Stuart D. Levitan, author and UW-Madison alum, celebrated the release of his long awaited book, ""Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History,"" at the Orpheum Theater Wednesday night.
Levitan's ""Madison"" is the first of a two part series on the city's history, documenting events from 1856-1931. Levitan and staff from the University of Wisconsin Press rushed to release the book in time for Madison's 150th anniversary. ""Madison"" was created shortly after David V. Mollenhoff's book, ""The History of the Formative Years,"" as the second book on the city's history.
Unlike Mollenhoff's book, ""Madison"" employs a magazine-style layout to include several bite-sized stories and photographs on each page, Levitan explained. The book details an enormous amount of UW-Madison history, as well as explanations for the names of streets and buildings.
""It's neither an encyclopedia nor a social history, it's more a municipal yearbook, showing the city's events and people through time,"" Levitan said.
Adam Mehring, project editor at the UW Press, said, ""Levitan's book is definitely not a dry history.""
For example, Levitan does not shy away from explaining the city's dark past, chronicling the city government's entanglement with the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's. The book also details the Klan's killings and beatings in the Greenbush neighborhood.
As an elected official, city planner and journalist, Levitan brings a unique perspective to the topic. According to Mehring, he gives focus to the developments of the city; ""why streets are the way they are and the way they could have been.""
Levitan's unique personality adds character to the book as well. Daniel Carne, a co-worker of Levitan, explained that Levitan's past experiences in poetry and art influenced the book.
""He's a huge music fan. He made an effort to use musical phrases in the book,"" Carne said.
""What a long, strange trip it's been,"" Levitan said during his acknowledgement speech at the release party, quoting the Grateful Dead.
Patty Elston, a UW-Madison Alumna and friend of Levitan, attested to Levitan's quirky personality by referring to the ""Scoop Sheet,"" a paper he created as a college student.
Levitan and the UW Press staff went through a tumultuous process in the creation and publishing of the book. According to Sheila Leary, the UW Press Director, much of the editing and layout had to be done while Levitan was still writing the book in order to release it during the city's sesquicentennial year.
""I had a really dead-head approach to writing this book, if you know what I mean. I wrote most of it late at night,"" Levitan said. ""The last year was just hardcore, I felt like a grad student ... I was researching and writing all night. It was one of the best years of my life.""
