Wisconsin Books

I received this book at my going away party. Talk about a great book! It really helped with knowing what there is to do in the city since I was moving here alone and didn't know anyone. It made the transition a lot easier. And I'm ordering more for my family so they know what there is to do when they visit.

As a recent transplant to Madison, I find this guide very helpful. All facets of the city are explored, with advice on where to eat, what to do, and how much it will cost. So far I have found all the information to be current.

I absolutely agree with the previous review. Though I have not lived in Madison since 1969, I grew up there and still love the feel of the place. Levitan does a wonderful job combining history, photos, sidebar features (such as the tale of landscape architect John Nolan's plan for the city before World War I), maps, and diagrams. For anyone with any connection to, or interest in Wisconsin's capital city, this maks for fascinating reading and looking--and I, too, have found it hard to put down. Nor does Levitan overlap badly in approach or content with Mollenhoff's earlier history of Madison to about 1920 (now reissued by the U. of Wisconsin Press). In two words, Well done!

'Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 1, 1856-1931' covers the first 75 years of Madison's history as an official city, but also covers the critical formative years beginning in 1834. This wonderful book has literally hundreds of photos, maps, and illustrations. The book is organized by decade with a boxed list of major events, a city map, and a list of births and deaths. Each chapter contains many bite-sized sidebars on prominent Madisonians or worthy news items.

Levitan follows the Great Man theory of history at least as it applies at the municipal level. At national and international levels great currents of history tend to overwhelm the acts of individuals, but at the local level, one person can really make a huge difference - for good or ill. Madison has been fortunate in the number of highly talented people who were motivated to act for the common good.

Levitan's also views land use decisions as being nearly eternal and the evidence bears him out. Take a look at James Duane Doty's original plat from 1836 and note how closely the central city adheres to it to this day. Or study the juxtaposition of the University's first plat to Doty's original plat on today's near west side and you'll gain an understanding why things don't seem to fit together very well - The UW plopped its plat down at an odd angle to the Doty plat and we still live that today.

A couple of minor quibbles. The book lacks a table of contents and an index. Apparently the second edition will contain at least an index. More substantively, the story of the Indian mounds, their destruction and preservation deserves a fuller treatment. The mounds around Madison are the most under-recognized asset in the area. They constitute a World Heritage class archaeological resource.

Highest recommendation for anyone with the slightest interest in Madison history. You will learn some new things (like the story of the Dividing Ridge) or a new way of looking at something you already knew. It's easy to pick up this fabulous volume for a few minutes, but hard to put down.

Campbell not only is a good scholar, he also manages to not offend sex workers with this book. While perhaps not his intent, his remarks reveal an enlightened and progressive view towards sex workers' rights. Thank you!

"The representation of female prostitution in the movies takes place in a complex, dynamic field in which the forces of male fantasy and patriarchal ideology...merge or collide...." The merging and colliding have given rise to 15 identifiable images of the prostitute--siren, comrade, nursemaid, junkie, baby doll, and martyr, to name some. Campbell--senior lecturer in film studies at a New Zealand university--reviews numerous films mostly from the 1950s on for their portrayals of prostitutes according to one of these images; or sometimes portrayed with a mixing of images though one is usually predominate. In many cases, the images are general labels, or are loosely applied, rather than stereotypes. With changing mores regarding sex, gender dissonance, the bent of "free-market capitalism" to cater to popular culture, and the "interests of female spectatorship [and] varieties of feminist discourse," the character of the prostitute in movies is fluid. Sometimes, a prostitute is even portrayed as virtuous and contrasted with society's moral hypocrisies and sexual ambivalences. And at times, the prostitute represents society's unmet needs and muddled yearnings. Campbell's wide-ranging study based on numerous films in the genre of movies with characters of prostitutes over the past several decades since strict gender roles have been breaking down and formerly taboo subjects have been treated more openly is a benchmark in this area of film studies.

Memoirs of a Dutch Mudsill: The "War Memories" of John Henry Otto, Captain, Company D, 21st Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, edited by David Gould and James B. Kennedy (Kent, Ohio, 2004).

This is my favorite Civil War book. It provides the reader with as vivid a sense a book could afford of what it was like to live the daily life of a foot-soldier during the Civil War, except of course for the absolute horror that attended the battles of that conflict. We experience through the eyes of a seasoned and insightful soldier some of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of his world. While John Henry Otto was a well-trained former Prussian soldier, he was above all a civilized and thoughtful man of good-will and humanity. He approached faults and weakness in others with humor , kindness, and realism, and he clearly saw himself as one of the many, rather than as one deserving aggrandisement.

