Wisconsin Books

More than 450 beautiful black-and-white as well as color photographs enhance every page as Shiela Reaves' Wisconsin Land Of Change: An Illustrated History combines a down-to-earth, well-researched, informative, narrative history of Wisconsin ranging from prehistoric times down to the modern day. Chapters describe monumental events that shaped the land itself and the lives of the many people who came to call Wisconsin home. A true pleasure to read, as well as a learning experience packed with little-known vignettes about people, places, and even businesses who have left their mark on the Dairy State, Wisconsin Land Of Change is a "must" for all community and school library "Wisconsin History" collections and supplemental reading lists.

The extra photo in this calendar is a work of total sublime beauty. I'm grateful I have a full six months to contemplate it. Thank you to the photographer for sharing her artistic talent.

".....The Wisconsin Guide, like all others published under the auspices of the Work Projects Administration, is a product of cooperative effort by numerous writers working to a definite plan under the supervision of a State director and the National director.

IT IS DISTINCTLY A GUIDE, NOT A SYSTEMATIC HISTORY OF THE STATE, which would be a task for trained historians....."
[from the book of the foreword by Joseph Schaper, State Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin]

This book is TOTALLY AWESOME! It shows us just how brave Velazques was when fighting in the Aerican Civil War. I admit it was hard to read, but worth all the words I had to look up! If you haven't read it yet, you're missing out on the best historical narrative by far!

I've been a big fan of Leavitt's work for years and find this book to be extremely revelatory in the way "things always stay the same". From eating disorders among women in the 1920s to views of women's sexuality and mental illness by male doctors, Leavitt manages (as always) to form a collection of compelling articles that you simply cannot put down. Sensitive always to inclusion of race and sexual orientation, Leavitt often presents work in areas difficult to find elsewhere.

This book exposes many parts of the female slave trade in Africa. Here we learn that the Islamic slave trade was made up primarily of women. The book helps to aswer this phenomenon by showing that not only were women used as Sex slaves in North Africa but that women from many traditional east african soceities performed much of the work, thus making them more productive. The questions sourounding the role of women in the slave trade is given a variety of looks. One slave girls narrative tells of how her mother is left to starve by the slave master who subsequently buries the daughter alive. This is the truth of slavery and especially the turth of slavery as it was propogated by Zanzibar in East Africa. Slaves were not 'protected' or treated as human beings, they were simply meat, frequently disgarded along the way when they got sick or seemed weak. This book finally exposes the truth about slavery fcusing on the enslavement of women and the role of women in slave soceities. Above all it shows that many of the African men, despairing of the arab slave caravans who took most of their women, turned to brigandage and joined roving bands of warlords, thus ensuring that Arfican pride would not be darkened by the cruel evils of slavery and its targeting of women by Sexual predators from the middle east and europe.

Seth J. Frantzman

This book should be required reading for men and women alike, whether they are sexually active or not. "Women as Revolutionary Agents of Change: The Hite Reports and Beyond" is a concisely written and informative book. Read it to better understand yourself, your sexuality, and that of the opposite sex.

The diversity of the backgrounds and positions of the authors of the 10 essays corresponds to the diversity of the topics dealt with. Professors in the fields of library science, sociology, women's studies, and anthropology, among others, take up how print media was a matrix where subjects of interest to women were developed, women's perspectives on social issues were expressed and advanced, and women could develop careers as writers, editors, and publishers. The essays focus mostly on the significant role of little-known local or regional publications and individuals in creating a widespread, influential, and lasting print culture especially for women but also fulfilling the central informing, provocative, and opinion-shaping purpose of media in democracy. Because of the independence of the women, the uniqueness of the varied publications, and the relative narrowness of the subject matter, that there was a loosely unified field of women's print culture which was very active and effective was not apparent at the time; and is still only dimly apparent to many today. Thus besides giving attention to the unsung women editors, etc., and publications, the essays stake out to some extent the bounds, content, and approaches of the growing field of women's print culture.

This beautiful, fat book contains informative and inspiring biographical sketches of women scholars. The careers of these amazing women raise subtle and important questions about the obstacles historically encountered by women seeking to engage the life of the mind. There have been many books written about the careers of male scholars and editors, of which *The Professor and the Madman* is only the most famous. No other book tells the stories of such women. These stories are not scandalous, but they are true, and they are indeed and for the most part heartening.

Women's Wisconsin: From Native Matriarchies To The New Millennium is an anthology of essays by learned historians as well as primary sources such as letters, reminiscences, oral histories, articles and more previously published over numerous decades in the "Wisconsin Magazine of History." An impressive compendium of women's contributions to Wisconsin history, Women's Wisconsin covers the lives of the first women in Wisconsin, the frontier era, statehood, women's organizations, women's involvement in the war effort during World War II and much more. Many sections feature extensive notes or citations. As enjoyable for lay readers as it is informative, Women's Wisconsin is an excellent contribution to both library and private history shelves, and a valuable resource for state history teachers.