Oklahoma Books

I used this years ago in college and just got it off the shelf as I prepare to take up Homeric Greek again for fun.

This was a great help when I first needed it for both 'Odyssey' and 'Iliad' readings. I can certainly agree with those who want principal parts and more definitions, but that's why you also need Liddell and Scott's or Cunliffe's 'Lexicon...' My sticking point is that nouns could've been given a definite article and a genitive ending, even so supplying them yourself (as I did) is a great exercise.

What is so nice about this book is the great number of words listed for you and especially its portability. Take it every where; use it any time!
What Owen and Goodspeed wanted to do is provide vocabulary as simply as possible. And they succeeded.

If you wish to read any language, vocabulary is necessary. The listing of words by frequency and parts of speech helps one to focus study time where it will bear the most fruit.

This wordlist is of inestimable value to all those few yet thrice-blessed who still learn to read Homer in Greek. By the time you finish it, you will have at least a nodding acquaintance with every word that appears ten times or more in the Iliad and Odyssey. That may indeed leave a trireme of unknown words, but trust me, knowing the most frequent ones makes it much easier to get the gist of a passage before running to the lexicon. If you are learning Homer from Pharr--as nearly everyone does--this is a good reference to consult to see which words in his chapter vocabularies are worth committing to your active memory. (I wish that Pharr had marked the words of infrequent occurrence. Wright should have done this in his "revision" but he didn't really revise Pharr much at all.)

There is only one shortcoming, though I do consider it a serious one: the list of verbs does not include principal parts, and the noun list does not give genders or stems. You could easily write in the article and genitive forms for the nouns, but good luck trying to fit the five remaining principal parts of a verb on the same line as its entry. So no matter how you solve this problem, you will still need to look up nearly every word. That's an onerous task to inflict on a beginner. With a class of students, though, I suppose the teacher could divide up the drudge-work.

The greatest obstacle to reading Homer in Greek is the sheer density of the vocabulary. That is to say, Homer's vocabulary is
enormous. As an attempt to help the student of Homeric Greek acquire a good grasp on Homer's vocabulary, this little book is useful yet not as useful as it could have been.

The book contains word lists covering words that occur up to ten times in the Iliad and Odyssey. Unfortunately, there are serious faults with the word lists. As one reviewer has already mentioned, the verbs give only the present indicative active; with a verb such as audao (to speak, say, utter (something)(to someone)), this is no problem, since the verb only appears in a few tenses in which context and form always guarantee one's recognition of it. However, there are countless verbs which undergo such dramatic changes in form from one tense to the next
that knowing the present indicative active alone is well-nigh useless. Thus, principal parts should have been provided for such words.

Also, there are many words whose meaning changes from one context to the next. The definitions provided for such words in the word lists are almost useless, since they only equip the reader with an understanding of them in certain contexts.

One last criticism: There are a number of words which really do not need to be included in these word lists. Words like kai, de, and alla are so common and so basic that only the most intellectually challenged of Greek students would need to practice them.

So the book is useful for the absolute beginner in Homeric Greek, but its defects become more and more obvious the more
one progresses in one's learning. It's a shame that no one has come up with a better alternative to these word lists. Personally, I would love to see a full vocabulary guide to Homeric Greek such as one can find for the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, in which principal parts and variant meanings are included, and in which all of Homer's vocabulary is covered down to those pesky hapax legomena (words used only once).

I will disagree with the reviewers that fault Owen & Goodspeed for the lack of principle parts and alternate definitions; for me, the strength of this little volume was the ability to carry it tucked in a pocket and quickly drill vocabulary when I had a few minutes. Anyone reading Homer should have a good lexicon and use that for examining meanings and forms; if you memorize the contents of Owen & Goodspeed, you'll be able to quickly identify words and, if necessary, look them up for other meanings or unusual forms.

