Illinois Books

First published in 1969, Weiss's careful assessment of the so-called "American myth of success" is still relevant today and continues to be referenced by other authors writing on the subject. Roy Anker has honored it with several pages of exposition in his Self-Help and Popular Religion in Early American Culture (1999). He stated that Weiss's text "seems balanced, fair-minded, and revisionist in import, especially in its analysis of the character ethic."

According to Weiss, the success myth involves the belief that "all men, in accordance with certain rules, but exclusively by their own efforts, can make of their lives what they will" as well as "the cluster of ideas surrounding this conviction". It is rooted in an idealism and ideology that believes "opportunity exists for all" quite apart from any empirical investigation into "the degree to which opportunity has or has not been available in our society".

Success is generally defined in material, earthly terms this side of death. However, as Weiss demonstrates, this doesn't mean that there wasn't or isn't a moral and/or metaphysical dimension to success. He begins with the Protestant ethic of early American Puritanism, making reference to Max Weber's influential book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1930). The maxims of this ethic include industry, frugality, and prudence. Weiss states that even Benjamin Franklin espoused these virtues in his The Way to Wealth, but secularized them and gave them a utilitarian aspect where proper behavior brought earthly rewards. The tradition of the Protestant ethic continued into the 19th century, but after the Civil War, during the "Guilded Age", there was a transition from moral purity to metaphysical power, from traits of character to states of mind as the key to success or failure. Within this context, the literature of the New Thought movement is given attention as an inheritor of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Transcendentalist dogma but mixed with the pragmatism of William James (Weiss also acknowledges in a Chapter 5 footnote the influence of Emanuel Swedenborg's ideas on New Thought and James through his father; however, he fails to mention the influence of Swedenborg on Emerson). During this transition there were those who attempted to salvage aspects of the older values through fiction while also critiquing industrialism, urbanization, excessive wealth-getting, and moral decline. The literature of Horatio Alger, Jr., as well as the work and attitudes of the following five popular Christian novelists are discussed: Augusta Jane Evans, E. P. Roe, Charles Sheldon (of In His Steps fame), Gene Stratton Porter, and Harold Bell Wright, each offering practical spiritual and moral counsel.

One must keep in mind that Weiss is not concerned with clearly distinguishing between conservative and liberal Christianity, both of which have a history throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, although it is clear for those who know the differences (aside from the variations within each camp) that Emerson and the later New Thought proponents in the 19th century embraced a heterodox, liberal type. Weiss points out that the "reformist nature of New Thought extended beyond matters of organization to questions of doctrine as well. The new dispensation denied the doctrine of original sin. The well-known couplet from the New England primer - 'In Adam's fall, we sinned all' - had 'no truth in it at all'" (page 144). Although the Puritan's Calvinism (which associates original sin with the Calvinistic doctrine of total depravity) falls within the parameters of conservative Christianity, it is not equivalent with it (contrary to the opinion of some Calvinists). The move away from Calvinism in the 19th century included conservatives as well as liberals who embraced Arminian or Pelagian/Semi-Pelagian concepts of moral freedom while holding different opinions on the notion of "original sin". See, for example, The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century (Second Edition, 1996) by Melvin Dieter for the conservative transition, and The Making of American Liberal Theology: Imagining Progressive Religion (2001) by Gary Dorrien for the liberal transition. Weiss ends his book by looking at the thought of Norman Vincent Peale whose book The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), which was influenced by New Thought, impacted both conservatives and liberals alike, making it one of the most popular books in the self-help tradition. Anker's Self-Help and Popular Religion in Modern American Culture (1999) looks at the literature and influence of Peale, and his student Robert Schuller, in more detail.

I highly recommend Weiss's book, and refer to it often along with Roy Anker's two-volume study while researching success literature in American history.

After reading this book, I was surprised that it didn't garner more attention. Friedman's world is that of the "everyman," and his keen ear for dialogue, his subtle rendering of the despair lurking behind polished suburban surfaces, and his dense and arresting realism approach the intensity of Ray Carver. For an unaffected look into the psyche of the middle class--and modern man as a whole--this collection of short stories is an important work. Dark, unsettling, and inexplicably compelling like the best of the minimalist genre, "If Defeated Allege Fraud" is short fiction at its finest.

of anguish and despair. The poets scream, but their voices cannot be heard, as they plead for mercy for their brothers and sisters' lives. An excellent book that must be read over and over again.

Again, the pictures in the book are easy enough to use for my 3 year old. The information contained in the book is useful. We enjoy using this book and look forward to the spring and summer when we can travel further than our backyard.

