Illinois Books

The monumental 'bank-style' churches we normally associate with Christian Science in urban areas are the subject of Paul Ivey's excellent study, a first-ever history of any sort of the Christian Science 'field'.

Although Ivey's book is the first extensive, stand-alone study to examine this period in the sociology of Christian Science, it is for the most part an architectural study. We see how original intent (religious teachings) makes its way into the public world of urban architecture, construction contracts, and finish materials. Solon Beman is the key figure here, a fine Chicago architect who is largely responsible for the 'Extension' of the Mother Church in Boston.

Beman is the taproot of the style of architecture that became known for bright, modernized, comfortable, yet neo-classical monuments that sprang up in downtowns from coast to coast during this remarkable Christian Science building boom.

We often look skeptically on these edifices, which a century later appear so pompous in their now hollowed-out urban areas, and whose futures are in serious doubt. However Ivey brings back life to these churches and shows us why they were not only suitable for their times, but socially progressive.

In confining his focus just to this monumental, urban, pre-Depression segment of the Christian Science movement, he almost unnoticeably confines his historical examination to a certain type of Christian Scientist, to a type that is not altogether flattering. In fact, he seems to be saying that while the thrust of this church building movement shared certain undercurrents with the spirit of Mary Baker Eddy's teachings, there was an unmistakable self-consciousness about this vision of church, an overbearing push to be perceived publicly as prominent, legitimate, successful, and literally profitable to the worshiper. All this makes the religious aims of Christian Scientists appear rather superficial, even if Ivey's treatment of Eddy and Christian Science teachings is more balanced.

If this characterization of the builders of these buildings may not be flattering, it may not be unreasonable. As Ivey himself makes clear, Eddy encouraged churches to bring historical Christian imagery up-to-date. For those not familiar with her teachings, she claimed, partly through spiritual healing, to "reinstate" primitive Christianity. The churches that Dr. Ivey examines largely ignore any such sentiment. Instead, they take as their prototype a more secular model of monument that was considered highly progressive in its day and place. The Christian Science movement based its entire urban church building movement upon this model.

Having said that, Ivey does invoke a sympathetic view of what these builders accomplished.

All in all, Ivey's is the first step in looking at the architecture of this religious movement. With work like this, we can assess how these individuals, apart from their own publicity, actually viewed the role of their church and its place in the world. In this study Ivey took the most prominent public image of this religious movement and tells us the story behind it with care and scholarly diligence that is truly impressive. [Reading his sources you almost begin to feel exhausted yourself.] As a good storyteller however, Ivey brings light and life to his subject - a subject that today seems to keep its secrets locked tight behind three story columns and soaring white domes.

"Paul Ivey's thorough, readable, and well-illustrated book explains why so many [monumental, classical-style, Christian Science churches] exist and what they meant in their original contexts. . .Ivey's book will be interesting and useful for a broad audience. It demonstrates how a study of religious architecture can illuminate not just architectural history, but social and cultural history, the material culture of gender, and group identity." --as reviewed in Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

Prelude to Literacy will fascinate both parents and teachers ofinfants and preschoolers, as well as students of Children's Litrature.

Maureen and Hugh Crago write about their daughter's contacts with books between the ages of one and five. They discuss such details as the way Anna learned to read pictures, and her understanding of the conventions of narrative. There are verbatim records of reading sessions with her, as well as notes on her developing responses to specific books over time.

Anna's first encounter with Sendak's famous Where the Wild Things Are, at two, is illuminating, and the depth of her understanding of Max's emotions over the next five months, will surprise many people.

She was only three and a half when she fell in love with Tove Jansson's Moomins, and listened to Finn Family Moomintroll in its entirety. She enjoyed Jansson's exotic characters, as well as the action. Away from the book reading sessions, Anna acted out the characters and quoted from the book: '"Bless my tail" said Anna as she sat down at the table.'(p.46).

