Oklahoma Books

I love anything Becky Barker writes. This is as good as her other books. I love the way she puts past characters in the books.

I read this book in the early '90's when I was first getting into romances. The book I had was a 1983 edition. I read it so much that all the pages literally fell out of it. It is one of the best books I have ever read.

Search For The Native American Purebloods appears in its third edition, blending the author's pencil portraits of pureblood American Indians drawn from life with his narratives of his visits with each subject. Search For The Native American Purebloods is highly recommended for any collection strong in Native American studies will want to include this very fine presentation.

Not only is this book a great treasury of Wilson's sketches, it is a piece of American history. Wilson sets out to draw portraits of remaining pureblood Indians--ones who have only the blood of one tribe coursing through their veins. Sadly, the number of purebloods diminshes rapidly every day, a fact which Wilson laments in his wonderful narrative that accompanies the drawings. This is a great book for lovers of Native Americans, American history, art, and almost anyone else! Highly recommended!

A good selection of usually quite exciting stories - many of which are pure fiction rather than anything resembling modern history. Herodotos was a truly great storyteller.He is usually introduced in the curriculum only after Basic Greek and Attic Prose (Platon, Xenophon), but if your memory is slipping, like that of yours truly sure is, you will appreciate this Selection even more, for it comes with a very helpful Commentary, which details most syntactic phenomena, and even morphology, line for line, even such matter that is already taught in the Basic and Attic Greek Courses. So you get a good rehearsal of the basics as well as learning a new dialect of Classic Greek - i.e. Ionian.
Moreover, there is an very full alphabetical Vocabulary following the Commentary part, which includes not only words peculiar to Herodotos, but again, even basic Greek words you were supposed to remember from your Basic Course!
After having studied and learned Herodotos, you are equipped with a sufficient grasp of the Ionian Dialect to proceed to The Ultimate Experience - Homeros. His "epic dialect" is mostly Ionian in character.(and you will appreciate his simpler syntax...).
A small snag: the Greek text is printed in a very small font which is peculiar to British and American works on Greek, and may therefore be somewhat tiresome for the eye. The English text is more normal-sized, but, being a reprint of a much older original, is slightly faded. I would have loved it if the text had been reset anew with modern fonts.

Highly recommended both for the good choice of entertaining stories and for the excellent toolboxes provided as help for the eager learner of Classical Greek.

As a Classics major, I've seen my fair share of Greek texts. I've used many different editions. This edition of Herodotus' "Histories" is every helpful. The grammar guide, the notes and the dictionary are all well put together and make the translating process go much faster.

This book is not just a Prayer book it is much more than that, it provides a great deal of very good advice about our relationship with G-d as well as lots of other information and links to Noahide groups.

Published by The Oklahoma B'nai Noah Society based in Rose, Oklahoma USA, which also has a growing group of Noahides who gather together. This book is rabbinically approved, and well worth buying.

This is a great book for any Noahide. It is a little bit more than a prayer-book. It also has some great information on the 7 Laws of Noah and goes into great detail. I recommend this book to any Gentile that is looking for a place in the world to come.

When you read enough western literature you regretfully start finding fine books by fine writers that are no longer in print and will no doubt stay that way, which unfortunately is the case with this one. St. Pierre's stories in this collection are just wonderful - wryly humorous and sharply detailed in their understanding of his characters' behavior, motives, and feelings. Set mostly in the Chilcotin of British Columbia, the stories take place in the 1950s and share the same dozen or so characters - ranchers and their families, Indians, a cowboy or two, and a storekeeper. The longest story, "How to Run the Country," involves a handful of politicos in Vancouver who persuade a local rancher to run for office. The author, having served a term as a Member of Parliament himself, tells this story with considerable apparent delight as he interweaves the complex ironies of political careers and ambitions.

My favorites of the bunch include the premature funeral for an old Indian from the local reservation, the long suffering of a ranch wife who literally spills the beans on her husband, an elderly recluse's long-distance romance with a young woman, a mid-winter trip to town that evolves, thanks to a cowboy's gambling winnings, into a days-long bacchanal in a hotel room, and a husband and wife's indecision about whether to sell the ranch. Smith, the title character, is vividly drawn, perfectly believable, and as likable as he can be obtuse. The others, his wife Norah, sons Sherwood and Roosevelt, Arch McGregor, Morton Dilloughboy and his son Abel, cowboy Henry James, Ol Antoine the Indian patriarch, Frenchie and Frenchie's wife (who gets her own story), and Ken Larsen, whose arch-conservative values are no obstacle to his loyalty to the Liberal Party, all of them are equally memorable. Find a copy, kick off your boots, and enjoy.

