Fast Friends Research Articles

Statesman and Scholar: Herwart von Hohenburg as Patron and Author in the Republic of Letters

INTRODUCTIONBetter known in his own day as Bavarian Chancellor, Johann Georg Herwart von Hohenburg (1553-1622) was also patron and scholar of major significance. More than a scientific intermediary who spread ideas of others,1 Herwart won renown for his original work in several areas of study. His publications and surviving papers testify to his talents as a connoisseur of law and ancient languages, mathematician and chronologer,2 while his extensive correspondence with many of Europe's leading luminaries confirms his place as pivotal figure in Republic of Letters. Herwart was praised by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) as extraordinary man excellently well versed in mathematics.3 In letter to Joseph Scaliger (1540-1609), Tycho asked dean of chronology to consider an eclipse that Herwart had calculated to revise record of history. Convinced that real references to heavens had been couched in rhyme and verse of ancient Greece and Rome, Herwart harboured habit of plotting eclipses from early poetry. was his eclectic chronology, in fact, that first brought Herwart into contact with his favourite client and fast friend, Johannes (1571-1630). Herwart exchanged more than ninety letters with over course of nearly fifteen years.4 Their vibrant discourse involved variety of topics and good turns. While their early correspondence explains why Herwart first called on Kepler, it also reveals rising star in astronomy secured support of powerful and worldly patron.Despite his relative obscurity in secondary literature, Herwart was scholar in his own right who played an important role in trajectory of Kepler's career. Intellectually, Herwart is described by some as a sober thinker,5 whose objections urged to reconsider his ideas more objectively.6 Others regard Herwart as an unrelenting client who led to reluctant philological reflections on obscure passages in Lucan, Manilius and others.7 While complained privately about great pains he took to appease his patron,8 it is clear that Herwart served as sounding board for Kepler, encouraging his client to share his ideas and interests openly.9 When they fathomed field of optics, for example, oudined his opinion that the doctrine of Copernicus was secretly contained in Euclid's Optics}0 At critical points in career of Kepler, Herwart advised and endorsed his client to others. As descended into misery during his final turbulent years as District Mathematician in Styria, Herwart brought his first book, Mysterium cosmographicum (1596), to wider attention of mathematical community. When sought employ of Tycho, Herwart counselled him carefully. He duly dissuaded from associating with Nicolaus Reimarus Ursus (1551-1600), whom Tycho had recently replaced as Imperial Mathematician. In letter to Kepler, Herwart expressed surprise that had met with Ursus in Prague. wonder, Herwart announced in alarm, how you could still associate with Ursus so closely.'2 To support succession of after sudden death of Tycho in 1601, Herwart wrote to High Councillor of Holy Roman Emperor. It is in best interests of His Imperial Majesty and Republic of Letters to keep in Prague, Herwart wrote, referring to new tables begun by Brahe that only Kepler could complete.'3 To add leverage to his appeal, Bavarian Chancellor suggested prospect of losing to local academy in Lauingen, where Philipp Ludwig (1547-1614), Count Palatine of Neuburg, had recently invited to work.In following essay, I focus on place of Herwart as patron and author in Republic of Letters. Herwart supported intellectual endeavours of his clients, in part, to promote his own calling in chronology. While he aided revolutionary astronomy of Kepler, Herwart peppered his prize client with requests to calculate eclipses that helped him rewrite history. …

Obituary: A Remembrance of Prof. Ugo del Torto (1923-2011)