I purchased this book after reading a review about it on someone's blog. The book presents the fascinating history of the planning and building of the Hoover Dam. I was particularly struck by the descriptions of the working conditions that the workers endured. While the text appeared to be fairly dense, it was actually a fast read. The only real complaint I have about the book is that I think it could have used a few more maps to help the reader get a sense for where things were. I believe there was one map, and it wasn't very details. If you are at all interested in the history surrounding the construction of the Hoover Dam I highly recommend getting this book.

What a wonderful book. As a civil engineer, if I had been born 50 years sooner, I probably would have gone in dam-building, but by the time I came along, the great dam-building era in the US was over. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, my wife and I visted Hoover Dam three times, we were both so fascinated with this monumental structure.

So I bought "Hoover Dam - An American Adventure" by Joseph E. Stevens. The author does a great job of describing the technical details without getting too technical for laymen, and he also covers the human details and the political background of the huge project.

One thing that really made the book so enjoyable was the liberal use of photographs, and unlike many books where the photographs are all in the middle of the book, the photographs are located throughout the book in the appropriate chapters.

This book made me proud to be an American, with the roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-the-job-done attitude that typified the early dam and bridge builders.

If you have the slightest interest in major engineering feats, read the book, it's a good one.

Excellent book. I have read a number of science/engineering histories and this is one of the best. It follows the building of the Hoover Dam from start to finish. If I ever go to Las Vegas, it will be because I wanted to see the Dam. It has just the right amount of detail, both technical and political to keep me interested. It read faster than its size would suggest.

I was a young boy who lived in Boulder City for five years when my father helped build the dam. This is an excellently written - maybe one of the best I have ever read - and very accurate account of the construction, the people who did it, and life at the time. I stop and reminisce every time I go through Boulder City and drive over the dam. I loved my Dad and am very proud of his participation there. This book took me back in a very instructive and entertaining manner. It did the entire project proud. I won't hesitate one second to recommend this book to anyone who appreciates excellence in writing, or who loves America and its history. For this was a truly great undertaking, excellently and excitingly performed. And by people who, in my opinion, are prime examples of the so called "Greatest Generation". Detailed accounts of the construction of the dam are available, and are also excellent. But that is not the focus of this book.

According to the jacket, this is the first book for this author. You can't tell after turning the last page. Well written, easy to read history of the Hoover Dam project. Never overly technical, yet highly informative.

The third edition to Garrison's Catullus is an improvement from the last edition. A minor revision includes updated bibliography concerning textual tradition. But the big improvement is the reformatting of the book's type-face. It is now set in Minion Pro which is easier to read, in my opinion, than Times New Roman. In other words, it is beautifully laid out to present a good book overall. Other things: still remaining are the commentary and vocabulary in the back of the book.

Garrison's book is not the soundest text for people reading Catullus in Latin. For one thing, the book does a disservice in "titling" every poem in the collection with an English one-liner...this goes a long way towards influencing the reader before s/he even reads the Latin. Second, there is no critical apparatus with the Latin text...and with a poet like Catullus, for whom textual issues are more than marginally important, this is a lamentable loss...even beginning Latin students can be sophisticated enough not to think that the text of an author was handed down by Jupiter on golden tablets...or in this case, in a forest green paperback. Fordyce's 1961 Oxford commentary remains standard for the poems he covers (and contrary to popular lore he did not leave the others out out of a sense of Puritanism but rather because the Oxford Press at the time thought the book would sell to a larger market with the obscene poems omitted)...there is also Merrill, still in print (he has every poem)...and for more accomplished Latinists, we now have Thomson's big 1997 volume. If you can find it, Kenneth Quinn's 1970 commentary on the whole corpus is also worth a close look...

