Illinois Books

Once you have a good grasp of Okell's Introduction to the Burmese Script or have mastered the basics on the seasite website, you can plunge into learning the literary style of Burmese.

This book uses actual Burmese texts to build your vocabulary and knowledge of the literary forms not generally used in the spoken language.

Unless you are able to devote full-time study to this book, I highly recommend you gradually and patiently assimilate the material. I now try to read something in Burmese almost every day, even if only for five mintues, and sometimes up to an hour (and sometimes I have to look up most of the words in the sentence!!). With a regular attention to reading, I've found that now the material in this book can be learned much more quickly.

Excellent resource!!!

There is no other equivelent for studying Burmese in english other than John Okell's books. I have the entire series along with the tapes and they are all excellent. My only wish is that these tapes will be converted to CD. I learned Burmese from my parents, but cannot read, write, or understand formal speech. His series of books and tapes have helped me tremendously.

There is no other equivelent for studying Burmese in english other than John Okell's books. I have the entire series along with the tapes and they are all excellent. My only wish is that these tapes will be converted to CD. I learned Burmese from my parents, but cannot read, write, or understand formal speech. His series of books and tapes have helped me tremendously.

This is pretty much the book for learning the Burmese script.

Virtually nothing about the Burmese script has been overlooked and it will probably be a long time before a more authoritative book is available. This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the Burmese script.

The Burmese typeface used throughout the whole series is clean, clear and easy to read.

This book is a treasure for theatre students and enthusiasts, a valuable resource for everyone interested in the pieces of history that are in danger of being lost to future generations.

Steve Susoyev, author of People Farm

Never heard of Caffe Cino? Try Bernadette Peters, Sam Shepard . . . Al Pacino? Yes, all got stage time in their fledgling careers at the legendary Greenwich Village cafe/theatre known as Caffe Cino. It was the seminal womb of Off-Off-Broadway theatre in New York. This space, inhabited by founder Joe Cino and a host of practically mythic characters, was a non-judgemental---and magical---laboratory for a generation of new theatre artists, many but not all gay. It was a place where they could risk, and often fail, but also create groundbreaking successes.

Scholar Wendell Stone has done a masterly job of snatching important historical interviews, first-hand accounts, and documentary artifacts from the precipice of obscurity. We are all richer for it. Moreover, he does so with such grace and obvious affection for the subject that the factual read turns out to be a most pleasant ride. Woven through the saga of the location is the elegant tragedy of the man, Joseph Cino, a figure practically unknown, but a determined soul who literally sacrificed himself for his small corner of artistic influence. Stone has redeemed that sacrifice with this simple but illuminating snapshot of a "magic time" and place---New York's Greenwich Village in the 1960s---and the merry band of genderbenders who presided over Caffe Cino. New Yorkers (wherever you may live); theatre lovers; gay historians; students of life, love, and loss---this book is for you.

I have to end this review with a disclaimer: I know Wendell Stone very well. He is a most respected colleague and friend. We did PhD work concurrently and I watched this material develop from an idea to an important and exciting work. I've loved this topic for a long time now and am pleased to see that Wendell's treatment of it has been so appreciated. It's a good book by a good guy. Read and enjoy!

tells the story of how one of the US's most profound archaeological sites almost ended up a trailer park,but was saved thanks to some efforts of concerned citizens. Then this book gives a good concise overview of the site itself.But i had some questions,at it's peak just what was the population of Cahokia. How far from the center of the Monk's Mound is the population considered to be a part?I've read as high as 38,000 and then as low as 2,000 at it's peak,about 1100.From reading this book,it seems that Cahokia actually had a very short span of influence in regard to years,how about territory as well?Then there is the question of Mound 72,where there was evidence of human sacrifice.Too often this info is pushed under the rug or dismissed as propoganda from early catholic missionaries.Actually instead of making the Amerindian look like a bloodthirsty savage the effect is the opposite.There are some accounts i've read that allude to the overthrow of the Cahokia chiefdoms because of this practice,not revelry in the ritual of holding a live beating heart up to the sun as in the case of the Aztecs.Maybe this was the reason for the short span of years for the rulership of the Cahokia chiefdoms.No book i've yet read deals in any length on this subject except a few archaeological journals,most of them only lightly.The fact that not much info is available on this could mean that maybe this although a shocking practice,it was not a frequent or popular one and this type of ceremony only took place once in a "blue moon"

