Wisconsin Books

Wright In Racine is an analysis of all the Racine, Wisconsin architecture projects of the celebrated and often controversial Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), well-known for his revolutionary designs that spurred an awakening in American architecture. Full-color photographs and an extensive discussion of Wright's amazing designs for private homes, public buildings, and affordable housing tie together all of Wright's diverse works with a commen search for vision and expression. Written by award-winning photojournalist Mark Hertzberg, Wright In Racine is enjoyable to browse through for its own sake and especially recommended for anyone interested in an in-depth analysis of Wright's breathtaking and groundbreaking architectural achievements in Wisconsin.

Cohler, Betram J. "Writing Desire: Sixty Years of Gay Autobiography." The University of Wisconsin Press, 2007.

Social History and Personal Biography

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Bertram Cohler in "Writing Desire" explores nearly sixty years of memoir and autobiography. He looks at the changing identity of gay men and at the historical context in which they lived. Cohler looks at the lives of ten men, among whom are performance artists, historians, poets, historians, social activists, bloggers and journalists. The writing of these men, when taken together as a whole, chronicles the history of gay life. What we get in the book is both personal biography and social history by the people who were most influential in American gay life. Heavily documented, the book is an excellent way to begin looking at our history.
The amount of scholarship that went into Cohler's research is staggering. Here is nothing short of a remarkable telling of how both the social context and history shape the things we do as well as an excellent explanation of how the gay movement took form. Additionally Cohler shows how people influence and understand their lives and write about them.
It is safe to say that the social climate and the age in which people live determine how people act. Cohler goes one step further and presents the idea that they also influence how people write and read about the events that bring them to any period in time. Our life stories reflect and constitute our sense of self and the one constant thing to which we all aspire is the desire to "maintain a sense of personal continuity" about our lives. Our own concept of who we are is perhaps the reason all of us want to know from where we came and how will that benefit to where we are going. Our ego allows us to talk about ourselves and relate our desires and our interpretations of our relationships with other people.
This book is about life and life stories and the lives of men in the times in which they live. It spans sixty years of American gay life from 1930-1980. We see the changes from before World War II when we did not like to label ourselves as queer or gay as we do today. It is fascinating to see how gay men changed both their public and self images and how what we were ashamed to call ourselves became accepted terminology in America and the world at large.
Cohler uses an approach which he refers to as "grounded theory" by which he chose the men he writes about. He chose what he calls "particularly salient" life stories for his study of "writing desire". By doing so he gives us a cross section of influential gay men among whom are Martin Duberman, Paul Monette, and Mark Doty--all three men who have been influential in shaping the way we see ourselves.
It is so important that we have a way to learn about the people who shaped gay life and Bertram Cohler gives us this in "Writing Desire". I wish I had had a book like this years ago. It would have made understanding homosexual culture, history and myself so much easier.

This is an important and imaginative study of the work literary and cultural anthologies do to embody and prefigure forms of politican transformation and to represent engagement. It is an act of an "organic intellectual" in the best Gramscian senses, and makes an important intervention into the makings of Asian American, Pacific, and American studies in this strange and mongrel postcolonial/transnational moment of US remaking. This is a splendid first book, and suggests further scholarship and anthology-making on the Asian/Pacific horizon from Hawai'i.

Yahweh Versus Yahweh: The Enigma Of Jewish History is an in-depth scrutiny of duality of God's nature as perceived in virtually all forms of Judaism and throughout all of history. On one side is a merciful and loving God; another is the jealous, vengeful, and ruthless god who visits the sins of the fathers upon the children. This seemingly schizophrenic dichotomy has had tremendous psycho-historical reverbations, claims author Jay Gonen, and has instilled a deep sense of precariousness concerning the self in relation to God, Gentiles, the land of Israel and the End of Days. The shared dual view of God, Gonen argues, continues to condition Jewish expectations in the wake of the Holocaust and the rise of modern-day Israel, and the incongruity between the two natures of God as depicted in holy scriptures has yet to be resolved despite all attempts - if it can be resolved at all. Chapters include reflections on "When Will the Messiah Arrive?", "Fateful Holidays", "Messianism, Zionism, and Holocaust" and more. Yahweh Versus Yahweh is unflinching and unflattering in its close scrutiny of Judaic holy texts, beliefs, and history, yet it is that same blunt and valuable full honesty - regardless of whether one agrees with the author's scriptural interpretations and psycho-historical claims - that make it valuable reading for religious philosophers and social scientists.

