Wisconsin Books

It's easy to forget the importance of alternative media figures like de Antonio, but he was Michael Moore before there was Michael Moore (and he did it with an intellectual seriousness that MM can't touch). I read this book in a college class and was blown away: the author writes beautifully (how many academics do that?), he really brings the 60s and 70s alive as we read about Nixon, Ho, Weatherman, the Berrigans, and he shows the importance of using media creatively/politically for cultural critique. If this isn't relevant in the age of Bush, when every media appearance is stage managed like a puppet show, I don't know what is. A must read for anyone interested in the noisy intersection of media and politics. Well done.

I had never even heard of de Antonio, but Randolph Lewis has now sparked my interest in his films, and in American documentary filmmaking more generally. A truly masterful work!

In The Conference Board's magazine, "Across the Board," in a Nov/Dec 2000 article on the best business books read over the past year, I wrote:

"Over the past couple of years, I must have read 10 to 20 management books every month. Unfortunately, before long, many of these titles start reading the same, hoping to capitalize on the management trend of the moment. But every once in a while a book comes along that includes unique and clear-headed thinking and writing. When I was working on an article about environmental ethics in business, I came across a new collection of the writings of Aldo Leopold, the legendary conservationist of the 1930s and 1940s perhaps best known for A Sand County Almanac. Edited by Curt Meine and Richard L. Knight, The Essential Aldo Leopold: Quotations and Commentaries is not, strictly speaking, a business book, but contained here in many previously unpublished observations are the thoughts and ideas of a natural (in all senses of the word) manager. Leopold was a rare combination of someone who saw the need for conserving nature, but who also understood and encouraged experiencing the beauty and functionality of the outdoors." --Across the Board, Nov/Dec 2000

One of my favorite quotes of Leopold's from this collection:

"Relegating conservation to government is like relegating virtue to the Sabbath. Turns over to professionals what should be daily work of amateurs."

Aldo Leopold was the author of "A Sand County Almanac" and one of the most influential conservationists of his day. In The Essential Aldo Leopold, Curt Meine and Richard Knight have collaborated to assembled a comprehensive collections of quotations from Leopold's extensive and diverse writings. These gems of wisdom, insight, and encouragement are organized in twenty-one chapters under the broad themes of conservation science and practice, conservation policy, conservation and culture. Each chapter begins with an introductory essay by a prominent conservation scholar to provide the reader with perspective on Leopold's numerous and varied contributions. The Essential Aldo Leopold is an essential, core title for any personal, academic, and professional environmental and conservation studies collection, and highly recommended reading for all Aldo Leopold admirers within the modern conservation movement.

ETERNAL PEOPLE is a wonderful book that touches the heart and mind. It tells the story of Joseph Abrams, a Ukranian Jew who comes to America in the early 1900s. The book beautifully depicts Jews in America and their adjustments to a new life. The characters leap off the pages. Joseph becomes a correspondent for the Jewish Daily Forward, then moves to a small commune in Wisconsin where he's introduced to the Utopian philosophy of the Am Olam movement. He falls in love with two women there, and is reunited with his only living relative. Joseph is sweet and tough, smart and sympathetic, and the two women are vividly described. We see Joseph's growth and change, his tenderness and determination. We watch as a threat to the commune's existence becomes real. The novel's last sections depict the powerful and gripping conclusion. The book moves from intellectual debate to drama to poignant love scenes and lyrical memories. ETERNAL PEOPLE is beautifully written, and Joseph's story lingers long after a reader has left his world.

I started reading this book more because of interest in a historical subject I knew nothing about than because I was looking for a good read. How nice to have found both. After just a couple of chapters, the characters draw you in. Joesph is my idea of a hero, intense and with good instincts and intentions, but still flawed, complex and most important, real. Milofsky writes sharply and simply, but every now and then, he describes something with such tenderness and truth that you find the phrase popping back into your head, even when you aren't reading. Eternal People passed my most important test for a great read. After I turned the last page, I wished there were more.

If you ever wondered (like I do), just how the contestants of TV programs such as Jeopardy and Do you want to be a millionaire? prepare to answer their questions; we have to assume they do their homework. By this I mean, in preparation, they must burn the midnight oil over a selection of reference books such as: The Bible, an Encyclopedia, a Dictionary, the Guinness Book of World Records and the latest copy of Who's Who?

Well, I have now discovered another set of books that I would definitely add to the above list. It is Exploring America's Highways - Trip Trivia. My review here covers three of the books, specifically relating to: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In the near future, the author, Michael Heim, will be releasing another 12 books covering the States of: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota.

