Saint Louis University Books

The material presented by Jacobs and Wright makes law-abiding, middle-class persons realize there is an entirely different world where disgruntled criminals take revenge in ways that only Quentin Tarantino could imagine. There are few ethnographic works that can match the fascinating stories of retaliatory violence contained within "Street Justice."

Louis Claude de Saint-Martin is the most great adept of the eighteenth's ocultism. He is the master of Eliphas Levi, Papus, Stanislas de Guaita and his doctrine originated the most pure andn sanct of the ocult schools, the Martinist Order.
A recomended lecture to all serious students of ocultism, particularly, Qabbalah.
...

Martz has some good credentials in coming to write about More: for instance he is Sterling Professor (emeritus) of English at Yale and Chairman of the Editorial Board overseeing Yale's series of the complete works of Thomas More. And properly he writes from that grand vantage point, turning More's life and thought around like a crystal to be examined, facet by facet. What he fastens on to considered in this too-short book is interesting in itself, such as the conclusions to be drawn from the changes in the composition and poses of the family in the draft and revised final copies of a More family portrait. (Historians can learn much here.)

Martz asks the big questions, too. Was More a religious zealot, unceasingly hounding men like Tyndale to their deaths? Or, as Martz well argues, a man fulfilling the duties of his position in an age of harsh remedies and punishments? (These were not kind times for anyone.) Again and again, Martz maturely considers More and More's actions in the context of that period, and brings a sophistication, perhaps even a wisdom,to a debate that rages between those who wish the man to be fully a saint without blemish, and those who wish to find a monster under those rich robes. As experience would suggest, the truth is at neither extreme - and not even on a line to be drawn between these poles.

This is a book to savor and reflect on, and while Martz's insights may not bring the search for the inner More to conclusion, he starts us on the way. Here is More looked at as an actual human being, and not an icon for either camp or ideology, to worship or despise; here is the man that Erasmus loved and treated as a dear and close friend. More must have had some mightly virtues to engage the heart of the tolerance-loving Erasmus, and I think that is the man Martz is searching for, and that is the man, the More, he finds.

William Adair Bernoudy, Architect will hold special significance for the residents of St. Louis as well as for any following the architectural legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright: it provides almost 300 color photos and almost thirty floor plans exploring the work of William Bernoudy, a leading advocate of Wright's style. An outstanding collection of examples.

As a reader of "Undaunted Courage", the Steven Ambrose historical biography of Meriwether Lewis and his patron, Thomas Jefferson, I felt like I received only part of the picture of the expedition that opened the Louisiana Purchase to U.S. interests. This book completes the picture. Clark was the steady, get-the-job-done, go-to guy, who complemented the mercurial Lewis. Where Lewis made only occasional journal entries, Clark is the principal source of our non-botanical/zoological information because he reliably performed the journaling function. The only criticism I would have of the book is the repeated drubbing of Clark as a slave holder and his perceived mistreatment of York. It seems that Foley feels he has to apologize for Clark, who lived in a different age with a very different view of slavery. Once would have been enough.

The author skillfully blends history and biography to provide an absorbing look at American frontier during the early to mid 19th century,
as well as a fresh narrative of the Lewis and Clark explorations. Foley
renders Clark in a sympathetic light, even when accounting for his often
harsh treatment of African-Americans and Native Americans. A well-researched and well-written book.

It's about time someone wrote a modern full biography of William Clark (1770-1838). The second-in-command of the legendary Lewis and Clark Expedition deserves a much fuller discussion than heretofore available. Born in Virginia in 1770, Clark was closely tied to frontier military and Indian affairs throughout his life. He served with Gen. Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and between 1803 and 1806 he and Meriwether Lewis led the military expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean. In 1813 Clark became Missouri Territorial governor, working during the War of 1812 to secure the frontier from British-incited Indian attacks. When Missouri was admitted to the Union in 1822, Clark was appointed by Congress superintendent of Indian affairs, serving until his death in 1838. He was fair, humane, and honest in his dealing with the western tribes.

This book is an exceptionally well researched and written life of Clark, whose career, at least in its later stages, outstripped that of Meriwether Lewis. It is must reading for anyone interested in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the settlement of the trans-Mississippi West. It replaces as the central work on the subject the biography written by Jerome O. Steffen, "William Clark: Jeffersonian Man on the Frontier" (University of Oklahoma Press, 1977).

