Illinois Books

In this book the editors have selected thirty-one excerpts from various writings about Anne Frank and collected them together under four basic ideas: Anne's life, Anne as a writer, Anne on stage & screen and Anne in relationship to the Holocaust. Overall the selection of the writings is very good. They are of high quality and of varying points of view, particularly with reference to the last three sections of the book.

For example, there is considerable difference of opinion to Anne's ability as a writer, some find her skills exceptional while others think her ability overrated despite her impact. Better known are the arguments over whether the play and movie produced from Anne's diary truly reflected the "real" Anne. Then there are the arguments, growing in recent years, as to whether Anne's diary is an "accurate" or "important" portrayal of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust. I may not agree with Lawrence L. Langer's assessment that the diary is not a "vital text" of the Holocaust but seeing his point of view allows me to think a little deeper about my own position. And therein lies the book's real strength.

Ultimately, though the excerpts are brief and it's easy to plow through them rather quickly, this book can open one's eyes. Some of the material I had read before in other places but I was very glad to encounter the wide points of view that the editors were able to gather. The fact that Anne's single work still has the power to generate such scholarship 60 years later seems to point out its continuing importance in our experience.

As part of my effort to learn my role as the dentist in the 1955 version of the play at the local junior college, I read some 14 or 15 books by and about Anne Frank and this one capped my study quite nicely. I recommend it as the one to read after "The Definitive Edition" (or the fascinating "Critical Edition", if you're up to that), Willy Lindwer's "The Last Seven Months", Melissa Muller's "Anne Frank: The Biography", Miep Gies' "Anne Frank Remembered", and Eva Schloss' "Eva's Story". It's scholarly, well edited and footnoted, and has a fine bibliography.

McCauley has managed to take a much maligned and degraded religious tradition and shed a bright and loving light upon it. Finally mountain religious life has its place in the religious history of America and particularly the growth of the division between the faith of the heart and soul and religion of the mind and intellect. A brilliant and deep book which sheds light upon ALL of American religious history.

From its roots in the migration of the Scots-Irish (also called the Ulster-Scots) in the eighteenth century, McCauley brings the reader a well researched exploration of Appalachian religious traditions. Until recent decades, the majority of scholars have assumed that Appalachian religious practices were little more than a degeneration of broader Protestant practices prompted by a combination of ignorance and local folk customs. McCauley demonstrates, however, that within historic mountain churches rests theologically astute and culturally rich expressions of Christianity. The book is also enriched by an exceptionally thorough index.

McCauley focuses primarily on those religious movements distinctly indigenous to Appalachian culture. While she recognizes that Methodists, Southern Baptists, Churches of Christ, and others have congregations throughout the small towns and rural areas of Appalachia, these are nonetheless distinct from groups like the Primitive Baptist or the Old Regular Baptists. These are groups whose history, as well as the overwhelming majority of their churches, are entirely within Appalachian culture.

Negative stereotypes of "hillbilly" culture remain deeply rooted and tacit accepted by large segments of both academic and popular populations. Virginia McCauley makes at least one significant contribution to countering this image. At the same time, she brings the reader in contact with vibrant expressions of Christianity religiosity that both intrigue the mind and engage the imagination.

Grandma Carol!
Your book rocked we love our copy at home!
-

If you grew up in the Chicagoland area, you probably watched the Ray Rayner Show. It had cartoons and silly antics, and it had a sequence call, the Ark in the Park. After the Irish Rovers sang their Unicorn Song, Dr. Lester Fisher of the Lincoln Park Zoo would come out with an animal or two, and talk about them and their habitat. And all of us kids would agitate to go see Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, the Ark in the Park.

This wonderful book is a fascinating history of the Lincoln Park Zoo, from the park's creation to clear up a swampy old cemetery (where rains would regularly wash coffins to the surface!), through the origination of the zoo, it's changes with time, and on to the very present. Along the way, the reader is treated to many great tales of dedicated zoo personnel (including Director Marlin Perkins who became famous nationwide on Mutual of Omaha's Animal Kingdom), politicians both sympathetic and not, park visitors of all dispositions (after one elephant died, it was found to have 33 pounds of bottle caps, broken glass, rubber balls, etc. in her stomach!), and animals of equally varied dispositions.

This is a great book and a great resource for anyone familiar with the Lincoln Park Zoo. More than that, this is a great resource for anyone who wishes to know more about the development of America's zoos, and how the philosophy of zookeeping has evolved over the years. I highly recommend this book!

As a lifetime(68 yrs.)native of Chicago, I was able to relate to the entire book in all sports. Most of the book fits right in with the history of Chicago both good and bad. All Chicago historians should find this book interesting even if they are not sports enthusiasts.The chapter titles in the table of contents are a bit confusing and should have been more direct.

The Armchair Companion to Chicago Sports blends history, trivia, little known facts, and interesting quotes from the celebrities who have defined professional and amateur sports in the Windy City since the 1870s. The book is much more than a compilation of data revolving around the Bulls, White Sox, Bears, Blackhawks and Cubs. While the so-called "big four" sports are covered in assiduous detail, the Armchair Companion presents a historical survey of some of the lesser known sports, including bowling, bicycling, runner's marathons, the memorable golf tournaments, the short but unhappy history of professional soccer in Chicago, boxing, horse racing, and much more. The book was researched and written by Richard Lindberg, team historian of the Chicago White Sox and the author of eight other books dealing with aspects of Chicago history, politics and sports, and Biart Williams, his research assistant and sports historian, the fact-filled volume is a must for fans of all ages who live and die with Chicago

Book was basically in new condition and was received very soon after ordering. Book provided great info for my research.

