Kentucky Books

The subject-matter seems that of a physicist or a controls professor, not at all of a mathematician. Also there is a lot of unnecessary, pro-gradualism (institutional, communistic ) statements made throughout the text. In fact, the whole text, should be considered as verging on the edge of disaster. I feel only someone with some very modern, hard-core controls training and scholarship would really benefit much from reading this book. Even though it is obviously aimed at anyone with a first-year or even high-school calculus background.

My only real hope that the writing style of my reviews aren't this narcisisstic. I hope that in the performance control problem of life that my riding of its uni-cycle while I toss a ball doesn't annoy my core audience as much as this core fan was annoyed by this book.

Richard Bellman (1920 - 1984) was one of the most prolific
mathematicians. His early interest in pure mathematics was soon
eclipsed by a consuming passion for applications. He had great talent,
lots of energy, and the good fortune to be part of the most fertile
centres of mathematics and its applications: Los Alamos during the
Second World War, Princeton University and the RAND Corporation shortly
after. Bellman is credited, among other things, with the invention of
Dynamic Programming.

This book is based on the lectures Bellman delivered to a general
audience at the University of Kentucky. The book is unusual in that it
contains a little bit of substantial mathematics as well as much
exposition of the context of mathematics and the philosophy of
Bellman's approach to mathematics. The mathematics can be followed by
anyone who has taken a course in calculus. Yet it brings across the
essence of the ideas that were a breakthrough when Bellman developed
them in the 1950s. His contribution of invariant imbedding, for
example, is illustrated by alternative treatments of the problem of
determining how high a stone will go if you throw it upwards with a
given velocity. This is example is simple enough for a first calculus
course.

Even if you skip the few formulas, then you'll still be rewarded by
Bellman's masterly discourse on context and background. You will find
it a joy to read and think: "I didn't know a scientist could write
like this."

Sweeping Up Glass is the story of Olivia Harker, her family, her friends, and the hardships they all endure in rural 1938 Kentucky. The book introduces us to Olivia and her immediate surviving family, and then shifts off into about 15 chapters of back story. These chapters relate Olivia's childhood and her previous struggles with her mentally ill mother, her doting father, the love of her life, and the segregated black community in her area. Olivia encounters many hardships and setbacks as she grows up, and some are completely devastating. She grows from being a sweet and loving child into an acerbic and unbending woman. She is fiercely loyal in her love and ardently forceful in her hate. It is clear that her circumstances have shaped her. Olivia's daily existence is a tribulation that most would shrink from. Though she handles her situation with poise, she also carries more than a little bitterness. Olivia is a complex woman who is stubborn and resigned, yet still somehow hopeful. When we finally resume the action in the present, Olivia is faced with the realization that someone is killing the wolves that have always been protected residents of her land. Along with her grandson William, she attempts to track down the hunters. What she discovers is more than a simple poaching scheme, and the effects will be volatile to herself and the community.

The secondary plot revolves around Ida, Olivia's mother, who lives in a tar paper shack on the edge of her property. Ida is a fantastically rash character. She is mentally ill and has been abusive towards Olivia all her life; there is no love lost between them. Though Ida was absent for most of Olivia's adolescence, she returns to the family and creates havoc and heartache for Olivia and her father. Through all of her erratic behavior, Olivia's father, Tate Harker, remains loyal and steadfast to her. Yet Ida shows no reciprocation towards Tate, and remains cruel and unyielding. One of the interesting aspects of this book was the portrayal of the mental hospitals of the day. When Ida must retreat to one of these hospitals, Olivia visits to inspect it, and it is harrowing. The women there are either forced to be immobile or locked in small cages. Electroshock is mentioned, as are head shavings and ice baths. I had trouble with this section of the book, as it seemed a savage fate for Ida, one that Olivia didn't fully ruminate on. Though Ida had made some very bad choices in her life and didn't feel even the slightest bit of remorse, the choice to send her to that facility seemed heinous. It seems the author's point was that Olivia couldn't forgive Ida for what she had done and that as far as she was concerned, Ida was irredeemable. I feel that this section of the book may disturb many readers, and it was the only thing that marred my pleasure in this book. It was the only piece in the book that didn't seem to fit. The blatant cruelty of the decision was shocking.

