River Falls Books

Michael Lesy's Wisconsin Death Trip, originally a doctoral thesis, is one of the most touching, poetic, beautiful, harrowing, moving and dislocating works I have read. Basically a compendium of found glass plate negative photos taken by the (himself knock-knees odd) Charles Vam Schaik in and around the rural community of Black River Falls WI, and leavened by snippets taken from the Badger State Banner newspaper and the Mendota State Record Book (an insane asylum), as well as a few personal reminisces, the book instead is a commentary and an indictment of a brutal time of economic dislocation, social upheaval, religious confusion and obsession, and personal decay in a farming community. It is an endless repitition of suicide, madness, arson, children dying of disease, and of a mostly sternly religious people living the grimmest of lives of back breaking work in the country. The photos by their sheer repetition and some of the games played with them by the author, pound out a tattoo of strain, people only barely suppressing their madness, and a society truly on the edge of collapse. Hardly the bucolic paradise so often evoked in our time.

The afterword by the author provides some backstory and statistics backing the point up, and illustrating in numbers and facts what the pictures and excerpts made clear by anecdote, and is also well written.

This was something of a cult book in the mid 70s, a most unusual way of looking at local history, lifting up the rock under which society had crawled. It is haunting, tragic, striking. You will never forgot it.

Buying a classic again. This is the U of New Mexico Press version. The earlier publisher had the picture of the baby in a coffin on the cover. That was better, but the contents are the same.

This is an interesting and slightly macabre book which is strangely beautiful. My son, who is Sam Witt, the poet, told me about it because he had been so moved by it that he wrote a poem associated with it in his soon to be published book, SUNFLOWER BROTHER. The old photos are stunning from the horses to the dead children. I am hoping to get the dvd soon.

"Wisconsin death trip"is an accurate documentation,not only of "agrarian white"culture at the end of the 19th century but,in many ways,the whole of white culture in america at that time..Contrary to popular belief,the"good"old days were not really so good..Yes,they may well have been less complex,but infant mortality was very high,illnesses which today are highly treatable being killers not only of children but of adults as well,daily life being,for most,a drudgery,with little to show for one's efforts...There were few saftey nets,no antibiotics,no pensions to speak of,no recourse against the harshness life,or against a system that,like today,favors the wealthy..
Insanity was not understood,and "treatment"such as it was,often did little to help the afflicted...Wisconsin did not have a monopoly on such things,anymore than,say,los angles has a monopoly on street gangs,or newark has a monopoly on ghetto housing...
The novelty is perhaps in the seeing of the photographs and the documents all together in one volume,so that one can peruse the sorrowful aspects of that period as it affected one particular area...

I read this book over 16 years ago. It left a lasting impression that will stay with me forever. It may not have the same affect on others but reading some of the reviews posted here, I know that it has on most. You can't really ask somebody "did this really happen?" becuase they either died then or in the 100 years that have past. We have no perspective on these people, places and times other than to read books like this. If any of these folks were alive today and heard someone say, "those were the good old days." They might be inclined to give the speaker a quick education. This book will do it for them. I have pictures just like this in a family archive. You wonder how anybody lived into middle or old age. Disease, starvation, hypothermia, and farm accidents all took their toll. Winters are hard enough in the south. Why did these people decide to stop the wagon in Wisconsin or if they lived thru their first winter there, why didn't they head south? I went to a Brewers baseball game at the end of May some 25 years ago and wore a down parka and was cold. You can still see houses in small towns outside of Milwaukee that look like the houses in this book and you can feel the desolation, pain and suffering looking out at you thru 100 year old panes of glass.

This is a magnificent work, weaving the history of the Phillies and A's through the socioeconomic changes in Philadelphia during the tenure of Shibe Park/Connie Mack Stadium. Although I am not a Phila. native nor am I a Phillies fan, I found this work fascinating, and could not put it down! An absolute must for any library of information about historic stadiums - WELL WORTH THE MONEY AND TIME!

The author did an outstanding job in writing this book. I've visited Philly several times on business. The nature of my business took me to the distressed areas of North & West Philadelphia. I visited 21st & Lehigh where Shibe Park formerly took & now has the church covering part of the grounds. I only wished that I could have seen the park during its existence. I had the opportunity visiting Philly on a weekend pass when some Army buddies back in 1968, but unfortunately we didn't think about attending a ballgame at Connie Mack Stadium. My loss.

