Ohio Books

I was deeply moved by "After Moses: A Novel," about three eccentric siblings and their off-beat parents, set in a small southern Ohio town. Riveted to the page, it didn't take me longer than 24 hours to reach the book's conclusion. At the end, I wasn't sure that the members of the Tumarkin family are that much stranger, or more neurotic, than anyone else. Their ideals, however, and their deeply held convictions on personal freedom, creativity, honesty, spontaneity, child rearing, and the deep abiding love and respect they have for each other, are 'weirdnesses' one should aspire to.

Shoe (Susan) Tumarkin's murder is the catalyst which brings the novel's primary characters together. Shoe was the oldest of three siblings, the one who chose to live life on the edge. She was tough because she made herself so. "To combat the shackles of safety she confronted fear." If she thought a particular situation held possibilities of humiliation, loneliness, pain or pleasure, she would seek it out, just to overcome the inherent danger. Conquering her fears did not feel like recklessness to her. She was able to overcome her fight or flight instincts - not altogether a good thing, certainly not for Shoe.

She leaves behind a five year-old son, Moses, an intelligent, loving, observant boy who finds joy in life. It seems as if all the good traits of his relatives, combine to make this one small child. Moses might be the novel's strongest character.

Ida is a talented artist, gifted, and in many ways the total opposite of her older sister. While Shoe moved where the wind took her, Ida has never left home. At 34 she has never held a regular job, never traveled except to a national park with her family on vacation. Nor has she had a boyfriend or romantic relationship. Her mind is where her adventures take place, and she enacts rich fantasies closer to home, by herself or with loved ones. "Her real life sprung from her imagination, like a strange and peerless flower fed on nothing more than rarified air." Not comfortable with most people, Ida goes in disguise whenever she is called upon to make public appearances. Her paintings sometimes save people, sometimes bring them together, and sometime play a special role in a novel, like this one.

Johnny, the youngest, is very like his two sisters, yet like no other. He is stubborn and won't be led, as was Shoe. He prefers to be alone, as does Ida. And many of his jobs allow him to be in the wilderness, on his own. Johnny is fiercely loyal and has good insight, especially into the characters of family members. And he is protective of those he loves.

Shoe leaves a will, unusual for someone in their thirties. Her $85,000. insurance policy goes to Moses, along with most of the paintings Ida has given her. Three of the canvases go to Emily, her best friend. Johnny is bequeathed all her ski equipment, camping and climbing gear, and topo maps. Ida is to be Moses' guardian - the boy and his aunt adore one another. Moses' father is never mentioned or named. And finally, Shoe requests that if both Johnny and Emily are unmarried at the time of her death, that the two marry - each other.

Although not a typical thriller-suspense novel, this book has all the tension and mystery of one. From early on, one is imbued with a sense of foreboding, especially after a tall charming stranger enters the family portrait.

Karen Mockler's narrative is taut, but also lyrical, especially when describing the natural world. Her characters are so realistic and compelling, that they almost leap off the page. She vividly portrays the family's individual members and how they come to terms with life after Shoe's death, and after Moses comes to live with them. The Tumarkin family is a lure that is hard to resist. Mrs. Turmarkin retreats from the world with the death of her eldest daughter. It is Moses who brings her back, occasionally. Mr. Tumarkin, a college professor, withdraws into academic life. There is an electric quality, however, a wonderful energy, hovering over them all, even when stressed to the max.

"After Moses" is ultimately about choices - about how one chooses to live life and what we do when most choices are taken away from us. This is an extraordinary novel and I highly recommend it.
JANA

I was given this book at Christmas. For two days I proceeded to ignore my children and parents, reading curled up on the couch, on a lawn chair at the beach, and guiltily into the night!

The witty dialogue and appealing characters reminded me of Barbara Kingsolver, inviting me into the book right away. But I was unprepared for the haunting and unforgettable characters, the vignettes painted so vividly (like the Easter vigil), the narrative that builds steam like a freight train. At times I felt prickles on my neck as I began to see what was unfolding under the surface of the narrative.

What a fascinating world Mockler creates, at once uncannily familiar (aren't these my own friends?) and endlessly fascinating, seen through Mockler's keenly observant eyes. Mockler paints her quirky and real characters so vividly, and then page by page delivers to us the uncanny privilege of peering into their very soul.

Shoe's unexpected and transcendent last hours will always be with me.

