Illinois Books

Fort Dearborn is the best of what fiction has to offer: a fast-pace, interesting plot, engaging characters, and an effortless education about the prominent figures of a fascinating and violent era of Chicagoland's history. Great work!

- Steve

I just finished reading Fort Dearborn. The author did a great job weaving facts about early chicago into his novel. At the end of the book I wanted to read even more about the aftermath of the massacre. Great job!

I have just finished Fort Dearborn: A Novel and I love it! This is a most interesting, detailed,, exciting, and very well written account of an important event in Chicago and American history. It is most impressive that Mr. Crimmins studied the Indian culture and languages and folded his knowledge so skillfully into the book. The details in the notes section at the end of the book are just as interesting as the story itself.

I loved your book! You deserve a Pulitzer! I felt as though I got to know everyone and will never forget their sacrifices. It took tremendous courage to do what these people did to give us the city we now enjoy. And I thought my parents sacrificed--spending seven days each in steerage.
I marvel that you could keep everything straight--the tribes, the Americans, etc. I read all the notes and found them very helpful. Again, thanks so very much for such a wonderful story.
- K. Glynn

Jenel Virden, the author, is my aunt. I have read the book twice. The most enjoyable parts are the quotes from my late grandmother, Peggy (Hunt) Virden. When I read them, I can hear her voice, and the quotes sound exactly like what she would have said. It's almost as good as a recording. I can only imagine it's the same for the other children and grandchildren of the women she interviewed and quoted. I may be a little biased, but I think that my aunt did a very good job of bringing together a variety of voices. It's also well written.

This is a great book for anyone interested in the lifes of GI war brides as well as anyone else who has moved from one country to another in order to follow one's heart.

Fantastic book, I bought another copy to send to my best friend who was like me aBritish War Bride, I only wishI had know of the survays being done at that time, I would have loved to have participated in its information,

The British war brides, some 70,000 strong, occupy a special place in American military and immigration history.
The majority of war brides of World War II GI's, they represented a significant administrative and logistical problem to an officialdom (of both countries) which hoped in vain that the problem would go away. They persevered, despite hardships, intentional obstacles, and ill-concealed suspicions about their motives, and while most regard themselves as inevitably hyphenated Americans, the vast majority would do it all again.
Their story is well told here, shedding light on a little-known corner of World War II history and, incidentally, revealing much about life and love in the two countries.

(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score' books.)

I thought this book was a great introduction to the theories and ideas behind Horticultural Therapy, Wilderness Programs, and other such rehabilitative nature-based programs. It provides a good general overview and is easy to read.
For someone (like me) who is looking for a book more advanced psychological explanations and discussions, I'd look somewhere else. Lewis is an alright writer, but he is a horticulturalist, not a psychologist. He often lacks the insight into how and why plants are meaningful in our lives. I would provide another recommendation, but I'm still searching myself!
In general, a very good read. He's spot-on with a lot of stuff...just don't expect mind-blowing insights on the psychological impacts of the treatments and programs he discusses.

This book is filled with valuable information about our relationship with nature--and, therefore, ourselves at a very deep level. I find it an incredible resource, citing research on community gardens, horticultural therapy, the deep and enduring relationship between people and plants. Gardeners, environmentalists, and anyone who loves plants will find reinforcement, information, and inspiration in these pages.

