Illinois Books

You cannot read this book without capturing God's heart for the city! Dr. Ray Bakke simply and clearly communicates the lessons God has taught him in his ministry in Chicago and in the world-class cities around the globe.

Bakke identifies the apparent irrelevance of Christianity in our cities as a failure on the part of the church. After pointing out the reasons for this failure and barriers to urban mission, Bakke lays out his challenge to embrace cities by developing a theology of the city and implementing God's agenda for the city.

He argues that "existing churches will not reach these huge and rapidly growing populations [in cities] without cross-cultural missions at home" (45). Also: "It is only by living in a city, with a theological vision for the city, that we can attempt to reach the city's people" (85).

While every chapter is significant, Chapter Six: "Into the Community" is excellent and should be studied and practiced by every pastor across the United States. Chapter Ten: "Do It Yourself" offers practical models and strategies to get started, including a checklist for each of the preceding chapters.

Bakke's vision of the church as an "Expeditionary Force" where every believer ministers to their worlds or relationships needs to be embodied not only in urban centers, but across the nation. As he notes: "most pastors would need immense mental transformations" to allow this model to work (133).

this book is very effective in letting the christian leader be equipped in ministry, to know his environment and reach the masses with the gospel. This book can help Christian Ministries transform people not only spiritually but economically and educationally.

I read this book over 45 years ago while completing my undergraduate studies in Engineering. I have never forgotten it!! The significant substories within the book describe the development of wire rope; the construction of the first successful suspension bridge across the Niagara Gorge; the details of construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; and the comparison of the sway bracing of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its ultimate fate. These could all have been the subject of separate books and each was facinating in itself.

This fascinating book descibes the the story of the brooklyn bridge in New York, and the story of their builders, the roebling brothers. Roebling had the great idea of building a bridge not with stiff beams, but with two big soft ropes made of fibers of strong and elastic steel. An idea, which now is used with nearly all Bridges of wide span. I love this book, because it is not an engineering report, but the touching story of the life of mainly the elder Roebling brother, who dedicated his health and his life to this bridge.

I could read this book nearly 40 years ago, and still it is one of my favorites. I do not posess it, and I deeply regret that it is not available any more. Hopefully AMAZON can find some and put them on their stock...

Before I begin, I must express a bias - I have supported West Ham United football club for all of my life. This is not surprising because I live in east London, where West Ham United Football club is located. It is difficult to explain to an American reader what it means to support an English football club - as Korr explains, it is inconceivable that an English football team could be reocated from one side of the country to another (as happened to the Brooklyn Dodgers) and still attract any support. It is a triumph of Korr's book that he can appreciate the similarities between the principal working class sports in the two counties and at the same time highlight the very real differences. Read this book and you will gain an insight into an important component of Enfglish culture.

Like my co-reviewer, I have to admit to the same bias - I am a lifelong (35 years) supporter, although having lived in the United States for the last few years, opportunities to watch them play have been limited. I must say that when the book was first published I derived a certain amount of vicarious pride from the fact that an academic historian (and an American to boot) chose my club as a subject to research and write about. I have read and re-read the book, and lent it many times to expat supporters, and American soccer enthusiasts eager for further insight into the English game's history and traditions. I agree with the parallel with baseball (a game for which I've developed a nearly equal passion) - and would commend it to anyone with a serious interest in sport in its widest societal context. It is a history book first and foremost, and the author makes no bones about it, with a considerable amount of detail and behind the scenes discussion - not a romantic portrayal of the club's (frankly, limited) on the field triumphs, although these are of course duly documented. By the end of the book you can't help feeling that the author has developed a genuine affection for the club, and so will you.

I was so very happy with the product. I gave it to my father a s a gift and hoped it would be just what he wanted. It was and he could't be happier. I was very pleased how easy it was to purchase the item on Amazon and how fast I recieved it ! Thankyou and I will be buying more items in the future !! M.J.L.

The Chicago Sun-Times put together a wonderful commemorative keepsake book for the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox, full of full-color photographs, player profiles and articles encompassing the entire season, playoffs and World Series. This is truly a first-rate publication that is a worthy addition to any White Sox fan's memorabilia collection.

The risque title of this book may be a little misleading. It's actually a thoroughly researched anthology of cowboy songs by a folklorist with plenty of credentials. Logsdon was director of libraries and a professor at the University of Tulsa. For anyone who has read and wondered about the alleged bawdiness of cowboys (early western historians were prevented by editorial restrictions from being very specific), this book will remove all doubt. Of the 61 songs included, many are unexpurgated and unembarrassed evidence that cowboys had more than cattle drives and roundups on their minds.

The book includes a lengthy introduction about song collecting, with an extensive preface to each song, noting its publication and recording history and variant versions. Songs are illustrated with a wonderful series of full-page vintage photographs by cowboy photographer Erwin Smith and others. There are bios of the six contributors to the collection, including Dallas "Nevada Slim" Turner and Baxter Black. Logsdon has also included a long history of cowboy music, ranging from its origins in the pre-cowboy South to the annual cowboy poetry gatherings at Elko, Nevada. There's a glossary of terms for those unfamiliar with cowboy lingo, plus a 22-page bibliography and helpful index. Recommended for everyone from the serious folklorist to the western enthusiast.

It is rare to find a book which is written not only with an enthusiasm and love of the subject matter but with a scholar's attention to detail. When you find a book that contains both, you often find a gem - and this book is that gem. There is a wide range of material here, everything from Songs about Cowboys to Other Songs Cowboys Sing (including the most bawdy and less well-known pieces). Gives a well-rounded view of the cowboy's real life, not the prettified picture that many books contain. The author, Guy Logsdon, lectures and performs as a Cowboy Poet and Singer and has published widely on cowboy songs and poetry. An extensive glossary and bibliography are included in the book.

