Illinois Books

Loved it! Its full of real myths passed down over time. They collected from the older (and now gone) generations.

I have had this book for more than 30 years (a 17th birthday gift), and it remains my all-time favorite on the region where I was born, but never really got to know. John W. Allen wrote a column, "It Happened in Southern Illinois," in the Carbondale newspaper for many years, and these columns are collected in this fine book. Allen himself was born in a log cabin in 1887, and knew the folkways of his region well.
Included are profiles of prominent Southen Illinoisians like William Jennings Bryan, Pierre Menard, and William Edgar Borah; and legendary figures like riverman Mike Fink (who could outshoot Davy Crockett and who once jumped halfway across the Mississippi and, realizing he would fall a few feet short of the opposite shore, turned around and went back)and tavern-keeping outlaw Willlie Potts. There are stories of Abraham Lincoln, Lafayette, George Rogers Clark, Pontiac, Robert Ingersoll, Ned Buntline, Johnny Appleseed, Daniel Boone, and other historical figures who came here.
Ghost tales, local superstitions, home remedies, sketches of pioneer and farm life, are not neglected. We learn the differing theories on how "Egypt" came by its name, how numerous towns acquired theirs, and how industry and business developed in the area.
We meet William Newby, the soldier who disappeared during the Civil War and whose attempts to reunite with his family many years later led to persecution and imprisonment as an old man. There are also blacksmiths, itinerant peddlers, river pirates, tall-tale tellers, and other long-vanished characters of the American scene.
Allen's affectionate yet clear-eyed prose avoids the usual traps of books on the folkways of the rural past. This is neither a dry piece of scholarship ("A variant on Tale 17 was found in __________, on September 7, 19__, related by Mrs. __________________.")nor a collection of rose-colored, sentimental reminiscences of interest only to the teller. And at some 400 pages, it's no skimpy sampler. It's a 10-gallon jug of cider, a big bushel basket of freshly-picked Southern Illinois peaches; and you can reach in anywhere and pull out a good one.
Reading this book is like taking a long, leisurely stroll with the author along the town streets, through the woods, along the rivers, and even in the graveyards. You can almost smell the musty barns, lye soap, and sorghum; and hear the drawling voice of the local sage holding court around the pot-bellied stove in the general store, and the kids playing in the yard of a one-room school.
I still read this fine book on cold nights, and never tire of its winding trails of information. Whether you come from this fascinating and mysterious part of the country (closer to the Tennesse hills than to Chicago)or simply are curious about a vanished past, Legends and Lore will keep you both informed and entertained.
P.S. Editor Irving Dilliard's introduction alone is almost worth the price of the book. He gives us a (too brief) introduction to the long and often adventurous life of John W. Allen, known as "The best friend Southern Illinois ever had." What a pity Allen never wrote his autobiography.

Reissued in 1998, this 50-year-old work is an excellent overview of the makeup, decisions, and controversies revolving around President Lincoln and his Supreme Court. The battles between Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, especially in the Prize cases, Lincoln's suspension of habeus corpus, the Merryman case, and the issuance of paper money, were bitterly contested, with the ability of the government to rule and maintain itself during civil war at issue. Taney was a hated man throughout the country ever since his decision in the Dred Scott case, and the reader can almost here the sigh of relief (even glee in some quarters) when he died in October of 1864 at age 87. Lincoln's habeus corpus suspensions, especially in the case of former Representative Clement Vallandigham, brought much criticism down on the president's head, though, as Silver makes clear, Lincoln was against certain people using "the rights and privileges of the Constitution in order to undermine the authority of the Federal Union." Lincoln "packing the court" and the fact that each Supreme Court justice had to ride a circuit court (something I didn't know) are also deftly discussed. The book is a handsome introduction to the subject, which is an important and often neglected one: indeed, some of Lincoln's Supreme Court battles were as critical to the fate of the Union as Antietam or Gettysburg.

David M. Silver was a student of the famous Lincoln scholar Dr. James G. Randall at the University of Illinois. Seeking further information on Constitutional issues encountered by Lincoln during his presidency, Dr. Randall encouraged my father to write this book. He also supervised much of the research. A hardcover copy of Lincoln's Supreme Court was published by the University of Illinois Press in 1956.

