The Driftless Reader

The Driftless Reader

Author: Curt Meine

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780299314804

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The enchanting, enigmatic Driftless Area of the Upper Midwest is anthologized here with readings and illustrations from the region's Native people, explorers, scientists, historians, farmers, journalists, poets, and artists, including Black Hawk, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Aldo Leopold, August Derleth, and David Rhodes.


Book Synopsis The Driftless Reader by : Curt Meine

Download or read book The Driftless Reader written by Curt Meine and published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The enchanting, enigmatic Driftless Area of the Upper Midwest is anthologized here with readings and illustrations from the region's Native people, explorers, scientists, historians, farmers, journalists, poets, and artists, including Black Hawk, Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frank Lloyd Wright, Aldo Leopold, August Derleth, and David Rhodes.


Driftless

Driftless

Author: David Rhodes

Publisher: Milkweed Editions

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1571318003

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“A fast-moving story about small town life with characters that seem to have walked off the pages of Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology.”—The Wall Street Journal The few hundred souls who inhabit Words, Wisconsin, are an extraordinary cast of characters. The middle-aged couple who zealously guards their farm from a scheming milk cooperative. The lifelong invalid, crippled by conflicting emotions about her sister. A cantankerous retiree, haunted by childhood memories after discovering a cougar in his haymow. The former drifter who forever alters the ties that bind a community. In his first novel in 30 years, David Rhodes offers a vivid and unforgettable look at life in small-town America. “[Rhodes’s] finest work yet . . . Driftless is the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years.”—Chicago Tribune “Set in a rural Wisconsin town, the book presents a series of portraits that resemble Edgar Lee Masters’s ‘Spoon River Anthology’ in their vividness and in the cumulative picture they create of village life.”—The New Yorker “Encompassing and incisive, comedic and profound, Driftless is a radiant novel of community and courage.”—Booklist (starred review) “A welcome antidote to overheated urban fiction . . . A quiet novel of depth and simplicity.”—Kirkus Reviews “It takes a while for all these stories to kick in, but once they do, Rhodes shows he still knows how to keep readers riveted. Add a blizzard, a marauding cougar and some rabble-rousing militiamen, and the result is a novel that is as affecting as it is pleasantly overstuffed.”—Publishers Weekly


Book Synopsis Driftless by : David Rhodes

Download or read book Driftless written by David Rhodes and published by Milkweed Editions. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fast-moving story about small town life with characters that seem to have walked off the pages of Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology.”—The Wall Street Journal The few hundred souls who inhabit Words, Wisconsin, are an extraordinary cast of characters. The middle-aged couple who zealously guards their farm from a scheming milk cooperative. The lifelong invalid, crippled by conflicting emotions about her sister. A cantankerous retiree, haunted by childhood memories after discovering a cougar in his haymow. The former drifter who forever alters the ties that bind a community. In his first novel in 30 years, David Rhodes offers a vivid and unforgettable look at life in small-town America. “[Rhodes’s] finest work yet . . . Driftless is the best work of fiction to come out of the Midwest in many years.”—Chicago Tribune “Set in a rural Wisconsin town, the book presents a series of portraits that resemble Edgar Lee Masters’s ‘Spoon River Anthology’ in their vividness and in the cumulative picture they create of village life.”—The New Yorker “Encompassing and incisive, comedic and profound, Driftless is a radiant novel of community and courage.”—Booklist (starred review) “A welcome antidote to overheated urban fiction . . . A quiet novel of depth and simplicity.”—Kirkus Reviews “It takes a while for all these stories to kick in, but once they do, Rhodes shows he still knows how to keep readers riveted. Add a blizzard, a marauding cougar and some rabble-rousing militiamen, and the result is a novel that is as affecting as it is pleasantly overstuffed.”—Publishers Weekly


The Driftless Area

The Driftless Area

Author: Tom Drury

Publisher: Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published: 2012-11-27