The series, Digging for the Past, is always intelligible, informative and fun to read; and I found "Cahokia Mounds" is no exception to this.
The book was an eye opener to me, as it is a geographic area that I would never have expected archeologists to discover such a major site peopled by what seems to have been an advanced civilization. As in the Southwest, some of the "mystery" of the Cahokia indians appears to be similar to the Anazasi around whom there also are numerous theories of their lives and disappearance. In addition to this, the authors explain the discovery and subsequent excavations and studies in such a way as to make the mounds and the civilization they represent relevant and accessible today.
After reading "Cahokia Mounds" I would be interested in knowing more about this Native American culture that lived in the Midwest. In conclusion the book was well-written and enjoyable, and I continue to look forward to other books in this series.

This book is an excellent introduction to the history and archaeology of the Cahokia acropolis. Compact and readable, and accessible to both young and old, Cahokia: City of the Sun is the perfect book for those interested in getting started in the study of Cahokia, or for those who just want to know a little more about the ancient history of the American Midwest.

North America had medieval cities. Big ones. One enormous metropolis in particular dominated cultural and economic life up and down the Mississippi River between 800 AD and 1400 AD. The city now goes by the name Cahokia, after a tribe that occupied the area following the european influx. No known records reveal its original name, nor the names of its some 15,000 people. In fact, no written or verbal records about this place made it down to the present day. None whatsoever. Not even the purported ancestors of its inhabitants had or have anything to say about it. Somehow the city vanished from memory. But a ciy it was, at least according to archaeology. And it remained the largest North American city on record until 1800.

"Cahokia: City of the Sun" provides the best general introduction to this extremely important North American landmark and UNESCO World Heritage site. Filled with color photos and maps it helps bring the shadowy Cahokia to life. Eight chapters cover its culture, social hierarchy, origins, buildings, and life. And all in accessible nontechnical language. Not only that, it includes an introductory chapter on archaeology and the methods used to infer the past from artifacts. An important chapter, because most of what we know about the site comes from excavations or inferences from other native cultures.

No one knows why Cahokia collapsed. The dominant theories include political strife, climate change, and depletion of natural resources. Though the Cahokian's culture disappeared from memory, they nonetheless left impressive cultural artifacts in the form of earthen mounds. Many of these still stand near Collingsville, Illinois. The largest, Monks Mound, stands some 130 feet high and offers an impressive view of downtown St. Louis. Many smaller mounds surround this mammoth structure and present a good idea of Cahokia's previous size. The site deserves its reputation as a city. And, apart from the absence of writing, Cahokia also deserves to be called a civilization, or at least the center of one. Studies have unearthed an ancient North American network of cities, towns, and villages reaching from Minnesota all the way to Florida. Evidence suggests that Cahokia sat at the center of it all. But nearly everything vanished before europeans arrived in the area during the sixteenth century. So in Cahokia we not only possess a medieval North American city, but the former capitol of a lost nation. Anyone intrigued by this idea should read this small book and visit the extremely important Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Over the past twenty years, archaeologists and historians have been reevaluating North American prehistory. Much remains unknown, but the land that became the United States saw far more action than previously believed. As the evidence slowly unfolds, Cahokia once again finds itself at the center of it all.

One can only concur with Jane Goodall when she says that this book is "both beautiful and profoundly disturbing"--partly, because it is, and partly because animals, in themselves, are "both beautiful and profoundly disturbing." Not only are we not altogether certain what it means to be human, but also we are not altogether certain what it means to be animal.

Frank Noelker is an associate professor of art at the University of Connecticut. His photographs of animals in zoos have been widely exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions. The design of the book is simple and straightforward. It says nothing about cameras, lenses, photographic techniques or f-stops. As well, it says almost nothing about Frank. The Forward by Jane Goodall and the Introduction by Nigel Rothfels provide its only text. Each of the fifty photographs bears a simple caption like this one: "Leopard, Tulsa, 2002."

