Minnesota Books

Gamboa is, quite simply, a genius. This is not hyperbolie.

This book documents one of the greatest artistic minds in Chicano art, American art, and art in general. This work will rupture your reality. Read it.

Harry Gamboa, Jr. is the most important figure in what could loosely be termed the Chicano avant-garde art movement. His innovative work is grounded in histories of political activism, particularly the Chicano civil rights movement. This book is exciting on many levels. It showcases Gamboa's role as an interdisciplinary thinker, writer, and visual artist. A must have book!

For at least the last quarter of a century, American culture has been gripped by a tangible sense of fear and uncertainty about its inner cities.

This perception of the inner city as a dark, depressing and amoral place is not a new phenomenon; think Charles Dickens and Victorian England. More recently, there was a "liberal" period in the early 1950s; books like Michael Harrington's "The Other America" helped bring about Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs. Aside from that, the end of World War II brought about the beginning of white flight to the suburbs. The difference in income between whites and blacks grew wider and wider.

After the 1960s riots, and especially since the Reagan Administration, conservatives have gone on the offensive, painting the city as some sort of evil, horrible place full of people who don't think or act like "we" do. Welfare programs cause poverty and dependency. Inner city residents lack a sense of ethics or morality. While federal subsidies to cities were being slashed, that money was used to build more prisons. Minor crimes like vagrancy or graffiti were suddenly being treated much more seriously. Remember how "welfare queens" were supposed to be the cause of America's problems? Remember the teenage "super-predators" who were supposed to flow into the suburbs like a tidal wave, leading to a huge increase in gated communities and the purchase of home security systems?

Advertising and the movies are just as guilty of giving the perception that the inner cities should be simply walled off and forgotten. Evidently, things like the moving of jobs to the suburbs, police racism, the ending of "welfare as we know it," and the lack of mass transit to get to those suburban jobs have nothing to do with the present state of America's cities.

This book does a fine job at showing the latest attempt to find a scapegoat, to blame the poor and downtrodden, for America's problems. More importantly, this book is quite readable; the author keeps it from sounding like a dry, academic tome. It is very much worth reading.

College-level collections strong in urban studies will welcome the survey teacher Steve Macek offers up in URBAN NIGHTMARES: THE MEDIA, THE RIGHT, AND THE MORAL PANIC OVER THE CITY. Its chapters survey issues of urban blight, crime, and hopelessness, drawing links between these conditions and the media, which has validated the right-wing analysis of the urban crisis through news and TV reports. Is the media biased against cities?

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As Katrina reminded us, America's cities are in trouble, with the poorest and nonwhite residents most at risk. How did things get this way? What good is fiction in the face of such misery and neglect? James Lee tackles these difficult questions with unusual grace, subtly exploring how writers of color gained praise in the 1980s just as the urban communities they wrote about were being eviscerated by Reagan and his policies. While this book focuses on the 1980s, it continues to reverberate today in often tragic ways, as we have not stopped dividing our failures into three: those that need immediate assistance, those that can wait, and those that are beyond hope. This is required reading for anyone who believes the third category should not be growing quite so fast!

Urban communities of color--communities under political and economic siege-produced our great American literatures in the last decades of the twentieth century. Lee reveals the fierce embattled beauty of these places and their books. With sobering precision and compelling moral vision, he maps out the artistry, anxiety, inspiration, loss, and contradiction which are all a part of what Stevie Wonder called "living just enough for the city." This book courageously indicts neo-conservatism's massive looting of civic wealth as a crime against American humanity.

Loved it. Sad to research and find out that Nancy Walker is no longer alive. I wanted to call and thank her for writing this.

Why is the class clown usually a boy? Why does everyone laugh when guys tell fart and booger jokes, but if a woman tells the same jokes, the jokes fall flat? Why do women value a sense of humor in a man, but men rarely mention it as important in their ideal woman? Imagine a woman writing a Dave Barry-style column--it wouldn't work. There IS a difference. Nancy Walker's book really connected with me. I learned about women humorists writing at the same time Mark Twain was, about the minority aspects of humor, and why women are reluctant to appear funny to men, but not to each other. For a scholarly book, this was a fun (and funny) read.

no matter how much you think you know about the natural northern world, specifically flora and fauna, this book knows more. sure, we all know that a spider's webbing can be twice as strong as steel for its size but did you know that spiders can custom blend their webbing for different tasks? stretchy, sticky, tough..umm...buoyant..er ,well, other qualities relevant to spiders. its like a more basic, easier to understand kinda string theory.. sorry, slipping off topic here. this book is great, breezily written, funny even. get it, put it in the bathroom and in just 30 mins a day.. no,wait, that's the learning company..you will be able to amaze and confound all your friends from wood chucks to marine biologists with your arcane knowledge of the great outdoors. well, hey, its working that way for me.

