Oklahoma Books

The wonders of Carolyn Brown's romances never cease. She continues to create love stories that last in the readers' minds. "Lily's White Lace" does just that. Be sure to read her other Avalon Books romances and historical romances.

Imagine finding out before you say I do that your husband to be has been cheating on you. What a terrible feeling. But what do you do? If you're smart like Lily, you would leave him standing at the altar. But shedding tissue and tissue over leaving someone that you did love and trust isn't an easy thing. And never trusting a man again is even harder, especially when a fine man like Jesse comes along. In the end, stubborness does find a way out the window and Lily finds herself falling for Jesse, as he does with her. They know that they were meant to be together. And true love finds a way to bring them together always. This is a superb book and deserves a ten stars plus. Lily's White Lace is a book that brings love into any home. You will love this book from the beginning to the end. A ten stars plus for any reader. You will be touched by the wonderfully written story as you turn page after page. Great book!!!

"Lone Wolf" is a very interesting book, biography/history told in a compelling fashion! The author, Timothy Mulligan, is to be congratulated on the different focus which he puts on the upbringing of Kapitaenleutnant Werner Henke, a very successful, if not overly bright German Submarine Commander during the last big war (it was in all of the papers!). Mulligan Illustrates differences between Naval Academies in the USA and Germany, which are very clever weeding-out processes and pecking order heirarchies within particular submarines, I guess one can find "office politics" everywhere. There is also eye-opening material about the aspect of intelligence/espionage and propaganda as used by both sides in the "Battle of the Atlantic" Unfortunately, though not a Nazi by any stretch or use of the word, Henke was not without integrity which more than likely lead to his undoing! That and an innate gullibility led to his demise. It's a good book, though, not $120.00 good but you should read it if submarines are a vital part of your interest!

another truly great u-boat book that gives a studied approach to the WW2 submarine conflict and also downgrades Buchheim"s Das Boot as a true picture of a U-Boat crew.Buchheim describes the typical German u-boat sailor as so young that he terms their role in the submarine service as a "childrens crusade" however according to Mulligan's statistics this is not so.Also this book compares the different type of U-Boats-the niners and the sevens and gives their capacities and their shortcomings.The crews of these boats came mainly from cental and northern Germany,the more industrial regions which contradicts what i had previously read that these crews were from rural areas. Also there is an interesting chapter about the U-boat pecking order which makes absurdity of Buchheims,' Das Boot crews","we are one in suffering"mentality.The crews from this books' read seem like they would act as individuals guarding their own turf but can function as a team,indeed that would probably make for a more efficient crew as well as better for morale.You're going to love this book if you're into the Battle of the Atlantic,human interest stories mixed with some good statistics.

Ralph Andrist, already in 1964, opened the doors for authors to follow, such as Dee Brown and "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee."

Andrist tells the story facing eastward, part of his overall effort to incorporate the Plains Indian point of view into his story.

Putting the history of broken treaties and broken promises front and center Andrist paints a portrait of Plains tribes struggling to maintain an identity and way of life -- a struggle that continues to today.

After reading the other review calling the book revisionist...I was pleasantly surprised, by this book. I would call it very evenly balanced, presenting both sides of the historical record. Very equally balanced, and also extraordinarily well written. The author was a master of story telling. His historical accounts not only present events I had never heard of, they do it in such a way that you are informed and engrossed in the historical account.
Highly recommended for study of the Sioux, early Minnesota,plus many other tribes and states. (Osage, comanche, etc)
Your obt. servant,
Doc

Reading Maddie was like being there on the farm with her. I laughed, cried and felt like it was happening to me. Great book! Even adults like it.

Maddie is Sylvia Tomlinson's gentle story for young readers about the life of an intelligent, strong-willed twelve-year-old girl responsible for her share in the never-ending upkeep of her family's farm. First in a planned series about family farm life, Maddie is an empathetic, emotional, and meaningful tale addressing the challenges of growing up in a changing world. Enhanced with illustrations by Ginny Cartmell, Maddie is highly recommended reading for boys and girls ages 9 to 12.