Charles Lewis is the undisputed champion of people-plant relationships. A learned man, well-versed in all aspects of horticulture, Lewis is also an excellent writer. Lewis asks: "In what ways do plants enter our mental and spiritual lives?" What exactly is the importance of cultivating our own "inner garden." Gardens grow persons, not just plants. Lewis found that to pursue his interest in the human side of horticulture he had to look to other disciplines - psychology, sociology, geography, and medicine. Charles Lewis's Green Nature/ Human Nature is a must read for anyone who loves to garden. "Horticultural Therapy for the Soul" perhaps describes this book, but actually it is more. Check out this rare gem--you'll love it. Tom Ogren, author of Allergy-Free Gardening, Ten Speed Press.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a book about our human interaction with green nature. Very informative, very well researched, with individual text and quotes annotated to a huge and diverse bibliography. From window boxes in the ghettos, up through the role of plants in prisons and hospitals, to the attraction of parks and great forests and botanical gardens of the world, Charles Lewis explores our need to experience and/or nurture those historically ancient green living beings that are sharing their planet with us. The tons of gardening books I have (you know, the ones with compost-smudged pages and mispelled Latin scribbled in the margins) will not share the same shelf with this book. They are cookbooks, this is a book on hunger.

I listened to the Author's daughter explain about the making of this book and about some of the details in the paintings. It was remarkable! Ken Stark did a fabulous job researching the history and painting accurate pictures to go with the story. After listening to the speaker my Grandma and Mom talked for an hour easy about what it was like growing up in Illinois.
Great read for young and old alike!

Normally I do not read many children's books but the cover ofGrowing Seasons caught my eye as Susan unpacked [the] book...

Leafing through the book caused me to feel very nostalgic, reliving the time when I was a young boy on a small Pennsylvania farm in the late 1930's. Detailed artwork and attention to detail in all the illustrations make a person feel part of the activity being described.

Elsie Lee Splear must be congratulated on her factual portrayal of farm life in the 1900's and her choosing an outstanding artist who's attention to detail produced outstanding illustrations of family farm life in the 1900's.

This book should be read by people of all ages to better understanding what farm life was like in the 1900's.

Can anyone imagine not having an inside toilet and must use the little house out back many times referred to as the "outhouse" with only remnants of an old Sears catalogs which served the need at hand and also provided the patron some reading. Can one believe a life without Charmin?

I highly recommend the younger generations to buy this book, study the wonderful detailed paintings and enjoy reading the descriptions of how it used to be before television. I will always cherish this book and when I need a pick-me-up, I will browse through Growing Seasons and reminisce about the times that were.

I am not sure what touch my heart the most about this book...but touch my heart it most certainly did. So nice to recall a time when folks truly cared for one another. I am looking fowarding to reading along with (or to) my grandchildren as they explore the ways of a much more simple time. I know the paintings, which are truly outstanding and of interest to both children and adults, will excite their imaginations. The story will prompt questions, comments and discussions which I know we will enjoy (and remember). Buy this book and share it with any child you truly care about.

GROWING SEASONS lets the reader in on farm life nearly 100 years ago: chores before dawn, life without electricity,refrigeration,or running water,and raising almost everything needed by the family. It also shows the simple joys to be found in rural life: picnics, Christmas services, Fourth of July celebrations,and reading while tending the cows. Ken Stark's realistic illustrations help the reader step back in time to more richly savor the various aspects of being a tenant farmer a century ago.

The story numerous everyday events: homework by the kitchen stove, homemade dresses for Christmas, perserving meat before refrigeration, cooking for days to feed a threshing crew, and hiding from tornadoes. This is an excellent children's book for learning about farm life in the early 1900's.

I bought this book for my husband because he grew up around that area and because of Voorhies Castle. We both read it, this book is wonderful. Reading any kind of books having to do with the towns you grew up in and the histories are interesting. I plan on buying other books of Troy Taylors.

This is an excellent book. Decatur, IL native Troy Taylor wrote an entire Haunted Decatur Series, then went back and revamped the series, adding more info. on the places in it, as well as adding new locations. Who better to write about the History and Hauntings of this historic IL town than one of it's own.

Troy's revision of "Haunted Decatur" is great. As a resident of Decatur, I enjoy Troy's works. As an English teacher, I would like to see more careful editing, but that does not deter from the importance of his work. As a long-time "ghost hunter" and student of the paranormal, I have found Troy's works helpful and informative, as well as right-down scary. It is helpful to visit the sites he discusses and see first-hand the locations that are described. Having seen the sites he describes in many of his books, I can say that his descriptions are "on the money." I would love to co-author a book with him some day!

