Ohio Books

"To See the Elephant, The Civil War Letters of John A. McKee (1861-1865)," James R. James, illustrated by Darrell L. Combs, Leathers Publishing: Leawood, KS, (1998), ISBN: 1-890622-49-4; LOC: 98-67522.

In a world of e-mail and networks, we need to remember that letter writing is an act of faith. Faith that our correspondence will be dispatched and delivered, read and answered. Not simply a stream of bytes deleted more quickly than keyboarded. A letter, composed at a teakwood escritoire or within a sodden pup tent, is an out-calling, awaiting not an echo, but a thoughtful reply. Letters crafted not through plastic keys or ball point pens, but with quills and inks, on coarse paper. Such were the letters of John A. McKee (44th Ohio Vol. Infantry, later 8th Ohio Vol. Cavalry).

A common soldier, but no ordinary man, McKee saw and told engagingly of daily hardships: soldiers paying for uniforms; writing home to have boots made; scant wages, long withheld; usually prompt post, even if family and friends had to send postage money. The randomness of shot and shell - inaccurate, ill-timed --, men and horses blood-drenching fields, hanged bodies -- justice undone -, friends and fellows cut down, wounded, captured, lost. The elephant seen. Told sentiently, without sentimentality. The occasional respite - evening galas, young ladies in formal settings -, on the eve of bloody battles, tell of a kind of war soon to be crushed beneath mechanization. A kinder, simpler war, certainly not. But a war made even more poignant because family and friends could visit the troops at the edge of the battlefield and watch the carnage spread out before them. McKee's vocabulary, grammar, and constructions show him to have been a bright and thoughtful young man. Describing troop celebrations following the surrender of General Lee, McKee wrote, "in the absence of artillery the men procured two anvils and up to this time have used about 16 lbs. of powder with no sign of cessation at least until the appearance of the small hours." James R.. James, a nationally respected court administrator, has not intruded on the letters or the dispatches through which the story is told. He offers brief explanations and places the letters in the context of time and place; the descriptions and tone are authentic of the times. Some words and phrases out of general currency, but known to Civil War buffs and historians, could have been explained. "Soger boys," "housewife," bounty paid at mustering out, Butternuts, `nothing short of ropes," merited explanatory notes. A map or two would have been helpful. The casual reader is sent off to dictionaries and companion volumes. Of course, whenever our reading sends us off for further information, the benefit is ours.

So has Mr. James benefitted us and the memory of John McKee. They have handed on to us the words and thoughts of a young man caught up in a nation rent. By getting these letters to a wider readership, Mr. James has honored not only John McKee but his friends of silent pen. The line drawings of Col. Darrell L. Combs, USMC (ret.). In the volume, complement the letters. They are simple, straight-forward, and telling. The text is well-served by the images.

This modest printing has not been the output of a vanity press; it has been a press to preserve thoughts, words, and cares, written not in vain. Letters preserved may not be letters of value. These are. The writer, John McKee, was a perceptive participant in a western campaign of the American Civil War. His letters speak to us of duty, privation, inept leaders, missing arms and armaments. A succession of holders judged the letters worthy to pass down. When you read them, you will agree. Thank you, Col. Combs. Thank you, Jim James. Thank you, John McKee.

S.D.Conti

"To See the Elephant, The Civil War Letters of John A. McKee (1861-1865)," James R. James, illustrated by Darrell L. Combs, 98-67522.

In a world of e-mail and networks, we need to remember that letter writing is an act of faith. Faith that our correspondence will be dispatched and delivered, read and answered. Not simply a stream of bytes deleted more quickly than keyboarded. A letter, composed at a teakwood escritoire or within a sodden pup tent, is an out-calling, awaiting not an echo, but a thoughtful reply. Letters crafted not through plastic keys or ball point pens, but with quills and inks, on coarse paper. Such were the letters of John A. McKee (44th Ohio Vol. Infantry, later 8th Ohio Vol. Cavalry).

