Michigan Books

David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides gently guides the reader through the historians complex narrative paving the way for making this history a very enjoyable read. This book includes a plethora of maps, definitions and cross-references to help modern readers become more immersed in the text. The greatest of all Greek historians was the Athenian general Thucydides (455-400 B.C.E.). Thucydides' classic work, "History Of The Peloponnesian War", provides us with the historical framework for 5th century Greece, a golden age of intellectual achievement and creativity rarely equaled in human history. This history is by far the best account of the bitter war between Athens and Sparta as well as the only surviving contemporary record of the rise of the Athenian empire. Thucydides as a master story teller doesn't just cover the battle scenes, he records the great political speeches of Pericles, leader of Athens, and Lysander leader of Sparta with great acumen. He is recognized as the first historian to actually go and get eyewitness accounts, visit battlefieilds and research documents and records. This work took him over 20 years and it shows!

The lessons he teaches about imperial over reaching and unreasonable peace settlements are prescient today as they were during his times. President Woodrow Wilson, read this book on his voyage across the Atlantic to the Versailles Peace Conference and vociferously fought the other Allies in making unreasonable demands of the Germans. Wilson learned the dangers that the world would be placed in by backing the Germans into a corner politically and economically from Thucydides book.

I recommend this timeless classic to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history. I highly recommend you read it with David Cartwright's "A Historical Commentary On Thucydides.

This edition of the History of Connecticut is a reproduction of an 1857 historical treatis by G. H. Hollister. It is not only an interesting historical account of the colonization of Connecticut, but also an excellent window into the perceptions of 19th Century historians whose interpretations are of course quite different from that of today. Bravo to the University of Michigan University Library that created this, and other, reproductions of primary source historical material.

Living in Virginia, I needed historical information on Lynn, Essex County, MA, for genealogical research purposes. I found the book, a new edition published in 1865 (an update to the 1844 initial publication), provided excellent historical background information regarding each location cited in the title of the book, a year-by-year highlight of the more significant events in each locale, biographical sketches, various tables (to include a list of surnames), and a health index. In all, 620 pages of information I would not have otherwise had but for the University of Michigan Historical Reprint Series.

I bought this book as a reference. It sounded dreary, but I figured it would answer occasional questions.

Instead, it was quite fascinating in a variety of ways. It dealt with the background of Michigan's Finnish immigration (the first and biggest 19th c. migration stream), the decline of the tar trade as sailing ships became obsolete, the dreadful winters and crop failures of the late 1860s.

The settlement of small communities is detailed -- interesting to Upper Peninsula people. I had to stop before the meaty chapters on the Apostolic Finns and the politics and purposes of the 20th c. cooperative movement, headquartered in Superior, Wisconsin. Its relics can be seen throughout Finnish rural areas of Upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Probably the author's bi-cultural perspective, being a native of Finland transplanted to Suomi College in Hancock, Michigan, makes this such an interesting book.

Mac-ke-te-be-nessy or Andrew J. Blackbird gives us a personal insight into his life as a lens to view the life of American Indians in Michigan. He explains the legends of his people and the influence of the Christian missionaries on his beliefs. He also writes of the difficulties or what we today call racism that he encountered through his dealings with the US Government and the higher learning institutions of his day (University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University). The history is rich and presented with sincerity. Anyone looking to know more about history from the perspective of a man who lived through it, especially American Indian history in the mid 19th century will benefit greatly by this book.

The text of this book is available in the book, Odawa Language and Legends: Andrew J. Blackbird and Raymond Kiogima.

This is the original book by L.L. Langstroth that changed beekeeping forever, so you can enjoy this aspect, but the plus is the added notes that put it into historical and scientific perspective. Dr. Hoopingarner shows great respect and admiration for Langstroth's insights that have since been proven correct and points out the few places that have been clarified over the years.

It is a great book by Langstroth brought up to date by great insights by Hoopingarner.

It used to be available, new, here at Amazon, for considerably less than the used price listed here. I am certain it is still in print.

I found this book in "self help" of all places but I guess it's kind of appropriate because it deals with issues often considered too frivolous for "serious psychology." Ms. Buzzard pulls together very diverse strands of psychological theory and case studies of real people struggling with how to find intimacy in mid-life. The result is just plain good psychology -- substantial reference to the wisdom of Freud, Erikson, and many, many other practitioners along with a very compassionate and insightful look at how people struggle, and often fail, to overcome the family stuff that acts a bit like a black hole on the human spirit. I'm sure some will criticize this book as being too traditional in its explanation of some people's inability to form meaningful relationships. But this isn't psycho-babble. Ms. Buzzard acknowledges the powerful pull of the family and the deficiencies of "not good enough" mothers and fathers, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME citing how attitude and basic optimism will always move one more quickly along towards a better life. So if you're looking for a quick fix you won't find it here.

This book will inform longtime residents and newcomers alike. From the early indian tribes to modern Holland as we know it today, this book is very well written and ILLUSRATED w/ vintage photos.

Latin liturgical drama in thirteenth century Sweden? Who could possibly be interested in that?

Actually, the Swedish aspects of this study are of minor interest compared to the clarity and utility the author brings to the whole subject of music dramas inside the Christian churches of the Middle Ages. The surviving manuscripts from Sweden, and the accounts written by observers at the time, reveal that the practices among the relatively new converts to Christianity of the far North were almost identical to those of France, England, and Germany. In other words, the clergy and the monastic communities did indeed carry a uniform Christian culture with them wherever they thrived.

These musical occasions were liturgical first and only dramatic in clearly circumscribed fashion. They were inseparable from the ordinary rituals of the liturgical calendar - only performed as highlighters of specific holy days; always sung by clergy, monks, or nuns (and in large monasteries in France, by oblates, children given to the church) in the course of normal musical devotions, rather than by lay people; extremely seldom involving instruments other than bells; always sung in churches, though more frequently at side chapels or special locations than at the high altar; not essentially public performances or occasions for popular participation. The essential musical elements were the chants associated with the Hours, the Gregorian chants in almost all cases, particularly Matins and Vespers; thus the form of the "dramatic portions" of the ritual was the "trope", that is, the extension or decoration of the traditional chant. Most of the performance would have been the tonal recitations of the psalms, with their proper poetic antiphons and hymns.

A parallel culture of religious drama existed among the laity in Franc and England, that is, the Corpus Christi plays, performed on movable stages outdoors, each segmnet of drama being the possessiona nd production of a guild. Aside from subject matter, there's very little resemblance between the liturgical dramas and the Corpus Christi plays.

The conduct of liturgical music-drama is described clearly and in detail in Audrey Ekdahl Davidson's excellent book. Original Latin texts and solid English translations are included for seven dramas and dramatic processionals, and the music for three of the most complete has been transcribed in simple modern notation. Davidson also recounts the history of such ritual dramas in later centuries - their fate subsequent to the arrival of Lutheranism, and the lingering traces of them in Swedish church communities up to the present.

Don't imagine that you can buy the book and stage a liturgical drama meaningfully in your local church or synagogue! A lot of scholarship has been devoted to comprehending the music and re-conceiving the ritual. The music alone requires a substantial understanding of chant, and an ability to find the propers in the liturgical sources such as the Liber Usualis. The best way to get close to this serene spiritual art, after reading about it, is to hear it on a CD. The recorded performances by Le Reverdie and Ensemble Organum are excellent.