If your a native Philadelphian, Phillies, or a baseball fan you must read this book. It talks about not only the A's, but the Phillies, and even the Eagles and their ownerss. It talks extensively about the immediate neighborhood, North Philly, and the problems that both Connie Mack & the Carpenters faced owning the stadium. I didn't think the book would be as near as enjoyable as it proved to be. The Amazon reader's star ratings are usually grossly over graded, but not in this instance.

The best baseball books earn their sentiment. Bruce Kulkick's book does just that. It is a grown-up story written with passion and anger and affection. The author knows the game, knows that IT IS a game and does a balancing act that should satisfy fans of Big League ball, 20th century American history, and any city planning student around. Baseball is said to be a perfect game in its dimensions; if the distance between bases were any shorter, far too many hits would be produced, if the distance were longer, nobody would ever get aboard. Kuklick is a writer who carries off the same tricky balance. Elegaic and important.

THIS BOOK GIVES A VERY NOSTALGIC AND DETAILED LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF SHIBE PARK AND THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD. MUCH DETAIL AND DRAMA IS GIVEN TO THE EVENTS THAT GRACED THIS GREAT PARK. ALSO COVERED IN DETAIL ARE THE SHORT STAY OF THE EAGLES, THE RIVALTY OF THE A'S AND PHILLIES. THE BUNGLING AND MISMANEGMENT OF THE MACK FAMILY AND OF THE CARPENTERS IS ALSO VERY WELL DOCUMENTED AND WELL DESCRIBED. THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM SURROUNDING THE JOUNEY TO AND FROM SHIBE PARK AND THE DETERIORATING NEIGHBORHOOD ARE ALSO A VERY WELL COVERED PART OF THIS MUST READ NOVEL. I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK. I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO PHILADELPHIA, BUT THE AUTHOR MAKES THIS HISTORIC PARK INTO A STAPLE IN BASEBALL HISTORY. VERY RECOMMENDED.

University of Pennsylvania historian Bruce Kuklick has written with "To Every Thing a Season" a masterful analysis of the role of the relationship of Major League Baseball (MLB) to the city of Philadelphia and its culture in the twentieth century. He takes as his nexus one of the most significant of the concrete-and-steel stadiums built by various teams in the first part of the century, Shibe Park, home to both the National League Phillies and the American League Athletics--A's for short--for much of its history. Shibe Park, built by Connie Mack and others for $301,000, opened its doors in 1909. It was the home of the Athletics until they departed the city for Kansas City in 1954 and the Phillies between 1938 and 1970 when they moved to Veteran's Stadium.

This is sophisticated history, not the once-over-lightly narratives of many baseball histories. Kuklick emphasizes the interrelations of the A's, the Phillies, and the residents of Philadelphia with Shibe Park as the point of convergence. Connie Mack, the owner of the A's, provides the human face of much of the description in the book and his successes and numerous failings on and off the field give "To Every Thing a Seasons" much of its dramatic power. Mack built two great baseball powerhouses with the A's, the first time in the years surrounding 1910 and again in the years around 1930. In both cases he dismantled those teams and sold the players to other Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. The Phillies had far fewer good years than the A's, but did manage to win a National League pennant in 1950, and came close in 1964 when a late season collapse allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to take the pennant.

Kuklick does not recite too much of the on-field activities of the Phillies and A's, but instead focuses on the role of Shibe Park, and by extension its occupants, in the life of the Philadelphia. As such "To Every Thing a Season" is quite excellent urban history, and at some level also business and economic and social history, rather than sports or baseball history. Kuklick is correct to conclude, and this very fine book emphasizes it: "Part of the story of Shibe Park is one of proprietorial rapacity, cynicism, and the limitations of even admirable people in an industrial society" (p. 190). Kuklick's epilogue is a superb contemplation of the social function of MLB teams and their home cities, using Philadelphia as a model. It helped generate a shared identity and taught camaraderie and patience and acceptance of the world and its fortunes. In the end, Shibe Park served as a collector of memories for the city, of both good and bad events. It became, over time, the city's equivalent of the family kitchen table.

There is no question but that any reader will learn quite a lot from this book, and I recommend it as the starting point for serious investigation of MLB and its relation to the homes of its various franchises.

Coke works at Hazelwood closing chapter on demise on steel in entire region. Read also: Homestead, with new forward by author, best one-town summary

I read this years ago, and I thought it was an excellent analysis of the collapse of the steel industry in Pittsburgh, filled with compelling tales of individual people.

The books feels like a Greek tragedy, in which the protagonists are doomed to a slow slide towards the edge of a cliff. Institutionalized conflict overcomes the efforts of people from both labor and maangement to halt, or at least slow the inevitable slide.