A common soldier, but no ordinary man, McKee saw writing home to have boots made; scant wages, long withheld; usually prompt post, even if family and friends had to send postage money. The randomness of shot and shell - inaccurate, ill-timed --, men and horses blood-drenching fields, hanged bodies -- justice undone -, friends and fellows cut down, wounded, captured, lost. The elephant seen. Told sentiently, without sentimentality. The occasional respite - evening galas, young ladies in formal settings -, on the eve of bloody battles, tell of a kind of war soon to be crushed beneath mechanization. A kinder, simpler war, certainly not. But a war made even more poignant because family and friends could visit the troops at the edge of the battlefield and watch the carnage spread out before them. McKee's vocabulary, grammar, and constructions show him to have been a bright and thoughtful young man. Describing troop celebrations following the surrender of General Lee, McKee wrote, "in the absence of artillery the men procured two anvils and up to this time have used about 16 lbs. of powder with no sign of cessation at least until the appearance of the small hours."

James R. James, a nationally respected court administrator, has not intruded on the letters or the dispatches through which the story is told. He offers brief explanations and places the letters in the context of time and place; the descriptions and tone are authentic of the times. Some words and phrases out of general currency, but known to Civil War buffs and historians, could have been explained. "Soger boys," "housewife," bounty paid at mustering out, Butternuts, `nothing short of ropes,' merited explanatory notes. A map or two would have been helpful. The casual reader is sent off to dictionaries and companion volumes. Of course, whenever our reading sends us off for further information, the benefit is ours.

So has Mr. James benefitted us and the memory of John McKee. They have handed on to us the words and thoughts of a young man caught up in a nation rent. By getting these letters to a wider readership, Mr. James has honored not only John McKee but his friends of silent pen. The line drawings of Col. Darrell L. Combs, USMC (ret.). In the volume, complement the letters. They are simple, straight-forward, and telling. The text is well-served by the images.

This modest printing has not been the output of a vanity press; it has been a press to preserve thoughts, words, and cares, written not in vain. Letters preserved may not be letters of value. These are. The writer, John McKee, was a perceptive participant in a western campaign of the American Civil War. His letters speak to us of duty, privation, inept leaders, missing arms and armaments. A succession of holders judged the letters worthy to pass down. When you read them, you will agree. Thank you, Col. Combs. Thank you, Jim James. Thank you, John

Here's the deal: Rosen has dared to go where most philosophers only hint at with trendy neologisms. Having said that I think Rosen needs to get even more radical. For example when he states that Altaic peoples were not capable of modern logical analysis of paranormal paradoxes (giving the example of climbing a mountain to travel to hell as being just wrong) Rosen follows a long line of "traditional" dead white males who were just racist.

Professor Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty in her book "Dreams, Illusions and other Realities" provides a nice counter-weight to the view of Rosen, Ken Wilber and so many others. She states, for example, that the Hausa believe dreams are real until 10 years old then learn dreams are not real and then finally, by say 18 years old, learn that dreams provide a means to travel beyond the body and see the future.

Meanwhile us Western "modern" people still think that dreams are not real. Other examples are numerous from the anthropological literature. Farley Mowhat's "People of the Deer" gives a good "altaic" example (although it's on the Innuit of midland Canada). Paul Stoller. The book on the Senufo of the Ivory Coast is another good example. "In the Eyes of the Night: Witchcraft among the Senegalese People" is excellent. "Women Like Meat" is a recent Ivy-league anthropology professor analysis of the sophisticated magic of the Koi-San.

What's tragic of course is that this real sophisticated knowledge has been rapidly destroyed although rare lineages do still exist.

Let's just state that a recent study proved that melatonin dramatically increases with altitude and melatonin then turns into DMT -- the spirit molecule (so traveling up a mountain enables human consciousness to "descend" to it's quantum foundation).

Anyway the emphasis on topology by Rosen is greatly underscored by mathematical biologist professor Steven Strogatz' best-seller "Sync" (2003) wherein the twisted scroll-ring is the equivalent of the double torus kleinian analysis. Strogatz (via the fastest supercomputers at Los Alamos) discovered that this topology is truly a universal alchemical structure which can heal heretofore chaotic diseases (like heart arrhythmia).

Another excellent source on consciousness and topology is psychology Professor Harry Hunt's work (Yale U Press) -- he cites Ralph Abrahamson's "double torus" model.