Another aspect of the story involved Olivia's current relationship with her former high school sweetheart, Wing Harris. Olivia and Wing had only a brief time together before events separated them. Wing watched with stolid silence as Olivia went through horrible stages of her life, offering any help he could, while Olivia in her pride rejected him. As the book progresses, Wing and Olivia tackle the obstacles involved in their reconciliation. It is not as easy for them to reunite as one would hope. I liked the character of Wing because he was noble in the face of all his humiliations and trials, and he was always there when it mattered. Wing was a likeable character. Though somewhat sedate, he was unflinching in his honesty and loyalty.

The segregated black community portrayed in this book is poignant and revealing. Though they must remain separate from the whites, even having separate days for shopping at the local store, they embrace Olivia and her family as one of their own. The community's hardships are not harped upon, but relayed with respect to the adversity they faced. It was touching to see that there could indeed be no separation of color as far as Olivia's family was concerned. Themes of racial acceptance, real or imagined, hoped for or denied, ran through the book.

But as wolves continue to be slaughtered, Olivia unwittingly places herself and those she loves into the hands of unjust men who are trying to keep a devastating underground society alive. The story becomes a race to save those she loves, and the town, from certain destruction. Great forces are aligned against her, and it was with great trepidation that I realized the odds were against her. The many tiny revelations, along with the great, kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering if there was more to come, wondering how much more she and those of the town could take. Malice and discord sweep through the pages as the truths are slowly picked out. In addition, there are mysteries surrounding her father, secrets shrouded in perplexity that may indicate that her father was not the man she once knew.

This book had me hooked from the very first pages. The hard-scrabble daily existence of the characters was captivating and engrossing. The economies that had to be made were many, and the details of 1930's Kentucky were so precise that it was greatly absorbing. The language was rustic and simple, yet very clear and concise. I found myself wanting to know more about these people, to know more about their lives, hurts and victories. This book has a lot to say about the times that it portrays. The small issues and the great, neither is neglected. There are wise and humble characters as well as wicked and sinister ones. Love, anger, betrayal, duty, honor, racism, and death, forgiveness: they are all here. And the tapestry created is one of beautiful complexity.

By the end of the book, I was wishing I could spend more time with these characters, that they would not go. Aside from the aberration regarding the mental hospital, this was an outstanding debut novel. I will definitely read any other offerings from this author, and I wish her luck in her writing career.

In 1938 Kentucky, Olivia Harker Cross runs Harker's Grocery; her only help comes from preadolescent Will'm, whose mom Pauline dumped him on her before vanishing. Business is poor as no one can afford much. Looking back she thinks about her mom Ida living in a sanitarium in nearby Buelton, while her beloved Pap Tate ran a still and cared for ailing animals. Though married to Saul, for three decades Olivia has loved trumpeter Wing Harris who reciprocates, but neither has made the first move beyond howdy.

After Tate delivered a litter of puppies, he ran into James Arnold Phelps. Soon afterward Pap was dead and Ida had come home. Saul died not long afterward. Despondent, Olivia turned to Wing, but he rejected her. Even further upset, she chases after seedy male losers in dives.

However, she began to turn it around when Pauline dropped off Will'm on her as he is her salvation. When they hear shots fired by the mysterious Hunt Club members tracking silver-faced wolves, the pair becomes frightened as it is too cold to be outdoors hunting for sport. However, they soon have a bigger fear as the hunters stalk Olivia and Will'm.

Not for everyone as this is a strange historical thriller in which fans obtain a deep look at a beleaguered heroine who is seemingly betrayed by her loved ones whom she has loyally taken care of. Will'm is her redemption as Olivia will do whatever it takes to keep the boy safe although that might mean breaking the perceptions she and others have of her. Fans who enjoy something different will relish a tense look at Depression Era rural Kentucky.

