Labor Day, Ken Burns and American History

Labor Day and the labor movement grew out of the need to protect the common interest of American workers. Organized labor unions fought for better wages, reasonable hours, and safer working conditions. The movement also led efforts to stop child labor, give health benefits and provide aid to injured or retired workers.
On the occasion of the coming Labor Day weekend, my thoughts turn to other defining times in the history of America from political and economic struggles to its national pastime and musical history. Who better to lead us on such an explorative journey of American history than Ken Burns, American filmmaker known for his style of using archival footage and photographs in stunning documentary films. His documentaries have earned two Academy Award nominations and have won several Emmy Awards, among other honors. His widely known documentary series include the America collection, history classics, and war series. Fortunately, the Glenview Public Library owns many of them for your viewing pleasure on the upcoming three day weekend. The following are just some of them:

The Vietnam War (2017)
Watch the story about one of the most consequential, divisive, and controversial events in American history.
Jackie Robinson (2016)
The story of an American icon whose battle for first class citizenship for African Americans transcends sports.
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014)
Three family members that redefined the relationship America had with their government and with each other.
The Address (2014)
Uncovers how President Lincoln's historic words motivate and engage students over 150 years later'
The Central Park Five (2012)
Story about five black and Latino teenagers whose lives were upended by a miscarriage of justice.
The Dust Bowl (2012)
A chronicle of the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history that nearly decimated wheat supply.
Prohibition (2011)
Tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the 18th Amendment and the era it encompassed.
The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009)
This film features those willing to devote themselves to saving land that they loved and practicing democracy.
Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip (2003)
Defying what was thought to be impossible, Dr. Jackson drives cross country for the first time ever.
Jazz (2001)
America's greatest original art form is celebrated in this portrait of the roots for improvisational music.
Not For Ourselves Alone: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1999)
The little-known story of two women who led the fight to win the most basic civil rights for all American women.
Baseball (1994)
A series that examines nearly 200 years of American history through the prism of our national sport.
The Civil War (1990)
It was the most horrible, necessary, intimate, acrimonious, mean-spirited and heroic conflict of the nation.
The Statue of Liberty (1985)
Examines the nature of freedom and the statue's significance within American life.


There are many others so come visit the AV room at GPL and discover some others for yourself this Labor Day weekend.

Ireland: It's History And Culture In Film

March is Irish-American heritage month and is celebrated to honor the achievements and contributions of Irish immigrants and their descendants. Pick up one these documentaries and journey to the Emerald Isle  and explore a beautiful land with a rich and vibrant culture all from the comfort of your couch.

Out of Ireland: the Story of Irish Emigration to America (1997)
This film examines the history of the seven million Irish who emigrated to America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries including the causes of the mass emigration and the immigrant experience in the United States.

Older Than Ireland (2016)
The story of a hundred years of life as seen through the eyes of thirty Irish centenarians; from their birth at the start of Irish independence to their life in modern day Ireland.

The Story of Ireland (2012)
A five-part landmark history presented by Fergal Keane. Ireland is living through a significant period in its cycle of history, since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the island has been at peace. Take a look back at Ireland long and complex history.

Daniel O'Donnell at Home in Ireland (2007)
Daniel O'Donnell shares the sights and sounds of his homeland in this wonderful concert special taped at the Letterkenny performance hall in county Donegal.

Celtic Woman (2004)
The musical group Celtic Woman presents renditions of popular Irish songs.

Patrick: He Ignited A Flame of Faith in Ireland (2011)
A docudrama about Saint Patrick, his life and his work to save the people who enslaved him.

A Proper Pint: O'Lacklainn's Bar, Ballyvaughan, Ireland
This film takes the viewer to O'Loclainn's, a traditional pub in Ballayvaughan, Ireland. Owners, staff, and regulars discuss O'Loclainn's roles as a community center.

Rick Steves' Europe. Ireland and Scotland (2013)
Join European travel guru Rick Steves as he takes you to; Dublin---Best of South Ireland--Best of West Ireland--Belfast and the best of Northern Ireland---Scotland's islands and Highlands--Edinburgh.