A Note from the Editors: The following is a personal remembrance of Prof. Ugo del Torto written by family friend and former colleague, Dr. Robert S. Siffert. Considered an expert in the field of orthopaedic traumatology, Prof. Ugo del Torto was named Chair and Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Naples Federico II. Always active in the orthopaedic community, Prof. del Torto cofounded the Italian Study Group on Scoliosis in 1977, and served 2 years as President of the Society of Italian Orthopaedic Traumatology from 1980 to 1982. His published studies in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research® (CORR®) spanned a wide range of orthopaedic topics, including papers investigating the elbow prosthesis, the stabilization of spondylolisthesis, and rib resection using Marino-Zuco-Harrington instrumentation. In 1983, Dr. Siffert and Prof. del Torto collaborated on a study, published in CORR®, which focused on the technique that corrects severe cavus and cavovarus deformities. Ugo and I were very close. His loss will deprive so many friends and colleagues of an outstanding surgeon and a stimulating, loving friend. I first met Ugo approximately 50 years ago in Rome. I had just been appointed Chair and Director of Orthopaedics at Mount Sinai Hospital in Staten Island, NY. In order to broaden my experiences in the specialty, I planned educational visits throughout the United States and abroad, including Rome. Ugo was assigned to me. He directed and scheduled my work. I was impressed by his technical skill, humanity, and graciousness with his patients. It was during this time that Ugo became my teacher, colleague, and friend. Ugo’s father was a Chief of Orthopaedics at University of Naples Federico II. Following his father’s retirement, Ugo became Chair and Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Naples Federico II. The Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons® (ABJS®) elected Ugo to its membership, an important honorary distinction. ABJS® holds annual meetings in different cities, and Ugo actively participated at those meetings, becoming increasingly well known by his peers. Our wives would occasionally attend the meetings with us. Ugo and his wife, Alberta, were always warm and welcoming. His wife and my wife, Miriam, became fast friends. Ugo always enjoyed meeting new friends in new places. As a visiting professor in Naples, Ugo insisted that I present talks on my research during my time there. I felt that my broken Italian was difficult for others to understand, but Ugo was happy to clarify my remarks, while the attendees recognized the humor of the situation. I had just published an article describing a new operation of the deformed foot as a result of trauma or polio [1]. At a subsequent visit to Naples, Ugo showed me the results of operations he performed on a number of patients with foot deformities due to polio or trauma with good outcomes. He invited me to participate in an international conference in Sicily on the subject. Our wives accompanied us on our trip. I always appreciated that invitation. While overseas during World War II, I was stunned by the poor quality of medical care in developing countries. When I became a consultant for CARE®, a humanitarian organization fighting poverty, I was determined to spend 1 month a year in a developing country. In 1969, I was a CARE® consultant in Tunisia. Ugo and Alberta flew there, and we spent several days together. He joined me on rounds and participated in the teaching sessions, contributing his wisdom and techniques. We rented a car and explored a large part of the country together. The Tunisian visit was the high point of the love and regard between the del Tortos and the Sifferts. On our return to Naples, Alberta, a fine artist, showed me a sculpture of a dancing girl that she had just completed. I expressed my admiration for the work. That Christmas, Alberta sent me the bronzed sculpture (Fig. 1). It occupies a spot in our dining room, and is a constant reminder of my friendship and connection with Ugo and Alberta. Fig. 1 The clay sculpture of a dancing girl occupies a spot in the Siffert’s dining room as a reminder of their friendship with Ugo and Alberta del Torto. Published with permission from Robert S. Siffert. Ugo loved sports and physical activity, particularly horseback riding. He also enjoyed automobile racing. He would go from town to town entering races, and once took me along. Those sharp Italian curves were hair-raising, but he was in total control, completely in his element. It is difficult to express the feelings I had for Ugo after so many years. He was a dear friend and colleague whom I sorely miss.

Sasha and Emma: the anarchist odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman

In 1889 two Russian immigrants, Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, met in a coffee shop on Lower East Side. Over next fifty years Emma and Sasha would be fast friends, fleeting lovers, and loyal comrades. This dual biography offers an unprecedented glimpse into their intertwined lives, lasting influence of anarchist movement they shaped, and their unyielding commitment to equality and justice. Berkman shocked country in 1892 with the first terrorist act in failed assassination of industrialist Henry Clay Frick for his crimes against workers. Passionate and pitiless, gloomy yet gentle, Berkman remained Goldman's closest confidant though two were often separated--by his fourteen-year imprisonment and by Emma's growing fame as champion of a multitude of causes, from sexual liberation to freedom of speech. The blazing sun to Sasha's morose moon, Emma became known as the most dangerous woman in America. Through an attempted prison breakout, multiple bombing plots, and a dramatic deportation from America, these two unrelenting activists insisted on improbable ideal of a socially just, self-governing utopia, a vision that has shaped movements across past century, most recently Occupy Wall Street. Sasha and Emma is culminating work of acclaimed historian of anarchism Paul Avrich. Before his death, Avrich asked his daughter to complete his magnum opus. The resulting collaboration, epic in scope, intimate in detail, examines possibilities and perils of political faith and protest, through a pair who both terrified and dazzled world.