Harriet Klausner

This is a very thoroughly researched book about snake-handling Pentecostals. I highly recommend it for an unbiased account of the practice. The author focused on one family, and did an incredible job of detailing the history of snake handling through them. The book covers everything from why these believers handle snakes, the very beginnings of the practice, the other "signs" (taking poison, handling fire), the basic doctrine of their church, the legal battles, the migration of the church & the snakes, the miracles, and the deaths. It also offers a wonderful history of the Saylor family, including their religious beliefs. I married into this family not even knowing that snake handling existed outside of old-time circuses and music videos, and after reading this book have a MUCH better grasp of the whole concept. Though all 53 of the photos are black & white, they add quite a bit. Even if you have no interest in purposefully picking up a rattlesnake or drinking strychnine, or don't even know who the Saylors are, this book gives the reader a front row pew on a part of American culture few people will ever experience.

Being a snake handling buff and unable to read David L. Kimbrough's, Taking Up Serpents for years, I finally had the pleasure. Kimbrough's work far surpasses anything else that has been written on the subject. Kimbrough being an Appalachian and Ph.D. sets the standard for doing oral research along with combing the archieves.
Kimbrough's work focuses on the Saylor family in eastern Kentucky and shows how the movement evolved. Kimbrough illustrates how the snake handling movement gained momentum when industrial capitalism surfaced in Kentucky.
The work is simply the best source for scholars and people with a general interest in snake handliing. No other book comes close to this masterpiece.

What did I know about the Battle of the Bulge before I read this book? Well, not very much, even though I read about war and warfare all the time. Watching Band of Brothers I got the impression that Easy Company more or less saved the day for everybody involved in the Allied offensive, and well, that was it. No more Hitler and no more WWII.

Not so. And that's quite clear after reading The Unknown Dead. However, I didn't learn that much about the war per se, even though quite a few pages talk about different battles and offensives and personal experiences et cetera. What I did learn, however, was that there were more people on the battlefield than just the Allied forces and the stubborn Germans. There were regular people present as well, and the sufferings these people who happened to be in the middle of the fighting were, to say the least, extremely horrific. This becomes very clear throughout the book, and Schrijvers does an amazing job telling the stories about these somewhat forgotten people. From time to time it might feel a little repetitive, but then again, the sufferings they had to endure WERE repetitive. And the only way to make the reader aware of how it really was is to tell it all, so this isn't really much of an issue.

However, what I liked the most about the book was the honesty, or in other words, the fact that Schrijvers never hesitates to - sometimes in quite gruesome detail - describe scenarios where not just the Germans and especially the Waffen SS and Gestapo executed people in cold blood or committed other mindless atrocities. The GIs too could be ruthless killers and totally lacking any sense of moral or discipline in the ways they interacted with the horrified civilians. This might be extremely uncomfortable to some, but hey, that's the way it was, and if you cannot deal with the fact that not all Allies were good and honest heroes, then the problem is with your look on reality, and not with Schrijvers' book.

All in all The Unknown Dead is as interesting as it is necessary, and I really do hope that Peter Schrijvers decides to write other books such as this one about other important battles in the WWII.

This book is a must read for everyone intrested in the Battle of the Bulge! It is about a "forgotten" fact of this battle, the suffering of the civilians. Untill now in every book about this Battle, hardly any information can be found about the Belgian population and how they suffered. Most historians and writers wrote untill now that there were only very limited casualties among the civilians. This book proves that this is not correct! The Belgian people did not only suffer from the Germans in this Battle, also due to the military action of the American and British armed forces many civilians died! Bombings by the American forces caused terrible suffering. In this book - which is a must read - we get another picture of the Battle of the Bulge and the suffering is has caused.

SHIPPER ADEQUATELY DESCRIBED ITEM AND SHIPPED PROMPTLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND. WE'VE THOUGHLY ENJOYED READING AND LATER DISCUSSING THE BOOK!

