Book Notes
Cincinnati Observed: Architecture and
History. By John Clubbe.
(Columbus: The Ohio State University
Press, 1992. xxvi + 531p.; illustra-
tions, bibliography, index.) At long
last here is an engaging and informative
portrait of Cincinnati's architecture,
history and cultural traditions. Written
by a native New Yorker and professor of
English literature, Cincinnati
Observed wonderfully blends facts, descriptions, essays, quotes,
and wit into
the first comprehensive examination of
its kind since the frequently cited yet
exceedingly dated Cincinnati Guide (1943).
Cincinnati Observed joins seven
previous works edited by Zane Miller and
Henry Shapiro as part of the Urban
Life and Landscape Series. Clubbe has
produced an insightful look at the
familiar and not so familiar aspects of
the Queen City, ranging from a lengthy
discussion of the Carew Tower to a
gustatory discourse on Skyline Chili.
Among the book's many pluses are the
45-page index, site maps, and pho-
tographs, both historic and
contemporary. More a study of the urban experi-
ence than urban history, Cincinnati
Observed provides a welcome breadth so
often lacking in similar studies. It is
must reading for travel buffs, architec-
tural enthusiasts and urban historians
alike.
Ohio Historical Society Steve Gordon
American Anxieties: A Collective
Portrait of the 1930s. Edited by Louis
Filler, with a new introduction by the
editor. (New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Transaction Publishers, 1993; originally
published in 1963 by G. P. Putnam's
Sons. xxi + 378p.; notes, index.) A
reprint of a meritorious 1963 work,
American Anxieties, as its subtitle promises, does indeed provide a
collective
portrait of the thirties. Professor
Filler chose well in selecting his authors and
snippets from their publications, as
they offer the reader a stimulating cross
section of political, intellectual,
social, and cultural views of a tempestuous
decade, and in the bargain provide clues
to understanding the sixties and later.
Filler includes not only such heavy
hitters as Sherwood Anderson, John
Dewey, John Steinbeck, John Dos Passos,
and H. L. Mencken, but also such
lesser lights as Tom Kramer and Lauren
Gilfillan.
Ohio Historical Society Robert L. Daugherty
A Book of Memories: Kent State
University 1910-1992. Edited by
William
H. Hildebrand, Dean H. Keller, and Anita
D. Herington. (Kent: The Kent
State University Press, 1993. xii +
327p.; illustrations, index.) In this heavily