Missouri Books

Unquestionably the best commentary on Plato I have read as yet. No ideology, no radical interpretations of Plato, just extraordinarily insightful and incisive. The essential secondary reference in studies of Platonic political philosophy.

Oxford Don, Raghavan Iyer noted that the world is a fortunate place when there are two people alive -- at the same time -- who understand Plato. Eric Voegelin was clearly one of those people in the twentieth century. This material was originally published in Volume 3 of Order and History, the core of the magnus opus that Voegelin chose to publish during his life time.

I met Eric Voegelin once as a graduate student, and asked him, "why'd you publish all this stuff?" I've been digesting his answer ever since. It was "to resist totality and totalitarianism."

Particularly, seen from this standpoint, a clear core of this book is his articulation of the Platonic concept of "metaxy," or the in-between character of life. In philosophical terms, this refers most directly and fully to "in-between" the Agathon (e.g., see myth of the cave and the Divided Line in the Republic) and the apeiron (explored most directly and deeply in the Timaeus). For the philosophically uninitiated, it is possible to speak of this in more mundane terms.

An unstated corollary of Plato's notion of the "metaxy" is that life is always larger than our categories. From a Socratic/Platonic perspective, this may include but will entail more than the epistemological recognition that every way of seeing is a way of not seeing. The notion of the "metaxy" is most fundamentally a linguistic indice pointing to ontological plenty as the ground of life, albeit lived within bounds of existential scarcity. This is a notion commonly shared by the great civilizations of East and West. The notion of the "metaxy" underscores that life is lived within a tension between the "transcendent" and "immanent" dimensions of being.

When we lose track of this tension, as we have to a great extent in the modern world, and subscribe to reductive ideological notions/understandings of life -- and most particularly, when we imagine that we can encapsulate life within the pride of our own "enlightened" categories -- on a political plane, there may be little to constrain the prideful actions of ideologies, irrespective of whether their clothing is Red or Black, or whether it is "left" or "right." Irrespective of the political stripe, repression and murder become "justified" in the pursuit of an ideological aim -- which in Voegelin's philosophical terms is to dissolve the "metaxy" in the usual modernist mode, through immanetizing the transcendent "eschaton."

Voegelin's philosophical terms may sound remarkably abstract to the modern ear (recall Robert Dahl's silly review of Voegelin's The New Science of Politics for the American Political Science journal). Facile critiques such as Dahl's typically focus on the unfamiliar language while overlooking the elementary fact that what Voegelin is asking us to do in every aspect of his work is to take a journey that precisely allows us to see the world in terms other than that of our inherited climate of opinion. For those willing to be thorough scholars rather than merely play at it within the context of given suppositions, Voegelin's scholarship offers new vistas and incredibly rich fields of study. His scholarship offers the capacity to reflect upon and act in the world in a substantively grounded mode with implications for every discipline (see e.g., A.G. Ramos' New Science of Organizations).

I submit that a key to understanding this text and the greater body of his work at large is to grasp the central significance of the "metaxy" -- not as a concept within the history of ideas -- but as a life referent of perennial relevance to the recurring challenge of resisting sophistic pretensions and the inherited or emergent ideologies of any time and place.

This text demands a good deal. You'll develop insights into Plato available no where else. But for Voegelin, such studies were never a matter of antiquarian interest. They were a matter of developing meaningful referents for life. The value in this text is precisely in its yield, capable of resonating throughout your life and offering far more than the initial effort it will require of you.

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.

H. Lee Cheek, Jr., Ph.D.
www.drleecheek.com

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.

It is a well illustrated and informative book of Precious Moments. You won't go wrong on buying this one. Specially if you are starting to get into Precious Moments figurines.

I think it is very colourful! And it is beautiful too!

