Iowa Books

I found this guide to be pretty incomplete. I live in the heart of the Flint Hills, and while this may be fine further north, it doesn't apply to well to the plants growing in my part of the Tallgrass Prairie. I wouldn't buy it again. I would recommend a larger book, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers 2 by Doug Ladd instead. I ordered it at the same time, and it is worth the extra weight due to its completeness.

I bought this guide at the Living History Farms gift shop in Des Moines and was pleasantly surprised to learn it was published in my hometown. This is a portable, durable, beautifully illustrated guide to identifying some of the most common plants of the tallgrass prairie. My family has taken this guide along on outings, and we have found it a very helpful way to connect with our natural surroundings. My pre-teen daughter especially has enjoyed closely examining the plants we encounter to see if they match up with the examples in the guide. Also recommend *Woodland in Your Pocket* by the same illustrator.

As a lifelong Iowan, I am of course interested in the history of the state. However, that is not a prerequisite for enjoying this book. There are eight short, autobiographical stories in this collection and they describe the lives of eight people with quite different experiences.
The stories are:

*) "Lovingly Submitted" by Asenath Hampton Gable- Gable lived in Ohio until her mother died when she was a teenager. Gable and her brother then traveled to Iowa to join her father on a farm in Iowa, where she spent the rest of her life.
*) "Des Moines was Young and Gay" by T. I. Stoner - Stoner grew up in Iowa and when his mother died, he largely had to fend for himself. Exhibiting enormous energy and drive, Stoner was able to engage in several business practices and became a business leader.
*) "Memories Never Forgotten" by C. V. Findlay - Findlay's father moved from Illinois to homestead on the Iowa prairie and he grew up to be a schoolteacher and became prominent in Iowa politics.
*) "I Beat it Out to the Black Hills" by Bruce Siberts - Siberts was an Iowa boy who trekked out west when he was in his early twenties. The story explains his adventures in a largely lawless reason capturing wild horses and cattle of unknown ownership and dealing with the other adventurers of the time.
*) "Country Editor" by Ira Nichols - Nichols was the feisty and uncompromising editor of a newspaper who was sued for libel eight times. This is his story of trying to dominate the news business in the city of Iowa Falls.
*) "From Steam to Diesel" by Albert P. Butts - Butts was a longtime railroad man and this is the story of the growth and value of the railroad at a time when there were few roads and the trains largely ran on time.
*) "Love, Mother" by Imogene Hamilton - this is the story of the worst blizzard in Iowa history in 1936 and how those in it managed to cope.
*) "Unseen Battles" by Dr. Sylvester W. Barnett - Barnett was a medical doctor who practiced for 50 years. This story contains some of the highlights, as he had to be able to handle all types of medical problems.

While there are Indians, outlaws and other colorful characters described in these stories, they are mostly about the events of the author's daily lives. Their joys, struggles, successes and failures were all typical of life on the Iowa prairie as it was changed from endless grasslands into productive farm country.

This is a collection of eight accounts by participants in Iowa life. They are of uneven quality, but some are great reading. I especially liked the excerpts from letters written in 1936 by a mother to her daughter, which related the horrendous challenge which living thru that fabulous winter in Iowa was. There is also a good to read account by a railroadman telling of his work from 1911 to 1956--I thought his upbeat attitude to his hard work made a great account. Some of the accounts were a bit hard to believe, and one suspects some of the accounts are a bit embellished, but maybe not.

When this collection of fiction appeared it had nothing to do with other 80s writing, such as minimalism or magic realism. Ms. Benedict's hard-scrabble characters (most of whom have a spiritual insight in the story) remind me a lot of Flannery O'Connor's, except Benedict forgoes a Catholic explanation of these insights. Some of these stories have the generality, and power, of myth. A few of the pieces are slight or repetitive, and the same words crop up over and over. The final story of the collection is flawless.

I first read SHINY OBJECTS in around 1983. Dianne was a teacher of mine at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. I loved it. The stories are unique, and original with a gentle, wonderful breeze of a voice. Her narratives are unusual and deep, expressing invaluable and poetic images and insights into childlike perceptions and even grotesque realities. It haunts me and I still find myself in quiet moments 17 years later, aware of it inside me. Dianne write me: rudy@kdsi.net please.

I think it will be good for me. however, there is others which is the best..

Now in a newly updated and expanded fourth edition with additional topical material and the results of current research and trends, Soil Science Simplified is an excellent guide to the basic principles of soil science. From soil physical properties, chemical equations, water, and fertility to soil conservation, surveys, and engineering, Soil Science Simplified is densely packed with so much information that it is eminently suitable as a high school or undergraduate soil science textbook. Black-and-white sketches and diagrams illustrate the scholarly, methodical, highly instructional text. Soil Science Simplified is strongly recommended for students and professionals in seeking to understand soil science principles -- especially engineers, environmentalists, landscape architects, as well as anyone with an interest or career in agriculture.

