University of Missouri Books

As a student of history it was exciting to come across Mark Levitch's recent book, Pantheon de La Guerre: Reconfiguring a Panorama of the Great War. Readers interested in art, political science, marketing or just wanting to expand their horizons will find this to be a brilliantly written work. With its many elegant illustrations you may find yourself doing as I did. Upon reading of an illustration I literally took a magnifying glass to better view it and was amazed how Mr. Levitch was able to minutely go over the painting to discover its varied stories. Mr. Levitch succeeds in presenting as grand a vista into the First World War from the perspective of the French nation by its artists as the artists themselves did with their colossal work. Intriguing indeed is the writing manner by which Mr. Levitch takes a one dimensional propaganda piece and literally makes it appear as a living, breathing and altering life form. His style draws one easily into understanding how the French and their allies came to revere this distorted air brushed view of the war as the Pantheon unfortunately presented. Mr. Levitch points out the numerous changes made to the Pantheon during the war, changes made to reflect the most current politically correct points of view as the war progressed. An example of this is Tsar Nicholas and his court which suffered the air bushing of history upon imperial Russia's abandonment of their French allies. Even the rampant bile of French anti Semitism found its way into the painting which, because of Mr. Levitch's research, is noted and the portion of the Pantheon containing its depiction is illustrated. I must wonder if the time spent by the author researching each figure, trying to identify every face and noting each modification to this enormous colossus is any less an endeavor than the actual painting itself. The book later follows the Pantheon's history through out the roaring twenties and its eventual arrival to its new home, the United States. Because of the vivid detailed documentation, various sections of the pantheon stand out and become a vision in the mind's eye. It was amusing to read of the inclusion of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S Truman into the Pantheon as the French viewpoint of the war became second fiddle at the hands of American artists revising the pantheon to reflect their tastes and to make its exhibition more palatable to Americans. To the owners belong the spoils and with the great art piece firmly in the ownership of Americans it was repainted, torn apart, and pieced back together to represent a significantly greater American involvement in the Great War than the French ever intended and perhaps more so than history can sustain. Today, as its 100 birthday nears, portions of the Pantheon de La Guerre are on display in Kansas City's Liberty War Memorial. Without Mr. Levitch's eye opening book, a museum visitor may easily assume these portions are the Pantheon as it was originally presented and in its entirety. It is no such thing. In reality, it is as much a distortion in its present state as the original was of the Great War. If for no other reason this would mark Pantheon de La Guerre: Reconfiguring a Panorama of the Great War an outstanding researched and must read book. When you parallel this with the author's writing style, the descriptive interesting tidbits and major informative facts presented I am in awe this is only the author's first book.

Art historian Mark Levitch has unearthed the fascinating back story to a revered painting that hangs in the nation's only World War I museum, The Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. Turns out that this depiction of America's rescue of Europe originated as a relatively minor panel in a vast mural the length of a football field. Created during the Great War by select French academic artists, Pantheon De La Guerre was intended as a celebration of France and its allies, replete with the iconography of the period (not to mention the topography of France!). In Levitch's telling, the mural fell out of fashion in post-war France; only an idioscyncratic Baltimore collector saved it from the dust heap. The colossus was shipped to America, where in the 1930s it was thoroughly sheared and reconfigured as a paean to American heroism in the war. Components of the mural are dispersed worldwide and still show up at auctions and on eBay. In crystal clear and elegant prose Levitch portrays the strange devolution of the painting as an index to shifting tastes in modern art and culture between the wars. If you have any interest in the Great War and the art and culture of the period, you will find Levitch's account compelling reading. This handsomely printed and illustrated volume is fit for the coffee table or the study. Highly recommended.

This is one of the best book I've ever read on this subject. I would highly recommend it!

This was an amazingly interesting book. The best I've read on the subject. I would definitely recommend it.

Unquestionably the best commentary on Plato I have read as yet. No ideology, no radical interpretations of Plato, just extraordinarily insightful and incisive. The essential secondary reference in studies of Platonic political philosophy.

Oxford Don, Raghavan Iyer noted that the world is a fortunate place when there are two people alive -- at the same time -- who understand Plato. Eric Voegelin was clearly one of those people in the twentieth century. This material was originally published in Volume 3 of Order and History, the core of the magnus opus that Voegelin chose to publish during his life time.

I met Eric Voegelin once as a graduate student, and asked him, "why'd you publish all this stuff?" I've been digesting his answer ever since. It was "to resist totality and totalitarianism."

Particularly, seen from this standpoint, a clear core of this book is his articulation of the Platonic concept of "metaxy," or the in-between character of life. In philosophical terms, this refers most directly and fully to "in-between" the Agathon (e.g., see myth of the cave and the Divided Line in the Republic) and the apeiron (explored most directly and deeply in the Timaeus). For the philosophically uninitiated, it is possible to speak of this in more mundane terms.