I first discovered this book, when it was a required reading for folklore class I had in college. This book not only includes information about what happened in Kentucky in the past, it also includes a lot of customs of the present day. One chapter focuses on hangouts and customs of young people in Kentucky, including cruising and string racing. Montell also includes a lot of pictures. I was amazed to see some pictures of people and places from my own county. Although I prefer Montell's other books (like Ghosts Along the Cumberland) that focus on particular folk stories, this was still interesting enough for me to read.

The history of Vietnam is obscure to most Westerners, at least prior to the Indo-China war of the fifties. This book attempts to fill that gap, and provide a short overview of the history of the nation over the last thousand years or so. Given that it's a short book (text runs to just over 200 pages) it does a good job.

Vietnam has been wracked by wars and conquests during most of the period covered by the book, and make no mistake, that's the author's focus. There's nothing about culture, literature, art, science, or ordinary life in this book: it's about politics, and warfare. The author spends one chapter dealing with the period pre-French conquest, and a second covering the period of French colonialism. The rest of the book covers the Vietnam Wars from 1946-1975, with a brief chapter after chronicling the country's history since the end of the war.

This is a good book, given its limited scope. The author has much to say about the war, most of it critical of American and South Vietnamese leadership. Hey, they did lose the war! The book also doesn't flinch from recounting atrocities by both sides, recounting them judiciously, and not taking sides.

If I have a criticism of the book, it's that it's too short. Two hundred pages doesn't do justice to the history of the war at less than an overview level, and trying to fit the last thousand years in there too was perhaps a bit much. I found myself wishing for more.

As someone who grew up during the Vietnam era, I wanted to read a book that would give me some understanding of what went on during the Vietnam war. I was a bit too young to really comprehend the current events as they were happening but too old for the Vietnam war to be covered in the history books I studied in school.

This book provides a good, succinct overview of the military aspects of the war. While there are allusions to events outside the military realm (the protests back in the U.S., Kennedy's assasination, etc.) the focus is definitely on the war itself. While the main focus is on the period in which the U.S. was involved in Vietnam, a significant part of the book is devoted to setting the context for that period (wars in Vietnam during ancient times and, especially the French Indo-China wars). There is also a short section on what happened after the U.S. left Vietnam. This context is interesting since the author points out how many of the mistakes made by the U.S. had been made by others during earlier times.

The book is quite brief (204 pages), so the author does not go into great depth on anything. For example, the My Lai massacre takes up only a very brief paragraph. If you're looking for an in depth analysis of the war, you would probably be better off with another book. However, as a brief overview, I thought the book was quite well done.

This excellent collection of essays moves away from the "grand man" approach to Civil War history which focuses too often on generals and politicians to refocus on the common soldiers who actually endured the war. The basic assumption of the collection's authors, according to editor Sheehan-Dean, is that "soldiers are real historical actors who have the potential to shape, not simply respond to, their environment."

So, for example, the various authors argue (1) that Northern soldiers, disgusted by their firsthand experience of slavery as they moved southward and recognizing that slavery was a key point of Southern resistance, began to advocate for emancipation long before the Northern public; (2) that Southern soldiers grew in hatred for their Northern enemies as the war took on "total" qualities, and that tales of fraternization between Rebs and Yanks are much exaggerated; (3) that Christian soldiers on both sides were religiously ambivalent about their participation in the horrific killing of the war, often undergoing religious crises in their efforts to reconcile religious rhetoric encouraging holy war and Christ's commands to love one's enemies; (4) that after a certain point in the war, southern soldiers tended to be so trapped in their own horrible world of fighting, privation, and diminished hope that they misunderstood and resented civilians who complained about their own (very real)hardships; (5) that the voluntary nature of the northern and southern armies stamped many soldiers in the ranks with a self-confident autonomy that ill-tolerated self-important by-the-book officers; and that (6) the rough conditioning of the battlefield left at least some Northern troops with few inhibitions about calling for the exile or death of Copperheads.