Strogatz, though, being a truly mature scientist, has also admitted that the Pythagorean harmonic series (which is the foundation for the Riemann Hypothesis at value zero and predicts all numbers) is "a conspiracy between nature and number, between atom and arithmetic." (promo for the 2006 book "Stalking the Riemann Hypothesis")

Better yet Strogatz has come out stating that the latest math proofs rely on computers to demonstrate their logic such that humans are no longer in control of math, the foundation for all science. This loss of control will, for structural reasons, spread to the rest of science.

I submit, and would hope that Rosen would agree, that humans were never in control. The "zero linking value" discovered to be the key for Strogatz' twisted scroll ring universality should also be the "apeiron" central to Rosen's metaphysics.

Apeiron is truly the empty awareness which secretly guides all of "evolution" or "progress" -- what have you.

So free will and intention are inherent to the platonic form in the higher dimensional topology -- hidden within the 4th dimension of space.

This topology is literally the full-lotus body position, as taught in the most traditional form of qigong. The hands face the heart-mind, as taught by Master Yan Xin, the national treasure of China.

The knees and spine form an equilateral triangle with great pressure on the hands and elbows so that a Kleinian free-energy dynamic is created through:

tensigrity -- the key principle to Bucky Fuller's topological universality.

The double torus equilateral tetrahedron (pyramid power) is the same as the Kleinian analysis and the twisted scroll ring of macro quantum chaos theory. Freemasonry is based on the same pyramid power full-lotus secrets, as professor Hugh B. Urban reveals.

The equilateral triangle is composed of two Pythagorean 3:4:5 triangles taking us back to the Pythagorean Logos, now central to Rosen's new book.

The key mystery to the Pythagorean Tetrad is that it's ASYMMETRICAL while science is based on symmetrical logic. Even Alain Connes points this out in his new book "Triangle of Thoughts" (2001). Connes, the top mathematician of France, and creator of non-commutative geometry, realized that One plus One does not equal Two!! Connes states that music theory is the key to understanding, the formal language, for quantum computing.

The Golden Ratio is actually derived from the Law of Pythagoras but it violates the symmetric logic of Eudoxus (in otherwords A:B::B:A + B is not the same as 2:3::3:4 even though it is the same as 1:2::2:3.

So this basic paradox, at the foundation of science, created a "deep disharmony" (math professor Luigi Borzacchini) that has resonated, building up exponentially as science.

In otherwords the music logarithmic spiral which Rosen promotes will not work -- because of macro quantum chaos!! The nonlinear results of technology derived from the non-real continuum (as John Wheeler stated since "it comes from bit" for black holes there can be no real number continuum governing black holes. Black holes are governed by the golden ratio and the Pythagorean triangle. Only music theory resolves this paradox of which comes first -- math or physics). This paradox of math over physics has been the focus of debate for David Deutsch and Paul Davies -- music theory resolves it as both Steve Strogatz and Alain Connes realize.

Brian Josephson has turned to music theory as well and he has also promoted Rosen's work.

My background is music theory and for this reason, just as professors Charles Sayward and Philip Hughes could not accept the logic of the Pythagorean Theorem (see spring, 1999 issue of the journal Philosophy) I also was forced to research the deep paradoxes which have resulted from a misunderstanding of the Logos.

Music is not left-brain logic, nor is it right-brain topology. Music, as natural resonance, turns into pressure as anti-gravity phonons which drives the evolution of quasars and galaxies. But, again, music is transcultural and defined by the Law of Pythagoras yet he was forcefully driven out by the imperialism of Plato and Archytas as Dr. Peter Kingsely so well documents in his masterful book "In the Dark Places of Wisdom." (1999)

I recommend "the small universe" Pythagorean practice to work the body back into the full-lotus position which truly enables realization of the Kleinian action proscribed by Rosen in his brilliant tour de force.

Rosen emphasizes Chinese alchemy via Von Franz but the best source for the small universe (an ancient Chinese secret documented in India in Mircea Eliade's book on yoga) is "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" trans. by Charles Luk.

This book is surely the most profound twist through Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Gebser -- since Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Gebser.

This book brings to vivid life the underground railroad and the politics of a nation poised on the brink of civil war. Slave catchers lurk around the edges of communities, hunting for escaped slaves or free blacks that they can kidnap. Radical abolitionists were militant about blocking any such kidnappers from reaching the south (regardless of the legality of the act). This book tells the true story of an escaped slave who is captured and then freed by a large group of Oberlin and Wellington abolitionists. This leads to a trial which made sensational national headlines and crystallized the growing crisis between north and south. It is absolutely gripping.