On March 4, 1861, the Chicago Tribune expressed the view that no Republican victory was complete until a national convention could be called and a constitutional amendment enacted to modify the power of a Supreme Court that had enunciated the "evil" principles of the Dred Scott decision. It proposed reconstructing the Court "by dropping off a few of its members, and the appointment of better men in their places." A few weeks later, the New York Tribune published a similar message and proposed increasing the size of the Court to 13. On December 4, 1861, the day after Lincoln's first annual message to Congress, Radicals led by Senator John P. Hale of New Hampshire introduced a resolution that proposed "to inquire into the expediency and propriety of abolishing the present Supreme Court" and establish a new one. Senator Hale charged that the Court had failed in its duty to the nation and that it lacked the confidence and respect of the people. Shortly thereafter, the New York Tribune renewed its call to reform the Court by stating "The present rebellion...is due quite as much to an unsound and unwise decision of the Supreme Court as to any other single cause."

In response to Brian McGinty's review posted below, it should be noted that President Lincoln appointed four associate justices (Noah H. Swayne, Samuel F. Miller, David Davis and Stephen J. Field) to the Supreme Court. The Field appointment increased the size of the Court to 10 and ensured that a majority of the Court would be sympathetic to the Lincoln administration. In addition, Lincoln appointed Salmon P. Chase to replace Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, who died on October 12, 1864.

President Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney disagreed on the scope of the president's powers in a time of war. It was a bitter controversy involving civil liberties and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus (the Vallandigham case) and continued until the aged Taney died in 1864. Sources indicate the Lincoln administration delayed the famous Prize Cases, dealing with Lincoln's presidential powers, until he had made three appointments to fill Court vacancies. The validity of the blockade along the coast of the Confederate states, ordered by Lincoln in April 1861, was at stake. The cases were argued before the Court on February 10-25, 1863. Lincoln expected his three appointees to join other loyal members of the Court to uphold his policy, which they did.

On February 20, 1863, while the Prize Cases were being argued, Milton S. Latham of California introduced into the Senate a bill to provide for a tenth circuit consisting of California and Oregon. Believing that swift action was necessary, the Senate passed the bill on February 26, and the House concurred shortly thereafter. The bill creating a tenth justice was signed by House Speaker Galusha A. Grow on March 3 and sent to President Lincoln, who approved it the same day, exactly one week before the decision in the Prize Cases (a vote of 5 to 4 in Lincoln's favor) was announced. By increasing the size of the Court from 9 to 10, the largest it has ever been, President Lincoln and Congress were sending a clear message to the Court. A tenth justice increased the margin of safety necessary to ensure that Lincoln administration policies were sustained. Above all, President Lincoln was devoted to the restoration of the Union. He was willing to use judicial appointments and emergency powers in a time of war to his advantage. To say it was Lincoln's Supreme Court is, indeed, appropriate and correct.

This book is primarily a reference work for those looking for deeply detailed information from primary sources. It has other excellent background material as well, but if you want to see a nice cross-section of actual Sousa Band programs, or you want to find out if your great-grandfather actually played in Sousa's Band like your grandmother always told you, this is the most definitive reference available.

This author has written extensively about Sousa and his band before. Much of that information is repeated here, but there are some new additions as well. The author has nicely highlighted each aspect of Sousa's career which makes for easy reading.

The problem with Sousa is that we tend to exclude all other band composers and their music. There were many other great band composers around including R. B. Hall, Karl King, and Henry Fillmore to name some of the prominent American ones. Their music deserves notice as well, as Sousa often played their works.

Sousa's band also tends to be somewhat over-rated by hero worship. Sure it was a great band, probably the best in the US at that time. But it was not the greatest in the world! Too many other European bands were around to deny Sousa that title. Sousa knew that any British Guards band like the Coldstream Guards, Scots Guards etc. was certainly as good. The French Garde Republicanne were also. In Prussia you had William Wieprect who did much to modernize the modern military band. His combined Prussian Guards band got top ratings in Paris during a band festival there just before the Franco-Prussian War. How ironic indeed!

So Sousa was not the only around with a great band, and any serious reader should know this. Certainly Sousa did. But what Sousa did was market himself far better than anyone else. He saw that as a civy street guy he could make a lot more fame and money than he was as director of the US Marine band. This was Sousa's main advantage, and he knew how to make the most of it. His conducting style was flamboyant, his programing entertaining and interesting. The whole concept of the encore march after a long piece of music was unique, and introduced excitment to his concerts. These things are what made him and his band great.