This is a wonderful book, and the story behind it is even more wonderful. The period of time covered in this book were the glory days for the muralist movement. And huge numbers were painted in the Chicago Public Schools. Over the years, they were neglected; they were covered over; they decayed.

In 1984, Flora Doody went to Lane Tech High School to start a Resource Program for students with disabilities. She saw and loved the murals there, but knew that, with all the other problems in the school, restoration was not a priority. Ten years later, however, she began the Mural Preservation Project at the school. She knew the director of the Chicago Conservation Center and they became involved.

And then they decided to investigate early 20th century murals in other Chicago public schools. They found treasures.

A fascinating book, you will learn the history of murals, American social history, and the story of some very dedicated preservationists and educators.

This is a great book of images and poetry, ostensibly detailing the life of the midwestern farmer-- but, so much more than that, the son/father chronicle that works its way into every page. If you can read the introduction to this book without shedding a tear, please give your father a call and try to rediscover what's missing.

Volkmer has an uncanny instinct to capture more than just "the thing" (which, I think, all too oftens characterizes contemporary poetry, writers reticent to comment), but rather the psychological and emotional context for things-- not just things in time, but moments in time. And what makes this book particularly tragic is the obvious honesty that these moments cannot be, can never be, replayed.

The pictures work much the same way, but the words pull this work up from tired (but important) Time-Life photos of dust bowl hardships to the heart of soul of the relationships among man, son, machine and survival.

Bravo!

Two artists work from their hearts -- a photographer with an obvious love for the meanings and visual power of grain elevators, the other a poet whose graceful, plainspoken words brings to life the smells, the sweat, and the sentiments of the plains spirit.

Okay, that's too hokey by half, but this is a grand book. The poetry is great -- even the poet's foreword is a pleasure to read -- and the photographs show the beauty and variability, even personalities, of the tallest things on the prairies. Easily worth the price, for anyone who has a soft spot in their heart for these grand structures.

This is the second Avant Guide book that I have purchased and I plan to purchase more. In both instances I have found the content to be very useful in helping me plan and guide my visits to new cities. The choice of listings in this book is excellent, varied between well-known and not-as-well-known shops, restaurants, hotels and more. The short writeups of the neighborhoods contain all the useful bits, and the specific location information is well written and generally provides a enough insight that you come away with the impression of knowing just enough to be dangerous (or make conversation, or ask questions.) This is a good thing. The featured restaurants, stores, and hotels were all style-centric and wonderful to visit. Included are great photographs. It's hard to go wrong with this choice.

I travel a lot, for both business and pleasure. I also think that I know Chicgo very well. I, of all people, don't need a guidebook for this city. I happened to come upon Avant Guide, and I was first attracted by the graphics. This is not a 'normal' guidebook. It's very stylish. Then I was taken by the terrific recommendations of places I had never heard of. Whenever I show this book to my friends in Chicago, they want to thumb through it forever. It's hard to get it back. The book is incredibly well organized and has lots of very handy maps. I recommend this very, very highly.

Outstanding pipe reference book - plus great reading. This book finally answers many of the questions I have long had about my Falcon collection. And it gives an insider's view of pipe manufacturing back in the pipe heyday of the 50's - 70's. A GREAT addition to my pipe reference library!

I bought the book based on Bill Unger's recommendation - and Bill's word, as usual, is good as gold. I learned a lot here about Falcons specifically (their manufacture, nomenclatures, product lines, etc.) and about the pipe industry in general (difficulties in obtaining briar, etc.)- and I was very surprised to learn that both B. Barling & Sons and Kapp-Petersen made briar bowls for Falcon for a time. I found 'Back From The Ashes' not only a very interesting and well-written book on pipes...but also a wonderful tribute to an obviously great man - George L. Hunt of Diversey Machine Works of Chicago, one of those great American entrepreneurs who pulled himself up from his small-town (Southern Illinois) bootstraps to become a successful and prolific manufacturer. I enjoyed learning about the man behind the pipes - his great sense of humor and fun-loving ways - and his love of hunting and fishing, etc. I give it 5-stars and heartily suggest that all smoking pipe enthusiasts add this great book to their collections.

This book is great for those who like to go "outside the box", and get off the freeway as they head up north, to take in Michigan's unique beauty.

Beautifully illustrated with a wealth of color and black-and-white photographs, Backroads Of Michigan: Your Guide To Michigan's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures is a guide to touring the most breathtaking and scenic natural venues to be found in the Great Lake State. Backroads Of Michigan is a fairly large trade paperback, not meant to be carried in a pocket, purse or small backpack; yet its size also allows the fine detail in its illustrations to shine through, and its typeface is easy to read without a magnifying glass. The chapters are arranged by Michigan subsection, and cover everything from historical sites to river valleys to prime spots for beachcombing to state parks ideal for viewing wildflowers and much more, with maps and general directions. The text is written in a leisurely style that is as engaging to browse for pleasure as it is filled with practical information. Enthusiastically recommended for Michigan tourists and residents interested in the state's most wondrous sights, and also for armchair travelers.

If Goya had a camera (this goes for Caravaggio also) his photographs would look like Paul D'Amato's. Within the pages of this compelling book live the supreme photographs of their genre. Fine Art? Documentary? D'Amato's vision is not simply positioned and categorized. These photographs are of people's lives. "Barrio" hugs Mexican life in Chicago. This book reveals a culture and people that are truly beautiful, unvarnished splendor in the direction of labor, guts, water and light. The most respect a photographer can give their subject is to make the strongest (possible and out of the question) photographs. Paul D'Amato repeatedly shows his respect with these photographs.

I really liked the combination of the pictures and the journal entries. It feels as if the book is the complete story, you get to see the images of the neighborhood and read the story of the photographer. Both the pictures and the words are beautiful. Although the photographer is an outsider in the neighborhood he is able to capture images of the inside.