Paul St. Pierre does for ranchers in British Columbia what James Herriott does for animals in Yorkshire. He has a knack for turning some of the most insignificant events of daily life into interesting stories. His characters start out as impulsive oddballs, but by the end of the story they become quite rational folks. This is one of those books that sneaks up on you. The first time I read it I thought it was entertaining, but nothing to visit again. But every once in a while one of the characters from the book pops into my mind and I dwell on the character and story for a few days. I usually re-read it every couple of years (I have a worn 1987 edition, now in retirement.)

This classic book is the most detailed, clear, and reliable telling of the Lakota (Sioux) Creation Stories available anywhere that I have found, short of sitting at the knees of an Elder. An incredible and invaluable resource as well as pure Sacred beauty, it truly helps to bring real understanding of the Sacred Beings and Grandfathers to all readers. Whether your interests are purely anthropological understanding (and yes, this will greatly help you to better understand many other writings on the profound and complex Lakota Spirituality) or you seek to further your own personal Walk along the Good Red Road, this book is a "must-read." Mitakuye Oyasin... We Are All Related.

I read this book as part of a Lakota Culture class. The Professor is a Lakota and be had a lot of faith in this book along with American Urphilosophe. I also reccomend this book to get further insight into Lakota Culture. It was an easy book to read, it took me approximately 5 hours and was not very wordy. I am studying Lakota Culture as part of my Anthropology degree at MSU in Mankato, MN. Whether you are an Anthropologist or are just interested in knowing more about another culture, buy this book an you will have a greater knowledge of a misunderstood group of natives.

Engrossing book for anyone familiar with the territory. Helps you see the land before the draft horses and "Cats" came.

Now in an expanded edition featuring a new foreword and introduction (the original foreword and introduction are also present), The Spokane Indians: Children of the Sun is a studious account of the tribal history of the Spokane Indians, from well before the arrival of white settlers and fur traders to twentieth-century developments such as the discovery of uranium on Spokane territory and belated efforts of the government and private citizens to amend the wrongs of the past. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this extensively researched chronicle, accessible to both scholars and lay readers. Highly recommended for both Native American history and reference shelves.

The authors do justice in refuting the many pessimistic views of Stephen Long's career as an explorer in this great little book. Long received a plethora of negative criticism, especially after his 1819-1820 expedition across the plains to the Rocky Mountains. Some of this may be justifiable, such as not searching out the sources of the Platte, Arkansas and Red Rivers, which he had orders to do; or his nomenclature of "The Great American Desert", referring to his return trip from the Rockies. The scientific contributions from his expeditions speak for themselves. Along with publications by Long himself, there were innummerable papers and a few books from the likes of Thomas Say (zoologist), Edwin James (botanist), William Keating (geologist) and art work from Titian Peale and Samuel Seymour to vindicate the efforts of these early nineteenth century explorers. The book was easy to follow and comprehend, and a total pleasure to read.

It is for scratching three words on a map of the southwestern part of the country he had recently explored, along with writing a short descriptive paragraph of the same area, that has condemned Stephen Long in the annals of western history. Those three words were Great American Desert, and the description said in part that "this section ... is almost wholly unfit for cultivation and [is] uninhabitable ...." Nichols and Halley try to correct, or at least shed a less damning light on, this harsh view of Long's opinion (for one thing, Zebulon Pike had pretty much the same impression after visiting that section of the country 10 years earlier). Long was also much criticized for not finding the source of the Red River, and the authors deal with that brouhaha as well. But they are not trying to make a wronged saint out of Long either, and are quick to point out his inefficiencies as an explorer, i.e. not exploring the headwaters of the Platte River and going into the Rockies.

After a brief summary of Long's apprentice years (1784-1817), the authors recount his major explorations: the 1817 exploration of the Fox and Minnesota Rivers, the 1818 exploration into Arkansas and the founding of Fort Smith, the 1819 expedition to the Rockies, the longer 1820 exploration of the plains along the South Platte and the Front Range (Long's Peak being named and Pike's Peak first climbed) to the Canadian and Red Rivers (this being the Great American Desert voyage), and the 1823 exploration of the upper Minnesota region. Their narrative of Long's life and career does not go beyond the Minnesota expedition.

The authors are impressed with what Long's expeditions accomplished, but believe with better organization and leadership could have done more. They place much of the blame on Long himself, but feel there "is little evidence upon which to base an examination of his personality or character traits," though at times he quarreled bitterly with his men and more than once subordinate officers refused to obey his orders. But details of these incidents are lacking. Their book is clearly written and fairly presented. It's an excellent, straightforward account of Long's explorations and their contribution to the scientific development of the country. Highly recommended.

