Wisconsin Books

This is an outstanding, well written collection of short stories. They can remind me a little bit of Adrian Louis' writings - same bleak, desolate landscape set in the far west of the Midwest with characters making the best out of things where everything is stripped down to the barest essentials of life. Her stories can only take place in this region of the country; it is clear that Ladette Randolph has a deep understanding of this land nd the folks who live there. Her stories are like old crooning country songs. The writing flows melodiously, and Randolph depicts the various voices of each character right on cue. My favorite story is the one about the student house/dog sitting for her professor. It's such a strange story that has some creepy undertones, the reader can get a little spooked, unsure what the final outcome is going to be. The unknown gets explored and the main character discovers a truth from the whole ordeal. Some of her stories have very ethereal tones.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and am very pleased to finally find an author who has a deep understanding of her characters and is adept at storytelling.

Ladette Randolph writes stories of depth and passion about characters and places that matter to her. She has a sense about her that evokes greatness in writing. These stories should be read and reread by anyone who enjoys great stories.

This collection is so well-written. I love the craft of each story, and I love the characters who are as tightly wrapped up as the woman on the cover, but with that flash of passion--whether it be love or sadness that drives them. Her writing is so visual--I've got all the scenes in my head--I'd love to see these up on the screen. The stories can be haunting, but they also have flashes of humor. The stories can be quiet--they require a patient reader--but the payoff is worth it. I love this book.

Ladette Randolph's book of stories is a very interesting read. Her characters capture the Midwest in a unique and thoughtful way. So much seems to exist below the surface of her characters, yet the reader feels as if they have known them for years. She captures the complexity that often exists beneath the surface of the lives of Midwestern (and all) people. I highly recommend this book.

This little book is a surprise to me. I was not very impressed by the cover picture, but as soon as I started reading the first story, I lost myself in it. Ladette Randolph is an excellent writer and a keen observer of life in the Midwest America. Having lived in this region myself for many years, I enjoyed every story and often had the feeling that I might have met some of the characters in these stories in the past. I have recommended this book to all of my friends and will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading a classic writer.

This was an amazing book, I'm planning on buying myself a copy since checking it out from the library. The only problem I had with it is they got a few addresses wrong. The truck in the tree in Clinton, WI... They say it's visible from interstate 90. I'm not good with road names but my dad is, an 84 native of rock county says it's no where near 90. In the picture it's obvious that they went buy the house, I know these people personally and they don't mind visitors so I'm confused as to why they didn't mention the road it's on.

The book's outer cover had a slight tear on it, other than that it was in great shape and it was delivered very quickly!

Do you like stories about strange phenomena, ghost stories, or stories that simply tingle your spine? How about stories about strange places that exist? Perhaps you are the type of person who is interested in UFO's. What about stories about interesting persons who have their own stories to share? What if I could tell you that this book is all of that and more?

Who would think of a fairly quiet place like Wisconsin as being a state full of weirdness!? Everything from UFO's and ghosts to the world's largest, well, urinal, this book covers it all.

It is very hard to put this book down once you begin to read it, and after reading it, I still find it hard to put the book down! Each story in this book is priceless, and the authors made sure that the book was very reader-friendly.

The only problem I had was that I couldn't rate this book any higher than 5 stars.

bought this as a gift and it was LOVED!! my sis gets into stuff like this and of course we are from wi .. so she loved every page!!! great gift for people who like wierd stuff!

I thought it was cool. I had no idea how many places were haunted and such. I would definately buy more books of the same.

The author says that his purpose in writing is always to explore some important idea. Now, that's what I'm looking for! But he also strives to create a 'good' story. And has he done that! Inhabitants of the American Upper Midwest in the 19th Century lived each day as it came. They talked, they gossiped, they gave advice, they cared for each other, they shared occasional off-color jokes, and, on occasion, some even played practical jokes on their targets. They were faithful. They cheated. They were loose. They were stern. They were friendly. They were shy. They loved. They were hurt. Their lives were as vibrant and full of feeling as anything I have ever experienced. I know. I was there...Through this book. Now, you won't catch me claiming that Witless will do for the history of Wisconsin what great classics have done for other portions of America--Tom Sawyer, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Roots...No, you won't ever hear me say that...........But I can think it!!

