Wisconsin Books

This book is an ideal companion to a field guide to Eastern birds. Primarily designed as a reference guide (it contains no pictures, descriptions, or field marks) it contains a wealth of information on the likelihood of finding a particular species by county and time of year in Wisconsin. Based on at least 15 years of birding reports, the book is organized in standard order of species with one bird species per page. Each page contains the probability of spotting the species somewhere in the state in a given year, a map of the frequency of reports by county, a chart of the reporting frequency by week for the year, and a trend line by year of the total relative number of reports. I would recommend the guide primarily to the intermediate or advanced birder who is knowledgable about each bird species and their likely habitats already, but needs to know what is likely to be found in a given part of the state.

IMHO, this book is a template of how every state or regional guide should be designed.

Any birder is familiar with the format that even the best guides use to convey the likelihood over time of finding a given species in a particular location. Because of the scope of those guides, they are limited to conveying the timing to seasons and the locations to regions.

This book tells the reader exactly when specific bird species are generally found in specific counties of the state. A field guide will tell you that a certain bird migrates through the state in the spring, but some birds migrate in March, and some in June. This book will also tell you how populous the bird is (ie. how rare it is). You can also see the general movements of resident birds in the state over seasons.

I live in Wisconsin, so I use this book all the time. I have been frustrated trying to find similar information for states that I visit regularly. It is an invaluable resource for concentrating observation and understanding the animals being studied.

There are chapters of SAH throughout the USA and in Britain. They vary in size and interests; some are primarily social and others have regular historical programs for their members. A few, like the Wisconsin chapter, carry on chapter-wide research and writing projects. This work has culminated in the publcation of their first book, timed to coincide with the state's sesquicentennial celebrations.

Wisconsin Cars and Trucks is neatly organized into ten chapters plus an appendix listing over 80 automotive marques built in the state, and an index. Seven of the chapters cover vehicle manufacture; steam cars, trucks, major car and truck manufacture today, and four regional summaries covering vehicles built in Racine, Kenosha, southeast Wisconsin, and the Fox River Valley. Complimentary chapters concern component manufacturers, related auto topics (mostly Wisconsin license plates). The authors of several of the chapters are authorities on their subjects; most are chapter members. coverage of Wisconsin vehicles is exhaustive, from J.W.Carhart's 1871 steam-propelled "Spark" to present day Chrysler production in Kenosha, including the "mainstream" Nash, Kissel, Case and Mitchell, the not so wellknown Harris Six and Wausau Flyer, and the very obscure Ballard and Radford.

The book is nicely produced, with generally good quality photo reproduction, and a smooth-reading text, that belies its origins on the keyboards of 16 authors. Editor Quandt, who wrote a good many of the chapters himself, is to be congratulated on this book, which will tell you just about everything you could want to know about the automobile industry in Wisconsin.

I like to read books like this! Many of the articles, oops, chapters, may have been printed before in a local newsletter, but who cares? They seem well researched and are presented with a good deal of respect. Surprise!

Kenosha built automobiles make up only 10% of the pages in Wisconsin Cars and Trucks. There could have been more pages dedicated to the largest and longest-lasting manufacturing plant in Wisconsin, but there was so much more to cover, and besides that story is better covered in a book of its own.

The list of 183 brands of vehicles built in Wisconsin in the last 100 years is impressive. Kissel Kar, Mitchell, National and Rambler were the big ones during the brass era, but there were others and many of them are covered quite nicely. Harley-Davidson is not covered at all but, then again, has never been accused of making a car or truck.

Chapter 9 covers manufacturers of automotive components and it is quite interesting.

Wisconsin Cars and Trucks is not a coffee table book. It is something to read cover to cover and to be thankful for.

John C. Meyer III

This is definitely a must read for any man in Wisconsin that is facing a divorce or going back to court for a placement change. Packed with great, practical advice and organized for quick reference, it is loaded with critical information. Be careful of the Family Law section as it changes from year to year, but a bargain at any price. Oops, appendix 8 has a repetitive typo: WDW 40 should be listed as DWD 40. Good Luck!