This fine book of black and white photography and accompanying text portrays a period of Western development that flourished in the early 20th century and then died with the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. The author, an archaeologist by profession, has taken his camera to the states in the western Great Plains and the Great Basin of the Northwest and photographed the remains of homesteads that were once part of a thriving dry-land farming economy. There are photographs of abandoned farm houses, barns, schools, post offices, hotels, cemeteries, farm machinery and vehicles, and he has written a lengthy account of the period, based on research and personal interviews with descendants of homesteaders.

Today, where once stood prosperous farming communities joined by a network of roads and railways and served by a scattering of rural towns, fulfilling Thomas Jefferson's dream of a nation of small farmers, there is thinly populated ranchland, large hay fields, and expansive wheat growing operations. After decades of unusually high rainfall, these regions have returned to their normal arid conditions, which are unsuitable for dry-land farming. In some places, the prairie grass has reclaimed the land, obliterating evidence that the earth here was ever tilled. Only a few abandoned structures remain.

Campbell's photographs are fascinating and haunting. In many of them the vast sky looms overhead. Often in the distance there is a range of mountains, sometimes snow covered. The sunlight is bright and the shadows deep; the only signs of life are the grass and occasional trees. In all of them, the details are crisply focused, and where the landscape is flat and open, everything is sharply clear right to the horizon. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the West, images of the plains, and the history of homesteading.

I don't thinks it's too often that you'll come across a book that delivers just what it says it will. John Campbell has achieved this perfectly with his first class text and photos. As a work by a professional archaeologist this could have been the predictable dry words and dull photos that would nevertheless have been subject accurate but fortunately the wonderful images with their complete captions work so well.

Campbell makes the story of the seven million Homesteaders really come alive in the first four chapters. The following seventy photos (in 175 screen) reinforce many of the points with detailed captions and nicely these include a touch of humor here and there. The photos show dilapidated houses, barns and other buildings, household and agricultural implements, rusting farm machinery and vehicles. So many of the exterior shots show buildings just sitting on the empty Plains which to the Homesteaders must have seemed a daunting environment, not only to work but also to bring a family up in.

I think this is a wonderful book of an overlooked part of American history and the only thing that could have made it better for me would be a really classy art paper and finer screen to reproduce these remarkable photos.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Although I was expecting bold, daring and exciting tales of the wild frontier, this book does portray Manuel Lisa's vision, exploits and dealings in the fur trade of the early 1800's very well. From establishing Fort Raymond at the confluence of the Big Horn River and Yellowstone River in 1807, the book takes the reader along Lisa's other adventures up the Missouri River thru 1820. Supported by historical documentation from such men as Thomas James, John Bradbury, Henry Brackenridge and John Luttig, to the many correspondence letters from Lisa to others, Oglesby does an exemplary work piece of this man's life. Well liked by most Indian tribes but oftentimes thought of as an abrasive and badgering individual by the whites, this is a man who simply wanted to fulfill his dreams of opening the fur trade in the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. The book is not just about his adventures, as it is also about the business transactions, strategies, financial responsibilities, etc. associated with the heavily competitive fur companies of the day.

So much has been written about the great William Ashley period of the American fur trade in the Far West (c.1822-1840), that it's easy to forget there was a distinct pre-Ashley period, a period dominated by Manuel Lisa. It was Lisa, immediately after the Lewis and Clark expedition, who first trapped furs along the Missouri-Yellowstone River corridor.

Lisa was born in New Orleans in 1772 and began trading furs with the Osage about the same time Lewis and Clark set off for Oregon. He helped supply the expedition, and upon its successful return in 1807, Lisa made his first keelboat journey up the Missouri. He had always fancied establishing trade with Santa Fe, but the Spanish were never interested, so he set his eyes toward the northwest.

He established Fort Raymond at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers, and formed the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company in 1809. After a few lean years, by 1812 enough furs were being brought back to St. Louis to make his efforts profitable. In 1814 William Clark appointed Lisa sub Indian agent for the tribes above the Kansas River, which ended up being a brilliant political move. This was during the War of 1812 with England, at which time the Indians were getting belligerent toward the Americans; Lisa had a sterling reputation with the tribes, however, being perceived by the Indians as always being a fair dealer with them, and this helped quell their opposition and basically kept the tribes out of the war altogether.

