Breweries of Dayton

Dalton, Curt. Breweries of Dayton: A Toast to Brewers from the Gem City: 1810-1961. 2nd Edition. Dayton, Ohio, 2002. There has been increased interest in the 1920s and Prohibition.  So much so, that if it has not already happened, the major networks will start bringing out historic dramas set in the 1920s, similar to HBO’s Boardwalk [...]

Guided by Voices

Greer, James. Guided by Voices: A Brief History: Twenty-one Years of Hunting Accidents in the Forests of Rock and Roll.  New York; Black Cat, 2005. “They are just making music I would make, if I could make music” – Steven Sodenbergh, from “In Lieu of an Actual Introduction”   One of the best bands to [...]

Politics, Race, and Schools

Watras, Joseph. Politics, Race, and Schools: Racial Integration, 1954-1994.  New York; Garland Publishing, 1997. This sounds worse than intended, but I would not recommend Politics, Race, and Schools to the casual reader.  It is not a beach read.  The storyline covering desegregation and integration in Dayton public and private schools in the 1960s and 70s, [...]

Shards & pellets & knives, oh my!

Fulker, John. Shards & pellets & knives, oh my! Wilmington, Ohio; Orange Frazer Press, 2007. The literary career of John Fulker would seem to have a very narrow audience.  The longtime attorney from Troy has written four collections of fictionalized-true-crime stories about murder in Miami County.  While this could very easily pigeon-hole many authors into [...]

200 Years of Progress

Roberts, Carl V.  200 Years of Progress: A History of Dayton and the Miami Valley. Dubuque, Iowa; Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1978. The Miami Valley, or Miami Country, is an ambiguous creature.  Vaguely the land surrounding the Great and Little Miami Rivers, I have seen this region defined as simply Dayton Metro to extending into Indiana [...]