Wisconsin Father's Guide To Divorce And Custody was written by experienced men's rights advocates specifically for Wisconsin men having to consider or deal with a divorce and its emotional, financial, social, parental, and familial aftermath. Specific, practical, effective advice covers the entire gamut of pertinent issues including choosing a lawyer, Wisconsin divorce laws, developing a winning strategy, fighting judicial gender bias, why "temporary hearings" aren't really temporary at all, preparing for mediation, containing legal costs, continuing to be an active father during and after divorce, and much more. Wisconsin Father's Guide To Divorce And Custody is a user friendly, highly recommended "how to" manual that will significantly reduce the financial costs of legal fees, reduce the confusion and anxiety of not knowing what is going on or why, and enhancing the chances of a divorce settlement that is fair, unbiased, and as satisfactory as circumstances can permit under Wisconsin's legal system.

When the Wisconsin Garden Guide first debuted in 1975 it achieved an impressive status with home gardeners, professional landscapers and horticulturalists throughout the state. Now in an updated third edition and again available to Wisconsin's gardening enthusiasts, Jerry Minnich's exceptionally well written and superbly presented compendium is a complete and total guide to growing flowers, lawns, herbs, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Jerry covers every aspect of the gardening experience from soil evaluation, composting and mulching, to weather, insects, pets, and disease control (without having to resort to herbicides). Of special note is the informative chapter dedicated to indoor gardening. The Wisconsin Garden Guide is further enhanced with a segment on tools and sources, as well as a "gardener friendly" index. The Wisconsin Garden Guide is a core, essential, invaluable, comprehensive reference for every personal or professional Wisconsin gardening collection.

Excellent tips, easy organization, a few nice anecdotes,
and written with a positive and independent spirit.

Now in a completely updated sixth edition, Wisconsin Off The Beaten Path: A Guide To Unique Places is an exciting travel guide to enriching one's Wisconsin vacation, whether one is relaxing for a single afternoon or weeks on end. Divided by region, and offering maps, unusual accommodations and attractions, as well as lists of county and state parks and unique museums, Wisconsin Off The Beaten Path is an excellent and enthusiastically recommended guide for any Wisconsin native looking for an entertaining day trip or weekend adventure, as well as the out-of-state vacationer looking for something fresh and new in what the Badger State has to offer!

Now in a fully updated and expanded fifth edition, Martin and Daniel Hintz's Wisconsin: Off The Beaten Path continues to be the premier guide to the unique places of the Badger state, often referred to as "America's Dairyland". Like the earlier editions of this invaluable guide and reference, Wisconsin: Off The Beaten Path is replete with detailed, user- friendly maps; chapter listings of restaurants, accommodations, annual events and popular attractions; a "fact block" provider at-a-glance information about the state including major newspapers, recommended reading for kids, public transportation, climate overview, population figures, and fun facts. Wisconsin: Off The Beaten Path is enhanced with numerous sidebars listing historical facts, geographical tidbits, stories and legends about various attractions, trivia, suggested day trips, and first-person anecdotes about the authors' experiences while researching their guide. Whether you are a vacationing traveler just passing through, or a born-and-bred native looking on a little recreational excursion, don't leave home for any Wisconsin destination without your own trusty copy of Wisconsin: Off The Beaten Path.

The book proivdes a nice walk through of wisconsin waterfalls. The author also did a very nice job with the photos.

I met Pat Lisi and his wife at a photography class for the Women in the Outdoors program last fall in Appleton WI. He taught us patiently how to use our cameras, and I ended up having my photo of a Red-Tail Hawk published! His book is wonderful. We take it with us as we travel, and you wouldn't believe how many waterfalls you pass by as you travel, without knowing you are so very close to one. Without this book I wouldn't know where they are--so now we check the book, stop by the falls, and date the page in the book as we visit. Its a great book, a great gift for anyone, especially yourself! Thanks Pat for the book, and for the photography tips.

Kadushin, Raphael, editor. "Wonderlands: Good Gay Travel Writing", University of Wisconsin, 2004.

