Iowa Books

This is a wonderful exploration of a major facet of African-American history--a look at a place and time where the children of slaves built a prosperous local society. Buxton was a company town in Iowa where African-Americans comprised the middle class, the miners, the teachers, the doctors...and Whites were a minority. Race relations were generally unselfconsciously excellent, aged former residents indicated to interviewers (some of whom just could not believe it!); these people ran into the harsh racism of the outside world when the company town was disbanded and people had to resettle in DesMoines or Chicago or wherever. This book concentrates on the archaeological aspect of the Buxton Project. A must for any library of African-American studies, historical archaeology, and Midwestern history.

I read this book a few years back, and it was an amazing read. This book truly tells just what it's like to survive a major tornado. Anyone interested in first-hand stories of tornado survival should pick this one up. Just about everybody in this small town wrote their own piece to contribute to this journal. Pick it up while you still can find it!

An excellent guide to the costing, performance calculation and operation of farm machinery. The text is written extremely well and is easy to comprehend. Topics include machine performance, power performance, operator performance, costs, power and equipment selection, most farm operations are included. Only critism is that the computer programs are in Basic language (Excell would be prefered). Although principally for students of farm machine management, it would prove useful for any consultants or contractors dealing with farm machiney.

This book has great practical examples of people who started with nothing but the desire to be a farmer, and made it. It is a good read for anyone who grew up on a farm or still has farm connections, and especially valuable for those who think they are ready to launch a farming career, or those who are ready to retire from the farm and would like to find a younger successor (related or unrelated) to take over. G. Johnsto

A moving and varied collection of essays about the importance of fathering in our contemporary culture, with a unique perspective that ties fathering to learning about life through the natural world. There are fishermen, but also robin-watchers, beach-walking, daughters' viewpoints, and a whole range of parenting experiences. The voices are varied -- sad, funny, emotional -- and all sincere. A beautiful, finely edited collection.

Its great to have a book that owners and veterinarians alike can read for reference. Ferrets aren't as popular as dogs and cats, therefore books and information on ferrets are hard to find. This book is a comfort to have for any ferret-owner.

This book is helpful for people like me, who aren't searching for really deep and complex meanings in Pynchon's novels. This manages to not only demystify some of the complexities, it also helps to simply add some structure to the novels. The chapter on V was particularily helpful in just finding out what was going on, especially with Stencil's eight impersonations. A good place to start for those wondering more about Pynchon's novels...

Fifty Common Birds Of The Upper Midwest features an informatively descriptive text Nancy Overcott enhanced with beautiful watercolors by Dana Gardner and is an impressive showcase for fifty of the most frequently observed birds in America's Upper Midwest region. Delving deeply into the details of birds ranging from the Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus), the Red-Eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), and the Mourning Dove (Zenaida macoura), to the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), and forty-five others, Fifty Common Birds Of The Upper Midwest provides readers with a remarkable coverage of the birds routinely observed in the multistate area. A beautifully presented showcase for Dana Gardner's superb watercolor paintings, Fifty Common Birds Of The Upper Midwest is very highly recommended as an informative addition to personal and community library bird identification and birdwatching reference book.

Nancy Overcott's informed and informative text is accompanied by fifty superbly created watercolor paintings by Dana Gardner celebrating fifty extraordinary birds that are becoming increasingly rare in the states of America's Upper Midwest because of dwindling populations due to such issues as climate change, environmental degradation, and loss of habitat. From the Hooded Merganser; the White-Faced Ibis; the Whooping Crane; and the Acadian Flycatcher; to the Blue-Winged Warbler; the Yellow-Breasted Chat; the Snow Bunting; and the Evening Grosbeak, "Fifty Uncommon Birds Of The Upper Midwest" is an engaging and superbly presented compendium that is as much fun to browse through as it is educationally informative. A work of truly impressive scholarship and artistic talent, "Fifty Uncommon Birds Of The Upper Midwest" is strongly recommended for personal, academic, and community library Aviary Studies, Bird Watcher, and Pets/Wildlife reference collections.

Anderson's short-story cycle is one of the best I've read in the last 25 years. The first chapters made me sweat when I read them; the prose was so intense and purely written, distilled language that resembles the best single-malt scotch or Sinatra during his middle phase. Anderson's style is mixture of Hemingway, Dubus, and Beckett (if that Irish writer had been from the American West, he'd have written like this).
The one aspect about this writing that I particularly savor is that while it is about the loss of love, children, friends, and fathers, and suffering, blown intestines, the stuff of real pain, it is also about living with all that agony one is asked to endure; it is about surviving with grace and dignity. It is about making art. Like the end of Beckett's great trilogy, it is about going on.
Although I enjoyed "Fire Road," the story that gives the book its title, I favored other stories more, "Wonder Bread," "Weather," and "Luck."
This is a serious work of art by a writer with talent. I can't wait until the his next work of art arrives.