Mockler is a tender, brave, honest, and magical writer. I can see why Barnes and Noble included her in their Discover New Writers' Series. Having had the distinct pleasure of discovering her, I can hardly wait to see what she does next! Bravo, Ms. Mockler!

An honest, clear novel about siblings and families in a small Ohio town. The choices that they confront are not unusual, and they handle them the way I hope I would.

I felt I knew the characters in the first 50 pages. I was surprised when I found a character wishing aloud the same cheap plot twist I'd been anticipating. The character was embarrassed to confess this wish, and it illuminated that this would have been the easy and uncomplicated way out of what had become a fairly complicated story. The author used no such cheap devices.

As the book progressed, I wasn't sure what I wanted for the characters, and I was forced to let Ms. Mockler tell me the ending herself. A wholly engaging read.

April Gornik Essay by Donald Kuspit, Conversation with the artist by Dede Young (Hudson Hills Press) is the first comprehensive overview of renowned artist April Gornik's paintings and drawings. This handsomely produced and richly illustrated volume presents a visual history of her work and tracks the development of her signature style.
For more than 20 years, April Gornik's ethereal landscapes have combined a devotion to light with the intellectual curiosity to explore and the skill to portray it. Influenced by predecessors both in America and abroad, from the Luminists to Vermeer, Gornik's canvases-panoramic, majestic, richly colored-convey what critic Donald Kuspit calls "an original, fresh experience of nature," and what Gornik herself calls "an aesthetic fiction:" a constructed view of nature addressing the philosophical and aesthetic needs of our time.
Haunted by images drawn from dreams and travel, the artist works to assemble compositions surreal in their presence, yet strangely moving in their exceptional spirituality. Using painting to reach what she finds spiritually and psychologically compelling, Gornik works to create an art not only of visual appeal, but one which, as she recounts in the volume's interview with curator Dede Young, engages the mind as well.
This monograph is published in conjunction with the exhibition at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York, where Dede Young is the curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Donald Kuspit is one of America's most distinguished art critics, and the author of several books including Steve Tobin's Natural History.

April Gornik: Paintings And Drawings is a collaboration between the Neuberger Museum of Art (Purchase, New York) and the Hudson Hills Press. Featuring an informative essay Fictional Freedom: April Gornik's Landscapes by distinguished art critic Donald Kuspit, and a conversation by Dede Young (curator of Modern and contemporary Art for the Neuberger Museum of Art) with April Gornik on and about here work, this superbly presented 167-page monograph beautifully showcases April Gornik's stunningly impressive ethereal landscapes, flawless technical skills, and her own unique "inner eye" as an artist revealing here aesthetic interpretation of natural images. Additionally enhanced with listings of exhibitions, collections, awards, bibliography, and an index, April Gornik is an important, core addition to personal and academic 20th Century Art History collections.

April Gornik has quietly been practicing her art for many years, never distracted by trends or politico-social climes. She just creates landscapes of extraordinary simplicity and beauty. Whether focusing on a single tree or a glance at a minute detail of nature or a panoramic view of the vastness of landscape that begins and ends only where the eye dictates, Gornik intuitively understands the grand life cycle and the secrets and miracles of the land. She is an enormously accomplished artist.

In this fine monograph, to my knowledge the first major book beyond museum small catalogues to explore Gornik's gifts, the fine contributions by renowned art historian and commentator Donald Kuspit embellish the generous number of full color illustrations. Gornik's own intensely personal views are warmly related in an interview with Dede Young, a curator at Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, New York.

But as always with fine art the emphasis is on the visual and this book offers some of the more beautifully rendered reproductions of Gornik's paintings ever published. Hudson Hills Press is responsible for this excellent publication, one of the better art monographs of the year. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, December 05

Ann Hudson is the poet we all wish we could be. Her honest, raw insight into the small but powerful moments of life make modern poetry worth reading.

This is a haunting collection that manages to be both spare and detailed at the same time. It's amazing that someone can conjure such images and such complex emotional landscapes in so few words. Poetry at its best, and highly recommended!

Ann Hudson's poems reveal the beauty, irony, and pain of small everyday moments. Moments that I barrel by every day, taking no notice, Hudson picks up, burnishes and uncovers their essence helping me to see them in all their humanity. Buy this book--it's a wonderful testament to the power and relevance of poetry today.

if you are from columbus or travel there and have been to lindey's or have worked there lindey's is simply the best. crazy fun and the leader in columbus.