The Delights of Gay Travel

Amos Lassen

Raphael Kadushin has compiled nineteen gay writers' personal reflections of travel in "Wonderlands" and it is a pleasure trip of a read. The title could have used another form of the word "wonder" and it would have fit perfectly. "Wonderlands" is wanderlust of features. The authors represented here are a mixture of established gay writers and the best of the new writers and they all have one thing in common--the excitement of travel. They write of all over the world and each manages to find something unexpected.
The writing is uniformly good--so good that it makes the reader want to book a flight and get away from it all. The entries all seem to share a link and that seems to me to be that we all travel because we are looking for something. What we find, regardless of what it is, turns out to be a surprise. To me "Wonderlands" was such a surprise--19 surprises in fact--I got to share everyone's and not even have to pack.
Edmund White takes us to the Sahara and Tim Miller talks of sleeping all over the world. Michael Lowenthal has an encounter in the highlands of Scotland and Mack Freidman goes to the wilds of Alaska. Syria is visited by Robert Tewdwr Moss and Edward Field has tea with Paul Bowles in Tangier. Colm Tobin writes about an adventure in Spain and Wayne Koestenbaum tours Vienna and sees both sides of the cultural scene there. For Philip Gambone, Asia offers him a new start while Raphael Kadushin spends spring with the Dutch. There are also selections from Brian Bouldrey, Bruce Shenitz, J.S. Marcus, Boyer Rickel, Mitch Cullin, Alistair McCartney, Matthew Link and David Masello.
The anthology is compelling and I felt as I learned about a place, I learned about the author and myself as well.

This book contains great travel writing by some of todays top authors. This is not a sex travel writing, but is eroctic at times as well as humorous and gives the mind plenty to comtemplate. We need more books like this one. Get it and take a trip.

Despite the title, Brodsky's work does take us back, back to the feel and joy of a youth spent in the North Woods and the places where youth ought to be spent. Great reading for those who just want to revel in the beauty of words descibing beautiful ideas.

This book is critical to any Nebagamon lover's library, alongside such works as Willy Stern's "There's an Old Southern Saying" and Brad Herzog's "States of Mind."

Great book, great memories, especially for anyone who's ever spent a summer in the North Woods. If the words "Sawbill," "Muggs Lorber" or "Upper Diamond" mean something to you, you'll find yourself reading these poems again and again.

Environmental History is a growing and much-needed field of Academia. John Muir, a peaceful yet titanic figure in America's own enviromental movement, like Rachel Carson, like, in his own right-Teddy Roosevelt, is a Pioneer of this movement. Professor Steven J.Holmes. Lecturer in History and Literature at Harvard University, has produced a deeply poignant book about this deeply thoughtful man, i.e. in Muir's "formative" years, wherein his Scottish roots clashed, then melded and germinated beautifully with the ever-more wild Wisconsin of Muir's American years. Yet this child of Dunbar, Scotland, was to, even at the "tadpole's age" of five, begin having transformative and even existential experiences, mostly derived from and spawned by the "Wilderness," by Nature, but too by Muir's love for his beloved mother. According to Holmes' carefully-documented and sourced biographical history of Muir, the young Lad had, even at a VERY young(before age 2)age, an UNCANNY ability to interact with, respond to, and above all, Deeply TRUST his Mother-especially, began when John Muir was just two months of age. Yet to me, with Mother Earth being THE all-powerful and nurturing, kindly force that this species MUST needs be recognize(i.e., Patriarchal societies are NOW too destructive, for Mother Earth to sustain, much longer), these Youthful, formative instinctive developments on Muir's part would become incredibly important in and to that "ecocentric perspective,"(182) as Holmes terms it, that would dominate this quixotically wild but peace-loving man's entire Life's viewpoint, all to the LONG-TERM betterment(IF we can only LISTEN-NOW, if not SOONER) of this Nation-State, and this species.

I have been an admirer of John Muir since I was a young child. This book is excellent in the way in which Steven J. Holmes captures the essence of a man who continues to inspire persons of all ages and backgrounds with his life. It offers intimate glimpses into Muir's experiences as well as a new perspective into understanding Muir as a universalist humanitarian and hero.

I live in Chicagoland and I consider this an essential guide to area restaurants. Chicago is blessed with so many good places, I rely on Zagat to guide me to the best ones. Whenever I travel, I always get the Zagat guide for the destination city. I have used the guide from Paris to San Francisco, and never had a bad recommendation. If you eat out, you need this book. I have already pre ordered the 2007/2008 edition, due out in July. I am egarly awaiting the arrival of the San Diego guide which has been out of print for a while.

Wow, what a good update on the restaurants in Chicagoland. I use this Zagat reference as I don't live "in" Chicago but am close to it and eat there fairly often in what could be referred to as the higher-end places. This Zagat guide rates the eateries as I would do so in choosing where to eat.

Zagat got it right in Chicago based on how I dine there and dine in other cities.

I have no financial interest in anything I rate.