Kansas Books

Jody Conrad has written a wise, caring, empathetic resource for people who are going through any and all kinds of trouble or pain. Beautifully, even poetically written, WHEN GOLIATH DOESN'T FALL weaves Scripture, real-life stories, and words of rich consolation into a book that reaches you wherever you hurt, whether you are suffering loss, illness, slander, persecution, opposition, financial problems, or even anxiety over terrorism and world events. Even if you don't feel you need this book right now, someone you know needs it. I suggest you order a couple of copies and keep one handy for lending to friends.

Jody Conrad has gotten to the very core of the pain and suffering many Christians experience whether personally or with cherished friends and loved ones. She blends the stories of Abraham, Esther, the Woman at the Well, and Habakkuk (to name a few)with accounts of trials and suffering of Christians today. She shows us the "Deep Altars" of praise to God that can only be achieved by knowing Him and trusting Him. This book has spoken to me in a powerful way and I'm happy to buy more copies to share with others.

When Goliath Doesn't Fall
I highly recommend this book! If you have experienced a loss or heartache, read this book! If you have questions about faith, read this book! If you need a boost of faith-filled inspiration, read this book!
In the world today, too many of us are asking where's God. This incredible book inspires and renews our faith...even when the odds are against everything. Jody Conrad's eloquent prose seamlessly links the reader back to the Bible and the power of God's grace and promises.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about an important but overlooked area of many a Civil War soldier's life - religion.

Woodworth's book is a refreshing and balanced view of the typical Northern and Southern soldier's religious views and life during the Civil War. While officers and generals are mentioned, the great majority is devoted to the foot soldier and noncommissioned officers.

The book contains several anecdotes of soldiers' faith in Jesus Christ from both North and South: how they were able to reconcile their religious beliefs with fighting a war, comments on the dangers and moral lapses of camp life, how a dying soldier was able to confidentally face eternity based on their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and other fascinating aspects of religious life during the Civil War.

While there were Jews, atheists, agnostics, and other types of beliefs in both armies, the emphasis is on the Christian faith.

Read and enjoy. Highly recommended if you are interested in learning more about the faith of several Civil War soldiers!

Our society has a very different attitude and belief system making it almost impossible to understand the religious world of the Civil War. Nor am I sure that we can talk about it without being judgmental and condescending or bemoaning America's loss of faith. This is a subject that most histories ignore or quickly mention on the way to something else. I feel they do so at of fear, not wishing to touch such a highly charged subject. Having read Woodworth, I felt he would do give me a good balanced history of religion during the war.

He did much more than that! Very carefully, he navigates between the poles never seeming to lean in either direction while give us a full history of Christianity leading up to and during the war. This produces a very fair balanced history that every one can read and enjoy. Woodworth, for the most part, lets the participants tell the story. Using a combination of letters, diaries and books, he shows us what they thought and felt. With this foundation, he guides us from the person to society and showing us the application. Each important term, the practice of religion and its' place in American life is fully covered in Part I. Part II covers the war and the application of Christian principles during the war. The belief system, the sermons and prayers are both a solace and a trap for the South as the war is being lost. The last twenty-five pages alone are worth the price of the book. They deal with the South coming to terms with defeat and reconstruction in contrast to the North's feelings of God's favor in granting them victory.

I have seen request for information of religion in ACW armies and now have the answer. This book covers a huge gap in Civil War history and needs to be read by all who wish to really understand the armies that fought the war.

Woodworth brings to light important aspects of source material from common Civil War soldiers that most historians disregard or dismiss with a quick sentence or two. The extensive quotation of what soldiers said about their faith in letters and journals gives an authentic picture of what real individual soldiers of the time thought and believed. Woodworth may have had his own biases in selecting the material presented, but I greatly appreciate what he has done in letting the soldiers speak for themselves. I have a special interest in Christianity during the Civil War, and this is the best book on the subject in the past half century or more.

Although I sometimes wonder how much of the book is fiction, I think the book is an incredible blend of Rubenstein's personal life with his public career. I literally could not put the book down. The book allowed me to put a personal life with the public figure and recordings that I have of him.