The Cragos taped almost all of the reading sessions with Anna, and the transcriptions are quoted throughout the book. It is full of the delicious conversation and story-making of the preschooler. Here is part of a long monologue told to the pages of an adult book on childbirth, with few pictures: 'Ït was a beautiful day next day, so she just went out and picked apples, and played in the grass and picked up the grass to make a hat, and made the cushions outside, ... and took all the house away to another house, and ate the plants in her mother's garden, and did so many naughty and nasty and nice things that she couldn't bear it. Then she went back inside and telled her mother all the damage."(p.135).

There are also chapters on Anna's perception of humour - "Funny Ha-Ha and Funny Peculiar"; on her understanding of fantasy - "The Limits of Reality"; and "Heros and Villans" is about the emotional impact of the stories.

Very young children are often underestimated in their ability to understand and responnd to stories and pictures - and in their cognitive abilities generally. Prelude to Literacy celebrates the developing intellect and language of the very young child.

This is a wonderful classic book that deserves to be better known, and should be essential reading for anyone doing research on young children, literacy, and children's literature. The Cragos kept painstaking records of their daughter Anna's interactions with and responses to books from ages one to five. That so few other researchers and/or parents have followed in their footsteps is testimony to the difficulty of this task, but the Cragos provides an excellent model for anyone who would like to engage in similar research. Not only did her parents record Anna's responses, they were able to organize these responses into useful categories.

This book was very well researched and reflects the town of Monroe very well. High level reading.

In this fascinating book, author and professor of history, James DeVries looks at race and racism in the broader American context, and what a group of African-Americans experienced in the small Midwestern town of Monroe, Michigan at the beginning of the twentieth century. Overall, I found this to be a very interesting book. The author obviously did a great deal of research on the subject, and presents it in a clear and highly informative way.

Interestingly, though the author does not apparently mean to, the book shows an interesting phenomenon. While the author does demonstrate the prevalence of an often unthinking racism on a macro-level, he also demonstrates that on a micro-level of person-to-person, African-Americans could and often did lead a normal life in Monroe. Yes, this is a very interesting book, one that I am very glad that I read. I highly recommend it.

I read Saito's book for a course he taught at UCSD in San Diego. I felt that from his book I was given not only a unique and fascinating sociological examination of the interworkings of perhaps the first Asian suburban neighborhood in America, but I was also enlightened to a relatively new notion of 'whiteness' and its effects on the American scene. This book may be read by high school students or academic scholars, the topics of which address some of the most controversial issues in contemporary society.

I came upon the book in an unusual way. I was having dinner with a group of educators and happened to meet the author. Over dinner he talked about some of the issues he came across in his research and I decided to pick up a copy a few days later. I read the book and it surprised me. It was interesting to me because I'm from Hawaii, and the experiences of Asian Americans there, I think, are different, and the text let me experience a major community outside my own. And while I don't see myself as politically driven, I found myself caught up in the alliances/divisions he sees forming in the San Gabriel Valley. As the text examines the theoretical aspects of the politicking in that community, it also presents detailed accounts of actual events that took place during the various stages of grassroots organizing. The depth of the cross-referencing is impressive, but what strikes me most are the insightful, sometimes very personal observations offered to the researcher by participants as events formed --observations that exist almost as sub-themes to the research. He sifts through then traces back lines of political theory through to actual events as residents began to change their community. A worthy read. It has caused me to look at my own community and makes me want to understand more about the forces and processes of change.

In ''The Real Nick and Nora - Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, Writers of Stage and Screen Classics,'' author and Frances' nephew David L. Goodrich puts together a comprehensive and delightful portrait of his aunt and her husband and writing partner Albert Hackett.

The first play Frances and Albert worked on was something she had struggled on for a while and brought him in to finish off. A few years later, that play, ''Up Pops The Devil,'' was the first play produced by the Nutley Little Theatre on Nov. 23, 1934.

"The Real Nick and Nora" is filled with references to Nutley, N.J., and Frances' Nutley Avenue home. One photo in the front of the book shows ''Frances, in her teens, in the Nutley house - as usual, with a book.''

Born in Belleville, the Goodrich family moved to Nutley when she was two years old. She attended private school while she lived in town, then went Passaic Collegiate School, and then on to Vasser.

