Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 88

4J Lincoln Journal Star Sunday, October 15. 1995 BOOKS Page design: Vlckl S. Reynolds Mte sdtoxo) BOOK Marks i A Fiction Lincoln and University Hall in 1871. i in Til ilii it'll i riii UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS the praiMe The glories and growth of the University of Nebraska Unbelievable characters mar Nebraskan's novel "Jodi" by I.M. Smoky" Ryan, Remco 398 pages, no price listed WARNING: Reading this novel could be hazardous to your health your mental health, that is! This reader hates to give a fellow Nebraskan a bad review, but therein lies the problem.

"Jodi" by I.M. Ryan should have been a great story. Ryan started with a subject that is of interest to all citizens: corruption in government. His heroine. Jodi.

is a spunky Nebraska gal with an honest desire to leave the world a better place than she found it. But, progressively, the story line becomes bogged down with caustic and inflammatory rhetoric. Somewhat muddled is the ease with which Jodi moves from being down and out in Washington. D.C., to becoming a senator from Nevada, then to being vice president, and finally, the president. One of the first things a beginning writer learns is to make the characters believable.

A woman for president you bet! Over the span of just a few short years not likely. But the biggest fault with "Jodi" lies in the lack of preparation before printing. It obviously was rushed to print without the benefit of a proofreader. The spelling and punctuation are atrocious, often changing meanings. Save your money.

I'll gladly lend you my copy. Barb Wilhelm Book realistically retells Custer's tragic story The Last Stand" by Edwin P. Hoyt, Forge Hardcover, 316 pages, $22.95 Hard-core students of George Custer and his tragic march through history will find this novel of little consequence. But for folks who don't know much about the Custer legend, this book will lead you, pretty much faithfully, through the main events in the star-crossed life of the soldier who would be president but who found his fate on a dusty Montana hill. The author admits to a few made-up anecdotes, such as a beautiful and shapely blond who dallied with Custer in New York City while faithful wife Elizabeth was back West.

On the whole, however, the story unfolds true to life and the assumed dialogue is believable and engaging. We have a taste of the true tyrant that Custer was while in command, his constant search for action that would give him a place in the headlines, and his lovehate relationship with the Indians he loved to kill. The point is well made that, despite heroic and even brilliant soldiering during the Civil War, Custer faced an entirely different deal on the Plains. An easy massacre over an outnumbered and undermanned foe led Custer to believe he was immortal and destined to great things. Little did he know.

This book is all about George Armstrong Custer and the Indians of the Plains, and it tells the story well. Francis Moul "Prairie University: A History of the University of Nebraska" by Robert E. Knoll, University of Nebraska Press, 223 pages, $35 FRANCIS MOUL espite all the fine buildings, nicely landscaped walks and encrusted traditions, a university is really all about people. That's how Robert Knoll saw the University of Nebraska, and his history of that -prairie institution successfully, proves this idea. A university is also all about leadership, and Knoll follows that path through more than 125 years of history with unerring aim.

His candor and analysis of the roll-call of chancellors and presidents, and other administrators and faculty leaders, is sharp and unambiguous. Failures are named, as are the great leaders who made the university a national power. This is a handsome book. It is filled with photos that record the university's history in buildings and people and give added life to the words. 'Classics' seem clear to us now, under Knoll's unweaving.

And there were many times when the leaders were janitors only, maintaining but not building the school. Once, Knoll records, the faculty itself successfully took over the budgeting process, to stem the drain of resources. The decline is agonizingly apparent after the Golden Era of the university, in the 1880s and 1890s, when itsvas by far the finest school between the Mississippi and the West Coast. Important advances in various disciplines such as botany, ecology (invented at NU), agronomy, philology and more gave a national prominence to NU that perhaps never has been equaled since. That era coincided with a happy conj unction of a brilliant faculty, golden students who became national names and James Canfield, the first great chancellor who set the full future tone of the school.

His Not all was Miss for 'Sweethearts' Author spent 20 years researching MacDonalaVEddy romance history, however, is the ease with which it can be read. Knoll writes with an excitement that make the events and people come alive. Here he describes Willa Cather, one of the most distinguished of NU alumni: "Cather had been a campus character from her first day in Lincoln, coming as she did for a year in the University Latin School before enrolling as a freshman in 1891. She first planned a scientific course, but within months her essays were published in local papers and her direction was set. She cut quite a figure with her boyish haircut, her independent ways, and her outspoken opinions.