I am a T.A. for a course in Catullus, and I find this book to be very helpful. Included in this volume are the complete extant works of Catullus, a Catulluan vocabulary (crucial because some of Catullus' more colorful vocabulary does not appear in all dictionaries), a brief and informative commentary, a list of people to whom Catullus makes reference, a review of Catullus' meters, and a glossary of terms and their definitions. This book is extremely helpful and is ideal for a student reading Catullus for the first time or a more experienced Latin reader who is attempting to read Catullus' corpus as quickly as possible.

Daniel H. Garrison's THE STUDENT'S CATULLUS, published by University of Oklahoma press, contains all 113 poems of the standard collection which are belived to be authentic, including the fragmentary poems. Garrison provides an introduction and notes for the individual poems, as well as four appendices on various matters ("People", "Meters", "[Poetic] Terms", and "Poetic Usage") and a complete vocabulary. In his notes, Garrison often directs the student towards the meaning without giving it away as such, preserving the comedic impact of much of the shorter poems. While no scholar could deny the obscenity of much of Catullus' poetry, Garrison sometimes shows a shyness in his notes which I found odd. I used THE STUDENT'S CATULLUS for a semester-long course at Loyola University Chicago, and thought that it served my needs well.

If there is one big downside to the book, it is the typesetting. The Latin text is fine, but the notes and commentary are all done in hideous double-columns and a typeface smaller than the Latin. This is one of the least professional-looking academic books I've come across in a while. Still, that doesn't stop the content from being useful, so THE STUDENT'S CATULLUS is worth seeking out.

This handy edition is perfect for the casual reader of Latin. Garrison's extensive notes answer most questions a reader is likely to have concerning the grammer and they also provide a considerable amount of relevent mythology. The book also contains a complete vocabulary which I have found invaluable. This is not a scholarly edition, but provides everything for the non-scholar.

Archaeology and the Battle of the Little Big Horn, what's there not to like! Nicely written with fascinating photographs. Starting at $8, what a bargain!

Custer's Fall: The Native American Side of the Story

I found 'Archaeological Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn' to be a very interesting read indeed, it served to answer many questions that, up to the time of the archaeological investigations, were not known.

An interesting comment in the book referred to the fact that the investigations backed-up the indian's side of events & refuted that of the army's.
Many comments made by various authors over the years have also been negated by the evidence unearthed.

I recommend the book mentioned above, ('Custer's Fall'), which is the indian account of the battle; many people I am sure will be dismayed to discover that; Custer was shot down within a few moments of the first charge across the Little Bighorn to attack the indian camp, that the charge immediately halted mid stream & that shortly afterwards the army, faced with overwhelming numbers of indians, commenced it's futile race to try & find a defensive place on high ground.

Unfortunately Custer's luck on that day was not as good as Reno's.

In my opinion, Custer was an egotistical murdering glory hound, he had the opportunity to save his men's lives & failed to heed the word of his scouts.
He went in with guns blazing & met the fate he truly deserved, there was no last stand, at least not for Custer, that ultimate terror was left for his unfortunate men to face.

My only (minor) criticism of 'Archaeological Perspectives' is that a detailed map of the arenas of battle was not included in the book.

Well done the indians; if only they had overrun Reno & captured his ammunition packs, it could have led to the destruction of the other army detachments closing in upon them, alas... it was not meant to be.

I was lucky enough to visit the Battlefield in 1984 shortly after the fire and the first field season. I have visited it twice more since. The last time I was armed with not only Richard Allen Fox's book but this one as well.

Having an abiding interest in the battle for over 30 years it is amazing how the application of good sound science has unraveled many of the "mysteries" and myths associated with what happened on those dusty slopes the day of the battle.

This book delves more into the personal fate of numerous combatants as evidenced by their remains found on the battlefield.

The mere fact that so numerous remains were there to be found after reported exhumation and reburial under the monument, shows that then as now "good enough for government work" still has the same meaning.

If you are interested in the fate of individuals, the nuts and bolts of the recovery of remains, this book is for you. If you are more interested in the unraveling of the mystery of the battle itself. Richard Alan Fox's book Archaeology, History and Custer's Last Battle will appeal to you more. It details the unraveling of the stages of the battle using firearm forensic techniques and puts to bed the notion that Custer died in a glorious last stand.