After graduating in 1912, Frances went into the theatre. While working in the theater in Northampton, Mass., Frances met actor William Powell - who later turned up in the Thin Man films.

Well, a lot happens to Frances between college graduation and writing screenplays in Hollywood for the Thin Man films, and many others.

Author David Goodrich takes his time developing the cross-relations and early kindnesses that led to life-long friendships with, among others, James Cagney. (Albert Hackett gave the young actor a ride in Hollywood - rather than leave him to wait for a bus.)

Frances met Bob Ames and married him in the Nutley Avenue house in 1917. That lasted six years. She married again, and though the wedding made the social pages, it didn't last.

It was with Albert Hackett, an actor and writer, that Frances life clicked for the best. The pair wrote plays, got married, and went to the new world of Hollywood to write the words for actors to say in the 'Talkies'.

The Hacketts wrote screenplays and plays for the next 30 years. They are best known for their work on the three Thin Man films staring Myrna Loy and William Powell.

The Hacketts, as Goodrich calls them, were the epitome of Nick and Nora. Frances had the refined taste for the good life and had grown up in Nutley with attending servants. Albert was the wise-cracking uncle every one would hang around at parties.

While writing the screenplays in their Hollywood studio office, passersby would hear the pair screaming and yelling at each other. Then the Hacketts would break for lunch and be as civil and chatty to each other as possible while away from their keyboard.

At the 'writers' table' at MGM and in Hollywood's Golden Age, they forged friendships with Ogden Nash, Dashiell Hammett, Dorothy Parker, F. Scott Fitzgerald and many others.

Later, when the Hacketts were well known, they were instrumental in establishing the Screen Writers Guild - to ensure fair treatment of writers in Hollywood. They stood up to the bigwigs, including Louis B. Mayer.

And the pair worked on Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" but it wasn't a pleasant experience for even the seasoned Hollywood screenwriters.

The Hacketts' crowning achievement, and most-draining writing effort, was their work as playwrights on "The Diary of Anne Frank." For that work they won the Pulitzer Prize.

Frances, who never had any children, thought of Anne as hers. Albert predicted rightly, that whenever Frances was called upon to speak about the play, it would cause her to cry.

The exhaustive 300-plus pages of ''The Real Nick and Nora'' covers a pair of long, full lives, Frances died at 94, and Albert, ten years her junior, lived to be 95.

The Hacketts were such nice people, they often seemed out of place in the wilds of Hollywood in the 30s and 40s. Their kindness was often taken advantage of, but they were such nice people, who wouldn't want to be their friend?

The Hacketts certainly deserve the fine treatment in this comprehensive biography. They would be proud of the fine job their nephew did.

One of the finest books on Hollywood in recent years. Through the biographical prism of one of the most engaging, accomplished and loved couples in American screen and stage writing history, Goodrich captures the excitement and tears of movie production. A must read for movie lovers, the stage struck, aspiring writers, lovers of the Thin Man series, It's a Wonderful Life, Anne Frankf and mid-century cultural studies.

I once heard that Lenin was a great admirer of Connolly, and having just finished Guerrilla Days In Ireland by Tom Barry I though it would be a good idea to learn a little more about the origins of the IRA by reading Connolly so I purchased this book. What I found was a writer far more accessible that the likes or Marx or Lenin who at times can be a little difficult to read for the layman. Connolly speaks the simple unadulterated truth and I have to agree with my fellow reviewer, Connolly has definitely removed a cloud of confusion in my mind on the conflict in Ireland.

On a personal note I am a former member of the Industrial Workers of the World, Connolly was also a member of the union and like any socialist worth his salt he was a union organizer, Connolly reiterated in my mind the importance of putting economic action before political action. Like any good student of Connolly I feel I must quote him...

