The evolution of the railroad business was forseen and then affected more by one man than by the entire rest of the industry. The life-story of Bill Brosnan is a compelling account of a man obsessed with ensuring the long term viability of railroads in general and the Southern Railroad in particular. Some readers may be discouraged from reading this book due to its length, but for those who do start it in earnest, learning of Brosnan's timely intiatives and inventions and observing his unique management style make this book hard to put down. The book's sub-title, "The Railroad's Mesiah" is well put and if you have any interest in 20th century railroading or just in business biographies, this book is full of surprises.

I recently asked a friend, a Shakespeare professor, what she thought about the argument advanced in this book, which I had read perhaps a year previously. I was surprised to hear her say she wasn't acquainted with it. Hamilton seems to demonstrate soundly that the text known to us as the "Second Maiden's Tragedy" could originally have been titled "Cardenio" (a known "lost" Shakespeare play) since its plot appears to be drawn from a character of that name in "Don Quixote" and the current title appears to have been a working title applied by the royal censor. More dramatically, Hamilton (a nationally prominent forensic handwriting authority) argues that the handwriting in the survivng original manuscript of this play and that of Shakespeare's will are by the same man. Given Hamilton's stature in that field alone, I'd have expected the book to have drawn more attention. I don't know if the arguments in the book have been subjected to sound refutation by someone more expert than me, but to this journeyman Shakespeare buff he makes a solid enough case to bear hearing out

It is remarkable what Charles Burchfield could do with what might be considered ordinary subjects, taken from an ordinary Midwestern field or sky or Main Street. He painted the mundane work-a-day life: "Freight Cars Under a Bridge;" "Wires Down," "Return of the Lake Fishermen," "Old Tavern at Hammondsville, Ohio." But I think he will ultimately be remembered for the nature paintings, that he deeply imbued with his personal symbolism of both vision and sound. Check out his "Song of the Telegraph" or "Autumnal Fantasy" if you'd like to see how he incorporated sound into his paintings--they're both shown in this catalogue (unfortunately there are only seventeen color plates. The majority of the illustrations are black and white).

In 1916-18 Burchfield executed a series of imaginative watercolors originating from childhood memories, and based for the most part on nature, e.g. "Dandelion Seed Balls and Trees," "Passing Shower in June," "In the Swamp," and "Insect Chorus" --another of his wonderful 'sound' paintings. In 1921 he moved from Ohio to Buffalo, New York where he became interested in the heartland architecture of the 1870s and 1880s. He began to paint the Mid-Western scene in a more realistic spirit. This is the period when his output consisted of railroad bridges ("Black Iron" 1935), locomotive repair shops, grain elevators, etc.

The latter subject, painted in oils in 1938 seems to have caused an epiphany for Burchfield. He considered it the most disappointing painting of his career and abandoned the oil medium completely. By 1943 he completed his return to the more imaginative and romantic vision of his early work. Some of my favorite watercolors are from this period: "The Sphinx and the Milky Way" (1946); "Hush Before the Storm" (1947); "Orion in December" (1959); "Dandelion Seed Heads and the Moon" (1961 - 65).

This catalogue of Burchfield's paintings (mainly watercolor) segments his work by year, starting with 1911 when he graduated as valedictorian of his high school class, through 1967, when he died of a heart attack on January 10th. There is an extensive bibliography of Burchfield's publications, and works about him, plus an index of his catalogued works (with a page number if the painting is illustrated in this catalogue). The author also includes a short biography, photographs, maps, and a brief summary of each year in Burchfield's career, e.g. 1923: "Birth of first child, Mary Alice. He became interested in Russian [music]...which seemed in harmony..." with what he was trying to express in his paintings.

This catalogue is a must for all serious Burchfield admirers. For more information on this American artist, check out his entries in the online artcyclopedia.

Charles Chestnutt's A Conjure Woman is a collection of short stories told by a former slave named Julius to a White couple who have recently moved to the South. Written at the turn of the century, Chestnutt was addressing a primarily White audience who were recovering from Reconstruction and were fond of plantation-style literature which looked upon slavery with nostalgia. On the surface, the author seems to be catering to the nostalgic pre-Civil War idea, but in actuality, Julius' stories have a much deeper moral which reveal a harsh and terrible way of life for Blacks of the time. Mixed with elements of magic and conjuring, Julius' seems to be telling fanciful fairy tales, but with a closer look, one realizes that Chestnutt has no fondness or nostalgia for the times of slavery. This is a well-written and thought-provoking book and it is an important novel of America's history.

One cannot help but notice that in 19th Century English literature a lot of drinking (and eating) is the order of the day. Especially in the works of Charles Dickens, one is either in the local, gin shop, or having a "cordial" in a character's house. Convivial Dickens is the reference guide to the waxing and waning popularity of beer, gin and mixed drinks in Victorian England-specifically the England of Dickens. Each chapter covers a specific drink, beer or gin for example, gives the story of its popularization/decline, and includes recipes taken directly from 19th Century bartending guides. These allow the reader to do some "research" on their own, to fully enjoy the atmosphere of the times.
A pretty useful companion to any of Dickens' works, recommended.

If you're interested in this sort of thing as I am this book could be of great value however the price is unreal. I have a CD that does much the same for the entire country at a third the price of one state however this book is MUCH more accurate and shows county boundaries that only occured for as little as three days. The CD is also easier to use. That said I'll likely ask for the book as one of those Christmas presents I wouldn't buy for myself.

This book truly expresses the depth and universality of Christ's offer of redemption. Although some have called him difficult, Williams writes with wonderful erudition and style. This is my favorite book by Williams. If you like the writing of C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald, I recommend this book.

How excellent to have these materials collected and republished!

However, on the nitpicking level: Charles Williams was never a member of the Golden Dawn organization. (Lobdell indicates that he was.) Williams was for a long time a member of A. Waite's alternative to the Golden Dawn, the F.R.C. The F.R.C stood in relation to the Golden Dawn as the Lutheran Communion stands to Roman Catholicism, i.e., a historically related, but intentionally separated, group.

I keep the book next to my desk. I am asked on many occasions for referrals for students at risk. This is definitely a book to keep around. I look forward to future installments.

How many other books of this type have a chapter concerning how to deal with a UFO crash? Seriously, Chapter 13 is entitled "Enemy Attack and UFO Potential." I've always been a skeptic concerning these types of things, but when a completely serious book like this has a chapter about dealing with UFOs (and one of the authors claims to have seen one), you just have to wonder...