For people who think that the current dot.com crash is a serious downturn, this book offers a very good counter-perspective. When an area loses 100K jobs in 10 years, and whole towns essentially close, that's a *real* downturn.

On the other hand, there's always hope. Pittsburgh has bounced back, and has a much more diversified economy. The last time I visited, I could see the sky, which was more difficult in the steel days. To grasp those days, either see the early Tom Cruise movie "All The Right Moves", or for depth, read this book.

This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to learn about what went wrong in this basic industry. Not only a study of the collapse of the steel industry in the Mon Valley, the book is also a study of the pain of postindustrialization that swept the country in the 1980's. Esentially, the author is writing about a national trend, but focuses on the Pittsburgh area, which is really a microcosm. It is also a good look at what happens when unions and management can't get their acts together.

This is a detailed and heartbreaking story of the failure and collapse of the American steel industry. Sometimes the details are more than one needs to know, but this book will serve as an excellent case history on the underlying reasons for the transfer of the "rust-belt" jobs overseas, and now America's reliance of foreigners to produce the goods we use, in return for pieces of paper (Bonds) giving them claims on American wealth.

Mr. Hoerr tries to write a dispassionate history, but it is difficult in the face of such monumental stupidity and greed. "A vibrant forty-six mile stretch of river valley, providing primary jobs for over thirty-five thousand steel employees... would be devastated and expunged from economic memory in less than five years." "After that, the opportunities are limitless... from here to there where McDonald's needs someone to serve the one-trillionth burger." (p12-13).

The author was a reporter during this period, and apportions blame to both the steel company management and the unions, but clearly reserves his primary animus for management. They saw labor as an undifferentiated mass of dumb "hunkies", the pejorative term for people of Slavic origins, who only needed to take orders. That attitude was repaid, as Mr. Hoerr says: "I have known only two major corporations that actually engendered feelings of hatred among their employees, GM and US Steel." (p206) Management eventually acquiesced to the form, but not the substance of labor participation by forming "Labor-Management Participation Teams," but usually ignored their recommendations. There was also a willful neglect in spending the capital to modernize the operations - USX finally proposed building the first continuous caster plant in the Mon Valley in 1986! - at the very end. (p550) Instead it infuriated the labor force by spending its capital in buying Marathon Oil.

The author had access, and draws telling portraits of the principal actors involved, from the USW's I.W. Abel, Lloyd McBride, Lynn Williams, Bernard Kleiman and Edmund Ayoub. On the management side there was David M. Roderick, Thomas Graham and David Hoag.

I worked in US Steel's Homestead Works for two summers during my college years - '65 and '66. At the time I thought this work was the most "real", and those mills would be eternal - America would always need steel, and would obviously need to produce it. Fortunately the avenging angel passed me by, as I decided this work was not for me. Once again another "wolf" has finally come to America - this time high (and higher still) gas prices, which will force more economic dislocations that prudent planning could have avoided. Will American society be able to organize its economy prudently, to truly meet the real needs of its citizens, and minimize massive dislocations? This book is an excellent story of previous follies - can we learn from them?

My dad - who died a couple of years ago - published this book. He was very proud of it, and I think he would have been very pleased to see that Amazon customers are responding to it favorably.

This book was in interesting book that went into the details. It clearly explaines the details of how IBM lost the war with the best technology in the world.

This is a book book, if you like the subject. The first 1/3 tells the story of the collapse of IBM, and the rest of the book goes into the buissness aspects of what went wrong and what to do in the future. Great if you like either buissness or computers in general.

This book details how the modern computer industry came into being. Who the players were, how they fought for domiance, who won, who lost, and why. The authors cleary delineate the pivotal points that shape today's competitive landscape. For instance when Intel and Microsoft stole the day from IBM.For anyone even casually interested in the computer industry, this is a fasinating and easy read

Computer Wars remains the single best book for understanding the computer industry, both software and hardware. When people outside the industry ask why both Netscape and Microsoft have decided to lose a barrel of money by developing WWW browsers and giving them away, give them a copy of this book.

Let The River Run Silver Again!: How One School Helped Return The American Shad To The Potomac River--And How You Too Can Help Protect And Restore Our Living Waters by elementary school classroom teacher Sandy Burk is an informative and profusely illustrated exploration of the difference one school made to greatly impact the environment and nature of the Potomac River. Readers will learn that making a difference is not all that difficult as the pages inform them of the American Shad's history and what caused the species to leave in the first place. Let The River Run Silver Again! is highly recommended reading (especially to the biology or environmental science teacher as a curriculum supplemental resource) and a welcome addition to any personal, school, or community library Environmental Studies reference collection or supplemental reading list.