Rubenstein has a very flowing, easy-to-read writing style and includes details that made me feel like I actually met him and the people he knew. Like all great autobiographies that I read, this one made me want to know what happened to some of the people he met.

I was **very** disappointed when I finished the book and yearned for more information about his life. It was only when I came across the title on Amazon.com that I found he wrote another autobiography. I can't wait to buy it.

I first read the book when I was in college in about 1974. I couldn't put the book down. At the time Rubenstein was the greatest in my mind. I later bought a copy of the book at a used book store in Sonoma Valley.

Terrific -- and it sounds like it really was written by Arthur (Artur?) himself. It's almost diary-like in its detail, and everything is fascinating. We get a lot of juicy personal stuff, including love-life stuff and, on the other side of the coin, his young failed attempt at suicide. My own favorite part of the book is his very detailed reminiscence of the piano competition that he entered, and LOST; what's interesting is how this great, beloved, infinitely-accomplished pianist and man-of-the-world apparently never lost his hurt and bitterness over this stupid competition -- kind of like if Derek Jeter or Barry Bonds went on and on about the time they got shafted by an umpire in Little League. I don't mean this as a criticism of him; if anything, the opposite -- it's an example of how much he was just like the rest of us, which probably was a big part of why we loved him so much.

If Bill had posters on the wall of his newly built frontier home, they would show Kit Carson and Jim Bridger, frontiersmen and gentlemen both, also Bill's cousin Horace Billings...and Bill's beloved father Isaac.

Like Richard Peck and Harper Lee, Kimmel provides a simple definition of manhood (and womanhood): Stand your ground, keep your cool, do what's needed. Unlike today's hair-trigger instant-microwave world, the 19th century has Horace and Isaac and even Bill talk their way out of danger, rather than reach for fists and firearms.

Bill Cody is only eight-years-old when his twelve-year-old brother, Sammy, is killed while riding a wild horse. He blames himself, and knows that he should have tried harder to get Sammy not to get on the horse, but why would Sammy listen to him? Sammy was a man, Bill was just a kid. So starts TO THE FRONTIER. With the tragedy a few months behind them, the Cody family packs up and decides to leave LeClaire, Iowa, as well as the bad memories that it holds, and head towards the newly established Kansas Territory, where they hope to claim a great piece of land before anyone else can. However, Bill quickly realizes that Kansas is nothing like Iowa, as there's a real city, and the people (especially the men) are rougher than he ever expected they'd be.

As a fan of historical fiction, I was ecstatic to find the new series THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG BUFFALO BILL in the local Barnes & Noble, and just knew that I had to purchase TO THE FRONTIER, as I've always been interested in reading about Buffalo Bill. What I found was a fantastic new series, that I hope to read more from in the future. Bill is a fun character, who, at the age of eight is wise beyond his years, in both the horse business, as well as the family business. His sisters are fun characters to read about, though they don't make the greatest appearance in this book, and his parents, especially his Pa, are exciting and good-natured. What makes the series even more exciting is the fact that E. Cody Kimmel is a distant relative of Buffalo Bill, so you enjoy reading what she has to write about him. All in all this was a fabulous book, and a must have for anyone interested in cowboys, Buffalo Bill, or historical fiction.

Erika Sorocco

This Book explains and compares the theories of Germany's military writers before the First World War. Dr. Echevarria dispels myths and provides fresh and clear insight of the historical understanding and the idea's and theories that were debated.
This book is a must read for any serious student of Military History and Military Studies. Dr. Echevarria's exploration of the "tactical crisis", "initial solutions" through the "struggle for resolution" to "tactical synthesis" culminating in the present is a brilliant tour de force. This book will also help provide some clarity in understanding the American amalgamation of doctrine and warfighting.
Dr. Terry Tucker, Adjunct Prof Military Studies/Military Science and Doctrine Developer for the Afghan National Army