Rather the famed 7th Cavalry disintegrated into a panic stricken mob, and at the last it was every man for himself, as the last 28 lone survivors on foot and horseback fled Last Stand Hill for the illusion of saftey of the Deep Ravine.

Both books are excellent and both will help final dispel the myths surrounding the battle.

Even though I know all the writers of this book, I'm still NOT biased when I say that Scotts, et al book has changed interpretation dramatically on the Little Bighorn fight. Having worked at the Little Bighorn Battlefield as an interpreter in 1985, I personally know how this interpretation changed, i.e. before the archaeological digs of 1984-85, most of us believed that Custer's men fell mostly to arrows. We now know that the U.S. soldier's were outgunned, thanks to this field work and as reported in the book.

Since Scott's final report, headstones on the battlefield marking where "unknown soldier's" fell have been replaced by actual names, e.g. Mitch Bouyer. This reality came to place thanks to the forensic work of Dr. Clyde Snow (his complete report is included in this book).

Finally, Scott and his team create a vivid picture of where the soldiers and the Indian warriors moved over the battlefield fighting for what they believed was right.

This book goes into great detail about the archeology performed on the battlefield site. It has the feel of being written for an audience of archeologists rather than just a casual reader. If you are an archeologist, the book probably rates a five. If you are really interested in the battle, I also recommend it. If you just want to learn the basics of the battle, howver, other titles are probably more appropriate.

Steltenkamp continues the tradition of looking at Indians through the lens of Christian prejudice. The book neglects to explore the fact that Black Elk's daughter, Lucy, was kept from any knowledge of Nick Black Elk's medicine training and practice. Nor does the text examine the shame and shock inducing behavior of the Christian priest who barged into the middle of Black Elk's healing of a patient, discarding the healer's tools, ridiculing him and depriving the patient of healing, literally yanking him out of practice, nor the other priests who continued to badger this medicine man, (a man revered by his people) until he gave in for the safety of his family. The book also fails to give the details behind the fact that Lucy's brother was knowledgeble about and supportive of Nick's practice as a medicine man. For those who are willing to give the text a close reading, you'll see how the author unwittingly reveals the methods of Christian clerics' destruction of an ancient culture, the results of that destruction, and how Nick Black Elk, deposed and put in service of the priests, was at least able to tap their pockets and provide for his family. As an example of yet another writer's Christian bias toward the Indians with examples of their brainwashing and coercion, so thorough, that even the child of this famous healer was kept in the dark about the truth of her own father, this book is worth a read.

This is a mild revisionist biography of Black Elk. The account has a definite ring of truth. The book received the *Alpha Sigma Nu Award* in 1994. Based on extensive ethnohistorical research of archival sources and extensive interviews with the daughter of Black Elk, author Steltenkamp (who has a Ph.D. in anthropology) shows that many of the biographies of Black Elk are highly mythologized. Most interesting, it turns out that Black Elk was a committed Catholic and Christian missionary to his own people for the last 46 years of his life (he died in 1950 at about age 90). Why did the previous biographers fail to tell that? Why keep secret that Black Elk was a Christian? Steltenkamp concludes that it would have compromised his Indianness. For example, John Neihardt, who wrote the classic biography *Black Elk Speaks* (1932)--which I personally read several times by the time I had graduated from high school in 1953--avoided the issue by focusing on Black Elk's 19th century life. (Black Elk participated as a teenager in the Custer Massacre and witnessed the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee.) Neihardt instead "highlighted 'the end of the trail' and 'vanishing American' themes" (19, xiv). Steltenkamp reviews the work of the Jesuit missionaries among the Lakota in a good light. He leads his reader to understand the lay public's bias against missionaries, seeing them as part of the ethnocide of the Lakota, and how the mythological accounts of Black Elk, the "traditionalist who will lead his people back to cultural revival," supports this view. But of course if Black Elk was a Christian trying to lead his people into American Catholicism, this would ruin everything. Like the famous Chief Seattle (see the July 1993 issue of Reader's Digest), Black Elk was used to perpetuate false romantic myths of Noble Savages. key words: missiology, ecological Noble Savage, revisionism, myth of primitive harmony, New Ageism, idealization of primitivity

