Indiana Books

A man Who Thinks and Writes like Gibran Khalil Gibran can not die - his soul is always alive in the world and his home town Bcharre, Lebanon...

As co-editor of the massive Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, John J. Grabowski - and co-editor David D. Van Tassel - set an indelible mark in chronicling the city's history. Sports in Cleveland: An Illustrated History, is an offshoot of the encyclopedia which delves into the history of amateur and pro sports from 1796-1990.

In 145 pages of text that is supplemented by numerous photographs, Grabowski explores the popular sleigh races down Euclid Avenue in the winter months of the 1800s to the plans for the then-named Gateway Stadium project.

There are famous athletes and coaches - Madeline Manning, Harrison Dillard, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Larry Doby and John McLendon - the infamous events like Dime Beer Night and gems that may have been forgotten over time - businessman Coburn Haskell invented the modern golf ball in 1899 and a pair of hall of fame tennis players, Martina Navratilova and Bjorn Borg, played for the Nets in World Team Tennis.

The photographs include harness racing at Glenville Track in the early 1900s, a late 1940s "Bowling Institute" instructional seminar at Benedictine High School, roof-top tennis at the Central YWCA in 1956 and a 1980 practice of the Cleveland Brewers of the Women's Professional Football League.

The book truly captures an important richness that must be a part of any city, portaits of motion.

Readers who have read Glassie's other books about Ballymenone will likely find this book adds to an already rich understanding of this remarkable little community. The specific information about the changes in the community from the 1970s and early 80s up to the present is fascinating. It is also interesting, and moving, to discover more complete life histories of the area's stellar storytellers, musicians, and historians. I especially appreciated Glassie's further reflections about what it means to do research within the community. The book combines information from the earlier books, but the presentation is fresh and new. It's great to have a full treatment of mumming within this volume, and I enjoyed reading new stories as well as new presentations of earlier ones that are already in print. What puts the icing on the cake, however, is the wonderful CD that accompanies this volume. The chance to hear the voices of Hugh Nolan, Michael Boyle, Ellen Cutler, Peter Flanagan and other gifted artists keeps their memories come alive and makes this a poignant contribution to an understanding of Irish history, culture, and folklore.

Though I have yet to complete Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland by Don Hofsommer, he certainly has me hooked. I couldn't imagine how he was going to organize the task of Iowa's railroad heritage, but so far he has done an excellent and interesting job. The illustrations he has included are top notch. Anyone with an interest in railroads in Iowa or the Heartland of America should consider this a must.

A great record of a building designed and built with heart.I think this book would be an excellent primer for those interested in architecture.

Compared to Dr. Birch's two main collections of Chinese literature, this work is smaller and more focused, but no less fun. Here he presents translations of works that appear in Feng Menglong's great collection. I've often heard complaints from peers when Chinese literature courses offer stories in translation, but it is a brilliant introduction that a student needs to propell him to further sinological pursuits; to learn language well enough so he can read the original. This work provides that source of inspiration well.

I have read many English versions of the Story of the Stone, yet David Hawke's translation is by far the best. If you have decided to read this great novel in English, this is the one you want to choose.

I loved this book, not just because I'm a Hoosier. This book is well written and informative so if your a researcher a definitive must for your library, even if you don't live in Indiana.

"Strangers in the Land of Paradise" by Lillian Serece Williams is a brilliantly written book about the creation of an African American community in Buffalo, New York from 1900-1940. Illuminating with new information, pictures and graphs, it answers many questions about the daily life experiences of a group of Americans adjusting to political and economic changes. The family support system that Williams delineated in this turn-of-the-century community is one of those strengths that too often are overlooked in contemporary literature on African Americans. Yet these are important strengths that are present in contemporary African American communities across the nation and upon which I frequently draw to treat some of my patients.

This timely, outstanding blend of scholarship and humanity places this work in the category of a genuine classic. The book is a "must" for every serious scholar of American history. "No Shame in my Game" by Katherine Neuman would be a wonderful contemporary companion.

Although now more than a decade old, Attebery's book is one of the finest critical works on fantasy that can be found. His writing is pleasant but insightful, and where many critics spend a lot of time and effort coming up with their own particular definition of the fantasy genre (often including or excluding too much, thus rendering the definition useless), Attebery introduces the concept of the fantasy genre as a fuzzy set, centred on one (or a handful) of works which can be considered typically fantasy. The genre then spread out from this centre, changing but maintaining something in common with the central works.

In my opinion, this is a book which is almost as hard to ignore to the fantasy scholar as is Tolkiens "On Fairy-Stories".