Now, all this is fascinating, and the essays that defend these theses are well-written and well-researched. But there seems a crucial tension in all this that I wish the authors had explored. Granted, Civil War soldiers were historical actors, not simply pawns. In fact, given the voluntary nature of the armies, they probably exerted more autonomy than any U.S. soldiers since. But at the same time, they were also the same men who allowed themselves to be slaughtered time and again by stupid or foolhardy or enraged officers who ordered them to make impossible or unnecessary assaults. What is needed is more thought on this unbearable tension between autonomy and powerlessness in the Civil War soldier's experience. I look forward to the authors in this collection taking on such a project.

As a non-American, my knowledge of the American Civil War is very limited. To be quite honest; I don't know a whole lot of it, besides that the two sides were the Union in the north with soldiers wearing blue uniforms, and the Confederacy in the south with soldiers dressed in gray. The slave issue wasn't the only matter fought over - even though it was obviously a very important matter indeed - and throughout the war several of the great battles of military history were fought, for instance the battle at Gettysburg, which also became the turning point of the war.

This is, in a nutshell, basically all I knew and thought of whenever someone mentioned the American Civil War. (Okay, fine... I also thought of Patrick Swayze's character Orry Main from TV-series North and South. Well, actually, the one I really thought of was the lady he secretly dated. And especially her cleavage. But don't blame me, I was young and impressionable.)

This highly limited knowledge - combined with the fact that when it comes to books about war and war history I find it much more stimulating to read about the ones who actually fought the war instead of what tactics the leaders used and the politics behind their decisions - resulted in me eagerly anticipating to get started on The View From the Ground.

Because this book does indeed focus on the soldiers who were maimed and killed on the battlefields. The reader is invited to share the thoughts and feelings of these men about such issues as slaves and race relations, the image of the enemy, the conflict at large, the civilian population, and the multitude of religious and moral dilemmas that soldiers of faith had to deal with.

At large, all ten contributions are highly interesting; especially since the reader realizes that the war wasn't exclusively about the issue of slaves and that many of the Union soldiers didn't care too much either about the non-whites. However, the two contributions that really stand out are David W. Rolfs' "No Nearer Heaven Not but Rather Farther Off: The Religious Compromises and Conflicts of Northern Soldiers" and Kent T. Dollar's "Strangers in a Strange Land: Christian Soldiers in the Early Months of the Civil War", two essays dealing with the bizarre compromise where faithful Christians were able to justify the ritualized and sanctioned mass-killings that active warfare, when it comes down to it, actually means.

The book contains no photographs or illustrations whatsoever, and that's definitely most unfortunate.

A well written book interspersing genuine letters from her family with observations and historical details provided by the author. It is interesting from a "slice of life" perspective but also for the historical record of the Civil War as recorded by those actually experiencing it. It should especially captivate those living in Kentucky and familiar with the towns and families discussed.

This absorbing book, which consists mostly of the actual letters of the Clay family, draws the reader in as well as any fictional account ever could. Few of the letter writers actually see combat, so the book is largely an account of ordinary life against the backdrop of the war. Though some letters offer insight into the political realities and trade-offs of the period, it is the intimate details of everyday life and human relations that fascinate. Mary Clay is never intrusive in her comments that bridge and sometimes explain the letters.

I was disappointed to see that some pertinent films of WWII were left out of this book. Lillian Hellman is mentioned for two lesser known works, but excluded completely are, "Watch on the Rhine"(1943) and "The Little Foxes"(1941)which deal directly/indirectly with fascism. "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941) with Charles Boyer and Olivia DeHavilland, about refugees and their struggles, has been omitted.

There were missed musicals, such as "Babes on Broadway"(1941)with Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney which had entire scene, and original song/subplot devoted to the refugee children from Britain. "For Me and My Gal",(1942) Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, portrays WWI experiences to WWII audience. Also, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) was in production during Pearl Harbor attack and script was adjusted to promote more support for WWII.

