Kansas Books

Flint Hills Cowboys by James F. Hoy places you on the saddle of a horse loping through the historic Flint Hills of Kansas. Mr. Hoy himself grew up in the Hills and was raised working cattle alongside some of the best cowboys the region has reared. Chock-full of authentic and personal stories, the reader continually feels like one of the cowboys living the exciting, and difficult, life of a Flint Hills Cowboy.
The book both informs and delights. Mr. Hoy lacks pretentiousness and his writing is accessible. After completing the book, it was obvious to me that he desires only one thing: to share his love and passion for the Flint Hills of Kansas and all the colorful and honorable people who dwell there.

Flint Hills Cowboys: Tales Of The Tallgrass Prairie by Jim Hoy (Professor of English and Director of the Center for Great Plains Studies at Emporia State University) is the engaging combination of personal memories, frontier history, and folklore tales about the prairie lands of the Flint Hills country of eastern Kansas. A remarkable and inherently fascinating anthology of stories and anecdotes of the rodeo, ranching, ranch hands, and working with stubborn cattle and contrary horses, Flint Hills Cowboys reflects upon a half-century of life and times in the Flint Hills. As a superbly presented compendium of action, humor, lore, and history, Jim Hoy's Flint Hills Cowboys is very strongly recommended and entertaining reading for all anyone with an interest in the landscape, people and history of the Flint Hills country.

I was getting really tired of books on people having affairs, or kids who suffer in broken homes, dysfunctional family, irresponsible parents, etc. when I came across this book. There is no affairs, sexual contents, divorce, or alcoholics/drug addicts in this book, thank goodness, and the protagonist's family is in good accord, even though there are some disagreements and distresses at times. From that perspective, one may call this book unique. It was quite refreshing to read about a functioning family facing external problems and issues which affect them internally.

The protagonist is a 9-yr-old girl, Eva, who is a mature thinker for her age. Her sense of justice and fairness and what is right and wrong is very strong, and she seems to know how to make good argument about moral and racial issues. She often strikes up a discussion about these matters with adults around her, is capable of carrying the discussion at adult level. Yet she's still emotionally a child, and sometimes her weaknesses and childish selfishness show involuntarily.

The Hoffmans have migrated from Vienna, fleeing Hitler's claws and settled in Topeka, KS. The father is a doctor (psychiatrist?), and the mother is a stay-home mama, with a very strong sense of moral and justice. Because of their own experience as Jews, they believe in human equality, and try to practice their belief in their daily life by treating black people, mentally ill people, white flood victims with the same principle, in the midst of white people who are trapped in racism and bigotry, and try to get along. They fled Europe's prejudice to the country of freedom (America), but they find the same prejudice, which is quite disappointing and disheartening. And they fight against it by living what they believe.
However, even though they share the same principle, they all have different ideas on how to practice it in details, in their daily life. When they take in the ignorant, bigotry red-neck flood victim family Willgers to their home, each of the HOffmans reacts and acts differently. The mother tries to be really nice, cheerful, and do everything she can to make the Willgers feel at home, despite the insensitive racial comments her guests drop here and there. The father tolerates their presence, but withdraws to himself, failing to pay attention to his daughters' emotional needs. Eva's young innocent sister Sarah hits it off with Jolie, the Willgers' naughty, poorly mannered, insensitive, disrespectful daughter. Eva, the protagonist, is the one who sees the hypocricy and unfairness all around her and simply cannot take the insults and bigotry that these strangers demonstrate at her home. The poor girl is retreated up in attic, as a result of giving up her room to the Willgers, no longer finds a place for herself in the family or home.

Each family member acts and reacts differently to this stress of living with people who belive in ideas which he/she doesn't approve of, who may well have hated their Jewish hosts if they weren't victims of the flood. And one wonders who's action or reaction is right and who's is wrong. Each one has good reasons for the way he/she acts and reacts, and one starts thinking that there is really no right or wrong, as each is trying to be honest and morally correct.

The issues are mind-boggling, and there are quite a few important discussions and dialogues that make you think and question yourself.
The ending is, as the editorial suggests, unfortunately dissatisfying. I wish the author has taken more time and pages to complete the story. But it is still worth the read. The 9-yr-old protagonist is totally believable and capable of receiving the reader's sympathy, and you will see the world through her eyes. It's a unique book, and I highly recommend it.

Nine year-old Eva Hoffman is an Austrian refugee whose family has found a precarious safety in Topeka, Kansas in 1951, the year of the landmark desegregation case. As the rising river inundates the town, the Hoffmans open their home to refugees from the flood, and Eva learns the complexities of prejudice-and courage-both within and outside her family.

"A richly evocative story of the awakening to adulthood." -- The Los Angeles Times.

"A refreshing and extremely moving novel." --Ms. Magazine

"Eva is...reminiscent of a Carson McCullers heroine." --The New York Times.

