Ohio

Letters From Eden: A Year at Home, in the Woods

A frequent commentator on NPR's All Things Considered, Julie Zickefoose has painted nature virtually all her life. At the age of seven she knew that she wanted to paint birds for a living, and her lifelong dedication shows in her paintings, which are meticulously accurate as well as beautiful. The paintings used here, of scenes from her beloved home in southern Ohio, illuminate well-crafted essays based on her daily walks and observations. Wild turkeys, coyotes, box turtles, and a bird-eating bullfrog flap, lope, and leap through her prose. She excels at describing and exploring interactions between people and animals, bringing her subjects to life in just a few lines. Her husband and young children make appearances, presenting their own challenges and pleasures. The essays are arranged by season, starting with winter, providing a sense of movement through the year.

Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish

Joe Mackall has lived surrounded by the Swartzentruber Amish community of Ashland County, Ohio, for over sixteen years. The Swartzentrubers live without gas, electricity, or indoor plumbing; without lights on their buggies or cushioned chairs in their homes; and without rumspringa, the recently popularized "running-around time" that some Amish sects allow their sixteen-year-olds.

Over the years, Mackall has developed a steady relationship with the Shetler family (Samuel and Mary, their nine children, and their extended family). Plain Secrets tells the Shetlers' story over these years, using their lives to paint a portrait of Swartzentruber Amish life and mores. During this time, Samuel's nephew rejects the Amish way of life; his bright young daughter reaches the end of school for Amish children; and Samuel faces difficulties in his new role as a church leader.

These and other stories from the life of the family reveal the larger questions posed by the Amish way of life. If the continued existence of the Amish in the midst of modern society asks us to consider the appeal of traditional, highly restrictive, and gendered religious communities, it also asks how we romanticize or condemn these communities—and why.

"In simple but elegant prose that matches the values of his subject, Joe Mackall takes us deep into the Amish community. He neither romanticizes nor condemns an alternate way of living, but provides stunning insight through the generosity and compassion of his own heart."
—Chris Offutt, author of The Same River Twice and Kentucky Straight

"Joe Mackall's Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among The Amish meets the biggest challenge of a book such as this by living up to his subtitle: Mackall is both outside and among in equal measure, and it's the most difficult terrain to occupy. Plain Secrets vibrates in that in-betweenness, in ways that only songs or poems usually can, and it does so in prose that's as clear as water. It's built the way the Amish build their barns—everything here is plumb and level."
—Diana Hume George, author of The Lonely Other: A Woman Watching America

"Joe Mackall's patience, empathy, and dogged curiosity illuminate this fine, fascinating study of an elusive culture. Plain Secrets is a provocative, humbling, and soulful book."
—Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of Lincoln's Melancholy

"…Mackall does the job beautifully, painting an intimate portrait of the family that leaves the reader feeling humbled by the common thread that's woven into all of us."
—Sarah English, Cleveland Magazine

"Mackall's writing is an honest and refreshing change from the customary saccharin scribbling about the Noble Amish Man. Despite, or perhaps because of, Mackall's refusal to perch the Amish on a pedestal, he manages to convey a deep respect for the people." —Lancaster New Era

". . . he writes with a forthright precision." —Akron Beacon Journal

Joe Mackall is author of The Last Street Before Cleveland. A professor of English and journalism at Ashland University, he is coeditor of the journal River Teeth and has written for NPR's Morning Edition, the Washington Post, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, among other publications. He lives near Cleveland, Ohio.

The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of Wmms and Cleveland Rock Radio--a Memoir

This rock and roll radio memoir takes you behind the scenes at the nation's hottest station during FM's heyday, from 1973 to 1986. Sex and drugs, music and merchandising--it was a wild time when the FM airwaves were wide open for innovation.
John Gorman led a small band of true believers who built Cleveland's WMMS from a neglected stepchild into an influential powerhouse. The station earned high praise from musicians and even higher ratings from listeners.
Gorman tells how WMMS remade rock radio while Cleveland staked its claim as the "Rock and Roll Capital" by breaking many major international music acts. The fun may have died when FM went corporate in the late 1980s, but it was a hell of a ride while it lasted.
Filled with juicy insider details, this fast-paced story will entertain anyone who listened in during those glory days when FM delivered excitement and the Buzzard ruled the airwaves.

