Washington University Books

Anyone who has done research on the Civil War approaches veteran's memoirs with a degree of caution. Memoirs are always self serving to some extent and often take too much advantage of hindsight. This work is remarkably free of such justifications. Rather it is the honest work of a soldier coming to terms with his war experiences. Philip Stephenson was a mere boy from St. Louis, age 15, when he followed his brother, Hammett, to Memphis to join the Confederat army. Hammett enlisted in the 13th Ark. and the underage Philip tagged along. He served as something of a mascot to his brother's company until he enlisted in the 5th Co. Washington Artillery. Until then he seemed to be free to come and go. Stephenson was present at or near most of the actions of the Army of Tennessee. He relates what he observed in great detail particularly in the last year of the war. Through his memoirs we see what he saw on the march, on the field and in camp. His descriptions of various Arkansans from officers to enlisted men offer rare insights to the boys which can be found in no other place. His observations on the men of the 13th Ark. are somewhat condescending, but he says, "All of them made as fine fighting material as the world could produce." The first one-third of his text covers the years 61-63. The greatest part of his memoirs discuss affairs that took place from 64 to the end of the war. From the Atlanta campaign until the war ends, his writing seems much more personal, more expressive of his emotions at the time. This coincides with the period when he served in the 5th Co. of the Washington Artillery and marked the first period of the war that he was not under his older brother's wing. From the moment Sherman attacked the Rebs at Dalton in early May until the Battle of Jonesboro on Sept. 1st, the men were in constant danger. Stephenson notes the horrors of trench warfare and the stress that it put on the men. The pressure became too great for some and he describes some of those who cracked. One member of his battery horrified the other members by taking his bayonet and jabbing out the eys of a dead yankee. Another deliberately walked between the lines to relieve himself as everyone watched in disbelief and the man was killed by a sharpshooter. Clearly this campaign had pushed many of the men to the breaking point. Perhaps no other participant has been as effective and honest in telling this story. Stephenson's account of the Battle of Franklin is very moving. His unit had been guarding a bridge some 30 miles away from Franklin and by forced march had arrived on the field between 9 o'clock at night just as the battle was dying down. Stephenson's one thought was the welfare of his brother and friends in the 13th Ark and he went among the wounded crying out "Where's Govan's Brigade." He finds his 3 best friends badly wounded and there on the battlefield they break into tears to find each other still alive. If there had been any thought of winning the war, it ended there. After Franklin, surviving would replace winning as the ultimate goal. Stephenson's memoirs are very personal. Through them we see how one survivor deals with his memories of both the best times and the worst times of his life.

Written by John C. Putman (associate professor of history, San Diego State University), Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle is a scholarly look at he changing social order in early twentieth century Seattle. Examining the intersection of radical-labor movements, feminist movements, suffrage campaigns, Class and Gender Politics in Progressive-Era Seattle reveals how the alliances and conflicts between these movements contributed to Seattle's regional identity. "Unlike most eastern labor struggles, class conflict out west was more localized. The lack of large-scale national industrial firms meant that Seattle workers had to battle locally entrenched economic and political elites rather than national corporate leaders." An astute socio-historical analysis, particularly recommended for college library collections.

This book contains a collection of fascinating essays exploring the links between classical antiquity and modern American politics. It is accessible to both the scholar and general reader.

Ms. Schlick is the uncontested expert on native American basketry of the Columbia Plateau (eastern Washington and Oregon) and she knows and has the admiration of many--perhaps all--of the current weavers. Her book finally puts a face and name on the creators of the baskets and sees them as individual artists. I can't believe this book has been allowed to go out of print--get it while you can.

We get a glimpse into the political/racial climate of 19th century America through cartoons and illustrations of the period. The Chinese were seen either as heathens to be spit upon or superintelligent monsters threatening the livelyhood of "real" Americans. In light of our current political tensions with Mainland China and the scapegoating of Dr. Wen Ho Lee , we must ask ourselves, how much has really changed?

This a book for every generartion.

The Seniors can relive parts of the life they lived earlier in their lives.

The Boomers can find verification for the tales their granparents told of early hard times and inconveniences.

The Young Ones can marvel at how real people lived without a car or TV.

Jacob Lawrence spent his fascinating, fruitful life building
an enormous contribution to the world of art and this two-volume
set captures nearly every aspect of it in an absolutely beautiful
fashion... owning this set is an honor. Open either volume ANYWHERE
and it becomes immediately clear that the authors and publisher have
done their work well. To have us understand at the outset that
the artist operated far beyond the scope of the ordinary and into a
full grasp of all sorts of levels of abstraction is quite an
accomplishment in and of itself. These books do it. To be able to see
all the known paintings, drawings and sketches is great. To also read
about the life of such a brilliant person, the background for his
works, his long and
"without-whom-it-wouldn't-have-been-possible"marriage to his
equally-talented and beautiful wife Gwen, along with the history of the
styles and media pushes the palette into the soul of the reader!

This book manages with great skill a point-by-point critique of restorative justice without ever ceasing to be entertaining and hard hitting. Acorn runs circles around windy gurus like Martha Nussbaum, who the reader will find delightfully and definitively deflated. With witty understatement Acorn reveals the soft new-age assumptions that underpin restorative justice; she exposes the hypocrisy and pompous piety of the mantra of "restoring right relation", a "right relation" achieved by the forced performance or manufacture of sentimentalized compassion, by easy forgiveness and easier remorse where the mere show of remorse substitutes for punishment. You can bet wrongdoers are cheering restorative justice and the culture of "I hear your pain" vacuousness. The author was not done much service by UBC press who has priced this book even out of the range of most libraries. It is too bad, because it deserves to be widely read.

A reader from Boston

Know what a GOBO is? Need a refresher on painting techniques? Or need to know how to light your stage or build special scenery? It's in this book!! An excellent resource book for amateur and professional alike. You'll find yourself referring back to it many, many times during the course of producing a play. I wouldn't want to be without it and recommend it to directors, producers and anyone involved in theatre!!

The title of this book alone provides the two categories in the Korean world-view, Korean Confucianists and barbarians. This history dissertation ably isolates the important decade from 1875 to 1885, when Choson negotiated treaties with Japan, China, Russia, the United States, and France. Also, Pusan, Inchon, and Wonsan would become international trade centers. And, domestic crises, such as the Confucian protests and return of the Taewongun in 1882, Kim Ok-kyun's 1884 coup attempt, and Sino-Japanese hostilities, are sketched and analyzed.

The author portrays King Kojong as an ineffectual, but enlightened monarch constrained by Choson's economic weakness and bureaucratic and aristocratic conservatism. Kojong's father, the Taewongun, and his wife's family, the Yohung Min, are also criticized for self-serving machinations that China and Japan exploit. Choson, weakened by aristocrats and Confucianism, was unable to modernize, as had Meiji Japan, and fell prey to its geographical neighbors.

The book has valuable appendices and elucidates the various treaties as negotiated and finalized. Although the author does not delve deeply into the various personalities involved, major players, including foreign diplomats, like Li Hung-chang, Yuan Shih-kai, Paul Georg von Moellendorff, Takezoe Shinichiro, are introduced. The strength of the book is its organization and clarity.