John Willson's Books

Children of Peace

By: John McIntyre

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The Children of Peace, which existed from 1812 to 1890, was started by former Quakers from the United States who set up a utopian community near Toronto. With their propensity for fine architecture, music, and ritual, adherents to the sect attracted the attention of the religious, political, and social élites. Their leader and founder, David Willson, was one of the most prolific religious writers and theorists in Canada at the time. The Children of Peace sought to create a church where God spoke directly to all and where both Christians and Jews could find a home. McIntyre looks at life in the community and places the sect within its broader historical contexts. His examination of the community's buildings and artefacts provides insight into the beliefs and behaviour of its adherents. Children of Peace makes an important contribution to the growing field of religious and cultural history in Canada.

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Page Count

277

Publisher

McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published Date

ISBN 10

0773564772

ISBN 13

9780773564770

Small-Town Dreams

Stories of Midwestern Boys Who Shaped America

By: John E. Miller

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Small-Town Dreams

Stories of Midwestern Boys Who Shaped America

By: John E. Miller

We live these days in a virtual nation of cities and celebrities, dreaming a small-town America rendered ever stranger by purveyors of nostalgia and dark visionaries from Sherwood Anderson to David Lynch. And yet it is the small town, that world of local character and neighborhood lore, that dreamed the America we know today—and the small-town boy, like those whose stories this book tells, who made it real. In these life-stories, beginning in 1890 with frontier historian Frederick Jackson Turner and moving up to the present with global shopkeeper Sam Walton, a history of middle America unfolds, as entrepreneurs and teachers like Henry Ford, George Washington Carver, and Walt Disney; artists and entertainers like Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Carl Sandburg, and Johnny Carson; political figures like William McKinley, William Jennings Bryan, and Ronald Reagan; and athletes like Bob Feller and John Wooden by turns engender and illustrate the extraordinary cultural shifts that have transformed the Midwest, and through the Midwest, the nation--and the world. Many of these men are familiar, icons even—Ford and Reagan, certainly, Ernie Pyle, Sinclair Lewis, James Dean, and Lawrence Welk—and others, like artists Oscar Micheaux and John Steuart Curry, economist Alvin Hansen and composer Meredith Willson, less so. But in their stories, as John E. Miller tells them, all appear in a new light, unique in their backgrounds and accomplishments, united only in the way their lives reveal the persisting, shaping power of place, and particularly the Midwest, on the cultural imagination and national consciousness. In a thoroughly engaging style Miller introduces us to the small-town Midwestern boys who became these all-American characters, privileging us with insights that pierce the public images of politicians and businessmen, thinkers and entertainers alike. From the smell of the farm, the sounds and silences of hamlets and county seats, the schoolyard athletics and classroom instruction and theatrical performance, we follow these men to their moments of inspiration, innovation, and fame, observing the workings of the small-town past in their very different relationships with the larger world. Their stories reveal in an intimate way how profoundly childhood experiences shape personal identity, and how deeply place figures in the mapping of thought, belief, ambition, and life's course.

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Page Count

544

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700619496

ISBN 13

9780700619498

Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004

By: John Stewart

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Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004

By: John Stewart

On March 31, 1943, the musical Oklahoma! premiered and the modern era of the Broadway musical was born. Since that time, the theatres of Broadway have staged hundreds of musicals--some more noteworthy than others, but all in their own way a part of American theatre history. With more than 750 entries, this comprehensive reference work provides information on every musical produced on Broadway since Oklahoma's 1943 debut. Each entry begins with a brief synopsis of the show, followed by a three-part history: first, the pre-Broadway story of the show, including out-of-town try-outs and Broadway previews; next, the Broadway run itself, with dates, theatres, and cast and crew, including replacements, chorus and understudies, songs, gossip, and notes on reviews and awards; and finally, post-Broadway information with a detailed list of later notable productions, along with important reviews and awards.

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6404

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476603294

ISBN 13

9781476603292

The First of Men

A Life of George Washington

By: John E. Ferling

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The First of Men

A Life of George Washington

By: John E. Ferling

Written by John Ferling, one of America's leading historians of the Revolutionary era, The First of Men offers an illuminating portrait of George Washington's life, with emphasis on his military and political career. Here is a riveting account that captures Washington in all his complexity, recounting not only Washington's familiar sterling qualities--courage, industry, ability to make difficult decisions, ceaseless striving for self-improvement, love of his family and loyalty to friends--but also his less well known character flaws. Indeed, as Ferling shows, Washington had to overcome many negative traits as he matured into a leader. The young Washington was accused of ingratitude and certain of his letters from this period read as if they were written by "a pompous martinet and a whining, petulant brat." As commander-in-chief of the Continental Army, he lost his temper more than once and indulged flatterers. Aaron Burr found him "a boring, colorless person." As president, he often believed the worst about individual officials. Ferling concludes that Washington's personality and temperament were those of "a self-centered and self-absorbed man, one who since youth had exhibited a fragile self-esteem." And yet he managed to realize virtually every grand design he ever conceived. Ferling's Washington is driven, fired by ambition, envy, and dreams of fame and fortune. Yet his leadership and character galvanized the American Revolution--probably no one else could have kept the war going until the master stroke at Yorktown--and helped the fledgling nation take, and survive, its first unsteady steps. This superb paperback makes available once again an unflinchingly honest and compelling biography of the father of our country.

