Illinois Books

If you want to identify birds in your Illinois backyard, or when you're hiking in the woods, on a picnic at the zoo, enjoying the flowers at the Botanic Gardens, or basking in the shade of a tree at an Arboretum, then this is the book for you. It won't confuse you with birds that don't belong in Illinois. This is THE field guide for Illinois bird watcher, no matter what the expertise. This guide is arranged by habitat and color coded for quick identification. Each bird has a full color beautiful drawing, interesting facts about the bird, including how to identify it in the field, as well as when during the year you're likely to see it.
Sheryl DeVore, an award-winning environmental journalist and editor, writes with technical and poetic ease. Steve Bailey, an ornithologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey is one of the top experts on Illinois breeding birds; his maps make it easy to identify each bird as breeder, summer visitor, year-round resident, or migrator.

Get this book if you live in Illinois and love to watch birds!

This book is a must for psychoanalytical psychotherapists. Rosine LeFort clearly displays her unconditional love and genuine concern for these two very disturbed children. LeFort's work is truly brilliant and beyond her time. She is comfortable within herself and Nadia (psychotic patient) is aware of this, which is one of the reasons why she eventually allowed the Other to enter into her world. LeFort's research went beyond and endured the frustration and futility of Autism and made the reader more aware of how disturbing the Autistic position really is.

this is great for our parents and grandparents who so want information aboout their past and we as childrean adn grandchildren sometimes are unable to obatian such info.

thanks

George O. Kent's book Bismarck And His Times details the path taken by Prussia that gradually led that nation to unification with other German states under Prime Minister and later Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. That path, however, did not lead the unified Germany towards political maturity, and led to its defeat in two world wars, notoriety for perpetuating the most shocking atrocities publicized in the world, and its division into two countries until eventual reunification in 1990. As a result, Bismarck's achievements were reanalyzed, with post-World War II assessments revealing considerable rust on the "Iron Chancellor"'s facade. Kent is one of those historians, arguing that Bismarck and his foreign and domestic policies were to blame for this tragedy, and the German nation, as well as the North German Confederation that preceded it, "was conceived too narrowly and maintained too rigidly for too long".

Consider the constitution of the North German Confederation created by Bismarck in 1866, a lopsided hybrid of an absolute monarchy and a constitutional state, with the executive and upper house holding most of the power. There was the Prussian king--later the Kaiser of Germany--and the members of the Upper House composed of representatives from the North German states. On the other side was the Reichstag, whose members were elected by male property owners, whose powers were limited to pass or defeat bills introduced by the king or Bismarck; the Reichstag could not introduce bills. In addition, the chancellor could not be brought down by a vote of no-confidence from the lower house, resulting in the dissolution of the government. Bismarck created this constitution mainly to benefit himself and to ensure the power of the king and God.

His defensive foreign policy, such as the three wars with Denmark (1864), Austria (1866), and France (1870), consolidated his power and that of Prussia at the expense of antagonizing and alienating certain countries. His alliance with countries was tied less to the Second Reich's interests than to his political survival. Bismarck's intrigues with Austria-Hungary and Russia led a train of in what was described as "the finest example of diplomatic deception".

Bismarck may have been a master tactician and strategist in his foreign agenda before 1871, but the opposite holds true in his domestic policies. He "was unable to tolerate opposing points of view, however sincere, and always considered opposition to his policies as personal attacks, motivated by selfish or group interests". To him, the word "loyal opposition" was a contradiction in terms.

Therein lies the problem. Bismarck was energized by having foes to fight and vanquish, as he did with the Danes, Austrians, and French. In his struggles against the Catholics and the Social Democratic Party, he appeared not to shift gears--he just kept on fighting when he should have switched gears into peace mode, or better still, rest on his laurels and retire.

What brought his downfall was his lust for power that went to such an extreme, that in the face of being dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, he was prepared to set events that would bring victory to the SDP, Catholic Center, and hardline Conservatives, whose policies were counter to the Kaiser's, in the 1890 elections. He would then convince the princes of the Reich's constituent states that the empire had undergone political paralysis. A military coup, on the pretext of a Social Democrat uprising, would follow. SDP leaders would be arrested, martial law would be declared, and the Reichstag dissolved. Germany would then become a military dictatorship.