By the last year of his life, Lisa had made over a dozen trips up the Missouri. As in the subsequent trading period, the Blackfeet were his biggest nemesis: their hatred of first the British and then the American was absolute. During the winter of 1819-1820, Lisa apparently became ill, and he died in St. Louis in August of that year.

Lisa's trappers had explored all the important beaver streams of the Rocky Mountain West by the time of his death. He devised and established the system which combined trading with the Indians to keep them friendly with trapping furs, both done from an established post built in the wilderness. William Ashley would later incorporate the rendezvous into Lisa's system, but it would remain in place for years to come. Manuel Lisa was a major figure in the early West and should be better known and appreciated.

Oglesby is an excellent writer, scholarly but not dull. He writes with care, but even better he writes with style. He's a joy to read. Anyone interested in the opening of the West should read this book.

I do believe this book was very wonderful. I liked this book. It was an absolutely fabulous mystery. Plus you just have to love Bushyhead. I liked all the many twists in the plot. The whole lesbian affair was very surprising. I loved it! Go Bushyhead! Go Jean Hager!

Arnett Walsh, an Oklahoma Wildlife Officer, is found dead in a nearby cave. The corpse was found by the daughter of the chief of the police and her friends. The police chief Mitch Bushyhead begins to investigate the murder.

Mitch quickly learns that the deceased was investigating the recent slaughter of bald eagles, animals under the protection of the Feds as an endangered species. Mitch soon has a prime suspect, the high school principal Vian Brasfield. The educator has been a major sponsor of Native American eagle dances, a type of performance that requires eagle feathers. However, Vian has vanished; his only enemy is Dane Kennedy, a political extremist and racist. It is up to Mitch to keep digging until he uncovers the truth behind the Walsh murder and the Brasfield disappearance.

MASKED DANCERS is the fifth Bushyhead mystery and, like its precursors, this is an appealing novel that is propelled forward by glimpses into the modern day Cherokee culture. Mitch is a phenomenal lead character and the support cast, especially his child Emily, addd much humanism to the tale. However, it is the brilliantly described clash between Federal statute and native custom that turns Jean Hager's latest book into a blockbuster of book.

Harriet Klausner

I attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine longer ago than I care to recall, but I am personally familiar with many of the doctors and incidents depicted in this well-researched and interestingly written book. It contains more facts per page than anything I have ever read (with the possible exception of the Yellow Pages), but that's the way it should be in a history that documents the key years of an institution that changed from a small medical outpost on the prairie to--as the authors brand Oklahoma taxpayers' expectations--a "Harvard on the plains" medical complex. While the school perhaps never achieved that level of academic excellence, it certainly rose far higher than the Oklahoma state legislature and it's turf-protecting politicians had any right to expect, given their meager level of support both financial and political. Politics aside, the 50's and 60's were great times to be living in Oklahoma City, and this book brings back many of my fondest memories--and reminds me of the many brilliant and industrious men and women I met and worked with at the Medical Center. The book captures it all beautifully, and I highly recommend it for anybody interested in the subject.

I found the book to be extremely interesting, and even humorous at times. The book offers a play by play event listing of the establishment of the medical school and tells a candid story of the founders and individuals that were ultimately responsible for what kind of medical facilities, Oklahoma has today. A "must-read" for Medical Students, Educators and generally any History Buff that would enjoy the "inside" story behind the Oklahoma Medical Center. The photographs are a plus.

I may be a bit biased as this book is written by my great-grandfather and edited by my great-uncle. However, the "Medicine Man" is a fun look at a time in U.S. History when the west was still to be explored. It was a time of story tellers and colorful characters. That is the story of the "Medicine Man". I would love to hear what you think of the book. Owen "Brad" Stratton

Several weeks ago, my wife and I visited the Little Bighorn (Custer) National Battlefield Monument in Montana. As we were leaving the grounds of the monument, we noticed the Big Indian Tepee Trading Post (or something to that effect) across the road ("Gifts, Souvenirs, T-Shirts, Cold Drinks, Food, Whatever"). I didn't feel like getting scalped in a tourist ambush, but my wife wanted to check it out. So, of course, we stopped. And, I'm glad we did, because I came across this absolutely marvelous book.

