Iowa Books

The three wars covered by Des Moines Register columnist Gordon Gammack were the Second World War, the Korean War and the American involvement in Vietnam. From the columns, you can clearly see the transit from a just and necessary war, through a necessary war and finally to what was just a war. As brutal and bloody as it was, the American troops in WWII knew that they were fighting an enemy that needed to be completely defeated. Gammack followed the troops in the European theater and his stories are of troops with upbeat attitudes, even though the fighting was fierce and deadly.
In the Korean War, the troops were still positive, although they disliked the country and hated the term "police action" when it was used to describe what was happening. The tone of the troops and Gammack himself changes dramatically when he is covering the Vietnam War. As a veteran war correspondent, he is constantly frustrated at the lies and deception of the military, as they try to control the message to their satisfaction. At one point he states bluntly, "Eisenhower would never have allowed this." He also easily sees what is really going on, describing in detail the deterioration of the American forces as drug use, insubordination and even the murder of officers reaches unprecedented levels. However, he still manages to maintain his objectivity, although it is clear that it is hard for him to do so.
While Gammack concentrates on Iowans in conflict in his columns, you learn a great deal about how soldiers felt about these three wars, as well as what went right and what went wrong. They show you a side of these wars that history books largely ignore.

This book, together with only a few others, provides a powerful introduction to the growing field of ecocriticism. The chapters are varied in target study content but share a common rigor in analysis and a common clarity of prose. I have refered my students to this work and indeed found it to be very useful as a background reader when I penned my own recent book of ecocriticsm concerning contemporary nature writing about water - Deep Immersion: The Experience of Water (nominated for top environmetal book of the year). Given its probable widespread usefulness to environmental scholars, The Greening of Literary Schloarship should be part of every 'green' academic's library.

In publishing A Guidebook to Mining in America the author has admirably accomplished a daunting task. Composed of two volumes, one covering the Western United States and the other covering the Eastern States, the guidebook is the best and only compilation that I have seen on the what, where and how to visit historic mine sites, museums, furnaces, and related sites in the 50 states (plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.). It includes more than 1,700 entries with 51 maps and 374 black and white photographs. Most entries include substantial background information-mostly historical-while 130 text inserts provide greater depth on selected topics.

Although the Guidebook is likely to be of particular interest to mining history buffs, anyone else with a penchant for history-particularly industrial history-who enjoys visiting such sites will appreciate this book. These volumes provide an introduction to the mining industries of nearly every region of the United States, with substantial information regarding corresponding exhibits and sites one can visit. The user will find it quite helpful to have such information at hand regarding the potential of an area as a first step in planning a vacation. Educators should be able to select appropriate mineral industry-related topics and field trips to supplement their curriculum. Furthermore, this publication will benefit mineral collectors; they will be able to plan more fruitful excursions to distant mining districts.

The breadth of scope of the historical coverage in the Guidebook is impressive, covering aspects of the mineral industry from mining to transportation to primary processing of mineral resources, from prehistoric times to the present. A selection of interesting examples includes: Thomas Edison's attempts at magnetic beneficiation of iron ores, lead mining and smelting by the Indian tribes of the Upper Mississippi Valley, potash mines in the Southwest, sapphire mines in Montana and diamond mines in Arkansas, historic railroads in Alaska, iron ore boats of the Great Lakes, chromium mining in Maryland, titanium mining in Florida, and sea-salt manufacture on Cape Cod. Of course, you will find California gold and the expected Rocky Mountain mining camps represented, in addition to copper mining in Michigan and gold districts of the Southeast.

Several notable features of the guidebook include an informative glossary of mining terms (in Volume 2, East), extensive cross-referencing of related sites and topics (i.e. Ely, Vermont to Ely, Nevada, both of which are named for Smith Ely who developed copper mines at both locations), and addresses of state geological surveys and state tourism offices to contact for further information. In order to compress so much information without resorting to tiny print, the author relies heavily on symbols to communicate important information on the many site entries. This can be a little confusing, but if the patient reader first reads the Introduction and Guide to Entries (in Volume 1, West) and refers back to the legend of Abbreviations and Symbols on the inside cover of either volume as needed, a little practice will build familiarity with the system.

Any such Guidebook will always be incomplete, information will be dated before it is published, and inaccuracies are inevitable. The author could not visit all of the sites listed in his volumes, but sought feedback from others and made repeated inquiries to the places he had not visited. He acknowledges and addresses this shortcoming with advice on how to confirm and find out further information. Furthermore, the font selected is quite readable and the scanned photographs complement the text of the entries, adding to one's anticipation of visiting a historic mine-related site.

Mercer's book is an excellent resource for not only Hamlet, but The Spanish Tragedy (Kyd), Antonio's Revenge (Marston) and The Revenger's Tragedy (Tourneur/Middleton?). Critical for anyone researching these plays.

This book was written by one of my professors in college. Now that I am a Spanish teacher, it's a great reference (especially for the verbs not used often). This book is a must-have for anyone pursuing Spanish beyond high school and as a teaching career.

This is a unique book illustrated and written by an accompished medical illustrator, Lee Allen, and two EyeMDs, ophthalmologists H. Stanley Thompson, MD and James C. Folk, MD. Anyone faced with losing vision from macular degeneration the most common cause of blindness in individuals over the age of 50 will benefit from reading this book.

Lee Allen at 87 Lee Allen's life was always about drawing and painting. He worked as a young man under Grant Wood. But during the Great Depression of the 1930's, he needed a way to survive so he took a job as an artist that was being offered by Dr. C. S. O'Brien in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. The unwritten deal between these two men was that Allen would, for the moment, put aside his aspirations in the fine arts and concentrate on becoming the best ophthalmic illustrator in the country. O'Brien asked Lee to attend all the lectures offered to the ophthalmologists in training, to take his work to national meetings, and to publish his findings under his own name in the ophthalmic literature, whether he had the appropriate academic degrees or not. Lee Allen took this contract seriously.

In this book, a biographical sketch of Lee Allen reviews some of his many accomplishments and contributions to ophthalmic practice.

When Lee was 78, he began to recognize the first signs of age-related macular degeneration in his left eye. Naturally he began to sketch them. There never was anyone better equipped by training and long experience to describe the particulars of age-related macular degeneration, from the inside out, than Lee Allen. He has just the right combination of skill, experience and persistence to draw what he sees.

If you learned from Henry Grunwald's book: Twilight:Losing Sight and Gaining Insight you will find this "atlas" and biographical sketch of Lee Allen's very informative.

I'm not usually an avid reader of the short story format. I generally find that I'm not satisfied with the character and plot development that happens in such a brief space of words, despite a more condensed writing style and other techniques adopted by authors. In this collection of stories, however, Marly Swick has managed to write in a simple and straightforward, but convincing manner about people facing their own personal troubles.

Each story is filled with a personal experience that enhances the author's testimony of his faith in Christ. It is easy to find yourself relating to the stories as if they were your own.

The book is a well written series of short stories that anyone can enjoy. It is easy to be captivated by each one. The author keeps you interested always. It's a great book!

This is one of the few concise texts that reviews the "Sweet Sixteen" ratios for understanding farm financing. The author's rationale directly supports the Farm Financial Standards recommendations as US Agriculture faces even more difficult times.

Published in 1929, this is the best of Edmund Wilson's three novels. F. Scott FitzGerald thought it under-appreciated. Rather formulaic or schematic in its structure. Each of the five sections is written from a slightly different POV.

I would hope that this novel is widely taught in creative writing programs because it has much to offer as a learning tool. I bet Truman Capote created his character, Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" directly from Daisy.