Dancing in the Wonder For 102 Years: An Autobiography

In this charming and witty autobiography, 102-year-old artist Marilee Shapiro Asher recounts her memories of growing up in a mansion in the Hyde Park area of Chicago; her domestic life; her involvement with pivotal events and influential people of the 20th century; her career as an artist and sculptor; and her life-long interest in esoteric ideas, from Greek mythology to Zen to the Gurdjieff work. The book also chronicles her familys history, including their experiences owning and operating the giant Ferris Wheel at the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair, and the family-run wrecking company which dismantled the failed French Panama Canal project, and the St. Louis and Chicago Worlds Fairs. These vignettes and the accompanying photographs beautifully evoke the traditions and cultural touchstones of a bygone era.