Kent's book has successfully depicted the flaws of Bismarck's mindset, in which he placed his personal political survival before the interests of the political entities he governed, and that is the rust that tarnished the image of the "Iron Chancellor."

It's insightful. It's dry. It's daedal (not a typo) and complex and surprisingly interesting.

My professor wrote it and my professor assigned it. He says that Ch.2 is embarrassing and skipped it.

Bitter Music (as well as the other writings in the collection) reads like a journal, a storybook, and a score simultaneously. The pages are riddled with colorful characters, bizarre situations, and wondrous insights into the musical mind of a brilliant transient.

Black and Mormon proves to be a highly interesting book that relates directly with the LDS and their relationship with the black people of the United States throughout their history. The key element of this book lies around then President Kimball's revelation that blacks who have been denied priesthood rites by their church due to their ethnic heritage, was finally granted that right on 8 June 1978. This book is collection of essays that deals with the priesthood ban imposed by the LDS leadership during the late 1840s, its effects on the black members and after the banning have been removed, how that racist past still affected the church today.

All essays written here proves to be well written, well research and highly informative to the subject at hand. Some of the authors are black LDS members and their words and perceptions may surprise many of the white LDS members who may read this book. Many of the essays overlapped each other due to the narrow subject matter and sometimes, that helped to reinforced the information. The book is only 172 pages and that includes the index and footnotes pages.

It is no great secret that LDS practiced overt racism toward their black members before the ban was lifted and relied on old near-mythological doctrines to denied many of their black membership, the full fellowship into their ranks. The book explained these doctrines very clearly and how they became part of the accepted practice of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints until that fateful day in June 1978.

The book also sadly reflects on LDS refusal to confront their own racist history and how such attitude hampered their efforts to deal with these problems they have with their non-white members - especially blacks. Adjustment of white Mormons in accepting blacks as full members have not been easy and its no small wonder that many blacks still feel alienated in their own church. Ironically, the book pointed out that like polygamy, racist anti-black doctrines still lies within the framework of the LDS church. LDS' refusal to deal or remove these doctrines may trouble many. This means that only their policies that has changed, not their doctrines. This means that LDS could easily restore polygamy or ban blacks from priesthood anytime in the future if the political and social situation allow them so.

Overall, a very informative book that provides a lot of information about the racial relationship between LDS and the black people, especially those within their own ranks. Book come highly recommended as an introduction to this subject matter for further reading.

Walt Whitman once stated that the interior history of the Civil War soldier would never be told. Though Whitman's assessment is generally true, Edward A. Miller offers us an interpretive rapprochement through a new history of the all-black 29th U.S. Colored Infantry, a unit formed in Illinois. Yet, this work is not simply a regimental history, but a deeper study in the lives of black recruits in the Civil War era, and a journey into the hinterlands of an American racial pathos. Throughout this study, Miller explores in detail the biographies of individual soldiers, revealing their often convoluted histories which seem to be cut from the same mold. Yet, Miller has uncovered interesting and valuable demographic and socio-economic data. In addition, Miller explores the culture of the 29th's white officers, men who were unduly pre-judged as incompetent by their fellow Union soldiers.

The 29th's only substantial combat experience came at the ill-fated Battle of the Crater, where the employment of black regiments was unfairly blamed for battlefield failures. As such, many in the North wanted to place the responsibility for the disaster upon supposedly inferior black troops. However, Miller's historiography yields a saner assessment through a very detailed account of the battle. When the war ended, instead of disbanding, the 29th was brought up to full strength and marched to Texas to meet a perceived threat from French encroachment into Mexico. There life was "difficult, food shortages common, and medical care inadequate." (164), and many died of privation.

Broadening the reader's perspectives, Miller highlights the sixty percent of the 29th's officers and men who filed for pensions from their service. Many claims for compensation based upon service-related disabilities were exaggerated or downright fraudulent. No doubt many of these were motivated by extreme poverty, for a high percentage of the black veterans could find work only as day laborers.