Many students did not like her, for she lacked the 'kindness, sociability, and wit' that earned girls like Minnie De Pue popularity. But even as an undergraduate she achieved more than local reputation with her theater reviews in the Lincoln Journal." Well, the stories roll on and on. About people and their foibles, their great achievements and their stumbles. It is all there. Moul is the owner of Wordsmith Books Art.

Eddy was stunned. There before him was the love of his life. In an interview 31 years later, he recalled his first glimpse of Jeanette MacDonald: "She was stunning and startlingly beautiful. She would take your breath away." The passion appeared to be a week's time, Nelson Eddy would make the first of what was to become several proposals of marriage to Jeanette MacDonald. This one she turned down.

Thus began a romantic roller-coaster ride of a relationship that would last throughout the rest of their lives. "Sweethearts" is a labor of love about the travails of love. It is also a revealing examination into the vicissitudes of the life of glamour and fame we associate with such celebrities. The meticulously researched and well-written saga of two screen legends from Hollywood's golden era is to be recommended to both MacDonaldEddy fans as well as, those not familiar with their careers. Based on interviews with scores of close friends and associates in-eluding Irene Dunne, Myrna Loy, El-.

eanor Powell, Ronald Reagan and many more "Sweethearts" is. abundantly illustrated with studio stills and photographs from personal collections, many of which have never before been seen in print. This is a book as enjoyable to read as it is enlightening. Their off-screen romance, as de fiicted in this book, was every bit as ntense and dramatic as the fictional love they portrayed so convincingly in such Hollywood classics as "Naughty Marietta," "Rose Marie," "Maytime" and "Sweethearts." As Eddv's widow, Ann Eddy, greeted MacDonald's widower; Gene Raymond, at Nelson's funeral, to the astonishment of those standing nearby, she was overheard to say, "Now they can sing together forever." Ladely Is director of the Mary Riepma Ross Filrn Theatre. administration made the university great in the eyes of educators everywhere, and also started the tradition of Nebraska loyalty to it.

He tirelessly traveled the state to make certain citizens knew that NU was of them and for them. Unfortunately, following chancellors allowed budgets and initiative to stagnate and decline, losing the vision of the heights. This fostered a long period of uncertainty, failure to understand what the university should and could be and an atmosphere of caretaking, not growing. These failures, and succeeding achievements that overcame the sloth, are followed faithfully by Knoll. He explained what happened and, as best can be determined, why it happened.

No punches are pulled, even as we get into the issues and crises of the past few decades, from the Vietnam War era to the latest line of succession among leaders. Best of all for the reader of this Author Sharon Rich time a serious operatic singer who had already forged a successful career performing concerts. In the interests of furthering his career, he had signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and he was impatiently awaiting his first major role. He had failed his first screen test and, consequently, was for the most part being ignored. MacDonald was already a famous movie star as well as an accomplished concert performer.

She had performed leading roles in several successful pictures. Louis B. Mayer, MGM's ruthless and tyrannical studio head, had become obsessed with MacDonald and, having promised her anything she wanted, had finally persuaded her into a singing contract. Mayer was a man who wielded power as casually as most of us mow the lawn, and he would later prove to be this couple's nemesis. The scene is set, and the leading man wanders aimlessly onto an MGM sound stage.

He hears a lovely, lilting soprano and instinctively follows the sound. Soon he finds himself trying to get a better look at the singer. She is laughing at a joke, whirls around, and their eyes meet for a second. But the book is much more than something for the coffee table. There are fistfuls of anecdotes that keep readers turning the pages, with the taste of a good novel.

There is sharp detail when that is needed, such as the careless construction of the school's first buildings. You read that the regents spent $2.50 for a chancellor's gift a Waterman fountain pen given just a couple of years after it had been invented. But beyond these nuggets, there is a flowing, considered review of the growth and decline of the university, its periods of great strength, the years of penurious leadership and the ebbs and flows in-between. It was the quality of people and leadership that created that flow, and Knoll follows it flawlessly, keeping the overall picture always in focus. History usually has perfect 2020 hindvision.

Thus, the missed opportunities for the university Cris Peterson the characters of Prospero, Miranda and Ariel as their story unfolds. When Prospero is exiled to an island with his infant daughter, he uses his magic powers to create a violent tempest that sweeps his enemies ashore. Now he has a chance for revenge. The resulting mayhem and mystery will entertain readers and listeners ages 6 and up. "The Adventures of Robin Hood" by Marcia Williams (Candle-wick, $17.95) brings the green-togged outlaw and his band merrily to life in a comic-strip format.