Ok, these kinda books make you wanna read them all night and be afraid to go to bed. Once I read this book I couldn't stop and then I was afraid to go to sleep. I do suggest you read this book especially if your into ghost's and the paranormal. And if you live in the decature area even the better. I live in chicago but this book is still good. I suggest you buy this book!

Mary Pat and I went to Chicago expecting to see something fabulous. I don't get it. We didn't see any of the churches, but we got a great room at the Fairmont. We had full body massages by a Japanese man.

We got lost trying to find John's mansion in Lake Forest or Kenilworth. Anyway, Mary Pat enjoyed the church pictures. After Ernest Thorp's war book, it's my favorite Wapella literary feat.

I bought this as a gift for a friend. It's a great reminder of the church where she got married. It also has the church where her parents and grandparents were married as well, so she was thrilled!

If you are Catholic, from Chicago and dislike the hexagons that are being passed off as Catholic churches in the last 50 years, you will love this book!

Many inner city and suburban parishes are treated, grouped by geographic location.

Agreed it is a little pricey, but it beats driving all over the city and climbing into the choir lofts to take your own pictures.

A great gift idea for parents, grandparents from Chicago!

If you don't believe that Chicago has some of the best looking Catholic churches in America, you should take a look at this book. Sixty-eight of the almost 400 churches in the Chicago archdiocese are featured, some in much more detail than others.

The author seems to have a thing for older, more traditional churches over newer ones, which is just fine by me. Most of my favorites are here - Holy Name Cathedral is present, of course, as is St. Michael's in Wicker Park, which was burned in the Chicago Fire, and Holy Family, which wasn't, although it was almost torn down a decade ago. St. Ita and St. Jerome on the North Side are featured, as is Our Lady of Lourdes, which was once moved across the street, spun 90 degrees, and then split in half to double its size. The South Side has its masterpieces as well - St. Rita of Cascia, St. Philip Neri, the darkly lit Queen of Peace, with its incredibly ornate flat ceiling, and the fantastically bright and beautiful St. Columbanus. The great Polish churches are well represented: St. Mary of the Angels, modeled on St. Peter's in Rome, closed and almost torn down once; the St. Michael on the Southeast Side; the sad and tragic St. Hedwig; St. Hyacinth - now a basilica, and an enormous one at that, the largest and arguably most beautiful Catholic church in the city; St. John Cantius, another nearly destroyed masterpiece, now completely renovated and with its own order of Latin-speaking priests. I could go on and on.

Two churches are not even active Catholic churches anymore: St Boniface was closed 15 years ago, and the fantastic old St. Martin's just off the Dan Ryan Expressway is now Protestant. And there is the wild story of St. Gelasius, just south of Hyde Park, vandalized, nearly burned down, closed, and now being rebuilt as the Institute of Christ the King.

I think a few really great ones are missed. Namely, St. Ben's on the North Side, whose bell tower dominates Irving Park for literally miles, and St. Martin de Porres (formerly St. Thomas Aquinas) on the West Side. Perhaps St. Sabina's on the Southwest Side belongs, although the interior is all screwed up -I don't think any other Catholic church has a big neon "Jesus" hanging over the altar. St. Mary of Perpetual Help, in Bridgeport, is an outstanding church and certainly belongs in the book, as does the beautiful and unique Lithuanian Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Marquette Park.

On the other hand Loyola's Madonna Della Strada is an oversized white barn, and St. Gabriel in Canaryville, despite being designed by the famous Burnham & Root team, is too small and too low. And St. Peter, downtown, while a fine church, is not really in the "great" category, either. The chapel of St. Mary of the Lake at Mundelein Seminary is a great example of Congregationalist church, being all white and almost featureless, but a lousy example of a Catholic church.