An unstated corollary of Plato's notion of the "metaxy" is that life is always larger than our categories. From a Socratic/Platonic perspective, this may include but will entail more than the epistemological recognition that every way of seeing is a way of not seeing. The notion of the "metaxy" is most fundamentally a linguistic indice pointing to ontological plenty as the ground of life, albeit lived within bounds of existential scarcity. This is a notion commonly shared by the great civilizations of East and West. The notion of the "metaxy" underscores that life is lived within a tension between the "transcendent" and "immanent" dimensions of being.

When we lose track of this tension, as we have to a great extent in the modern world, and subscribe to reductive ideological notions/understandings of life -- and most particularly, when we imagine that we can encapsulate life within the pride of our own "enlightened" categories -- on a political plane, there may be little to constrain the prideful actions of ideologies, irrespective of whether their clothing is Red or Black, or whether it is "left" or "right." Irrespective of the political stripe, repression and murder become "justified" in the pursuit of an ideological aim -- which in Voegelin's philosophical terms is to dissolve the "metaxy" in the usual modernist mode, through immanetizing the transcendent "eschaton."

Voegelin's philosophical terms may sound remarkably abstract to the modern ear (recall Robert Dahl's silly review of Voegelin's The New Science of Politics for the American Political Science journal). Facile critiques such as Dahl's typically focus on the unfamiliar language while overlooking the elementary fact that what Voegelin is asking us to do in every aspect of his work is to take a journey that precisely allows us to see the world in terms other than that of our inherited climate of opinion. For those willing to be thorough scholars rather than merely play at it within the context of given suppositions, Voegelin's scholarship offers new vistas and incredibly rich fields of study. His scholarship offers the capacity to reflect upon and act in the world in a substantively grounded mode with implications for every discipline (see e.g., A.G. Ramos' New Science of Organizations).

I submit that a key to understanding this text and the greater body of his work at large is to grasp the central significance of the "metaxy" -- not as a concept within the history of ideas -- but as a life referent of perennial relevance to the recurring challenge of resisting sophistic pretensions and the inherited or emergent ideologies of any time and place.

This text demands a good deal. You'll develop insights into Plato available no where else. But for Voegelin, such studies were never a matter of antiquarian interest. They were a matter of developing meaningful referents for life. The value in this text is precisely in its yield, capable of resonating throughout your life and offering far more than the initial effort it will require of you.

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.

H. Lee Cheek, Jr., Ph.D.
www.drleecheek.com

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.

The eighteen stories in here (and I assume the prologue by the librarian is as fictional as any of the other stories) were completely engaging. I loved the way characters appear as stars in their own stories and then reappear in the background of others. This is so much like earlier stories in US lit -- Zona Gale, Helen Reimensnyder Martin, Margaret Deland, Elsie Singmaster, Olive Dargon, etc. The synechdotal rendering of entire communities is a genre that has always given me great pleasure. It reinforces the reality of our inter-connedtedness without minimizing our uniqueness. And the writing is absolutely wonderful. I'd like to hear what others think about the book and I'd love to read comments from the writer herself.

I scoffed at the title when I first saw it, but when my friend lent it to me, I couldn't separate myself from it. The stories and characters are better than fiction. The human dramas and strength evidenced by the women in this Appalachian town are beautifully and powerfully written about by Palencia. The stories are from women of all age groups which should offer wide appeal. I'm ordering this book today for my library and I can't wait to booktalk it.

This is an excellent account of how our forefathers dealt with the day-to-day struggles in the frontier. Excellent as history, entertaining as drama, it's hard to put down.

At 550 pages, this classic social history of the first decades of settlement in Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas is informative, entertaining, sometimes poignant, and one heck of a read. For anyone whose knowledge of this period is as limited as mine, it's also full of surprises -- lots of them. Historian Everett Dick dips into a substantial collection of documents, listed in his 10-page bibliography, and organizes what he's found into 35 chapters, each on a different subject, including the sod house of the title, homesteading, prairie towns, vigilante justice, farmers vs. cattlemen, extremes of weather, Indians, hunting and trapping, the railroad, sports, education, the church, journalism, doctors, lawyers, and entertainment. And that covers only about half of them.

Settlement moved quickly and furiously across the Missouri River, while the federal government was still negotiating the relocation of the current residents, i.e. Native Americans, then spread across the territories in a surge of speculation and rapid development in a series of booms and busts. Cliches and stereotypes from movies and television quickly fall left, right, and center, as the author revels in the rich tapestry of human endeavors portrayed against a raw, still alien landscape. Law and order were virtually nonexistent, and a recurring theme in the book is the frequency of scams, fraud, graft, and chicanery of all kinds that were the order of the day. In such an environment, the carrying of weapons was universal, and differences of opinion were normally settled with bloodshed and no questions asked afterwards.

