Indiana Books

This book surveys the literature and drama produced about and for children and their parents during the Harlem Renaissance, the period associated with the flowering of the arts not only in Harlem but in other urban centers as well. Believing that the "New Negro" would ultimately arise from black youth, W.E.B. Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson, Langston Hughes, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and other major figures took an impassioned interest in the literary models offered to children.

Smith explores the period's vigorous exchange about the nature and identity of black childhood and uncovers the networks of African American philosophers, community activists, schoolteachers, and literary artists who worked together to transmit black history and culture to the next generation. She also explores how various leaders forged bonds of cultural, economic and aesthetic solidarity even though they often disagreed over popular vs. elite constructions. This process is fascinating to watch, and is amply documented throughout the book with images and excerpts.

The book is lively and readable...not words I frequently associate with such an exhaustive study. I particularly enjoyed the chapter about Carter G. Woodson's publishing house, which issued a dozen children's texts during the 1930's and 1940's. I hope this book finds its way beyond the African American Studies bookshelves, as it deserves to be read by anyone interested in the evolution of American children's literature.

This book is an essential first step in the research of the Choctaw people and culture. Clara Sue Kidwell, herself a Choctaw Indian, has collected some hard-to-find but useful sources in the annotated bibilography

"Cincinnati Ghosts" is for everyone who loves a good ghost story...especially REAL ONES. I've read several fictional ghost stories that spook the daylights out of me and several real life accounts that are interesting but not very spooky. Well, this book combines the first-hand actual accounts WITH all the spine tingling story telling! The end result is one great book. Ms. Laven does an excellent job of giving you all the facts and research but also keeping you on the edge of your seat. It's everything you hope for in a ghost book. Ghost-Hunters all over the nation will want to move to the tri-state area after reading it. I hope there's a sequel! WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE HOME ALONE AT NIGHT!

From Choice (Sept. 2005):
PN1995 2004-9891 CIP
Humanities-Performing Arts-Film
O'Brien, Charles. Cinema's conversion to sound: technology and film style in France and the U.S. Indiana , 2005. 200p filmography index afp ISBN 0-253-34463-8, $45.00; ISBN 0-253-21720-2 pbk, $19.95 . Reviewed in 2005sep CHOICE.
Taking on the familiar (and standard) notion that cinema's conversion to synchronous sound homogenized film production in the early 1930s, O'Brien (Carleton Univ., Canada) builds a fresh and cogent case for differences of film style across international borders. The author juxtaposes French and American filmmaking aesthetics and practices, carefully revealing how particular sound systems (e.g., magnetic and optical) and alternative models evolved in diverse national settings. Certainly US hegemony set forth models for emulation, but innovative work came from directors like René (Rene) Clair, Jean Vigo, and Jean Renoir. Out of technical and economic necessity, French cinema demonstrated a marked preference for direct sound (in contrast to the Italian cinema's reliance on postsynchronization). O'Brien chooses case studies--e.g., the popular Pathé-Natan (Pathe-Natan) in its Joinville studios--to examine the level of Hollywood indigenization and standardization on a global production company's own "house style." Both technical and artistic decisions differed from country to country, and image and sound became unique cultural expressions that changed through various periods, such as in the postwar auteur practices. Writing in an unassuming, conversational, yet scholarly style, O'Brien is lucid and thoughtful, and he offers numerous significant insights. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections; all levels. -- T. Lindvall, Duke University School of Divinity

As one of the authors of Citadel to City State, I believe that it is inappropriate for me to rate it. However, Amazon's format forces me to assign a rating to the book and since I am proud of it, I gave it a high rating. I can confess that work invested in the book was rewarding and even pleasant, at least most of the time. And I was happy to learn that the publisher judged it worthy of a paperback edition so that our picture of early Greece might reach more people.

Its focus is the centuries between the collapse of the heroic Mycenaean civilization and the Classical Age of Greece, i.e. from a civilization based on citadels to one founded on city states. Once thought to be a long, bleak period in which little of significance occurred, new evidence shows it to be a bridge of transformation from one way of life to another. We track that process by focusing on five individual places that demonstrate the steps in the process, a Plutarch's Lives of Places rather than of People.

A recent and suprising token of the appeal of our approach was an invitation to speak to a joint meeting of the local Sigma Xi chapter and the Puget Sound American Chemical Society. The inviter wrote, "recently I read your book, Citadel to City State...It was intriguing about how, in the absence of writing, that it was possible to piece together the social events of that period." The book showed, he continued, "the synergy between the sciences and the humanities." Lessening the divide between the sciences and humanities was not a conscious goal of our book but it is an unexpected and welcome result. Growing specialization has produced such tight compartments of fields over the past half century that collaboration has been difficult. The new spirit of cooperation and interest is vital to an understanding of the base.