Bill Freudenburg as a colleague

Bill Freudenburg and I started collaborating in the mid-1980s as professional colleagues and soon became fast friends. In this article I argue that active collaboration coupled with creative field work can be an important strategy for those of us in the field of environmental sociology/studies.

The Gentleman Bug by J. Hector

Hector, Julian. The Gentleman Bug. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2010. Print. The Gentleman Bug is a charming book written and illustrated by Julian Hector and recommended for children aged 2 to 5. The story takes place in an urban, nineteenth-century locale called the Garden, which is inhabited by bugs, beetles and bees. The setting must be described as pan-European, since the Garden includes both Bugadilly Circus and something resembling the Moulin Rouge. The Gentleman Bug is a bespectacled bibliophile, who teaches a small class of younger bugs from the Garden. He may not be a stylish dresser, but his students are as devoted to him as he is to them. The Gentleman Bug is opposed by a group of four rivals that includes such churlish figures as Boss Beetle and Mayer de Mothschild. These bully bugs poke fun at the Gentleman Bug for his bookish ways. He is content to ignore them until the day the Lady Bug arrives in the Garden. Alas, she is befriended by his rivals, and so the Gentleman Bug attends the Pollen Hill social club dressed to the nines in a bid to win her attention. An embarrassing mishap with a waiter dashes his plans, but the Lady Bug notices the book he drops (surely bringing a book to a formal event is the sign of a hopeless bookworm) and secretly invites him to the opening of a new building – which turns out to be the town library – where she introduces herself as the new librarian. The entire town has assembled to admire the new library, and even Boss Beetle & co. discovers a newfound love of books. Meanwhile, the Gentleman Bug and the Lady Bug become fast friends, reading together on picnics. This is a book about the pleasures of reading and about finding friends who also enjoy reading: surely a fine message to deliver to budding young readers. The deeper lesson is that you will find true friends if you stay true to yourself and your true interests. When the Gentleman Bug's rivals are converted to reading, the book suggests that distractions will fall by the wayside when you find your purpose; either that or else that people who scoff at book lovers just haven't discovered what they are missing yet. The story is told as much through the illustrations as the text. The text is generally brief and understated, while the illustrations contain the specifics of the plot. The interplay between text and image achieves soft, humorous effects: when the protagonist crashes into a waiter, the text reads: "the rest of the evening didn't go quite as planned." Because of the many clever details that the author has included in the illustrations, he clearly expects readers to stop, interpret the pictures, and then take up the text again. He has managed to differentiate a cast of ten named characters, primarily through the illustrations, with the assistance of a guide to the characters printed on the endpapers. All of this will increase the potential for repeat reads. Although the protagonist is a gentleman bug, the book will appeal to female readers too, because the Lady Bug is a strong character and because girls and boys are portrayed as equals, both as readers and in gender roles. For example, the Gentleman Bug's students work together to sew him a suit. Likewise, it is refreshing to see that the Lady Bug is not overly feminized with long lashes or lipstick, for instance. The fact that she is a librarian might strike some as a cliché, but it does not seem out of place given the story, and the portrayal is free of the usual stereotypes of librarians. Finally, the book shows admirable restraint by eschewing a wedding bell ending, showing instead the beginning of a simple friendship between a gentleman and a lady. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: John Huck John is a metadata and cataloguing librarian at the University of Alberta. He holds an undergraduate degree in English literature and maintains a special interest in the spoken word. He is also a classical musician and has sung semi-professionally for many years.