But this is quibbling. All the photos, by James Morris, are in stunning full color, and the text is mercifully short, yet well footnoted. Perhaps a bit overpriced at $60 for about 160 large pages. Robert Cameron's Above Chicago, for example, has the same number of much larger pages but costs half as much. All in all, a beautiful book, very suitable either as a gift or a bit of self-indulgence.

Here is a list of all the churches, copied from the publisher's website:

Downtown Chicago

Holy Name Cathedral (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
Assumption (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
St. James Chapel at Quigley Preparatory Seminary (Near North Side/Gold Coast)
St. Peter (Loop)
Old St. Patrick's (Near West Side/West Loop)


North Chicago

Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Lakeview)
St. Ignatius (East Rogers Park)
St. Alphonsus (Lakeview)
St. Vincent de Paul (Lincoln Park)
St. Josaphat (Lincoln Park)
St. Clement (Lincoln Park)
St. Jerome (East Rogers Park)
Our Lady of Lourdes (Uptown)
Madonna della Strada Chapel (Loyola University/East Rogers Park)
St. Michael (Old Town)
St. Ita (Edgewater)
Queen of All Saints Basilica (Sauganash)


Northwest Chicago

St. Hyacinth Basilica (Avondale)
St. John Berchmans (Logan Square/Bucktown)
St. John Cantius (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
Holy Trinity (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
St. Stanislaus Kostka (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
St. Viator (Irving Park)
St. Mary of the Angels (Bucktown)
St. Boniface (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
St. Hedwig (Logan Square/Bucktown)
Holy Innocents (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)


South Chicago

St. Michael (South Shore/South Chicago)
St. Martin (Englewood)
Nativity of Our Lord (Bridgeport)
Holy Cross-Immaculate Heart of Mary (Back of the Yards/Canaryville)
Institute of Christ the King (formerly St. Clara⁄St. Gelasius) (Woodlawn)
St. Anthony (Pullman)
St. Gabriel (Back of the Yards/Canaryville)
St. Basil/Visitation (New City/Back of the Yards)
St. John of God (Sherman Park)
St. Thomas the Apostle (Hyde Park)
St. Ambrose (Kenwood)
Holy Cross Monastery (formerly Immaculate Conception) (Bridgeport)
St. Rita of Cascia (West Englewood)
Corpus Christi (Oakland/Grand Boulevard)
St. Anselm (Washington Park)
St. Columbanus (Greater Grand Crossing)
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Shrine of St. Jude (South Chicago)
St. Philip Neri (South Shore)
Our Lady of Peace (South Shore)


West Chicago

Holy Family (Near West Side/University Village)
St. Pius V (Pilsen)
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica (Near West Side)
Holy Rosary (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)
Notre Dame de Chicago (Near West Side)
St. Adalbert (Pilsen)
St. Paul (Pilsen)
St. Nicholas Cathedral, Ukrainian Catholic Church (Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village)


Chicago Suburbs

St. Thomas Aquinas Priory Chapel, Dominican University (River Forest)
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary (Mundelein)
St. Athanasius (Evanston)
Chapel at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Barat College (Lake Forest)
Marytown, Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe (Libertyville)*
St. Peter (Skokie)
St. Edmund (Oak Park)
Ascension (Oak Park)
St. Giles (Oak Park)
Immaculate Conception (Waukegan)
Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Divine Word Monastery (Techny)
St. Francis Xavier (Wilmette)
St. Joseph (Wilmette)
Saints Faith, Hope, and Charity (Winnetka)

Hope Meadows- a beautifully written account of a unique foster care community in rural Illinois envisioned and founded by Brenda Eheart; a woman who refused to take no for an answer. The accounts of the lives of these children and their "foster grandparents" who reside in this unusual setting will touch you, as it did me, in a profound way. It is deeply moving but without pretense. The families lives remain seriously complicated, and nobody pretends to have all of the answers. Yet the community thrives on simple "small town" values and an abundance of physical affection that serves to pierce through the horrendous experiences of these innocent children to their most basic of needs...to be loved and acknowledged by another human being. I too found "hope" in the perseverance of Brenda and her staff.