Being a text of the Modern War Studies by the University Press of Kansas already indicates this is a great book. Actually, I bought it for that reason and because the subject attracts my attention. After reading it, I can only say this book is fantastic. After Prussian defeat at Jena in 1806 on the hands of Napoleon, it took several years for the German peoples to again have a respectfull army. This books deals with this process. This book reveals why the Germans succeded on creating a new and powerfull army, while its neighbors (France and Russia, although Great Britain is also treated) decreased in power. The creation of a High Command and a General Staff are decisive factors on such evolution. Wargaming, modernization (this means, using all technological advantages on railroads, rifle making, artillery and machine guns, while demobilizing or transforming cavalry units) and professionalization (with always increasing quality levels of the reserve units) are the keys of German capability shown against Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870). One thing I really liked of this book is the extraordinary quantity and quality of the research sources (actually, thanks to this book I've been able to get some other texts on the subject), many of which are not in English. An extraordinary work.

A great addition to the vast array of Civil War books/stories. Most books on black soldiers during/post Civil War tend to be dedicated to either particular units or brief disccusions, especially during the Reconstruction, mixed in a deep layer of the Civil War. Shaffer however has brought a much needed story to the history of African-Americans who have served in the United State military, dedicated solely to thier post Civil War struggles. For those who have ever asked themselves what happened to the soldiers after the end credits of "Glory" ran, Shaffer answers that question with much needed and appreciated depth and detail. It is a book that complements Foner's Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 and deserves its place in the annals of African-American contributions to the foundation of this nation. If you enjoy this book I highly recommend Slotkin's Lost Battalions: The Great War and the Crisis of American Nationality

Though the recent attention of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry- largely due to the success of the movie "Glory"- has garnered some awareness of blacks in the American Civil War, little is still known about these magnificent men who donned the blue uniforms. Blacks played an integral role in the preservation of the Union and deserve the same attention in regards to the respect shown to Civil War veterans.

Information on Civil War veterans remains rather sketchy in places with one of those pertaining to African American veterans. Until Donald Shaffer's study, very little was known on the pension availability to black soldiers. Although not surprising, Shaffer's accounts of racism and prejudice further emphasize the general reaction to African Americans. Thousands of blacks died in the war, but they still were not given the full support of white veteran groups or even the general public. After assisting the unification of this country, blacks continued to climb uphill in regards to social rights.

Lastly, it was eye-opening to see how difficult our government made it for black veterans to get a pension. The pension process was long, tiresome, and difficult for white Union veterans, nevertheless blacks had it worse. Shaffer's book will be a key addition to any Civil War library and may be a standard for a portrait on black veterans in the postwar period.

This book is truly beautiful! The author goes seamlessly over the topic of liberalism VS. republicism. It is also very instructive upon the polictical views of Thomas Jefferson.

Jean Yarborough's book is an excellent compilation of Jefferson's beliefs on what constitutes good character to maintain republican government. She correctly surmises Jefferson would be appalled at modern America's obsession with making money and consumption. She also relates how he would bemoan the loss of leisure and family time. He would be disturbed by American's long commutes to work and large crowded cities. Yarborough relates how Jefferson would recommend reading, frugality, study, and emphasis on morality in schools. She further points out he would expect the cultivation of good character is essential to a well-ordered republic. Overall a great book.

like the first reviewer I also had this assigned for a class and it was the book I enjoyed the most. I've done a lot of political organizing and am interested in what makes a social movement tick and why it succeeds or fails, and this book does a great job of getting into the heads of political activists. The story is also very interesting, there's a real drama to the way the author tells the story. It reminds me of another book on the Populists, The Populist Moment, by Lawrence Goodwyn, only this book is more concerned with how women and men related (or not) to each other, and how this affected the movement. The book also does a good job of covering women's politics, especially the woman suffrage movement. The author's argument is that women tried to be both committed to their gender and their political party, and couldn't balance the two, which I think in part is a problem feminists have today. I enjoyed it very much, and learned a lot.

This book was assigned in a course on American political history, and I have to admit I didn't expect it to be so interesting--I mean, Kansas??!! Turns out Kansas was a pretty amazing place in the 1890s, and there were a lot of very strong, interesting women involved in politics for the first time. The book is often pretty funny, especially when it looks at how freaked out men were about women getting the vote. I've recommended it to a couple of friends as a book to read outside of class (although it helps to like history, like I do), and though they thought I was crazy at first, they really like it to. I'm now looking for more books like it. Maybe I should start a list!