Kant's Anthropology is what we call today - psychology. The book is a series of lectures that Kant himself edited into a book. Usualy we know Kant as hard to read, yet this book is unique in that. It flows, from subject to subject, examining man's mind and various characteristics of the human spirit. It is embodied with examples from life and literature, and gives a very good idea of Kants views regarding everyday life and behavior of normal people, and also of insane ones. It is a very warm book, filled with intelligent remarks about the human race, and it gives a very good notion of psychology (both cognitive and abnormal) in Kants days. I recommend it Highly.

This book was a godsend. For anyone who wants a very quick and concise overview of Anthropology's major theorists, I highly recommend this book to you. The editors make some great analogies and comparisons to the varied approaches in the field.

Duncan, a professor of mine when I was in graduate school and an invaluable member of my thesis committee, has done it again. He is one of a rare breed of intellectual, the philosopher-teachers in the style of Plato, Aristotle, or Socrates. Duncan's insight into the methods and motivations of ancient, medieval, and modern political thought is of the rarefied type that allows the originator of the insight to teach it to others. Any student or hobbyist of Early American history would be remiss to deprive their library of this work, which explores, analyzes, and contrasts the road taken with the road not taken, and presents the latter as a viable option unexperienced by Americans.

Appeals does not walk the reader through a maze of rhetorical terms, old dead white guys, and traditional concepts as its starting point. Instead it engages the notion of the "appeal" as an appropriate notion for rhetoric. The appeal is "to plead one's case" as in argumentation but also "to plead" to anther in a more bodily--sense via empathy, emotion, identification (Freudian and Burkean sense), etc. (p. 2). Thus Killingsworth accomplishes the range of rhetoric from the "nearly unconscious to the directly persuasive" within the notion of the "appeal."

The appeals model is to move an audience towards a value. The value is the connection point. The metaphors are orienteering and sailing. It is a process of triangulation. This is beginning of the appeals model.

After locating the "appeal" in rhetoric and discussing authority and evidence he discusses context in terms of exigence and genre.

The book then works the "modern topoi": appeals to time, place, body, gender, race, through tropes, and narrative.
The body chapter is done especially well.


Each of the modern appeals are accessible to scholars new to rhetoric and literally enjoyable for experienced rhetoricians. His ability to speak to both audiences is a function of the depth, clarity, and insight found in his example critiques of various "texts." From a childhood toothpaste advertisement based on sex to the Sci-Fi movie "Enemy Mine", you will find yourself writing "damn good analysis" in the margins. In this case it is a choice text for undergraduate rhetoric students who need the foundational concepts treated with a gentle touch AND who need examples of what quality rhetorical criticism looks like.


You'll get some of the terms: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, irony that folks need for rhetoric so readers can be conversant and/or testable. Another plus is that the book is short yet compact at 149 pages. Also- for the instructors, the book has a number of environmentally-related examples. So if this is your passion - the book will lead right into many discussions that interest students.

If you are a Burkean (Kenneth Burke that is) you will appreciate the use of the weight of Burke's concepts to teach and clearly organize modern rhetorical notions. The use of Burke is organic and clear and does not beat the reader over the head with the same poor interpretations of Burke's most famous notions.

My critique of the book (i.e. narrative chapter gets shortchanged, I would love to see a discussion of the term "Modern", I'd prefer more in-text citations, etc.) would only be justified if the book were written for a different audience, but this is for an undergraduate audience or for rusty rhetoricians that want a fresh perspective on rhetoric. The reader is therefore not burdened with the waxing that I want these days.

Overall- a refreshing text all stripes of rhetoricians. A great launching point compared with what else is available- and only 149 pages.

In the Chicago area, Lambert Fleming is arrested for allegedly molesting a little girl. Private Investigator Mal Foley remembers Lambert as the classmate who was thoroughly humiliated by his so-called friends, including Mal. Feeling guilty over that two decade old incident, Mal decides to prove Lambert is innocent.

Mal figures this will be a simple investigation that should not take up much of his time. Instead, to his shock, Mal finds the case to be extremely difficult and even somewhat dangerous as the alleged victim turns out to be related to extremely powerful mob families. Even when the girl's father tries to abort Mal's investigation, he continues to investigate what really happened to the little girl.

In his third appearance, hard boiled Mal Foley continues to be a very interesting sleuth whose acerbic and witty tongue constantly gets him in trouble. The Chicago area also comes to life (albeit through Mal's myopic eyes). This, in turn, leaves readers believing they are visiting the Windy City. Though the story line of APPLAUD THE HOLLOW GHOST includes some stretches, the novel remains a very entertaining mystery.

Harriet Klausner

This book is a must have for all!!! It should be part of all school curriculum on American history. All Americans come from somewhere unless they are American Indians and were already here--true natives.

This book is an excellent historical and factual piece of work. Mr. Hanania captures it all--real people and their experiences. The book leaves you wanting more. Looking at the numerous vintage pictures that fill the book is like opening up a treasure chest filled with riches in culture and the immigrant experience. I can't wait for Hanania's next book.

Saffiya Shillo
Chicagoan