I do a lot of research on Missouri archaeology and this is always the book that I start with to get background information on a site. It is the BIBLE as far as my work is concerned. The bibliography alone is an awesome resource and has been immensely helpful in pointing me to other sources of info. Dr. Wood and Dr. O'Brien are both great, well-respected archaeologists; anything with either of their names on it is gold in my opinion. Both have a writing style that is easy to digest, which is something I always appreciate. I have an office copy and am now ordering one for my personal collection. I have yet to read it cover to cover (will as soon as I get it), but, by simply using the index, it has proven to be an invaluable tool for what I do.

This is one of the few books I have read, then reread portions of several times. O'Brien and Wood have done more than justice to their subject; they have created a new direction through their serious consideration of archaeological systemics. I especially appreciate the strong thread of honesty and humility that runs through the entire text. This is particularly evident in the introductory chapter, "Time, Space, and Form in Americanist Archaeology" and the final chapter, "A Further Consideration..." I have long suspected that we know a whole lot less about prehistory in general than the public imagines or scholars would like to believe, and I am frustrated by the plethora of virtually meaningless labels and conjectures in other works. In between the first and last chapters,is the mass of knowledge these gentlemen share. Their story of the peopling of America is fresh and open with consideration for truly iconclastic possibilities. They view the Dalton tradition probably the immediate successor of the Clovis tradition in mid-America, and the discussion is well thought out, but leaves open minds for so much more to be discovered and understood in the future. They bring the reader through the ages in the pivotal state of Missouri by clearly and objectively looking at the evidence. This book is well worth your examination whether you reside in Missouri or elsewhere.

Having had a long time interest in family history, I especially appreciated this book. Wonderful explanation of late 1800s way of life in southwest Missouri. I found this book because my husband is a grt-grt-grt grandson of the author, Martin Rice. I had heard about this book, but had no idea that it was still available. Thank you Amazon.com.

Martin rice was a prominent citizen of Lone Jack, Missouri and gives his personal account of the war on the border of Missouri. Great family research tool for Missouri pioneers. Infamous order # 11 issued during the Civil War on the Western Border.

The eighteen stories in here (and I assume the prologue by the librarian is as fictional as any of the other stories) were completely engaging. I loved the way characters appear as stars in their own stories and then reappear in the background of others. This is so much like earlier stories in US lit -- Zona Gale, Helen Reimensnyder Martin, Margaret Deland, Elsie Singmaster, Olive Dargon, etc. The synechdotal rendering of entire communities is a genre that has always given me great pleasure. It reinforces the reality of our inter-connedtedness without minimizing our uniqueness. And the writing is absolutely wonderful. I'd like to hear what others think about the book and I'd love to read comments from the writer herself.

I scoffed at the title when I first saw it, but when my friend lent it to me, I couldn't separate myself from it. The stories and characters are better than fiction. The human dramas and strength evidenced by the women in this Appalachian town are beautifully and powerfully written about by Palencia. The stories are from women of all age groups which should offer wide appeal. I'm ordering this book today for my library and I can't wait to booktalk it.

A vivid chronicle of the heartbeat of America as glimpsed thorugh the daily life in small towns.

Clifton C. Edom founded the Missouri Photographic Workshop in 1949. Through his work with the workshop he became known as the father of photojournalism education. An instinctive alchemist and catalyst, he was less a teacher than a dominating presence. Cliff Edom presented his last workshop in 1990 shortly before his death. Nothing is forever, but the Missouri Workshop lives on in is image.

'Small Town America' seems an obvious choice for a photobook title but I doubt there has been anything published as good as this since Sherwood Anderson's 1940 'Home Town'. The 215 black and white photos reflect life in rural Missouri from the early fifties to the late eighties and it is all student work. In case this puts you off remember that these students had the benefit of some remarkable faculty members, Russell Lee for instance was part of the team for many years and his boss at the FSA, Roy Stryker taught in 1949 and 1957.

Visually the book is divided into four chapters, On Main Streets, Heart of the Country, A Place Called Home and chapter four has three photo essays covering a Joplin school in 1962, the Hannibal flood of 1986 and a family in Neosho during 1981. The three main chapters nicely run the photos out of date order though it seems to me that the earlier photos reflect the photojournalism techniques of the thirties and forties with their content-rich imagery. One of the really great ideas about Photo Workshop was that each year a different location was chosen so that the students were not photographing in the same place each year.