Each two-page spread, bordered in vines, flowers and medieval designs, re-creates a separate chapter of Robin's legend. Williams' riotously detailed recounting of Maid Marian, Little John and Friar Tuck is filled with irreverent humor. An author shouldn't be allowed to have this much fun. Even the fish and forest creatures get to put in their 2 cents' worth. A delightful picture book to pour over for ages 5 and up.

"King Arthur and the Round Table" by Hudson Talbott (Morrow, $16) is the second volume in the Tales of King Arthur series. As a boy of only 16, Arthur becomes King of Britain. Immediately, 12 lesser kings declare war on him, and this book recounts the battles that culminate in Arthur meeting his Lady Guinevere and creating the unique brotherhood of knights devoted to unity and peace the Knights of the Round Table. Castles, battles and fire-breathing dragons fill the pages of this entertaining tale for ages 6 and up. needn't be boring, long tomes Ask a classroom full of kids to read a "classic" book and you'll most likely get an earful of groans.

"Classics are long, boring, hard, ancient, dull," they protest. I must admit that fat, old books can give me headaches, too. Recently, a new approach to classic stories has made them more palatable to middle-grade readers and to parents who want to share a great story but don't think their read-aloud voice will hold up through a 300-page tome. Retold classics in picture book form are perfect for read-aloud and are a great way to introduce your kids to books that otherwise would be avoided. Check out these fresh new takes on classic tales: "Lassie Come Home" by Rosemary Wells, illustrated by Susan Jef-fers (Holt, is a beautiful new picture-book edition of Eric Knight's original 1938 classic.

For those who remember only the TV 6eries, the real Lassie is a prize collie who lives in England. When Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. The dog repeatedly escapes from her new owner and is finally sent away to a remote part of Scotland too far to ever find her way home again. A captivating tale accompanied by splendid art. For ages 6 and up.

"William Shakespeare's The Tempest" retold by Bruce Coville, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson (Doub-lcday, is filled with the magic and mystery of so many of Shakespeare's plays. This new version effectively untangles some of the confusion of the original work so readers and listeners can appreciate I "Sweethearts" by Sharon Rich, introduction by Jon Eddy; Donald I. Fine 478 pages; $23.95 BY DANNY LEE LADELY I am often nonplused, sometimes even a little piqued, by the excessive displays of adulation we heap on our stars be they actors, athletes, politicians, or sundry other types of celebrities sometimes to the point where admiration turns into aggravation or worse. I will confess that I am not at all immune to being star-struck once in a while, but I cannot ever see myself going to the extremes that some people do. Nevertheless, this behavior is characteristic of our culture, and nowhere is it more prevalent than when it comes to movie stars.

On the flip side of the coin, adulation of movie stars by their fans translates into big dollars at the box office, so much of this kind of behavior is not only tolerated but also welcomed. Author Sharon Rich is one of those fans whose devotion to her stars has turned into something positive; in this case, a bittersweet biography of "America's Singing Sweethearts," Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy, aptly titled "Sweethearts." Rich, who is president of the nation's largest Jeanette MacDonaldNelson Eddy fan club, spent more than 20 years researching their lives and careers, an endeavor that resulted in this tribute to a pair of Hollywood's most famous lovers. The sad irony, made painfully obvious by Rich's book, is that most MacDonaldEddy fans leaped to the conclusion that their private lives emulated the blissful ecstasy that radiated from their per; formances together on the screen. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It was love at first sight, at least according to this book, when the pair first met in the fall of 1933.

Eddy had arrived in Hollywood in June, at the Bestsellers NEW YORK TIMES Week of Oct. 15 Fiction THE LOST WORLD by Michael Crichton MORNING, NOON, AND NIGHT by Sidney Sheldon THE HORSE WHISPERER by Nicholas Evans COMING HOME by Rosamunde Pilcher IS FOR LAWLESS by Sue Grafton COME TO GRIEF by Dick Francis A PLACE CALLED FREEDOM by Ken Foiled THE CELESTINE PROPHECY by James Redfield DEAD MAN'S WALK by Larry McMutry BEACH MUSIC by Pat Con- rpy Nonfiction MY AMERICAN JOURNEY by Colin L. Powell MY POINT AND I DO HAVE ONE by Ellen DeGeneres A GOOD LIFE by Ben Bradlee A GOOD WALK SPOILED by John Feinstein EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE by Daniel Goleman, SISTERS by Carol Saline MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt I'M ONLY ONE MAN! by Regis Philbin with Bill Zehme NEW PASSAGES by Gail Sheehy BUFFETT by Roger Lowenstein.