"The enrollment of the workers in unions patterned closely after the structure of modern industries, and following the organic lines of industrial development, is par excellence, the swiftest, safest and most peaceful form of constructive work the socialist can engage in. It prepares within the framework of capitalist society the working forms of the Socialist Republic, and thus, while increasing the resisting power of the worker against present encroachments of the capitalist class, it familiarizes him with the idea that the union he is helping to build up is destined to supplant that class in the control of the industry in which he is employed.
The power of this idea to transform the dry detail work of trade union organization into the constructive work of revolutionary socialism and thus to make the unimaginative trade unionist a potent factor in the launching of a new system of society cannot be overestimated." (Socialism made easy)

This is one of those books where as I'm reading it I found myself tearing up little strips of paper book marking numerous pages to be reread and quoted, I find it easy now to understand why he is so influential.

I borrowed this book from a friend and had to obtain a copy for my own personal library.

The introduction is so moving that anyone interested in modern Irish History will not put it down.

Connolly's viewpoints on Socialism, Nationalism, and the Catholic Church lifted an enormous cloud of confusion I have had since my early schooldays in Belfast.

Since first reading Dreiser's fictional biography of this financier, seventeen years ago, I have been impatiently waiting for a real Yerkes biography. IT WAS NOT IN VAIN. This author did a masterful job of putting together the life of this larger-than-life colorful man of business and pleasures. Not too long and not too short, it is as good as any business biography get. I strongly recommend it. Nitsan Ben-Horin, New York.

It is amazing that Franch's book is the first serious biography of Charles Tyson Yerkes. Why has the fascinating story of this important man never been told before? Perhaps it is because Yerkes left few letters and diaries behind, or perhaps it is because he spent so much of his life trying to rescue his reputation from all his financial escapades.

No matter. John Franch has done a masterful job of pulling together newspaper accounts, court records, and other sources to present a complete picture. But what's more, Franch's account is a highly readable telling of the story of a self-made man in era of industrial giants. At the same time, Franch brings to life the development of urban life in the post-civil war era. Just as James Green's "Death in the Haymarket," Franch's "Robber Baron" puts one on the streets of Chicago in the boom era after the Fire and gives an immediacy to the people, industry, and financial chicanery that made the city.

In the post-Enron era, this lucid telling of the story of Yerkes is a clear reminder of the foibles of those at the crest of the wave of financial schemes. At the same time, it is a compelling good read.

In typical Chicago fashion there is barely anything left pertaining to this bit of road history - I used to live in Chicago and did take the Rt. 66 drive a few years ago - I wish I would of had this book then because other than re-posting a few historic Rt. 66 signs here and there in the Chicago area you would never know it existed. Chicago has that knack for demolishing everything in favor of something newer. This book shows the beautiful architecture of the buildings that existed during the routes' haydays and gives a great history of how it all unfolded along with the history of Chicago during those days.

This wonderful little book is part of the Images of America series, and focuses on Route 66 - The Mother Road. It is chock full of images of the road, of the buildings and sites that it traveled past in Chicago, and of the restaurants and motels that lined it.

This is a neat little book! The pictures are all crystal clear, and have well-written captions. If you are interested in Route 66 and/or the Chicago of yesteryear, then you would be well-advised to give this book a look. I found it to be an excellent resource, and think that you will too. Get this book!

This book proves to be an excellent source for understanding what happened after the partition of Poland when a large Jewish population was taken into Russia. Before the partition practically all Jews were thrown out of Russia for a variety of reasons and the Russian government had to start anew vis-a-vis its policies toward such a large population of Jews. The result was when Russia first inherited the Jews of Poland they did not exactly know what to do with them and kept the institutions that the Poles/Jews had created previously. With an influx of Poles into Russia Polish anti-Semitism seemed to influence Russian and what would eventually become Ukrainian anti-Semitism. Ukrainian anti-Semitism stemmed from the fact that Polish landlords went through Jews, as middle men, to lease/rent property to Ukrainians before the partition. But this wasn't so much anti-Semitism as we have come to know it today as simply antagonistic feelings toward Jews since they were such a visible enemy in regards to economic conditions Ukrainians were being forced into.

