Iowa Books

The history of the state of Iowa is far more colorful than most people realize. There were massacres of whites by Indians and Indians by whites. Abolitionist John Brown and his band spent considerable time in the state, outlaw John Dillinger and his gang robbed banks there, grisly axe murders, the annual hosting of a hobo convention, famous writers and entertainers and others who can best be described as characters. These fifty stories together are a synopsis of the events in a state that has seen a lot of action through the years. It proves that Iowa can grow more than tall corn, it can grow some pretty large stories as well. Some of which even happen to be true.

This is an extremely interesting and useful collection of papers by leading Thoreauvian scholars. By focusing upon the landscape (both physical and intellectual) we finally have a good idea of how Thoreau was influenced by the world around him. I made ample use of this important work when writing my own book Profitably Soaked: Thoreau's Engagement With Water (Green Frigate Books, 2003).

This serialized murder novel is interesting but suffers from the difficulties of having been serially written by 17 Iowa writers. It is set in the small town of Bella, Iowa that is in the process of getting a gambling boat. There is hard-core opposition to the boat, but things are not what they seem. The fiery preacher Paula is a former (and somewhat current) prostitute, the helpful librarian used to pack a weapon, some of the lady gamblers are more than just sweeties and the best friend of the main character is as devious as can be.
On the day the gambling boat arrives, three people are killed, including Spence, the soon to be ex-husband of the main character Charlie. She owns a Bed and Breakfast in Bella and is also a newspaper reporter. Very few of the characters are what they appear to be and as the story unfolds, you slowly learn some of the details regarding their lives. While the motives for the murders were clear from the beginning, I was completely fooled as to who committed them.
In most cases, the story flows reasonably well, each author writes approximately thirteen pages. However, there is a discernible difference in styles and the sudden change is sometimes dramatic and disturbing. For unknown reasons, one of the authors chooses to write some words all in uppercase. It doesn't add to the story and I thought it really disrupted the flow. For reasons I didn't understand, the authors also included an appearance by Oprah Winfrey, which was played for the absurd rather than the serious.
This is not a high caliber story, at times I thought some of the plot elements were more an attempt at satire than to present a mystery. It is worth reading but not something that I could give a strong recommendation to.

Many famous people, among them Herbert Hoover, Johnny Carson, John Wayne, George Washington Carver, Buddy Holly, Wyatt Earp and Buffalo Bill Cody had ties to the state of Iowa. Some were born there, others passed through and some died there. All of these people and more are the subject of a short story in this book.
Other tales are about the communistic Amana Colonies, the artist Grant Wood, a ridiculous hotel war, an even more ridiculous scam of a "petrified" giant sculpted from Fort Dodge gypsum and the life of the Ringling Brothers. This book is a nice collection of tidbits about the history of the state of Iowa. I am a lifelong resident of the state, so naturally I enjoyed it. However, that is not a necessary precondition to the enjoyment of others.

FIVE, or even six, stars for the argumentation, but I have given four stars only because it will take a fair amount of scientific knowledge and stamina to read. Rollin is well known in the animal welfare field. His argument, developed in repeated minute detail, is that scientists who experiment on animals are so closed off from reality, and have such a vested interest in deluding themselves that animals don't suffer, that they are the only people who can't see the blindingly obvious - that animals feel pain pretty much the same way that we do.

For scientists, and especially anyone dealing with animals in any way, I would consider this book mandatory reading. It counterbalances all the dry science about how animals work with a a good look at how they think.

For non-graduates it's too technical. Words like paradigmatic and ontological come thick and fast.

John Quincy Adams Campbell was well named. As determined and purposeful as the president he was named for, he led a life similar in focus on principal.

Almost all of the Civil War diaries, Union or Confederate, recount days of slogging through mud, choking in the dust of other marching soldiers, and of camp boredom. Quincy Campbell, however, is an observant man, a newspaper reporter by trade, a man of detail. Not only does he record the mileage tramped and the direction of the march, when he crosses a pontoon bridge, he steps it off and reports the yardage.

Campbell is also a careful observer of the countryside he marches through. He evaluates the farmland for crops as well as the small towns for prosperity and the scenery for beauty. Aware of its political import, he attends and reports on a "Unionist" meeting in Huntsville in March 1864, a meeting held in response to Lincoln's 1863 Amnesty and Reconstruction Act.

An ardent churchgoer and crusader against alcohol, Campbell is just as determined a Unionist and fervent anti-slavery man. His comments on the day to day life of a soldier in the Western theatre of the war reflect all of his deeply held convictions; he throws himself into battle as ardently as he criticizes his fellow soldiers for getting drunk or his superior officers for what he sees as their blunders.

Campbell's diaries follow the 5th Iowa through the battles along the Mississippi, including Corinth, Island #10, Vicksburg and Chatanooga. The maps in the book, while small, aid the reader in following the action although reading Campbell with an open Civil War battle atlas is more rewarding.

This book has a lot of great information for the bookhunter. It covers the Midwest, and would be especially helpful for those that live there. My wife and I have travelled around and always bring this book to find hidden bookshops. The only problem with the book is that the occasional shop is no longer in existence or has moved, so call ahead of a visit as the book suggest. Any book lover would love this book!!

while the subject is covered, the author does digress from subject when h e mentions other capital ships such as the Bismark or the Hood. Stay on topic. Don't compare this ship to that. I have read enough on other ships to know their shortcomings. I have read many of books from this author and i enjoy his style.





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Duncan/Prasse's Veterinary Laboratory Medicine book offers an easy to understand flow of laboratory changes in domestic animals, with an emphasis on their differences (cat, dog, horse, cattle). Their sections on systems (urinary, digestive system, liver, muscle, endocrine) are very helpful in organizing thought processes. There are also 28 cases in the back of the book to reinforce the learning objectives. Highly recommended for the student

Megan Johnson is a poet new to me and reading these exquisitely formed and communicative poems opens windows of inspiration like few other young poets can. Here are descriptions of the sensation, the actual feeling of loss - that void that seems to be the precipice of living - drawn so adroitly that we weep with the poet.

But the enormity of Megan Johnson's talent goes beyond the time-honored language of weeping and wailing so glorified by the Romantics and instead offers the steely strong cable of defiance of sorrow in the at first floundering about for meaning to the persistent journey to achieve comfort. These poems are indeed powerful and give notice of an original and potent new poetic voice. Recommended. Grady Harp, May 05