Reaching across the disability divide: The case for collaboration with the disability community to construct a robust informed consent process around prenatal screening and diagnosis

Reaching across the disability divide: The case for collaboration with the disability community to construct a robust informed consent process around prenatal screening and diagnosis

Bongo Fishing (review)

Reviewed by: Bongo Fishing Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Hurd, Thacher. Bongo Fishing; written and illus. by Thacher Hurd. Holt, 2011. [240p]. ISBN 978-0-8050-9100-7 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 4–6. Living in Berkeley, California, Jason Jameson has met plenty of strange characters, but when a slightly blue, vertically challenged creature in what can only be described as a flying 1960 Dodge Dart crashes near his house, even Jason is a bit perplexed. Fortunately, Sam, the aforementioned creature, comes in peace, and the two become fast friends as Jason helps Sam hunt down the necessary Earthly ingredients— marshmallows, ketchup, and bubble gum—to refuel his ship and get him back on the intergalactic track. Not one to forget a favor, Sam returns often to visit Jason, even going so far as taking the kid bongo fishing on planet Zorcovado and introducing him to his wife, Edna, and her delicious cooking. Unbeknownst to the pals, however, they are being watched by the evil Dr. Zimburger, who eventually kidnaps Sam, forcing Jason and Edna to come to the rescue. Plausibility is not necessarily a requirement in the sci-fi genre, but even novice fans expect a certain amount of logic, and the trajectory here depends too much on contrived circumstances and questionable motivations. Nonetheless, Jason and Sam are likable guys—or whatever Sam is—and their camaraderie is both jovial and appealing, especially in light of Jason’s apparent loner status. This doesn’t quite live up to the quirky humor of Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday (BCCB 2/08) or the outlandish adventure in Mark Teague’s The Doom Machine (BCCB 1/10), but readers looking for a zany intergalactic adventure will find this a serviceable pit stop. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Scott Murphy, MD: Platelet Storage Pioneer

Dr Scott Murphy was a leading authority in the science of platelet storage for transfusion. Among the first to advocate room-temperature storage, his work enabled the extension of platelet shelf life, which facilitated the development of aggressive medical and surgical therapies requiring intensive platelet support. During a 38-year career, he characterized the metabolism of stored platelets, worked to optimize storage conditions, and developed a landmark standard for the assessment of platelet quality. As a clinical hematologist, he was devoted to his patients, providing compassionate, comforting care. He was also a cherished mentor, a sage advisor, a fast friend, and a dedicated family man. Dr Murphy was one of those rare, great, humble men who inspire and enrich everyone around him. Truly one of transfusion medicine's leaders, Scott is remembered by those whose lives he touched for his warmth, wit, and wisdom.

Designing for youth across the Gulf: Fishbowl on how today's methods, theory and findings can support tomorrow's designs

Designing for youth across the Gulf: Fishbowl on how today's methods, theory and findings can support tomorrow's designs

Utopia Home Health, Inc.: A Case Study on C Corporation Taxation from Cradle to Grave

CASE MATERIALS AND ASSIGNMENT ackground and Facts renda Breaux and Tracy Boudreaux each own a home health agency in the State of Utopia, which was admitted as the 51st state of the United States of America in 1997. Brenda has owned and managed various types of businesses in the health care industry for over 30 ears, including nursing homes, durable medical equipment companies, and laboratories. Brenda egan her home health care agency roughly 20 years ago, and her firm is the predominant home ealth agency in the southern part of Utopia. Tracy earned an M.B.A., with an emphasis in health care, from Utopia International Univerity and has 15 years of experience in hospital management. She began her home health care gency only five years ago and in that short time has captured 35 percent of the home health care arket in the northern part of Utopia. Tracy has also developed a software program tailored to eet the accounting, billing, and reporting requirements of home health care agencies. Because of he unique and complex billing requirements of Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurers, the oftware is expected to be a substantial revenue producer once it is marketed to its full potential. Confident of the success of her software program, Tracy borrowed $400,000 from Shark ational Bank to cover the cost of developing the program. Tracy began marketing the software nly 18 months ago and it has been very well received by the industry. Tracy is concerned that ithout additional capital for the software venture that she will not be able to provide the training nd technical support that the licensees of the software will demand. Therefore, she has limited the umber of licenses that she has issued for the software to 75 customers until she is able to expand er support capabilities. Tracy realizes the software will soon lose its competitive advantage in the arket unless she is able to move quickly to market the product to its full potential. Brenda and Tracy, both avid volleyball fans, met at a weekend beach volleyball tournament everal years ago and became fast friends. They have discussed their vision of a national home