Michael F. Steltenkamps research of this widely researched Indian is a fascinating for lack of a better word. He shows the man's later coversion to Catholicism in the 60 years following "Black Elk Speaks." A great resource!

"Black Elk - Holy Man of The Oglala" by Michael F. Steltenkamp is a most fascinating little treasure.

You may "think" that you know something about Black Elk (perhaps from "Black Elk Speaks" and other books about him, but Steltenkamp presents "Nicholas Black Elk" as he lived more than two thirds of his life: as a Catholic catechist and Christian community leader.

It is so inspiring to see how this "holy man" (and I believe "Saint" , though not canonized by the Church) interpreted the religion of the native Americans into a proleptic vision of the arrival of Jesus Christ and the christian faith.

and even more inspiring is to read of how this man truly lived that faith day to day himself. i know how impressed i was by one simple photgrpah of Nicholas Black Elk standing with a group and holdong his rosary beads . . .proud but devout.

Some "pseudo-scholars" may try to down-play the true religious piety of this Sioux "holy man" by claiming it was a mere ruse to adapt to the "power" of the occupying white invaders . . . but read the book and see that those who actually knew him knew better.


He walked miles praying his rosary to go and lead funeral services (though only a catechist he served almost in the role of "deacon"). . . He even had the experience of a miracle attributed to the intercession of Saint Therese of Lisieux healing his little "Nicholas" and saving the boys life when he asked that a prayer be said to saint Therese.

And as he predicted there were even signs in the night sky the night he passed away into eternity.

I recommend that you get a copy of this book and read it and then re-read it again and again. You will gain a new spiritual friend and companion on your own pilgrimage journey through this world and through your life. And it sure is nice to have a "holy man' and a kindly man like Nicholas Black Elk praying for you and with you in heaven . . . and to inspire you by his own life story.

Whether the Church he loved ever gets around to enrolling him with the "official saints" or not, he will always be on my own scroll of saints when i pray. And i suspect if you read this book, he will be on yours as well. :)

Steltenkamp does a superb job of describing Black Elk's years as a devout Catholic -- Black Elk converted in 1904 and remained a praying Christian until his death in 1950 -- and demonstrating that the Lakota holy man's Christianity was an organic continuation of his earlier years as a Lakota traditionalist. This book thus provides a necessary complement to Black Elk Speaks, which avoids discussing the second half of Black Elk's life. Not to be missed by anyone who wants to learn about the real Black Elk -- and thus give a great saint and prophet his due.

An interesting review of Jane's life. Well written, this book shows the real Calamity Jane not just the Dime Novel Legend. Make no mistake, Jane lived a hard life, but her story is well worth your time to read.

Though it's not mentioned in this biography, it's worth noting that cowboy artist C.M. Russell, who was more or less Calamity's contemporary, and who shared at least one mutual friend, cowboy Teddy Blue Abbott, never painted nor even mentioned Calamity in any of his artwork, stories, or recollections. It was Russell who wrote, "The worst old timer I every knew, looks dam good to me." James McLaird's painstaking new book suggests that perhaps Russell didn't find Calamity scandalous but dull.

Martha Jane Canary / Calamity Jane was, in her childhood and adolescent years, an example of resourcefulness and grit. She survived a broken home, neglect, and abandonment. That she survived at all, much less as a camp follower who chanced to visit some famous camps, would be enough to earn her a footnote in history books. Had she never returned to Deadwood after her first visit, she'd probably have some polite mention in the town's history. When she came back a second time, she was an item of nostalgia; but when she returned a third time, she was a nuisance and embarrassment.