I read this book on the advice of a friend and was very impressed! It is one of those rare works of history that is both an impressive scholarly work and a very interesting read. As an historian myself who has done some work on the significance of gender to the history of 19th and 20th century insane aslyums, I found that her conclusions concerning the way race and gender assumptions often guide attempts to "reform" wayward women rang true. As an attorney who has both prosecuted mostly men for white collar criminal offenses and defended men and women, as well as immigrants and people of color in criminal court, it was fascinating to see the historical roots of some of the obvious characteristics of our current criminal justice system. Chief among these is the notion that both crime and criminality are socially constructed categories. When people in different social circumstances engage in the same behavior, the underlying motivations for their actions and their social consequences are often construed very differently by prosecutors, judges,juries and parole officers. Mara Dodge demonstrates this in concrete and persuasive ways by telling the stories of women's experience in the Illinois penal system over a broad span of time. The bottom line is that reading the book made these women and their experiences real for me and made me more interested in understanding the way that our society and legal system treats people differently according to their race, gender and social class. 1835 was a long time ago, and yet in many ways it seems that our society has not changed all that much.

This book was given to me as a gift and I never expected to find it so interesting. It's extremely lively, well-written and filled with fascinating stories of the women who were unfortunate enough to find themselves incarcerated. The stories are based upon a careful analysis of a wealth of primary sources that have never before been brought to light. Anyone interested in women's history or criminal justice over the last two centuries will discover new insights. I was especially disconcerted to realize how much a woman's race, class, ethnicity and other factors determined what happened to her in the criminal justice system. Since the book goes up to the present, it should be required reading for contemporary criminologists as well. However, I admit that I skimmed part two which is filled with statisical analysis which is not my forte. In my opinion the greatest strengths of this book include the interviews with former prison personnel, quotes from parole hearings, letters from prisoners, psychiatric reports, punishment records and relevant photographs.

This book is a great history lesson not just of baseball but of the times Willie played. There are many memories of the "Giants" of yesterday.

"Willie's Time," by Charles Einstein, is a magical read, in my opinion. Einstein basically starts when Willie made it to the "Bigs," and he weaves history into the phenomenal career of Willie Mays, who is arguably the greatest baseball player that ever lived.

I started playing Little League baseball in 1960, and I played center. Willie Mays was my hero. Mays could-and did-do it all: (1)hit for average, (2)hit with power, (3)run the bases, (4)play defense, and (5)win games for his team with intangibles. Many players challenged Willie's arm, and Mays threw the majority of them out.

To attempt to compare drug-enhanced players of today with Willie Mays is ludicrous. They are mere children compared to Willie.

Today (27 May 2005), Major League Baseball no longer exists (to me). But "Willie's Time" was a wonderful reminder of not only a great baseball player, but also a time when Major League Baseball was fun. (RIP, Major League Baseball.)

In my opinion, you will NOT be disappointed if you buy this book.

Stuart Shea does a fantastic job in this "unauthorized biography" of Wrigley Field of telling the entire story of the Lake View neighborhood, not just the ballpark. From the founding of the area in the mid-19th Century, to the area we know today as Wrigleyville.

Plus, it is filled with details of the Cubs on-field experiences as well. Yes, those wanting to know about how Wrigley went from a small grand-stand at Clark and Addison in 1914 housing a Federal League ball club to one of the most revered parks in the country; double-decked, and with the ivy covered walls, will not be disappointed. However, Shea also tells the story of the teams that played there as well. For, what is a ballpark without a ball club? (Bears fans should note that a chapter is dedicated to non-baseball related activities. There is also a note in this chapter about the Chicago Sting soccer club.)

I would agree that this book could have used more photographs. I'm not asking for a coffee table book (there are plenty of those already available) that takes away from what the book is trying to accomplish... Rather that, since the book is trying to point out (and at times refers to photos used researching the Wrigley renovations through the years), that additional historical photos would enhance the already deep wealth of information available in this book. This minor detail, however, is not enough to detract from a top recommendation for this excellent book on the Friendly Confines.

Stuart Shea has written an intelegent and well researched book on the crown jewel of baseball parks.

The book illuminates not only the park but more over the vibrant and diverse personalities that gave Wrigley Field its character. From its comprehensive analysis of early Lake View, to the lights, Shea shares the details and yes even the foibles of those who call the Friendly Confines.

I encourage all that are fans of Wrigley to use this as a resource.

If the book were to be lacking, it would be in the actual paper quality and the lack of unique photos. Photos can be found in countless other books claiming to be definative on the park, but you will not find the facts and amazing narative content that Shea provides. This is a great baseball book.

Younker did a wonderful job with this book. It's so interesting reading it, and knowing that I am a part of that family. (My husband is Jon Putman, son of Richard Putman, Bellevue. I think it's a good and interesting read for anyone whether interested in commercial fishing or not.

A native of Bellevue Iowa I realized how great this book was at captivating the real truth about what commercial fishing is about. I think this is a great book for anyone who is wanting to know more about the lives of people who Commercial fish. It isn't just a hobby, It affects the whole family. The book doesn't just talk about commercial fishing though. There is something in this book for everyone wanting to know more about growing up in a small town in Iowa. It talks about the commercial fishermans family and how they grew up. I recommend this book to anyone interested in small towns and fishing. I give this book Five stars!

For those who love history, Opera and Chicago this book is a must have on your bookshelf. It was especially interesting to me because my family has lived in Chicago for 4 generations. It is also very interesting to see how the development of a city parallels social trends like immigration, economic development etc. I have put this book on my bookshelf next to a broader history of Chicago and a history of the Chicago mafia.