Illinois Books

I was forwarded the bio of this book from on of my professors and knew immediately I wanted to read it. I read it in one sitting, a new record for me, and was really pleased. The story of Lance Pressl's candidacy kept me engaged the entire time. One of the best I've read in my field. Thank you Edward Sidlow for writing such a splendid book. And I repeat A MUST HAVE FOR POLITCAL JUNKIES and anyone who wants to work for or run as a canidatee for office.

I came across this book and was expecting another political yawner .... instead, it was REALLY good. It is written in an easy, engaging style that captures your attention even though you have never heard of any of these people before!! It was interesting to see the inside story especially coming into a presidential election year. I'd love to see a book like this on the national level. How about it Dr. Sidlow?!

I have my days when I feel as if I've known Charlie Ives all my life. Of course, this is physically impossible: when Charlie died, in 1954, I was only fifteen, and I didn't hear any of his music at least until a few years later, in college. And even then, there wasn't all that much of it available on LP. But, over a period now approaching a half-century, my knowledge of, and admiration for, the man and his music grew steadily, if at first slowly.

With this steady accumulation of knowledge now at the point where I feel at ease ("comfortable in my skin," one might say) with providing some informed commentary, I suggest to readers interested in learning about Charlie, and his life and music, two recommendations. The first recommendation is that they read Jan Swafford's "Charles Ives: A Life with Music," one of the most superb books of its kind, totally sympathetic to the man but at the same time not close-minded to his "warts" and their possible causes.

The second is of course this book by Vivian Perlis, one of the most remarkable of its kind. It is one of the most frequently quoted resources by Ives scholars and writers, and obviously so.

The reason for its very existence is almost as fascinating as its contents. Perlis, in 1968, had been working with the Ives Collection, and, to quote her (in the Preface), "I became aware that there were [...] people still living who had known and worked with [Ives], and that an effort [...] be made to [...] preserve their memories of him."

Ives died in 1954, in his eighthieth year. At the time of the start of Perlis's project, then, those of his contemporaries still alive who knew him were already well in their nineties. Mrs. Ives (Harmony Twichel Ives) was still alive, but too ill to be interviewed. (She died on Good Friday, April 4, 1969.) Ives's business partner, Julian Myrick, was able to be interviewed, but he passed on in the course of the project. Charlie's piano tuner died on the day he was to be scheduled to be intereviewed. There were only three Yale classmates who survived long enough to be interviewd. Facts such as these explain the need on Perlis's part to "work against time" in her plan to capture as many direct recollections as possible in putting together this oral history.

Perlis's subjects included, of course, family members, as well as friends and neighbors, most of them from succeeding generations. (Charlie's brother, Moss Ives, had six children [five nephews of Charlie and Harmony, and one niece]; three of the nephews provide some of the best recollections. Sadly, Charlie's niece, Sarane [Sally], as well as his own daughter, Edith [Edie], died in 1956, only two years after him.) Perlis even interviewed Charlie's personal secretary, his barber, and the architect who was responsible for remodeling his West Redding, CT home. Each provides his or her glimpse of the man. That these glimpses are often reminiscent of blind men describing an elephant speaks to the complexities of an outwardly simple-appearing man.

A large portion of the book covers recollections of musicians who knew and worked with Charlie. While all were of the succeeding younger generation, they can lay claim to being the closest to Charles Ives the composer and musician. The list reads like a "Who's Who" of mid-20th century American music: Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Lehman Engel, Lou Harrison, Bernard Herrmann, John Kirkpatrick, Goddard Lieberson, Carl Ruggles and Nicolas Slonimsky among others.

Each of these musical friends achieved fame for his own contributions to the art. Each remembered Charlie in the greatest of detail and anecdote, often in terms that bordered on "reverential" and with individual insights which added substantially to a better understanding of his musical psyche.

With one exception: Elliott Carter. Carter, still alive and kicking (and composing) at age 94, was one of the very earliest beneficiaries of Charlie's intellectual and personal largesse. As a teen-age high schooler, he was often invited to Charlie's W. 74th Street townhouse, a comfortably short distance from Carnegie Hall, where they would take in concerts and then talk about what they heard. Given that these were Carter's "formative years," one might think (and some do) that Carter was the logical successor to Charlie. In my judgement, he wasn't; there are simply too many differences between the two, in terms of compositional aesthetic, for the relationship to be valid. And, of all the musical associates interviewed, only Carter, in what I feel to be mean-spirited commentary, was negative about Charlie's contributions to American music. (It is more than a little interesting that Perlis, in her Preface, found it necessary to state that of all the interviews, only Carter's, as published, differed substantially from the raw interview material. One can only wonder at just what was expurgated!)