Nine-year-old Meg Wells and her seven-year-old brother, Preston, were sent away from their St. Louis home in the spring of 1856 during a cholera epidemic, and went to live with relatives in Kansas Territory. But now their parents and their little sister, Grace, have joined them on the prairie, and it looks like their stay in Kansas will be longer then expected. Meg wants to return to St. Louis, but with Kansas Territory a battleground between those who want it to enter the United States as a free state and those that would have it allow slavery, Meg's father is determined to stay in support for a free state. Meg describes in her diary her family's life during the summer and fall of 1856, as they face a dangerous prairie fire and are caught up in the crossfire between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. I reccomend this book to readers who enjoyed the first book about Meg, As Far As I Can See.

In the continuation of nine-year-old Meg Well's story, she and her brother Preston have finally been joined by her parents and little sister Grace. However Kansas at this point in history might even be more dangerous than the cholera stricken St.Louis the Wells family escaped from. Fights between the people who want Kansas to stay a free state and those who want it to turn towards slavery ensue and threaten anyone who disagrees in sight. Slaves aren't the only danger, as prarie fires threaten to tear down all things in sight. However young Meg mananges to grow up in this time of turmoil and I can't wait to read the conclusion of her story coming out in August 2003.

Very well written stories that meld together seamlessly. With each turn of a page it became harder and harder for me to put this book down even for a minute.

Fragile Hopes, Transient Dreams: And Other Stories

Make sure you are comfortable and situated before you even start reading this book.

This is a fun book to read to help you escape back to the days where the plains were still wild. It gives you a glimpse into the lives of those who settled in the early days.

Now that George Brett has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame (with the 4th highest vote total in history no less), interest in reading about this baseball immortal is at a high and it's very unfortunate that Garrity's book is no longer in print. The book was written after Brett's wonderful 1980 season, when he captured the hearts of America with his quest to become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. The book's a great look into the life of a player on the brink of superstardom. It'd be great now to get a book on Brett's entire career, because many of his highlights occurred after the '80 season. If you're a Brett fan, I strongly urge you to find this book!

Now that George Brett has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame (with the 4th highest vote total in history no less), interest in reading about this baseball immortal is at a high and it's very unfortunate that Garrity's book is no longer in print. The book was written after Brett's wonderful 1980 season, when he captured the hearts of America with his quest to become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams did it in 1941. The book's a great look into the life of a player on the brink of superstardom. It'd be great now to get a book on Brett's entire career, because many of his highlights occurred after the '80 season. If you're a Brett fan, I strongly urge you to find this book!

After reading the book, I realized how much more I knew about American History in general. Little did I know that Washington was such a conservative. I did not think I knew so little before I read this, but now I am filled with information that wants to be shared. His explanations on the state of America from pre-revolutionary times until the signing of the constitutions are extremely interesting. This is on top of the extensive information on the father of our country. I came out of this book with a new understanding of how the country was formed and a new love for the work that out founding fathers did. Great book for anyone interested in American History. Especially great read for George Washington fans. This is scholarly writing at its best!

