David Luhrssen lectured at UW-Milwaukee, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and Milwaukee Area Technical College. He is author of Secret Societies and Clubs in American History, Mamoulian: Life on Stage and Screen, Hammer of the Gods: Thule Society and the Birth of Nazism, and coauthor of The Encyclopedia of Classic Rock, Brick Through the Window: An Oral History of Punk Rock, New Wave and Noise in Milwaukee, War on the Silver Screen, Elvis Presley: Reluctant Rebel, A Time of Paradox: America Since 1890, and Searching for Rock and Roll. He has contributed to the American National Biography Online, the Grove Dictionary of American Music and 100 People Who Changed 20th-Century America and has been published in Historically Speaking, History Today, the Journal of American History, and other journals. Luhrssen co-founded the Milwaukee International Film Festival, is a regular contributor to WUWM’s “Lake Effect” program and Managing Editor of Milwaukee’s weekly newspaper, the Shepherd Express.
David Luhrssen
Shaft is Back
The complete music Isaac Hayes recorded for the 1971 classic film is out on a two-disc set. Read more
Photo credit: Lisa Mac
Better than Ever, Drivin N Cryin’s ‘Live the Love Beautiful’
Born in Milwaukee, guitar player Kevn Kinney talks about his new album with Drivin N Cryin. Read more
Documentary Follows 'Maiden' Voyage by Women's Sailing Crew
In 1989, Britain’s Tracy Edwards defied expectations, sailing around the world through dangerous waters. Read more
Book Happening: Klosterman ‘In Captivity’ at Colectivo
Fiction writers Taylor Jenkins Reid and Chuck Klosterman are coming to Milwaukee. Read more
“Akhenaten: A Historian’s View,” (American University of Cairo Press) by Ronald T. Ridley
In Akhenaten, University of Melbourne history professor Ronald T. Ridley recounts dozens of conflicting theories on the ancient Egyptian pharaoh (supposedly the world’s first monotheist), and dispenses with most of them. Read more
“Are We There Yet?: The American Automobile Past, Present, and Driverless,” (W.W. Norton), by Dan Albert
With the wit characterizing Are We There Yet?, historian Dan Albert wonders whether kids today “have less interest in the original mobile device”—the car—“because they feel transported by their new mobile devices.” Read more
"The Complete Health & Happiness Recordings," (BMG) By Hank Williams
Hank Williams was the star of the 1949 Nashville radio program “The Health & Happiness Show,” and the music preserved on this rare collection caught him in some of his finest moments. Read more
Home Movies/Now Streaming: July 18-24, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Space: 1999—The Complete Series, The Illusionist, Felix Austria! Read more
'Midsommar' Rituals of Sex and Death
The summer holiday for grad students in a remote village turns strange and deadly. Read more
Home Movies/Now Streaming: July 11-17, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Nixon, The Landlord, The General / Steamboat Bill, Jr., Mississippi Burning. Read more
Mr. Straight Arrow: The Career of John Hersey, Author of Hiroshima (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), by Jeremy Treglown
British biographer Jeremy Treglown has written a thorough study of John Hersey, foreign correspondent with a conscience as well as Pulitzer Prize-winner for fiction, a groundbreaking writer who deserves to be better remembered. Read more
10 Women Who Changed Science and the World (Diversion Books), by Catherine Whitlock and Rhodri Evans
10 Women Who Changed Science and the World is an entertaining introduction to a cross-section of scientists whose breakthroughs changed lives. Read more
"Shimmering Lights: Hanukkah Music," (ARC Music) by Yale Strom’s Broken Consort
Hanukkah music isn’t just for the holidays, and Shimmering Lights’ diversity echoes not only the origins of its music in Jewish traditions but its incorporation of rhythms and timbres from jazz and other music. Read more
Photo credit: Kenneth Cappello
Today at Summerfest: Saturday, July 6
L.A. teenager Billie Eilish speaks to the anxieties and aspirations of her generation and the response has carried her to the top of the charts and into a Summerfest amphitheater headliner. Read more
Today at Summerfest: Friday, July 5
Has the first decade of this century already become a time of nostalgic memories? Check out today’s headliners at the amphitheater, The Killers and Death Cab for Cutie, two of the most popular and hippest bands to emerge in the '00s. Read more
Burroughs Rocks, Bernstein Jazzes Up Broadway and Zevon Finds his Werewolves
A shelf of new books looks at (and listens to) music from many angles. Read more
Home Movies/Now Streaming: July 4-10, 2019
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Woman at War, They Might be Giants, Screwball, The Bostonians. Read more
Jerry Grillo's Jazzy Take on Milwaukee
In “My Hometown Milwaukee,” jazzman Jerry Grillo celebrates Brew City. Read more
Today at Summerfest: Tuesday, July 2
With more than 100 million albums sold, Lionel Richie, tonight's amphitheater headliner, needs no introduction. But there’s plenty of other sounds to catch, including flawless pop by Milwaukee’s Reyna, rap from A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Chaka Khan. Read more
Today at Summerfest: Sunday, June 30
Singer Zac Brown has brought new meaning to country music and will headline the day’s Amphitheater show. If your tastes run toward alternative rock, the Miller Lite Oasis is the place to be for Guided by Voices and The National. Read more