I am indebted to J Scott Morrison, fellow music lover and Amazon.com reviewer, for bringing to my attention that, in addition to Elliott Carter, there is one other survivor to this day who can claim direct contact with Charlie. That other person is Paul Moor, who interviewed Charlie for the September 1948 edition of Harper's. Moor (now in his late 70s) was in Europe between about 1953 and 1979, and therefore "out of reach" (and likely off the radar screen) of Perlis. It is too bad that this understandable omission is nonetheless an omisson. Perhaps Moor's judgement would offset Carter's; perhaps not.

In searching for a comparable book about another composer, the closest I can come to Perlis's unquestioned masterpiece is Elizabeth Wilson's "Shostakovich: A Life Remembered." But, whereas reading first-hand accounts about Shostakovich's life can often be an exercise in pain, given the circumstances of that life, reading about Charlie's life only seems to bring me joy. I hope it does for you as well.

Bob Zeidler

This is the first book I read about Charles Ives, and I'm happy that it's still in print. If you are new to Charles Ives, I would suggest that you start here. If you have the funds, I also recommend you pick up Jan Swafford's excellant biography.
Why is this book the best place to start? The book is a compilation of thoughtful and revealing rememberances from Mr.Ives's close friends and his family, all personally interviewed by the author. We even get to hear what Mr.Ives's barber had to say about him! Perhaps most moving is the interview with Brewster, Mr.Ives's nephew.
This book is also chock full of photos and pictures of Mr.Ives's original manuscripts.

Although it has been 20 years since I left Chicago, I still miss it with a passion. It was good to me. I was young and found plenty of opportunity in that great city. I meet some wonderful people as well. I just got this book today but it is a keeper, I can tell. The photos are great and the facts in it are educational, I learned something already; I never saw a picture of the oldest remaining house in Chicago until now.
So, if you are a Chicagoan, former Chicagoan, or just someone that would like to learn about a great city, buy this book.

Our Chicago is a visual smorgasbord of the great sights and highlights of this grand city. Full-color photographs by Ron Schramm, enhanced with an engaging text and informative captions by Marilyn D. Clancy vividly illustrate this visual tour of this American Midwestern city, from its homey neighborhoods to its fast-paced commerce and high culture. An excellent and memorable souvenir of vacationing or living in the Windy City, Our Chicago is a welcome and highly recommended work, which could well serve as a template or example for similar visual showcase tributes for other major American cities.

This book takes its readers on a trip through time to visit Christmas in past years. It is filled with stories of Chicago's past - some funny, some poignant, some sad - but all entertaining.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves Chicago and loves Christmas. I've bought multiple copies for gifts and would recommend it to anyone searching for a unique gift.

Simply stated, Jim Benes did a wonderful job in putting 100 years of history in 203 pages. It brought together many great memories of Christmas Past, and allowed me to share my history with those not from this great city.

Whether from Chicago or not, this book details many thoughts. From what was on the radio or under the tree or on the table Mr. Benes succinctly reminds on and all of the great joy the holiday season brings.

Warren Brown was a master of the English language! His brilliant style of writing is something that is sorely missed from today's so-called sportswriters.

If you can find any of his books (Cubs, Sox, Win, Lose or Draw or Knute Rockne's biography) pick them up to find out how a true legend covered sports!

If your a Cub fan, or a fan of baseball history, you will like this book. It covers the team from their beginnings in the 1800's through the 1945 World Series. Mr. Brown's writing style keeps things moving and indeed interesting. Each chapter focuses on a year or, in some cases, a particular player or event. Cub fans will love reading about the years when the team was no stranger to winning and winning championships!

Chicago Under Glass is a great compilation of photos and from the turn of the 20th century through the 1920's in Chicago, with detailed photo captions and pieces of Chicago history.

Great survey of just some of the 50,000+ plus images of the Daily News archived at the history museum. Good organization, captions are informative and well done.

We purchased this book for our daughter who collects Century of Progress memoribilia. She said that she loves it and has learned many facts about the Fair that she had not known before.

This is a fanstastic book for people interested in Chicago and its rich history. The author has obviously adopted the city as her own and it shows--- she is an excellent writer and this book is well worth the investment.