Vietnam War Fiction

This fall, documentary filmmakers, Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, aired a new PBS series about the Vietnam War. Their 10-year project has culminated in an excellent 18-hour, 10-part documentary. If you have been watching this documentary, you may be interested deepening your understanding of this war even further. Below is a selected list of fiction written about the Vietnam War and its legacy. Two of the authors listed below have featured interviews in the PBS documentary.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Heroic young men carry the emotional weight of their lives to war in Vietnam in a patchwork account of a modern journey in the heart of darkness.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
In a story by a decorated Marine veteran who fought in the Vietnam War, Lieutenant Waino Mellas and his fellow Marines venture into the mountain jungle of Vietnam as boys and fight their way into manhood. They meet not only external obstacles but also internal ones, including racial tension, competing ambitions and underhanded officers.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows a Viet Cong agent as he spies on a South Vietnamese army general and his compatriots as they start a new life in 1975 Los Angeles.

The Quiet American by Graham Green
The setting of this novel is Saigon in the violent years when the French were desperately trying to hold their footing in the Far East. The principal characters are a skeptical British Journalist, his attractive Vietnamese mistress, and an eager young American sent out by Washington on a mysterious mission.

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
Helen Adams, an American combat photographer during the Vietnam War, captures the wrenching chaos of battle on film and finds herself torn between the love of two men, one an American war correspondent and the other his Vietnamese underling.

The Lotus and the Storm by Lan Cao
A tale set during the decades following the Vietnam War is told through the experiences of a Vietnamese-American family, including former South Vietnamese soldier Minh and his daughter, Mai, who move to a close-knit immigrant community in Virginia where they confront devastating secrets.

What season is it?

Have you been wondering what’s going on with the weather? Here it is, mid-July, and it still feels like Spring. Some of us might not mind the cooler temperatures, but it's supposed to be hot and muggy. After all, it's summer in the city! So, is it global warming? Whether you agree or not with this theory, it is worth looking into.

There are several thought provoking documentaries, on DVD and CD:

Let's start with An Inconvenient Truth:a Global Warming, hosted by former Vice-President Al Gore, as he talks about the myths and truths of global warming. 

From 2005, Global warming: the signs and the science. Filmed in the U.S., Asia and South America, it profiles the people affected by the changing climate and how they are making a difference in their communities.

For a visual look, there's Chasing ice, which documents the receding of the Solheim glacier in Iceland as a result of climate change.

On CD is Earth's changing climate, a 6-disc collection of lectures by Professor Richard Wolfson of Middlebury College.

For more information on climate change, the weather and the environment, please check the Library's catalog. 

Under the Sea

June 8 has been designated as World Oceans Day. It is the day set aside to show our support to protect the oceans from pollution and keep them healthy for both humans and sea animals. I think most of us have had a chance to at least dip our toes in the ocean, if not swam in it. So you know how great it is, and if you are a diver, you already know what wonders the oceans hold in their depths, and how precious they are. But even if you just snorkel, you can get a sense of the life beneath.

There are several DVDs in the Library's collection that you can check out: the first one is Wondrous Secrets of the Ocean Realm. It is a four disc set that explores and examines the variety of life in the ocean. 

Then there is Oceans which features under the sea film adventures: images of deepwater creatures and whale migration, to name a few.

Dawn of the Ocean discusses the forces that created the surface of the ocean and looks at attempts to document the spectrum of marine life.

And of course you have to watch Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures. You will marvel as you watch him and his team dive hundreds of feet beneath the ocean's surface and encounter its inhabitants.

After watching these movies, I hope you will have a better appreciation of the water around us, specially since the oceans cover 71% of the earth's surface.

Batter up!

Ah! Spring is when a young man’s fancy turns to…..baseball!   Yes, it’s time to take me out to the ballgame. To feel the sun on my face, to taste the cold beer in my mouth, and to root for my favorite team!