Additional exclusions were the homefront "Hargrove" films with Robert Walker and Donna Reed--"See Here, Private Hargrove"(1943), and "What's Up, Corporal Hargrove"(1944). The "Male Animal" (1941) with Henry Fonda, is set on a college campus, but has politics/extremism focus. "Janie Gets Married" (1946) Joan Leslie, is a light comedy about a new bride helping her husband adjust to post WWII lifestyle.

This book deals with more "serious" films of the era, but the lighter, comical, and musical creations also conveyed ideals, feelings, directly or indirectly re: WWII.

World War II films have always been recognized as quintessential patriotic movies. There are anecdotes of young men going directly from movies such as "Salute to the Marines" and "Fighting Seabees" to military recruiters. But the co-authors take a more analytic look at the broad category of American popular movies during the World War II years. They find that the category was more diverse than generally realized, and that its purposes and effects were more subtle than seen in the inspiring films of military exploits. For example, the movie "Casablanca," for all its film noirish intrigue and memorable performances, "presented [the Germans] not only as bad but also as defeatable." This was undoubtedly an important message for the American public in the early days of the War when the Germans appeared invincible in their conquest of the nations of Europe. Surveying the wide, diversified field of WWII films, the authors with academic backgrounds in literature at Illinois State U. examine how many films went beyond simply evoking patriotism to maintaining support for the War on the "home front" and to forming perspectives and expectations on it and characterizing the enemy. The wartime films dealt with all significant aspects of the War, including portrayals of Russians, British, and other allies. The cycle of the films in relation to the course of the War is a thread of the wide-ranging, multidisciplinary study in a readable style appealing to film-lovers as well as ones interested in popular culture, social history, and cultural studies. Preston Sturges' June 1944 release "Hail the Conquering Hero" coming near the end of the body of wartime films deals with the adjustment of servicemen returning to civilian life.

These poems piece together the narrative of an American family's wrenching migration from a long-evolved culture of farms and mines in Appalachia to an industrial city, where they become 'hillbillies' in the eyes of their urban neighbours. Geographically, the move is only two hundred miles, but in human terms the upheaval rivals that of the family's Celtic ancestors who made their way from Ulster and Wales to the New World colonies. Change, with its inevitable gains and losses, informs this journey from a backwoods legacy of the mule-drawn plough to the hustle of an anonymous assembly line. The poet draws on childhood sensibilities to explore the theme and to craft memory into language.

Jeri McCormick was born in the Kentucky Appalachians and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the recipient of a 1997 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship, funded by the National Endowment for the Ar ts. Following a year in Dublin earlier in the decade, she returns annually to Ireland. In 1994 she was a prize-winner in the Boyle Arts Festival Poetry Competition. She is currently at work on a manuscript inspired by a visit to the Famine Museum at Strokestown, Co. Roscommon. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin and teaches creative writing.

This book is the kind that makes you instantly envious when you see it: paperback, nice cover, name on the spine, ISBN number, bar code for big name book dealers, not self-published, and fits nicely on the shelf next to Old Possum's Book of Jellicle Cats. McCormick's poetry is focuses on her childhood. She drags us back and forth from the big city to the hillbilly homes of Tennessee. Strongly relational we relive her friends and family. This world is a sepia print filled with scenes of mining, the war effort, railroads and new fangled electrical gizmos sparking to life. She flushes out her characters well, most notably in, "One the Road with Betty Black". This marvel is about a high-spirited fireball who like her car, breaks down , "when motherhood settles into the driver's seat." Her poem "Journey" also ranks highly, in that literally paints the details of the town, brush stroke by brush stroke. She uses, "bronze-leaved woods", "red-knucked farmers", and "November's brown mouth" forming a distinct autumnal painting, until "nightfall erases all" and the poem washes bitterly black. She rescues the poem/painting by "puncturing the high banks of darkness" and allowing dabs of sparkles to flow through.