David Luhrssen lectured at UW-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. He is author of The Vietnam War on Film, The Encyclopedia of Classic Rock, Secret Societies in American History, Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen and Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism. He contributed essays to the American National Biography Online, the Grove Dictionary of American Music and 100 People Who Changed 20th-Century America.
RSS
David Luhrssen
Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures
Home Movies / Now Streaming: Dec. 12, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Yesterday Was a Lie, Candy, Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll (Collector’s Edition), Cold Case Hammarskjöld. Read more
‘Dark Waters’ Shows That Persistence Against Injustice Pays Off
Director Todd Haynes adapts a true story of legal action against DuPont for poisoning a West Virginia town. Read more
'Crucible: The Long End of the Great War & the Birth of a New World, 1917-1924' (PublicAffairs), by Charles Emmerson
British historian Charles Emmerson’s Crucible is a monumental piece of scholarly reconstruction with finely wrought succinct character sketches of major figures. Read more
'Franz Boas: The Emergence of the Anthropologist' (University of Nebraska Press), by Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt
In the first book of a two-part biography, biographer Rosemary Lévy Zumwalt makes a strong case that the German-educated scholar Franz Boas was responsible for significant strides forward in understanding our world. Read more
Bob Dylan, 'Travelin’ Thru, 1967-1969: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15' (Columbia)
The most revelatory tracks on this release from Dylan’s “Bootleg” series are found on discs two and three, much of it from an informal session with Johnny Cash. Read more
Photo courtesy of Landmarks Gallery
Milwaukee Artist Paints a Splash of Summer Color
Artist Anthony Pazos displays paintings depicting the ambience of unguarded fun on a warm, carefree day at Landmarks Gallery. Read more
Warren Storm 'Taking the World by Storm' (APO Records)
On 'Taking the World by Storm,' Warren Storm, the “godfather of swamp pop,” invests himself in songs that cross the boundaries of country and blues. Read more
Pizza, Peroni and Wine at Divino
Divino Wine and Dine is a long-running Italian restaurant with homemade pasta entrées and an extensive menu of mezza and pizza. Read more
Tehran Children: A Holocaust Refugee Odyssey (W.W. Norton), by Mikhal Dekel
The author follows her late father’s dangerous journey to Israel through Poland, Soviet labor camps and Iran. Read more
Sticking It to the Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1950 to 1980 (PM Press), Edited by Andrew Nette and Iain McIntyre
The collection is a fascinating look at how society was represented by writers working below the radar of the literary establishment. Read more
Credit: Sony Pictures
It's a Beautiful Film for Tom Hanks
In a warm depiction on the meaning of Mister Rogers, the children’s host is confronted by a cynical journalist. Read more
Home Movies / Now Streaming: Dec. 5, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: An American Werewolf in London Limited Edition, Humble Pie: Life & Times of Steve Marriott + 1973 Complete Winterland Show, Un Flic, Tamango. Read more
Mod Violets' Moody, Melodic Rock
The Mod Violets’ self-titled CD brims with sharp-angled, guitar-driven melodies and reflective lyrics veiled in an aura of psychedelia. Read more
Leonard Cohen, 'Thanks for the Dance' (Columbia)
Leonard Cohen's posthumous album, 'Thanks for the Dance,' is a fine coda to a life in words and music, as well as a deliberate farewell. Read more
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Home Entertainment
Home Movies/Now Streaming: Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Scared of Revolution, Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection, Mike Wallace is Here, Landscape Film: Roberto Burle Marx Read more
Photo credit: The Designist, LLC
Four Generations (and Counting) in Selling Furniture and Mattresses
Discussion with BILTRITE’s Randi K. about locally owned furniture stores in Milwaukee. Read more
Horror, Ghosts and Videotape
Revisited '90s Japanese classic 'Ringu' creeps into the imagination like a silent stalker. Read more
'Truths and Lies in the Middle East: Memoirs of a Veteran Journalist, 1952-2012' (American University in Cairo Press), by Eric Rouleau
'Truths and Lies' is the esteemed foreign-correspondent Eric Rouleau’s sophisticated account of his remarkable career in journalism and diplomacy. Read more
'The Trial of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Eyewitness Accounts From the U.S. Coast Guard Hearings' (University of Minnesota Press), edited by Michael Schumacher
With 'The Trial, Kenosha author Michael Schumacher examines the documents left by the official inquiries into the mysterious sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Read more
Guarino Savoldelli Quintet 'Core n’grato' (Data Zero)
On Italy’s Guarino Savoldelli Quintet’s 'Core n’grato,' the vocal melodies are rooted in the half-Byzantine modes of Southern Italy and the enchantment is woven into the jazz band’s hard bop. Read more