Look through the book several times, as I have over the years and you'll get a clear impression of small town America with a very human face. The book was published in 1993, perhaps it's time for an update to see how the students have seen rural Missouri since then and in color.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This is an excellent account of how our forefathers dealt with the day-to-day struggles in the frontier. Excellent as history, entertaining as drama, it's hard to put down.

At 550 pages, this classic social history of the first decades of settlement in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas is informative, entertaining, sometimes poignant, and one heck of a read. For anyone whose knowledge of this period is as limited as mine, it's also full of surprises -- lots of them. Historian Everett Dick dips into a substantial collection of documents, listed in his 10-page bibliography, and organizes what he's found into 35 chapters, each on a different subject, including the sod house of the title, homesteading, prairie towns, vigilante justice, farmers vs. cattlemen, extremes of weather, Indians, hunting and trapping, the railroad, sports, education, the church, journalism, doctors, lawyers, and entertainment. And that covers only about half of them.

Settlement moved quickly and furiously across the Missouri River, while the federal government was still negotiating the relocation of the current residents, i.e. Native Americans, then spread across the territories in a surge of speculation and rapid development in a series of booms and busts. Cliches and stereotypes from movies and television quickly fall left, right, and center, as the author revels in the rich tapestry of human endeavors portrayed against a raw, still alien landscape. Law and order were virtually nonexistent, and a recurring theme in the book is the frequency of scams, fraud, graft, and chicanery of all kinds that were the order of the day. In such an environment, the carrying of weapons was universal, and differences of opinion were normally settled with bloodshed and no questions asked afterwards.

There is the land rush, featuring claim jumpers and speculators with no interest in tilling the soil or putting down roots but turning a quick buck, usually in total violation of whatever law existed at the time. There are the wild cat banks, printing their own money, all of it eventually worthless to those left holding it. There are the crooked investment schemes that raised capital for towns that were never built. Prairie communities lure railroad companies to build lines in their direction with outlays of cash. Elections are rigged, bribes paid, and blood spilled over the location of county seats. Phony local governments elect themselves into office and after borrowing money for public projects abscond with the funds and leave the area's legitimate settlers under a crushing load of debt. And on and on. It's a fascinating account of the frontier as a kind of bonfire of vanities.

But this is only one theme in the book. There are many others, and much to relish in descriptions of the daily life of more ordinary folks who are typically jacks of all trades, short of cash, either hard-working or hard-drinking, often overwhelmed by the isolation of their circumstances. It's a delight, for instance, to read of country and small town pastimes and pleasures from baseball to dances that go until sunup.

Given the book's origins in the 1930s, it tends to neglect the lives of women (an oversight that has been corrected in many more recent books), and while it seems to want to give a balanced view of Indians, it tends to focus its interests elsewhere. Unfortunately, the treatment of African Americans is somewhat condescending. Those faults aside, the book is a page-turner, especially for anyone who, as I did, grew up in this part of the world with only a glimmer of an idea of its actual history.

Given the amount of aid Germany and Italy gave the Spanish Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, it is somewhat surprising that Spain didn't enter the war on the Axis side. They didn't, and this book goes a long ways toward explaining why. The Spanish economy was devastated by the Spanish Civil War. It was dependent on the world economy for oil and food. Remnants of the Spanish Empire, such as the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara were vulnerable to British attacks if Spain sided with Germany and Italy.

At the same time, the Spanish nationalists were tempted by potential spoils such as Gibraltar, and possibly French Morocco. If the Germans had tried hard enough in the immediate aftermath of the fall of France, the Spanish might have considered joining the Axis. The Germans weren't interested in Mediterranean adventures at that time though, and by the time they became interested the Spanish had had time for second thoughts.

This book does a good job of looking at Spanish foreign policy during World War II, but it also looks at the Spanish economy and Spanish society in some depth. A good read.

