With hundreds of citations, Master Wings’ newest title Politics, Partnerships, & Power: The Lives of Ralph E. & Marguerite Stitt Church by Jay Pridmore and Christine Wolf is as SP Review describes: “rich in historical context and well-researched detail.” But as we know, the more you know, the more you want to know!
Here are five supplemental books that expand on subjects and themes within Politics, Partnerships, and Power:
1. Encountering Evanston History by Evanston RoundTable Media NFP
ISBN: 979-8218053253
Through their many years of service and activism, Ralph Church and his wife Marguerite became integral, leading members of their community in Evanston, IL. With 75 articles and 18 different authors, covering everything from the founding of Northwestern University to the anti-war protests in the 1970s, Encountering Evanston History is an ambitious yet aware collection of local history that strives to illustrate how the town has grown to become the thriving and celebrated multicultural community it is today.
- When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years by Stanley Meisler
ISBN: 978-0807095478
When she worked to encourage votes for the Peace Corps in 1961, Marguerite described the program as “something which is aimed right… which can somehow carry at the human level, to the people of the world, what they need to know; what it is to be free; what it is to know; what it is to have a next step and be able to take it; what it is to have something to look forward to, in an increase of human dignity and confidence.” Marguerite was a critical champion of the program, and those who wish to see how it developed beyond her would do well to pick up When the World Calls. Full of both anecdotes and carefully researched detail, this portrait of the tangled history of the Peace Corps is both engaging and thorough.
- Courage in The People’s House: Nine Trailblazing Representatives Who Shaped America by Joe Neguse
ISBN: 978-1982191672
Many people orbit Marguerite and Ralph’s life, but perhaps one that hit harder than others for Ralph is Adolph Sabath, a fellow congressman from Illinois. Ralph’s efforts to address what he saw as financial abuses by Sabath were a large factor in setting his character in the eyes of his peers. Hearing more words on the man than Ralph’s condemnations would probably be a good idea. Courage in the People’s House offers a strong profile of Sabath and situates it alongside the stories of eight other individuals who served in the US House of Representatives.
One of the eight is Margaret Chase Smith, a further contemporary of Marguerite who also pops up a time or two in Politics, Partnerships, and Power. What Kirkus Reviews calls a “well-written addition to the history of Congress” is also a well-written addition to the history of Ralph and Marguerite Church.
- In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America by Barbara Miller Solomon
ISBN: 978-0300036398
Publishers Weekly calls it “essential reading,” and the number of citations In the Company of Education Women has since its publication in 1986 certainly gives weight to that instruction. A comprehensive history of women in higher education, this substantial and detailed resource offers both understanding and ground from which to grow. Advocates for women’s education, and filled itself with educated women, the history of the Church family could almost be a chapter here.
- Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent
ISBN: 978-0743277020
We see the maneuverings of Ralph Church and his surrounding Chicago politics on alcohol in Politics, Partnerships, and Power, but of course the history of the prohibition era flows broadly, plentifully, and literally beyond him. Last Call is a witty and dedicated accounting of the time and subject that works to identify prohibition’s forces both tangible and intangible with remarkable dedication.
Deepen your knowledge with these recommended reads that are sure to give you fascinating details. And for even more great titles, visit the Pritzker Military Museum and Library’s website to browse its expansive collection of books.
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