The 21st Wisconsin was a regiment which suffered a high number of casualties during the war. It received a harsh initiation into battle, when, just one month after the regiment was formed, it was thrown into a key position at the battle of Perryville. The regiment lost heavily in that conflict, with the serious wounding of its colonel, Benjamin J. Sweet, and the deaths of many officers and men. Battle was not the only thing with which these soldiers had to contend as part of their introduction to war: they were late in receiving essential equipment such as tents and waterproof blankets, as a result of which many suffered and died from exposure, as well as from the diarrhea and foot ailments which plagued most troops. Many of the regiment, including Surgeon Samuel J. Carolin, died from the impact of these deprivations upon their health in the month following Perryville.

The battles of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Resaca, Atlanta, Savannah, and Bentonville are also depicted and the narrative concludes with the grand parade in Washington which celebrated the end of the war. Otto's memoirs are one the only detailed first-hand accounts of some aspects of these battles and they provide much needed insight into their atmospheres -- how people reacted under crisis, how they interacted, how they sustained one another.

The felicitous collaboration of David Gould, John Henry Otto's great-grandson, and James B. Kennedy, a scholar of the 21st Wisconsin Regiment, has resulted in a readable, personalized classic. They wisely avoid over-editing some of Otto's spelling, grammar, and punctuation idiosyncrasies save where understanding might be compromised, and they permit the intelligent and eloquent soldier to speak for himself. That he was eminently capable of doing so is evident from the following passage in which John Henry Otto describes camping on Lookout Mountain: "We lived now so to speak in another Climate. At such an elevation the air was allways pure and keen and nearly allways, especially at night time, a lively wind blowing." (P. 215.)

This is a unique book, one deserving of several readings and one to share with family.

This is the best Civil War account of a midwestern (Wisconsin) soldier and the day to day activities that a common soldier had to endure that I have read. It chronicles the day to day life, as well every battle from Murfreesboro, to Atlanta, to the Savannah. Written from the perspective of a common soldier rather than from the perspective of a General. It reads like a novel. Excellent!

Fred Fenster came to the metals program at the U. of Wisconsin-Madison in the early 1960s, followed a decade later by Eleanor Moty. Together they put their stamp of the highest artistic standards and workmanship while allowing for individual penchants and visions on the program. They ideally complemented each other in that "Moty's emphasis...as on surface treatments, while Fenster's [was] on form and structure."

Different sections take up their complementary effects as heads of the metals program and also each of them individually as exceptional, distinctive artists in metalwork. Coming after the chapters on each individually are lengthy photographic galleries of numerous art works over the years. A photographic section at the end has works by program graduates and current faculty.

The metals art works done by and inspired by Fenster and Moty are distinctly, often strikingly, modern, as in Modernism. It's hard to grasp until you see the many photographs the range of creativity and high quality of the art works by mentors Fenster and Moty and those students and faculty influenced by them. Tradition, familiar, objects such as cups, jewelry, and teapots and other pots have innovative forms and details. Most of the purely artistic, aesthetic, works have imaginative shapes and proportions, including often sharp angles and unexpected circular parts. All of the works, despite their individuality, share a boldness of concept and have an almost graphic presence. Fenster and Moty were not only exceptional artists, but gifted mentors who imparted to others how to nurture and achieve the best art within them.

Metalsmiths and Mentors is a fabulous exhibition catalogue of modern metalwork pieces shown at the Chazen Museum of Art. The exhibition includes works created by Fred Fenster and Eleanor Moty, metalsmithing instructors at University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as pieces by other students and faculty. Full-color photography reveals the exquisite detail in each piece, from cups to hornbooks, plaster-and-gold sculptures, and much more. Extremely brief notes on the title, size, composition, and date of each piece accompany the illustrations in this one-of-a-kind showcase of creativity and originality in metalworking art.

I went to High School with the author in Milwaukee- just blocks from the Miller Brewery; played on the same football team. Later I spent 13 years as an employee of the Miller Brewing Company. (After Tim John's family had sold to Philip Morris).

Tim has to be congratulated for both the scholarly handling of the subject and his candor about what has to be a deeply emotional subject.

I know that Tim John really cares for the people at Miller Brewing today. Even with no direct ties to the brewery he wanted to know how the workers at Miller were treated during my tenure. He is entitled to take pride in the incredible heritage his family left.

This book is quite refreshingly different from most self praising beer stories. Tim John writes frankly and well about a family business, a city and its neighborhoods, and the sometimes crazy world of beer. It's like that first good lager on a warm summer day!

I hope to catch up with Tim in Milwaukee sometime; perhaps at the 2007 150th Anniversary celebration of Marquette University High School. Maybe he'll buy me a beer!

If you want a real and honest history get this book.