Owen Tully Stratton was a medicine show pitchman from 1898 to 1904, and a licensed, small town MD from 1906 to 1950. MEDICINE MAN is his memoir, as edited by his son. In the book's first 100 pages, Owen recounts his crisscrossing of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Montana and Idaho as a medicine show huckster. While today one might view such an entrepreneur as not much better than a used car salesman at best, or scam artist at worst, I learned one very surprising fact. Owen's medicine show, and the others he talks about, regularly employed an MD licensed in the state they were traveling through. In any town the show happened to be working, the physician would set up a temporary office to see patients referred to him by the pitchman. The show's MD was not necessarily any more of a quack than the local medicos, so he was actually in a position to provide legitimate medical care - and often did. Of course the medicine show and its tame MD were bitterly resented by the local sawbones and pill pushers.

The remainder of the volume is Owen's recollection of his life as a degreed and licensed MD, practicing at various times in Washington, Idaho and Montana. It was a hard existence, both on himself and his family. But Dr. Stratton reminisces with a perceptive wit that calls to mind the writings of the great Mark Twain. At one point, the author, a self-confident general practitioner (GP) but reluctant surgeon, recounts the time he assisted on an appendectomy with a more experienced, but inebriated, cutter:

"My surgeon, in his drunken enthusiasm, discarded contaminated instruments by throwing them against the wall. The patient knew nothing of that, and her convalescence was uneventful. With that experience, my surgical feet warmed up a trifle."

Evident to the reader are the striking differences between the practice of medicine then and now, with some not necessarily for the better. Take, for example, "house calls". For those of you too young to be acquainted with the concept, a house call was a visit by a physician to a patient's home to render care. This was simply the way medicine was practiced in those days, and up until the time of the mid 20th century. (As a young boy in the early 50's, I remember accompanying my father, also a GP, on his house call rounds.)

I cannot recommend this book to highly. I was particularly impressed by the circumstances surrounding the good doctor's own death, as related by his son in an Editor's Epilog. His departure from life was pure class.

My own father is deceased these past 25 years, but I shall give this volume to my mother, also an MD. Her maternal grandfather was a physician in rural Missouri at the end of the 19th century, and I'm sure she'll find it as fascinating as I did.

C. Robert Haywood has written a wonderful book on one of the founders (of perhaps two or three men) of Dodge City, Kansas. Wright made millions from cattle and spent it all. Four wives, and 45 years later he died in Dodge City, broke and not famous. He was one of the men who hired Wyatt Earp and was a backer of Bat Masterson, among many other more famous (infamous) Western heros. As President of the Ford County (ie, Dodge City) Historical Society, I assure the reader that no better history of that period has yet been written, except perhaps Robert Wright's own 1913 book on Dodge City. (out of print). Wright is an amazing man, from a family which included a grandfather who was Clerk of the US Supreme Court and a greatgrandfather that was president of the US during the period before the constitution. Great book. (Little known fact: Wright has, in 1999, a greatgrandson, age 80 and a grandson, age 49, still living. That doesn't happen often, but with forty years or so between wife number 1 and wife number 4....) George Laughead Jr.

C. Robert Haywood has written a wonderful book on one of the founders (of perhaps two or three men) of Dodge City, Kansas. Wright made millions from cattle and spent it all. Four wives, and 45 years later he died in Dodge City, broke and not famous. He was one of the men who hired Wyatt Earp and was a backer of Mat Basterson, among many other more famous (infamous) Western hero. As President of the Ford County (ie, Dodge City) historical Society, I assure the reader that no better history of that period has yet been written, except perhaps Robert Wright's book on Dodge City itself. (out of print). Wright is an amazing man, from a family which included a grandfather who was Clerk of the US Supreme Court and a greatgrandfather that was president of the US during the period before the constitution. Great book. (little known fact: Wright still has in 1999 a greatgrandson age 80 and a grandson, age 49, still living. that doesn't happen very often, but with forty years or so between wife number 1 and wife number 4, etc.) George Laughead Jr.