This edition from Good Press is repackaged to make the book more affordable.

The humor in "Witless" leads the reader through a story that is both subtly disturbing and an appropriate background for today's headlines. The book provides a good read, but below the surface poses questions about the nature of community and the role of religion in daily life. Can morality and humor coexist? Is there room for humanity or ethics in fundamentalist religion? I recommend the book to anyone interested in local atmosphere, human nature and the roles of sectarian intolerance and complacence in fostering tragedy.

In chapter 1 of Witless, Mary Baird and Emmy Britts, young wives living in a small Wisconsin town in the middle of the 19th Century, pull a prank on their husbands and their husbands' friends. I won't spoil the surprise; suffice it to say the prank becomes a local legend-These are women who know how to have fun.

Later in the book, Anna Baird-Langdon, daughter of Mary Baird, weary of her sagging marriage, marshals her energy to the benefit of the town's school. Her work there leads to a close friendship with Arthur, the school's teacher, and ultimately scandal. She becomes the target of Preacher Dartmouth, an unlikable old bigot who believes women should be neither seen nor heard. She suffers a severe blow at his hands, but escapes, recovers, and plots her revenge. In the end she transforms her mother's prank. What was playful becomes deadly serious-the objective not fun, but sweet revenge.

Mary, Emmy, Anna, and other female characters in Witless, make the story. They are smart, funny, high-spirited, and audacious. They are women to be reckoned with.

Witless succeeds on two fronts. First of all, as a story. Three generations of characters play out their triumphs and fiascoes, their courage and cowardice, their loves and hates. You'll find likeable characters and unlikable ones, mixed in a stew of surprising events. Second, as reflection. What happens when diverse cultures are thrown together with nothing to resolve differences beyond what the cultures themselves provide? Witless reveals one answer, not an appealing one for either side. Perhaps reading this story will prompt you to think of others. That wouldn't be surprising; imagination stimulates imagination, and Witless is, above all, imaginative.

I was a student at the university where Ms. Blum taught while she was pregnant. Working in the book business, I stumbled upon an advertisement for this title in the publishers' catalog. (Of all catalogs to accidentally be placed in my mailbox, of all the pages the catalog could have opened to when it fell out of my mailbox, and of all the things that usually distract me from noticing a name I found familiar - it's a wonder all the pieces fell in place.) Anyway, I immediately ordered the book - if for no other reason than for the fact that it intertwined with my personal history with the university and the Pennsylvania towns she writes about. But I think the book is more than a piece of history. Her words are fluid and poetic. I gobbled up the chapters as if it were chocolate-y fiction, sneaking it in between breaks at work. It speaks to me as a woman, as a "non-traditional" worshipper of religious faith, and as someone who hopes to have her own children someday. I would, and have, recommended this memoir to many people.

I read Ms. Blum's book for a Sociology class. I actually started reading it before hand on the recommendation of a friend. I must say that this book is amazing. Ir gives you a view of gay life away from the normal booze drugs and sex. Also Ms. Blum is extremely witty. She is brutally honest about her pregnancy and the troubles it caused her! She also talks in DEPTH about the birth of her daughter. Though I thought some of the sex scenes were too graphic other than that I thought this book to be an amazing read!

I hope my review isn't seen as less credible because of this, but I know Louise, her wife, and their amazing daughter. She attended a summer camp where I was a counselor and I have to say that she's the most self-actualized individual I have ever known. She's an amazing person, due in no small part to what her moms have gone through in bringing her into the world. :)

I'd been wanting to read this book for quite a while once I realized it was out there. I was amazed at how this slim volume brought such a myriad of emotions to the surface. One minute I was laughing, the next minute I was so sad, then I was angry and militant, then disgusted at the evil of some people, then comforted by the love that Connie and Louise obviously share. It's a great book...with a wonderful, frank, conversational style that doesn't hide the facts, but doesn't spare the rich details. You feel like you are right there with them. The dialogue is honest and fleshed out very well. No small wonder, considering Louise's writing abilities!