During 1856 in St. Louis her mother and sister fall ill with the cholera epidemic, which has spread widely in Missouri , nine-year-old Meg and her brother Preston are sent to live with relatives in the praire lands of Kansas, until the epidemic passes. In her diary Meg describes the dangerous journey they have to take to get to Kansas and when they finally get their she and her brother Preston must adjust to the rugged lifestyle which is much different from St. Louis with their everyday chores. This was a great story about how a young girl braved her new lifestyle and someday wishes to be reunited with her family. I highly recommend Dear America fans to read this great new book in the My America series. I can't wait for the conclusion of Meg's story in her next diary!

When she is given a diary for her ninth birthday, Margaret Cora Wells, called Meg by her family and friends, expects to record her daily life in St. Louis, Missouri. But then a cholera epidemic strikes, and Meg's mother and little sister, Grace, fall ill. Having already lost two children to cholera seven years before, Meg's mother is determined not to lose another. So Meg and her seven-year-old brother, Preston, are sent to live with their aunt, uncle, and cousins in the Kansas Territory. Accustomed to a comfortable city life, Meg finds frontier living to be tough, but at the same time full of adventure. But in 1856, Kansas is a very dangerous place, where pro-slavery Border Ruffians attack northerners like Meg's family, who have come to Kansas in the hopes of making it a free state. Can Meg come up with a plan to help her family? I highly recommend this new title from the My America series.

In The Cattle Towns, Robert Dykstra demonstrates how five Kansas towns--Dodge City, Ellsworth, Caldwell, Abilene, and Wichita--developed through a complex set of conflicts that bred progress. Instead of adding to the frontier myth of wild and violent cattle towns, Dykstra builds upon studies of urban history and applies them to the developing frontier to create a local, social history that has national relevance.

Success or failure of a town depended on a number of variables including location, promotion, and people. Location as related to the county center, railroad lines, and especially for this study, cattle trails, played major roles in determining town futures. Advertisements in newspapers located between the Kansas cattle towns and the source of the cattle herds in Texas lured the trail drivers north. The most important element in the future of the cattle towns, however, was the local population.

Although the town newspapers often gave the impression that residents of the town and surrounding areas spoke in a unified voice, that was usually not the case. Disagreements between businessmen and rural folk, ranchers and farmers, natives and foreign-born, and reformers and vice practitioners were frequent. Dykstra contradicts earlier studies that claimed successful town development on mutual cooperation and shows how progress was made through such differences.

The differences over town policy provided a forum for area residents to discuss the future vision of their town. Whether the discussion was over alcohol, gambling, prostitution, or the movement of the splenic flu deadline, the result was an exchange of ideas focused on improving the town. Town businessmen, for example, sympathized with the reformers who sought to improve the moral values of the town by eliminating vices, but not at the financial cost of losing the trail drivers who were attracted by such vices and spent their funds liberally throughout town.

Due to the advancement of technology and the progression of settlers into the once open Kansas frontier, the cattle towns shifted their focus from cattle to the more consistent industry of agriculture. The westward movement of settlers altered the routes of cattle drives away from towns like Abilene and Dodge City and railroads continued to expand their coverage, removing these towns from the cattle industry. Despite the moral vices that accompanied it, the cattle industry between 1867 and 1885 helped provide an immediate economic base that developed towns and laid the groundwork for future success.

Utilizing information from period newspapers, letters, maps, government documents, and previous studies, Dykstra creates a well-written study that explores urban aspirations and rivalry in a frontier setting. By examining the motivations of individuals and groups in the cattle towns, Dykstra has made a valuable contribution to town building on the changing frontier.

"One of the most intelligent, interesting, and worthwhile contributions to the field of Western history in some time. [The author] has managed to say something rather basic about American culture in general." -- William H. Goetzmann. "Excellent . . . readable and persuasive. . . . One of the most refreshing and rewarding approaches to be applied to western history topics in many years, for [the author] is asking basic questions about social process and the nature of urban society." -- Howard Roberts Lamar.