Ohio Books

While today it's not a high-profile city, in the mid-19th century Cincinnati was the third-largest city in the US, and the wealth derived from that status led to the creation of many cultural and educational landmarks, most of which still exist today. For example, the city's top-regarded Symphony Orchestra is made up of the members of the Musicians Union, #1. By the early 20th century Cincinnati's power and resources attracted the notice of political bosses as far away as New York, who took over the city only to be turned back in a precedent-setting, peaceful citizen revolt that created the City-Manager form of government.

Against this backdrop, in 1988 Cincinnati celebrated its Bicentennial, taking in the various periods of its history: a crude, frontier settlement; a lively time as a major stop for inland water trade; a period preceding Chicago as "Hog Butcher of the World"; the main target of Prohibitionist Carrie Nation's wrath as the headquarters of many breweries; and today as a sophisticated, economically and culturally diverse city. And more - whew!

To mark this occasion the Cincinnati Historical Society published this lavishly illustrated, highly readable history of the city, initially in two spiral-bound, hard-cover editions in 1988. What made it special among such histories is the fact that during the Works Projects Administration days of the Depression a cadre of skilled but unemployed historians and writers were hired to write a history of the city, and this book incorporates nearly all of that brilliant work, simply bringing it up to date.

While at times some institutional reverence shows through, by and large the book is independent of its sponsors and tells the city's story, warts and all. From the 1930s to the mid-1980s Cincinnati was a politically conservative town, although that has changed in the past 20 years as an influx of economic immigrants have joined the ranks.

The native, long-time resident or newcomer to Cincinnati will find something to delight in this book. Yes, I live in Cincinnati and love it, but appreciate the criticiams aired in this book. It should be a model for any popular urban history.

Big Chuck Schodowski tells this story in his own words. At 74 years old, he's had a tremendous career, and made countless friends. Tom Feran, who co-wrote the book, does a great job of letting the Conversational style of Big Chuck come through in the narrative. To read this book, is to hear Big Chuck talking like he's standing right next to you sharing a beer.

I loved this book. We are a home schooling family and I wanted a book to use to learn about the state of Ohio. This book has lots of worksheets that are fun and inviting. I recommend this book.

The Big Rivers is an excellent book. It takes the older elementary student through the water cycle using the big flood of '93 as a living example. I recommend this book for every library. Teachers this book is a great non-fiction book for use as supplemental reading for any environmental education curriculum.

Yeah, how can I? This is one of those charming yet welcomingly unsentimental slice of life Americana kinds of memoirs that take us back to an era that wasn't so long ago, but which also serves to effortlessly illustrate how much life in America has changed in a short time. I liked this book a lot, both for its interesting autobiographical quality and also for the fact that I knew the places the imminently honest Mr. Schwartz talks about with a mix of humor and wise hindsight. My grandparents actually lived in College Hill, Ohio back from about the mid-1950's to 1965, practically down the street from the locations in this memoir, so how cool is that? I truly enjoyed reading about Richard B. Schwartz's childhood and adolescence, his trips to Y dances and church events, his summer job building houses, his times spent playing in the woods at a local park, and beating the stuffing out of a local kid who realllly had it coming to him. For its tales of fire breathing Catholic school administrators, drag races on the Beechmont Levee, to its description of an honest to goodness evening spent seeing the incomparable Buddy Holly perform not long before his death, The Biggest City In America is a treasure.

This is an awesome set for those who want to learn about Ohio birds, their sounds and basic behaviors and details of their nests and habitats. I used these in my classroom for the first time this year and they greatly added to the fun and joy for the students and myself. The book companion Field Guide Book provides beautiful photos and information.

This book is an excellent read. It is a must read for all cultures

This book captures the struggles of some of the real heroes of the anti-apartheid movement, the black lawyers of South Africa. From those who went from the cells of Robben Island to corporate boardrooms, to those who stood side by side with Nelson Mandela in court and now are judges, these amazing individuals used their smarts and savvy to tear down a corrupt system. These courageous individuals often used the very laws the apartheid government had devised to argue that the system was fundamentally corrupt. Although Professor Broun primarily let's his subjects tell their stories, using an oral history approach to their lives, the commentary he adds allows the reader to understand the background of these men and women and how they fit into the South African legal system. As an added bonus, the book contains a message from Nelson Mandela, South Africa's most famous lawyer. A must read for anyone interested in South Africa and for anyone who needs evidence that lawyers aren't always the bad guys.

First, though I live close to where the author is a professor, I've never met him and I have no stake in the success of this book.

I found this to be a superbly readable overview of the history and use of blank verse, from its inception by Henry Howard in 1540 to its practitioners of the present day. Much of the story of blank verse involves its modification over time: iambic feet substituted with trochees or anapests; lines with shortened or added feet; the use of enjambment. Don't know what any of that means? Don't worry, it's explained. If you do know what that means, don't worry-- the explanations are not ponderous.

What I like about this book is its balance between commentary, theory, and examples. It's not often I completely read a book on poetic technique in a matter of days. I usually lose interest somewhere in the middle. But this book held my interest as it reminded me of many poets I had heard of but hadn't gotten around to checking out, as well as it introduced me to several poets I have never heard of whose examples were intriguing. In the back of the book is a source list for verse references which I found helpful in finding these poets' works on Amazon. In particular, I'm looking forward to receiving books by Turner Cassity, Roy Fuller, Sidney Keyes, and E. J. Pratt.

The author's style was informative without being dryly academic. It was a pleasure to read. If he has any preferences for the kind of blank verse he finds most satisfactory, he doesn't club the reader over the head trying to prove his opinion is right. I suspect he favors trochaic substitutions over anapestic, and truncated lines over lengthened ones, but he expresses himself in such a balanced way that I'm ready to admit I may be wrong in my suspicions.

I think this is a suitable book for either the poetic novice/apprentice or the journeyman poet. Even if one's primary interest is not in blank verse, even if one's preference is not for metered poetry at all, one can gain an insight into the craft by this examination of what is available and what is given up by embracing or dismissing metered poetry.

I definitely recommend this to anyone serious about being a poet. At this time I prefer it over Alfred Corn's "The Poem's Heartbeat" (my previous favorite), Mary Oliver's "Rules for the Dance", Timothy Steele's "all the fun's in how you say a thing", Derek Attridge's "Poetic Rhythm", or William Baer's "Writing Metrical Poetry". Nothing necessarily wrong with those books-- I just found this one more engaging.

This is a fabulously funny book, and I can't wait to read it. Just kidding.

No, seriously funny. And moving. A writer of unique talent and vision.