James McLaird has done nothing less than a phenomenal job, and possibly a thankless one. He sifted and sorted through every book, article, memoir, and dime novel that might make mention of Calamity in order to establish just who she was and how much of her legend had any basis in fact. And the truth is neither flattering nor thrilling. If Calamity has anything to be memorialized for, apart from occasional nursing duties, it would be her travels. When not following the U.S. Cavalry into the Black Hills, she followed the railroad as it pushed its way across the West. She hobnobbed with Wild Bill Hickock, but probably never shared a bed with him. She was nowhere near General Custer and the 7th Cavalry when they encountered Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. She tended bars, drove wagons, whored, drank, and fought till she was asked to leave town, and might have continued to do so comfortably if she hadn't become a celebrity. Behind her dime novelesque façade, she was a bitter alcoholic, aging prematurely and sinking toward an early death in her late 40s.

McLaird paints as sympathetic a portrait as he can. Calamity fell victim both to herself and the legend she engendered. Some years after her death, she was exploited again by Jean McCormick, a con artist who fabricated an elaborate and clumsy hoax to "prove" she was the daughter of Calamity and Wild Bill Hickock. McLaird commendably restrains his sarcasm and lets irony speak for itself. The McCormick ruse not only found believers in the 1940s, but continues to have adherents in these days of "Deadwood."

In the past 20 years I've read a lot of information on Calamity Jane, and James Mclaird's book is the most reliable, well-researched book on the subject of this woman. Most of the information floating around about her is false, and Mclaird painstakingly dissects myth from fact, including how each myth or rumor was started in the first place. Since reading Calamity Jane:The Woman And The Legend, I feel like a pseudo-expert on her myself, and can easily spot misinformation and poor research whenever I see it in other publications. I highly recommend this read for Old West enthusiasts, students who are looking for a topic, and anyone interested in what a genuinely thorough biography is supposed to be. If you're considering another source on her life other than this one, don't bother because it's probably a jumble of misinformation. This book is the only way to go.

This well researched and documented biography of Mary Canary a.k.a. Calamity Jane (1856-1903) lifts the veil behind a Western myth. The real Calamity Jane really did have a calamitous life. She spent most of her life in the roughest spots - as a military camp follower, in rough and tumble mining towns, and in the ever raucous and short lived railroad junction towns springing up as the tracks were laid across the country. She made her living as a dance hall girl, prostitute, laundress, cook, Madame, and similar pursuits. She was a life long alcoholic and was clearly dissipated at an early age. Later in life, some ways, she lived off the kindness of others or cashed in on her unearned fame as a frontier hero.

McLaird does a good job of uncovering the real Calamity Jane and explaining how her myth was built up through Western dime novels and newspaper reporters, thirsty for good stories. For example, stories about Calamity the camp follower turned into her being a scout for the army. As her legend grew, the stories became even more farcical. Later in life Calamity cashed in on these stories to garner sympathy and support from others. But ultimately she died young, most likely simply from alcoholism.

The downfall to this biography is twofold. First, the author could have cited other writers that discuss the process of Western myth building and incorporated that into his thesis. Secondly, the prose is very matter of fact and rather bland. I found the topic fascinating but the writing style a bit boring, so at times the biography gets a little tedious and academic.

Nevertheless, it does offer another solid academic work on Western myth building, with Calamity Jane maybe the biggest farce of them all.

Calamity Jane is a major figure in Western history so it's not surprising numerous titles have been written about her previously: what is surprising is that Calamity Jane: The Woman And The Legend has so much new material to reveal. Here's the definitive biography of one Martha Canary, written by one of the best modern authorities and packed with meticulous research. McLaird had to study conflicting accounts of her life and adventures to arrive at the truth: Calamity Jane comes packed with depth and detail on known facts and you won't find a better coverage elsewhere.

