Kentucky Books

Historical reprint cookbooks are not the best place to go for exciting recipes, detailed instructions, and precise measurements. But they are a lot of fun to read.
With over 1000 recipes (and some very small print) this cookbook is even more fun than most. The recipes too seem more exciting than is typical -- the author doesn't just offer 20 types of bread, 10 over-cooked vegetables, and instructions for roasting or boiling plain meat. She gives real recipes, some of which look like they actually have flavor!
But be aware that the long list of recipes is a bit misleading. The book is sort of like a chinese restaurant menu, where the same basic cooking method is offered for, for example, beef, veal, chicken, pork and fish; or a dessert might be described with 10 different fruits -- as 10 different recipes.

This book was meaningful to me since I am from Kentucky. It is not only a cookbook but a history book of times when the housewives had to prepare meats without the use of refrigerators and freezers.

I am using this book as a source of information for some railroad travel guides I am putting together, and it is very helpful, in that it is not merely a "list of place names," like so many other similar books I have seen are. This book actually has historical information and useful material which I can incorporate into my guides, which will make train travel passing through the places listed in the book much more enjoyable and interesting. It is an excellent resource!!!

Kentucky's founding fathers excelled in making counties, today there are 120 of them in the Bluegrass state. As well they went above and beyond the call of duty when it came to naming the communities in which they lived. Few states if any can boast of a Bugtussle, Monkey's Eyebrow, or even a Thousandsticks among their place names. Rennick's book chronicles these diverse and unique names found in Kentucky. Most of the communities listed include the directions within the county in which they are located, as well as a brief description of how the community got it's name. The book is a valuable asset especially to those interested in the social and economic development of Kentucky and good reading for anyone interested in Kentucky History. By the way Stop is located in Wayne County near the Parnell community and is named for where the road ended or stopped.

Though written in 1987 - this book is probably the best book covering nearly all aspects of the forming of Kingsport, history, as well as the industrial influence and background. I would love for Dr. Wolfe to revisit this book and update some of the information - as Kingsport has grown, but the Industies are suffering. I would like to know what her opinion is also, of the outsourcing of jobs to other countries and major plants shutting down in the city, leaving hundreds of workers scrambling to garner ne employment. But what employment is available is always less paying and with less benefits, and less hope of a decent retirement. It's a shame. Rambling aside, I recommend Dr. Wolfe's book because she doesn't sugar coat the facts like some of the other books about the city have done.

Kingsport's population peak during WWII has never returned again, despite a half century of growth by annexation. Professor Wolfe has done a very fine job of archival research and interviews to enlighten the reader. Though her survey is more critical, obviously, than a publication each decade of the 90's by the local Rotary Club, Wolfe ads the human element and anecdotal illustrations to complement the Rotary's advertising bent.

City builder J. Fred Johnson has become a legendary and almost apocrypha figure for this town in the foothills of Southern Appalachia. Middle class factory workers and country club executives dominated this city during the 20th century. But the 21 century has arrived as industrial downsizing is taking a toll.

Wolfe tells the true story as it really happened, 'warts and all.' Hopefully either Professor Wolfe or someone else will fill in more details and produce a future volume that fills in the gaps of the history of this city whose most prominent claim to fame is the hometown and idyllic setting of Lisa Alther's veiled trashy novel, "Kinflicks."

Great book and very informative. I hope the author will write more books about the world's biggest stateless nation also in the future.

Perhaps the most valuable lesson that can be gleamed from this collection of essays is that the resolution of the Kurdish problem will come only with Turkey's realization that it must reform the fundamental characteristic of its particular political basis - Kemalism. As Mark Muller writes, only by abandoning ethno-nationalism for nationalism, which strikes at the heart of Turkey's entire existence since 1920, can Turkey deal successfully with the Kurds. Discovering such a lesson is well worth reading this book. END

Doris Ulmann spent her adult life trying to create respectful, revealing photos of the Afro-Americans Appalachians whom she thought had been traditionally dishonored in images: Life And Photography Of Doris Ulmann uses correspondence between Ulmann and her assistant to explore their relationship, her work and social contributions, and the blend of art and social commentary which her photos embodied. Duotones blend with text in a presentation which is more a study than a photo documentary, and which will please any studying social photography.

This book is a well researched presentation of the life and art of Doris Ulmann. It tells of her early success with her husband and later success on her own. Mr. Jacobs has done an excellect job of researching Ulmann's life. He has discovered long forgotten letters and collections of her photographs to fill out her story. It is more than a coffee table piece. Even those knowledgable in the field will learn more.

