Indiana Books

LODOZ GHETTO: A HISTORY represents the first English translation of Isiah Trunk's study, originally published in Yiddish in 1962 which describes and explains the first major ghetto imposed by the Germans after they invaded Poland during the war. Lodoz once housed a quarter-million Jews: when the Soviets arrived they found 877 living Jews left. Trunk's purpose was to describe the course of events in the Ghetto: his blend of statistics and historical review is essential for any college-level collection strong in Holocaust studies.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

A book a copy from Mr. Kendricks. For the average American descendant of Carpathian Germans, it is an excellent introduction to the history of the Hauerland region in Slovakia, the village of Muennichwies, and traditions etc.

This is another book by the prolific railroad author Richard E. Prince who is well-known throughout the American railfan community for his books on the steam locomotives of several Southeastern railroads. These books, mostly long out of print and of limited initial press runs, are highly prized by collectors. Most of these volumes are now being reissued by Indiana University Press so that these books may gain a wider circulation and offer those who were unable to purchase a copy of the limited initial releases. I, for one, am grateful to Indiana University Press for re-releasing this book, as well as others on steam motive power of the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air line rairoads (both if which I have previously reviewed ...)A volume on the steam power of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad is forthcoming.

The typical comprehensiveness of a Prince work is in this volume down to which six class J-4 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotves got larger tenders in later years, not to mention the physical dimensions such as driving wheel diameter, cylinder bore and stroke, boiler pressure and tractive effort of each class of engine and date of disposition of each individual locomotive. If there is anything you would want to know about Louisville and Nashville Railroad steam power, it is in the book. It is my opinion that photographic clarity and quality is better than the usual Prince volume and does not suffer by comparison with other works of this genre.

This is a good book and a copy of it belongs in the library of any American steam locomotive enthusiast.

Spilka reads through Lawrence's major works, and finds in them a coherent philosophical ethic. He sees Lawrence as the great champion of the 'organic' and of the spontaneous wholeness of life. He writes about the way Lawrence uses the form of the novel, the bright book of life to express his ethic of Love.
Spilka is an outstanding critic. And however I personally have reservations about Lawrence's ethics, including his obsession with Power this fine study makes his thought eminently clear.

This collection contains some of the prime gems from the days back when Lucasarts turned out pure gaming gold with every product.

Loom is a truly original adventure game based on playing simple tunes to solve puzzles, with a cool story to boot. Monkey Island is one of the funniest games I've ever played, full of hilarious details and of course pirate-y puzzles. Features the famous dueling-with-wisecracks gaming sequence.

And then there's also Indiana Jones, Maniac Mansion, AND Zak McKracken. But you get the idea. Essential, essential stuff for any adventure gamer and kid friendly to boot.

Lucinda Harvey's story, a Quaker girl of 10, was written by Indiana author Mabel Leigh Hunt in 1934. It was her first published book. She continued being published almost annually till the early 1960s. The author's original appeal was to pre-teenage girls. In my opinion this book is not just for girls or youth--adults will enjoy it.
The story covers the Civil War years and how they impacted the Harvey (Harvey being the author's maiden name)family and their pioneer Quaker way of life. It is delightful to get a glimpse of the central Indiana woodlands through the story as well as the struggles of characters forced to make decisions. Some decisions would go against what they were taught as youth. I can't help but wonder how much was fact rather than fiction.
The Civil War is not dealt with through battles in this story, but with the events of the war on Indiana farmers, families, Quakers in particular, and sympathizers on both sides. The Harvey family location is 20 miles SW of Indianapolis. Their pioneer ancestors traveled there after being disowned by a southern family when the early brothers decided slaves should be free. That history is told by Lucinda's mother in the story.
Participation in the Underground Railroad involved the Hoosier family. Activity is shared not only about how it was accomplished but also the risk taken. Inner moral and religious resolutions are expressed.
Hunt offers a very accurate picture of what rural folk faced while living in the Midwest between 1860 and 1865. She wrote other stories about Quaker life.

Author Brad Thompson's crisis of faith came with looking at the newspaper every morning, saddening him and making him deny God's existence. To restore his faith, he set forth with his black and white camera and began to take photos to illustrate Glenn McDonald's essay "Where is your Macedonia?". "Macedonia, Indiana: Looking for God's Purpose Close to Home" is the tale of his travels through his home state and getting to know hundreds of people both like and unlike himself, even visiting a place where he was skeptical of going - prison. "Macedonia, Indiana: Looking for God's Purpose Closet to Home" is highly recommended as a life changing journey written to help readers find themselves spiritually.

This book offers an extensive review of both the history and architecture of the North Meridian Street corridor in Indianapolis. It contains histories and both full color and black and white (plus some vintage photos) of nearly every structure with detailed maps of the entire historic district. The chapter on decorating trends might be of use to any Indiana homeowner with a 1920's era home.

For civic activists, students of nonprofitdom, and practitioners, David Hammack's reader is an essential reading. He uniquely combines deep historical insight with a sensitivity to the concerns and interests of contemporary managers, citizens, and advocates.

I read this autobiography in college, and it took my breath away. White, who was executive secretary of the NAACP until his death in the mid 1950s, writes candidly of his work and life in the fight for civil rights. The book title is a play on his last name and the fact that his mixed ancestry left him with light skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. He used his appearance to help him get evidence in lynching investigations, and was successful because the lynchers thought he was white (being born and raised in Atlanta didn't hurt either!) The man was no saint (ditched his wife to marry another woman, a practice I don't endorse) but you cannot read this book without having some kind of change in your thinking on race relations--then or now.