The Ohio River, pursuing a serpentine course between Ohio and Kentucky, was useful to the underground railroad. After 1849 Kentucky became a major market for the purchase and sale of slaves. The river froze over in 1855-56. John and Dina escaped from John Parks Glenn Bacon. They left on two horses with Frank from a neighboring area. Four miles into Ohio they encountered a Quaker. They stayed with him for two weeks and when fit to travel were sent on their way. Eventually John and Frank were taken to a college community, Oberlin.

The fugitive slave law was a paradox. It drove many of the Northerners into the antislavery camp. It was signed into law by Millard Fillmore in 1850. Jerry was saved by a mob in Syracuse, N.Y. and transported to Canada and freedom. States passed personal liberty laws. The real life travails of Anthony Burns, Margaret Garner, (Toni Morrison evidently used this episode in BELOVED, the killing of a child to spare her from being enslaved), and Joshua Glover did not excite as much attention as the woes of the characters in UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. Mrs. Stowe had lived in Cincinnati for eighteen years. Three hundred thousand copies of the novel were sold in the first year.

In Oberlin the college's atmosphere pervaded the town. Even the hotel was a temperance hotel. Black families resided in the town and were members of the First Church. School and town had both been founded in 1833. Oberlin became a haven for renegade teachers at Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati who favored immediate emancipation. Charles Grandison Finney was one of the presidents of Oberlin College. He was pastor of First Church.

In 1858 the tone of Oberlin was tense. Slave hunters had made three attempts to seize black families. The man, John Price, was taken to Wellington, Ohio by hunters. Abolitionists in Oberlin endevored to act. The campus was astir. Many young men and others rushed to Wellington. John was removed and returned to Oberlin to a hideaway at the home of Professor James Fairchild. John's captors were pleased to escape the wrath of the crowd gathered at Wellington.

Thirty-seven of the Oberlin rescuers were indicted. The Rescue Case had an impact on public opinion. Defense attorneys were aware they were playing to the press. Oberlin was called by one person the Babylon of Abolitionism. The defense tried to raise as an issue the constitutionality of the fugitive slave law. The defendants were found guilty. The rescuers were jailed. The rescue of John Price had been accomplished primarily by the black residents and white students.

I suppose anyone who would make that trip would have to be intrepid, but he seemed really to be.

The thing I like the most about him is that he was such a civilized person. A gentle, intelligent, well educated, modest, and very friendly person.

The other review about his insights into what he was describing is, in my mind, quite correct also.

I may be a bit prejudiced and certainly am more interested because my middle name is Bradbury as a result of being a descendent of his.

One of the earliest, and very well written, accounts of life on the upper Missouri River. This is a classic of the fur trade era. Bradbury, a botanist, went up the Missouri with the famous Astorian overland expedition of William Price Hunt, Ramsay Crooks, Donald McKenzie, naturalist Thomas Nuttall and others in 1811. His descriptions of Indian life, geology, botany, geography and overall life as it was in 1811 being so far removed from civiliztion is incredible. He was a very articulate and keen observer of the world around him. Bradbury gives further insight into Manuel Lisa, John Colter, Henry Brackenridge, trading with the Indians, etc. The last chapter he devotes to the soon to be mass immigration into the western parts of the United States. His thoughts on this are ahead of his time. There is simply too much good to say about this timeless masterpiece. The book itself may be somewhat difficult to find, but it is worth looking for. A+

In 1811, Thomas Keene, a minister, loses his faith and travels to Ohio. In this sparse, concise "diary," we get to know Thomas, his mundane activities, his fantasies, and his remarkable adventures on the American frontier. Thomas writes of routine events (his cash accounting, his business selling home-made whiskey), his sexual fantasies and realities, his relationships, his drunkenness, war, Indian legends, and the remarkable hardships of frontier life.

Through the series of simple journal entries, sketches, drawings, and accounting entries, author Hugh Nissenson creates a profound portrait of a fascinating man. Nissenson is a master of "artificial reality"- the structure, style, and false references lend an air of truth to this work of fiction. Historical facts and figures weave seamlessly with the fictional elements. The War of 1812 and John Chapmann (Johnny Appleseed) are prominently featured in the story. And Nissenson himself created the drawings and sketches attributed to his fictional character (the cover is a sample of his work).