This classic book on zoning practices in the US provides a thorough look at the state of land use regulation in the 1960's.

Another book that Dr. L had us read. During the 2008 presidential debate I see one party is trying to buy votes even though the failures of socialism have been proven time and time again throughout history. This is the singular short work on the failures of socialism.

Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom was written at a time when the Labour Party of Britain was openly socialist. Although modern social democrats renounce the 's' word, socialism is indeed the root of their thinking, and in this exposition, his magnus opus, Hayek unabashedly sends socialism to the gutter where it belongs. Hayek's thesis, that socialism and totalitarianism are two birds of the same feather, has stood the test of time, and it continues to show up today in the cases of Venezuela or Bolivia. Hayek was arguably responsible for Labour's (and the Democrats') turn to the right, set in stone by former PM Tony Blair (and former President Clinton). This book is, however, still very relevant, exemplified by the Democrats' plan to invade the health care sector, the countless bureaucracies located in Washington, and President Bush's reckless invasion of privacy (which is related to Hayek's arguments about war time and peace time). Although Hayek often comes off as soft on a number of issues, he could not be nearly as dedicated as Milton Friedman to absolute freedom because the intelligentsia was on the far-left in the 40's.

For classical liberals, modern leftists, and conservatives alike, The Road to Serfdom is extraordinarily eye-opening.

Friedrich Hayek, the Nobel prize winning economist, wrote this brilliant classic as a critique of government intervention and manipulation in markets. I am neither an economist nor a political scientist, but I was led to this book after watching with horror the recent outrages that are consciously being inflicted on us by our elected officials, most recently the bailout and socialization of the two giant mortgage lenders, Freddie and Fannie. I couldn't remember that I ever received any share of the loot when those companies were making huge profits and their CEOs were earning tens of millions per year, but now I find that our elected officials have written a blank check in my name, the taxpayer, to bail out these companies' losses and stupidity, and then handed the check to a group of unelected officials (and, surprise, surprise, those two companies spend hundreds of millions on congressional lobbying). Privatize the gains, socialize the losses: sounds like a win-win situation for somebody.

This kind of disastrous socialism is exactly what Hayek critiques in devastating form in this book, specifically government control of the economy. Apparently, they say, this book has been very influential, but a layman could certainly never tell by looking around. Hayek was writing from the perspective of a central European who had recently witnessed first-hand the unfolding development of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany, and he is warning that the exact same attitudes and policies that had been followed in Germany were uncritically being followed by the Allies, merely at a few years distance.

He begins by recollecting the ideals of old, classic liberalism, "the forgotten road". Of course, in Hayek's context, "liberal" means the true, historic liberalism of limited government, free markets, and private property, not "liberal" in the bastardized sense somehow hijacked by Leftists to mean unlimited government, socialized markets and massive forced wealth redistribution. He looks at the rise of collectivist thinking versus individual (it's all for the greater good); the problems of central planning in a democracy (someone in power makes the economic decisions for everybody else); the downfall of the Rule of Law (government is no longer bound by fixed rules announced beforehand but instead possesses arbitrary power limited only by its own discretion); the inextricable link between centralized economic planning and totalitarian regimes (if we're going to follow a plan, someone's got to force everyone to follow it); the problem of deciding how the society's production will be distributed; a chapter showing that "nothing is more fatal than the present fashion among intellectual leaders of extolling security at the expense of freedom" (Republicans apparently didn't get the memo); how in a socialized economy the worst individuals inevitably rise to the top (Really? Can it be? Obama and McCain?); the necessity of manipulating truth in a socialized society; and the fact that Nazism was a direct outgrowth of socialism and socialist ideology.

The relevance of the points enumerated above does not require comment. We are running madly down the road to serfdom, which is the road of socialism. Unfortunately for those of us who are being dragged along against our will, history is not neutral, and we will suffer the consequences of other peoples' decisions, just as the Jews in Germany did and the Russians in the Soviet Union did. Socialism has always led to poverty and oppression, and freedom, on the rare occasions it has been tried, has produced unparalleled prosperity. Hayek shows in detail why. We've decided to give socialism another try. God help us.

The only, effective way to reject socialism is by attacking it's fundamental philosophical ideas. That collectivism is good and the individual must be sacrificed for the "good of the people". Attacking a philosophy such as communism or socialism, because it is not "practical" is a contradiction and undercuts any argument against such a corrupt philosophy. These ideas are not good in theory but bad in practice. They are evil in theory and therefore evil in practice.