Having just lived through another l-o-n-g winter for the privilege of living in the northwoods, this book was like a breath of fresh air. From mosses to white pines, water striders to black bears, this very readable book covers most everything you're likely to find in the northern woods -- and there are even segments on clouds and constellations. One-stop shopping for all your info needs if you love the woods and are curious about its other inhabitants. Lots of little-known facts written in an intelligent and engaging fashion. An easy-to-use reference that even children could enjoy, with entries that make you want to check out "just one more thing." After buying it yesterday we had a long road trip ahead of us -- that sort of flew by as I read entries aloud to my husband. It would be a great addition to our cabin "library" on a pine shelf behind the woodstove, but I kind of think I'll keep it here at home, close at hand.

All too often, history books get muddled down and plod along endlessly. This is not the case in Winona by Chris Miller. In fact, this book takes the reader on a journey through time that allows one to experience the growth and development of this small town, while not missing a single detail. Exhibiting a writing style that is both concise and, at the same time, detail oriented, this book is a must have for history buffs. Kudos to Chris Miller and Mary Pendleton, as well as Arcadia Publishing.

This is a must-have book for anyone who lives or has roots from the Winona area. Local architecture, old Mississippi River steamboats, and even the World's Largest Talking Chef are covered here. Great historical recollections from the city that was the birthplace of Winona Horowitz, now known as Winona Ryder.

I have done a little reading in Witnessing Beyond Recognition (2001) by Kelly Oliver lately. My own life is changing rapidly enough to defy recognition by those people who expect me to function as anyone who attempts to be disguised as a normal person. This book is an ideal old possession for people like me, who realize how little anyone has learned from all the lessons that are constantly being served to us by people who wish we had a more positive attitude. Since there was a bookmark near the end of the book, I read from there to the end, just to make sure I had read all the pages. The conclusion was that having a relationship ends when a person is reduced to serving a particular function as a kind of object. People with aims in life expect most people to conform to their particular ideals, and we all have trouble fulfilling the wave of hoops that pop up as regularly as dropping the kiddies off at the pool. I learned a new euphemism last night for an old obsession, and dropping kiddies off at the pool functions as well as religion for people who lead modern lives. Keeping busy with a regular routine is the coping mechanism of everybody who does not like us clowns who are just kidding.

Try imagining Stony Brook, where the author of this book is a SUNY professor of philosophy and women's studies, as an intellectual heartbeat away from what took place on September 11, 2001, and this book, which was prepared before the events of that day, gains a bit of weight if it is considered as a sincere attempt to understand such things, although it was written in a philosophical manner which is remote from the intrigue with which such events are planned and executed. Philosophers have often fallen back on their affinity for the familiar, and this tendency may also be found in this book, especially in the attention it gives to current feminist thought, in spite of the churlishness that is occasionally to be found regarding those things which are out of the ordinary in a thoroughly distasteful way, as intentionally destructive acts often appear to be. Though the book attempts to deal with psychologically troubling matters, there are thoroughly feminist moments, which are particularly heartwarming in regard to the innocence of financial planners, whose only connections to the World Trade Center towers were, at their best, in a manner which might previously have been regarded as impersonal and businesslike, and whose expectations implied that the accumulation of wealth through world trade was the sole context in which the activities that are entitled to the most significance in our world might be judged. The best example of such thinking in this book, which is copyright 2001 but reflects the thinking dominant prior to the events of September 11, 2001, is its consideration of the ideas of Patricia Williams on "the metaphor of investment instead of possession to convey social relations and their incumbent responsibility. Imagining a more optimistic future, she says: `What a world it would be if we could all wake up and see all of ourselves reflected in the world, not merely in a territorial sense but with a kind of nonexclusive entitlement that grants not so much possession as investment.'" (p. 155). If there is a bombing campaign, or investment in weapons of mass destruction, or a war against drugs, or two million people in prison in the United States of America, going on right now, all of which are probably being rationalized by just about everybody as steps that must be taken so that we can have such an ideal world, with an economy which would be truly great, but actually, the way that things like this have been going on for the last 10,000 years suggests that, if we keep following our own tendencies on this, outer space might even become the new frontier for weapons which could be this destructive, if anyone with our instincts is allowed to use it to try to defend ourselves. This book approaches reality on a lot of levels, but I may be the only person to read it who could find any support for my views in this book. You can read it for yourself, too.

A delightful history, from mid 19th-century to the present, of a sport that has flourished in the state that boasts of a "thousand lakes" (that are frozen solid in Minnesota's long winter). Since the beginning of the St. Paul Winter Carnival in 1886, that city has become a favorite location for many of the historic ice shows and extravaganzas that have evolved into big-time national entertainment. Charming and often hilarious illustrations depict Minnesota skating from the 1880s. This book is fun!