Unfortunately Sousa developed the cult of his personality so much for his concerts that when he was not on the podium concert hall attendence often suffered. This indicated that his band would not likely outlive him. Americans came to see Sousa the man as much as the great music his superb band played. I doubt Sousa could have promoted his works any other way in this country. In that regard he was the first super-star who got his name all over the media. Many have followed in his foot-steps since.

Some might think I am trying to downgrade Sousa and his great band here. Certainly not. One should merely have a little sense of perspective when reading about him. His marches were first-rate. He wrote 136 of them, of which only the top 10-15 often get played now. Most of them were excellent, some certainly were better than others. While this sounds like a lot of music, keep in mind some famous German march composers wrote hundreds of marches. Blackenberg is believed to have composed over a thousand! Kenneth Alford, the Great British march composer did only about 20, but they are all classics. Alford was a regimental bandmaster, and thus did not have the means to promote himself like Sousa did.

Sousa should also be known for his many opperettas, novelty pieces, and classical transcriptions. In this regard he greatly expanded the musical level in the US during this time. Orchestras were around as well, but these did not travel like Sousa. There were also other great bands, like the Allentown band, far odler than Sousa's from 1828. In fact Sousa took many players from this great band which still exists today, and which probably recreates the approximate sound and style of Sousa better than any other.

The great strength of this book are the many details provided of the personnel who played in the band, as well as concert programs, and tour iternary. There is one chapter devoted entirely to a band memebers diary recording his expereinces during Sousa's great World Tour of 1911. Great stuff, if perhaps a little too much at times. There is a lot of detail here, perhaps excessive at times, but obviously a labor of love by the author. This is certainly THE book to have about Sousa and his incredible band who left their mark in the world's concert halls.

This is a beautiful book with many photographs which bring back special memories to those who have a connection with U of IL. It will be a special treasure for anyone who attended the university. Many different aspects of university life are covered by Don Hamerman's fabulous photographs. A great gift for alumni, current students or those who hold a special place for Urbana/Champaign and the University of Illinois in their memories.

This is an absolute must have for Univ. of Illinois alumni who appreciate good photography. In talking with other alumni who have seen and/or own this book, the images bring up memories from their time on campus. It also tweaks the curiosity, because Hamerman shows a penchant for finding new perspectives (close-ups, etc.) that can be overlooked in the rush of campus life. Compared to other photography of the UI campus I've seen, this is very original. And Ebert's introduction is a nice read -- it ties in wonderfully to the book. I highly recommend!

Written in the late 1970s, this disturbing essay on Russian anti-Semitism provides - in hindsight - a clear example of one of the many corrupting, self-destructive forces that operated within the Soviet bureaucracy and contributed to the eventual collapse of the Soviet empire. The author, Grigori Freiman, was a noted mathematician, a professor, and a member of the Communist Party. His samizdat essay was a plea for fairness and justice in the selection of Jewish candidates for advance training in mathematics. He also warned that Russian anti-Semitism was undermining the future of mathematics in the Soviet Union.

Samizdat refers to the self-publishing of underground literature in Russia under Communism. A copy of Grigori Freiman's samizdat essay reached the United States in 1978. Southern Illinois University Press in 1980 published this small book, It Seems I Am a Jew, in cooperation with the Committee of Concerned Scientists. Melvyn Nathanson prepared the introduction as well as translated Freiman's essay into English.

It Seems I Am A Jew is less than 100 pages (even including the forward, introduction, and a three part appendix). The essay itself is riveting, and most readers will likely read this disturbing essay in a single sitting. I highly recommend Freiman's remarkable essay to a wide audience that includes essentially any reader interested in history, concerned with the current political situation in Russia, or concerned with injustice wherever it occurs.

The appendix will appeal more to readers that have an interest in mathematics. Extremely difficult test questions were reserved for Jewish students (and sometimes for testing non-Russians from the more distant Soviet republics). These questions were designed to ensure that all Jewish candidates failed, even Jewish winners of the Soviet Union's Mathematics Olympiad. By the late 1970s the mathematics section of the Soviet Academy of Sciences had nearly achieved the goal of Judenfrei mathematics.

The memoir of a Jewish mathematician. Freiman recalls the special obstacles he and other Jewish students of mathematics faced in the USSR. To get a doctorate in mathematics one had to pass an oral exam given by a member of the anti-semetic Stekov Institute. Only it seems if you were Jewish you got an especially difficult and in most cases impossible exam to pass. Because the exam was oral with no paper record of the questions asked, the examiner could easily fail the Jewish students by asking research level questions. A grim reminder of the policies of a terrible regime.

