Wisconsin Books

Well-crafted book with a selection of essays on the midwestern prairie, centered on the state of Iowa. Different topics from literary criticism and fine arts to natural and cultural history, including the Ioway Indian landscape (which was my contribution). Beautiful illustrations and plates too. A nice gift book for those interested in the tallgrass prairie and the various routes one may follow to better understand it.

DeBauche shows that while the U.S. Government used Hollywood to raise enlistments and money, and to encourage home involvement in the war in general, Hollywood also benefitted from its patriotic partnership with the government, both during and after the war.
Above all, though Hollywood was no doubt sincere in its (trumpeted) patriotism, its decision-making was driven by rational evaluation of domestic and foreign markets.
Illustrated, with bibliography and index.

(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

What is textuality at the beginning of the 21st century? What does it mean to have a political culture mediated by the Web, where content can be sliced, diced, and recontextualized by and redistributed by hundreds of web sites? Loizeaux and Fraistat offer a series of essays that address these questions from several perspectives. The first section introduces current issues in textual scholarship. The next section grapples with the materiality of the text, in particular the visual component. The third section pursues relations between textual studies and the fields of cultural studies and postcolonial studies.

The first English translation of history and archaeology professor emeritus Jean-Rene Jannot's "Devins, Dieux et Demons", Religion In Ancient Etruria is a masterful examination of Etruscan religion, closely scrutinizing Etruscan beliefs with regard to death, ritual, and the nature of the gods. Expertly translated by Jane K. Whitehead into a new updated edition, the text offers students, scholars, and general audiences alike an overview of ancient Etruscan beliefs, funerary customs, concepts of an afterlife, and mythology. More than 100 black-and-white illustrations including photographs of Etruscan artifacts add a visual dimension this heavily researched and footnoted perspective. A"must-have", highly accessible account for any reader interested in better understanding the nuances of an ancient civilization's beliefs and the connections between those beliefs and modern theologies.

Fleda Brown's poems contain a lyric gift that lifts our spirits and encourages coontemplative examinations of self and community. This book should be in everyone's Poetry Gift Bag for 2007.

--Robert McDowell is the author of a book on poetry and spiritual practice due out later this year.

In River Life: The Natural And Cultural History Of A Northern River, naturalist and ecologist John Bates takes the reader on a fascinating and informative exploration of Wisconsin's Manitowish River. Packed with historical and environmental information, River Life carefully examines current ecological studies, draws upon fur trader journals and archaeological surveys, and is replete with Bate's own personal observations to vividly describe the "life" of this small northern Wisconsin river. River Life is enthusiastically recommended for students of natural history and river-based ecological systems, and would serve as an ideal template for similar historical and environmental accounts of other small to medium sized rivers throughout the United States.

RIVER STORIES is a heartwarming collection of an adventurous family's life on the river; their perseverance to fulfill a dream and their tremendous endurance to make it come true while experiencing the best life has to offer...the love of family, fresh woodsy air, the peaceful stillness of the forest, wildlife, sunrises and sunsets, the marvelous joys of achievement, but most of all, sharing togetherness on the river. Though poor in material goods, the family rejoices with a richness of spirit, a wealth of love shared, devotion in their faith in God and in each other and the respect they share for each other.

RIVER STORIES was a joy to read. Dramatic, yet humorous with strong characterization throughout, especially Dace, the father who taught his family survival with grace and love. As each character is introduced, one feels a kinship to them, almost as if one is sitting on the riverbank, looking in, taking part.

I highly recommend this book for children and adults alike...to share together. There should be more of this type of literature for families to share in the market today. I am looking forward to reading more Dee Chamberlain stories.

-Carole La Flamme Beighey Amelia Island, FL

This is a story of dedication and public entrepreneurship at its highest level. It's an essential book that should be read and studied by every student of America's social safety net.
Douglas Wilson

Edna Meudt's biography was completed shortly before her death. She was a personal friend and I find her work moving and eternal. Not formally educated in writing, this farm wife wrote of the world around her. And in it she tells of her life-long love for Father Dan, a priest. A must-read for anyone wanting to write poetry

Sailing solo off the coast of New England in December, Alan Feldman wonders why and answers: "...Only at sea/ does the brain become what confronts it"; the poet-sailor feels his "...bones turning to steel/so I can't be rattled"; "I come back from a sail, feel nothing's complicated, and that I'm sane/ even if the world's not."

Of course Feldman sometimes wonders what drives him to such death-defying adventures, and realizes that he knows: "The sea is bigger than I am,/and I always do something to reawaken a sense of contingency."

One of the qualities which makes A Sail to Great Island such a wise and mature book is that the poet has come to understand how the contingency of life in dangerous moments at sea is really the contingency of all of our lives, all of the time.

In many instances throughout the book, poet Feldman reacts to life from that place of awareness. He's a middle-aged man now who's seen enough joy and pain to realize there's more to life than his own ego. Aware of his own quirkiness, he has learned to live with the quirkiness of others. His adventures, on land, in ponds, at sea, have made him a sweet, helpful guy, a mensch.

For instance: One day he needs solitude and escapes to a quiet pond; he's the only one there - great. Then a woman arrives with her young kid and proceeds to leave the kid in shallow but dangerous waters while she goes off for a swim. Instead of criticizing the mother for jeopardizing her child, Feldman understands the woman's need for solitude and sacrifices his own to keep a watchful eye on the kid. With characteristic empathy and humor, he addresses the muse of this ode: "Solitude,/there's only so much of you on earth to go around,/ but I don't want anyone dying on your account."

And even when his thoughts and actions are not quite so helpful or heroic, he's open to self-examination and figures out quickly what might work better. Example: It's the first day of spring in New England and Alan's driving his son Dan to temple. Dan is in his twenties and thinking of moving to Vermont, where his girl friend lives. Alan has worried over Dan all their lives. Now he can't help suggesting therapy instead of the move to Vermont. Oooops!

But later, in temple, Alan thinks it all over and - as happens frequently throughout the book - inner-voices (from beyond!) offer wise, mellifluent answers.

.... Godliness begins in humility. That said,
how does it apply? On the ride back, do I try to find
a way to persuade him, or practice the small courtesy of silence,
and give him a chance to breathe, to think? The air says,
He'll survive, even if he moves up there.

"The air says"! Yes, but you have to have learned to hear it!

Wise, mature, soulful, beautifully written, Alan Feldman's A Sail to Great Island is a great book.