If you loved Bordain's KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL or Buford's HEAT, or if you ever waited tables, dreamed of opening a restaurant, or even had a favorite neighborhood eatery in your life, AS THE TABLES TURN is for you. It's riotious. From knowing absolutely nothing about business or restaurant operations, Sue Doody and her sons opened a bistro in a saloon built before Prohibition that had housed any number of other businesses, including four restaurants in the decade before she opened Lindey's. Twenty-five years after opening, she and author Rosen tell the tales of how the restaurant grew with the help of a crazy crew of servers, neighbors and regulars who acted as if THEY owned the place, and a series of temperamental chefs including more than one who walked out on the busiest Saturday nights of the year.
But instead of being merely a chronicle for people who know Lindey's, it's an oral history, a comedy, a tribute to the unbelievable energy, expense, and accommodation that goes into running a restaurant. Just the chapter titles alone tell a lot: Can We Get You Anything Else to Send Back to the Kitchen Tonight? / Too Many Chefs / Everyone's a Critic (But It's the Rare Guest Who's Being Paid to Complain) / Good Things Come to Those Who Wait Tables.
One of the funniest stories (and OSU graduates, you'll love it), is about the president of the university coming to dinner in the middle of winter. The valet kept brushing the snow off his car...had his car right at the door, warmed up when he left. Great meal, etc. A couple days later, the valet has a cartoon published in the OSU student newspaper with a letter saying that the President stiffed him, after all he did. Long story short, the valet is summarily fired. The next Saturday night, about 8:30, no one can find a valet. As a little protest for the fiing of their buddy, all the valets walked off walk, locking about 100 sets of car keys in the trunk of one of the cars parked among the ten or twelve city blocks where they'd parked the cars.
The book is packed with stories like that. But I guess if you take 46,000 reservations a year, use 260 skillets on a given night, break 1,600 white wine glasses a year, host more than 1000 parties, and even cater a wedding reception at a concert hall where Grand Funk Railroad is playing, you're bound to have great stories.

If you love Lindeys (and who doesn't) this is a fun & must read. The stories are so entertaining and there are even a few recipies thrown in!

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As a survivor of encephalitis, I was delighted to sit down and read this book. I've never met another encephalitis survivor face to face... so, when reading Aunt Killer, I was fascinated to get to know Eva, the main character, who is struggling to comprehend what is happening to herself.
There were some places in the book.... some parts, which touched my heart, as I remembered having the exact same feelings about encephalitis. I felt myself nodding, and understanding, some of the feelings which the author expressed. Some moments, the main character was so 'normal.' And other moments, she just slipped away...
It's high time that someone included the topic of encephalitis within fiction. There are so many people in the world who think that they are alone. Who just curl up with sadness, and attempt to carry on as best they can. This book brings encephalitis out of the cupboard, dusts it off, and explores it in plain view.
Sincere thanks to the author of this book. She has taken a step which will lighten the load of many people, as she has magically woven the truth of encephalitis, around a fast paced story of suspense.

Aunt Killer uses vivid descriptions to enable the reader to visualize the characters and their emotional lives. Romance drifts through the book like a gentle breeze. Compassion and honest form a marriage that keeps the pages of the book turning. The chapters are short enough to be completed while waiting for an appointment. But,the anticipation and curiosity created in the story propelled me to read,"Just one More Chapter!" What would happen without short-term memory? That alone created suspense!

I have just finished reading "Aunt Killer" and I loved it! I am a survivor of encephalitis and I plan on giving a copy of this book to everyone I know. There is no way they won't begin to understand what I went through and continue to go through everyday of my life. Jeneva Johns and I did not have the same type of encephalitis but the end results are the same. I especially loved her telling about "forgetting the butter" but, I guess you'd have to be a survivor to understand that! Way to go, Jeneva!!!!

The Best Kept Secret by Les Roberts is a wonderful book. Often I think Les Roberts is the best-kept secret in writing today. The Milan series has been flawless, and The Best Kept Secret is no exception. This book was extremely entertaining and thought provoking. I was captured by the first page and read it in one day. I highly recommend this book and all the rest of the books written by this talented man.

Cleveland private investigator Milan Jacovich owes his life to Dr. Reginald Parker. Strangely it did not occur when the two were grunts in Nam as their paths never crossed in Southeast Asia. Instead, the high school principal rescued the sleuth in an East Cleveland crack house. Milan knows that he owes Reginald so when the educator calls in his chips, the detective responds.