William Clark is best known as the American explorer who joined Meriwether Lewis in heading an overland expedition to the Pacific: but as William Foley demonstrates in Wilderness Journey: The Life Of William Clark, how William Clark has many more claims to fame than his explorations with Meriwether Lewis. Studies have appeared on the two, but this is the first comprehensive biography of Clark's entire life, revealing his service as a soldier, Indian diplomat, and his involvement in US politics and policy-making in the West. College-level audiences will find Wilderness Journey a fascinating biography of a multi-faceted man.

This book documents the history of professional baseball in St. Louis, starting with the short-lived St. Louis Brown Stockings in 1875 through the fascinating history of the St. Louis Browns before they became what we know of today as the St. Louis Cardinals. As baseball historian Bill James has stated, "A very good baseball movie could be made about baseball in St. Louis, 1883-86. It's got everything - - great teams, unbelievable characters . . . pennant races, World Series. Best material for a baseball movie ever."

This is a superbly researched book. Nearly every fact is documented and footnoted, primarily from first-hand accounts published by various newspapers and journalists at the time. Reading the Notes at the end of the book is just as interesting as reading the book itself. Drunkards, cheaters, womanizers . . . baseball in its infancy makes today's issues (steroids, over-paid players) pale in comparison.

The casual baseball fan will most likely be bored by this book, but to those who love baseball history and lore (especially involving the historic St. Louis Cardinals), this is a must-read book.

What did it mean to have a major league baseball team in the latter nineteenth century? How did the host city relate to it and what about its place in the life of the city's inhabitants? These are some of the questions explored in this excellent history of major league baseball (MLB) in St. Louis. Beginning as a dissertation at the University of Oregon, Cash has fashioned what is sure to become the standard work on the rise of MLB in the city that was at the time of the formation of the National League in 1876 the farthest west and south of any of the cities participating it. Cash spends considerable time on the excellent but short-lived Brown Stockings, the city's first entry into the National League; their namesake in the American Association in the 1880s, and the team that became the modern St. Louis Cardinals. Cash rightly notes that city rivalry between St. Louis and Chicago, including both prestige and economic factors, sparked much of the early interest by metropolitan leaders in MLB. He also suggests that in large measure the National League, and St. Louis's place in it, was possible because of the ability to travel between cities by rail. Without it these intercity leagues would not have been feasible.

The author also includes excellent discussions of Chris Von der Ahe and the origins of what became the Cardinals. Von der Ahe, a well-known St. Louis businessman, formed the St. Louis Brown Stockings in the American Association in 1880. He owned a beer garden and boardinghouse near a baseball field on Grand Avenue, and seeing that his bar always picked up before and after baseball games played there, he understood that baseball fans would be good patrons for his business. Mustachioed, Roman nosed, and speaking with thick accent, Von der Ahe was the prototype spotlight grabbing major league baseball team owner. He referred to himself, in his thick accent as "der poss bresident," and the fans loved it. He spent freely, indulged his players, and built an early baseball dynasty in the 1880s. Von der Ahe loved the celebrity his ownership brought him, for now he was not just a prosperous businessman but both a prosperous businessman and a public figure. It was an unbeatable combination, perhaps the real attraction for baseball ownership up to the present, and something repeated many times by many different owners since. In a city rich in baseball history, no one has been more significant in shaping the game in early St. Louis than Chris Von der Ahe.

Cash also details the collapse of the American Association in 1891 and the incorporation of the St. Louis franchise into the National League. Von der Ahe lost his fortune, had to sell the team, and it did poorly in the 1890s but eventually emerged as the fabled St. Louis Cardinals of the twentieth century, which has won more pennants and world championships than any other National League team.

This is an important study of baseball history, as well as in urban history. It is a decided cut above most other writing on the history of baseball, which concentrates on players and cute stories. Unlike so many works on the subject, it is firmly grounded in the documentary record and in the most recent historical thinking. Well done, Jon David Cash! "Before They Were Cardinals" is both a fine historical study and an entertaining reading experience.

Pesonally I really enjoy books about baseball before 1930. Back when baseball was more America's pastime.

The book itself was very well written and gave some real insight into the St. Louis-Chicago rivalary.

It was also interesting to read about the labor problems of baseball from 125 years ago. Odd to see really not much has changed just the dollar amounts the player's receive.

It was also neat to see how the beer makers of the 1800's were involved with the game and how without beer St. Louis probably doesn't have a team now.

