Wisconsin Books

Lunetta has had some remarkable, extraordinary experiences in the north woods of Wisconsin. And I would highly recommend this book to children of all ages who wish to share in her intriguing, spiritual journey. Her story of encounters with the legendary Sasquatch lead one to wonder what life really holds for us, if we would only allow ourselves to look a bit further than we are used to...

In 1855, the recently-ordained young Norwegian immigrant pastor Johan Storm Munch and his wife Caja came to Wiota in southern Wisconsin to organize a rural church to serve the enclave of families who had arrived from Norway over the previous few years.

The book, by Peter Munch, grandson of the subject Munch's, consists of 1) a forward relating the very interesting story of how the material was located, 2) letters written between 1855 and 1859 by Caja Munch to her family in Norway; 3) a memoir by the pastor covering the same years as the letters; and 4) an excellent essay by Peter Munch, "Social Class and Acculturation," about the Norwegian immigrant experience, especially that of the group of Lutheran pastors who had arrived to serve the several communities in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota during the time of the letters.

The book provides a wonderful portrait of both the pastors' families and those of their charges, the farmers struggling to make a living on the land in a new and undeveloped area. There is no shortage of animosity on the side of the educated Munch's toward the less sophisticated farmers and, as we learn in Caja's letters especially, vice versa.

An excellent book on several counts.

The previous incarnation of this publication was splendid ... and this edition is likewise. In general, this atlas is quite accurate, as I've only uncovered trivial errors, while the maps are clear, helpful, and attractive. Three major improvements are: an increased scale [thereby displaying more detail on each map], an expanded coverage area to the north and south (now including Racine, Kenosha, etc.), and the inclusion of a CD-ROM. However, two noteworthy downgrades are that the jacket is very loose, flimsy, and poorly packaged, while some labels have been removed (schools, etc.). Nevertheless, this item is superb, and it is an obligatory purchase for anyone captivated by cartography, or anyone associated with the preeminent Milwaukee Metro area via travel, work, personal interest, or whatnot!

This is an under-recognized classic in the field of popular culture studies, one of the few outside of folklore studies that takes non-academically-trained intellectuals seriously : the "common" human as thinker. Accessible to a general audience and useful for the advanced researcher, McLaughlin builds on and updates Gramsci's "organic intellectual." His examples are interesting and entertaining: zines, evangelical xians, new agers, advertisers, school teachers. This is by no means a perfect study, but it is an innovative beginning for considering the intellectual lives and labors of those who are usually ignored within intellectual history. Worth the price just for the project that is laid out in the introduction, I teach this book as often as I can.

As a teacher and the mother of four, I recommend this book to anyone who wants an enjoyable lesson on women's rights and the history of the mid-to-late 1800s. Set in towns throughout Wisconsin, this biography provides factual information about Goodell, her struggle to become a lawyer and the obstacles she faced as a women trying to do a "man's job." The book also does a great job of explaining the history of the time (slavery, abolition, temperance) in an easy-to-read fiction format. Because the book covers many issues, the author has included information about subjects the readers may not understand, like temperance and slavery. A glossary explains terms that may be new to them (abolitionists, suffrage, etc.).

Older elementary and middle school students will be able to read and understand this well-told story. I believe that this book would be a great addition to history curriculum. Also, because it accurately depicts the problems a women in the 1800s had when trying to enter a "man's profession," I think it highlights the importance of following your dreams, regardless of what gets in your way. For boys and girls alike, it provides a great lesson in the benefits of perseverance.

Man! Those were exciting days. I had no idea what kind of shenanigans those research guys got up to until I read this book. And FUNNY! I'll never look at a solid surface the same again.

I first heard about this book when it was chosen by the CHICAGO TRIBUNE as an EDITOR'S CHOICE book of the week. This anthology does an excellent job of capturing the variety of campus life. Russo gives a knock-out story about a nun who takes a creative writing class. Dan Chaon's story about fraternity life is both quirky and moving. Two hilarious entries: Gordon Weaver's "Q: Questing" about a guy dividing his time teaching part-time at four colleges and carrying on affairs with a woman at each campus; and Lucia Perillo's "The Wife of the Indian" from the point of view of a cynical but hilarious woman who's married to a guy who lied about his ethnicity to get a job but then leaves his wife behind when he takes off with a student. Ron Carlson's "Hartwell" is a melancholy, heartbreaker of a story. In addition to work by other well-known writers -- Thomas Beller, Marly Swick, Thisbe Nissen -- the editor has included great stories by newcomers, such as Amy Brown, Rebecca Lee, and Alex Shishin. If you like good literary stories, and if you've spent any time on a college campus, you're bound to enjoy this book. Or if you're a parent sending your child off to college, this would make a great gift.

This book really filled a need when it came to documenting the long tradition of ship building in Sturgeon Bay. This isn't some dry-as-dust scholarly monograph, but is instead practical, concise, and filled with photographs that are extremely hard to find elsewhere. The photos aren't just of finished ships, either; you have photos of the men actually building the vessels at all stages of construction from keel laying to launching. There is an especially good section on the step-by-step construction of a modern trawler.

The history of the local yards is covered from before the Civil War right up to the present day. The section on the WWII years is especially interesting (hundreds of vessels were built: sub chasers, frigates, rescue boats, landing craft, mine sweepers, cargo ships, work boats, etc.) This tradition of building fighting ships continued through the rest of the century with gunboats, aluminum patrol craft, mine warfare ships, LST's, amphibious landing craft, even exotic assault craft for the Navy Seals.

Of course, it is the working ships that have been the meat and potatoes of the yards and the maritime economy. Everything is covered from schooners and wood burning tugs to the great 1000-foot ore carriers. Over the years the various yards have produced everything from the finest ocean-going luxury yachts, oceanographic research ships, passenger vessels, ore carriers, heavy lift vessels, salvage ships, fire boats, dredges, ferries, tugs, fishing trawlers and tugs, barges, pushers, etc. Anything that could fit through the St. Lawrence Seaway (and some who could not) has been built here in this community- and still are.

Francisco Scarano is our Savior, our Messiah, Creator of everything. We must worship this Supreme Being in order that our souls be saved from the ternal flames of Hell. Please, convert now. If you do not convert... Scarano will take care of you. He knows how to punish infidels and ingrates...

This story was very well written with a great ending. The author did a great job describing what the charecters looked like.Jena needed a job Travis needed someone to care for his two young daughters. There was nothing romantic about it. Slowely the two of them begain to fall in love. But Travis isnt a christian and Jena wont settle for anything less. Will she ever be anything more then Trais's summer girl? Andrea Boeshaar is a wonderful author and everyone should read this book.