Let's do a little spring training ourselves by watching Ken Burns’ Baseball, which is about the history of baseball, from the 1840’s to 1994: interviews, photographs, and film footage.It's a very informative and interesting DVD.

For some light-hearted look at baseball, watch MLB Bloopers: the funny side of baseball. It recounts tales that happened during the game as well as off the field with the players.

Others of note are: Eight Men Out – based on the real-life scandal of 1919, Pride of the Yankees – starring Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig, who at the peak of his career with the NY Yankees, was cut down by ALS. A League of Their Own  – based on the true story of the All-American girls professional baseball League  that was formed while the men were at war in 1943.

More recently, 42: the Jackie Robinson Story – the first African American major league player of the modern era.

I'm looking forward to this year, filled with the hope and the promise of a great year!!

Sixto Rodriguez coming to Chicago Theater

If you watched the documentary Searching For Sugar Man, you may be interested to know that Sixto Rodriguez is coming to the Chicago Theater next month. The documentary won an Academy Award for best documentary in 2013 and some parts of the documentary were shot on a $1.99 iPhone App called 8mm Vintage Camera after the producers ran out of film for an expensive real 8mm camera.  After I saw the documentary, I was interested to find out all I could about the artist Sixto Rodriguez.  I checked out the CD and I loved it.  If you haven't seen the film, you may want to check it out, if you have seen it you may want to see him live.

The National Parks

Several years ago, my family and I decided to drive cross-country from Chicago to Vancouver, Canada, to attend my niece's wedding. It was a long trip, but well worth it. As we travelled through South Dakota, with its ribbon of highway that go on forever and cornfields that line both sides of the road, I could not help but think of "spacious skies and amber waves of grain". To break the trip, we planned on visiting some of the National Parks along the way. So going, we stopped at the Badlands, and Mount Rushmore, and on the return, Olympic and Yellowstone. There is nothing like rounding the bend on the way to Mount Rushmore and coming face to face with the Presidents - or visiting Yellowstone and seeing Old Faithful erupt!

To find out more about the National Parks, start with The National Parks: America's Best Idea with Ken Burns, as this documentary will give you the history of the Parks. Next, you can watch National Parks Collection - produced by National Geographic, which explores the natural history and the wildlife. You will also find DVDs that focus on specific parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier and Yosemite, to name a few.

Please don't wait to enjoy and explore the National Parks. Have a great trip and a wonderful vacation!

Earth Day

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970 and this year marks its 43^rd anniversary. This environmental movement is concerned with how the people, animals and places are affected by climate changes and how to protect the planet that we live in.

 There are several films to watch which will open our eyes to, or remind us of the beauty of this planet that we live in. Start with Earth, the Biography: the story of our world. It is a 2-disc DVD produced by BBC/National Geographic Channel. As stated in the title, it tells the life story of how our planet was created. After we have that understanding, move on to another BBC production called Planet Earth. It is described as taking you from the highest mountains to the deepest rivers and places you’ve never been to. If that’s not enough to amaze you, then also watch Earth Songs. This is another documentary produced by BBC/National Geographic that will take you to the most beautiful places on earth.

Now that we have seen the grandeur around us, we can think about preserving these places and animals. The 11^th Hour and Project Earth explores and offers possible solutions to either stop or reverse what we have done to our planet.

Let the Games Begin!

As far as can be determined, the Olympic Games started in 776 BC, open only to Greek citizens, held in Olympia and were dedicated to the Olympian gods. They were originally just one-day events, but were extended to three days in 684 BC, and later to five days.

The ancient games included running, long jump, shot put, javelin, boxing, pankration (a primitive form of martial art that combined wrestling and boxing) and equestrian events (which included chariot races).

Today, there is the summer Olympic Games and the winter Olympic Games.  Many of the games are still the same, but new sports have been added such as golf, basketball, snowboarding and skiing. Athletes now come from different countries to compete in the games, which are held every four years in a different city of the world.

