Kansas Books

Gerald R. Butters, Jr. (Associate Professor of History at Aurora University) presents Banned in Kansas: Motion Picture Censorship 1915-1966. In 1915, Kansas was one of a handful of states that established its own film censorship board. From limiting depictions of sexuality to censoring violence in the 1932 classic "Scarface", the Kansas board controlled what the state's population saw on the silver screen for over fifty years. Banned in Kansas explores the political, social, and economic factors that led to the policy of movie censorship in Kansas, the attitudes of ordinary Kansas citizens toward the censorship, and why censorship continued for so many decades. Banned in Kansas also scrutinizes the daily operations of the film censorship board, and the complexities it encountered with regard to shifting definitions of cultural morality, as well as vagaries of political and legal systems. Black-and-white stills from censored movies illustrate this informed and informative contribution to American cinema history.

My husband and I had the great opportunity to attend a slide presentation by the author of this book, Robert Marsh. He certainly was well qualified and very interested in doing this work. Barns in Kansas and all around the world are falling everyday to people who are either not interested or cannot afford their upkeep. This is a wonderful tribute to those fantastic structures in our state. Hats off to Marshall who, along with his wife, drove 11,000 miles all over the state to gather interviews, pictures and priceless history from a bygone time. Great reading. Well researched. Wonderful pictures.

James Howley has done us a great service in writing about these unusual architectural sites in Ireland. We are surrounded by built things, but so many of them built with the severity of practical needs: domestic boxes, repetitive, hard-angled offices. His book reminds us that not all buildings were made so.

He educates us in these matters by maintaining scholarly momentum without sacrificing readability. Indeed, reading this book involves a curious deception -- you feel as though you have been tramping through the bushes all day and examining fascinating old buildings, then sitting tired but satisfied with a cup of tea, going over drawings and notes. Yet what has happened is that you have absorbed an array of both historical and social lessons.

Although the book is of course aimed at a specific area (Ireland) and specific topic (idiosyncratic buildings called 'follies'), the information is transferable into our daily lives. After having read the book, I found myself sensitized to the unusual in architecture in New England, where I live.

Qualifier: What we may think is unusual is not always a "folly" -- in glancing into the lifeways of our predecessors, we are looking with mystery into that which others saw as perfectly ordinary (a medieval castle privy may be to us a mysterious or amusing construction, although 800 years ago it was just a smelly crapper). In such cases, we need to educate ourselves in the definition of "unusual" and what it means for us and for the people of other ages.

Yet sometimes we find a truly unusual construction from whatever historical and local point of view you want to take. I drove by a yard in Shutesbury Massachusetts in which the owner had used his farm tractor to stack a series of huge flat stones on top of boulders to form a beautiful front-yard pyramid several feet high. My mind flashed instantly to the interesting people and odd places mentioned in Howley's book, and in this union of time and place and human dynamics, we see the ultimate practicality of this book. -- Wade Tarzia

The concept of servant leadership is very popular in many management circles and business schools these days. David McKenna has helped uncover the fact that this practice and persona of leadership dates back to Old Testament models. While a number of books have been written on the biblical Nehemiah, McKenna brings a fresh perspective to the attitudes as well as the actions of this unique servant leader. From a position of servitude and bondage, Nehemiah becomes a "man for his season". Unlike other treatments, McKenna bravely shows the weaknessess as well as the strengths of this leadership hero. The book is well written, throughly researched and personally compelling as it challenges those who lead to embrace the mission of a King's cupbearer in each of our roles and responsibilities.

I was very, very, woefully sorry to find out that the original edition of Before the Lark was out of print and the only edition of the book is in large print. Furthermore, it was sad to know that the sales rank was so low. This really is a great book.

I got this book from a school book sale and didn't read it until five years after I purchased it.

The story is about a girl named Jocey Royal who lives during the late 1800's, who has the horrible curse of a cleftlip, or harelip. For that, she is an outcast and is driven to go to a patch of Kansas farmland where she finds out more about har grandmother and her never there father. She also lerans that anyone can have a friend, and that some curses can be cured.

I really wish that more people would read this. Irene Bennett Brown wrote about a topic that rarely anyone thought about- the defects of a harelip. Many American children don't what a harelip is because the defect is fixed before the leave the hospital when they're born. But many poor courntries can't treat children with harelips, so they are shunned, just like Jocey.

I LOVED reading this book. Irene Bennett Brown created an unknown masterpiece and needs to be applauded. PLEASE, for your sake, read this book.

Barry's Beginning of the West is a 'must have' reference book for studying pre-territorial Kansas. It is a chronological listing of people and events, and is very well indexed.

Great insights from a man who knows that fatherhood is a high calling and hard work. I'm now a better parent after reading this book.

The "Benders" had a small, wayside inn near Cherryvale, Kansas. As travelers would stop by for a bite to eat, they would be seated in front of a curtain behind which "Kate Bender" would smack them on the head with a hammer. They would be robbed and their bodies would be dropped through a trap door in the inn floor. Later the bodies would be buried in the back yard. The travelers would just "disappear" and their families were unable to find them. About 50 people were killed before people started getting suspicious. The Benders discovered that they were under suspicion, and fled before they were caught. Local citizens unearthed the bodies and tried to find them but they were never caught. No one knows where they originally came from, or where they ever went. They are the first serial murders in the United States. It's been a few years since I read the book, but it is very interesting - and the original hammers are still on display at the Cherryvale Museum. There used to be a "Bender Museum" in Cherryvale with a display set-up with manequins just like the inn has been described. The museum has a bunch of information that has been collected over the years and Fern Wood serves on the Museum Board. The museum is only open on Sunday afternoons during warm weather. For further information contact the Cherryvale Chamber of Commerce. There have been several books written about the subject over the years, but this is the only book written that is still in print.

This book is great. It explains all the plants and flowers of Kansas and makes it so much fun to read. I do not have a green thumb, but I probably could grow some things with the help of this book. I recommend it strongly and have done so to other people.

Best Of The Best From The Great Plains Cookbook compiles its recipes from 88 cookbooks drawn from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. From a non-alcoholic Hot Buttered Rum to Mexican Ice Cream, this impressive, highly recommended compendium offers up wonderful selections for any family meal time or celebratory dining occasion. Of special interest to cookbook enthusiasts is the extensive listing of titles for the entire "Best of the Best" cookbook series from Quail Ridge Press.