Minnesota Books

In the coming future by God's willing.

AccessAbility: A Manual For Churches is a step-by-step guidebook for congregations wanting to make their building architecturally accessible. The authors also believe that architectural accessibility is only the first step. The book includes many tips for incorporating people with disabilities into the life of the congregation. There are essays from people with disabilities describing their experiences. The book concludes with a large section of helpful resources and each chapter has resources specific to the given topic. The project was funded by the Episcopal Church. One of the authors is an Episcopal deacon and the other is a Catholic who directs disability ministry in her archdiocese. The book is applicable to any congregation wishing to be inclusive. Highly Recommended.

I was one of the readers for this fantastic collection and enthustiastically recommnded it be published. I am happy to see it is now out. Rickels is, in my view, the most brilliant and profound thinker of his generation. His own work on groups, psychoanalysis, Germany and California, adolescence, and "psy-fi" is consistenty thought provoking, and with _Acting Out in Groups_ we see that he is an equally provocative editor. The essays in the volume are consistently excellent.

Written by David Jenemann (assistant professor of English, University of Vermont) Adorno in America is a biography of German philosopher and cultural critic Theodor W. Adorno (1903-1969), who lived in exile in the United States from 1938 to 1953. Drawing upon Adorno's theories and archival materials ranging from Adorno's unpublished writings to FBI files, Jenemann reveals Adorno's experiences in New York and Los Angeles, and proffers not only the Adorno's story, but an evolving perspective on the rise of mass culture and consumerism. An exalting portrait of Adorno as a defender of intellectual democracy, as well as an intriguing portrait of mid-twentieth century cultural shifts, Adorno in America is highly recommended for philosophy and cultural criticism shelves as well as biography shelves.

"Adrienne Kennedy in One Act" collects eight plays by this remarkable American playwright: six original pieces and two adaptions of Greek drama. The original plays are as follows: "Funnyhouse of a Negro" (which won an Obie Award for the 1964-65 theater season), "The Owl Answers," "A Lesson in Dead Language," "A Rat's Mass," "Sun," and "A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White." The Greek adaptations are "Electra" and "Orestes."

Kennedy's original work is surreal and nightmarish. Her most striking plays feature African-American female protagonists, and explore such topics as failed marriage, racial segregation, middle-class Black aspiration, sexual transgression, guilt, and the conflict between light- and dark-skinned African-Americans.

Kennedy often uses bizarre props and stage directions, as well as weird and unsettling dialogue. Her plays often employ iconic figures from Western culture: European royalty, classic Hollywood stars, and characters from Christian tradition. Kennedy has a sharp satiric eye, and her characters are frequently suffering from intense pain.

"A Lesson. . ." and "A Rat's Mass" feature grotesque half-human, half-animal figures. "A Movie Star. . ." has as its main character a Black female aspiring playwright, and incorporates references to other plays in this collection; this piece thus has a particularly reality-warping feel.

Adrienne Kennedy's drama has a boldly experimental and psychological quality. Although her experiments don't always work, when they do the result is stunning.

Najarian is a master of clarity. I highly recommend this informative and interesting book.

I just want to suggest that the person who previously reviewed this book makes a confusion between De Man's life and the content of this book. To say that this book is trite is mindless.

Miranda Joseph's book is fantastic. If you tend to think the word "community" is synonymous with "a good thing," you will think again after reading this book. The book challenges some of the basic assumptions of non-profit organizations, political activists, and progressive thinkers, yet it does so from a sympathetic and decidedly leftist perspective. This is no armchair, right-wing, or libertarian attack, but rather a careful and constructive critical engagement with progressive thought and practice. The first chapter lays out a compelling case for the interrelations between community and capitalism, challenging the common, romantic idea of community as a group of people with shared identities and common interests that are necessarily opposed to and more progressive than governmental or business interests. It shows how capitalism produces communities, and so makes us aware of how we might be complicit in that which we hope to question. The remaining chapters offer case studies that exemplify this position, and so offer multiple points of entry for a diverse range of readers. Set aside some time and read this book, it will be worth it.

These plays written by Adrienne Kennedy are truly interesting to read. I am currently directing one of them, called "She Talks To Beethoven." Its a very compelling story and shows the contrasts between 1961 Ghana and old-time Berlin. These plays are very dramatic and I encourage anyone, whoever is interested in direting a one-act play, or just to read, to purchase this book.

Featuring a foreword by Assistant Professor of History Mary Lethert Wingerd, American City is the captivating true story of a battle that would greatly alter the balance of power between unions and big business. In the spring of 1934, union organizers arranged for Minneapolis truckers to go on a series of strikes and protest scab workers. Violent opposition to the strike culminated in slaughter when police fired on unarmed strikers, killing four and injuring countless others, in an event that would come to be know as Bloody Friday. First published in 1937, journalist Charles Walker's account of the clash remains a classic, fact-filled examination of a pivotal moment in labor history. Highly recommended.