I have always thought that good foster parents deserved to be viewed as heroines and heroes by our society. Those who do even more and help the children with the greatest needs perhaps qualify as saints. And if they do more than that, I'm afraid that my language skills fall short of being able to capture my full respect and admiration. Naturally, there are never enough of such wonderful people. Unfortunately, many children cannot get foster care and live in orphanages. Others are abused in foster care in various ways. Others live in homes where parents do not take good care of them.

Recently, I read Build Your Own Life Brand! and was drawn to the profile in there of Ms. Brenda Eheart's work in establishing Hope Meadows, a community for children who would never ordinarily be adopted. Nationally, over 20,000 children "age out" of state care each year without such adoptions. Having worked with such children had broken her heart, and she determined to do something about it. This book details her efforts and what has evolved from them.

Hope Meadows emerged from Ms. Eheart's dream of a new kind of community that would match willing foster parents with foster children who had special needs, but also supported by some part-time foster grandparents and some professionals. A closed air force base and her lobbying efforts led to a grant from the state legislature in Illinois to buy housing for the community. Operations began in 1994.

The idea is to put together a whole community of caring adults with the time and resources to give troubled children the extra time, care, love, and attention that they need to have more normal lives. Hope Meadows is supported by the legislature and private gifts. The foster family gets $19,000 in salary, plus free housing. The seniors get low-cost housing. Professionals are in the community to provide training and support. The annual cost for a child here is around $20,000. This is more than the $13,000 usually spent in Illinois on foster care, but less than the $28,000 that juvenile correctional facilities cost per inmate. Most would agree that the extra expense for these children with the most difficult problems is well worth it.

The book mostly details the volunteers who live here, the children they have adopted or assist, and the challenges they have all faced together. Despite very difficult problems, so far around 90 percent of the children placed here have remained.

The volunteers were sometimes foster children or lived in orphanages themselves. Some of the children tell how they want to become foster parents when they grow up. Most of the seniors and adoptive parents have something missing in their lives that the community offers. In some cases it is the chance to have children, and in other cases it is the need to be needed. Many are idealistic people who want to help children, and are working at the limits of their capacity to do so. Single moms with education in this area are raising five and six children with special needs.

The stories are heartwarming, because they show the potential for love and caring to make a difference. You will be astonished, if you are like me, by all the wonderful things that people do. The challenges are enormous. There are crack babies to be weaned, children who are violent and need to be calmed, and young people whose nights are filled with horrible nightmares based on real events.

The book has wonderful photographs of the families that help make the stories come alive.

Do not read this book assuming this approach will sweep the world. As the author makes clear, the continuation of this award-winning program is far from assured. It gets its money annually from the state, and could be cut off at any time. Although there is interest in expanding the program, not much has been done. A second one has been launched in Cleveland with the initial help of McDonald's.

My favorite story in the book is about the six year-old boy who learns that his foster grandmother lives alone, and decides to move in with her so he can be the man of the house and take care of her. I'm sure you will find many stories here that you will love, too.

There's heartbreak too. Some children aren't able to improve. Some are taken away by the courts after family members contest for the children. In one sad section, a foster father who had been a foster child himself dies suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving his family with more to cope with.

Whether this subject interests you or not, these stories will uplift your spirit. They will also tell you something important about our human impulses and needs.

Even if you cannot be a foster parent for some reason, how else could you help these unadopted children to have more normal lives?

May all be loved . . . and feel loved!