Then Tress Said to Troy: The Best Ohio State Football Stories Ever Told with CD

Includes an exclusive audio CD featuring interviews with Ohio Buckeye's greatest players.

A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage At The Alrosa Villa

Ex-Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott was attacked and murdered while performing with his new band Damageplan on Dec. 8, 2004. While the media focused only on the crime, several unsung heroes remained forgotten. This is the story of three brave men who made a difference in countless lives by paying the price with their own. Over the span of 14 months, author Chris A has researched the people, places and circumstances leading to the horrific murders of beloved guitarist, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, bodyguard Jeffery Mayhem Thompson, professional roadie Erin Halk and fan, husband and father, Nathan Bray. The result is an insightful, thought provoking book that induces a powerful range of emotions. While the book explores the background and motive of the killer who callously took the lives of these four innocent people, the focus goes far beyond the specifics of the crime. A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa crosses many genres; its part rock n roll history, part true-crime and part biography. The result is a modern-day inspirational chronicle of good versus evil. At times graphic in its content, its intention isn t to shock or sensationalize, but rather to clearly articulate the raw courage and selflessness of those who paid the ultimate price. Above all, the author placed great emphasis on recounting the events with accuracy and taste. The book has been meticulously researched and the author has personally interviewed and corresponded with hundreds of people involved. Augmented by 240 photos, most never published, readers will meet the heroes, the police officers, paramedics, fans and venue employees who worked together to try to save lives and demonstrate compassion. A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa delivers a powerful, inspirational and educational message that will touch all who turn its pages.

The C&O Canal Companion

A comprehensive guide to one of America's unique national parks, The C& O Canal Companion takes readers on a mile-by-mile tour of the 184-mile Potomac River waterway and towpath that stretches from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, and the Allegheny Mountains. Making extensive use of records at the National Archives and the Park headquarters, the author demonstrates how events and places along the canal relate to the history of the nation, from Civil War battles and river crossings to the frontier forts guarding the route to the West. With photographs and drawings, he introduces park visitors to the hidden history along the canal and provides practical advice on cycling, paddling and hiking -- all the information needed to enjoy fully the park's varied delights. The new edition of this popular book features updated maps and the latest information on lodgings and other facilities for hikers, bikers, and campers. For a weekend excursion or an extended outdoor vacation, this guide remains indispensable for visitors to the C& O Canal park.

Praise for The C& O Canal Companion:

"An informative and affectionate guide to the canal written by C& O devotee Mike High... And yes, it'll fit comfortably in your backpack." -- Mid-Atlantic Country

"High gives practical information about exploring the canal and provides extensive historical background... Provides many opportunities for using the canal as a means of exploring this region's history." -- Historic Traveler

"There are other guides to the canal, but High's is the latest and may be the best. It's a mile-by-mile guide, well-illustrated, full of history and surrounding cultural notes. The more one learns about the canal, the more intriguing it is."--Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star

"A contender for the hearts and minds of canal buffs. It shows the results of serious historical research, particularly about the Civil War, and is well-written and organized." -- Washington Times

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio : How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio introduces Evelyn Ryan, an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s.

Stepping back into a time when fledgling advertising agencies were active partners with consumers, and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells how her mother kept the family afloat by writing jingles and contest entries. Mom's winning ways defied the Church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to securing a happy home for her six sons and four daughters. Evelyn, who would surely be a Madison Avenue executive if she were working today, composed her jingles not in the boardroom, but at the ironing board.

By entering contests wherever she found them -- TV, radio, newspapers, direct-mail ads -- Evelyn Ryan was able to win every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention cars, television sets, bicycles, watches, a jukebox, and even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was miraculous; it was the timing. If a toaster died, one was sure to arrive in the mail from a forgotten contest. Days after the bank called in the second mortgage on the house, a call came from the Dr Pepper company: Evelyn was the grand-prize winner in its national contest -- and had won enough to pay the bank.

Graced with a rare appreciation for life's inherent hilarity, Evelyn turned every financial challenge into an opportunity for fun and profit. From her frenetic supermarket shopping spree -- worth $3,000 today -- to her clever entries worthy of Erma Bombeck, Dorothy Parker, and Ogden Nash, the story of this irrepressible woman whose talents reached far beyond her formidable verbal skills is told in The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio with an infectious joy that shows how a winning spirit will triumph over the poverty of circumstance.