This was such an engrossing and captivating book that I read it in only a couple of days. Of all of the many, many, many books already published about President Lincoln, this one is a most worthy addition to the canon. For many people who have grown up treasuring or swearing by urban legends or outright historical falsehoods (such as Betsy Ross making the first American flag or President Washington chopping down a cherry tree), it can be hard to be confronted with the facts demolishing the legends, but intellectual honesty and historical truth should matter more than preserving a myth just because it makes one feel good or because it's been repeated so often that it's taken on the stature of truth.

I've read a lot about President Lincoln since I was a child, but some of the legends in this book were new to even me, such as the stories about his supposed out of wedlock birth, his alleged late-night baptism in a freezing river, and "Peanut John," the boy who held Booth's horse while he was inside of Ford's Theatre on that fateful night. Other topics covered include Dr. Samuel Mudd (was he or wasn't he an innocent doctor caught in the wrong place at the wrong time?), the true nature of the relationship between the young Abe and Ann Rutledge (I was kind of disappointed to learn that they may not have had a romance, though there is still no conclusive evidence in either direction), the modern-day myth about President Lincoln being gay, the "lost" draft of the Gettysburg Address, and Andrew Potter, the man who never was. Some of these legends may be more interesting to Lincoln scholars than to the general public, but they're all interesting. Some of them even made me laugh, like the one about his supposed true paternity and the totally implausible scenario for his alleged secret late-night baptism in the freezing December weather. There's something in here for everyone who has more than a passing interest in our greatest president.

Most of Lincoln Legends is directed at buffs attracted by such arcane topics as the provenance of the Lincoln "birthplace" cabin, the final resting place (or more likely, places) of Ann Rutledge, whether Lincoln could have been baptized by immersion in the Sangamon River, and assorted odd notions about the assassination. A few chapters are of greater significance, among them the one spiking the myth of a "gay Lincoln" and the thorough examination of the "deceptive doctor," Samuel Alexander Mudd.

Steers writes well enough, but the book might have been improved by a more vigorous application of the editorial pen. Steers' method is usually to begin by laying out the mythological tale at perhaps too great a length and then to demolish the myth at the end of the chapter. This course often leads to wordy repetition. Books about myths and hoaxes are often fun to read; and this one is no exception, although it would have been better if it had been say, fifty pages shorter.

A fascinating analysis of some of Lovecraft's central works through the tool of literary deconstruction. I enjoyed this book and found it an easy enough read, despite any formal study in literary criticism. (The author provides a helpful introduction to deconstruction.) Like the heading says, get it if you're a hardcore Lovecraftian, or if the idea of seeing the themes of a story analysed appeals to you; or preferably both.

This is a book that you will either toss aside with a shrug, or that will keep you enthralled for a couple of reading evenings. There's no real middle way. Still, for Lovecraftians it is a must-have must-read.
Burleson applies deconstruction to the texts in a marvellous way, and yet at the same time it sometimes also becomes rather repetitive. But this is so because deconstruction is (in my opinion) also a methodology. At any rate, this book is an eye-opener to the province of the text and how it will never allow itself to be pigeon-holed, or to be fully understood, or to reach a definite interpretation. As Burleson points out texts are always self-subversive, and arrive at aporetic standstills, though simultaneously also lifting the tip on infinity within the text. And where could one do that better than 'in' Lovecraft?
From the opening introduction on deconstructianism, which is very lucid and should be understandable by readers that have not encountered it before, to the final concluding chapter, this book is like spit and mud in your eyes that should be washed in a stream after finishing it, and then to read the book again. You will not only regard Lovecraft 'texts' differently, but also every other text you encounter or re-read will never be the same again.
The stories selected for the deconstructive criticism ("The Call of Cthulhu", "The Shadow over Innsmouth", "The Cats of Ulthar", "The Nameless City", and more short ones) are representative for Lovecraft's recurring themes and motifs, and handled in clear understandable speech and intellectuality. My only complaint with this book is that it is a bit too short - I would have liked to see more attention to the stories, but this is a dilemma for which Burleson doubtlessly stood himself: it is a decision between fewer stories thoroughly (as far as that can be done with deconstructionism) explored, and more stories explored with provocative motivations for further personal investigation on the reader's part. Well, the enthousiasm Burleson leaves one with is more than enough for that.
If you like Lovecraft and literature, your library shouldn't be without this.

it was ok. i must admitt that i was hoping it would be better. but, it was still pretty good, good enough you didn't want to put it down. still, in the americangirl mysteries, there are better ones. i think it was about a four star book. it still had a pretty good plott to it. hope this helps!!!!!!