A beautifully written book by a talented author about an inspirational community started by a remarkable woman! Wes Smith's writing brings to life the story of Brenda Eheart's noble efforts to build a successful innovative alternative to foster care and adoption. As Smith so eloquently describes "It is a deceptively simple approach crafted by an improbable advocate in a most unlikely place." I couldn't put the book down! The brown-toned portraits collaged on the inside covers initially caught my eye because of their beauty, but by the end I could look at those same pictures and feel like I knew those faces, those smiles. I find myself wishing that I did know them or that I might meet them someday. Smith writes each chapter focusing on a single family/resident of Hope Meadows. Each chapter is an intriguing story in its own right, yet the stories interweave the lives of other residents as well, just as all the lives interweave at Hope Meadows to create the success of this inter-generational, inter-racial community. Smith writes in his introduction "In a world that often seems self-absorbed and hard-hearted beyond belief, it restores your faith in humanity to find that there are still people who believe they can make things better by reaching out and giving of their talents and their time." You will come away inspired by the human spirit and grateful that you had the opportunity to read this book.

I just finished reading Hope Meadows, and I am excited about this book, and the community it represents. The book tells the stories of children, adoptive parents, and older adults who live in a community that focuses on family. Seniors in the community volunteer to work with the kids, who, in turn, help out the seniors. Most of the children at Hope Meadows come from abusive backgrounds and have a multitude of behavioral and physical problems. Wes Smith has done an excellent job bringing these stories to life for the reader- you feel as though these are your neighbors. I HIGHLY recommend this book!....I actually cried reading some of these stories- if this book doesn't move you, nothing will!

A great read. Covering the facts but making it interesting. Clearly telling the whole truth and not a fantasy. Makes a dry subject really interesting.

This book very clearly explains what every injured worker should know. If you think the insurance company is on your side, guess again. You need to read this book to know what they already know, and you should.

This book was very straight forward and easy to read. It provided a clear explanation of what my rights are and how best to proceed in getting compensation for my work injury in Illinois. Highly recommended.

I found this book to be very clear and informative. I also found it to be light-hearted, given the nature of the subject matter. Anybody who has suffered an on-the-job injury in Illinois will find that this book can be an extremely useful resource.

I met Mark Wygoda at a Yom Hashoah event last night in New Orleans. After watching his presentation on his father, Hermann Wygoda, I bought the book and read it cover-to-cover last night.

Absolutely stunning and fantastical - lost in the detritus of human tragedy is often the point that adversity creates heroes of ordinary people.

Hermann Wygoda was just that - a hero.

This is an important story to be shared throughout the generations.

"One of the best stories I have ever read." This is an eye witness account of an able bodied Jewish man who decided not to give up without a fight. Despite terrible personal loss he fought back, and helped many people along the way. It is extremely hard to write a review of such an unbelievable story. There don't seem to be any words to do it justice. The story tells a side of the war many people never hear about. It explains through Wygoda's experiences what the war was like for Jews from the very beginning. Why so many Jews didn't fight back, and how the Nazi's got them into those horrible death camps. I have personally thanked Hermann Wygoda's family for letting the world know him, and his unbelieveable story.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who does not believe that one man can make a difference in the world.

Kelly Mallett Lowe

If Wygoda's story wasn't documented, you wouldn't believe it.
"Audacity", he said, "is a prerequisite for survival", and Wygoda had plenty. Escaping occupied Poland, actually travelling into Germany to work under the noses of the Nazis (even those who could "smell a Jew"), and eventually commanding a division of Italian partisans, the author exhibited a rare courage and determination that earned awards from three Allied nations.
His story, written in later life for his children, is recommended for WWII readers, Holocaust students, and anyone else who enjoys true-life action adventures.(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

