Illinois Books

I ordered three copies of the book Bosnian Americans of Chicagoland by Samira Puskar. I've been researching my family history this past year.
My father came from Bosnia with his brother in 1905 and settled in Chicago. I didn't know much about our family but wanted to know more. I gave 2 copies of the book to my older sister and brother. They found the book very interesting and recognized some of the people and places from the many pictures in the book. The book was very helpful and informative for me in researching my family history. I ordered the book Immigration and Assimilation by Senad Agic about the Bosnian Muslim Experience in Chicago. This book is another good source of additional information about the Bosnian American experience that I found very interesting and helpful.

This is a great book. It's another one of those "what would I have done if I was there?" Frankly, I don't know. It's easy to ponder what I would have done or what the right thing to do under those circumstances was from a warm office, 52 years after the fact. The author packed in a lot of historical information about the Korean War, the POW experience, and the courts-martial, but also kept the characters alive and the book read like a great but tragic novel. Some of the characters in the book, such as PFC Rothwell Floyd or SGT Gallagher were despicable and richly deserved their convictions and sentences. The rest, like COL Liles, LTC Fleming, and Major Alley seemed to be only doing what they needed to in order to survive and save their men. At some point though, it seems like some of the POWs began crossing the line and doing more than what they needed to survive. This book confirmed the absolute evil of communism and its double-speak with words such as "justice", "peace", etc. that were used to mask its real agenda. It was also ironic how many of the Chinese and North Korean interrogators were highly educated people who had studied English at American universities. This book really shows the depravity that men can sink to under some circumstances.

This book presents an excellent resource of the history of the Village of Brookfield, Cook County, Illinois. The work begins with the colorful background of S. Gross, the real estate developer of the community and for whom the community was originally named (Grossdale) - until a dispute arose between the residents and Mr. Gross. Within the history of the community (composed of Grossdale, West Grossdale/Congress Park, and Hollywood) is to be found the history of the Chicago Zoological Park, commonly known as the Brookfield Zoo. Well recommended for information on the early development of a western Chicago suburb during the 1890's. Filled with many interesting anecdotes.

The authors clearly present the factors that, on one hand, allow industrial and commercial property eyesores to exist, and on the other hand, those factors that can redevelop them into valuable modern real estate. The NST/Engineers, Inc. reviewers have participated in brownfields remediation designs and in the development of estimated costs for remediation, sometimes extending decades into the future. Brownfields are, according to an EPA definition, "...abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination that can add cost, time and uncertainty to a redevelopment project."

A few decades ago industrialists eyeing real estate for acquisition would be concerned about the use they could foresee, the asking price, zoning potential, the neighborhood, and a few other particulars. Rarely were they deeply concerned about what had gone on at the property in past years. Now, one of the first things a prospective buyer wants to know is "what might have gone on here in past years that has resulted in contamination of structures, the grounds, subsurface, or any water bodies." Property owners have similar concerns, but they have more information. So that both buyers and sellers wonder what magnitude of environmental remediation costs would be required for various redevelopment projects. The authors take the reader through the major considerations of both buyer and seller. They treat both the private and municipal redeveloper.

Their case studies, though largely drawn from their Chicago experiences, emphasize the careful planning and execution steps required in redevelopment anywhere. Based on data from less than 200 sites, the cost of brownfields redevelopment has been estimated to be just under $60,000 per acre. Cleanup of contamination, where it occurs, has been estimated at 8% of the total cost of redevelopment. The authors make an excellent point that much more cooperation is needed between interested parties to expand brownfields redevelopment. Venture groups are needed consisting of environmental scientists and engineers, capital providers, insurance specialists, real estate experts, and an experience project management team. Not to be forgotten is "due diligence". For a brownfields purchaser this means an in-depth analysis of the physical, economic, and legal conditions of any property in question. The authors describe how this analysis must have much more depth to it than the due diligence involved with purchase of an uncompromised industrial property. Federal, state, and local environmental officials, and governmental officials must appreciate the importance of rejuvenating unused brownfields as opposed to converting more fertile farms to industrial properties. And finally those officials must have the will to find ways to make a remediation happen. Individuals in all of the above occupations are well-advised to read this book.

As a model of an up-to-date state initiative to hasten brownfields remediation, the authors provide the details of the Illinois Pollution Control Board's Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives ("TACO").

"The seeds of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural philosophy are found in his Home and Studio at Oak Park, Illinois. It was here--from 1889 to 1909--that Wright tested his theories, which would coalesce into his famed Prairie style. Always experimenting with materials, forms, colors and the shaping of space, Wright constantly remodeled the Home and Studio, adapting to the changing needs of his family and work. By the 1970s, after the Home and Studio had been remodeled still more and sold several times, the unique structure, fabrics, and materials that so defined Wright's establishment had all but disappeared.

"Recognizing the importance of the Home and Studio, the city of Oak Park and the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust (then the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation) set out to revitalize the community and preserve the historic building. Building a Legacy is a fascinating pictorial story of the incredible thirteen-year restoration effort.

"With conversational text, informative sidebars, and historic and present-day photographs and drawings, the book commemorates the dedicated efforts of community volunteers and paid workers. Covering the grassroots efforts to raise money, the detailed plan for the restoration, and the painstaking efforts necessary to complete the project, Building a Legacy documents this successful achievement of saving an intimate creation of one of the world's greatest architects."--Borders

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.

