Claudia Rankine reviews The Golden Shovel Anthology in The New York Times

Oct 2, 2017 | Review

“Throughout this anthology, more than 60 other well-known Brooks poems can be read the same way, with lines from ‘The Mother’ and ‘The Bean Eaters’ tripping down the right-hand side of the page. The anthology ends with ‘Non-Brooks Golden Shovels’ and ‘Variations and...

Choice recommends Down on Mahans Creek

Oct 2, 2017 | Review

“While the subtitle suggests an emphasis on a neighborhood, this book is really a family history about people for whom place is important. Setting his book in both Kentucky and Missouri, historian Rader (emer., Univ. of Nebraska) recounts details such as the...

Choice recommends Separate Games for all readers

Oct 2, 2017 | Review

“Wiggins (George Mason Univ.) and Swanson (Univ. of New Mexico) have edited a 12-essay volume, written by recognized experts, about the segregated era in African American sports. The sections “Teams” and “Events” are probably too detailed, but the section on...

AHQ reviews Distinguishing the Righteous from the Roguish

Oct 2, 2017 | Review

  “Looney brings to his study a well-trained legal mind and a solid grasp of the nineteenth-century law and its institutions. His discussions of key decisions are clear and economically rendered. The chapters, crafted with accessible, straightforward prose,...

Two Great Reviews for Frank Merriwell and the Fiction of All-American Boyhood

Mar 31, 2017 | News, Review

“Anderson’s writing is swift and lucid. Moreover, his research is through and complemented by several illustrations that enhance his analysis. Readers interested in the Progressive Era, popular literature, publishing, gender studies, and sports will benefit from...

Choice recommends Distinguishing the Righteous from the Roguish

Feb 17, 2017 | News, Review

  “Although the title suggests this material will interest only historians of a brief legal era, this book is quite a lively read. It views the settlement of Arkansas from the perspective of the state’s appellate courts. Looney, a retired state judge and emeritus...