Tricksters in the Madhouse: Lakers vs. Globetrotters, 1948y John Christgau "[A] fascinating look at a chapter of Chicago sports lore I am embarrassed to say was not familiar to me: an incredible game at the stadium between George Mikan’s Minneapolis Lakers and the Goose Taum-Marques Haynes Globetrotters, deadly serious for once, for what might have been the unofficial world championship back in the days before pro basketball allowed black players in its ranks."—Ron Rapoport, Chicago Tribune. Blackout: The Untold Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Spring TrainingBy Chris Lamb "Lamb’s detailed and annotated research provides an in-depth examination of an important … Continue reading Crossing the Athletic Color Line

Spreading the Word by Richard T. Stillson “This unique analysis of information providers and users during the California Gold Rush is a smart read. Much of what Stillson discusses relates to concerns of the media in the present day, especially in terms of prospectors trying to determine if the established media is credible or if they should be relying on ‘local’ reports, referred to today as citizen journalism. Stillson’s book also includes useful appendixes to back up his intelligent, well-thought-out arguments. This book is a boon to the study of communications culture.”—True West Continue reading Praise for Spreading the Word

The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1855–1872: Volumes 1 and 2 Edited by Pierre A. Walker and Greg W. Zacharias “Luxuriously spacious design. . . . The textual editing of the letters is fantastically thorough, every blot, deletion, insertion and misspelling being lucidly presented in the text itself and further described in endnotes to each letter; for the reader this evokes the dash and spontaneity of James’s pen, and for the scholar it clarifies every possible ambiguity caused by that dash. . . . The letters themselves are so vivid, funny and revealing that [the edition] is already indispensable.”—Alan Hollinghurst, … Continue reading More Praise for The Complete Letters of Henry James

Houses of Study: A Jewish Woman Among Books by Ilana M. Blumberg “Tension wraps around the pages of Blumberg’s memoir, an ardent intellectual autobiography by a woman in love with both Jewish texts and secular literature. . . . [H]er memoir elucidates . . . the passion for study no matter what a person’s gender.”—Publishers Weekly “Houses of Study is a love affair with books. . . . For Blumberg, the pleasure of knowledge is always meant to be shared. . . . Her prose soars to a breathless lyricism when she enacts for us the pleasure and perils of … Continue reading Praise for Houses of Study

Because a Fire Was in My Head by Lynn Stegner “Stegner follows the tragic arc of Kate Riley, whose lifetime of self-destructive behavior takes her from rural Canada to a seaside cottage in northern California with plenty of gloomy pit stops along the way. . . . Kate’s downward spiral is undoubtedly grim, but Stegner punctuates it with muted hints of redemption; the result is uncommonly satisfying.”—Publishers Weekly “Brave and old-fashioned, Stegner’s supple use of language and precise evocation of period and place bring a literary intuitiveness to this inventive portrait of a scheming temptress, rendering with disarming psychological acuity … Continue reading Praise for Because a Fire Was in My Head

The fascinating and turbulent black America of the 1960s emerges in these essays, through the lenses of dissent and its contradictions. Gerald L. Early revisits this volatile time in American history, when class, culture, and race ignited conflagrations of bitterness and hatred across the nation. The lives of three active and influential people are given special attention: Cecil B. Moore, advocate and agitator in the “racial tinderbox” of black Philadelphia; Muhammad Ali, promoter of a “colored” consciousness; and Sammy Davis Jr., survivor of black vaudeville and liberator of black performers.       Continue reading This Is Where I Came In

‘ve been hard at work writing a grant and finishing up the story at Spies and Secretaries which goes off line as of March 1st. All this has left me no time for reading a novel, but has been a blessing since it gave me a chance to pick up Verse and Universe: Poems about Science and Mathematics edited by Kurt Brown.

My mother gave it to me this year for my birthday–she started me on poetry and my complete Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and several anthologies were either bought for me by her or stolen from her collection. There aren’t many books of poetry dedicated to science, but leave it to my mother to find one for me. I think you can get copies at Amazon.com from the New & Used section.

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Abraham Lincoln and a Nation Worth Fighting For By James A. Rawley with a new introduction by the author The many sides of Abraham Lincoln—war leader, humorist, commander in chief, politician, and emancipator—are vividly depicted in this concise and fresh look at his presidential years. The Real Lincoln: A PortraitBy Jesse W. Weik; Edited by Michael Burlingame In this latest edition of The Real Lincoln, Michael Burlingame has included dozens of original letters and interviews received by Weik between 1892 and 1922 that went into creating this work. Inside the White House in War Times: Memoirs and Reports of Lincoln’s … Continue reading Happy Birthday, President Lincoln