Jack Dempsey has always been my favorite boxer, , Randy Roberts did his home work before writing this wonderful book. He went into great detail, when Dempsey fought Firpo ,and when he lost his title to Gene Tunney.Anyone who enjoys reading about heavyweight champions from the past, will really love this book. i still go back and read my favorite chapters over again. Kenny Hetrick

Jack Dempsy: The Manassa Mauler by Randy Roberts (Professor of History, Purdue University) is a solidly written biography of the famous Heavyweight Champion of the World who held that title from 1919 to 1926. From Jack Dempsy's childhood and his rough-and-tumble beginning of a boxing career at 16; to his rise to the top -- and eventual defeat; to his retirement from boxing in 1940 with sixty-four victories (forty-nine of them by knockout), and more, Jack Dempsy: The Manassa Mauler is an excellent and very highly recommended contribution to Professional Boxing History, and a "must read" biography for dedicated fans of "the sweet science".

It is not often that you get to read about some of the interesting men who had their 'ups and downs' in creating the industrial history of the mid-west of the USA. Andrew Call brings to life a great guy in this respect: Jake Bunn (1814-1897). You can meet Jake and his family again if you read Stealing Lincoln's Body where he is just as interesting.
The writer helps us to learn and understand how business was done by such companies as: Illinois Watch, Sangamo Electric Co. and even the very obscure Bunn-O-Matic Corp. But more importantly we learn about the legacy of "honorable behavior towards creditors' during tough times that the Bunn banking family showed during the Panic of 1973.
This is a fine biography that reminds us of the importance of 'ethics and integrity' in business from a young first-time writer.

Though I find my usual tastes rest solely within the fiction genre, I was surprised by the excitement with which I turned pages through this author's first effort.

The book reads like a Who's Who Among American History's Past at times; traverse history during a turbulent, though defining, time as America itself develops from infant to industrial giant-with your guide Jacob Bunn. Resourceful, ambitious, and passionate, Jacob has his ups and downs (though overwhelmingly successful) as he risks business venture after business venture-always keeping his focus on integrity. From grocery stores, banks, and timepieces, to close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, Jacob Bunn seems to have tried it all.

You'll be surprised to find out what you didn't know as the author drops historical names that can be directly or indirectly associated with Mr. Bunn (maybe even more surprised by some of the ways Jacob continues to influence everyday life in the present day). Colorful and educated conjecture, but never far-reaching hyperbole, each period in time is described thoughtfully and accurately.

A must read for any history buff, and a `gateway book' for all of those who aren't.

What better combo could there be? I'm not a student of law, but I still found this to be a facinating story about its history and importance. The descriptions of Larry Flynt are colorful and often times halarious. Fawell doesn't exactly come out looking like an angel either, but I found Smolla's treatment of both characters to be fair. Ultimately, the conclusion of this book are right on. Flynt and Falwell are both hustlers of the American Dream. They just sell their versions from opposite ends of the spectrum.

Rod Smolla knows how to tell a story. We all know Larry Flynt is colorful, what we didn't know is how brilliant his young attorney was in getting the Falwell trial heard in the "Live Free or Die State" when Hustler's distribution there was about 1% of its national sales. A must read for any staunch defender of the First Amendment.

This book gave more insight into Jimmie Rodgers than I have ever read. Very well written and a definite must for those interested in the history of true Country Music.

Nolan Porterfield's 1979 Jimmie Rodgers is the definitive Jimmie Rodgers biography, a frank and honest look at a man who was determined to make the most of what he knew was going to be a very short life. Porterfield pulls no punches in the biography and spends as much time discussing Jimmie's weaknesses as he does his strengths. As a result, the story that he tells is even more astounding than if he had written a puff piece portraying Jimmie as the perfect superstar of his day.

Jimmie Rodgers did not have a great singing voice. He was not an exceptionally talented guitar player and, in fact, was not known to be a very good musician. He found it difficult to keep time when recording with other musicians and was nowhere near the songwriter that he is "officially" credited with having been. That lack of songwriting ability when coupled with Jimmie's difficulty in learning new material limited the number of recording sessions that could be scheduled during his short lifetime.