There is the land rush, featuring claim jumpers and speculators with no interest in tilling the soil or putting down roots but turning a quick buck, usually in total violation of whatever law existed at the time. There are the wild cat banks, printing their own money, all of it eventually worthless to those left holding it. There are the crooked investment schemes that raised capital for towns that were never built. Prairie communities lure railroad companies to build lines in their direction with outlays of cash. Elections are rigged, bribes paid, and blood spilled over the location of county seats. Phony local governments elect themselves into office and after borrowing money for public projects abscond with the funds and leave the area's legitimate settlers under a crushing load of debt. And on and on. It's a fascinating account of the frontier as a kind of bonfire of vanities.

But this is only one theme in the book. There are many others, and much to relish in descriptions of the daily life of more ordinary folks who are typically jacks of all trades, short of cash, either hard-working or hard-drinking, often overwhelmed by the isolation of their circumstances. It's a delight, for instance, to read of country and small town pastimes and pleasures from baseball to dances that go until sunup.

Given the book's origins in the 1930s, it tends to neglect the lives of women (an oversight that has been corrected in many more recent books), and while it seems to want to give a balanced view of Indians, it tends to focus its interests elsewhere. Unfortunately, the treatment of African Americans is somewhat condescending. Those faults aside, the book is a page-turner, especially for anyone who, as I did, grew up in this part of the world with only a glimmer of an idea of its actual history.

Given the amount of aid Germany and Italy gave the Spanish Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War, it is somewhat surprising that Spain didn't enter the war on the Axis side. They didn't, and this book goes a long ways toward explaining why. The Spanish economy was devastated by the Spanish Civil War. It was dependent on the world economy for oil and food. Remnants of the Spanish Empire, such as the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara were vulnerable to British attacks if Spain sided with Germany and Italy.

At the same time, the Spanish nationalists were tempted by potential spoils such as Gibraltar, and possibly French Morocco. If the Germans had tried hard enough in the immediate aftermath of the fall of France, the Spanish might have considered joining the Axis. The Germans weren't interested in Mediterranean adventures at that time though, and by the time they became interested the Spanish had had time for second thoughts.

This book does a good job of looking at Spanish foreign policy during World War II, but it also looks at the Spanish economy and Spanish society in some depth. A good read.

This book is a fascinating look at Spanish politics and culture during World War II. It covers all aspects of Spanish history, from Franco's meetings with Hitler to bullfighters losing their lives in the arena. I've always found European history interesting, but until a few years ago I had never read anything about Spain, and had no idea what an interesting part it played during this time

1939 was the year that World War II began. But in Spain, this was the year that war ended. The Spanish Civil War devastated the nation from 1936 to 1939, and thus while most of Europe was going to war, Spain was rebuilding from a war.

Wayne Bowen's new book, "Spain During World War II", describes how Spain attempted to rebuild itself under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. Dissent on the "Left" was forbidden: communist, socialist, and democratic views were suppressed by the Franco regime. But plenty of dissent on the "Right" existed. This book narrates the history of some of the major dissenters and shows that their power was quite significant.

One example of successful dissent came from Cardinal Segura and Cardinal Goma, leaders of the Catholic Church in Spain. They supported Franco but condemned Nazi Germany - because, while they didn't mind dictatorship, the pagan elements in Nazism filled them with horror. These church leaders managed to prevent a "cultural exchange" accord that would have exposed Spanish youth to Nazi culture.

At the other extreme was Pilar Primo de Rivera. She was the leader of the Women's Section of the Falange, and was enthusiastically pro-Nazi. In May 1941, concerned that Franco was appointing too many monarchists and too few Falangists to his cabinet, she led a protest against Franco's policies. Her popularity was too great for Franco to eliminate her, and he backed down and appointed more Falangists to his cabinet. Pilar Primo de Rivera continued to lobby for Spain to enter the war on Hitler's side, and to promote the Nazi cause within Spain.

Meanwhile, the majority of Spaniards during this time were not concerned with politics: they were concerned with jobs, the economy, and sports. Soccer ("football" in Europe) and bullfighting - the two great Spanish sports - were promoted by the Franco regime as a safe alternative to politics. But even here, the regime found that the Spanish people could not be controlled, as regional rivalries led to violence between the fans at football matches.

This book is a fascinating look at how Spain managed to rebuild from its war - at the same time that the rest of Europe was being devasted by the greatest war in history.