Stepping back into a time when fledgling Madison Avenue ad agencies were active partners with consumers and everyday people saw possibility in every coupon, Terry Ryan tells the story of her mother, Evelyn, who kept her family afloat writing jingles and contest entries. It is a compelling drama of a woman who defies the church, her husband, and antiquated views of housewives to seize every opportunity to secure a happy home for her ten children. Entering contests on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, and through the mail, Evelyn Ryan won every appliance her family ever owned, not to mention bicycles, watches, a jukebox, cars, even trips to New York, Dallas, and Switzerland. But it wasn't just the winning that was amazing; it was the timing. If a toaster died, one was sure to arrive in the mail from a forgotten contest. Days after the bank called in the second mortgage on the house, a call came from the Dr. Pepper company: Evelyn was the grand prize winner of their national contest -- and had won enough to pay the bank. From the frenetic supermarket shopping spree to the clever entries that captured the imagination of contest sponsors everywhere, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio is about one woman whose joy for life overshadows both lean times and her husband's alcoholism to raise children who seek out their own winning ways.

All for the Regiment: The Army of the Ohio, 1861-1862 (Civil War America)

Despite its important role in the early years of the Civil War, the Army of the Ohio remains one of the least studied of all Union commands. With All for the Regiment, Gerald Prokopowicz deftly fills this surprising gap. He offers an engaging history of the army from its formation in 1861 to its costly triumph at Shiloh and its failure at Perryville in 1862.

Prokopowicz shows how the amateur soldiers who formed the Army of the Ohio organized themselves into individual regiments of remarkable strength and cohesion. Successive commanders Robert Anderson, William T. Sherman, and Don Carlos Buell all failed to integrate those regiments into an effective organization, however. The result was a decentralized and elastic army that was easily disrupted and difficult to command--but also nearly impossible to destroy in combat.

Exploring the army's behavior at minor engagements such as Rowlett's Station and Logan's Cross Roads, as well as major battles such as Shiloh and Perryville, Prokopowicz reveals how its regiment-oriented culture prevented the army from experiencing decisive results--either complete victory or catastrophic defeat--on the battlefield. Regimental solidarity was at once the Army of the Ohio's greatest strength, he argues, and its most dangerous vulnerability.

13 Seconds: A Look Back at the Kent State Shootings

Philip Caputo, author of the classic Vietnam memoir A Rumor of War, returns to the turbulent era of the late 1960s with 13 Seconds: A Look Back at the Kent State Shootings. Caputo carefully sets the stage for the tragedy--the gunning-down of students on the Kent State, Ohio, campus--as he shows the pressures slowly building: Richard Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia, the militaristic missives of the ultra-leftist Weathermen, and statements such as high-profile California governor Ronald Reagan's declaration about student protests, given three weeks before the shootings ("If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with").

While important events surge and roil throughout the book like massive currents, Caputo focuses primarily on the smaller stories of the students injured and killed by National Guard bullets. Caputo, a journalist then writing for the Chicago Tribune (and who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1972), was on the scene soon after the shootings took place. He writes with immediacy, clearly drawn back to the moment even after 35 years have passed. Some of the students who died that day were active in campus politics, while others were caught purely by misfortune, but all paid an incredible price. By allowing readers to understand more about the students and the circumstances that surrounded May 4, 1970, Caputo turns the story of Kent State into a kind of tragic novel. The book itself is short: under 200 pages, including summaries of court testimonies that make up the bulk of the index. But the poignancy of what America lost that day comes through clearly in Caputo's dense, no-nonsense writing. --Jennifer Buckendorff

Thirteen seconds passed. Sixty-seven shots were fired. One nation watched . . .

On May 4, 1970, Ohio's Kent State University was in chaos following President Richard Nixon's announcement that the U.S. bombing of Cambodia would continue, with student protesters on one side and the National Guard on the other. That day, young Chicago Tribune reporter Philip Caputo had been sent to the campus to cover what looked like just another student uprising. But by the time he arrived, things had erupted into one of the watershed moments of the antiwar movement, with four students dead and nine wounded in a hail of bullets fired by panicked guardsmen. Now, thirty-five years later, the author of A Rumor of War looks back on that terrible day, discussing his own emotions, the nature of political discourse and civil disobedience, and what happened to those who were there and how they still live with the pain and anger every day. It was a time when America turned upon itself and our nation's innocence was lost.

What It Means to Be a Buckeye: Jim Tressel and Ohio State's Greatest Players