Minnesota has enjoyed ice skating and ice shows for the past 150 years. There is a particular fondness for figure skating which has led the construction of ice rinks, the founding of figure skating clubs, and an enduring enthusiasm for local, national, and world figure skating competitions. Now there is "Wonders On Ice", a superbly researched and profusely illustrated history of figure skating in Minnesota by skating enthusiast Moira F. Harris. In addition to providing an historical overview, readers will also become informed concerning the basic needs of the figure skater, skating clubs they can join, ice rinks they can visit, as well as what it's like to figure skate in front of crowds and in competitions. Of special note is the chapter on 'The Learning Curve: Teachers, Coaches, and Judges'. Enhanced with an appendix listing Minnesota State Champions, and an extensive bibliography, "Wonders On Ice" is especially recommended reading for anyone who has ever wanted to strap on a pair of ice skates and take advantage of what Minnesota -- and figure skating -- has to offer!

For a long while I have had an interest in one day reading the works of Christopher Isherwood. While performing in 'Cabaret', which stems from Isherwood's famed 'Berlin Stories', I learned that the author had several works available, and he became one of my 'someday' reads.

Someday finally arrived recently, with a wonderful read in the form of 'The World in the Evening'. The book explores the life of a troubled man before and during the WWII years.

Stephen Monk, raised by a family friend, his 'Aunt' Sarah, runs from his life in California after discovering the infidelity of his second wife, Jane. Finding little to no 'solace' there he prepares to leave, when an accident of sorts leaves him housebound for several weeks.

Stephen is then forced to confront his past, and present, and contemplate his future, when he is figuratively and literally left unable to run from them any longer.

Examining the events that led to his marriage to his first wife, the novelist Elizabeth Rydal, Stephen relives, through a series of her letters to her friend Mary Scriven, their meeting, falling in love, and Elizabeth's ultimate demise. This unveiling of their life together encompasses much of the rest of the book.

But along the way, many surprises await in the form of revelations about Stephen himself. Was his 'accident' really that? What leads people to question the 'validity' of his marriage to Elizabeth? And how long can a person run from the truth before it eventually overtakes them?

The novel is peppered with many lively and entertaining characters; Aunt Sarah, the sage, benevolent voice of reason; Gerda, grieving wife of a missing soldier; Bob Wood and Charles Kennedy; a 1950's style gay couple; the two wives of Stephen Monk; and all the folks they meet along the way.

Jumping back and forth from past to present, the book is an excellent study of a man faced with finding himself, of the intricacies of making a marriage work, and of attitudes and actions regarding the treatment of homosexuals in the 1950's.

An excellent starting point for any newcomer to Isherwood, this novel at once charms and endears.

"The World in the Evening" is the story of Stephen Monk in the years before and during World War II. After his second marriage implodes, he retreats to his former home, a Quaker town in Pennsylvania, where he is forced to reflect on the whole of his life: his first marriage, his affairs, his inability to emote truthfully. Years ago, Stephen & his first wife travelled to the Canary Islands, where Stephen had an affair with a young man. After that ended in disaster, his first wife died, leaving Stephen confused and adrift. In the Quaker town, with family, and with friends in the form of a gay couple and a German refugee, Stephen confronts himself and ultimately finds inner peace. Isherwood's magnificent novel is as captivating and moving as it is beatifully written. The way the story ends is so full of hope and beauty that it will leave the reader feeling the same as Stephen.

I'm on my third read through these stories since receiving it as a gift in the year of it's publication -- 1996. This is, however, the first time I've read the Kirkus review and I am VERY annoyed by it's condescending tone. I'm reading it again to find the me I locate when I read her stories. Williams' book is unique, as all great books are, and simultaneously reminds me in style, tone, manner of address, of certain other writers, eg. Grace Paley, Chekov, Borges, Flannery O'Connor, Saroyan. . . . The voice of the outsider living among outsiders whose outsiderness unites them (more or less) but excludes the writer as much as the "normal" (or "normative") world does. The social worker who "meant" to be a writer, the not-quite-well and healthy person who works with the "officially" handicapped, the atheist with all the impulses of one of the faithful, the "liberal" acutely attuned to the narrownesses that oppress, including her own narrowness. The griever who cannot stop laughing. . . . I long for another book from this writer.

This book is beautifully written, very funny at times, very poignant at others. It is mind-expanding and perspective-challenging. It's hard for me to imagine that it's fiction because it feels so real, so I decided to believe it as nonfiction. It's the best collection of short stories I've ever read -- it has a wonderful life-affirming quality behind the sometimes sad circumstances it covers. Highly recommended!!!