The Miller Beer Barons: The Frederick J. Miller Family And Its Brewery is the true and fascinating story of the Miller family, which started and ran the Miller Brewing Company for over one hundred years. Stretching from late 1800's Germany, when Mr. Miller brewed his first beer, to 1970, when Harry G. John Jr.'s sale of Miller stock was the end of the family's involvement with the company, The Miller Beer Barons is a trans-generational tour of wealth, power, and their sometimes rocky transitions. An inset section of black-and-white photographic plates nicely rounds out this exhaustively researched, meticulously detailed, highly recommended family biography.

Early in the Twentieth Century, Milwaukee's African American population numbered less than 1000. With immigration primarily from Mississippi and Arkansas following WW II, the population reached almost 22,000 by 1950 and over 62,000 by 1960. Most of the African American community lived in a small, segregated area in the north of Milwaukee then known as Bronzeville. This book of photographs and commentary in the "Images of America" series, "Milwaukee's Bronzeville: 1900 -- 1950" tells the story of the community.

The author, Paul Geenen, is a community activist and businessman who has had broad ties to Bronzeville over the years. Geneen compiled the photographs from archival sources and from families who had lived in Bronzeville. Reuben Harpole, a member of the Milwaukee Urban League and a professor at the University of Wisconsin -- Milwaukee for many years wrote the introduction to the volume.

I grew up in Milwaukee and lived in the city from 1947 -- 1968. Thus, the community in this book is somewhat before my time. But I knew the African American portion of the city, located perhaps two miles east of the part of the city in which I lived. I rode through it often on the bus, walked through it on frequently as a grew older, and went to a record shop in the midst of the community to buy the rhythm and blues records to which I was devoted. Given the time, unfortunately, I had no close friends who lived in the area.

Geenen's book offers a compelling portrait of this too-little known center of African American life. He focuses on the close-knit character of the community. Many of his photographs follow the history of a small number of families, showing parents and children as they go to school, work on the job, and participate in community activities. Thus the book offers a sense of continuity in looking at Bronzeville.

Geenen's book is organized into eight short chapters which consider commercial development in Bronzeville, the many churches of the community, education, entertainment, sports, family, work life, and the leaders of the community. Of these subjects, religious life and education probably receive the most attention, as Geenen describes in detail education and religion at a Catholic institution known as St. Benedict the Moor. This school offered education to local children, and it was also the only African American boarding school in the United States. Many other churches and schools also receive attention in the book.

Geneen also describes the entertainment available in Bronzeville, which was patronized by both African Americans and whites alike. Clubs such as the Flame and the Moon Glow, established in the 1920s, were the most famous, but there were many others. The area was known for blues and jazz, and Geenen offers photos of singers, combos, sax players, pianists, and leggy dancers. He brings to life the joy of African American music. I would like to know whether any of the musicians he mentions were recorded. Besides the musical scene, Geenen describes the entertainment of "policy" or numbers which was everywhere in Bronzeville.

Some of the individual photos in this book I thought worked especially well as photos and as gateways into the community. Early in the book, I enjoyed the series of photos of the early days of the community, with its unpaved streets, streetcars, and small family stores. (pp.12-13) A wonderful picture of the beginnings of the Greater Galilee Church, which still thrives in the area, is shown in a humble home on 8th and Vliet Street. (p. 28) I liked the photos of saxophonists, musicians and high-stepping dancers. (pp.60-64) And there is a fine shot of a young Bronzeville swimmer high in the air off a diving board in a Bronzeville swim meet in 1944. (p77) A pillar of the community, Judge Randolph Parrish, known as the "mayor" of Bronzeville appears in a dignified portrait in his judicial robes. (p. 126)

The portrait that emerges from this book is of a community that endeavored to function as a cohesive whole with members who sought to improve themselves, educationally, financially, and spiritually, under harsh circumstances. I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know better this community of my hometown. This book will appeal to readers with an interest in Milwaukee and to those interested in African American history.

Robin Friedman

This is an amazing book. Although I was born after the time period it was written for there were a lot of photos and names I recognized. But most importantly, I saw the the glimmer and excitement in my parents face as they walked down memory lane while reading this book together. I have to keep it under a watchful eye as friends and family try to walk off with it.

SO easy to cross reference and find everything a gardener needs to know. Great format. If I had only one book for all my WI plant needs this would have to be the one.

Month-by-month Gardening In Wisconsin
This book is more than a great gardening guide. It has helpful hints and is easy to understand. Many beautiful pictures add interest. I have mine ready to go to the next month.

This is not only the best book written on Wisconsin reptiles and amphibians, I believe it is the best written for any state or region in the country. I am a lifelong lover of reptiles and amphibians and grew up reading this book over and over again. It is well-written, well-researched, and the author knew his subject with a thoroughness that few naturalists achieve. I have read it more than 30 times. I also have read or own herp fauna books for the Great Lakes, Arkansas, Virginia, Minnesota, Missouri, and this one is by far the most thorough and accurate. Many of the other books for nearby states have simply paraphrased Vogt's accounts. The photos are excellent, too.