A former student, Jason Crowell attends Sherman College located in the western suburbs. An anonymous group, the Women Warriors, accuse Jason of rape, plastering flyers all over the campus. The media is playing the story. Milan agrees to look into the situation and learns some strange facts. No one knows who are the members of the female activist group. The alleged victim has never surfaced. Jason has always been squeaky clean and his sexual preference tends towards males. As the school administration wants to hang Jason as a sexual predator, a related murder occurs in which the freshman serves as the prime suspect. Milan believes the lad is innocent and plans to uncover the identity of the real killer.

The Milan Jacovich mysteries remain an entertaining treat as they strip away the image of a burning Lake Erie and a rusted city to provide a tour of the real Cleveland. The latest novel, THE BEST-KEPT SECRET, is an interesting tale as Milan investigates the ugly atmosphere of a nearby campus. The story line seems far-fetched that Jason would come under such a blitz attack based on almost nothing. However, the fact that indiviudals serving hard time have been freed due to DNA testing prove otherwise. Les Roberts has kept fresh his down to earth sleuth in a tale that fans will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Being a lover of mysteries, I had never heard of Les Roberts until a relative of mine gave me this book. It gripped me from the beginning, introducing Milan Jacovich as not only a good detective but a dedicated friend coming to the aid of someone who once saved his life. As the story progresses and the characters develop, the possibilities of "whodunit" became wider, with the reader never really knowing which character was behind the crimes - yes, the crimes multiplied as the story went on. Once this reader got to the fifth or sixth chapter, putting the book down became difficult. The last hundred pages went very fast as the guilty parties were revealed. This is a good, fast-paced, involving story that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery and a central character, who in most ways, has a conscience.

I read the first 150 pages in the first day.
I couldn't unglue myself from this very detailed and comprehensive though not boring at all.
From a series of very little mistakes in good faith and some minor omissions, a huge catastrophe was built up.
Every co-cause is described in time order and you can see the "moment X" coming arriving always nearer.
I also appreciated the simple explanation of fire and smoke dynamics.

I've actually not gotten the chance to read this book, but I can only tell you that the man behind it, Prof. Lawson, is a brilliant man who has done wonders for the state of KY and is an amazing professor, albeir far too modest. Insightful when it's appropriate to be insightful and may crack a joke when the situation warrants it.

If you're considering making the purchase, I would recommend it blindy. I'm sure all my classmates, those who came before and those who will come hereafter would agree...

It is impossible to read this book without a sense of complete dread; almost like watching the Titanic sail and knowing the inevitable, terrible ending awaiting everyone. Robert Lawson is so completely thorough with his details that you know the evolution of the supper club building and all of its pitfalls as they unfold. I had to stop and read excerpts to my spouse with incredulity in my voice.
If you would like to read a book that explains exactly what went wrong in this tragedy, this is the book to read.

This book is one of the best books I have read and is one of the most inspiring.
I guess it helps that I am a sports fan and participate myself (but at
a much lower level) so I realize just how hard competitive sports can
be for the average individual but also how much fun they can be. The
book is concise, to the point, and absolutely spell binding. I almost
feel as if I know Tank. In this day of arrogant super athletes, it is
refreshing to learn about the ups and downs of a very good athlete who
wasn't super exceptional but had the heart and fortitude to pursue his
dream,not because it was going to make him rich but because he loved
the sport and the competition. Thanks to the author.

This book is not only a must have for buckeye fans, but for everyone who enjoys reading about a refreshing & inspiring young man who is a great role model for today's youth. This book will have you chanting "Tank, Tank, Tank" & rooting for all the unknown walk-ons in the sports world.

Just a wonderful story and easy to read. I've already given three copies as gifts to fellow Ohio State fans.

What a great purchase this was! Not only has it helped with items that I already have, but also on items I need to complete a set or add to. The pricing in the book so far has been "right on", and this would make a perfect gift for a collector. I highly recommend it!

This book steps up to the next level from those worthy guides published in earlier decades by Mary M. Wetzel-Tomalka. Full color illustrations, beautifully executed, and a complete round up of the production line. If you are newly interested or a serious veteran collector, you'll find this volume an indispensable reference source. The valuation prices do seem a little high and perhaps ought to be regarded best for insurance purposes. Normal auction and most shop prices for commonly found items will be less than those presented here. However, as happened with Mary M. Wetzel-Tomalka's books, the piece costs may soon approach those shown in this book, so maybe the authors are only thinking a little ahead of the curve. Highly recommended for the reference shelf.