I would like to also recommend Ayn Rand's, "The Virtue of Selfishness". This is THE work to understand Man's Individual Rights based on His Rational Nature. It is from these fundamental Truths that the ONLY proper function of a legitimate government is derived - The protection of Individual Rights.

Considering it my duty as an economics major, I took it upon myself to read this book, with little expectations as to its brilliance, and was completely swept away. Not only is Hayek extremely eloquent in articulating the case for free trade, he supports his arguments with facts (e.g. what was then going on in Nazi Germany) and with theory (e.g. why without even the historical evidence that we do have we must conclude that a centralized system cannot equally favor everyone).

Since it is my tendency to look at the 1 star reviews before making a 5 star one, I recognize that some people don't like Hayek because he doesn't recognize the great things about socialized medicine (like how a guy in Canada signed up for a CAT scan under his dog's name because animals are not covered under their highly efficient centralized health care...true story by the way) or the kind thoughts of socialist thinkers (please don't make me choose my selection of Marx quotes). But what Hayek does is present a prima facie case against socialism; before anyone can advocate socialism, they MUST address Hayek's arguments.

This is why I think before any socialist and libertarian face each other in a squabble, both must have read The Road to Serfdom so that they can hit on the applicable issues instead of babbling on about poverty statistics. Are you a socialist and disagree with Hayek? Fine, but read the book so that you know where your opponents stand. I really think that socialists think lovers of capitalism are greedy and have no ethics. But if you read our spokesman Hayek, you'll see why we think that the free market is actually BETTER for society.

Let's change the scope of the argument. Socialists should stop arguing about how some people are poor...yes, some people are poor...and demonstrate how a centralized system can make people BETTER than they would be under the free market system. How planning the systems of production would be more efficient and prosperous than under the system of competition. How giving all our freedoms to one entity would guarantee them for all. If you can effectively address these issues and the many more that Hayek brings up, we will soon see a blessed change in the current headache of debates on socialism.

Life in the 1800's in the woods sure is different than it is here. I bet if that family ever came here they would be amazed. Heck, if I ever had to shoot guns or collect sap from trees I would fall asleep during it. Pa is my favorite character. He goes into town to get supplies and hunts at night what about those stories? My favorite part is when Pa is alone in the woods at night and he thinks he sees a bear but it is really a tree. This is the first Little House book I read and I would like to read Little House on the Prairie next. I hope all you readers read it!

The audio for this book Little House in the Big Woods is wonderful for my students in the classroom. This allows my students due to the diversity of my students the ability to hear it read aloud(not just by me as the teacher). I can reach many modalities with this. Thank you.

Reading this book was was very easy for me to imagine life back when cards didn't exist and people's nearest neighbor was 1-2 miles away. Wholesome fun for a family that truely survived on what nature had to offer them. Great reading for the family.

This book is wonderful in every way, from the detailed, fresh descriptions of life over a hundred years ago, to the beautiful drawings by Garth Williams.

My six year old daughter loves the story of Laura Ingalls and her
family. It gives good information on how they live long time
ago. teaches her to be thankful, obedient, diligent and to be
thankful on what she have.

I'm giving this two stars because I'm trying to be nice. In fact there are some good aspects to this book. I thought the cops (in both locations in the book) were well thought out and sympathetically drawn. The writing was fine. I read the book rather quickly.

But Monkeewrench has some major problems.

The biggest problem is the resolution. It is simply ridiculous. In so many ways. I don't want to spoil anything, so I won't go into any details. Suffice it to say: it makes no sense. None whatsoever.

Other problems:

Self-deleting email messages! How can I do that?

The character of Grace. She is repeatedly obnoxious to other characters who we like. This attitude we are supposed to forgive when we learn more about her history, but it doesn't work, because a three-dimensional person would not behave that way. Also, her transformation from a fragile, scared, vulnerable victim (in her past) to a ball-busting, combative, aggressor (in the present) is never explained.

Annie, the plus-sized-but-sexy woman. Much is made of her in the first half of the book, but she disappears for the second half.

Why would the (almost) victim of a serial killer create a computer game about a serial killer? Seems sick to me. At the very least, that should have been delved into a little, but the book seems to consider it a perfectly natural thing to do.

The subplot of the boy next door goes nowhere.

There is practically no police work to speak of, just lots of speculation. We are supposed to support the police decision not to involve the FBI, but in fact they would have solved the case much faster if they had.