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 080219320X

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From the award-winning author of The End of Vandalism. “Equal parts heist caper, ghost story and romance . . . in prose that is spare and sly.” (The New York Times) Set in the rugged region of the Midwest that gives the novel its title, The Driftless Area is the story of Pierre Hunter, a young bartender with unfailing optimism, a fondness for coin tricks, and an uncanny capacity for finding trouble. When he falls in love, with the mysterious and isolated Stella Rosmarin, Pierre becomes the central player in a revenge drama he must unravel and bring to its shocking conclusion. Along the way he will liberate $77,000 from a murderous thief, summon the resources that have eluded him all his life, and come to question the very meaning of chance and mortality. For nothing is as it seems in The Driftless Area. Identities shift, violent secrets lie in wait, the future can cause the past, and love becomes a mission that can take you beyond this world. In its tender, cool irony, The Driftless Area recalls the best of neonoir, and its cast of bona fide small-town eccentrics adrift in the American Midwest make for a clever and deeply pleasurable read from one of our most beloved authors. “Drury is nothing less than a wizard . . . Not since Twin Peaks has he rural surreal had such an artful airing.” —The Boston Globe “Superb . . . by one of America’s finest, most imaginative authors.” —San Francisco Chronicle “With deceptively simple prose, Drury is able to evoke characters and scenes in just a few brush strokes.” —Los Angeles Times


Book Synopsis The Driftless Area by : Tom Drury

Download or read book The Driftless Area written by Tom Drury and published by Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. This book was released on 2012-11-27 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the award-winning author of The End of Vandalism. “Equal parts heist caper, ghost story and romance . . . in prose that is spare and sly.” (The New York Times) Set in the rugged region of the Midwest that gives the novel its title, The Driftless Area is the story of Pierre Hunter, a young bartender with unfailing optimism, a fondness for coin tricks, and an uncanny capacity for finding trouble. When he falls in love, with the mysterious and isolated Stella Rosmarin, Pierre becomes the central player in a revenge drama he must unravel and bring to its shocking conclusion. Along the way he will liberate $77,000 from a murderous thief, summon the resources that have eluded him all his life, and come to question the very meaning of chance and mortality. For nothing is as it seems in The Driftless Area. Identities shift, violent secrets lie in wait, the future can cause the past, and love becomes a mission that can take you beyond this world. In its tender, cool irony, The Driftless Area recalls the best of neonoir, and its cast of bona fide small-town eccentrics adrift in the American Midwest make for a clever and deeply pleasurable read from one of our most beloved authors. “Drury is nothing less than a wizard . . . Not since Twin Peaks has he rural surreal had such an artful airing.” —The Boston Globe “Superb . . . by one of America’s finest, most imaginative authors.” —San Francisco Chronicle “With deceptively simple prose, Drury is able to evoke characters and scenes in just a few brush strokes.” —Los Angeles Times


The Driftless Land

The Driftless Land

Author: Kevin Koch

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780982248966

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The Driftless Land, a collection of essays by Kevin Koch, is a search for the spirit of place among the bluffs, woodlands, and prairies of the Upper Mississippi River valley. The Midwest is commonly known for its flatlands, for oceans of corn pressing towards the horizon beneath a big sky. Lesser known are the steep hills and bluffs, the ravines and towering rock outcroppings where the upper Mississippi carves its meandering path. These rugged lands amid the prairies are known as The Driftless Area, a 20,000 square-mile region of northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, southeast Minnesota, and southwest and central Wisconsin, bypassed by most of the glaciers. Koch observes, "You can 'love nature' and 'love the land'--but you won't know place until you've walked slowly and attentively through Lost Canyon or the Kickapoo Valley Reserve or Swiss Valley or Trempealeau Mountain, and then returned to learn what you can about them." Hidden within the woodlands are the imprints of human history and the deeper geological story as well, the story of a land untouched by the ancient onslaught of leveling glaciers. The result is a call to know place deeply, whatever place you inhabit.