A well written book on a subject not covered anywhere else!

The western most battles of the civil war are in Arizona.

I felt like I was in the minds of the California volunteers as they marched into Arizona in the 1860s to support the Union, chased the Rebels back to Texas, fought the Indians, set up territorial government, established roads, mines.

As an Arizona resident, I can only imagine how rugged this country was in those days with few towns, no law and Indians everywhere.

The diaries and letters of the Union Troops stationed in Arizona are like a window to the bast.

The battle of Picacho Pass captivates the readers as the advance Union Troops come upon the Confederates (Arizona Rangers) at the old Butterfield Stage station on the way to Tucson.

The Mexican government had surrendered the territory to the United States just a decade earlier, yet the US had not really controlled this vast territory. The Confederates came for gold and control of the Colorado River. The arrival of the Union army changed the shape of Arizona as we know it today.

Recommended.

It is probably not common knowledge, even among many students of Arizona history, that the Civil War played an important role in the early development of the Arizona Territory. Author Andrew Masich guides his reader through the evolution of the California Volunteers' war-time military occupation of Arizona with great attention devoted to the soldiers' personal experiences, as well as their military accomplishments. He goes on to highlight the generally unheralded contributions made by the Californians which fostered progress toward stability, settlement and commerce in the fledgling Territory.

The author gives us a glimpse of the research process by devoting fully one-half of his volume to one of his primary resources, namely the personal accounts of some of the Volunteers submitted as dispatches to one of the pre-eminent California newspapers of the day. What better way to glean a true feel for their unique experiences than by following the personal accounts of these "soldier-correspondents" in their own words?

As a descendant of an Arizona pioneer family and a student of her fascinating history, I'm always searching for writings that will expand my understanding of the paths that brought us to where we are. Masich's book certainly fits that bill. This is a thoroughly-researched and fascinating tribute to the soldiers of the California Volunteers. I highly recommend it.

Neil Donkersley
Tucson, Az

Unlike other civil war books, this one covers the soldiers from California that occupied Arizona and New Mexico. Not a lot of civil war action but more dealing with the desert and the Indians. It's not a page turner, but what civil war book is. But when your done with the book you know more then you did before. A civil war book with a different slant.

I just learned that the Border Regional Library Association (includes Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas, and Sonora) has awarded Civil War in Arizona Southwest Book of the Year honors--and deservedly so! This book makes a real contribution to the study of the Civil War in the Western Territories.

For Civil War buffs and scholars, for all those who love Western History, this book will make for compelling reading. Andrew E. Masich, president and CEO of Pittsburgh's Senator John Heinz History Center and former director of museums in Colorado and Arizona, serves up a riveting story of how the California Column marched across Arizona and New Mexico to not only defeat Confederates and Apaches but also to carve out an American community in the deserts of the great Southwest. In Masich's definitive account, readers will feel the sting of sand and the hot breath of desert winds as the California Column fights its way to victory. The depth of Masich's research is truly extraordinary, and his use of soldiers letters home published in the San Franciso Daily Alta California adds remarkable dimension to the story. Masich carefully annotates the soldiers letters and allows the reader to relive the events as they happened. This is one of those truly unique books that belong on the shelf of every student of the Civil War and the American West.

This is a TOTALLY SUPER book! I just finished a book report about this book for school. I like it because I LOVE ANIMALS, and chapter books are my genre. So get your copy, I know it'll be your favorite book that you've ever read!

I'm in sixth grade. I needed to do a project and I hate reading. When I saw this book I said, "Let's give it a try". I loved it first because I love animals and second, because the book was interesting.