Candlewick, one of the most popular lines of glass produces by the Imperial Glass Corporation of Bellaire, Ohio, was introduced in 1936 and manufactured until the company's closing in 1984. Today this pattern, made in crystal and many lovely colors, attracts avid collectors of fine glassware. In this beautifully photographed and carefully researched book, nearly every item in the crystal line is shown and discussed. The authors have used Imperial's factory records, catalogs, and price lists to assemble extensive background information on these exclusively crystal Candlewick pieces. Organized in easy-to-use categories, the book covers place settings, serving pieces, sets, and miscellaneous items such as ashtrays, candle holders, compotes, and vases. To further help with identification, undocumented pieces, reproductions, and similarities are shown as well. Measurements are all of Candlewick's stem and tumbler lines are included, as well as many new facts not published before. Values are included both in the captions and in an overall price guide organized by mold number. This book is an essential reference for Candlewick collectors and all who enjoy beautiful glass.

Carl B. Stokes And The Rise Of Black Political Power by Leonard N. Moore (Assistant Professor of History and Director of the African and African American Studies Program, Louisiana State University) is a meticulous portrayal of Mayor Carl Stokes of Cleveland and the impact his tenure has had on local and national African-American politics. Individual chapters address a range of issues such as "the making of a mayor"; black capitalism; internal political power struggles; and much, much more. A well-researched and scholarly examination of executive government in microcosm in general, and its reflections in the broader scope of African-American politics in particular, Carl B. Stokes And The Rise Of Black Political Power is a welcome and highly recommended addition to academic Black Studies and Political Science reference collections and reading lists.

Leonard Moore tells the story of the life of Carl B. Stokes in his book CARL B. STOKES AND THE RISE OF POLITICAL POWER. However, the book is much more than the political life of Stokes. There is in a sense a cursory perspective of his life. You don't get a clear view of his personality or his life style. The book is more about urban politics. Moore's essential theme is that Stokes represents the transition of the politics of protest to the politics of political power for blacks. He demonstrates how Stokes, like virtually all blacks who become mayors of large urban areas inherit dying cities created by white flight, deindustrialization and large populations of urban poor. These are tough battles no matter what your race. But in Stoke's election, Moore demonstrates how black voters came together to use their combined power to attempt to change their status.

By showing the intricacies of Cleveland politics, Moore shows how Stokes was never able to take control of City Council and the police departments. Those two obstacles along with several major scandals made life of Carl Stokes as Mayor difficult.

While the majority of the book deals with local politics and are particularly interesting to Cleveland natives, like myself, the conclusion is extremely powerful. In it Moore shows how Stokes essentially set the standard for future black mayors and how many of them had very similar problems. Although Stokes created the 21st District Caucus in an attempt to have a political powerbase outside the Democratic party, the Causus evenually lost its clout when Stokes was no longer in the picture. Moore also shows how neither Stokes or other Black mayors are able to pass on their political power to a chose successor.

An underlying thesis of the book is the maturation of the black voter. As Stokes saw in his many battles, a candidate cannot just rely on his race to draw votes. The black community and the black voter is no longer a single voting block. Just as white voters have varying interest, so do black voters.

There is one additional thing that is important about the life of Carl and also his brother former Congressman Louis Stokes. They grew up in poverty but also learned that they had to work. Both Stokes often tell the story of how they came to live in public housing and how it was the first time that each of them was able to sleep in their own bed. Prior to that the two boys and their mother all slept together. As a result, their mother was able to make a better life for them. It shows how they, like millions of other veterans, used the GI Bill to go to college and law school. In many respects, the Stokes brothers represent a part of the American dream. They used federal programs to better themselves. Their father died when they were young but they did not use the fact that they grew up without a father hold them back. They used what was available to them and make a better life for themselves and a better life for millions of American.

Carl B. Stokes And The Rise Of Black Political Power by Leonard N. Moore (Assistant Professor of History and Director of the African and African American Studies Program, Louisiana State University) is a meticulous portrayal of Mayor Carl Stokes of Cleveland and the impact his tenure has had on local and national African-American politics. Individual chapters address a range of issues such as "the making of a mayor"; black capitalism; internal political power struggles; and much, much more. A well-researched and scholarly examination of executive government in microcosm in general, and its reflections in the broader scope of African-American politics in particular, Carl B. Stokes And The Rise Of Black Political Power is a welcome and highly recommended addition to academic Black Studies and Political Science reference collections and reading lists.