The famous Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes, said, in effect, that the Hispanic world did not come to America, America came to the Hispanic world. No book reveals this with more clarity and accuracey that this one. It represents 400 years of history of what is now the American Southwest. The author writes with the dramatic eloquence of a seasoned novelist creating a history book that is, of all things, a "page turner." It reveals epics, sagas, villans, and both noted and anonymous heroes. It is a shame so many of our educational systems do not teach this history becasue it is the story of millions of Amerians and fully one-third of United States territory. If anyone has ever looked at a map and wondered why so many mountains, cities, villages, rivers, plains, states, and people have Native American or Spanish names, this book will answer those questions and more, it will help them appreciate Mr. Fuentes' insight.

The famous Mexican writer, Carlos Fuentes, said, in effect, that the Hispanic world did not come to America, America came to the Hispanic world. No book reveals this with more clarity and accuracey that this one. It represents 400 years of history of what is now the American Southwest. The author writes with the dramatic eloquence of a seasoned novelist creating a history book that is, of all things, a "page turner." It reveals epics, sagas, villans, and both noted and anonymous heroes. It is a shame so many of our educational systems do not teach this history becasue it is the story of millions of Amerians and fully one-third of United States territory. If anyone has ever looked at a map and wondered why so many mountains, cities, villages, rivers, plains, states, and people have Native American or Spanish names, this book will answer those questions and more, it will help them appreciate Mr. Fuentes' insight.

R.D. Morgan has become one of my favorite authors. If you enjoy reading about outlaws, both the well-known and obscure (but nontheless just as deadly), and appreciate careful, meticulous attention to detail, you will enjoy this book as I have. It is destined to become the new bible of Oklahoma crime history, complete with the stories of the brave law officers who helped tame it.

No state produced more outlaws, bank and train robberies and shootouts than Oklahoma. Or such an abundance of deadly encounters between the bandits and the forces of law and order. From the horseback era of Belle Starr. the Daltons, Bill Doolin, Bill Tilghman, Heck Thomas and Judge Parker down through the machine-gunning exploits of the Barkers, Pretty Boy Floyd, and Wilbur Underhill, they're all here. The infamous, the famous, and the obscure. This is not, nor is it meant to be, a comprehensive examination of the criminal history of the state which once led the nation in bank robberies. The Territorial period seems to get the short shrift, occupying a mere twenty-five pages of this 208-page book. But appearances can be deceiving as much of this overlaps with other sections of the book and in any event the concentration on the post-1907 period seems wholly appropriate in a volume celebrating the Centennial of Oklahoma's Statehood, if one stops to think about it. Just attempting to tackle the early days as R.D. Morgan has done here would be a daunting project indeed and he succeeds admirably. Part 1: 1875-1919 provides a wonderful background introduction to the remainder of this exemplary volume. The Statehood era covers not only Henry Starr, Al Spencer, Floyd, Kelly, the Barker Gang, and Bonnie and Clyde, but the whole grisly entourage of Osage and Cookson Hills and other Oklahoma renegades, both homegrown and passing through. The Jarrett brothers, Elmer McCurdy (the famous mummified train robber), Ed Lockhart, Ray Terrill, Blackie Thompson, Dude Overstreet, the Kimes Gang, the Lawrence boys, Dick Gregg, Ford Bradshaw and others all get their due here. So do such great law officers as Alva McDonald, Luther Bishop, Joe Anderson, Jim Kiersey, and Clarence Hurt, the Oklahoma City police officer turned G-man who brought down both Underhill and John Dillinger and who made the actual arrest of Alvin Karpis. We get the best early years study of the Barkers in their Missouri/Oklahoma period than I've seen anywhere else to date. Of course, Morgan, author of the fine biography of Wilbur Underhill and a pioneer in researching "auto-bandits" of the Sooner State, is on firmer ground than most here, and we also get a wonderful glimpse of his next book, a history of the "Irish" O'Malley Gang, one of the last, and today least known, of the Depression outlaw bands but whose record of criminality rivaled that of the Barkers and far outstripped that of Dillinger. For me the most absorbing sections, however, are the advances in law enforcement technology, the history of "Big Mac" (the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, for non-Okies) and its bloody insurrection and most especially the thoroughly engrossing and complete listings of Oklahoma executions. There's also an entertaining chronology of 1924-34 bank robberies (handily cross-referenced to other pertinent chapters), a section of "Oklahomans on the Rock," and the whole thing is profusely illustrated with photos, many I've never seen before. The book closes, appropriately, with a wondrous photo-tour of lawman and outlaw graves, from both the old days and the modern period. For anyone interested in Oklahoma, crime, or just plain history, this book is an absolute gotta-have!