What is most striking, from cover to cover, is the atmosphere of isolation. Nearly every photo shows a single animal in the very center of the picture. One gets the unmistakable feeling that the artist is relentlessly transgressing a fundamental rule of photography. Of course, there are a few exceptions; "Hippopotamus, Washington D.C., 1997" is one.

In this photograph, we see a hippopotamus on the left side of the picture, moving toward the center. In the center, we see a small, narrow and empty rectangle. Despite its great size, the Hippo does not compete with this diminutive symbol of emptiness; rather, he seems to be descending into the depths it represents.

The penguin photograph is another exception. In this photo, we see a penguin slightly off center. In the center, a vertical line, a stain, extends from top to bottom, from heaven to earth (or vice versa). The crucified penguin stands close to this mark, this stain, this hieratic symbol of mystery and sacrifice.

Even the photographs that include more than one animal exude a sense of unalleviated isolation. The two antelopes (the epitome of dignity and resignation) look as if they are quietly waiting for Godot. The baboon mother with its two babies might as well be sitting on the moon. The young baboon walking off to the left already knows everything there is to know about its world.

If, as Ortega y Gasset said, living consists in "having always to do something in order to bear oneself up" in the midst of circumstance, these photos show us something else. Can this be called `living'-when circumstance has been virtually nullified? Where is the "dynamic intricacy binding all things together...the system of relations in which all things are implanted...the "unity by co-implication?" ('Jose Ortega y Gasset's Metaphysical Innovation,' by Antonio Rodriquez Huescar) These animals have no projects and precious little circumstance. Their system of relations is vestigial at best.

Nigel Rothfels writes an excellent introductory essay on the subject of "Animals and Zoos and History." Even though this essay is valuable and well written, one should study the photos first. One should read the text only after an extensive contemplation of these beautiful but unsettling images.

In his essay, Rothfells quotes from a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke: `The Panther: Jardin des Plantes, Paris': "The bars which pass and strike across his gaze/ have stunned his sight: the eyes have lost their hold./ To him it seems there are a thousand bars./ a thousand bars and nothing else. No world."

Well put, Mr. Rilke: "No world!"-and "no dynamic intricacy binding all things together."

The book is sub-titled, `Zoo Portraits.' Nevertheless, these photographs are more than that: they are also portraits of us; they are portraits of human values and human awareness--or the sad lack thereof. There is much to learn from these quiet and unassuming photographs; and much that will be missed-partly because our vision and perception are limited, and partly because life is forever inexhaustible.

And, this wonderful inexhaustibility is the very essence of art.

I was surprised at how captivated I was once I opened the book. in the past, I've don't remember many photographs touching me except for those of Ansel Adams and Gordon Parks, whose images from a half century ago touch me in the new millenium. However Frank Noelker's portraits of zoo animals generated great sadness in me for these animals while at the same time instilling a greater appreciation for the freedoms we humans have, and at this time of desperation both here and abroad, seem too willing to sacrifice. I envy Frank Noelker for his courage. I imagine that to have spent ten years photographing animals at 300 zoos across the world must wear on his soul as well as his soles.

This is a useful study guide for one of Chicago's most important and least studied ethnic groups. Although Norwegian immigrants are the intended study group, since the Danes and the Swedes tended to reside in close proximity to other Scandinavians in Chicago, the author relates their stories as well as those of the Norwegians.

By way of explanation and to be accurate, over the centuries, all of three countries were united at various times, and Sweden and Norway were a single kingdom until 1905. After obtaining independence from Sweden in a peaceable manner, a Danish prince was chosen to become the king of the newly established kingdom of Norway. With these facts in mind, any the overlap in the text is understandable and unavoidable.

Some of the Chicago neighborhoods that once had substantial Norwegian and Scandinavian populations included Wicker Park and Humboldt Park, as well as suburbs such as Oak Park. Apart from some impressive residences, public monuments such as the Leif Ericson statue in Humboldt Park or the Norwegian American Hospital, which is immediately South of the same park, there are few reminders of the Norwegians to be found in contemporary Chicago.

The decision to terminate the study in 1930 was not entirely arbitrary. As the author observed, succeeding generations of Norwegians moved away from the city and into the outlying neighborhoods and suburbs after attaining a degree of prosperity. Their children largely assimilated into the American middle class and became less and less distinguishable as ethnics. The Swedes on the other hand managed to maintain a higher profile as a distinctive ethnic group for a longer period of time and their churches, clubs and fraternal organizations continued to promote their traditions and customs to a greater degree.