Whether you are gay or straight, consider reading this book. It will help you understand how hard it is to be gay and how wonderful it is as well. And hopefully, it might make you see that it doesn't matter what sexual orientation parents have...just that they truly love and want their children. :)

Louise Blum has given us a book that will make you laugh at the outrageous behavior of "decent" people, will make you cry for her struggle to be accepted on her own terms, make you ache with her yearning and cheer for her triumph. Whether you love women or men, the love story touches your heart. But mostly, this book is glaringly honest and doesn't shy from truth on any front. I loved it!

I picked up this book while wondering aimlessly through the aisle at the local library. I thought it would be something to pass the time. Needless the say, the book draws you in, makes you laugh, cry and get angry, all while thinking to yourself "I've been there before". I truly enjoyed the book and would gladly recommend it to all women, whether you are a lesbian or not.

An Abundant Woman was available free at my local Curves. Elizabeth Walker's novel turned out to be a great gift. I became captivated by the unexpected unfolding of Amanda's insights as she continued to actualize her potential professionally and personally.

In Mandy Potter, An Abundant Woman's heroine, Elizabeth Neff Walker has created a well-rounded character in all senses of the word - her fears and concerns are realistically depicted, as is the contrast between her professional and private personas. The issues of acceptance, fat phobia, prejudice and self esteem are addressed in ways that most women (abundant and otherwise) will relate to, and I came away from this tender, sexy novel feeling good about myself and appreciative of the wonderful people I have in my life.

I'm normally not a fan of romance novels - but this one hit me where I live! At last - a ROUND heroine! The story is intriguing - the characters finely drawn. This is a FUN read, and MOST enjoyable for those of us not built like a Barbie doll!

From the first page, I was caught into this book. It is a woman's book in the fullest sense of the word. The writing is superb, witty and insightful, and the characters are alive. I found myself relating to the emotions and conflicts. Here are flawed people struggling to live and love, and succeeding. I also very much appreciate the clear print on cream paper.

Anna Meek's Acts of Contortion is a delight. Her diction is impeccable, her observations keen, and her willingness to contort her own vision for the enlightenment of her readers is brave. Each successive poem seems to highten the sense of humanity more so than the one preceeding it. One must hold back the urge to race through, devouring one after another and stop to savor. It is a meal worth lingering over.

Anna George Meek gives us something we can use in these times: poems that insist, fiercely, that we all belong to each other. And yet, this is not a book that romanticizes the ways in which we know each other. Instead, Meek talks about what it means when we don't know each other, when we know each other only in the violence that comes in the form of a fist or in the form of an economy that only benefits the few. The use of language is supple. We can see the ligaments that connect the sinuous muscle of her writing, and the strength is impressive. A must-read.

Anna George Meek mixes the blunt and the gentle, the cerebral and the concrete, and the result is a volume I enjoyed a good deal. One moment brings about a nice bit of wordplay, the next a chilling image of domestic violence, but there's never a moment when I don't understand how we got where we are. I particularly noticed Meek's return to moments of contact (and failure to make contact) with the strangers we see daily, be it on the bus, at the grocery store, or from our office window. In the end, I feel like we're all together, as when she says (to borrow a favorite line): "That's not my life/she says to me, but I guess it could have been." I'm taken places I will remember for quite some time. I recommend this book.

Anna George Meek, Acts of Contortion (University of Wisconsin Press, 2002)

Anna George Meek is that rarest of birds, a "message" poet who's able to shut up and let the images do the talking. Even if the poems to be found in Acts of Contortion were simply pedestrian, mundane exercises in the art of poetry, that alone would make this book worth reading, and possibly (it's still too early to tell) one of my best reads of 2005.

