Oklahoma Books

You'd never know from the dullish title, but this is an interesting, well-written, authoritative book of Western history. The subject is the upper Arkansas River valley around the present city of Pueblo -- not one of the West's most storied locations. There are a number of famous people who pass through the pages of this book -- Kit Carson, John Charles Fremont, Francis Parkman, and the Bents -- but the main characters are unfamiliar and have unalliterative, forgettable names: George S. Simpson, for example.

All the disadvantages aside, Janet LeCompte has written a small masterpiece about a handful of ex-mountain men, Mexicans, and traders who established several communities along the Arkansas River from 1840 to 1854. In the latter year, the Ute Indians killed most of the traders, thereby erasing Pueblo's claim to being the first White settlement in Colorado.

Most of the histories of the west are expansive, looking a big men and events. "PHG" is micro, focusing on a relatively unimportant region, and deriving its importance from a reconstruction of daily life among the Anglos and Hispanics at the isolated settlements. The author says the book is about the men and women who struggled to make a good life "out of the wild Indians, stubborn soil and thin grass of the difficult valley." Their failure, unnoticed as it may be in the larger scheme of things, is the drama of this homely story.

Smallchief

Kessel has again delivered a hard-to-put-down narrative of Spanish New Mexico that would serve as a perfect accompaniment to a college-level course on my favorite subject: New Mexico!

A thoroughly insightful and critical (in the best use of the word) look at how the Pulitzer prize is really awarded. This is a must read for any student of literature, and any student of writing.

A must have for those interested in history of the Quarter Horse. All of Denhard'ts books are excellent. I have and have read just about all of them. This book will never be outdated, and will always be relevant.

A must have for the Quarter Horse history buff. Exellent, as are all of Denhard's books. If you don't have it, you need it.

QUEST FOR TIRBAL ACKNOLWEDGMENT: CALIFORNIA'S HONEY LAKE MAIDUS could've been featured in our 'California' section but is reviewed here because its history is central to Native American circles as a whole, and shouldn't be limited to California-interest readers. A small group of Indians known as the Honey Lake Maidus live in northeast California -but as tribe they remain unrecognized by the federal government. The author is an anthropologist who has worked with them for several years, and QUEST FOR TRIBAL ACKNOWEDGMENT charts their long-lasting battle to obtain such recognition, contrasting their experience with that of other California Indian tribes who have won such federal recognition and who benefit from laws granting them casinos and other exceptions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Ten-year-old Josh takes his injured father's place in the Cherokee Strip Land Rush of 1893. The book also contains information on the early history of Oklahoma.
This book is illustrated and contains archival photographs and drawings. It also includes bolded vocabulary words with a glossary. Children will be able to identify with the young, main character and learn about an important event in American history at the same time.
This educational children's book is both exciting and informative!

If you are new to the Tulsa area, you need this guide! I loved the Thomas guides in California, and this is similar. The maps are clear and easy to read, and it's easy to follow a path from one page to another. I bought one for my husband when he started working here in January. He had been frustrated with not knowing how to get around in Tulsa. We've lived in small towns since we got married and this was the first time he had lived in a biggish city. He loved the guide. We have two and keep one in each car.

This book was written in 1994 and was featured on CBS: Sunday Morning numerous times as a story titled "Out of the Blue" with CBS Correspondent Bill Geist. This book is a guide to fly-in restaurants and golf courses in Oklahoma. The author, a former military pilot researched this subject thoroughly by flying to every airport in the state that was not restricted or military. While it is primarily a resource for food or golf hungry pilots, the author uses liberal amounts of humor to make it a fun read for anybody! The cover photo is from a golf course that you land on the course and taxi up to the club house and park near the 18th green. Best wishes, Dave Heffernan USAirCombat.com

The roadrunner is an icon of the Southwest so you'd think there would be many studies out on the roadrunner already - but it's one of the least understood and rarely receives individual examination. Here to correct that deficit is THE REAL ROADRUNNER, a guide to the behavioral patterns of the bird. Martha Maxon is a retired zoologist and environmental consultant who grew up in southern Texas: her assembly of literature and science about the roadrunner come from years of personal observation and research and provide a scholarly yet accessible survey.