AltWeeklies Wire
A Guide to Boston's Secret Trove of Peculiar Artifactsnew
There are peculiar piece of history tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Boston–area archives -- from death masks to a book bound in human skin.
Boston Phoenix |
Jacqueline Houton |
08-28-2008 |
History
Is it Possible to Understand Minnesota's Politics? You Betchanew
In our own quiet way, we're thrilled to be living in a battleground state, but to understand Minnesota politics today, visitors will have to understand what came before. To help, here's a look back at the most memorable moments in our political history.
City Pages (Twin Cities) |
Matthew Smith |
08-28-2008 |
Politics
The Beats Go On in 'Texas Music'new
The History of Texas Music is an anthropological study of Texas as examined through its diverse offering of folk music, offering a historical study of social, ethnic and geographical influence and how they have laid the groundwork for a thriving indie music scene.
The Texas Observer |
Michael Hoinski |
08-27-2008 |
Nonfiction
LBJ, The Texas Observer & Menew
The Texas Observer cut its teeth on LBJ and the politics of the late 1950s. In his drive to accrue power at the state and national levels, Johnson played on both sides of major issues and Ronnie was there to hold him accountable.
The Texas Observer |
Ronnie Dugger |
08-27-2008 |
Politics
1968: A Wild Time in Madisonnew
Like the rest of the nation, the Wisconsin capital was awash in chaos, confusion, confrontation and change.
Police Vets of the 1968 DNC Get Their Say in 'Battleground Chicago'new
First published in 2004 but reissued in paperback last May, in time for this summer’s round-number anniversary, Frank Kusch's Battleground Chicago tells the story of the infamous "police riot" at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. But here's a first: it's told from the cops' point of view.
Chicago Reader |
Barry Wightman |
08-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
The 'Forever Young' Generation Reflects on Life in Vermont's First Communesnew
A revival of Hair is giving audiences in New York's Central Park a vicarious contact high these days, but memories of the bygone Age of Aquarius in Vermont have sparked an upcoming commune reunion and a new book, Farm Friends: From the Late Sixties to the West Seventies and Beyond by Tom Fels.
Seven Days |
Susan Green |
08-25-2008 |
History
Norman Mailer's 1968 War Storiesnew
Mailer wrote his accounts of the 1968 national conventions on assignment for Harper's, and predicted a 40-year war with the emerging neo-cons. Alas, he was right about that.
Boston Phoenix |
Charles Taylor |
08-20-2008 |
Nonfiction
Why Can't Philly's Thriving Theater Scene Use the City's Grand Old Stages?new
Ironically, Philadelphia is worse off because we have so many great old theaters -- we might sustain one or two, but what do we do with a dozen?
Philadelphia City Paper |
David Anthony Fox |
08-12-2008 |
Theater
A New Book on Vermont Country Stores Reveals Why They're Here for the Long Haulnew
If you go way back to the foggy beginnings of an average Vermont town, the building blocks of the community stack up something like this: First came the church, and then the town hall, the one-room schoolhouse, the tavern, the harness shop, the blacksmith, the itinerant traders and, last but not least, the general store.
Seven Days |
Kirk Kardashian |
08-08-2008 |
Nonfiction
Fifty Years Ago, Black Activists Stood Up to Discrimination by Sitting Downnew
When 13 youths requested equal service at Katz Drug Store on Aug. 19, 1958, they tipped off what some say were the first major sustained sit-ins in the American civil rights movement.
Oklahoma Gazette |
Emily Jerman |
08-06-2008 |
Race & Class
Springfield, Ill., Was an Important Station on the Underground Railroadnew
Part of the intrigue of the Underground Railroad is its mystery -- we'll never know the whole story. Its activists tried to keep their work secret, so they kept no official records; many African-American participants couldn't read or write, which prevented them from leaving records. What we know comes from oral histories, journals, and memoirs sometimes found by luck.
Illinois Times |
Tara McClellan McAndrew |
07-21-2008 |
History
Michigan's Most Important Rock Fest Remains Obscure Footnote in Rock Historynew
In the summer of 1970, the Goose Lake International Music Festival was held in Jackson, Michigan, and attracted over 200,000 fans. Unlike Woodstock, it didn't rain and most of those folks actually paid to get in. Despite this, Goose Lake remains an obscure footnote in Midwestern rock history, the big show that hardly anyone outside Michigan has heard about.
Metro Times |
Mark Deming |
07-08-2008 |
Music
Repression Illustrated: People's History in a Graphic Formatnew
National Lampoon/Heavy Metal illustrator Rick Geary’s graphic bio of the notorious FBI strongman, J. Edgar Hoover, and American Splendor author Harvey Pekar’s anthology of new-left living-history reminiscences, Students for a Democratic Society are well-drawn histories.
Boston Phoenix |
Clif Garboden |
07-03-2008 |
Nonfiction
Declassified FBI Files Exonerate Orange County's Original Conservative Scapegoatnew
More than four decades after Joel Dvorman's tragic death, once-sealed FBI files obtained by the Weekly reveal an indisputable truth: The former Magnolia School District trustee and liberal martyr was the victim of an unwarranted witch-hunt.