Clearly, the authors came up with one hook (murders based on computer game), and were sloppy for all the rest of it, basing their hopes on an easily amused public. They have probably already decided who should star in the movie.

I picked up this book while visited my sister in Ireland, summer of 2004, and I was very glad I decided to.

A group of computer game designers are severely disturbed when images from their online game are used in a series of murders and reluctantly team together with Minneapolis police to track this killer down. The characters in this book are widely varied, though perhaps a little one-dimensional sometimes. There is some great humor here, but also tragedy. The group of computer game designers have a past they're trying to hide, and protect, which pulls some empathy strings as well as making an interesting twist.

As the first in a series, this is definitely a seller. Enrapturing plot, unpredictable ending, intriguing characters, definitely a wow book.

P. J. Tracy is not one single person but an unusual, to say the least, writing duo consisting of mother and daughter. What input either of them has and how it all works I am not too sure but what I do know is that it does work a treat and their books are extremely readable and well thought out.

I had already read two of their other offerings before getting to this one, so I had a pretty good idea what to expect and I certainly wasn't disappointed. If you did not know you would not think that this is their first book. You would imagine that two people inputting to the same novel would make the storyline a little disjointed if nothing else but not a bit of it. The characters are uncomplicated and the storyline has been well thought through and builds up gradually, keeping the reader engrossed and entertained throughout.

I bought my copy for a couple bucks at a bookstore "factory clearance warehouse". Cassette #1 was recorded or assembled BACKWARD. Did anyone else have this problem?

I fast-forwarded to the end, twisted the tape, and used a bent paperclip to rewind back to the beginning.

I was able to listen to the story OK after that.

Loved it, very engaging, I didn't want to put it down! I since purchased the rest of the series - but watch out - "Want To Play" is the same book, but printed under a different title in England.

This book continues to delight children many, many years after it was first published. As a child growing up it wasmy favorite book. Being a teacher I have introduced countless children to the antics of Caddie and her brothers. Recently I gave a copy to my nine year old granddaughter who usually walks around with some electronic gadget. Once she began reading she was hooked and finished the book in one weekend. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Even though the setting was many years ago, children are children and the appeal of this book transcends generations. A definite winner.

My 9 year old granddaughter loves it as I did when I was in the 3rd grade and she knows interesting, worthwhile books! So, buy it for your grandkids, too.

I read the book Caddie Woodlawn. It was a very interesting book. Caddie is a very curious, fun girl. Want to know more?
First, of course, the author is Carol Ryrie Brink. Caddie lives in Dunnville with her three brothers, three sisters, her mother, her father and her dog Nero. Caddie loves Dunnville! She has a school, friends, a loving family, and a wonderful home. That all began to change when her Uncle Edmund took away her one best friend, Nero. Nero was always there when Caddie needed someone to talk to, and now he was gone. A few weeks later, Uncle Edmund wrote to Mrs. Woodlawn that Nero had ran away because he did not like the city. The whole Woodlawn family is really sad. Now, something new is on everyone's mind. Father had gotten a letter from England. It said that they want him to return to England to be lord. Does he, or not?
Do you want to know if Nero returns? Or if Father goes to England? This is a wonderful, funny book that everyone must read. So go pick it up and read it.

Caddie Woodlawn is a wonderful Newbery Medal winning book. The story is set in Wisconsin at the same time that the American Civil War is being fought in the East. It was a time when everyone had fireplaces instead of heaters, paper and pencils instead of computer typing programs and outhouses instead of indoor plumbing. News and letters from the East come every few months on a steamer boat.

Caddie comes from a large family. She has 6 brothers and sisters. They have plenty to do to keep them busy on the farm. In summer and winter they all go to school. In the off months, the neighboring town uses the school.

Caddie is an 11-year old girl who is a real tomboy. She always takes on her brother's challenges and tries to beat them at everything. She'd much rather work in the fields than stay inside and sew. The neighbors think of her as odd. Not only is Caddie a tomboy, she also befriends the local Native Americans. But Caddie doesn't care, she is a free spirit. I liked that she was true to her self. She's a good role model.

What I found most interesting about this book is that it's based on real people. The author, Carol Ryrie Brink, based the whole story on her own grandmother, Caddie Woodhouse. I recommend it very much to people who liked Little House on The Prairie, but those who prefer books with a fast pace should steer clear. This is one story I'll always remember!