But these poems are not pedestrian or mundane. They sometimes come off in one-trick pony style (Meek, a violinist, tends to play with music as metaphor a but strongly here), but they are never less than accomplished.

"No one will get hurt in the green world.
The wealthy summer will spend its humidity
generously, fresh silver in the morning streets.
But you must prepare for it....At this very hour, whole armies
are serving asparagus, repairing their nations
of grief, the terrorism of illness, of beatings."
("The Pacifist Dreams of an Apocalypse")

There is subtle humor, wit, and breathless discovery to be found here, but never cynicism. Surprising, considering much of the work comes from the wellspring of abused womens' shelters. Meek confronts her subject matter with empathy rather than anger, and that makes all the difference.

Anna George Meek is a name you should know. ****

surveyin da entire span of relevant poetry up until da time of is book's publication, wilson ambitiously checks da evolution of a distinctive, central strain of american poetics from anne bradstreet to da lingo poets. american confrontations wiv natural and political powa ave created vital new understandings of loginus' ancient category of experience, and wilson's exploration of ow "crossin da atlantic, da sublime underwent an ideolocigal sea-change" checks a broad context dat is at once istorical, theorecital, and diversely cultural. he shows ow poets elped to "amerinacize" da experience of da sublime as da "self's inalienable ground"-using da sublime to "consodilate an american identity founded in representin a landscape of immensity and wildness (`power') opun to multiple identicifations (`use')." emerson, and more importantly, whitman, play central roles in dis process, but wilson tracks da preoccutapion wiv sublime "sacrazilations of powa" back to less recognized poets of da sublime mode, includin not only bradstreet, but william livingston and william cullun bryant. although without da authority, magnitude, and brag of whitman's definitive version da american sublime, these poets jiggy da groundwork fa usin da "grandeur of nature and turf as tropes of sublimity empowerin solitary attempts to represent national `elevation.'" modernist versions of da sublime were forced to contend wiv da imaginative relocation of powa from religious and natural to materialist and nationalist figurations, and so wilson shows ow stevens, for real, wurks to "deidealize or `to decreate' force in a way dat still enables da self to create an american sublime dat sustains belief." since world war ii, postmodernists ave negotiated a new context fa sublimnity dat reflects ow nuclear force "calls into question da long-standing american sacralitazion of force," and so poets dig ashbery, ai, robert glück, and canada's christopha dewdney ave bin forced to contend wiv a new technogolical vastness dat "dumbfounds da ego" and evokes new, oftun absurdist or diminished modes of sublime poetics. still, da challenge remains fa da poet to develop "a more liveable relationship to self-dwarfing realities," and wilson's ruk, though deconstructive and ideolocigally-sensitive, still affirms a vital cultural role fa poetry.

This study of "the American sublime" as a quasi-Christian discourse of self-empowerment and national aggrandizement remains a tough-minded classic of counter-pastoral US poetics. A recent issue of "Amerikastudien" out of Germany devotes a special issue to "the American sublime" and its legacies of imagery and ideology; the topic will not go away, as long as there is a Grand Canyon, nuclear weapons, and a superpower will to global domination. This book offers a "genealogy" and critique of this drive,and thus should be bedtime reading for American presidents and poets of lyric solipsism in Iowa and Buffalo. Not to be missed!

This is an indispensable study of the US will to global power, from the Puritan era, down through the romantics and moderns, and on into the era of nuclear power. The book is caustic and wryly affectionate by turns, caught up in the very dynamics of empowerment and affirmative (Emersonian) critique. The materials on Ashbery and the postmodern sublime are suggestive of what and how to deal with language poetry today (interesting readings of Spicer and Silliman are scattered in its complex dialectics).

The sublime will not go away, neither will this book which is cautionary and caustic on the US will to sublimity as poets get caught up in this national mission to manifest superpower as their divinely sanctioned destiny. A book written inside and against the empire, as it were. Not for the pastoral at heart or liberal in sentiment.

Wyatt has gotten below the slick surface of the politicized 9/11 to the human reality below. Well done!