But, even if you are not a quiz show contestant, these books will provide you with a wealth of pleasure and information. And, if you know your destination and you thoroughly enjoy traveling by car, motorcycle, bicycle or recreational vehicle, you most certainly should not be without this series of books.

You've heard the expression, "Half the fun of arriving is in the "getting there". Well, I can assure you, almost ALL of the fun in getting there is to be accompanied by Michael Heim's trip trivia books.

Not only do these books inform you "how to get there" but they provide the reader with a wealth of travel trivia about the history of how towns and cities received their names, local landmarks, all significant happenings associated with each location, prominent people from each place as well as all historical events and a wealth of general trivia.

I must add that these highly entertaining and informative books are intended to open your eyes and minds to the thousands of facts, details, historical references and anecdotes about the many hundreds of places within these three states. They are also a guaranteed remedy for any possible boredom that might develop while driving, especially with children. As such, do not expect to find listings of addresses and phone numbers for hotels, motels, restaurants or other places normally associated with the contents of traditional travel guides.

After reading only a few pages of any one book, you will find you have ventured into a cornucopia of interesting information. For example, for years I have been driving to Chicago from Detroit and I usually stop in Kalamazoo, Michigan as my half way respite for a snack and cup of coffee. Well now, I know a great deal more about my rest stop. The actual name comes from the Native Americans who originally named the place "Kalamazoo", a place where water boils. However, the location was first called Bronson after its first settler, Titus Bronson from Connecticut. I'll let you read the facts on why the townsfolk eventually petitioned to have the name changed from Bronson to Kalamazoo, however, I will also leave you with a piece of trivia. Did you know that Kalamazoo is the only town in Michigan where Abraham Lincoln ever spoke? Neither did I!

And, what about Manistique in Northern Michigan? If your trip happens to be taking you from Ironwood to St. Ignace, you will learn that Manistique comes from the Indian word "monistique" which means the color vermilion in reference to the color of the local water.

Over in Wisconsin, where my husband was born, he has a cousin living in Ixonia. In Mr. Heim's Wisconsin Trip Trivia book, I learned the town was named by a Mary Piper who randomly picked out letters of the alphabet. When written down, they formed the word Ixonia. And, the name, Ixonia, is the only town of that name in the entire United States.

Of course, as your routing may take you through other areas of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, you will find the vastly important role Native American Indians contributed in the naming and historical significance of today's villages, towns and cities.

Although I could provide dozens of more pieces of trivia that excited me, I hope you now have the flavor of Mr. Heim's almost monumental collection of facts. I can only imagine these books being read to children as families travel across our nation's highways. And, I can only envy them in having this modern, factual and absolutely fun way of learning history.

And, who knows? Someday, you or someone you know may actually be invited to be a quiz show contestant.

Three hefty volumes dissect Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin respectively from your car window. Each book is packed with easy to read facts and trivia. Heim organizes the fun, not by territory, but by highway. If you found yourself on Route 169 outside Winnebago, Minnesota (i.e. named after the Indians, not a motorized trailer), you'd know that Scottish settlers there introduced curling to the state, or if you approached Laurium, Michigan on Route 41, you'd know that this was the birthplace of halfback George Gipp who once told Knute Rockne on his deathbed to "win one for the Gipper."

This book is a multidiciplinary collection of essays and research reports on forgiveness: philisophical, psychological, religious, legal, law enforcement, sociological and political. Each author dicusses the study and impact of forgiveness in their specialty field as of the date of publication.

"Forgiveness" is a thought provoking springboard for anyone interested in improving interpersonal relationships, justice in our society, and peace in our world. The reader is compelled to conclude that a clearer development of the concept of forgiveness and the study of the best means to promote forgiveness should be the life work of our brightest minds. Forgiveness study, education and implementation is just as important as ecology to save the human race. This book is a cause for hope.

In the first chapter, the two editors state that this book emerged out of the very first conference ever held on the topic of interpersonal forgiveness at any university. That fact alone is worth picking up this book. Besides this, you will be challenged to see how forgiveness fits into a wide variety of areas such as family studies, psychotherapy, law and politics. In every chapter there are golden nuggets of information about how to successfully apply forgiveness to help people's lives. Even Desmond Tutu's brief foreword is filled with great ideas (he even seemed to derive the title of his popular book on forgiveness from one of the sentences in that foreword). Marietta Jaeger's tender story of forgiving the murderer of her daughter will make you weep. This book successfully explores forgiveness and readers are the beneficiaries.