Regardless, though they completed their military service with "devotion and competence" (206), Miller believes that most black veterans gained little benefit from their wartime service. However, when allowed to participate in combat, they performed with proficiency on a par with their white comrades. But national incredulity would persist with attitudes exemplified by "a mix of pity, paternalism, condescension, and racial superiority." (103) All told, Miller's is a welcomed addition to the growing scholarly literature on the individual experiences of the common soldier.

Since this book was first published in 1996, there has been at least some progress in terms of what Vernon Jordan calls "signs of new opportunities" as indicated by the appointment as CEOs of Kenneth Chenault (by American Express) and Richard Parsons (by AOL Time Warner). However, obviously, much more remains to be achieved in a society which still relies so heavily on gender-specific adjectives (e.g. female jockey) and hyphenated descriptives (e.g. Lilliputian-Americans). Let us all hope that Chenault and Parsons were selected wholly because they were best-qualified to provide the organizational leadership needed. Period.

The subtitle of Collins' book ("The Making and Breaking of a Black Middle Class") implies -- to me, at least -- initiatives which were consciously and deliberately expedient. That is to say, in response to various pressures (especially from the federal government) on many corporations in the late-1960s to create access to career opportunities previously denied to black executives. These same corporations then "racialized" the positions many black executives occupied by limiting their responsibilities to supervising Affirmative Action programs, cultivating "special markets", and solidifying relationships with minority customers. In almost every instance, this eliminated them from the "fast track" to positions at higher levels within their respective organizations. Their income permitted what Dick Gregory once referred to as an "Oreo lifestyle" but job security was tenuous. I was curious to know: Was the emergence of a Black Middle Class, throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, more a perception than a reality?

In an e-mail from her, she responds to that question. "I really don't think the emergence of the middle class was illusionary at all. I think the socioeconomic gains were/are real but they are grounded in different sets of conditions than those that prop up whites. I think that its emergence and growth was, and still is, dependent on the continued support of public policies and social pressure. When I look at the Ken Chenaults and Richard Parsons of the world I see them as anomalies rather than as symbols of a a trend. In other words, I don't think these companies are going to integrate their power structures in a sustained way unless there's some type of external nonmarket pressure to do so. Of course, I could be wrong and, if so, I'll have to rethink my understanding of race relations in the business world."

I was also curious to know to what the extent (if any) the demographics of black executives (male and female) have changed since 1996 when her book was first published. In the same e-mail, Collins observes: "The demographic trends associated with the number of black executives is almost impossible to measure for several reasons. One, the best source (EEO1 data that surveys private employers) groups managers so that rank is obscured. Managers counted here could be the manager of a 7-11 food store or a CFO of a Fortune 500 company. Census data does have an "administrator" category, but that probably relates more to public than to private sector employment. This problem has been my nemesis and probably will continue to be so because I am forced patch together information from various sources and than draw inferences." Although the scope and depth of Collins' survey sample may seem insufficient to support her generalizations (i.e. two sets of interviews with 76 of the most successful black executives in Chicago's major corporations), she consulted extensive supplementary research resources which apparently confirmed what she learned from those interviewed.

The Collins Web site features a statement which asserts that her analysis in this book "challenges arguments that justify dismantling affirmative action. She argues that it is a myth to believe that black occupational attainments are evidence that race no longer matters in the middle-class employment arena. On the contrary, blacks' progress and well-being are tied to politics and employment practices that are sensitive to race." That brief excerpt refers to her analysis of circumstances almost two decades prior to 1996. It remains for each reader to read and evaluate Collins' book, then draw her or his own conclusions as to its relevance to circumstances today. I rate the book so highly because she addresses so many important issues which remain timely in 2001; also, because she raises questions which must continue to be asked, and then answered honestly, until such time that there is no longer a need to do so.

Ellen Whitney's work regarding Illinois' contributions to the conflict is "exhaustive" by definition. Typescripts of numerous orders, communications, newspaper accounts, diaries, journals, etc. from numerous leaders, communities, and common folk are provided in a readily usable format, in chronological order. Not stopping there, Ms. Whitney's extensive footnotes often add gems of information for the historian, researcher, or geneologist sometimes literally found nowhere else. Numerous maps help find obscure locations, rivers, etc.

One volume is a complete reprint of the Illinois muster-rolls for the volunteer militia, complete with index.

If you can only afford one comprehensive look at the Black Hawk war 1831-2, this is it!