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Page Count

616

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199742278

ISBN 13

9780199742271

Almost a Miracle

The American Victory in the War of Independence

By: John E. Ferling

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Almost a Miracle

The American Victory in the War of Independence

By: John E. Ferling

Describes the military history of the American Revolution and the grim realities of the eight-year conflict while offering descriptions of the major engagements on land and sea and the decisions that influenced the course of the war.

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Page Count

694

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0195382927

ISBN 13

9780195382921

The Light Crust Doughboys are on the Air

Celebrating Seventy Years of Texas Music

By: John Mark Dempsey

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The Light Crust Doughboys are on the Air

Celebrating Seventy Years of Texas Music

By: John Mark Dempsey

This is the story of the Light Crust Doughboys phenomenon, from their debut broadcast in 1930 to their contemporary live performances.

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Page Count

321

Publisher

University of North Texas Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1574411519

ISBN 13

9781574411515

Adventure, Mystery, and Romance

Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture

By: John G. Cawelti

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Adventure, Mystery, and Romance

Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture

By: John G. Cawelti

A study of the popular plot formulas, and chief practitioners, of the detective and crime story, western, and social melodrama, assessing their artistic and cultural significance.

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Page Count

344

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0226098672

ISBN 13

9780226098678

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson

Volume 2

By: John Dickinson

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The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson

Volume 2

By: John Dickinson

John Dickinson’s entry into public life in Delaware and Pennsylvania is a highlight of the ninety-eight documents written over four years printed in Volume Two of The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson. The volume opens with Dickinson’s legal notes as he established himself as one of the most prominent and learned lawyers in colonial British North America. His cases dealt with, among other issues, interpretation of wills, disputes over land, sailors suing for wages, a fine on a Quaker who refused military service, and a notorious murder in a prominent Philadelphia family. It concludes with Dickinson offering thoughtful advice to a young man who was considering the arduous work in becoming a lawyer. “I think,” he wrote, “those must be infinitely the most happy, whose fatigues are softend by a conscious Benevolence of mind wishing & endeavouring to [pro]mote the Happiness of others as well as their own.” Dickinson’s hard work on behalf of his clients brought him success in other areas of his public life. In October 1759, he was elected to his first public position as a representative for Kent County, Del., the following year he was elevated to the position of speaker, and in 1762, he became a representative for Philadelphia County, Pa. As a legislator in two colonies, learning his craft as a global war unfolded, he contributed to bills on military and defense, Indian relations, infrastructure improvements and city management, and served on various committees. The death of George II occasioned debates over laws and judges, in which Dickinson participated. This era concludes with Dickinson playing a central role in managing the unfolding Paxton Riots, in which frontiersmen massacred peaceful Indians and threatened the Quaker leadership of Pennsylvania. In private, Dickinson lost the two most prominent male figures in his life in 1760, his father, Samuel, and soon thereafter, his mentor, colleague, and friend, John Moland. In honor of Moland, Dickinson published a poem and became a proxy head to Moland’s large family. Though his extant correspondence during this period is small, he exchanged letters with Mary Cadwalader Dickinson, Israel Pemberton, William Allason, George Read, Thomas McKean, and others. Perhaps most significant, he wrote a lengthy, unpublished essay on the flag-of-truce trade and also maintained commonplace books as he considered his place within the British Empire, opening up the next phase in Dickinson’s life as a leader of the resistance against Britain. Published by the University of Delaware Press. Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.

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491

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

164453181X

ISBN 13

9781644531815

Rock Hudson

By: John Mercer

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Rock Hudson

By: John Mercer

Tall, dark and handsome, with a manufactured name and a scrupulously designed professional image, Rock Hudson represented the Hollywood ideal of American masculinity during the 1950s and 60s; an ideal that was to be questioned and ultimately undermined during the years to follow by lurid accounts of his private life and his death from AIDS related illness. This illuminating analysis of Hudson's career reassesses the perceived disparity between his public persona and his 'true' nature. Exploring his unique qualities as a performer and exposing the role of his agent, producers and directors in the construction of his image, John Mercer unpicks Hudson's stardom to reveal a more complex star identity than has hitherto been understood. Foregrounding the ways in which Hudson's career provides insights into the nature of American popular culture and attitudes towards gender and sexuality, Mercer ultimately depicts Hudson as a star who embodied a period of transition between the old Hollywood and the new.

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Page Count

194

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1838717854

ISBN 13

9781838717858

The Reformed Presbyterian

By: Thomas Sproull, John W. Sproull

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The Reformed Presbyterian

By: Thomas Sproull, John W. Sproull

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.

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Page Count

382

Publisher

BoD – Books on Demand

Published Date

ISBN 10

3846055948

ISBN 13

9783846055946

Book's by John Willson

Children of Peace

Children of Peace

Small-Town Dreams

Small-Town Dreams

Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004

Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004

The First of Men

The First of Men

Almost a Miracle

Almost a Miracle

The Light Crust Doughboys are on the Air

The Light Crust Doughboys are on the Air

Adventure, Mystery, and Romance

Adventure, Mystery, and Romance

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson

The Complete Writings and Selected Correspondence of John Dickinson

Rock Hudson

Rock Hudson

The Reformed Presbyterian

The Reformed Presbyterian

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