Illinois Books

This book is amazing. It's the best non-fiction that I've read in years; it's as chilling as an action packed fiction book. The footnotes and sources take up about a 1/3 of the book; read all of the archived documents!

I discovered this book two years ago at our local library after I saw the documentary on public TV. I've read it twice.

It's helped inspire me to remember that 1 person really can make a difference, even if our contributions are a lot less! We can't take our freedoms for granted!

"When Truth Was Treason" gives an important look into the experience of some of the German people under the control of the Nazi State during the atrocities taking place in Germany during World War II. I especially enjoyed the added information included in the extensive footnote section at the end of the book. I appreciate the opportunity to know of the heroism of some of those who resisted the evil of Hitler. This is a moving account of a side of the history of World War II we are often completely unaware of.

You will find out about Nazism, but the book is about courage. FULL of documents...chilling.

Glaser's latest book is full of wit and wisdom. He's a king of craft, and his subtle language play is sure to please poets (who can learn from him) and non-poets alike.

Glaser's latest book is full of wit and wisdom. He's a king of craft, and his subtle language play is sure to please poets (who can learn from him) and non-poets alike.

Glaser's new book is full of excellent work that shows his mature skills as a poet and observer. Whether read for his mastery over technical prosody or for penetrating insights into his own life and life in general, the poet's "Winter Amnesties" will appeal to every reader who appreciates expert craftsmanship and intelligent views of the human condition.

As an editor who has been assocaited with newspapers and magazines for a number of years, I am interested in all aspects of writing, but Ms. Schultz's book, The Young Composers, is the first time I've had a clear picture of how writing instruction evolved along with our educational system in the last century. Although I am sure Ms. Schultz's primary audience are her colleagues who teach English throughout the country, The Young Composers presents a fascinating story in an engaging way that will interest anyone who loves putting words together. It is, in short, a fine piece of writing itself and well worth a read.

Although meticulously researched, this book is delightful to read, accessible, clear, and often amusing. It provides a new view of the development of contemporary ideas in the teaching of writing, helping us to understand the background of many debates still raging, for example, the role of personal experience in the development of student writers. Most interesting for the contemporary elementary or high school teacher is the revelation that so much that we consider innovative in writing instruction began in the schools not in the colleges. The book serves, then, as a useful corrective to the often elitist view of knowledge always being constructed in the university and sifting down to the lower division schools. The examples of 19th century writings and texts are fun to read, and the effect of the whole work is to help us understand what was originally at stake in the move to situate authority and meaning in the lives and experiences of student writers.

The author serves us well by clarifying the idea of democratization of writing instruction, which began in the nineteenth century schools. It is the method of asking students to write about their own experiences, rather than following the works of great writers. As a result of her work the question can now be raised about which method makes for a better education. The author includes some interesting student essays, for example one from 1846 about the moral dangers of reading novels.

this is the most factual book of chicago i have ever read. it has all you need about chicago from year 1900 to 2000. Adrienne drell did a fabulous job with the book and i think everyone should own a copy.

Compiled from the archives of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper and edited by Adrienne Drell, 20th Century Chicago: 100 Years, 100 Voices is a year-by-year chronological history of Chicago which offers information and insights through the means of different "historical voice" for each year of the last century. Black-and-white photographs enhance this engaging 216 page summary of the march of time and progress in a truly grand Midwest American city. Showcasing events and personalities, 20th Century Chicago is a unique and welcome contribution to American History collections and reading lists.

Best known for his 1915 bestseller "Spoon River Anthology", Masters writes in a style simple and intimate; something that almost anyone can read.

This personal portrait paints a picture of the attorney/author's life, loves, pinnacles, and misfortunes, and gives us a clear view of life as it was at the turn of the century.

Born in Garnett, Kansas, and raised in the Petersburg, Illinois region, Masters tells the story of the famous and not-so-famous people who touched his life and left their marks on this celebrated author.

This frank verbal self-portrait reveals the forming of the epitaphal poet. His early years are seen against the backdrop of his midwestern roots, his law training, and emergent writing. Particularly of interest are his anecdotes of life in the Chicago of Clarence Darrow, the White City, and his romantic ventures. The text gives insight into what formed the voices of Spoon River Anthology. It's haunting, wistful and funny. Tender nostalgia, particularly for Illinoisans.

I first learned of the Sears houses in Carlinville from John Weiss' book, New, Historic Route 66 in Illinois, in which he devotes two pages to Carlinville, with a paragraph about the Sears houses. I called the Carlinville City Clerk's office looking for a city map that would show where the houses were. She led me to Laurie Flori, and I got her book. The book is full of excellent info on the houses, as well as extensive background on how they came to be built by Standard Oil. The writing style is conversational and entertaing as well. Highly recommended.

I've finally had the good fortune to get a copy of Laurie Flori's book through library interloan (since I don't seem able to purchase it anywhere.) Unlike other books I've read about Sears Homes, it is dedicated to Standard Addition, and includes a detailed map - a walking tour, if you will - with a legend indicating each house in Standard Addition and it's style, catalog images for all the styles (including an "unknown model") plus current exterior photos demonstrating each model and even some interior photos. The timeline of Carlinville history, and excerpts from the local newspaper, are a bonus.