If you are thinking about ordering this book, think about why you want it. It is a small paperback book with only black and white photos, not a coffee table book. It is intended to be carried around the city with you while you look at the buildings. With that said, it contains photos and descriptions of 167 buildings and additional information such as a glossary and a list of buildings that have been destroyed since they appeared in previous editions.

This trade-sized paperback published by the University of Chicago provides concise facts and black-and-white photos of Chicago's major architectural achievements, from skyscrapers to city neighborhoods and beyond, to the suburbs. There are helpful maps at the beginning, with numbers for each building described in the following pages. It is an easy to carry size, and features an attractive typeface. The one update this book now needs is the addition of photos for the now mostly-completed Millennium Park.

This book combines the literary approach and the socio-political approach in such a delightful manner that it may be considered as both history of literature and literature on history. As a history, it is amazingly informative of the Chinese Americans' life in the past one and half centuries, their weal and woe, tears and laughters. As literature, it is surprisingly readable, and full of sensible judgments from literary perspectives.

The design of the jacket cover, however, somewhat falls short of doing full justice to the quality of the book. Especially, the Chinese graphs in the background might mislead potential readers to think that Chinese American literature is more Chinese than American, a misconception that the author himself endeavors to correct in the book.

Do you know what happened to the altar food left open in the Wild West by early Chinese immigrants? You can find the answer in Xiao-huang Yin's path-breaking book Chinese American Literature since the 1850s. The volume is a careful study on Chinese American cultural and historical experience seen through a fascinating reading and documentation of Chinese American writing over the past 150 years. I think Yin's book is a fine example of what the Chinese call "yasu gongshang," i.e., to be appreciated by both the academic and general audience, perhaps the highest standard for all writing.

Yin has offered to the field of Chinese and Asian American studies the first comprehensive overview of Chinese American literary experience from the beginning of Chinese settlement in North America down to the present time. I believe Yin's book has redefined and enriched our perception of Chinese American literature in two significant ways: first, his research has offered us a fuller and engaging look at the early Chinese immigrant writing of the 19th century, and more importantly, it embraces the entire world of Chinese American literature in both Chinese and English. Although it is the concensus of the field that bilingual and transnational approach is most desirable in Chinese American studies, truly bilingual and transnational research is still very hard to find. Yin demonstrates that bilingual and transnational approach is not only most fruitful but also a necessity in Chinese and Asian American studies. What is most impressive is the sense of balance Yin's commentary achieves in dealing with varied voices, often contending, in the worlds of Chinese America. The seven chapters of the book not only includes a historical in-depth view, but also incorporates distinctive perspectives such as immigrant, Eurasian, second-generation, American-born, native-Chinese/American, anti-/pro-assimilation, etc, which together constitutes a rich, diverse, and often contradictory, picture of Chinese American experience. Last but certainly not the least, trained as a cultural historian and Asian Americanist, Xiao-huang Yin combines the best of solid historical research method with an acute literary sensitivity that produces a powerful effect.

Even though this is an academic book based on solid research, it is surprisingly a very easy read. Here is the good news for the general reading public: there is no hard-to swallow academic jargon in Yin's book. Another aspect I find that it is such an entertaining read is that his notes are full of "gems." Not only will you find who ate the altar food, you can also find, for instance, who said "white man first, socialist second," who's the first Chinese graduate from an American college, how much money a Chinese-language writer in America makes, etc. Given the increasing importance of the Chinese American community in the making of a multicultural America, Yin's timely book is well-suited to benefit the general reading public in their understanding of major (cross-) cultural issues facing Chinese American communities not only historically but also in the ever-changing dynamics of the present.

I loved this book. It really informed me about the history of the Chinese in America. Excellent images and narratives.

It is a long overdue photo publication on Chinese immigrants in Chicago and neighboring States by Chinese American Museum of Chicago Chinatown, in personal livelihoods, families, communities, culture and interaction with the American society. These pioneers collectively put out their effort, blood and tears in making Chicago Chinatown among the best. This book is a community album of historical value and significance. It represented an era of Chinese struggle in coming and making a life in the middle of America. Despite the odds, hardship and discrimination, they contributed to the society with determination, endeavor and sacrifice. This book makes a documentary and honors this odyssey. The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943 and the different waves of Chinese immigrantions brought along profound changes. Refreshing this forgotten history, this volume is an encouragement for the new comers to excel in poltics, encomics, academic, medicine and art to insure that history will not repeat itself for the 60 years of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 by Congress. It is expected the next edition "Chinese in Chicago, 1945-2005" will be as promising and exciting as this one.
A sister publication, Chinese St Louis, published in 2004 will be another good title.