I loved this book. It creeps into your mind and comes back to haunt you. I admire Hugh Nissenson's ability to paint, with deceptively-simple strokes, a deep, rich, intimate, lush landscape and a deeply moving character.

If you read and enjoy this book, be sure to read Nissenson's The Song of the Earth, in which he leaps forward rather than back in time for a stunning vision of what might be.

This book is like nothing I've ever read before. It is brilliant. Read it. This is history come alive. Rattlesnake bites, Indian skirmishes, visionaries and slaves and frustrated widows--all the true voices of the American Frontier come through this "journal" with unbelievable power and desperate longing.

I generally don't read short story collections, but this one may have changed my mind. The stories were at once beautiful, funny, sad, and compelling. Jahna has a gift for creating characters the reader cares about. I look forward to reading more from this author.

An amazing first book, Ric Jahna's True Kin is a remarkable collection featuring narrative versatility and authentic emotional resonance. The linked stories are compelling, well-written and worthy of the highest praise.

Enhanced with maps of the area, sketches, and photos showing the original Tyrconnel and neighboring Covington Park Maryland farms, Tyrconnel: An Antebellum Adventure Along The C&O Canal by Charles Furtney is the thrilling story of Army Lieutenant Jeff Shirley set out in 1859 on a secret mission to investigate mysterious and violent activity along the C&O Canal at the Tyrconnel farm in the vicinity of Harpers Ferry, Maryland. There the young lieutenant encounters John Brown and his band of rebels in their destined appointment with history on the eve of the American civil war. A superbly written history fiction, author Charles Furtney pays meticulous attention to history detail making Tyrconnel a welcome and highly recommended addition to any school or community library collection.

A book for all ages!! This part fact, part fiction, tale is an enjoyable read !

Gayle Pritchard has done a remarkable job in capturing the essence of how the art quilt movement began in Ohio. She documents Ohio's importance in putting art quilts into the art world as art rather than craft. The documentation, photos and overall information creates a strong picture of how the art quilt movement started in Ohio and has now infiltrated into the rest of the world. This is a must have in one's personal library.

This is a history of the Art Quilt and it's makers. Nancy Crow was the star pioneer in the Art Quilt field and an Ohio native but there were many great quilters from Ohio that emerged at the same time. Gayle Pritchard chronicles the history in an easy-to-read format with biographies and photos of the prominent players. A concise cohesive treatment of the artists that will make you want more. The only thing missing was a biography and more work from Gayle, herself, also a major player in the Art Quilt World.

An enjoyable read! Mary Weems is able to concisely present the raw experiences of life off on a tangent. Drunk Ugly kicks your teeth out while the lucid flow of Moon Story afford many contemplative moments and a reflectively provocative evening!

Dr. Weems' work is a rare example of quality work on the page that can easily be performed on stage as well. The language is active and fiery, with skillful cadence. This collection is necessary and poignant especially in our current political and economic state. It exceeded my expectations and I look forward to others.

Ebani Edwards, MA
Performance Poet

Being someone not of the catholic faith, at first i was driven from anything with the word "Pope" on it, but those religious inhibitions were shortly erased when I saw thise book! i had no idea the vatican contained such spectacular works of art, and from periods which i adore such as the Boroque! The collection is not just a few alter pieces from Byzantium, but rather is a study of art itself and a study in the masterpieces of the periods in its history. This book is incredibly inspirational, i would recomend it to anyone! even someone who doesnt like art! this fabulous volume is worth every penny one pays for it, and is one of the great finds of my endless book collecting

Being someone not of the catholic faith, at first i was driven from anything with the word "Pope" on it, but those religious inhibitions were shortly erased when I saw thise book! i had no idea the vatican contained such spectacular works of art, and from periods which i adore such as the Boroque! The collection is not just a few alter pieces from Byzantium, but rather is a study of art itself and a study in the masterpieces of the periods in its history. This book is incredibly inspirational, i would recomend it to anyone! even someone who doesnt like art! this fabulous volume is worth every penny one pays for it, and is one of the great finds of my endless book collecting