This was a very interesting American Girl Mystery. We have read the entire series (my daughter is just now 7) and she loves them. The story introduces historical facts about life during the Great Depression which were interesting to both of us. All the books in this series include historical information and photos at the end of the book from the time period as well.

In my community every conversation about school improvement ends up being about money and there it stops. Mobilizing Citizens is filled with nuggets that can be used to redirect the dialogue away from money and on to figuring out what the problems are and coming up with solutions. Once you do that, then appropriating more money begins to look more like an investment and less like attempting to fill a black hole.
The book not only includes Sexton's philosophy of using civic engagement to help set a course for school reform, but also provides a case study with a history of Kentucky's Pritchard Committee.

This is one of those books that changed the way I think. I have purchased several copies it for others. Most recently I gave one to a school board member when he asked how our school district was going to find the money to pay for our district improvment plan.

Mobilizing Citizens for Better Schools was published this year by Teachers College Press. Its 131 pages, particularly chapters six and seven, offer much practical advice and some theoretical points for citizens, policymakers, and others interested in implementing school reform. The Foreword by former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley introduces Sexton, who formed the Committee on Higher Education in Kentucky's Future, a group of thirty citizens appointed by the Kentucky Council on Higher Education and chaired by attorney Edward F. Prichard.

In 1981, a report from the committee was a catalyst for tougher admissions policies at the universities of Kentucky and Louisville. But a vast majority of its recommendations weren't adopted. So in 1983, the committee decided to turn into a freestanding, independent nonprofit corporation-the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence-and broaden its nonpartisan agenda to include public elementary and secondary education. The Prichard Committee received financial and other start-up support from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Ashland, Inc., and others. A year later, Prichard, having suffered from poor health for many years, died, but the Committee, invigorated by the life and goals of perhaps Kentucky's most prominent public intellectual, continued on, and with Sexton as Executive Director.

Even before the Kentucky Supreme Court declared Kentucky's school system unconstitutional in 1989, the Prichard Committee had taken notice of the State's dire educational situation. For instance, more adults in Kentucky than in any other state had failed to graduate from high school. The declaration opened the door to the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act, which President Bush praised as "`a model school-restructuring plan'." Flavored with oddly relevant Appalachian sayings, Sexton's story of how the Prichard Committee moved the Act into action amid the complexities of politics and communications is an experiential, almost lyrical, yet substantive history of how this unique group of citizens achieved and continues to achieve school reform in Kentucky and elsewhere.

Although the subject of this book is fascinating and Ames' ideas & theories, in his context of film history, are quite brilliant, his writing style is very painful to get through. I'm a retired editor & H.S. English teacher, but he had me running to the dictionary more than once, sometimes without findings; his vocabulary is unnecessarily obscure/arcane, at least for the general reader. His sentence structure, although always technically correct, required me to reread many portions several times just to get a simple point. Such content could have been expressed much more simply without compromising meaning.
Although I bought the book for his informed opinions, I had to wonder if he sometimes inferred overly complex/incorrect intent on the part of film creators in order to fit his analyses (vs. what was in the films by pure accident or what was mangled by the group creation process). I wondered if he sometimes cared too much about creating a neat & tidy (albeit possibly incorrect) interpretation rather than simply enjoying the films for what they are: not always so neat. I.e., I felt he overanalyzed & overcomplicated at times what might have been intended for simple entertainment (or what had no clear-cut intent intact by the end of production).
If I were leaving his classroom after a lecture, I might be muttering something like "What a windbag!" This book is worth reading, but you will be glad when you're done (I started counting "pages left" early).

This is one of the best books to tackle the subject of Hollywood. Ever since the beginning of motion pictures, Hollywood has made movies critisizing, and complimenting itself. The movies range from musicals, to comedies, to deep drama. This expertly written book covers movies such as Singin' In the Rain (a musical comedy about two stars making the transition from silent films to talkies), What Price Hollywood? (The first talking picture to tackle the subject of Hollywood- later remade as A Star is Born), Sullivan's Travels (a hilarious comedy about a comedy director who wants to make dramas), and Sunset Boulevard ( a deep Billy Wilder drama about a crazed silent star who hires a screenwriter to write her a comeback script). It is a must have for any fan of old Hollywood!