some unpretty topics (anorexia, cancer) with amazing smoothness and grace. "Monarch's Birthmark" is the most endearing and precious piece that I have come across in a long while; "The Other Girls in Lettuce," a startling and complex one that I have read so many times I might be able to recite it. A must read for anyone who loves poetry or for anyone who is looking to improve their own writing.

This book is riveting. I would suggest to anyone who has an interest in the history of the Miami Valley of Ohio read it. Remarkable.

Again, the pictures in the book are easy enough to use for my 3 year old. The information contained in the book is useful. We enjoy using this book and look forward to the spring and summer when we can travel further than our backyard.

Anne Thackeray Ritchie's journals and letters provide a significant source of social and literary information for mid-Victorian to turn-of-the century historians and literary critics. As the editor and principal force behind Cornhill Magazine, Lady Ritchie knew all writers "worth knowing," and can provide intimate daily life insights into the closed world of British publishing of that era. Her writings are a particularly valuable source for feminist and art historians inasmuch as her drawing room wa

Possibility one of the finest works to come from playwright Wellman. Some of the obsessions of his plays enter this book. A love story on one hand, a tour-de-force of a coming-of-age book, a mediatation on what it is to be "alien."