The collection is inspired and intriguing. The range of emotions created in readers by the poetry of Emily Dickinson is demonstrated through the variety of thematic works presented. From the humorous (Emily Dickinson Attends a Writing Workshop, and Emily Dickinson's To-Do List) to the introspective (The Deconstruction of Emily Dickinson), to the wishful (Emily Dickinson, Bismarck and the Roadrunner's Inquiry)--each gem is carefully chosen by the authors. If the reader is not familiar with Dickinson's work, this book will inspire a thorough reading of her poems. For those who know her work, the recognition of the power of her work will bring knowing smiles and memories. A note to the previous reviewer: the Billy Collins' poem, Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes, is included in the collection (p. 13-14).

An interesting thematic collection that sometimes is a homage to Emily and at other times (As in X.J. Kennedy's poem) gently pokes at the Emily cult. It seems that almost all poets pass through her writing at some point and at least take a sip if not a full glass. They really should have included Billy Collins' poem "Undressing Emily" which is funny, sad and, I think, lovingly done.

What could be better than life in Black River Falls, Iowa on a September Saturday in 1957? The new car of the future, the Edsel, is being introduced to the town at the local Ford dealership and there's balloons, hog callers and marching bands, baton twirlers, cub scouts and tap-dancing twins. Unfortunately, there's also the dead body of Susan Squires in the trunk of one of the new Edsels. Sam McCain, a young lawyer who's earning most of his income with his private investigator's license, is asked to look into the murder. In no time, he's got way too many suspects, among them the victim's husband, David. But, soon David turns up dead too and McCain's highschool honey, Mary, goes missing and Sam sets out on a mission to solve the case and find his sweetheart, before it's too late..... Ed Gorman has written an entertaining mystery that will transport you back to those nostalgic days of the 1950s. His writing is crisp and smart and full of witty and irreverent dialogue; his plot, tense and full of surprises and his scenes, vivid and at times, laugh-out loud funny. But it's Mr Gorman's characters that are the real strength of this novel. From the brandy sipping, cigarette smoking, rubberband shooting judge to the fat, bully of a sherriff with a skin condition, who only got the job because his father runs the town, to McCain's best friend, Jeff who's backing out of his engagement because his fiance might not be a virgin, this is a cast of unrivaled, quirky denizens you won't soon forget. Wake Up Little Susie is the second book of a terrific new series, full of small town detail and 1950's wisdom, that shouldn't be missed.

This murder mystery contains all the necessary elements. A clever, likeable investigator who does double duty as narrator. A clearly delineated sense of time and place. An intriguing murder with a number of potential suspects. And a surprise ending which, if not entirely convincing, is at least plausible on some level.
Sam McCain is a 23 year old private eye who also happens to be a lawyer. He loves the small Iowa town in which he grew up and where he still lives. Almost everyone is fond of Sam and his only discernible vice is that he smokes too much. When a woman's body is found in the trunk of an Edsel, Sam is pressed into service to find the killer. As the investigation unfolds, there are many scenes which serve to evoke the feel of life in smalltown America in the 1950s. Moreover, author Ed Gorman gives us a fair amount of good natured humor and the occasional moment of poignancy.
For me, two words sum up the mood of this novel, breezy and nostalgic. Gorman has done a competent, workmanlike job in writing this book. Somehow though, after turning the last page, I felt vaguely unsatisfied. It was as if I had completed a tasty meal and still felt just as hungry as I was when I started. Or as the precocious Sam McCain might have put it, "I guess nostalgia isn't what it used to be".

Gives a fairly detailed analysis of many of the inherited disorders of dogs, cats, and horses. Good for veterinarians, breeders, and interested owners.

Although this book wasn't entirely what I was expecting, I found that my investment was worthwhile. The book covers the treatment of actors in America from their times as relatively looked down upon players to their elevation to respected stars. Although some sections are harder to read than others, generally it is quite interesting, with short biographies on some of the major players of the time. I found the sections which discussed the touring lifestyle to be especially intriguing. I recommend it to anyone who is seriously interested in American Theatre history or the history of actors.

AMANA STYLE: FURNITURE, ARTS, CRAFTS, ARCHITECTURE & GARDENS explores the rich arts and crafts heritage of the German immigrants who settled in the Amana Colonies of Iowa, bringing with them traditions which continue to this day. Many of the buildings and arts have distinctive Germanic roots, and two historians whose ancestors have roots in Amana traditions discuss unique characteristics and features of Amana style, from its tendency to be unsigned and anonymous to how the feel and scope of Amana differs. From willow baskets to youth chairs, Amana's traditions receive a fine blend of history and personal insights.

Best one volume history of American agriculture by dean of American agricultural historians; much superior to Danbom, Born in the County, which attempts a similar brief summary.Good bibliographies of additional readings. Although America was primarily an agricultual county for 250 years, most conventional histories ignore this fact. This book supply an essential missing dimentsion, although the reader still has to do a good deal of work to relate it to political,cultural, and economic history that was going on at the same time.