MBR: The American History Shelf
Midwest Book Review
Scenes Of Visionary Enchantment
Dayton Duncan
University of Nebraska Press
233 N. 8th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0255
www.nebraskapress.unl.edu
0803217242 $22.00 1-800-755-1105
There have been a great many fine books published in the last year on
Lewis and Clark. One of the very best of those books is Dayton Duncan's
Scenes Of Visionary Enchantment: Reflections On Lewis And Clark and
richly deserves ongoing recommendation beyond the famous expedition's
anniversary date. Presenting Duncan's retracing of the Corps of
Discovery's route from St. Louis to the Pacific and back - four
different times in the past twenty years, his travelogue commentary
provides keen insights on people and places seen along the way,
emphasizing why Lewis and Clark's discoveries remain so important
today.
Lewis & Clark Revisited
Reg MacGregor
University of Washington Press
PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 981455096
www.washington.edu/uwpress/
0295983434 $29.95 1-206-543-4050
Another classic guide to Lewis and Clark which stands out from the
crowd, Lewis And Clark Revisited: A Photographer's Trail follows the
famed explorer's route and packs in a wealth of black and white photos
of the Lewis and Clark experience. Almost ten years ago photographer
Reg MacGregor began his journey following the Lewis and Clark route,
photographing the country along the way. Highly recommended for both
simple browing and serious study, Lewis And Clark Revisited provides a
fine - often thought-provoking - set of images reflecting a
much-changed land since the original expeditions.
The Fate Of Corps
Larry E. Morris
Yale University Press
Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040
www.yalebooks.com
0300102658 $30.00 1-800-987-7323
OK, it's another Lewis and Clark title - but with a big difference: The
Fate Of The Corps: What Became Of The Lewis And Clark Explorers After
The Expedition doesn't rehash or re-follow the expedition: it discusses
the ultimate fate of the thirty-plus members of the Corps of Discovery
which constituted Lewis and Clark's force. Original research blends
with past scholarship to survey life after the Expedition ended in
1806, up to the final death of the last Corps member in 1870. Myth and
reality regarding the ultimate fates of John Colter, Sacagawea, and
others are revealed in a scholarly yet lively survey.
Exploring With Lewis And Clark
James J. Holmberg, editor
University of Oklahoma Press
4100 28th Avenue, NW, Norman, OK 73069
www.oupress.com
080613674X $45.00 1-800-627-7377
Strongly recommended for academic library collections as an American
History primary resource, Exploring With Lewis And Clark: The 1804
Journal Of Charles Floyd presents a journal of expeditionary writings
by Sergeant Charles Floyd, one of the first three men enlisted in Lewis
and Clark's Corps of Discovery. Born in 1782, Floyd kept a precise
diary of the expedition, yet he sadly succumbed to a ruptured appendix
and became the only member to die during this epic journey of
discovery, losing his life near present-day Sioux City. Exploring with
Lewis and Clark photographically reproduces the pages Floyd wrote in
his own handwriting, a typeface transcript for easy reading, extensive
historical and context notes, and a thoughtfully informative
introduction. Skillfully edited by James Holmberg and illustrated with
a handful of photographs and artwork, Exploring With Lewis And Clark is
a superbly presented primary source of American history, and an
impressive contribution to the study of the Lewis & Clark expedition
that is not to be missed.
Art Deco New York
David Garrard Lowe
Watson-Guptill
770 Broadway, New York NY 10003
www.watsonguptill.com
0823002845 $40.00 1-800-451-1741
Art Deco New York is more than just another presentation of samples:
it's a rich history which focuses on the major hallmarks of the design
evident throughout New York City, and also considers the underlying
social and political movements which helped create and foster them. Art
Deco New York holds the ability to appeal to two audiences: art deco
students, and New Yorkers who would understand some of the foundation
works of their city. Color and black and white photos throughout lends
to a rich presentation.
Building The Loom City
S. Ardis Abbott
Dorrance Publishing
701 Smithfield Street, 3rd Floor, Pittsburgh, Pa 15222-3906
0805961356 $15.00 1-800-788-7654
The Industrial Revolution is one of the turning points of American
history, and the period just prior to the 19th century saw mechanized
inventions advance by leaps - as seen in Rockville, Connecticut, a
former leading woolen textile manufacturing center. Immigrant and mill
worker history contributes to this survey of how a small village
changed to turn itself into such a producer. An intriguing story of how
change was achieved, Building The Loom City: Rockville, Connecticut,
1821-1908 is a welcome and highly recommended addition to American
History reference collections.
Small Town
Granville Hicks
Fordham University Press
2546 Belmont Avenue, University Box L, Bronx, NY 10458-5172
0823223574 $26.00 fordhampress.com.
Granville Hicks (1901-1982) wrote reviews, essays, novels, and works of
literary history and criticism for more than fifty years. In 1946 Hicks
wrote Small Town in which he gave his readers a fascinating and
timeless portrait of life in the rural crossroads of Grafton, New York.
This was a small community to which had had moved after being fired for
his left-wing political views from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In
Small Town, Hicks combined hand-crafted ethnography research with his
personal reflections on the qualities of small town life as they were
being threatened by post-war encroachments by spreading cities and
expanding suburbs. Hicks eloquently defined the essential qualities of
small town community life and linked to hem to the best features of
American popular and political culture. Long out of print and highly
recommended reading for students of twentieth century American culture
and history, this new edition of Small Town is enhanced for a new
generation of readers with an informed and informative introduction by
Warren F. Broderick and a preface by Ron Powers.
Jefferson And Madison On Separation Of Church And State
Lenni Brenner, editor
Barricade Books
185 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 308-A, Fort Lee, NJ 07024
1569802734 !6.95 barricadebooks.com
Jefferson And Madison On Separation Of Church And State: Writings On
Religion And Secularism is painstakingly compiled and professionally
edited by historian, journalist, lecturer and freethinker Lenni
Brenner. In today's political climate of red states and blue states,
neo-cons and the religious right, "family values" and federally funded
"faith-based" initiative, prayer in public schools and moves to
constitutionally deny gay marriage, a renewed look at the thoughts and
comments by two of our most influential founding fathers on the subject
of religion and the state is both timely and needed. The selections
comprising this highly recommended reference for politicians, clergy,
and non-specialist general readers with a stake in the separation of
church and state, draw from correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and
James Madison and other notable figures of early American history
including George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Law, John Jay, Tom
Paine, William Bradford, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Of special note
are two appendices in which the timelines of Jefferson and Madison's
lives are presented, and a "Scholar's Afterword" which traces the
history of religion in American politics from the Civil War to the
present day. Urgently recommended reading!
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