Let The River Run Silver Again!: How One School Helped Return The American Shad To The Potomac River--And How You Too Can Help Protect And Restore Our Living Waters by elementary school classroom teacher Sandy Burk is an informative and profusely illustrated exploration of the difference one school made to greatly impact the environment and nature of the Potomac River. Readers will learn that making a difference is not all that difficult as the pages inform them of the American Shad's history and what caused the species to leave in the first place. Let The River Run Silver Again! is highly recommended reading (especially to the biology or environmental science teacher as a curriculum supplemental resource) and a welcome addition to any personal, school, or community library Environmental Studies reference collection or supplemental reading list.

Let The River Run Silver Again!: How One School Helped Return The American Shad To The Potomac River--And How You Too Can Help Protect And Restore Our Living Waters by elementary school classroom teacher Sandy Burk is an informative and profusely illustrated exploration of the difference one school made to greatly impact the environment and nature of the Potomac River. Readers will learn that making a difference is not all that difficult as the pages inform them of the American Shad's history and what caused the species to leave in the first place. Let The River Run Silver Again! is highly recommended reading (especially to the biology or environmental science teacher as a curriculum supplemental resource) and a welcome addition to any personal, school, or community library Environmental Studies reference collection or supplemental reading list.

The only thing better than Chocolate Milk, is reading this book. The story is simply adorable. The Illustrations are absolutely beautiful. As A parent, I really love it. This book is one that I read to my 3 year old at least twice a day and enjoy each time I get to read it to her. When I hear my daughter tell me, "Mommy read it again!" I know it is an amazing book. Very well written, John you have a winner, This book is Delicious!

Each page has a full color illustration of the cover girl. Even has a cute plot twist.

It's never too early for a kid to have her first book. It's a cute idea that turns an ordinary home activity into something a little more fun.

Combine bed time story time with a cold glass of chocolate milk for both parent and child.

I recently visited (Summer 2005) the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, which is in the remains of one of the flour mill buildings on the west side of the river. I had no clue about Minneapolis's origins as a milling power (both sawmills and flour mills), since the flour-milling heyday ended in the 1930s, and the last flour milling on the west side occurred in the 1960s, before I was born.

The book covers the the time from the discovery of the falls by Father Hennepin in the 1600s, and looks at the events which led to their development as an industrial powersource that didn't end until the middle 20th century.

It is pretty wordy, but well-written, and a reader will feel rewarded by the in-depth knowledge of the area. There are some pictures and maps, but they are not the meat of the book.

If there's one thing against the book, it is age. It was originally written shortly after the west-side milling operations ended, and at the time was titled _The Waterfall that Built a City: The Falls of St. Anthony in Minneapolis_. This, the revised edition (which I have), was written two decades later, but a lot changed in the area, so that some businesses and buildings referred to in the final chapter no longer exist in their locations. Even the last mill on the west side, the Washburn "A" mill, was mostly destroyed by fire in 1991, after the book was written.

This would be a great book for someone who loves industrial history, urban history, or the Twin Cities area.

This is an extraordinarily detailed account of the St Anthony Falls cataract with all the names of it's founding father's, companies and buildings that rose and fell around the whole area. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in the history of the downtown Minneapolis/Gateway/Falls. Having worked in one of the buildings that was talked about in the book for the better of five years I have come to appreciate the wonderful history of Mill City as it once was. I highly recommend this book, especially given the fact that the brand new Mill City Museum will be opening up in May 2003.

Mr. Enslow's work is a collection of experiences that magically transports you in time and space. I would highly recommend this work to anyone who not only reads poetry but LIVES the painted phrases. Mr. Enslow's presentation is intelligent, but not over bearing. I rate this at 5 stars and congratulate Mr. Enslow on uniquely portraying even the most common actions.

Stacey J. grabs your hand and takes you on a journey of love through the heart and soul. On this quest you will experience the deepest darkest depths of pain that a sword struck into the heart can bring--
---as well as the the hightes pleasures that comes from an estatic joyous union of divine love.

Here is a man who is not afraid to share the myraid emotions of what it is to be human, and rejoice in the vast confusion and rapture of it all. He stands tall and is not afraid to love, laugh at himself, cry, question why, heal the wounds, wander around in wonderlust for awhile trying to make sense of it all, and pick himself up off the ground, dust himself off and venture out to love yet again.