We tend to be too focused on the constitution as a document that is somehow frozen in time. We forget too often that as ratified it was very vague on any number of subjects as to how the various branches of government would work. We also too often assume that the way it broadly works now is the way it always worked. Hah!
Recently, we have been blessed by work by scholars like David Currie and Akhil Amar Reed that remind us that the Constitution is not just a document but a history of practices based on that document. Our early Congresses, Presidents and Supreme Court Justices had to decide how to perform their functions. How were the seperation of powers and the checks and balances to work?
Many of these issues took years to settle (e.g., the idea of judicial review).
George Washington played an incredibly vital role in many of these decisions. Flexner, in his biography called Washington, 'the indispensable man". This is as true of his role in the ratification debates and the early years of the new government as it was in the Revolutionary War.
So says Glenn Phelps to which I say, "Amen". There is a telling moment in the first volume of Farrand's Records of the Convention when the delegates first consider placing the executive in one man. After the motion is seconded, Madison notes, "A considerable pause ensuing.." (Farrand, 1:65) which is broken only after Washington asks if they just want to go ahead and vote on the motion and Franklin asks everyone to speak their mind. The delegates were reticent about speaking their minds on the reasons they would limit the powers of the office of President simply because they all assumed that Washington would be that President. Only after they were encouraged by Washington and Franklin did they then speak their minds!
I would also argue that one of the factors that contributed to the new Constitution being accepted was that everyone in the country thought that way. Most people trusted Washington to not abuse the powers he would have. They trusted him to set the tone for the office. Amazing, when you think about it.
Phelps argues (rightly, I think) that Washington's ideas about government were formed by a rather classical republicanism and by his experiences in the Revolutionary War.
His classical and conservative republicanism led him to believe that government had to be founded on the people but that the people should be represented in the government by the "best" men in their states. The best were those who had the capacity to rise above local interests to discern the true national interest and who also had the virtue to persue that national interest over any of their own. In this he was no democrat. He did not believe that representatives were to mirror local interests or to be tied down by instructions by those local interests. The people had to trust their representative to do what was best. (Phelps, p.83)
For me the most interesting part of Phelps' book is his examination of Washington's terms as President. Washington set many precedents as to how appointments were to be made, what the function of the Cabinet would be, what would be the relationship of the President to the Congress and both to the various departments of the Executive.
There are too many examples for me to be inclusive so I will give you one that was new to me. Phelps feels that Washington was very influenced by the success of his "council of war" policy during the Revolution. Washington would explain overall strategic objectives to his junior officers and then ask for advice on a series of questions. These councils served the dual function of giving the junior officers the big picture and, perhaps, of improving that same strategy. Phelps feels that Washington tried to model his cabinet on that idea (pp 160-3). But he went further than that initially. He tried unsuccessfully to incorporate the Supreme Court and the Senate into the idea of the "consultative presidency". Phelps argues that Washington's well-known visit to the Senate where he asked for advice on the instructions to be used in negotiations with the Creek Indians is an example of this (pp. 167-72). Washington took literally that part of the Constitution that the Senate had an "advise" function to play in treaties as well as an approve function.
All-in-all, this is a very enjoyable, informative and well-written book. The overall picture of Washington that emerges (as pretty much the leader of the Federalists) will disturb some people but it should not really surprise them.
One more brief comment. I almost always have to throw something in on the limits of originalism as a judicial philosophy.
All aspects of our government have a history. There is no denying the vagueness of our Constitution on most subjects that it touches. That vagueness can be somewhat focused by the ratification debates. But even then most of the details of governance went unanswered. Phelps, Currie, Reed and others are very right to point out that those details were filled in by the early administrations and beyond. Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Polk, Lincoln, Cleveland, McKinley, both Roosevelts and others more contemporary have interpreted their role as Presidents. I know people hate the phrase but it really is a "living document". We the People are what gives it life not the other way around.
In any case, this is an excellent introduction to the effect on Constitutional development by Washington. Phelps is to be thanked for having filled an obvious void with this fine volume.

I had the pleasure of taking several classes taught by Dr. Clinton at Southern Illinois University. His knowledge of the classics and how they relate to modern government is simply incredible. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest. It is defintely written for a scholarly audience, however. Don't pick it up if big words and lots of footnotes intimidate you.

Clinton's approach to American Constitutional Law takes the reader through the logical foundations of our law and constitional theory and then reveals the fatal weaknesses of modern judicial activism.

I enjoyed this book very much for the historical content. I am a quilt artist however I have not accomplished the blocks at this time.

This book is laid out very nicely. There is a journal entry to go along with each block. If you enjoy making quilts that have a story behind them, then I think you would enjoy this book. It gives you something to think about as you sew away!

Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg are about six months apart but very close in distance and in personal. These are the last two great victories the Army of Northern Virginia would enjoy. The Union army would finally get a commander structure that would stand and fight as intelligently as possible. Never again, would Lee find victory through failures of the other army commander. There are many firsts in these battles and no easy answers. This excellent book covers both battles in detail and gives us the Battle at Salem Church too. I had this book with me when touring this area and recommend it to you. I would never have found many sites without it.
The series format is directions to a point on the field, orientation, a general lesson on what happened in your view, followed by first person accounts of the action. These guides are designed using the general staff training concept of a Staff Ride. This is when a class is taken to a historic location, discuss what happened and see how the terrain influences the event. Staff Rides are designed to be intensive "on the ground" training coupled with physical observation in the hopes students will gain experience for later use.
I am not saying this to frighten you away from this guide but to tell you this is not a walk about and look at the monuments type of guide. This guide will have several pages devoted to the action at this point. It may contain a critique of the local commander's actions with possible alternates.
My experience is that reading the book prior to my visit works best. This allows me more time observing the field and less time reading the book. Of the tour options, a professional guide is usually the best but most expensive choice. The park driving tour is the best choice for a quick trip through the field to get the kids passport stamp. This book is the best choice for a serious student of the battle looking for a detailed explanation.

These series of books are the best available resource for conducting ACW battlefield tours - assuming that your purpose in touring battlefields is to study and understand the applicable tactics, strategy and terrain and to develop an appreciation for the objectives and efforts of the participants. If you go to ACW battlefields to gawk and gossip as an everyday tourist then you do not need to study these guides. If you have an active interest in ACW history, military history in general or fascinating chapters in human history, then these guides are remarkable values, "Best Buys". Thorough but not intimidating, insightful and objective, with no deficiencies noted.

If you have never read this book, you can't appreciate the influence of the ministry on the early settlement of the west. By the way , my copy came from Rev. Fishers personal library and has his ownership stamp inside.

If you have never read this book, you can't appreciate the influence of the ministry on the early settlement of the west. By the way , my copy came from Rev. Fishers personal library and has his ownership stamp inside.