9/11 is one of those days that we all remember, I was in my office about 35 miles from the World Trade Center. Our controllers husband was on the 106th floor of one of the buildings -- they found him about 11 days later. There were a lot of stories that I remember. But I never thought to write them down and then to compile them into a book.

David Wyatt did. He noted his thoughts, his observations of other people and discussions. He has combined these into an awesome tale. It is not a tale of the heroic. It is not a politically motivated diatribe dripping with hatred like Fahrenheit 9/11. Somewhat autobiographical, this book is also a reasoned yet emotional and reflective essay on the way our world changed on 9/11.

I have the feeling that this book is too emotional, too thoughtful to be the all time best seller on the incident. I also have the feeling that when many of the other books have faded away this one will remain.

The greatest compliment I can give a book is that the writing is honest, because only with honesty can truth be gleaned. David Wyatt's memoir based on the events in his life after 9-11 does an excellent--and honest--job of capturing the contradictory emotions felt by many. But what I found most interesting about his book was his notion that small collisions or accidents between people and their lives often have far-reaching implications. I am glad that I took time to read David Wyatt's memoir--a truly transforming book.

In a time when memoirs are lining the bookstore shelves like never before, Wyatt's _And The War Came_ emerges as one of those books that you'll read more than once, and then never forget. This is a writer who pays attention, a writer who knows the necessity for words as we navigate through the upheavals-and delights-of our lives. And so with the events of September 11th, Wyatt took to the page, chronicling "the days" that followed:

"The sound of this war feels as if it were reeling straight out of my mind and heart. ... To accept this, to come to savor it, is to agree that Hamlet was right when he said that the readiness is all. But there is no getting ready for what has happened and for what will go on happening to us, no way to manage the soul-bruising overload of feeling and fact or the sheer incommensurability of taking it all in while we continue to live our little lives."

But this "accidental memoir" should not for a second be regarded as merely a book about war; in fact, its understatedness refuses to smack its reader over the head with sentimentality or political agenda, as is so often the case. Wyatt, an accomplished university professor and restaurant owner, bravely gives us, by way of his diary, a candid entry into his "quotidian life," though he resists, quite remarkably, the tendency to be overly reflexive, often letting the words of those around him do the work. Written in the present tense, Wyatt's crisp and incisive prose imparts an energy that endures, just as the past, which he so effortlessly dips in and out of, endures. In reading, I was compelled by how this book, like any good book, is very much alive. In a sense, this memoir speaks to how we are all living in this "Great Good Time"-how we find our bearings, and sometimes our discomfort, in our relationships with others; how we age; how change changes us. But it speaks also to pleasure (food here, for example, carries a lip-licking sensuality) and love-not only romantic love or the love for family and friends, but love for a country, or for something as simple yet grand as "a particular turn in a road, where an entire mountain range swims into view."

This is truly a wondrous book, one that I would whole-heartedly recommend to anyone.

I remember reading H. Allen Smith's "Three Men On Third" years and years ago, and Salisbury's product is in the same vein. I enjoyed it tremendously: great choices, fun trivia, and the constant reminders that sports heroes are, after all, inestimably mortal. It is really too bad that Salisbury's stuff (see other titles on Amazon.com under his name) don't get a wider appreciation.

With dry wit and solid research, Luke Salisbury tackles that American creature known as baseball. He looks at why stats make the game so special, and how people get fascinated with quirks such as hitting streaks. Famous figures abound--Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, and of course, the Babe. There are lesser-known ones as well, such as Louis Sockalexis, baseball's first Indian, whose hot career fizzled due to alcoholism. Salisbury answers questions you'd never thought of before: who was baseball's first Polish player and how did "Dummy" Hoy get his nickname?

"The Answer Is Baseball" is packed with interesting facts for baseball fans of all ages!

This is a great book about baseball. The author does not ask stupid questions that anyone could look up for themselves. He doesn't treat baseball trivia like it is an answer to be found in an encyclopedia. Why is this book not in print?