Betsy and I enjoyed creating this book because it gave us an opportunity to introduce visitors and residents to places that make Indianapolis special. Strolling, shopping, or sightseeing, visitors will be guided to those places that gave them the richest flavors the city has to offer.

The book is divided into thirteen chapters, including Where To Stay, Shopping, and Nightlife, making it easy for readers to pinpoint the topic they are searching for. Entries are short and fact-packed, and the book includes plenty of pictures and fun facts about the city.

We are particularly pleased that a portion of the books profits go to the Indianapolis Parks Foundation. Helen O'Guinn

Guild Press's recently released OR on CD-Rom text is accurate. Its search function can pass through the entire collection in one swoop. The typography and overall design of the pages is attractive and easy to ready. Also included are classic references of Dyers's Compendium, Fox' Regimental Losses, and the National Archives Guide Index. You will find your searchs on this CD-Rom made easy by a special user's guide

There are hundreds of books on this era, and they all cover the same core topics -- Montgomery bus boycott, SCLC, SNCC, Black Power, ghetto revolts, etc. Bloom's book stands out from the rest, however, because of its razor-sharp class analysis in the first half of the book, called "The Changing Political Economy of Racism." Bloom begins after the Civil War, when the southern landowners need to replace the old slave-based economy with a new economy, and a new ruling class. From this vantage point he picks apart the shifting allegiances of ruling bodies, and the deliberate use of racist ideology to prevent political unrest.

In the book's second half, "The Black Movement," all the familiar events are there, but they flow more clearly because of Bloom's historical set-up. Bloom is not a Marxist, but this book is a marvelous example of how a materialist class analysis can be used to better understand history. The analysis is not shallow or deterministic, but it clearly shows that white workers have nothing to gain by clinging to racist prejudices.

Bloom isn't sure what kind of activism will bring black liberation, but his book helps us answer that question. It is essential reading for those who want to learn from the past and build the movements of the future.

This book (a reprint, it was originally published in 1968) is a critical introduction to the "classic" Chinese novels. Specifically, it has chapters on _The Romance of the Three Kingdoms_, _The Water Margin_, _Journey to the West_, _Chin P'ing Mei_, _The Scholars_, and _Dream of the Red Chamber_. There is also an appendix on "Society and Self in the Chinese Story" and bibliographies of translations and other works about each novel.

I found this to be a very clear, informative, and insightful introduction to these great works of Chinese literature. Hsia provides the context necessary to understand the origin of each novel, as well as a discussion of some of the most important interpretive issues raised by each book. I found that I could appreciate these novels much better with some help from Hsia. Part of the reason for this, I think is that Hsia's style of writing is pleasantly "pre-postmodern" (that is, clear and unpretentious).

There are good English translations of all the novels Hsia discusses except for _The Water Margin_. Several of them are quite long, so you would not be a total wimp for reading a condensed version. Moss Roberts has both a complete and a selected translation of _Three Kingdoms_ (a heroic war story). Arthur Waley's _Monkey_ is the most widely read selected translation of _Journey to the West_ (a funny and fantastic story of a religious pilgrimage). David Roy's _The Plum in the Golden Vase_ is a partial translation of the erotic novel, _Chin P'ing Mei_. _The Story of the Stone_ is the alternative title of _Dream of the Red Chamber_ a sort of romance/Buddhist parable, that has been translated in five (gulp!) volumes by David Hawkes. _The Story of the Stone_ is supposed to be the greatest Chinese novel, and it certainly has some very great parts, but overall I found it too slow moving. My own favorite of the classic Chinese novels is _The Scholars_, a satire of hypocrisy and immorality among Confucian literati, available in a handsome translation by Hsien-I Yang and Gladys Yang.

So buy this book, along with a good translation of one of the novels that Hsia discusses, and sit down for a great read!

Boy, talk about taking the next step in the evolution of the "For Dummies" series! This really is a must-have for everyone, whether musicians and classical enthusiasts, or not. Dr. Tobias has written "for the masses," making everything fun and interesting, while imparting a great deal of information in a very palatable way. And the photos and illustrations are to DIE FOR. Everyone should rush out and buy copies, not only for themselves, but for all their families and friends. After all, Christmas IS just around the corner!