Wisconsin Books

Readers who think they know Leopold, whether from his classic A Sand County Almanac or from earlier writings about him, are in for a real surprise. We see here, far better than ever before, the science underlying Leopold's conservation thought; he was at the forefront of ecology, not merely a consumer of it. Even more, we see how Leopold moved step by step to the (for him) painful realization that true conservation was not possible without significant cultural change, which in turn required committed conservationists to step up and challenge dominant values and institutions. Newton shows clearly that it was Leopold's idea of land health, not his land ethic, that stood at the center of his mature conservation thought. She shows how land health, once carefully crafted, transformed his thinking on nearly every aspect of conservation. And she explains vividly-- far better than any other scholar--the precise meanings that Leopold attached to his famous ethical admonition to preserve the land's "integrity, stability, and beauty." Why did Leopold resist the federal conservation programs of the New Deal Era? How did he redefine wilderness over the final decade of his life and reshape his chief reasons for protecting it? What did he view as the main goals of wildlife management, and why did he turn against many basic assumptions in his classic book Game Management? What kind of startlingly new ecology text did he have in works when he died? These and other questions are answered for the first time, in this major work that is brimming with new information and new interpretations. The most sobering realization one has, though, upon finishing this splendid book, is that today's conservation cause might cite Leopold often but hardly at all understands who he was and what he thought. This is not just the best book we have on Leopold, it might well be the best book we've had on any conservation intellect.

When Alex first started building the House On The Rock, a lot of people thought he was crazy. However, he was courageous enough to take a chance and pursue his dream and we are all better for it. This is your invitation to meet the dreamer, the creator, the builder - Alex Jordan.
--- from book's back cover

An inspiring account of Irish settlement in rural Brown, Manitowoc and Outagamie Counties, Wisconsin. Much valuable information as to the places of origin in Ireland of many families. Also includes places of settlement in eastern Canada and eastern USA for some of these families. Information on local, state, and national government participation, education, military service including the Civil War, church foundations, business, and artistic pursuits for many descendants of families from Maple Grove and neighboring townships including Reedsville, Franklin, Cato, Cooperstown, and Morrison, Wisconsin. Factual inaccuracies are few and far between, sometimes because of two separate families with the same or similar family names.

You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this moving story about family and dealing with issues that affect us all. A terrific first novel by an author who shows great promise.

--Steve Alten, author of MEG

The last ice age that took place some twelve thousand years ago helped to create and shape Wisconsin's topography and create the varied landscape that is Wisconsin today. Wisconsin's 'Ice Age national Scenic Trail' is a one thousand mile footpath that traverses across the entire state and a popular outdoor attraction for legions of tourists and residents every year. Along these natural course are to be seen hundreds of beautiful lakes, expansive prairies, fertile farm lands, essential wetlands, Native American effigy mounts, the remains of oak savannas, and a cultural wealth of villages, towns, and cities. Magnificently showcasing the effects of continental glaciation (in some places the flow of glacial ice was as much as two miles deep) created a variety of geologic features including kames, kettles, drumlins, ice-walled-lake plans, eskers, tunnel channels, basalt bluffs, dells, and rock-strewn terminal moraines. Of special note is the ancient landscape of the Driftless Area which is devoid of glacial evidence. "Along Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail" is superbly illustrated study of this ancient causeway and is enhanced with informed and informative essays by Mike Dombeck (former chief of the U.S. Forest Service and a biologist on the campus of the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point); Robert Freckmann (botanist at the UW-Stevens Point); Paul G. Hayes (retired journalist for the 'Milwaukee Journal'; Randy Hoffman (conservation biologist, Wisconsin Department of natural Resources), Ellen Kort (former poet laureate of Wisconsin); David Mickelson (Emeritus Professor, Department of Geology and Geophysics, UW-Madison) and Sarah Mittlefehldt (environmental historian, UW-Madison). "Along Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail" should be a part of every Wisconsin school and community collection, and is enthusiastically recommended for anyone who has every walked any portion of this fantastic ice age trail -- or who would like to!

This book raises some interesting questions about the roles of religion (specifically Puritanism), mourning and grief in early American literature, specifically Rowlandson's Captivity Narrative. I recommend this book to anyone who does serious research into early American literature, history, and cultural context. This is *not* an easy or light read.

I've shared this book with many friends and family members - and not one person has been disappointed. There is no sugar coating here, no flowery, dramatic words . . . just the true story of a very real soldier. Mr. Miller writes his book as if he's talking to you from his favorite chair in the den - conversationally, sometimes with humor and sometimes with candid sadness. His experiences in Vietnam will make you realize (perhaps for the first time) that these young men and women believed in their country and proudly fought for it. Regardless of how anyone feels about Vietnam, the Al Millers of this world deserve our thanks. In many ways, he gave up his youth for this country. The skirmishes, the camaraderie and, yes, the love he eventually found, make this book an undiscovered gem.

Dr. Engbring has created a true treasure for Marquette/MCW alums and all others with an interest in the school. What a labor of love it must have been. The book is extremely well written and well organized, and it appears to be frank and comprehensive. I thought that I was quite aware of the goings-on during the period that I was at the school, but this book sheds much new light even on things that I thought I knew well. If you have had any significant involvement with the school, you are bound to find this book of interest. And for a book of this type, it's actually a great read! Highly recommended.

We borrowed this book from the local library just because my children (5 & 4 yrs old) picked it out. To our surprise, this book quickly became a favorite and my children (and husband) just didn't put it down. We live out in the country, and every day the kids would be out in the yard with a magnifying glass looking for different tracks and comparing to the ones in the book! Soooo, I gave this book 5 stars for the simple fact that there are lots of tracking books out there, and I'm sure some are more complete, however this is extremely easy to use and even children can enjoy exploring the outdoors! However, let me add that my hubby is an avid trapper, and he found it just as great - so it's not TOO simple either. I've only seen the MN & WI version, but I'm sure the other states that are covered in different versions would be very similar. We highly recommend getting your own copy as we did, and start exploring!

Again, the pictures in the book are easy enough to use for my 3 year old. The information contained in the book is useful. We enjoy using this book and look forward to the spring and summer when we can travel further than our backyard.