I am a fan of the Famous Wisconsin Series and I liked this book!
It gives a great overview of some of the state's artists that are often overlooked (other than FL Wright and Georgia O'Keeffe). A nice addition to the art history of the State of Wisconsin.

Compiled and written by Hannah Heidi Levy, Famous Wisconsin Artists And Architects is a straightforward collection of brief biographies of Wisconsin's great artists and architects, including Georgia O'Keefe, Frank Lloyd Wright, and nearly 100 more. The individual biographies range in length from a single page summary to several pages; and some even include one-on-one interviews. More than 150 black-and-white photographs of artists, architects, and their creations illustrate this handy quick-reference guide, resulting in an inherently fascinating, informative "reader friendly" sourcebook which is particularly recommended to the attention of those looking to learn more about Wisconsin's artists and art culture, both past and present.

Before William Flinders Petrie, there were great explorers and great adventurers, some of whom even made finds of tremendous archeological note in Egypt. But Flinders Petrie was the first great archeologist. Analogous to Edward R. Murrow's preeminence to this day as the standard against which all newscasters are measured, Flinders Petrie set the standard and laid the foundations for modern archeology. Today, one can study the science of archeology and obtain a degree. One can specialize in the school of Egyptology. Major universities and museums fund archeological digs. None of this existed when Flinders Petrie first embarked for Cairo in the late 1800's with little more than a bag, homemade tools and instruments, and very little money. How he came to return to Egypt and later Palestine year after year; how the study of Archeology/Egyptology was established at University College; how the theories of dating strata by studying potsherds was developed is fascinating stuff. For anyone who has been captured by the romance of rediscovering lost civilizations, this book is a must.

Margaret Drower accomplishes a well balanced, informative, authoritative, readable biography of a complex and remarkable individual in this book. Petries achievements are astounding, founding archaeology and egyptology as a professional science, over the course of his career he excavating numerous important and valuable sites, and was prolific in his documentation and publication of his findings, Petrie revolutionised the practice of archaeology, setting a standard of excellence that his juniors and contempories had to follow.

Drower examines his early life and family background to better understand the determined, driven and exacting man he became. Following the development of his methodologies through his seasons in Egypt, Drower also places Petrie in the context of the late nineteenth century academic circles, the friendships and politics which he was surrounded by and participated in.

An absorbing biography, valuable to anyone with an interest in archaeology, egyptology or wishing to learn more about a remarkable individual. A truely worthwhile read.

"Hitler and Goering were once out driving. Passing through a village, they ran over a pig. Goering thought he should find the farmer and apologize for what had happened. He was gone a very long time and received very fine hospitality. When he returned, Hitler asked why he had stayed so long. 'Well, there was so much celebration in the house over what I told them,' Goering replied, 'and finally I had to join in.' 'What did you tell them?' 'That the pig was dead.' This was one of hundreds of jokes told by the Norwegians from 1940 until 1945. While the phenomenom of occupation humor has certainly not been ignored, the role it played in developing a resistance mentality among the Norwegian people has until now been largely unexamined. This humor was expressed in overtly anti-Hitler and anti-Nazi jokes, but it was also found in snide replies, double-entendres, insinuating newspaper advertisements that were not understood by the occupying forces, children's stories, and even Christmas cards. Kathleen Stokker, extending an earlier study by Magne Skodvin, observes that "wartime humor granted a voice to those deprived of free speech, discouraged the undecided from hasty attachment to Nazism, and helped the initially amorphus group of individuals opposed to Nazism to develop a sense of solidarity." Norway was a neutral country in 1940, and just as it had done during World War One, it hoped to remain neutral. Geopolitical realities, however, including the German desire to control access to Swedish iron mines, made Norway and Denmark Hitler's first victims following the end of the Phony War in April of 1940. The Norwegians did not surrender. King Haakon VII established a government in exile in England, and the Norwegian people would wage one of the bravest and most effective resistance campaigns of the war. The popular image of Norwegian resistance has been created by films such as "The Heroes of Telemark," but there were tens of thousands of ordinary Norwegians who resisted in more subtle ways, even if it were only to wear a red cap in defiance of their occupiers. Stokker points out, however, that the image of a people united against oppression is only partly true. There were many Norwgians who did acccept and serve the new National Government headed by Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Norwegian Nazi Party. But these people were for the most part shunned, and Stokker points out with brillliant originality the way the resisters used humor to debase the collaborators. Stokker, a professor of Norwegian at Luther College, is the author of the most widely used Norwegian-language textbook in America. She draws upon a large number of interviews with survivors of the Occupation, archives in the Norwegian Resistance Museum and the University of Oslo, and "joke notebooks" kept by women who experienced the event. It is a delightful book,well-crafted and historically meticulous. As other societies have discovered, oppression can be endured with humor, for it is a valuable form of psychological warfare. The Norwegians developed that humor, as Stokker so aptly proves, and in the process maintained the spirit that was necessary to prevail. As one reads the book, and looks at the drawings, posters, and cartoons, one gains a deep appreciation for the courage of a people. One also gets a good laugh! Dr. Gerald D. Anderson Department of History North Dakota State University