Evidence‐based practices with ethnic minorities: strange bedfellows no more

Multiculturalism and evidence-based practice (EBP) in psychotherapy hailed from disparate sources and rarely interacted. These strange bedfellows have become fast friends in recent years as they recognize their crucial interdependence: multiculturalism without strong research risks becoming an empty political value and EBP without cultural sensitivity risks irrelevancy. In this article, the authors reviewed various incarnations and recent manifestations of their overdue intersection, including several conferences, federal initiatives, and organizational accomplishments. They introduced the subsequent 6 articles in this special issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session, which described and illustrated cultural-sensitive evidence-based practices.

Remembering Hasib Sabbagh (1920––2010)

Hasib Sabbagh, who died on 12 January 2010 after a long illness, was arguably the preeminent Palestinian entrepreneur in the business and contracting fields in the post-1948 period. Born to an old and distinguished Greek Catholic family of Safad in Eastern Galilee, Sabbagh established the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) in 1945 in Haifa with several partners after graduating in engineering from the American University of Beirut. Under his dynamic leadership and with the cooperation of his life-long partner, Said Khoury, the CCC (which Sabbagh reconstituted in Lebanon after the fall of Palestine) evolved from a modest local enterprise into the giant global multinational corporation that it is today. Using the CCC as his base, he began as of the early 1970s to devote his great energy to the service of Palestine, not only through his philanthropic ventures promoting social and educational causes, but also through his behind-the-scenes political mediation and reconciliation efforts. The following reminiscences trace the unusual partnership and friendship between the author, whose orientation was largely academic, and Sabbagh, whose approach reflected his big-business milieu. The two met in 1972 around the time when Sabbagh was embarking on his public service phase. They became fast friends and remained so until Sabbagh's death, joined by their common dedication to Palestine. The memoir includes Sabbagh's own account of his departure from Palestine in 1948 and sheds light on some relatively little known activities of the Palestinian business and academic elite in the post-1967 period.

Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull; A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and a Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the New Nation

Friends of Liberty tells the remarkable story of three men whose lives were braided together by issues of liberty and race that fueled revolutions across two continents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the founding documents of the United States. Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a hero of the American Revolution and later led a spectacular but failed uprising in Poland, his homeland. Agrippa Hull, a freeborn black New Englander, volunteered at eighteen to join the Continental Army. During the Revolution, Hull served Kosciuszko as an orderly, and the two became fast friends. Kosciuszkos abhorrence of bondage shaped histhinking about the oppression in his own land. When Kosciuszko returned to America in the 1790s, bearing the wounds of his own failed revolution, he and Jefferson forged an intense friendship based on their shared dreams for the global expansion of human freedom. They sealed their bond with a blood compact whereby Jefferson would liberate his slaves upon Kosciuszkos death. But Jefferson died without fulfilling the promise he had made to Kosciuszko-and to a fledgling nation founded on the principle of liberty and justice for all.