If you live in the Midwest, particularly Wisconsin or Upper Michigan, this is the reptile and amphibian book to get, period.

Richard Vogt has written a winner here. This book describes, in detail, amphibians, reptiles, and snakes most commonly found in Wisconsin. He follows their history and leads us right into their everyday lifestyles and mannerisms. His personal insight into the individual species of the book had me smiling more than once. I recommend this book to any student, teacher, or writer looking for factual, entertaining reading.

If you're seeking to be entertained, enlightened and completely engrossed, then NIGHT SISTERS will be a treasured reading time for you, with insights into the world of spirits and mystical phenomenons.

Nell Grendon, a skeptical journalist, is introduced to Spiritualism at the Wocanaga Spiritualist Camp, while pursuing a magazine article. The religious group, begun in 1873, is still active and flourishing. At the quaint and time worn premises, there's always an intriguing assemblage of characters. Gifted and elderly Grace Waverly, head medium, forms an instant connection with Nell, persuading her to try her inborn talents as a medium, which begins a series of startling revelations.

Nell is jarred back to episodes of her childhood, where religion played a vital role in the lives of her young friends. Deaths from the past still haunt. The time she stole the prize bible ring from the finger of her dead opponent, as he lay in his casket. The mysterious unsolved drowning of a girlhood friend. Upon seeing the drowned girl during a seance, the past streams forth anew, with further chills taking place at another seance, when the girl's suspected killer is seen in the audience.

New adventures also take place in the historic home middle-aged Nell is seeking to remodel, which includes renting an apartment to a jazz musician and his dog, leading to "neighborly" encounters. An unwelcome guest enters her life-- a famous 1920's radio actress, "Woman of a Thousand Voices", who usurps Nell's computer to communicate with her, harass her life, and make unusual demands. Ms. Rath's excellent writing skills intertwines the past, present and future, as we rapidly turn the pages to see "what happens next."

Her poetic gifts are apparent throughout, especially in the picturesque descriptions of characters and small town remembrances, so clear and beautiful, we are immediately there. Humor is sprinkled adroitly. The right amount of tension and a satisfying ending, make Nell's journey of spirit one that will remain with you for some time, and continue to hover.

Ludmilla Bollow (Author - "DR. ZASTRO'S SANITARIUM- For the Ailment of Women")

I just finished Night Sisters. I LOVED it! The story was intriguing and a study of excellent backstory--every piece of it adds depth and understanding to the present day story (and moves it forward, just fantastic!) The past and the present intertwine to weave such a compelling tale. Really excellent writing. Not to mention, a great read I couldn't put down!

And Sara Rath (not to mention the book's protagonist, Nell Grendon) has a wicked sense of humor :o)

What a wonderful book.

A skeptical Nell Grendon is pulled into a brief life as a spirit medium in this thoroughly entertaining novel by Wisconsin writer Sara Rath. Entertaining, funny, and serious, too. Ever since her Methodist childhood, Nell has longed for a deeper, more mysterious connection to her own spirit, like the more interesting Catholics and Jews of her childhood, who ate special food and performed exotic rituals. She loves old houses, too, and as part of a divorce settlement, she lives in a pea green colonial, part of which she rents out to a suave and funny jazz musician named George. Much of the story takes place at the Wocanaga Spiritualist Camp where Nell enrolls in a mediumship workshop given by Grace Waverly, a maternal, understanding, and gentle woman who has the ability to physically manifest a spirit entity with ectoplasm. (For the uninitiated, Rath does a good job of explaining what ectoplasm is and just how it happens.) A reluctant Nell attempts to dodge a reading, but Grace gives her one anyway and touches upon a great sorrow in Nell's heart that reaches far into her past. Soon, much to her shock, Nell is channeling an all-to-intrusive actress from the 1920's--Angella Wing. The woman begins communicating with Nell via her computer, and there's nothing Nell can do to stop her from fluttering around in there. More strange things begin to happen as people from her past show up, including an old love, Teddy Carter, who rides a mother of a bike, and is a member of HOGs for Christ. He's a turn-off, naturally, and the ensuing scene is downright funny. Then there's Miss Khrol, a magical woman full of wisdom and great knowing; I wanted more of her because she was odd and convincing and archetypal--and young girls need helpful figures like Miss Khrol who give life more depth.
The quest to understand the mysterious death of a not-so-cherished childhood friend is the central story of Night Sisters. I really liked the final pages, and was as astonished as Nell by Grace Waverly's ability and power to manifest the representation of a spirit. This is a satisfying read, and I recommend this book to anyone who does, and does not, believe in the invisible energies of those who have passed on. It's not that this book will necessarily make you a believer, but the story is Nell's and in her telling it--everything rings true. -Linda Vozar Sweet