Professor Lovoll served on the faculty of St. Olaf's College in Northfield, Minnesota, when this book was published. Within Minnesota, the Norwegians have maintained a much stronger sense of community than was the case in Chicago. The text is well illustrated with period photographs.

This book is an excellent resource especially if you had Norwegian relatives in Chicago during this time. The book covers information about different Norwegian neighborhoods, including maps, pictures, and information about churches, and social clubs. I used this book to research more about my geneology. Very interesting historical information.

I have enjoyed all three of Thomas J. Keever's books. The Chainsaw Ballet is my favorite so far. He weaves a wonderful story filled with excitement and plot twists and turns. Once again I found myself drawn into the various scenes and characters, and was thoroughly surprised at how the story unfolded. Highly recommended to any mystery fan, and also anyone who loves stories that feature Chicago-area scenes.

In Chicago, three Serbian immigrants opened up Club Belgrade. They took out million dollar insurance policies on each other. Two of them (Milan Krunic and Uri Simunick) have since been murdered and the survivor Stepan Vasil has received payment, but has not stopped the policy, which seems odd to Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Minnesota Mutual Agent Orson Prescott hires private investigator Mike Duncavan to learn why Stepan has not ended the insurance policy as he has no partners to claim the insurance if he dies. Mike visits Club Belgrade where he meets bartender Eva, who he is attracted to but fears is working 24/7 for her employer. As Mike keeps digging for a motive, he begins to find proof of unsavory illegal practices involving international sex slave sales; an angry Stepan knows the former cop has found evidence that could lead to jail time so he plans to take Duncavan out of circulation with the help of police officers who owe him.

The third hard boiled Duncaven detective tale (see WHAT THE HYENA KNOWS) is an exhilarating investigative thriller starring a fired street cop turned disbarred lawyer turned private sleuth who knows the mean streets of Chicago as well as anyone does. The story line is fast-paced even before Mike makes the scene at the Club Belgrade. Action-packed with confrontations the norm, fans will be hooked wondering why Vasil continues to pay for partnership insurance when his partners are dead.

Harriet Klausner

I was forwarded the bio of this book from on of my professors and knew immediately I wanted to read it. I read it in one sitting, a new record for me, and was really pleased. The story of Lance Pressl's candidacy kept me engaged the entire time. One of the best I've read in my field. Thank you Edward Sidlow for writing such a splendid book. And I repeat A MUST HAVE FOR POLITCAL JUNKIES and anyone who wants to work for or run as a canidatee for office.

I came across this book and was expecting another political yawner .... instead, it was REALLY good. It is written in an easy, engaging style that captures your attention even though you have never heard of any of these people before!! It was interesting to see the inside story especially coming into a presidential election year. I'd love to see a book like this on the national level. How about it Dr. Sidlow?!

This is the first book I read about Charles Ives, and I'm happy that it's still in print. If you are new to Charles Ives, I would suggest that you start here. If you have the funds, I also recommend you pick up Jan Swafford's excellant biography.
Why is this book the best place to start? The book is a compilation of thoughtful and revealing rememberances from Mr.Ives's close friends and his family, all personally interviewed by the author. We even get to hear what Mr.Ives's barber had to say about him! Perhaps most moving is the interview with Brewster, Mr.Ives's nephew.
This book is also chock full of photos and pictures of Mr.Ives's original manuscripts.

I have my days when I feel as if I've known Charlie Ives all my life. Of course, this is physically impossible: when Charlie died, in 1954, I was only fifteen, and I didn't hear any of his music at least until a few years later, in college. And even then, there wasn't all that much of it available on LP. But, over a period now approaching a half-century, my knowledge of, and admiration for, the man and his music grew steadily, if at first slowly.

With this steady accumulation of knowledge now at the point where I feel at ease ("comfortable in my skin," one might say) with providing some informed commentary, I suggest to readers interested in learning about Charlie, and his life and music, two recommendations. The first recommendation is that they read Jan Swafford's "Charles Ives: A Life with Music," one of the most superb books of its kind, totally sympathetic to the man but at the same time not close-minded to his "warts" and their possible causes.