Finally someone has taken the time and trouble to set down the history of the Veiled Prophet organization and its projecs. Tom Spencer has done a splendid job. His book is eminently readable, packed with facts and details, and bright as a penny. It's also a sociological tract, scholarly but not scholastic. The one disappointment is the almost total neglect of the Veiled Prophet Ball and its Queens. I expected at least a list of the V.P. Queens and more photos of the coronations, especially the extravaganzas of the 1930s which have to be seen to be believed (think Busby Berkeley and the sets from "The Wizard of Oz") and from which abundant photos survive. What about the most famous Queen of all, Anne Desloges? And what about the whole Queen culture--all these girls year after year after year plain as a pancake with plain hair styles (if you could call them styles), basically the same gown as was being worn 50 years ago, no distinguishing talents or features (with some welcome exceptions) who after their year in the spotlight are never heard from or seen again. At least in the days the coronation and ball were telecast we had the fun of the Post-Dispatch with a straight face describing a Queen who was downright homely as "a willowy blonde." I was disappointed, too, that the book didn't tackle the subject of exactly how a Queen is chosen. It has changed over the years but it's never been that big of a secret; almost any girl in the court will willingly blab it. There needs to be a book on Veiled Prophet coronations and Queens, darn it.

Finally someone has taken the time and trouble to set down the history of the Veiled Prophet organization and its projecs. Tom Spencer has done a splendid job. His book is eminently readable, packed with facts and details, and bright as a penny. It's also a sociological tract, scholarly but not scholastic. The one disappointment is the almost total neglect of the Veiled Prophet Ball and its Queens. I expected at least a list of the V.P. Queens and more photos of the coronations, especially the extravaganzas of the 1930s which have to be seen to be believed (think Busby Berkeley and the sets from "The Wizard of Oz") and from which abundant photos survive. What about the most famous Queen of all, Anne Desloges? And what about the whole Queen culture--all these girls year after year after year plain as a pancake with plain hair styles (if you could call them styles), basically the same gown as was being worn 50 years ago, no distinguishing talents or features (with some welcome exceptions) who after their year in the spotlight are never heard from or seen again. At least in the days the coronation and ball were telecast we had the fun of the Post-Dispatch with a straight face describing a Queen who was downright homely as "a willowy blonde." I was disappointed, too, that the book didn't tackle the subject of exactly how a Queen is chosen. It has changed over the years but it's never been that big of a secret; almost any girl in the court will willingly blab it. There needs to be a book on Veiled Prophet coronations and Queens, darn it.

This book is a colorful and entertaining romp through a world of Jayhawks and Tigers. In addition to being well-illustrated and entertaining, it also teaches important precepts to preschoolers regarding Tigers and their kind, and how the gallant and noble Jayhawk is universally and transcendantly victorious over the inherently undehnanded Tiger.My child is due in July, but this book is already on the shelf awaiting the time she is ready to learn about the Campanile, Potter's Lake, and those ruffians that live down the road across a magical line.

All in all, I love this book; the story and illustrations are great, and stand on their own merits, and Fambrough knows how to spin a yarn. A strong buy. Just wish children were able to learn a little about treacherous Wildcats too.

This is a wonderful children's story with beautiful illustrations! As a Lawrence native and KU alum, I was very impressed with the characterization of the little Jayhawks and the Missouri Tiger. Coach Fram did a marvelous job, and the information in the back of the book makes this a collectors item for all to enjoy and treasure for many years. Getting this book could not come at a better time with the Orange Bowl Champs and the Basketball Champions all in the same year. I would love for someone to come up with a basketball version! This is a perfect present for all Jayhawk parents and grandparents to give to their little Kansas fans!

I suppose anyone who would make that trip would have to be intrepid, but he seemed really to be.

The thing I like the most about him is that he was such a civilized person. A gentle, intelligent, well educated, modest, and very friendly person.

The other review about his insights into what he was describing is, in my mind, quite correct also.

I may be a bit prejudiced and certainly am more interested because my middle name is Bradbury as a result of being a descendent of his.

One of the earliest, and very well written, accounts of life on the upper Missouri River. This is a classic of the fur trade era. Bradbury, a botanist, went up the Missouri with the famous Astorian overland expedition of William Price Hunt, Ramsay Crooks, Donald McKenzie, naturalist Thomas Nuttall and others in 1811. His descriptions of Indian life, geology, botany, geography and overall life as it was in 1811 being so far removed from civiliztion is incredible. He was a very articulate and keen observer of the world around him. Bradbury gives further insight into Manuel Lisa, John Colter, Henry Brackenridge, trading with the Indians, etc. The last chapter he devotes to the soon to be mass immigration into the western parts of the United States. His thoughts on this are ahead of his time. There is simply too much good to say about this timeless masterpiece. The book itself may be somewhat difficult to find, but it is worth looking for. A+