(This book was read and reviewed by CookieBooky kid.)

This is the somewhat true story of a real girl living in pioneer Wisconsin in the mid 1800s. The story starts when Caddie is eleven years old, and used to spending most of her time with her older brother Tom and her younger brother Warren. Caddie also has three sisters and another younger brother, but Tom and Warren are the most fun for her and the three of them often have adventures together.

Caddie's mother was brought up to be a polite lady in Boston and Caddie's sister Clara is a nice young lady like her mother. But when they first moved to Wisconsin when Caddie was very young, she was sickly and her father decided that it would be healthier for her to run free outside with her brothers instead of spending her days shut up inside learning how to be a proper lady. Therefore, Caddie at eleven is a tomboy.

Although Caddie's mother is exasperatd by her tomboyishness, Caddie enjoys her young life and has a wonderful time with her brothers, whether they are visiting the nearby Indian tribe, telling stories to each other near the fields or playing practical jokes on their snobbish cousin Annabelle.

This was an interesting book, providing some details about what life was like from the point of view of a likable girl. However, this book indicated that life was easy and things always went well for the Woodlawn family. Everything in their lives was too happy to be taken seriously.

I've read my first Ms. Wick's book and have to say after reading some reviews - yes, it is a bid predictable, yes, the main characters, especcialy Sophie, are a little too-good-to-be-true, and they are not quiet people next door, BUT I still loved reading this book because it took me into a better world with people who encoraged and tought me to become better Christian and not to take everything for granted as well as to find positive side in everything. I admire Sophie for her ability to pray constantly too(I'd like to learn just that!).
By the way, "babushka" is grandma in Russian language, it's "babichka" in Cheh.(I speak both, and I found this a little funny) Not that it matters, but just for those of you who'd like to learn the correct word...

i could not drop this book down for a sec cos it was so captivating...the way the author developed the relationship btw Sophie and Alec was amazing which for many christian romances is always so chesssy.am a hugh fan of Lori Wick!!

It is a sweet, clean story with a predictable course of action. My only complaints are the slowness at times and the somewhat "self righteous" reminder of the characters church involement and prayerful thoughts.

It is hard to find a clean romance, so I gave it 4 stars.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. As a person who reads 4-8 books/week, it really takes a special book to catch my attention. This book is one that has truely caught my attention, and continues to hold it. I have read this book many times, and no matter how many times i read it i never get tired of the story. I have also lent the book to many family members and friends who have also enjoyed the book. I am now purchasing another copy of the book, as mine is very worn from repeated use. This is a book that will never go out of style, and a heart warming Christian story.

I cant believe that out of all the reviews I have read, not one of you have mentioned Sophie's creepy, sweaty hands! Am I the only one who notices that she is constantly about to drop things because of the excess moisture? And how about those "damp marks" on her "leather purse"? But wait, it get's nastier my friends! She commences to shake hands with people...on a regular basis. Now tell me that isn't disguisting. Moving along...

I would not have you think that I'd give a book a mere 3 stars do to a character's unfortunate hands. I do have valid reasons.
1. This woman is supposed to have been a master of at least 3 languages, yet she does not know enough English to be taken seriously in America. I thought she and her grandmother had been waiting a long time to come. Yet she get's here and all she can say is "I have phone message" and "yes, this is word"? I find that strantge.
2. Another thing. Alec Riley did not even notice Sophie until she got all prettied up. Then he notices as he comes up his driveway and the garage door is rising, "the shapeliest pair of calves" he'd ever seen. I guess it's easier to see Sophie now that she'd gotten three inch "spindly" heals (I thought this was a Christian novel), a flashy scarf, and a new hairdo. Why couldn't he have fallen for her when he saw how devoted she was to his children? Why did it take a makeover for him to feel affection?
3. Next we come to Peg Frazier, Alec's mother in law. In dealing with Peg, Sophie is made out to be almost stupid, not naive. What intelligent woman do you know who would perform a packet (not a list, my friends...a PACKET!!!)of chores that never in her employment have been assigned to her by her boss. Sophie even acknowledges that it is not like Alec to give orders via a second party. so why does she obey? A question for the ages...
All in all, this book is readable, but the annoyances will mount alarmingly fast once you get into it. But I'd rather read this than lots of the other inapropriate romance fiction that's out there. If you really want a good, clean, romantic read (wonderful combo!), then read Lori Wick's Kensington Chronicles, but not much else, she's in a authoral slump just now.