Book Synopsis The Driftless Land by : Kevin Koch

Download or read book The Driftless Land written by Kevin Koch and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Driftless Land, a collection of essays by Kevin Koch, is a search for the spirit of place among the bluffs, woodlands, and prairies of the Upper Mississippi River valley. The Midwest is commonly known for its flatlands, for oceans of corn pressing towards the horizon beneath a big sky. Lesser known are the steep hills and bluffs, the ravines and towering rock outcroppings where the upper Mississippi carves its meandering path. These rugged lands amid the prairies are known as The Driftless Area, a 20,000 square-mile region of northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois, southeast Minnesota, and southwest and central Wisconsin, bypassed by most of the glaciers. Koch observes, "You can 'love nature' and 'love the land'--but you won't know place until you've walked slowly and attentively through Lost Canyon or the Kickapoo Valley Reserve or Swiss Valley or Trempealeau Mountain, and then returned to learn what you can about them." Hidden within the woodlands are the imprints of human history and the deeper geological story as well, the story of a land untouched by the ancient onslaught of leveling glaciers. The result is a call to know place deeply, whatever place you inhabit.


Driftless Stories

Driftless Stories

Author: John Motoviloff

Publisher: Big Earth Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9781879483804

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Southwest Wisconsin, the rugged area untouched by the last glaciers, is a gem of exquisite beauty and unique natural features. In these lyrical essays, John Motoviloff explores the region as a hunter and fisherman, breaking down the traditional barriers between hunting and environmentalism, between poetry and prose.


Book Synopsis Driftless Stories by : John Motoviloff

Download or read book Driftless Stories written by John Motoviloff and published by Big Earth Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Southwest Wisconsin, the rugged area untouched by the last glaciers, is a gem of exquisite beauty and unique natural features. In these lyrical essays, John Motoviloff explores the region as a hunter and fisherman, breaking down the traditional barriers between hunting and environmentalism, between poetry and prose.


Becoming Tom Thumb

Becoming Tom Thumb

Author: Eric D. Lehman

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2012-01-01

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0819573329

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An “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug). When P. T. Barnum met twenty-five-inch-tall Charles Stratton at a Bridgeport, Connecticut hotel in 1843, one of the most important partnerships in entertainment history was born. With Barnum’s promotional skills and the miniature Stratton’s comedic talents, they charmed a Who’s Who of the nineteenth century, from Queen Victoria to Charles Dickens to Abraham Lincoln. Adored worldwide as “General Tom Thumb,” Stratton played to sold-out shows for almost forty years. From his days as a precocious child star to his tragic early death, Becoming Tom Thumb tells the full story of this iconic figure for the first time. It details his triumphs on the New York stage, his epic celebrity wedding, and his around-the-world tour, drawing on newly available primary sources and interviews. From the mansions of Paris to the deserts of Australia, Stratton’s unique brand of Yankee comedy not only earned him the accolades of millions of fans, it helped move little people out of the side show and into the limelight.


Book Synopsis Becoming Tom Thumb by : Eric D. Lehman

Download or read book Becoming Tom Thumb written by Eric D. Lehman and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An “evocative and entertaining” biography of the nineteenth century circus performer who became a global phenomenon (Neil Harris, author of Humbug). When P. T. Barnum met twenty-five-inch-tall Charles Stratton at a Bridgeport, Connecticut hotel in 1843, one of the most important partnerships in entertainment history was born. With Barnum’s promotional skills and the miniature Stratton’s comedic talents, they charmed a Who’s Who of the nineteenth century, from Queen Victoria to Charles Dickens to Abraham Lincoln. Adored worldwide as “General Tom Thumb,” Stratton played to sold-out shows for almost forty years. From his days as a precocious child star to his tragic early death, Becoming Tom Thumb tells the full story of this iconic figure for the first time. It details his triumphs on the New York stage, his epic celebrity wedding, and his around-the-world tour, drawing on newly available primary sources and interviews. From the mansions of Paris to the deserts of Australia, Stratton’s unique brand of Yankee comedy not only earned him the accolades of millions of fans, it helped move little people out of the side show and into the limelight.


Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition

Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition

Author: James Clark

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2011-06-01

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780819571427

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The state of Connecticut boasts an extensive and active community of fife and drum groups. This musical tradition has its origins in the small military bands maintained by standing armies in Britain and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—the drum was especially important as it helped officers train soldiers how to march, and was also used to communicate with troops across battlefields. Today fifers and drummers gather at conventions called “musters,” which may include a parade and concerts featuring the various participating corps. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest muster ever was held in Deep River, Connecticut, in 1976. Musician and historian James Clark is the first to detail the colorful history of this unique music. This engaging book leads the reader through the history of the individual instruments and tells the story of this classic folk tradition through anecdotes, biographies, photographs, and musical examples.


Book Synopsis Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition by : James Clark

Download or read book Connecticut’s Fife and Drum Tradition written by James Clark and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The state of Connecticut boasts an extensive and active community of fife and drum groups. This musical tradition has its origins in the small military bands maintained by standing armies in Britain and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—the drum was especially important as it helped officers train soldiers how to march, and was also used to communicate with troops across battlefields. Today fifers and drummers gather at conventions called “musters,” which may include a parade and concerts featuring the various participating corps. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest muster ever was held in Deep River, Connecticut, in 1976. Musician and historian James Clark is the first to detail the colorful history of this unique music. This engaging book leads the reader through the history of the individual instruments and tells the story of this classic folk tradition through anecdotes, biographies, photographs, and musical examples.


The Logbooks

The Logbooks

Author: Anne Farrow

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 081957306X

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In 1757, a sailing ship owned by an affluent Connecticut merchant sailed from New London to the tiny island of Bence in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to take on fresh water and slaves. On board was the owner’s son, on a training voyage to learn the trade. The Logbooks explores that voyage, and two others documented by that young man, to unearth new realities of Connecticut’s slave trade and question how we could have forgotten this part of our past so completely. When writer Anne Farrow discovered the significance of the logbooks for the Africa and two other ships in 2004, her mother had been recently diagnosed with dementia. As Farrow bore witness to the impact of memory loss on her mother’s sense of self, she also began a journey into the world of the logbooks and the Atlantic slave trade, eventually retracing part of the Africa’s long-ago voyage to Sierra Leone. As the narrative unfolds in The Logbooks, Farrow explores the idea that if our history is incomplete, then collectively we have forgotten who we are—a loss that is in some ways similar to what her mother experienced. Her meditations are well rounded with references to the work of writers, historians, and psychologists. Forthright, well researched, and warmly recounted, Farrow’s writing is that of a novelist’s, with an eye for detail. Using a wealth of primary sources, she paints a vivid picture of the eighteenth-century Connecticut slavers. The multiple narratives combine in surprising and effective ways to make this an intimate confrontation with the past, and a powerful meditation on how slavery still affects us.


Book Synopsis The Logbooks by : Anne Farrow

Download or read book The Logbooks written by Anne Farrow and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1757, a sailing ship owned by an affluent Connecticut merchant sailed from New London to the tiny island of Bence in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to take on fresh water and slaves. On board was the owner’s son, on a training voyage to learn the trade. The Logbooks explores that voyage, and two others documented by that young man, to unearth new realities of Connecticut’s slave trade and question how we could have forgotten this part of our past so completely. When writer Anne Farrow discovered the significance of the logbooks for the Africa and two other ships in 2004, her mother had been recently diagnosed with dementia. As Farrow bore witness to the impact of memory loss on her mother’s sense of self, she also began a journey into the world of the logbooks and the Atlantic slave trade, eventually retracing part of the Africa’s long-ago voyage to Sierra Leone. As the narrative unfolds in The Logbooks, Farrow explores the idea that if our history is incomplete, then collectively we have forgotten who we are—a loss that is in some ways similar to what her mother experienced. Her meditations are well rounded with references to the work of writers, historians, and psychologists. Forthright, well researched, and warmly recounted, Farrow’s writing is that of a novelist’s, with an eye for detail. Using a wealth of primary sources, she paints a vivid picture of the eighteenth-century Connecticut slavers. The multiple narratives combine in surprising and effective ways to make this an intimate confrontation with the past, and a powerful meditation on how slavery still affects us.