"Hitler and Goering were once out driving. Passing through a village, they ran over a pig. Goering thought he should find the farmer and apologize for what had happened. He was gone a very long time and received very fine hospitality. When he returned, Hitler asked why he had stayed so long. 'Well, there was so much celebration in the house over what I told them,' Goering replied, 'and finally I had to join in.' 'What did you tell them?' 'That the pig was dead.'" This was one of hundreds of jokes told by the Norwegians during German occupation from 1940 until 1945. While the phenomenon of occupation humor has certainly not been ignored, the role it played in developing a resistance mentality among the Norwegian people has until now been largely unexamined. This humor was expressed in overtly anti-Hitler and anti-Nazi jokes, but it was also found in snide replies, double-entendres, insinuating newspaper advertisements that were not understood by the occupying forces, children's stories, and even Christmas cards. Kathleen Stokker, extending an earlier study by Magne Skodvin, observes that "wartime humor granted a voice to those deprived of free speech, discouraged the undecided from a hasty attachment to Nazism, and helped the initially amorphous group of individuals opposed to Nazism to develop a sense of solidarity." Norway was a neutral country in 1940, and just as it had done during World War One, it hoped to remain neutral. Geopolitical realities, however, including the German desire to control access to Swedish iron mines, made Norway and Denmark Hitler's first victims following the end of the Phony War in April of 1940. The Norwegians did not surrender. King Haakon VII established a government in exile in England, and the Norwegian people would wage one of the bravest and most effective resistance campaigns of the war. The popular image of Norwegian resistance has been created by such films as "The Heroes of Telemark," but there were also tens of thousands of Norwegians who resisted in more subtle ways, even if it were only to wear a red cap in defiance of their oppressors. Stokker points out, however, that the image of a people united against oppression is only partly true. There were many Norwegians who did accept and serve the new National Government headed by Vidkun Quisling, the leader of the Norwegian Nazi Party. But these people were for the most part shunned, and Stokker points out with brilliant originality the way the resisters used humor to debase the collaborators. Stokker, a professor of Norwegian at Luther College, is the author of the most widely used Norwegian-language textbook in America. She draws upon a large number of interviews with survivors of the Occupation, archives in the Norwegian Resistance Museum and the University of Oslo, and "joke notebooks" kept by women who experienced the event. It is a delightful book, well crafted and historically meticulous. As other societies have discovered, oppression can be met with humor, for it is a valuable form of psychological warfare. The Norwegians were able to develop that humor, as Stokker so aptly proves, and in thr process maintained the spirit necessary to prevail. As one reads the book, and looks at the drawings, posters, children's books, and cartoons, one gains a deep appreciation for the courage of a people. One also gets a good laugh! Dr. Gerald D. Anderso Department of History North Dakota State University

Whether you're interested in WWII or not you'll love this book. Wonderfully written, this emotional tale of love under the most dire circumstances is sure to make you laugh, cry, feel. Margaret and Jerry Sams are an inspiration to all. And even at 90 their love is still as strong as ever.

This very interesting autobiography is the story of a conventional young American housewife who becomes separated from her husband in the chaos of the Philippines of 1942 and is imprisoned with her young son in a brutal Japanese internment camp. In her struggle for survival she meets and falls in love with a fellow prisoner, whose child she bears, at great risk, and in the face of opposition from fellow inmates and captors alike.
Sams' story, expertly and sensitively edited, is a frank and touching love story as well as an epic of survival, and will be of interest to students of 20th-century American culture and mores as well as WWII readers.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

I recently purchased this book from another source. At the time, I did'nt know you had it. However, the book is just great!!! Beautiful photos, of the cottage from beginning, to need for serious repair, to full restoration, featuring Wright influenced furnishings. All in all, a must have for any fan of the greatest American Architect. Thank You

the book is just great!!! Beautiful photos, of the cottage from beginning, to need for serious repair, to full restoration, featuring Wright influenced furnishings. All in all, a must have for any fan of the greatest American Architect. Thank You, Calvin Duane Rhodes