There are several documentary films available at the Library including The First Olympics, and The Official History of the Modern Olympics. There are also DVDs specific to a particular year: Beijing 2008 Highlights, and Vancouver 2010. For a bit of fun, watch Cool Runnings, a feature film loosely based on the Jamaican Bobsled team.

This year the Olympic Games began in London starting July 27.

God Save the Queen!

This month, Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her diamond jubilee as the Head of State of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Upon the death of her father, King George VI, she acceded to the throne and was crowned on June 2, 1952 at the young age of 25.

If you’ve watched all the festivities on TV, and now want to learn more about her, there is a DVD called The Diamond Queen. It is a documentary of Queen Elizabeth II’s life: the defining moments of her monarchy and her impact around the world.

After watching that, you might become interested in learning more about the rest of her family. If so,  there's Bertie & Elizabeth, a fictionalized movie, but nonetheless a very good portrayal of the life of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, her parents. Then you can move on to her grandchildren and watch The Royal Wedding, which is about William and Kate’s special day.

If you don't have time to sit and watch the movies, there is also an audio book Elizabeth the Queen, by Sally Bedell Smith and read by Rosalyn Landor.

There has always been a fascination with English Royalty, and who knows, there might be great-grandchildren in the not too distant future.

Summertime, Summertime

It's finally summer! The warm weather is here and school's out, so is it time for some rest and relaxation?  Will it be off to Europe, a road trip,  the beach, or somewhere close? If a '"staycation" is it, there are plenty of places to visit right here in our neighborhood. Be a tourist at home. For ideas, the following DVDs can help you discover places to visit right in your own backyard!

The following explores the architectural and historical treasures of Chicago:

7 Wonders of Chicago

Chicago's Lakefront

Chicago by Boat

Chicago by L

If you don't want to go to Chicago, then check out the following: Fox River Valley and Chain O'Lakes, Chicago's North Shore, and Northwest of Chicago.

Last but not least, do you want to spend a day at Brookfield Zoo, Chicago Botanic Garden, or Morton Arboretum to name a few? Because you are a GPL library cardholder, you will be eligible for a Museum Adventure Pass to one of these attractions.  For more information, please visit http://www.museumadventure.org/ and next time you're at the Library, stop by the Reader Services Desk.

Whatever you do, enjoy the summer!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Yes, it is that time of year again. Whether you’re a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan, it’s time to throw out that first pitch and say “Play Ball”!! Take a look at these DVDs.

A good place to start would be  America’s Classic Ballparks, which traces the history of Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, Fenway Park and Tiger Stadium.

                                     

White Sox fans might want to relive the 2005 World Series against the Houston Astros,

there’s Sox Pride – World Series 05. Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox.

For Cubs fans, there’s Chicago Cubs Legends which showcases memorable games such as Kerry Wood’s record tying game against Houston on May 6, 1998, and Ryne Sandberg’s single handed effort against the St.Louis Cardinals on June 23, 1984.

So have fun and bring out the CrackerJack! Batters up!

Just the Facts, Please

The library's new Audiovisual Room offers a plethora of benefits and conveniences over life in the old library building. For staff and patrons, simply getting out of the basement and being above ground for a change is a step in the right direction. The AV room is now a one-stop shop for ALL your Audiovisual needs: DVDs, music CDs, audiobooks, Playaways, video games and even a few VHS tapes. But what really has us all (ok, maybe just me) excited is that now all the library's non-fiction DVDs are housed in the same location, together alongside their format counterparts the DVD fiction feature films. In 2011, you don't have to browse the entire non-fiction book collection to find that pilates DVD or the Joan Rivers documentary, the latest travel film or the Art of the Steal, Restrepo or The Cove. Documentaries and non-fiction DVDs are a integral part of the library's AV collection. I feel like they sometimes went, er, under-noticed in the old building. They're getting better exposure now so drop by the Audiovisual room and check out something interesting on your next visit and tell us about one of your favorite non-fiction DVDs or documentaries. I'll tell you about Vernon, Florida.