The local interest section in Milwaukee's bookshops are not overflowing with titles, it's true. But there are some good books that offer insights into our city and are essential reads for Milwaukeeans and also make great gifts for visitors, family and friends that have moved out of town and for yourself!

Here are some of them:

"The Making of Milwaukee" by John Gurda (Milwaukee County Historical Society)
Of course, Gurda's exhaustive, photo-filled history of the city from its earliest days to the dawn of the third millennium, is THE book about Milwaukee. It recently served as the basis for a five-hour mini-series broadcast on Milwaukee Public Television and narrated by Gurda himself.

"Cream City Chronicles" by John Gurda (Wisconsin Historical Society)
This book of newspaper columns penned by Gurda is a perfect complement to "The Making of Milwaukee." Instead of trying to tell it all, these essays focus on the interesting, the unique and the important. Fascinating tidbits that can be read sporadically or in one sitting.

"Milwaukee Streets: The Stories Behind Their Names" by Carl Baehr (Cream City Press)
From Abbott Avenue to Zellman Court, Baehr's encyclopedia of Milwaukee street name origins makes for fascinating reading. His research was exhaustive and his explanations will often dish up more information than you could have imagined existed.

"The Heritage Guidebook" by H. Russell Zimmerman (Schwartz Bookshop)
A. David Schwartz rescued this book from obscurity years ago and it is still readily available at bargain prices at Schwartz shops. The subtitle, "Landmarks and Historical Sites in Southeastern Wisconsin," pretty much says it all, but Zimmerman's work is the bible of Milwaukee architecture and is essential.

"Silver Screens: A Pictorial History of Milwaukee's Movie Theaters" by Larry Widen and Judi Anderson (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Originally published 20-odd years ago, this in-depth look at the movie theater business in Brew City is heavily illustrated and loaded with facts. Especially fun is the list of all theaters in the history of Milwaukee cinema at the back of the book, which was expanded and updated this year.

"City Smart Milwaukee" by Nathan Guequierre (Avalon Publishing)
Now woefully out of date and begging for new edition, Milwaukee freelance writer extraordinaire Guequierre dishes up the only modern travel guide dedicated entirely to Cream City. Even if it pre-dates the city's current renaissance (it was published in 1999), it is still loaded with useful facts on attractions like the Zoo and the Public Museum, alongside interesting facts and notes and is thoughtfully and intelligently written.

"Bronzeville: A Milwaukee Lifestyle. A Historical Overview" by Ivory Abena Black (Publishers Group Milwaukee)
This slim volume is loaded with pictures and reprints of pages from the Milwaukee Courier reminding us of the history of Milwaukee's African American community. The title page adds "Volume 1" to the name of the book, so perhaps there's more to come.

Images of America series (Arcadia Publishing)
This series presents books on local communities across the country and the books on Milwaukee include annotated photo albums focusing on the Italian, Irish, Jewish and other ethnic communities here. There are others focusing on specific suburbs. The two most recent titles in the series are "Milwaukee's Bronzeville: 1900-1950" by Paul H. Geenen and "Latinos in Milwaukee" by Joseph A. Rodriguez and Walter Sava. They are especially important because they chronicle vibrant and long-lived Milwaukee communities that have never gotten much attention on the printed page.

There's been more Milwaukee and Wisconsin-related fiction recently than ever before and Daniel Goldin, senior buyer for the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops, says these are the titles that are selling best at Schwartz:

"The Turk and my Mother, Mary Helen Stefaniak
"Red Weather," Pauls Toutonghi
"Whores on the Hill," Colleen Curran
"Girls in Peril," by Karen Lee Boren
"Blue Water," A. Manette Ansay

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