I liked the book thick and thin, from front to back! I am glad to sell this book and review it! Henry is a genius and I guess Bill too!

scott elfwood "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES" TM

Henry did a great job on this book. It truly describes is life as he only knows it. It is great I came out to St.Louis in October 98 and this pass weekend for his 90th at WEBSTER UNIVERSITY 10/29/30/99 IS DATE AND A CLUB CALLED BB'S JAZZ BLUES AND SOUPS MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LOVE Henry and his Music. A billiant man! Judy west

This book is about the life of Blues Legend, Henry Townsend. It gives a vibrant touch to his life before his around the world music playing days and during. Henry and Bill show us how it feels to be a Blues Legend and how to learn how to go at a career as a bluesman, Henry and Bill has wrote a masterpiece in itself. And I and hopefully others hope that this masterpiece will be followed with another. You can Find his cds on this amazon.com and others. "The 88' Blues" can be found in St.Louis and blueberry hill.com

This book is excellent for the "fleshing out" of characters and personalities of which the preponderence of us only know by name. Dr. Gerteis creates non-fiction which reads like an unfolding panorama of events which could have only been spawned with the creativity of the human mind. But these things happened and they are the property of time. Dr. Gerteis allows us in the salon where before we had only been allowed to peek in the door.

Gerteis' book is valuable to those who are interested in the intricacies of the larger Civil War and to those who are interested in the history of St. Louis. I fall into both categories and loved the book for those reasons alone. Two categories of the times about which I had read very little were the roles that women filled in during the war and how filling those roles lead to social changes after the war (like a prelude of Rosy the Riveter) and also about the role of first runaway slaves, then contraband slaves, and then African Americans of all sorts filling the cities of the border states. The details of some of the characters in history for these two moments--women's roles and integration of black into society--are ones that I will carry with me forever.

Gerteis is a story-teller. He really knows how to make the material move, and it was fun just learning about the intertwining families of St. Louis and how their relationships played out in odd and sometimes violent ways. Very good writing.

(...) Gerteis, professor of history at University Missouri-St. Louis, has created the best single work on the subject yet produced. The breadth of this book is its greatest strength, starting with the lynching of Francis McIntosh in 1836 and ending with Reconstruction in the 1870’s. In between is the expected cast of characters like Thomas Hart Benton, Dred Scott, the Blairs, Gratz Brown, Basil Duke, Claiborne Jackson, Franz Sigel, James O. Broadhead, Sterling Price, Joseph W. Tucker, the Fremonts. . . well, you get the picture. The list could continue to impressive lengths, and does so in Prof. Gerteis’ book. Abraham Lincoln isn’t elected president (en passant at that) until page 77.

Of particular pleasure was the inclusion of significant material on lesser-known, but important, figures like J.E.D. Couzins, James E. Yeatman and the Western Sanitary Commission, Rev. John Richard Anderson, and James B. Eads and the river navy. Prof. Gerteis also does an excellent job of weaving the German thread
into the Union quilt as seamlessly as it has ever been done.

Sometimes it is hard to read a text written centuries ago. The passage of time and social changes can make for stilted reading. This is also enhanced if the original text was in another language. You might reasonably wonder about the efficacy of the translation.

Yet here the translators have yielded an impressively readable document. The narrative moves briskly along. This is largely a book of war. About conflict, aggression, treachery and all that good stuff. Gets the glands going. It also gives some insight into the mindset of medieval royalty and feudalism. Especially because the narrator was a contemporary, who did not question the underlying premises of his time. But wrote his account within that context.

A translation of Suger's Deeds of Louis the Fat is here presented in an accessible and readable form for both students and the general reader. There is a concise yet comprehensive twenty-page introduction, an accompanying map, and an index at the end. There are both footnotes and endnotes, which is unfortunate, since those seeking further background information must refer to both. This can be a bit of a handful when not reading at a desk. It would have been far better to have all notes set at the foot of each page.

The translation, introduction and notation have been undertaken by Richard Cusimano of the University of Southwestern Louisiana and by John Moorhead at the University of Queensland. In their introduction they point to the work's value by seeing Louis's reign as a pivotal era in the progress of French monarchical consolidation. But they also view the work as important in the context of Suger's own life and literary style. And indeed the work can often be seen to be more about Suger than about Louis. The writers explore the background to the reasons why it was written and why it was written in the way that it was, for the title was not Suger's own.