Academy of RV Tucker Study Clubs RV Tucker Award

Academy of RV Tucker Study Clubs RV Tucker Award

Appalachia in Her Hands

Appalachia in Her Hands Silas House (bio) I loved Pam Duncan's laugh before I loved her. Both of us had been invited to a symposium at Vanderbilt University as part of their Millennial Gathering of Writers in 2000. We, along with eight others, had been selected as "emerging writers" in Southern literature. Once at the symposium, our first official function was to attend a fancy reception that was in the opulent courtyard at an estate in Belle Meade, the famously upscale neighborhood of Nashville. There was a marble fountain, servants with trays of hors d'oeuvres. Everyone seemed to know how to operate in this world. I did not. As a long-time restaurant-worker, I had sometimes worked at events like these, but I had certainly never been on the guest list. But then I heard the laughter, coming from the other side of the fountain. While many of the people at the party seemed to be giggling politely or guffawing like gloating businessmen, this laugh was different: unrestrained, delighted, free. Country. This was the laugh of country women I knew, women who threw their heads back, opened their mouths wide, slapped their knees. The laughter of Appalachian women on porches at twilight, or just before the church meeting started, or at family dinners. I worked my way around the fountain to find out to whom this laugh belonged. As soon as I caught sight of the laughing woman, her eyes touched mine. "Hey," she said, like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. "You must be Silas House. Lee Smith told me to be on the lookout for you." Lee Smith had taken both of us under her wing and knew that we'd be fast friends. She was right. For the rest of that weekend, we got to know each other, and by the time Sunday rolled around I was calling her "sister-woman," and she was calling me "brother-man." I don't know how those nicknames came about, but they stuck. We still sign our letters and emails to one another that way. In the eight years since, Pam has published three celebrated novels that I believe are among the best representations of Appalachian women [End Page 12] in contemporary literature. There are the strong, fiery Moon Women, the hard-working and hard-loving factory-workers of Plant Life, and beloved, hilarious, and endearing Cassandra Moon of The Big Beautiful. All of them know who they are and know where they're from. And so does Pam Duncan. The reason that Pam's writing sings is because it rings with the voices of the people. Pam is especially adept at conjuring the voice of her grandmother, Nanny, whom she thinks of every single day. And not just Nanny, but just about everyone Pam ever found interesting helps to build the worlds of her books. I believe that the best writers listen and then preserve. This is her great legacy already, that she has listened so well, and preserved so beautifully. To read Pam Duncan's novels is to travel the width of North Carolina, from its high western peaks all the way to the coast, but all of her characters carry Appalachia in their mouths and hearts. Because like the best Appalachian writers, the mountains live in Pam's hands. The land is a part of her, and it lives and breathes in her books, an undeniable force as strong as the men and women who populate her pages. Pam loves the Scottish actor Gerard Butler, her mother, chocolate, Anne of Green Gables, and her friends. She loves musicals, and the beach, and country music, and the mountains. She loves to have a good cry and to laugh and laugh and laugh. What I love most about Pam is that she's just who she is. She is true. True and good. To the bone. She is generous to a fault. Two quick examples: my daughters love to rip into the Christmas parcels their "aunt Pam Duncan" sends (she always gets them way too much), and, after making a couple quick visits to the university where I teach, she has kept in constant touch with...

Fast Access, Fast Language, Fast Friends: A Camp Designed for Adults to Communicate About Things That Really Matter

Abstract This article provides information about an experience for adult individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and attend a Camp Courage summer program. The Young Adult AAC Kommunication Kamp (YAAAKK) was developed to allow young adults to interact with peers and new staff in a novel setting and, yet, still have the mentorship and guidance from trained professionals when needed. Data results from the 2008 YAAACK camp are presented in this article.

Robert Macleod Storm

Robert Macleod Storm

Antony Tudor's Lost Ballets

“Lost” ballets take two forms: projects that never reach completion, and finished works that vanish at some point after production. Here, I focus mainly on the former, but Antony Tudor's major vani...

Messiah of the New Technique: John Howard Lawson, Communism, and American Theatre, 1923–1937 (review)