I would like to share what my father, Harry L. Meyer, a B-17 radio operator during WW II, recently wrote me about this book (with his permission): " In the Shadow of the Swastika" is fascinating reading about the exploits of a remarkable individual. Hermann Wygoda was a man of indomitable will who was blessed with courage, ingenuity, resilience and, by his own admission, occasional good fortune which allowed him to escape some desparate circumstances. The horrendous conditions wrought by the ruthless Nazi regime in Poland and wherever it came into power is the stuff of an appalling nightmare. For a man of his ethnic persuasion to escape the suffocating death trap the Nazis created borders on the miraculous. To do so and ultimately become a respected leader of a heroic partisan resistance movement is the material of legends. His normal disposition was not to be a warrior, for I believe by nature and cultural influence he was philosophic, altruistic and tolerant. This is manifested in his just dealings with others even in the trying and dehumanizing conditions of war. I respect him for not passively submitting to his tormentors, but opposing them with determination and fortitude, thereby helping in no small way to defeat them. When the fabric of a decent society is threatened by the forces of an unconscionable tyrrany, it is to be hoped that individuals like Hermann Wygoda will always be there to oppose them. I have always been proud of my combat service in WW II, but by reading works such as this which so graphically portray the consummate evil of a regime that operated outside the scope of human decency, I am more proud than ever to have contributed in some measure to destroy it.

This book is a wonderful history of the saving some of the Indiana Dunes for our use today. Dudley's pictures were used in the early days of trying to get the dunes set aside for future generations. It also is the history of landscape art in the late 1800's to the mid 1900's. The paintings are beautiful landscapes.

This book is a testament to the fact that, contrary to public opinion, there are more things than cornfields in Indiana. Indiana is home to a diversity of unique landscapes and habitats not the least of which are the Lake Michigan dunes. Reproductions of Frank V. Dudley's brilliant impressionist paintings bring this glorious landscape to the fore in this scholarly tome. We learn from "The Indiana Dunes Revealed" that Dudley's work stretches far beyond artistic endeavor. He was also one of the leading U.S. environmentalists during the first half of the twentieth century. The only thing better than this book is viewing Dudley's many sumptuous paintings or actually standing on the sand overlooking the lake. Dudley convinces this reviewer that I am actually on an Indiana beach feeling the wind blow against my face and the surf move beneath my feet.

Frank Dudley was a gifted artist who became passionately interested in the grass-roots campaign to save the Indiana dunes from predation by Northwest Indiana's steel mills, other industrial encroachment, and pollution. For years, he captured the wild beauty of the region on canvas and, as his fame spread, so did his message. His painting of the 1917 Indiana Dunes Pageant, a sweeping outdoor presentation that attracted over 25,000 viewers willing to trek across sand dunes to see it, remains one of the only eyewitness paintings of the event still extant. This book chronicles Dudley's development as a painter and his life in the dunes; the plates are superb, and if you were unable to view them at Valparaiso University's recent exhibition, this keepsake volume will be the next best thing to seeing his original works firsthand. As an aside, I went to the Dudley exhibit at Valparaiso University, where the book was selling at list price. A few mouse clicks later, I had ordered the book at a deep discount at Amazon.com. Three more days, and it was in my hands. It doesn't get much better than that!

The Indian Dunes Revealed: The Art Of Frank V. Dudley is written and edited by James R. Dabbert (Senior Lecturer in English, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago) with the assistance of J. Ronald Engle (Professor of Social Ethics, Meadville Theological School of Lombard College), Joan Gibb Engel (an activist and writer on Dunes ecology), i9ndependent art historian Wendy Grennhouse , and William H. Gerdts (Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Graduate School of the City University of New York). Frank V. Dudley (1868-1957) was a native of Wisconsin who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and eventually established a long exhibition record while dedicated more than forty years of his professional life as a landscape painter to the promotion and preservation of the Indiana Dunes - a unique geographical region enjoying state and federal protection while providing ecologists with a unique and truly 'living laboratory' for their studies. "The Indiana Dunes" is a team project that superbly showcases Dudley's life and work including 150 color reproductions of his paintings and another 70 black-and-white images. Because of the continual conflict between development and preservation over the decades, some of Dudley's paintings are the only record we have left of lost dunescapes. Also available in a hardcover edition, "The Indiana Dunes Revealed" is a splendid addition to academic library American Art History collections, and particularly recommended for supplemental reading lists in the areas of environmental studies and American Midwestern history.