But Jimmie Rodgers was one of the great stylists of his day and he used his unique "blue yodel" and combined "hillbilly" and blues music in a way that continues to influence country music even today. He paved the way for the "singing cowboys" who became so popular in Hollywood movies after his death. Porterfield quotes music historian Henry Pleasants this way about the limitations of Jimmie's voice: "Well, great voices do not great singers make. Great singers are made by what musically creative men and women do with the voices God gave them." Exactly.

James Charles Rodgers, the youngest of three children, was born to a poor Mississippi couple on September 8, 1897. His father left a job with the railroad to farm the land on which the family lived in an attempt to provide a steadier living and so that he could spend more time with his growing family. But when Jimmie's mother died in 1903, Aaron Rodgers returned to the railroad life and the Rodgers children were housed with other relatives.

Jimmie, who spent much of his young adult life working railroad jobs like his father, never seemed to see his railroad wages as anything more than the money he needed to tide him over until his singing career blossomed. Despite that, Jimmie Rodgers will always be remembered as a "railroad man" because he billed himself for a long time as "The Singing Brakeman," an image that Hollywood used in the one short film recording that was made of Jimmy performing some of his songs.

Jimmie Rodgers was a man in a hurry. He knew that tuberculosis would kill him, especially if he did not spend weeks at a time in bed resting and recuperating from the effects of the disease that was killing so many of his countrymen. But Jimmie Rodgers was not one to spend his time bedridden and worrying about himself. He decided to make the most of the time he had, and only took to his bed when his doctors told him that he was near death if he refused to end his non-stop touring and recording schedule for a while, instances that became more and more frequent as Jimmie's neglect of his health began to take its ultimate toll on him.

"That old T.B." finally beat Jimmie Rodgers in May, 1933 when he died in a New York hotel room during what was to be his last recording session. Weak as he was, Rodgers managed to record thirteen masters from May 17-24, twelve of which were eventually released for sale. In a little less than six years (August 1927-May 1933), Jimmie managed to record only 110 songs, not a huge songbook by the standards of any major recording star, but one that is destined to live forever.

Jimmie Rodgers was a man who fought tremendous odds in order to live the life of his dreams. He was a musical pioneer who, although he could not finally beat the disease that killed him, held it off long enough to establish his place in music history. He survived the death of traveling vaudeville tent shows and the impact that the Great Depression had on the sale of his records. He was there to see the early days of radio and to suffer the effects of "talkies" on the kind of traveling live entertainment packages that made his living.

Nolan Porterfield has done a magnificent job of describing the ups and downs that Jimmie Rodgers suffered in his 35 years. In one sense, Jimmie did not have much to show for a music career that resulted in the sale of some seven million records and constant touring of the south and southwest parts of the country. At his death he had only about $4,000 to his name, the money that he had been advanced for his last recording session and the proceeds from the sale of a home. But, oh what a life he lived, and what a legend he has become!

Edward Ives became interested in a ballad entitled "The Plain Golden Band." It was a popular ballad in the northeast and Canada's maritime provinces. Ives began hearing stories about the song's writer, and he began a research project to find out more information on Joe Scott. What's remarkable about this book is that Scott had died long before Ives had met him and Scott wasn't particularly famous. Consequently, Ives used oral history interviews and folklore study to discover a wealth of information about Joe Scott. This biography is such a vivid portrait of the singer that I felt that I had met him personally after reading this wonderful book.

This book is one of the best biographies of a musician that I have ever read. What is especially interesting, is that the musician was virtually unknown, and I have never even heard any of this musician's works. Yet, I came away from this book with a profound appreciation for Joe Scott and an even deeper appreciation for Edward Ives's writing abilities. Ives uses fieldwork techniques from folklore studies and oral history research to develop a life-history of Joe Scott, a ballad-maker and ballad-singer who was previously known only for penning a tune known only within a small northeastern region. Ives completes thorough research on Scott's life, pulling together information from obscure sources and from the commonplaces of local memory. He develops an in-depth biography in which he places Scott's musical creativity within the context of an interesting life. Ives not only demonstrates ways to glean fascinating insights from snippets of information but he also provides an incredibly interesting presentation of the results of his finding and conclusions. His conclusions about artistry, poetry, and creativity are intriguingm, and they are backed by credible and well-reasoned arguments. Ives is a first-rate writer, and the story that he tells about Joe Scott is reads like a first-rate novel.