Reviewed by: Messiah of the New Technique: John Howard Lawson, Communism, and American Theatre, 1923–1937 Scott R. Irelan Messiah of the New Technique: John Howard Lawson, Communism, and American Theatre, 1923–1937. Jonathan L. Chambers . Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2006. Pp. xv + 268. $55.00 (cloth). Over the past five years the Southern Illinois University Press's "Theater in the Americas" series, edited by Robert A. Schanke, has produced an array of manuscripts that explore some of the most provocative and largely overlooked practitioners, organizations, and movements of the modern theater tradition in the United States. Titles have included works on Sophie Treadwell, the little theater movement, and Mordecai Gorelick; with this new study of John Howard Lawson, the SIU Press series continues not only to preserve, but also to enhance, its inimitable voice in the study of both modernity and theater within U.S. national culture. This recent addition to the SIU Press series deftly situates the marginalized, half-hidden work of communist playwright John Howard Lawson within a broader community of socially-aware, politically-engaged creative artists. It also offers an astute look at the trials and tribulations of the literary and artistic left in the years between the First World War and the Second World War. In doing so, Messiah of the New Technique encourages not only the "reconsideration of Lawson's career and the cultural and political left of the interwar years" but also the "larger cultural matrix of that historical moment" (3). The potency of this much needed study is enriched by Chambers's meticulous examination of Lawson's lived experiences, play scripts, letters, and theoretical writings regarding 1920s and 1930s theater as "material manifestations chronicling one man's journey to define who he was and where he belonged in the world as he ventured from 'artist-rebel' to 'political revolutionary'" (204). From the start it is apparent that Chambers is neither necessarily concerned with, nor particularly intrigued by, value judgments of Lawson's plays in production, choosing instead to concentrate his efforts on illustrating ways in which Lawson "was both a product and producer of the social energy specific to this era" (204). By way of introduction, Chambers takes great care to highlight the fact that a preponderance of existing scholarship has all but dismissed Lawson as a key "player in the evolution of United States drama" (4), with many publications offering nothing more than a "reductive view of Lawson's career in theatre" (5). This judgement, argues Chambers, warrants greater reflection given that during the interwar years Lawson penned Roger Bloomer (1923), Processional (1925), Success Story (1932), Marching Song (1937), among several other plays, as well as the innovative [End Page 197] fusion of his Marxist aesthetics and writing style, Theory and Technique of Playwriting (1936). Chambers's egalatarian approach provides a thoughtful, cogent inquiry into all of Lawson's life in theater. Having carved out both niche and need, Chambers sets about the task of delineating his research frame, which is noticeably indebted to both neoMarxist criticism and the tenets of New Historicism. This deployment of materialist historiography provides a "long-overdue new reading of Lawson scripts for the theatre" as well as "a much needed study of the context that enveloped him" (13). Opening with Lawson's early life as the son of practicing Christian Scientists, continuing through his 1914 graduation from Williams College, and converging on the awakening of his aesthetic sensibilities and political beliefs, Chambers recounts the beginnings of Lawson's "intellectual and spiritual upheaval that would continue and intensify through the middle years of the 1930s" (21). This upheaval led Lawson both to make an early foray into commercial theater and then out of it shortly thereafter when he enlisted in the French ambulance corps where he became fast friends with John Dos Passos. For Chambers, the relationship with Dos Passos and wartime service in France provided the seed for both Lawson's commitment to revolutionary politics and his certainty that theater is a "pulpit from which he could communicate radical content" (22). Aesthetically and ideologically somewhere between Sheldon Cheney and Michael Gold, Lawson's scripts of the mid-1920s bore the mark...

Blue (review)

Reviewed by: Blue Karen Coats Hostetter, Joyce Moyer Blue. Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills, 2006 [200p] ISBN 1-59078-389-1$16.95 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5-8 In January of 1944, thirteen-year-old Ann Fay says goodbye to her father as he heads off to fight Hitler, and she puts on the blue overalls that will make her the man of the house in his absence. With help from a neighbor boy, she plows, sets, and tends the family's huge vegetable garden, battles the encroaching wisteria that threatens to take over their property, and takes care of her younger siblings. They all miss their father dreadfully, but their real tragedy begins when four-year-old Bobby is stricken with polio. Ann Fay does her best to hold things together while her mother stays with Bobby at the polio hospital in Hickory, North Carolina, known as the "Miracle of Hickory." Bobby dies, but the epidemic isn't done with their family, and Ann Fay finds herself side by side in the contagious ward with a black girl. They become fast friends, helping each other through the uncomfortable Kenny treatments and physical therapy until they are separated, under much protest, into the segregated convalescent wards. Between Daddy's absence, Bobby's death (and the death from grief of his faithful dog, Polio Pete), and Ann Fay's difficult recovery, this is three-hankie historical fiction about a truly grim time in American history, but Hostetter manages to avoid too much sentiment by focusing on Ann Fay's determination and common sense in the face of hard times. Readers in this iconoclastic age will be struck by the admiration and esteem people, especially fellow polio victims, felt for Roosevelt, as well as the spirit of volunteerism that characterized the response to the domestic epidemic in the midst of war. An informative author's note and extensive bibliography are included. Copyright © 2006 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois