Missouri Books

Lorena Eaker has outdone herself this time. This book provides an incredible gold mine of information about German settlers in early North Carolina and is well researched. Documentation of research is much more reliable than average books of this genre. I eagerly await the upcoming supplement.

Fast Devilery. Product as described.

This was a gift for my avid golfer father. He said he has enjoyed reading about people and place that he knows, not to mention good ol' SW Missouri pros.

This is the most important book I own. It is a complete facsimile of a 15th century illuminators manual. The color plates are equisite, and provide a lot of detail. The English Translation is very readable and extremely useful to the artist interested in medieval techniques.

Dr. Sandoz provides insight to the philosophical foundations of the American Founding. He points to several main influences including John Locke, Medieval Christianity, and Classical Philosophy. Sandoz shows the importance of political obligation as instilled through a sense of common moral virtue. He ultimately commends the common sense of the founders and shows us why other systems have failed. A key point is the differentiation found between religion and the secular matters of government. In stark contrast to "political religions" the founders set their sights on the obtainable goal of toleration and liberty without claiming to be able to perfect the world (marxism, communism). Overall, Sandoz rejects the secular interpretation of the founding and gives strong evidence that the founders valued religion quite highly and thought it an important foundation for society. He does not fall into the trap of finding a "single strand" of thought to explain the founding, but instead points to several key influences. Sandoz is able to make his case in common sense terms and offers humor throughout, while still maintaining a deep level of insight. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in American Founding and especially the philosophical influences that brought it about.

"Grant Wood's (1891-1942) paintings epitomized the Regionalist movement and attracted an immense popular audience. This book, published as the catalog for the traveling exhibit which premiered at the Davenport Museum of Art in Iowa (1995), is richly illustrated with some sixty of Wood's paintings and preparatory studies. The text examines Modernist influences on the artist, specifically in relation to his abstract design principles and the lasting influence of Neo-Impressionism on his painting.

"By Brady Roberts, James M. Dennis, James Hornes, and Helen Mar Parkin, Davenport Museum of Art. 128 pages, 60 full-color reproductions, 27 black-and-white illustrations, size: 11 x 9". Smythe-sewn paperbound book. ISBN: 0-87654-485-5."--© Pomegranate

For those in the midwest, Bill Grigsby is the MAN! This tells the story straight.

This is a fine little book, prepared for an annual conference of the American Institute of Architects that was held in St. Louis in the late 1980s. It has a succinct history of the city, fine pictures and captions, and it is conveniently organized by sub-areas. Without explicitly intending to do so, it demonstrates the early glory and the more recent but steady decline that the city has experienced. Buildings dating to before World War Two are enduring works of architecture that could stand up and do well when compared with any other city in the country. After the War, and before a few examples built after the book was published such as the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts by Tadao Ando, the city saw most of the new construction move to the suburbs. Particularly in the case of commercial structures, most are designed in so generic a fashion that they could fit in any suburban office park in the country. But for the magnificent Arch and for some International Style homes, there is little to cheer about.

The extensive maps and information in this book are very helpful to a Kansas City cyclist. It is worth every penny!

Happy Incidents Along Life's Journey: Boyhood Memories Of The Civil War Era is the transcribed memoir of Thomas Smith Compton Senior, a man who lived through one of the most tumultuous eras in American history. Written down at the behest of his grandchild, these sparkling clear and vivid memories have been tactfully edited and presented to give a remarkable picture into what life was really like one hundred and fifty years ago. Happy Incidents Along Life's Journey is highly recommended and informative reading for students of American history and life during the Civil War era.