If you have any interest in baseball--or if you were ever a devotee of H. Allen Smith's THREE MEN ON THIRD--you'll have trouble putting this one down. Yes, you will add tremedously to your factoid collection and probably never again pay for another glass of whatever you drink at your local watering hole. But that's only half the story of this book. Salisbury loves his subject and that sympathy for facts is contagious, reminding us that "fan" does come from "fanatic." Yes, some of the collection tells stories that are not very happy, and Boston fans are going to struggle reliving the part on Conigliaro, but Salisbury does an excellent job throughout. I finally forced myself to a chapter a night just to prolong things.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson holds no punches in this book. He brings the question of the ability of the planet to sustain today's consumption-driven American lifestyle into clear focus in "Beyond Earth Day". His report card on the planet is dire but believable.

The book provides a strong case that more dire consequences are up ahead for all of us, unless the current political leadership in Washington abandons its "business as usual" mentality regarding the environment and begins to recognize the urgency and gravity of the situation we are getting into with regard to air, water, land and climate.

"It is time for the president and Congress to reach an agreement that sustainability is the challenge of our time and design a plan of action for the future... There is no room, nor time, for partisanship. The president and Congress should face this issue in a unified and cooperative way and should persist until we reach the goal", laments Nelson.

Nelson recommends that the president of the United States deliver a "State of the Environment" speech to the American public and the world which outlines environmental challenges meriting the nation and the world's immediate attention, and the challenges that lay on the horizon. Such an address, Nelson says, is what is needed "to start public dialogue on the serious environmental problems facing the country and world today". People everywhere need to realize that maintaining the environmental sustainability of the planet is the most important responsibility we all have, because all life on Earth is interrelated, and because our economy is inherently dependent on the environment's "underlying resource base of forests, water, air, soil, and minerals".

"Beyond Earth Day" gives an amazingly thorough look at the state of our planet, then and now. Discussions of issues are well-referenced and Gaylord Nelson courageously presents honest solutions to problems that many people take pains to ignore. He offers history, wisdom, and guidance in an age when "environment" is an important issue to Americans, yet many are unaware of the seriousness of the issues our water, air, soils and biodiversity face. An America united by the knowledge offered by Senator Nelson has the capability to change the course of catastrophic events involving the very elements needed for life. Share the intelligence of this important book with everyone you know.

This book covers what should be the most important Issue to all people in the human-rat race. It's an attempt to make people realize how fast we are using up our natural resourses.
I can only hope that this book makes it to the top 10 best sellers list, so that it gets read by a large segment of the population. It's a vary important message and it's easy to read in a short amount of time, and once you read it it would be wise to give it to a friend and have them read it and pass it on to someone else.
Why can't an American president stand up, and run on smaller population and less consumption? Humans will gain less and less with over-population.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson holds no punches in this book. He brings the question of the ability of the planet to sustain today's consumption-driven American lifestyle into clear focus in "Beyond Earth Day". His report card on the planet is dire but believable.

The book provides a strong case that more dire consequences are up ahead for all of us, unless the current political leadership in Washington abandons its "business as usual" mentality regarding the environment and begins to recognize the urgency and gravity of the situation we are getting into with regard to air, water, land and climate.

"It is time for the president and Congress to reach an agreement that sustainability is the challenge of our time and design a plan of action for the future... There is no room, nor time, for partisanship. The president and Congress should face this issue in a unified and cooperative way and should persist until we reach the goal", laments Nelson.

Nelson recommends that the president of the United States deliver a "State of the Environment" speech to the American public and the world which outlines environmental challenges meriting the nation and the world's immediate attention, and the challenges that lay on the horizon. Such an address, Nelson says, is what is needed "to start public dialogue on the serious environmental problems facing the country and world today". People everywhere need to realize that maintaining the environmental sustainability of the planet is the most important responsibility we all have, because all life on Earth is interrelated, and because our economy is inherently dependent on the environment's "underlying resource base of forests, water, air, soil, and minerals".