Illinois Books

The Era Of Education: The Presidents And The Schools 1965-2001 by Lawrence J. McAndrews (Professor of History, St. Norbert College) is a close study of educational policy under presidents from Lyndon Johnson through Bill Clinton, especially concentrating on the issues of public school aid, private (particularly Catholic) school aid, and school desegregation, with concern as to the proper role of the federal government in education. Research of records from presidential and other archives, as well as interviews with key players in governmental policy have allowed McAndrews to meticulously reconstruct the evolution of internal debates, negotiations, decisions, and non-decisions over the decades. The result is an exhaustively detailed history, and absolute "must-read" for any parent, educator, or political professional, concerned about the future of local and national educational policy. Highly recommended.

With great anticipation, I have awaited the release of this book. Pirtle recounts the true story of Susan "Sukey" Richardson's escape to freedom using the Underground Railroad. Through letters that had been hidden away for more than a century, Pirtle weaves us in and out of the life of one of Sukey's most sympathetic supporters, William Hayes. Through this non-fiction account we learn of the hardships all Americans faced during the mid-19th century. We're told of Sukey, her master, and those brave men and women who risked their lives, reputations, and personal finances to help others make their way to freedom. Equally fascinating is the courtroom drama between Sukey's master and those who allegedly helped the young woman in her run to freedom.

If you're a US history enthusiast, a fan of Illinois history, an Underground Railroad aficionado, a Civil War buff, or just a casual reader who's interested in a captivating story...you'll be sure to enjoy this tome. I highly recommend it.

And...if you're interested in other stories related to Southern Illinois history, I urge you to try to get hold of Pirtle's other two books: "Shining Moments" and "Where Illinois Began: A Pictorial History of Randolph County."

I read this book while doing a presentation on CA at university, having got interested through the Game of Life. It's a marvellous summary of the work of people like John Von Neumann and Stanislaw Ulam and although dated (I don't think it even had details of E F Codd's work) it must be an essential read for anyone interested in CA.

This is a very well written, well organized and interesting book about the ethnic history of Chicago. Starting from the early settlers, the authors write about the history of different ethnic groups such as Poles, Ukranians, Germans, Chinese, Japanese and Greeks among others. Most, if not all chapters are written by someone from the ethnic group in question, and each chapter seems to be very well researched. I admire the neutral and scientific writing style. In other words, there is no hint of side taking, even when the authors describe recent and painful conflicts between ethnic groups. This is just how a research book should be.

The book is easy to read, and I found it very illuminating. It is a very good source of information about Chicago. The book traces the history of different ethnic groups in Chicago through the 19th and 20th century, their struggles for adaptation, their neighborhoods, occupations, and life styles. After reading the book, I feel I appreciate the diversity of this great city even more. I learned many things I did not know about this city from this book, and I keep looking for the neighborhoods and landmarks mentioned in the book with interest.

The book is also a very good source of reliable information about American history in general, because the immigration patterns in Chicago and the process of adaptation of the immigrants to American life occured in somewhat similar ways to other large cities, and in several chapters, the authors discuss the immigration of a certain ethnic group to the USA in general, as well as to Chicago in particular.

Finally, I found the book very helpful in terms of information about recent world history. The reasons that led the ethnic groups in question to immigrate to USA and Chicago (the push factors) are shortly discussed in each chapter, and this gives the reader an overall idea about the recent history of each of the nations in question.

The editors of the book did a very good job in ensuring continuity across chapters. Even though each chapter is written by a different author, I did not feel any gaps between chapters, and did not think there were any problems of continuity.

This looked like a thick book with 600+ pages, but I finished it in a few weeks, and I think this was time well spent.

Very, very useful discography to help figure out which pre-war discs are truly ethnic, rural material. A "must-have."

An engrossing exploration of legal reform to address the problem
of domestic violence. Professor Lazarus-Black details domestic violence as impeded by everyday practices of law and courts. I found the individual case studies of battered women seeking legal protection most absorbing, especially in light of the pointed discussion of cultural and political change.

Though Mercado's book is accessible by anyone with an interest in music history, pianists will be at an advantage for the many musical examples throughout the book. Those familiar enough with Mozart's music to recognize the stylistic differences throughout his compositional career will gain a terrific sense of satisfaction at learning the background behind that development. Well-written, though a knowledge of music theory will help to move through the numerous examples and musical descriptions.

It has a nice listing of various types of exercises, strength, stretching, isometric, static holds for each bodypart that can be cone in an office enviorment in an inconspicious way. Line drawings nicely illustrate the exercies. You pick and choose what you want to do.

The latest volume in the acclaimed Illinois Poetry Series, "Expectation Days" (also available in a hardcover edition, 9780252032349, $40.00) is a showcased compendium of poetry by Sandra McPherson (Professor of English, University of California--Davis). The author of numerous previously published poetry collections, McPherson takes for her autobiographical themes in "Expectation Days" a variety of subjects ranging form movie-making to medical misadventures, and from meditation on widowhood to feminist protestations. Highly recommended as being both intellectually and emotionally satisfying, McPherson's free verse and prose poetry is always engaging, consistently interesting, and displays her consummate skills as both a word smith and a lyricist. 'Bereavement: 1919': Believing I am going to live,/I begin the war of nerves./When I need just a little calmative/I drink top milk at the creamery./But toward evening let me recommend/This, should you ever need it--/I hang a locket of asafetida around my neck./Works wonders.

This is an essential book for the student of Western exploration. The editors put together three hefty volumes about the expeditions of John Charles Fremont of which this is the first.

This volume includes Fremont's official reports of his first two expeditions to Wyoming's South Pass in 1842 and to California and Oregon in 1843-1844. In their day these accounts were best sellers and they made Fremont a national hero which led to him being the candidate for President of the new Republican party in 1856. Today, Fremont seems forgotten except by specialists -- and mostly scorned by them (Bernard de Voto called him "Childe Harold") -- and the fame of his mountain man guide, Kit Carson, as an American hero has eclipsed that of Fremont

The heart of this book is Fremont's accounts of his expeditions. He recorded the progress of his expeditions daily in the form of a diary and he was no novice at colorful writing. Possibly his wife Jessie Benton Fremont improved upon his prose before the accounts were published. Nor was he modest, but he gave credit where credit was due to his men, mostly French voyageurs, and especially Carson whose rise to prominence was due to Fremont. Fremont's writing is very readable to this day. Along with his dairy he also collected scientific and meteorological information which may be of interest to specialists. Fremont later blotted his copybook with a number of egotistical fiascos but on his first two expeditions he was an appealing young man.

Supplementing Fremont's diary are a large number of letters, vouchers, and other documents related to Fremont's career and the expeditions. You can learn for example that Fremont paid his French voyageurs as little as 62 1/2 cents per day wages, but Kit Carson earned $100 per month, a hefty salary in those days for an illiterate mountain man -- and Carson was worth it. The editors provide copious notes to amplify and clarify the text. They produced a top notch book of scholarship that's also fun to read.

Smallchief