This book is a fascinating look at Spanish politics and culture during World War II. It covers all aspects of Spanish history, from Franco's meetings with Hitler to bullfighters losing their lives in the arena. I've always found European history interesting, but until a few years ago I had never read anything about Spain, and had no idea what an interesting part it played during this time

1939 was the year that World War II began. But in Spain, this was the year that war ended. The Spanish Civil War devastated the nation from 1936 to 1939, and thus while most of Europe was going to war, Spain was rebuilding from a war.

Wayne Bowen's new book, "Spain During World War II", describes how Spain attempted to rebuild itself under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Dissent on the "Left" was forbidden: communist, socialist, and democratic views were suppressed by the Franco regime. But plenty of dissent on the "Right" existed. This book narrates the history of some of the major dissenters and shows that their power was quite significant.

One example of successful dissent came from Cardinal Segura and Cardinal Goma, leaders of the Catholic Church in Spain. They supported Franco but condemned Nazi Germany - because, while they didn't mind dictatorship, the pagan elements in Nazism filled them with horror. These church leaders managed to prevent a "cultural exchange" accord that would have exposed Spanish youth to Nazi culture.

At the other extreme was Pilar Primo de Rivera. She was the leader of the Women's Section of the Falange, and was enthusiastically pro-Nazi. In May 1941, concerned that Franco was appointing too many monarchists and too few Falangists to his cabinet, she led a protest against Franco's policies. Her popularity was too great for Franco to eliminate her, and he backed down and appointed more Falangists to his cabinet. Pilar Primo de Rivera continued to lobby for Spain to enter the war on Hitler's side, and to promote the Nazi cause within Spain.

Meanwhile, the majority of Spaniards during this time were not concerned with politics: they were concerned with jobs, the economy, and sports. Soccer ("football" in Europe) and bullfighting - the two great Spanish sports - were promoted by the Franco regime as a safe alternative to politics. But even here, the regime found that the Spanish people could not be controlled, as regional rivalries led to violence between the fans at football matches.

This book is a fascinating look at how Spain managed to rebuild from its war - at the same time that the rest of Europe was being devasted by the greatest war in history.

War is a Grim Reaper that deeply invades the lives of everyone it encounters. The U.S. Civil War hosted the Reaper, and as the title of Lois Glass Webb's book depicts, "The Spectre of Death Rode the Land."

In Southeast Missouri, John Gordon announces that the family will remain neutral, that they will remain the farmers that they are and raise corn and hogs as they always have. Family duty is a strong pull but a sense of justice is yet another. Stuart Gordon goes against his father's wishes and joins up as the Union army pushes into Missouri. His brother Riley is pulled from both sides, all the more stronger now that he is the eldest son at home. With women to protect, crops to be pursued and life wreaking havoc at every turn, Riley struggles with his commitments and sense of honor.

Life continues on through the deaths of loved ones. Every day is a battle to get through. Every little thing once taken for granted is now an obstacle to get over. John Gordon's daughters, Kate, Emely and Ritty hang on, hoping against hope that the war will end and life will return. But how can it? Husbands are lost, new lives are birthed, torment of fear is persistent. Will life ever be the same again? Likely not, but maybe there is a new one to look forward to.

Lois Glass Webb's story is one often told but rarely given the humanity and depth of life that her characters portray. This is more than a tale of the North invading the South; it is a story of life prevailing over that spectre of death. With the fast paced action of a war story and the heart felt perspective of deep emotion, this book is one that brings history to the light of humanistic evaluation. Facts and statistics do not breathe, but history told through family remembrances, with emotive response, hopes and fears shared with the reader, is a book you won't forget.

The Spectre of Death is a book full of fascinating characters and swift action. I loved all the different stories of the people caught up in the Civil War in southeastern Missouri, how their lives intertwined, the crazy situations people get themselves into for love, money and family loyalty or disloyalty.

This is well worth buying. You'll end up reading it two or three times, like Dickens, because of the interlocked tales of all the characters.