The second is of course this book by Vivian Perlis, one of the most remarkable of its kind. It is one of the most frequently quoted resources by Ives scholars and writers, and obviously so.

The reason for its very existence is almost as fascinating as its contents. Perlis, in 1968, had been working with the Ives Collection, and, to quote her (in the Preface), "I became aware that there were [...] people still living who had known and worked with [Ives], and that an effort [...] be made to [...] preserve their memories of him."

Ives died in 1954, in his eighthieth year. At the time of the start of Perlis's project, then, those of his contemporaries still alive who knew him were already well in their nineties. Mrs. Ives (Harmony Twichel Ives) was still alive, but too ill to be interviewed. (She died on Good Friday, April 4, 1969.) Ives's business partner, Julian Myrick, was able to be interviewed, but he passed on in the course of the project. Charlie's piano tuner died on the day he was to be scheduled to be intereviewed. There were only three Yale classmates who survived long enough to be interviewd. Facts such as these explain the need on Perlis's part to "work against time" in her plan to capture as many direct recollections as possible in putting together this oral history.

Perlis's subjects included, of course, family members, as well as friends and neighbors, most of them from succeeding generations. (Charlie's brother, Moss Ives, had six children [five nephews of Charlie and Harmony, and one niece]; three of the nephews provide some of the best recollections. Sadly, Charlie's niece, Sarane [Sally], as well as his own daughter, Edith [Edie], died in 1956, only two years after him.) Perlis even interviewed Charlie's personal secretary, his barber, and the architect who was responsible for remodeling his West Redding, CT home. Each provides his or her glimpse of the man. That these glimpses are often reminiscent of blind men describing an elephant speaks to the complexities of an outwardly simple-appearing man.

A large portion of the book covers recollections of musicians who knew and worked with Charlie. While all were of the succeeding younger generation, they can lay claim to being the closest to Charles Ives the composer and musician. The list reads like a "Who's Who" of mid-20th century American music: Elliott Carter, Aaron Copland, Lehman Engel, Lou Harrison, Bernard Herrmann, John Kirkpatrick, Goddard Lieberson, Carl Ruggles and Nicolas Slonimsky among others.

Each of these musical friends achieved fame for his own contributions to the art. Each remembered Charlie in the greatest of detail and anecdote, often in terms that bordered on "reverential" and with individual insights which added substantially to a better understanding of his musical psyche.

With one exception: Elliott Carter. Carter, still alive and kicking (and composing) at age 94, was one of the very earliest beneficiaries of Charlie's intellectual and personal largesse. As a teen-age high schooler, he was often invited to Charlie's W. 74th Street townhouse, a comfortably short distance from Carnegie Hall, where they would take in concerts and then talk about what they heard. Given that these were Carter's "formative years," one might think (and some do) that Carter was the logical successor to Charlie. In my judgement, he wasn't; there are simply too many differences between the two, in terms of compositional aesthetic, for the relationship to be valid. And, of all the musical associates interviewed, only Carter, in what I feel to be mean-spirited commentary, was negative about Charlie's contributions to American music. (It is more than a little interesting that Perlis, in her Preface, found it necessary to state that of all the interviews, only Carter's, as published, differed substantially from the raw interview material. One can only wonder at just what was expurgated!)

I am indebted to J Scott Morrison, fellow music lover and Amazon.com reviewer, for bringing to my attention that, in addition to Elliott Carter, there is one other survivor to this day who can claim direct contact with Charlie. That other person is Paul Moor, who interviewed Charlie for the September 1948 edition of Harper's. Moor (now in his late 70s) was in Europe between about 1953 and 1979, and therefore "out of reach" (and likely off the radar screen) of Perlis. It is too bad that this understandable omission is nonetheless an omisson. Perhaps Moor's judgement would offset Carter's; perhaps not.

In searching for a comparable book about another composer, the closest I can come to Perlis's unquestioned masterpiece is Elizabeth Wilson's "Shostakovich: A Life Remembered." But, whereas reading first-hand accounts about Shostakovich's life can often be an exercise in pain, given the circumstances of that life, reading about Charlie's life only seems to bring me joy. I hope it does for you as well.

Bob Zeidler