Summary
Discover intriguing true tales of legends and trailblazers who left their mark on Wisconsin’s history and communities, including the Beatles, Georgia O’Keeffe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Harrison Ford, Joni Mitchell, Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan, Jackie Robinson, Orson Welles, and many more.
Marvel at Elvis Presley’s miracle on the streets of Madison, applaud the award-winning acting of Reedsburg’s Agnes Moorehead, follow fearless quarterback Bart Starr to the gates of hell in Green Bay, and join Joshua Glover in Racine on his daring escape from enslavers. These brief narratives—whether poignant or humorous—also offer personal reflections on the impact of each featured idol.
Author Dean Robbins has spent a lifetime researching and revering these prominent figures and visiting exhibits, shrines, historic homes, and other sites dedicated to their achievements. Wisconsin Idols gathers all of Robbins’s obsessions into one collection, enhanced by dozens of photographs. Taken together, these stories of musicians, activists, artists, athletes, actors, and great thinkers irrefutably establish Wisconsin as a crossroads for extraordinary people who changed the world.
Author
Dean Robbins is an award-winning journalist, arts critic, and children’s author. He has contributed to USA Today, The New York Daily News, The Village Voice, Space.com, GRAMMY magazine, Wisconsin Public Radio, and dozens of other media outlets. He has also served as editor of the Isthmus newspaper and On Wisconsin magazine. Robbins lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Endorsements
“Dean Robbins’s collection of brief essays is a passionate and poetic homage to one-hundred musicians, artists, thinkers, entertainers, and athletes (including me) whose presence, however brief or long, in his beloved Wisconsin impacted the state and him. It’s both insightful and entertaining.”
--Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, National Basketball Association hall-of-famer
“Wisconsin Idols sheds light on my quirky home state and the legendary individuals who have left their mark on the world after passing through it. Dean Robbins puts a personal spin on their stories, offering critical analysis, little-known details, and revelatory anecdotes. His essays are infused with wit and flair, especially in the chapter where he dives into my work with Nirvana on Nevermind. It’s a wild ride through history that keeps you hooked.”
--Butch Vig, Grammy Award–winning music producer and the drummer for the band Garbage
“Each monograph is a tightly written paean to a hero, a protagonist, a mentor, a friend. Any of you readers fortune enough to grab a copy, congratulations!”
--André De Shields, Tony Award–winning actor