As Jewish merchants spread through the Russian empire complaints by merchants against Jewish merchants began. Many of the accusations made against Jews had to do with the innovative - and today we'd call them capitalistic - ideas that the Jews were using, such as underselling their competition, selling with whole sale prices, fixing prices, cornering the market, driving up prices, etc. For the most part Jews were not allowed to work in agriculture or own land, when a time came when they were given the legal right to work in agriculture they were still not allowed to own land. In regards to taxes, Jews in Russia had to pay a double tax, or if they wanted to emigrate out of Russia they would have to pay a 3 year equivalent of it. Anti-Judaism began to pick up economic connotations which would eventually be evident in future anti-Semitic ideas about the Jews. Jewish distillers and tavern-keepers were accused of keeping the peasantry in perpetual debt, etc.

It is interesting to note that the future `Pales of Settlement' was based - out of context - on an idea and submission of a Jew who thought that the Black Sea area would offer large economic opportunities for Jews. In reality Jews were uprooted and moved to the Black Sea to become farmers and factory workers and help populate this area. Some saw a reasoning behind the complaints against Jews. That they might cheat at trade was due to the double tax burden placed on them. That they were mainly money-lenders was the result of the fact that professions considered `honest' were closed off to them, etc. Throughout the entire reform process the interests of the Christian population were always taken ahead of that of the Jews. In the end some Jews choose to follow the reformist ideas, picking up their lives in Belorussia and moving to the future `Pale of Settlement.' Yet when they arrived, much of what they were promised was not given to them. That is tax exemption, loans, and other government help. To those interested in any of these ideas I would highly recommend purchasing this book, it is very informative and well written as well.

According to the author, the Russian response to the Jewish Question was based less on a tradition of religious antipathy than on the failure to develop a consistent, well-articulated policy in the face of a new and unusual problem. This failure led to ineffective social legislation and became the legacy of Russia's first encounter with the Jews. Anyone interested in Russian studies or History of the Jews will find this book of great interest.

I picked up this book, intrigued by the picture on the front of an Amish buggy on a lonely road in the country. The heart of this book is amazing! You turn the pages and your heart just fills with the plight of Samuel and his parents as they try to get help for Samuel and his long hospitalization. Robert J. Hastings is incredibly tender in his dealings with Samuel's parents; who take turns in the book, through Bob Hastings interviews, talking about the trials and troubles they go through. I was struck by the innocence and humility of Oba and Lorene. They were as naive as small children in having to deal with all the ugly things of this world; hospital bills, pettiness, uncaring people. Throughout their ordeal however, we are uplifted as the doors swing open for them! The strangers that open their homes and hearts to them. The miraculous survival of Samuel. The charity of Precious Moments artist and creator Sam Butcher who creates a commemorative Amish button that is sold at Hallmark stores and nets the family $20,000. I found their whole story so touching, more so because it was true. This family had to completely trust in the kindness of strangers and this they found in abundance! Read it, you will love it. I immediately bought six more copies and gave them away to people who had a special place in my heart. I now have a special place in my heart for Samuel. It is a beautiful book!

If you are reading this you are probably interested in buying it. I really suggest you do. I knew the author personally, he was my pastor. He was a great man, writer and individual. Unfortunately he died several years ago, but part of him still lives on through his ability to touch others with his tremendous ability to write. Bob, as we called him, writes about an Amish boy who is caught in a threshing machine. A boy named Samuel. His father first thinks him dead, but after hearing a slight moan they rush him to the hospital. Samuel lives. His condition allows him to have a phone in his house (which usually isn't permitted in Amish homes) for medical emergencies. It isn't just a tale about a boy, but how we put our faith in Jesus to heal not only our broken body, but our broken spirit. It is an inspirational story, and if you like it, I suggest Bob's other books which are Tinyburg Tales, Tinyburg Revisited, Nickel's Worth of Skim Milk, Penny's Worth of Minced Ham (both about growing up in the Depression), and several others. His work is always uplifting, getting you to focus on God, not on yourself and your own problems. I highly recommend anything he has ever written, because I have read them all. They are all a gift, just as the man himself was to me. Bob, you're missed.