Their analysis includes comparisons with other twelfth-century (and earlier) texts and writers of a similar genre are made. They point out why the work cannot be treated as a biography per se of Louis VI, for there is a concentration on secondary details, whilst primary facts of Louis's life - his knighthood, his presence at the court of England's Henry I, his marriage, etc - are ignored. The secondary features that are mentioned, however, conform suspiciously with Suger's own views about kingship and the primacy of his abbey at St-Denis. That is not to say that Suger's account of Louis's deeds cannot be trusted, for he was clearly present at many of the events described and he writes about them with the air of someone who has no difficulty in remembering details.

The translators end their introduction with details about the difficulties they encountered with the translation in terms of style as well as content. Suger employed a sometimes convoluted literary style, re-inforcing his meaning by allusions to contemporary theological ideas, "But just when the temptation to despair is strongest, the reader comes along a witty turn of phrase or pun that alerts one to the fact that, at least sometimes, Suger knew very well what he was doing."

Whatever problems the translators had to overcome in their work, the reader of this volume need not worry about, as the English text flows smoothly from chapter to chapter. This is a fine volume that will be of use to students in a number of disciplines and will be of value also to the general reader.

Suger of St. Denis (1080/81-1151) is best known for his promotion of what we call Gothic architecture but he was also an important politician and historian. Suger was most likely given as an oblate at the age of ten to the Abbey of St. Denis. After he completed his studies he accompanied Abbot Adam on diplomatic missions to Pope Paschal II among others. He rapidly gained administrative experience and became abbot of St. Denis after Adam's death.

Louis VI (1081-1137) the Fat, the eldest son of Philip I (1053-1108), was likewise educated at St. Denis. However, he was declared the heir only after a period of uncertainty when Philip I forsakes Louis mother in favor of the wife of one of his vassals, Fulk IV of Anjou.

The `France' of Louis VI and Abbot Suger was centered around Paris and the Ile-de-France. This controlled by Louis VI but even here he constantly had to assert himself against powerful local castellans (men with in charge of castles). Most of Louis VI's nobles who theoretically owed their land to him were more powerful and could raise larger armies then their feudal overlord. The king therefore only occasionally acted against his powerful lords and concentrated on regaining royal control on his own dominion.

The Deeds of Louis the Fat is not a biography in the modern sense but does provide vital information for this important king's reign. The Deeds was written in the style of other famous chroniclers of the time. This type of history concentrates on individual deeds rather than a comprehensive documentation of events. But it would be wrong to see this work as merely a collection of incidents chronologically arranged for Suger has an agenda and structure. He was close to Louis and sought to illustrate the king's support of the Church, thus, many entries chronicler the King's intervention on part of a church against a powerful noble. Likewise, Suger sought to contrast Louis with his womanizing father, Philip I, who put the love of a married woman above the just ruling of a kingdom.

The introduction puts the text in a historical background but also provides some interesting comments on the Suger's purpose of composition and the 'individual' St Denis (who was actually a combination of three individuals who lived centuries apart), the patron of Suger's Abbey. The introduction is very approachable and easy to understand (in other words not in the dry scholarly vein). The text however, is what gives this volume five stars.

Fascinating reprint of a extremely interesting famous disaster in Saint Louis Missouri.Great for weather buffs!

So much has been written about this storm over the years and so much erroneous. Major tornado histories have stated there was no funnel cloud but as we know from this book that was true at the start of the storm but later in its path there clearly was a funnel--the book even describes its location at cloud level AND ground level--and then multiple funnels were evident. This contemporary account from more than a century ago still provides riveting reading. Perhaps one day someone will likewise document the Sept. 29, 1927, tornado which similarly has been misreported over the years (no funnel in that one, too, reportedly except I've spoken to people who SAW it).

Bravo to the Southern Illinois University Press for reprinting this wonderful historical account of a horrific natural disaster. The pictures alone tell an incredible story of destruction. Interviews with people show the biases of the time, and it is written in melodramatic tones typical of the 1890s. It is hard to read this book without picturing yourself as being a part of the event then, or picturing such an event happening today. This event changed thousands of lives a century ago, but its significance has faded with passing years. It is a valuable reality check to have this account reprinted, so that we can be reminded that battling nature, overcoming devastation, and exercising a will to rebuild are common themes which reach back far beyond our world today.