Stacey also teaches us all to take pleasure in the simple things of life; a smile, a touch, the beach, the sun & moon, a shining star.

behind all of it; he reaches into your soul to help you reconnect with the stories and myths of the ancients; so you may understandd that all of this has been going on since the beginning of time and the seasons and cycles will continue long after we are gone and have played our parts. So live and love in ecstasy.

The first, detailed, comprehensive, and thoroughly "user friendly" guidebook to some 200 of region's waterfalls, Gary Letcher's Waterfalls Of The Mid-Atlantic States provides directions to each beautiful site enabling the reader to use it as a guide book to experiencing these natural, beautiful wonders in person. Some of these sites are in or near major cities, others are tucked away in remote wilderness areas. The flowing falls are, for the most part, on national, state, and municipal parkland, forests, and game lands in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Each waterfall is rated on a scale of 1 to 5. The location information includes GPS coordinates; trail access and difficulty; waterfall type and source; geological factors; historical and culture features; and even the best times of the year to visit them. Enhanced with tips on waterfall photography and the author's "Seven Ways to Find the Height of a Waterfall", Waterfalls Of The Mid-Atlantic States is confidently recommended reading for tri-state area backpackers, hikers, canoeists, and anyone else with an appreciation for the natural beauty and spectacular wonder of falling water.

THis book is a must have for any outdoor enthusiasts, bikers who enjoy daytrips, photographers, families, and everyone in between!

This book not only SHOWS you these wonderful Natural Wonders, but also gives you the ability to travel to them and see them for yourself, the directions are fabulous!

Mr. Letcher goes a step further by providing history to the falls that will allow you to understand the nature of the falls as well as tell your children or friends each fall you visit.

THIS BOOK IS A MUST HAVE, YOU WONT BE DISAPPOINTED! i have already purchased several for gifts. THIS IS A GREAT GIFT BOOK~!

The Borden Murder Mystery, by Arthur S. Phillips

Andrew J. Borden accumulated large wealth through parsimonious thrift and "by means which fell within the letter of the law". Mr. Borden's "conduct in business matters had made him many enemies"; "the sharpest man in town". Borden was rumored to charge more for funeral services than actually provided. He raised rents for tenants who earned more. Borden's daughters did not enjoy the fittings of their social rank. Lizzie's character was benevolent in religious and charitable work. Reporter John J. Manning said the guest bedroom was "not very light", and a body could not have been seen from the hall. One photograph shows Andrew J. Jennings peeking from the front door closet while concealed therein. The walls and ceilings were covered with hundreds of blood spots, yet Lizzie's clothing had none. The murder weapon was never found. Denying counsel to Lizzie at the Inquest resulted in the exclusion of her testimony at the trial.

After forty years Arthur S. Phillips was the sole survivor of those who participated professionally in this trial. Phillips joined the defense team with all the enthusiasm of a new lawyer. "The mass of documents and other evidence collected by the defence have never been disclosed or discussed", because it would be necessary for any new police investigation. [Some believe this hidden history would solve the Borden murders.] A perfectly sane, normal woman without any criminal history could not hack her stepmother and father to death. Lizzie was believed guilty because no one else could have committed this crime. If Lizzie later showed a lack of mental balance it was because she lived alone, was ogled in public, and was very annoyed by public activities.

At the time of the murders there were two strangers loitering around the front of the house with a team as seen by Mark Chase, a former assistant to the Chief of Police. Dr. Benjamin J. Handy saw a stranger acting in an unusual and agitated manner. Mrs. Sarah R. Hart also saw him. The back screen door was unfastened during the morning. Lawyer Jennings was aided by George D. Robinson and Melvin O. Adams to avoid an "anti-climax", some minor matter that could unduly affect a jury. Phillips gives an example that refuted the claim of the Prosecutor that Lizzie was not up in the barn.

Public opinion is created and maintained by news stories and editorials in the press. The Fall River `Globe' produced stories to make Lizzie appear guilty, and that money and social position can "turn the wheels of justice". Bridget was detained by the prosecution and was unavailable to the defendant's attorneys. Andrew J. Borden was not liberal with his family, but Lizzie had $2,800 in her banks, plus textile shares and was not in want. Many children dislike a stepmother. Lizzie couldn't have committed the crime, but has been judged guilty by the classes. This is the real mystery, "Others had more reason to kill him" even if we do not know the reason for which it was done.