I graduated from Kinzie Elementary school (Chicago, IL) in 1990 and for one year/one class, I had Jeri Banks for a teacher. Sometime after graduating in 1990, Banks became the principal.

She created an environment where deaf students and hearing students interacted with each other even to the point of having hearing students take sign language classes.

Though I haven't read this book yet I was a part of the experience. I was intrigued to find this book!

Hi I love thsi book. I was in a clas like thsi. I like it it but it can be hard. It is a neat book. I am 12 years old. Email Kellego05@aol.com

Also i have been a class like thsi. It has not work out with me too much. read and enjoy. Bye

This was a very informative book and gave lots of insight into the hugh effort that must have gone into this age-old quest. The focus at the personal level gives a nice picture of what the individuals must have gone through. Makes you think "Hey, I could have been there..." Very enjoyable.

Morton Grosser came to Shafter and to our homes while we were trying to build the first man-powered plane. He wrote a book that centered on the people that were working, thinking and arguing towards the goal. If you want a feel of what it was like to do something for the first time ever, read this book.

Finds the roots of O'Connor's grotesque fiction "located in medieval folk art." Describes the purposes of grotesque art, and focuses on its "comic shock treatment." Contends that the climactic scene of "The Artificial Nigger" serves as a key to understanding O'Connor's grotesque style.

Describes O'Connor's art as mocking and challenging "a restricted point of view," that of idealized beauty or propriety, only to be labeled "ugly and evil." Suggets that her use of "deranged fundamentalists" serve as freakish, crippled gargoyles who "measure `a grotesque distance' between their Christian subculture and that of `the liberal secular' world."

Outlines her use of Christ as the ideal behind her satire, an ideal "that must be degraded as well as exalted if it is ever to be a living presence in the physical world." Then, offers evidence to support Stanley Edgar Hyman's claim that "Christ is the real hero" of O'Connor's fiction.

Discusses, in this context, her novel Wise Blood, "The Displaced Person" ("an ironic passion play"), and "Parker's Back" (a sacrilegious, "Punch-and-Judy show about the difference between religion and faith").

Finds her regard for the body reflective of a medieval outlook and unique in American fiction "distinguished by its candor and unflinching realism." Sees her characters as "both beautiful and ugly, impressive and ludicrous." Discusses, in this context, Mrs. Shortley of "The Displaced Person," Ruby of "A Stroke of Good Fortune," Hulga of "Good Country People," the twelve-year-old girl of "A Temple of the Holy Ghost," Tarwater of The Violent Bear It Away, and Nelson of "The Artificial Nigger."

Examines The Violent Bear It Away, focusing on Francis Marion Tarwater, "one of O'Connor's grimmest protagonists, so serious that he is unintentionally funny." Finds the work to be a mixture of "prophecy and satire, holy seriousness and unholy flippancy." Reads "A Circle in the Fire" as "a disturbing religious story" in which "the meek inherit the land by burning it," and reflective of O'Connor's "complicated humor" derived from demonic elements. Considers "The River," an illustration of how blasphemy and grotesqueness can serve the same satirical purpose. Offers a twenty-eight page explication of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," seen as O'Connor's "little masterpiece" and "a crash course in the grotesque."

Sees O'Connor as a chronicler of the collapse of the subculture of the white American South, who leaves Southern literature "`demythified.'" Discusses, in the context of this contention, O'Connor's narrator, her use of the role of carnival, and offers readings of The Violent Bear It Away, "A Late Encounter with the Enemy," "The Partridge Festival," "The Enduring Chill," "Judgement Day," "Revelation," and "The River."

R. Neil Scott / Middle Tennessee State University

There is a temptation to say that O'Conner is just out there. DiRenzo does a great job putting O'conner in context.

This is an excellent collection of 50 American women theater directors of the 20th Century. Each chapter is short and it gives us not only biographical information about the director, but also explores the particular sense of style and talent for each individual. I had a strong sense of what each director is like and wanted to see their work as a result.
Women theater directors seldom get the attention and honor they deserve. Brava to the authors for bringing these women to our notice.

It's hard to say this these days, but this book is a first. No one has ever written a book solely on women theater directors before, and it's about time! From Minnie Maddern Fiske (b. 1865) to Tina Landau (b. 1962), Vierow and Fliotsos have written fascinating essays on fifty women's careers in directing for the stage. What is unique about these accounts is that they focus on the subjects' accomplishments as a director rather than on some of their other better-known achievements. For example, much has been written about Ellen Stewart as the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club, but never before has anyone explored in-depth her innovative skill as a stage director. In each essay, the authors describe not only the subject's career history, but also her individual approach to the craft. Reading through the lives and accomplishments of these diverse women is not only interesting, but also inspiring. American Women Stage Directors is a must-have for anyone interested in theater, women's studies, or the creative process.