Illinois Books

There is a temptation to say that O'Conner is just out there. DiRenzo does a great job putting O'conner in context.

Poet laureate of Illinois Kevin Stein presents American Ghost Roses, an unusual poetry anthology consisting entirely of elegies. Free verse in a variety of formats mourns the brevity of human life and the death of a father. An honest and upfront approach to grief, these verses stir a resounding chord in the individual reader. Thinking of Kandinsky while Shaving My Father: It pains the back, not to mention the spirit, / to kneel beside one's father limp in his electric lift chair. / Scrape goes the blade, tick the clock whose arms / spin blades pinned at the donkey's tail / heart makes of us. With one deft false move // I could end this, though try that excuse on the cops. / Next his hair cut and shampoo, my day's dirty work / spiraled down the drain. Who's weak now? / For scenes like these, Kandinsky claims / the spirit can be strengthened by exercise. American Ghost Roses is highly recommended as being thoughtful and thought provoking reading.

Provides an excellent source for maps of all the Chicago area counties. Even with online mapping services available, it is still nice to have all this information readily available in book form.

I picked up American Millstone on a bargain shelf at a local bookstore in Houston. I wrote to the Chicago Tribune for more copies but they had none. The chapters are an EXCELLENT source of short reading articles for a high school English class. I wish they would do a more up to date series as this book was written before the infamous "crack wave."

First published in 1969, Weiss's careful assessment of the so-called "American myth of success" is still relevant today and continues to be referenced by other authors writing on the subject. Roy Anker has honored it with several pages of exposition in his Self-Help and Popular Religion in Early American Culture (1999). He stated that Weiss's text "seems balanced, fair-minded, and revisionist in import, especially in its analysis of the character ethic."

According to Weiss, the success myth involves the belief that "all men, in accordance with certain rules, but exclusively by their own efforts, can make of their lives what they will" as well as "the cluster of ideas surrounding this conviction". It is rooted in an idealism and ideology that believes "opportunity exists for all" quite apart from any empirical investigation into "the degree to which opportunity has or has not been available in our society".

Success is generally defined in material, earthly terms this side of death. However, as Weiss demonstrates, this doesn't mean that there wasn't or isn't a moral and/or metaphysical dimension to success. He begins with the Protestant ethic of early American Puritanism, making reference to Max Weber's influential book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930). The maxims of this ethic include industry, frugality, and prudence. Weiss states that even Benjamin Franklin espoused these virtues in his The Way to Wealth, but secularized them and gave them a utilitarian aspect where proper behavior brought earthly rewards. The tradition of the Protestant ethic continued into the 19th century, but after the Civil War, during the "Guilded Age", there was a transition from moral purity to metaphysical power, from traits of character to states of mind as the key to success or failure. Within this context, the literature of the New Thought movement is given attention as an inheritor of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalist dogma but mixed with the pragmatism of William James (Weiss also acknowledges in a Chapter 5 footnote the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg's ideas on New Thought and James through his father; however, he fails to mention the influence of Swedenborg on Emerson). During this transition there were those who attempted to salvage aspects of the older values through fiction while also critiquing industrialism, urbanization, excessive wealth-getting, and moral decline. The literature of Horatio Alger, Jr., as well as the work and attitudes of the following five popular Christian novelists are discussed: Augusta Jane Evans, E. P. Roe, Charles Sheldon (of In His Steps fame), Gene Stratton Porter, and Harold Bell Wright, each offering practical spiritual and moral counsel.

One must keep in mind that Weiss is not concerned with clearly distinguishing between conservative and liberal Christianity, both of which have a history throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, although it is clear for those who know the differences (aside from the variations within each camp) that Emerson and the later New Thought proponents in the 19th century embraced a heterodox, liberal type. Weiss points out that the "reformist nature of New Thought extended beyond matters of organization to questions of doctrine as well. The new dispensation denied the doctrine of original sin. The well-known couplet from the New England primer - 'In Adam's fall, we sinned all' - had 'no truth in it at all'" (page 144). Although the Puritan's Calvinism (which associates original sin with the Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity) falls within the parameters of conservative Christianity, it is not equivalent with it (contrary to the opinion of some Calvinists). The move away from Calvinism in the 19th century included conservatives as well as liberals who embraced Arminian or Pelagian/Semi-Pelagian concepts of moral freedom while holding different opinions on the notion of "original sin". See, for example, The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century (Second Edition, 1996) by Melvin Dieter for the conservative transition, and The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion (2001) by Gary Dorrien for the liberal transition. Weiss ends his book by looking at the thought of Norman Vincent Peale whose book The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), which was influenced by New Thought, impacted both conservatives and liberals alike, making it one of the most popular books in the self-help tradition. Anker's Self-Help and Popular Religion in Modern American Culture (1999) looks at the literature and influence of Peale, and his student Robert Schuller, in more detail.

I highly recommend Weiss's book, and refer to it often along with Roy Anker's two-volume study while researching success literature in American history.

It's hard to say this these days, but this book is a first. No one has ever written a book solely on women theater directors before, and it's about time! From Minnie Maddern Fiske (b. 1865) to Tina Landau (b. 1962), Vierow and Fliotsos have written fascinating essays on fifty women's careers in directing for the stage. What is unique about these accounts is that they focus on the subjects' accomplishments as a director rather than on some of their other better-known achievements. For example, much has been written about Ellen Stewart as the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, but never before has anyone explored in-depth her innovative skill as a stage director. In each essay, the authors describe not only the subject's career history, but also her individual approach to the craft. Reading through the lives and accomplishments of these diverse women is not only interesting, but also inspiring. American Women Stage Directors is a must-have for anyone interested in theater, women's studies, or the creative process.

These volumes, written by a distinguished American Egyptologist, were first published in 1906 and 1907. In his introduction to this re-edition, Egyptologist Peter Piccione provides a short biography of the author as well as a historical account of the 5 tomes. Volume 1 discusses the First through the Seventeenth Dynasties; Volume 2, the Eighteenth Dynasty; Volume 3, the Nineteenth Dynasty; and Volume 4, the Twentieth through Twenty-Sixth Dynasties. Volume 5 contains supplementary bibliographies and indices for the previous volumes; Piccione has added a more recent bibliography that proves to be quite useful. Each book offers a description of texts along with comments on historicity and significance, before continuing onto easy-to-understand translations. Many of the texts included are never-before-seen passages, while others are quite popular: the Palermo Stone, Letter of Pepi II, Tale of Sinuhe, Tomb of Rekhmire, Capture of Kadesh, Papyrus Harris, Adoption Stela of Nitocris, and so on. This is the most complete, easy-to-consult translation of Egyptian historical texts ever available in the field of Egyptology. A highly recommended resource for students and scholars.

After reading this book, I was surprised that it didn't garner more attention. Friedman's world is that of the "everyman," and his keen ear for dialogue, his subtle rendering of the despair lurking behind polished suburban surfaces, and his dense and arresting realism approach the intensity of Ray Carver. For an unaffected look into the psyche of the middle class--and modern man as a whole--this collection of short stories is an important work. Dark, unsettling, and inexplicably compelling like the best of the minimalist genre, "If Defeated Allege Fraud" is short fiction at its finest.

of anguish and despair. The poets scream, but their voices cannot be heard, as they plead for mercy for their brothers and sisters' lives. An excellent book that must be read over and over again.

Again, the pictures in the book are easy enough to use for my 3 year old. The information contained in the book is useful. We enjoy using this book and look forward to the spring and summer when we can travel further than our backyard.