Illinois Books

The history of the Floridas and its Black peoples has for many years been relegated to the back pages of American history. Jane Landers' important work will move the history of Black Florida before 1820 to the forefront of American history. She presents the people of color of Eastern Spanish Florida free and enslaved, as active participants in shaping 500 years of American history. Landers helps to dispell the one dimensional template (and inaccurate) of slavery taken from the central Southern states: cotton fields, the big house, field hands and the few and despised priviledged house slaves. Life during Spanish rule was similar but different. Landers certainly doesn't let the Spanish off the hook, but brings another dimension to Blacks living enslaved or free in the eastern Floridas. These were multi-lingual people Blacks, who traveled throughout the ports in the Caribbean, or interacted with the many cultures of the Florida's port cities. Landers forces the reader to look at Blacks in Florida in a different light. The early sons and daughters of Florida "MET" the immigrants from Europe, the Upper South and the Caribbean at the docks of St. Augustine, Tampa etc.

Jane Landers' thorough research of St. Augustine unearths fascinating histories of Black families who live in present day Florida.

Hopefully the readers of this book will look for the imprint of Florida Blacks beyond the Spanish Rule.

For historians, or fans of African-American history, or American history, Lander's style will captivate and compell them to search for more histories on the Afro-Caribbeans of Florida.

Black Women and Music: More than the Blues is an anthology of interdisciplinary essays by an eclectic selection of expert authors discussing the experiences of African-American women in a diversity of musical genres throughout history, from classical music to contemporary blues. Essays include "Hip-Hop Soul Divas and Rap Music: Critiquing the Love That Hate Produced," "Black Women Electric Guitarists and Authenticity in the Blues", "Langston Hughes and the Black Female Gospel Voice in the American Musical", "Black Women and 'Women's Music'", and much more. An astutely researched and presented collection, shedding light on the all-too-often overlooked contribution of black women to American music history and modern music performance.

Grazian presents the world of Chicago's blues scene with the loving touch of a real fan, and the critical eye of a deep-thinking sociologist. His exploration of notions of "authenticity" in blues is penetrating and insightful, as he examines what it is in the blues experience that makes us think of it as "authentic" -- is it the color of the musician? The world-weariness in his voice? The ambience or clientele of the club? Or is it simply a construct of audience expectations, differing from person to person? Grazian, a blues player himself, skillfully points out how and why the authenticity we seek in our music is a reflection of our search for authenticity, the desire to "keep it real," in culture itself.

The fifth volume of poetry by author Martha Collins, Blue Front:Poems relays the horror that Collins' father witnessed as a five-year-old boy, while selling fruit in front of the Blue Front Restaurant of Cairo, Illinois in 1909. Along with an estimated 10,000 spectators, Collins' father saw the vicious lynching of a black man, and afterward, a white man, both of whom were abandoned to the frenzied violence of the participants. The free-verse poetry narrative varies its rhythm, style, and meter from page to page, and explores human hate, mob mentality, culpability, and what it means to be white in a nation with a racist history. Once picked up, Blue Front cannot be put down. He wanted to know / everyone in the end / he was a kind // man did errands / for old people younger / than he helped kids // with school met people / in stores on the street / please may I help // And the last day / he said You know / this world could be // a better place just / promise me that you / will help he waited // he made change may / I help you please / make change

I thought this was an excellent book. The epilogue alone is worth the price of the book. Builds on what Polsky started with his book. Quite interesting.

Edward D. Ives provides a fascinating study of a ballad. He first gives us a history of the Bonny Earl of Murray and then explains the political tensions that lead to his slaying by the Earl of Huntly. He makes excellent use of a variety of sources to place this history within the socio-political context of Renaissance life. This history is exceptional because there simply isn't that much good information about the Bonny Earl. The story is also fascinating. It involves political rivalry, complicity, if not conspiracy, by a king, and rumors of illicit affairs. In sum, it contains all of the elements of a ballad, including the sordid details of gothic romance. Following this historical background, Ives writes an thorough history of the ballad. He carefully demonstrates how the tune came from different sources, and he shows how it became part of F. J. Child's canon of 305 English and Scottish ballads. The analysis is an interesting look at the aesthetics of ballad composition, and Ives provides some intriguing insights into this ballad's history. He shows, for example, that it apparently wasn't commonly performed within the Scottish and English oral tradition yet it was occasionaly documented in the USA by folksong scholars working in the field. Ives moves out a limb, by his own admission, and even suggests how the original composer of the ballad may have come from a particular social background. One intriguing tidbit to this book is his discussion of "Mondegreens," or what is sometimes referred to as "Lyrics Misheard." This ballad is the source of the term, and Ives' witty writing includes some good ones that he has collected from students.

You won't believe how much information is packed within 290 pages. I am not an actor, but after reading The Book I certainly have no doubts on how to get started, and I would be able to do so with confidence. The Book details how to relocate to Chicago, find trainers, coaches, photographers, write a resume, get an agent, cut a demo tape, join the union, break into theater or improv, and run a small theater company. Tons and tons and even tons of resources!

The writing is enjoyable to read, enthusiastic...and humorous!...

Booker T. leaps off the pages of this dusty volume and he is a living breathing person. His charisma and energy left me exhausted. One day he is making bricks for his college, the next he is touring New England to raise funds. His wives and friends die of exhaustion around him. I read this book by mistake. I thought it was an assignment for a class(the actual assignment was a thin biography). I took this thick and dusty volume full of footnotes on vacation to the mountains. I decided to skim it and avoid the footnotes. After the first chapter, I read every footnote and the entire volume. These are Booker's journal entries and personal papers. He literally steps out of the pages and you are totally emersed in the beginnings of Tuckaseegee and every aspect of his life. He makes the time and place as real as if you were there. I actually became exhausted by his energy and the mountain of activities he was engaged in at the time. Prior to reading this book, I was not interested in him at all. After reading it, I think he is one of history's underrated characters. This is perhaps one of the most fascinating journals I have ever read on the art of leadership.

Born in the Illinois Cornfields is a wonderful non-fiction book about a young boy growing up during the depression on an Illinois farm. The author paints vivid pictures in your head of what it was like to use an outhouse, milk the cows and work the cornfields with "real horse power." The book is a delight to read for it recalls the youthful energy that we can all remember. I laughed out loud many times during the book thinking "there is no way that could happen in today's society." I was often reminded of the adventures of Huck Finn on the Mississippi but instead it was the adventures Alvin Decker on an Illinois farmsted.

I ordered three copies of the book Bosnian Americans of Chicagoland by Samira Puskar. I've been researching my family history this past year.
My father came from Bosnia with his brother in 1905 and settled in Chicago. I didn't know much about our family but wanted to know more. I gave 2 copies of the book to my older sister and brother. They found the book very interesting and recognized some of the people and places from the many pictures in the book. The book was very helpful and informative for me in researching my family history. I ordered the book Immigration and Assimilation by Senad Agic about the Bosnian Muslim Experience in Chicago. This book is another good source of additional information about the Bosnian American experience that I found very interesting and helpful.