Connecticut in the American Civil War

Connecticut in the American Civil War

Author: Matthew Warshauer

Publisher: Wesleyan University Press

Published: 2014-08-01

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0819571393

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“Serves as a model of what a state-level survey of the Civil War can achieve . . . a potent combination of description and analysis.” —The Civil War Monitor Connecticut in the American Civil War offers a remarkable window into the state’s involvement in a conflict that challenged and defined the unity of a nation. The arc of the war is traced through the many facets and stories of battlefield, home front, and factory. Matthew Warshauer masterfully reveals the varied attitudes toward slavery and race before, during, and after the war; Connecticut’s reaction to the firing on Fort Sumter; the dissent in the state over whether or not the sword and musket should be raised against the South; the raising of troops; the sacrifice of those who served on the front and at home; and the need for closure after the war. This book is a concise, amazing account of a complex and troubling war. No one interested in this period of American history can afford to miss reading this important contribution to our national and local stories.


Book Synopsis Connecticut in the American Civil War by : Matthew Warshauer

Download or read book Connecticut in the American Civil War written by Matthew Warshauer and published by Wesleyan University Press. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Serves as a model of what a state-level survey of the Civil War can achieve . . . a potent combination of description and analysis.” —The Civil War Monitor Connecticut in the American Civil War offers a remarkable window into the state’s involvement in a conflict that challenged and defined the unity of a nation. The arc of the war is traced through the many facets and stories of battlefield, home front, and factory. Matthew Warshauer masterfully reveals the varied attitudes toward slavery and race before, during, and after the war; Connecticut’s reaction to the firing on Fort Sumter; the dissent in the state over whether or not the sword and musket should be raised against the South; the raising of troops; the sacrifice of those who served on the front and at home; and the need for closure after the war. This book is a concise, amazing account of a complex and troubling war. No one interested in this period of American history can afford to miss reading this important contribution to our national and local stories.


Driftless Gold

Driftless Gold

Author: Sue Berg

Publisher:

Published: 2021-04-15

Total Pages: 350

ISBN-13: 9781942586968

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A migrant worker is discovered buried in a local quarry with an antique gold coin in his pocket near La Crosse, Wisconsin. Lt. Jim Higgins begins to unravel a murder that will take him back into Wisconsin's early history. During the investigation, Higgins meets a local archaeological savant and treasure hunter who tells him a wild tale about a U.S. Army payroll that was stolen on the way to Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien in 1866. The payroll has never been recovered. Is the coin on the dead man part of the stolen treasure? Higgins hesitates to base his investigation on a wild tale, but he has nothing else to go on. As his team desperately attempts to make sense of the facts, the killer strikes again. The investigative team realizes the wild tale may be the only explanation for the two murders. In a race against time, Jim struggles to identify the killer-and find the elusive gold treasure.


Book Synopsis Driftless Gold by : Sue Berg

Download or read book Driftless Gold written by Sue Berg and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-15 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A migrant worker is discovered buried in a local quarry with an antique gold coin in his pocket near La Crosse, Wisconsin. Lt. Jim Higgins begins to unravel a murder that will take him back into Wisconsin's early history. During the investigation, Higgins meets a local archaeological savant and treasure hunter who tells him a wild tale about a U.S. Army payroll that was stolen on the way to Fort Crawford in Prairie du Chien in 1866. The payroll has never been recovered. Is the coin on the dead man part of the stolen treasure? Higgins hesitates to base his investigation on a wild tale, but he has nothing else to go on. As his team desperately attempts to make sense of the facts, the killer strikes again. The investigative team realizes the wild tale may be the only explanation for the two murders. In a race against time, Jim struggles to identify the killer-and find the elusive gold treasure.