I grew up in San Pedro California and anyone listening at that time can remember the shout "burn baby burn" (even before the riots)or "give me four and a half more bars" where Magnificent would put the needle back on the record randomly and extend the record another 3-4 minutes. This brother is and was as much a part of the fabric of American radio as any other person as Dick Clark and Alan Freed (without the payola charge). A Berry Gordy ,Smokey Robinson,Gamble and Huff of the radio, a
true radio Giant that set the stage for many, many ,many others to follow in his large footsteps.
MagnificentMontague, you will always be.. the man..!!

Dr. Kathleen Waters Sander (Ph.D. - History, U. of MD.) has written an extremely valuable book centered on the women's industrial exchange movement of the 19th century. Ruthless 19th century capitalism (also known as "capitalism at its finest") was not controlled or regulated by government, and offered no "safety nets" or benefits. Many individuals and families lived the "genteel life" during the 19th century for temporary periods, then were unceremoniously tossed off of the gravy train into the world of poverty.....a world for which they were often tragically unsuited, often even than those impoverished their entire lives.

The women's exchange movement provided relief for previously "genteel" women suddenly or gradually reduced to circumstances bordering on desperation. In more than 70 American cities, a system of consignment retail shops was set up in which
"consignors" (previously genteel but subsequently impoverished women) could offer domestic products (mostly sewing and needlework items) for sales anonymously. The "shame" of impoverishment was hidden, capitalism's sins were uncomplained about, and some income for desperate women and their dependents was achieved. The brutal policing visited on those who complained about expoitation by the capitalist system was escaped.

The women's industrial exchange movement was remarkable for its ingenuity and its imagination, and also for its longevity. Today, women's industrial exchange tea rooms and other facilities still operate and function, in some situations (as in Baltimore, Maryland) in facilities more than a century old.

At the dawn of the 21st century, the model and mentality of the women's industrial movement, described well by Dr. Sander, is a shining light of hope for impoverished people in a world where protections against capitalistic rapacity and greed are clearly disappearing completely. Neither government nor disappearing "benefits" (retirement pensions, health insurance, etc.) offered by companies to gullible employees seem likely to protect vulnerable people any longer. The loss of government promised "benefits" in all catagories seems very likely for the great majority of citizens as the new century progresses.

Self-help actions independent of government and employers alike seem the best hope. The women's industrial exchange movement of the 19th century is a splendid model of how independent self-help action can work. It's truly inspiring, and a detailed history of its origins, successes, problems, and management such as that offered by Dr. Kathleen Sander is worth reading.

David M. Emmons, in The Butte Irish, examines the development of Butte, Montana, as an Irish town, tracing the story from the Potato Famine to about 1925. He focuses on two major questions: (a) What made Butte such a popular destination for Irish immigrants, both directly from Ireland and from other Irish areas of the US? and, (b) How did the development of an Irish enclave in Butte affect the development of the city? He goes on to examine the evolution of class relations within the Irish in Butte. Emmons describes Butte as a unique location in America for the study of an ethnic community. He argues that the town developed in such a way and at such a time that it was one of the only towns in the country to have a strong working-class, immigrant community in a position of major influence and power. There were several keys that made this path of city evolution possible. The first was the switch from silver and gold mining to copper production in the 1870's. This is key for Butte's "Irishness" on several levels. First, because of the large capital investment required for copper mining, Butte was forced to industrialize to a much greater extent than other major gold and silver mining camps of the West. Thus, Butte was the only one of these mining camps to become a major city. Immigrants from many of these camps came to Butte in large numbers. The timing of the beginning of Butte's copper era is a second major factor. The Irish Potato Famine of the 1840's caused huge numbers of Irish to immigrate to America. In the years immediately following the famine, the Irish were nearly forty percent of those immigrating to the United States. Large numbers of Irish continued to immigrate in the next thirty years, supplying the US with many unskilled workers. Many of these Irish went to the mining camps of the west, the coal mines of Pennsylvania, or the copper mines of Michigan, because mining was one of the only industries they were familiar with. As many of the western mining camps became "played out," or ran out of viable ore, in the late nineteenth century, the Irish looked to the developing Butte. Because Butte was becoming an established city only when the Irish started going there, it did not have a previously existing community of entrenched middle class Americans, nor did it have a prior political structure. This is another key difference between Butte and other towns with sizable Irish populations such as Boston or San Francisco. In pre-existing towns and cities, the middle class often looked down on those of the working class, or at least had control of the political and social structure of the area. It is a well-known fact that Marcus Daly was one of the main reasons so many Irish came to Butte. Daly was the owner of the Anaconda Mining Company, and a strong Irish nationalist. His hiring policies were famous throughout the West, and even in Ireland, as being very generous to the Irish. Emmons lays out these reasons, detailing them extensively. His research was thorough, utilizing "two full carloads" of primary materials including records of Butte churches and Irish social organizations, letters, newspapers. Also cited in Emmons' bibliography are extensive interviews and secondary sources. Emmons is just as thorough in his treatment of the second question. He considers the miners of Butte on many levels. One of the more interesting themes of the book is the discussion of conflicting loyalties within the Irish enclave of the Mining City. The author frames this as the question of whether the people considered themselves "working Irish-Americans" or "Irish-American workers." He examines the politics of the struggling Ireland and its relationship with England, the structure of the Butte social organizations and the way their roles and importances, both absolute and relative to one another, changed and grew during this period, and changing demographics within the Irish and the rest of Butte-Silver Bow. The only complaint to be lodged against The Butte Irish is the author's occasional use of difficult sentence structure. I can't find the quote I was going to use here, but there were a few to choose from. The Butte Irish is a well-written and well-executed account of the development of a town and community, offering many insights into working class ethnography, labor relations, Montana history, and Irish history, among others. Emmons has managed to cover aspects of all these areas, even while maintaining a strong focus and cohesiveness throughout the book.