The boy gets to stay home from school because his parents and other teachers had a meeting to go to.So he gets to stay home.He goes outside he see's a blur in the corner of his of bis eye.So he goes inside and to get his dads binacularsso he see's something and it turned out to be 2 coyotes.He watches them play for a while then he hears something coming down the road.There are alot of truckd coming down the gravel road.When they pulled over he sees kennels in all of hte trucks and sees somehting in the kennels then a gray blur comes running out of the kennels. Then he looks for the coyotes and they were gone, he looks around some more and sees the big one trying to lead the dogs away from then smaller one. The bigger one ends up being killed so Brad tries to keep the little one and his parents end up findig the litte coyote but at the end the coyote stills the heart and Brad gets to keep the coyote.

Coyote Autumn is a book intended for kids in elementary school and middle school. All of the information in this book is age appropriate. There is no foul language or words that an elementary school student wouln't know. Coyote Autumn is written in present tense. This book has a lot of happy and sad parts.

There is a lot of information given in each paragraph. All of the information is given in order. Throughout the book, there were plenty of examples about what is happening.

I would reccomend this book to kids who are in elementary or middle school. This is a very exciting book. There are no boring spots in the book. it is not very long, so it won't take very long to read.

Coyote Autumn is about a boy who finds an orphan coyote. His parents won't let him have a dog, so he hides it in a pen behind his barn.When his parents find out, they fall in love with it. They name him Scooter and keep him.

If you have some spare time, you should read this book. You should read the book to find out everything else that happens. This is a very fun book to read, so you should give it a try.

C-Diddy

Twelve-year-old Brad has wanted a pet for as long as he can remember. Namely, a dog. But the fact that he was always living in a small apartment in a big city, with no backyard, always prevented him from having one. His parents were always saying "We'll see." But now that he's living on a farm in Oklahoma, on a sprawling eighty-acres, he doesn't know how his parents can refuse much longer. But they do, and continue with their "We'll sees." So Brad does something about it. One day, as he's fishing at the Pond with his best friend, and neighbor, Nolan, he stumbles across a baby coyote, whose entire family has been killed. Knowing that the little pup will die if he doesn't help it, Brad takes the coyote - who he's named Scooter - home, and, with Nolan's help, keeps him a secret from his parents, feeding him, and locking him inside the old dog pen behind the barn. Everything with Scooter is going fine. That is, until Brad's parents find the wild animal one day, and he steals their hearts, just as he's stolen Brad's.

I, like Brad, have wanted a dog my entire life, yet have never had the pleasure of owning one. I suppose that's why Bill Wallace's COYOTE AUTUMN appealed to me so much. Brad is a kind character, who will win over the hearts of all readers, as he is brave, and determined to save the life of on orphaned coyote pup, even if it puts him in danger. Scooter, on the other hand, is a wonderful example of how a wild animal can stay tame for a short time, but, in the end, prefers to live in the wild with more of his kind. Together, the two characters weave a heart-warming story that will put a smile on anyone's face. A marvelous must-read for all, whether you're an animal lover or not.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

This is a very interesting and entertaining book. It fills in the blanks on areas that I have seen and/or heard about. The stories that are included are very entertaining as a bonus. Really fun reading.

This is an excellent ghost town book and essential for anyone hunting ghosts in New Mexico. Sites are listed alphabetically; when its post office was in existence is also given. Then each site is keyed to a map found in the back of the book; the maps are fairly detailed and if used with recent topo maps (such as DeLorme) quite useful. Most of these townsites should be able to be found without too much difficulty. Detailed information about each place is also related by Sherman. Finally there are a ton of photographs (some historical, most recent) included. If you can't get out into the field to track any of these places down, it's still a great book for armchair travellers. Very informative no matter how you look at it.

The history in this book is great and it's full of pictures; however, many are no longer accurate. The book was published in 1975 and much of what used to be there is no longer there and/or the properties are inaccessable because they are on private lands.

The info may be dated, true, as mentioned above, but more importantly, the sketchy maps (in the back, not with each entry) have no detail and out of date or <no> road numbers/names which will make finding many of the sites impossible. Good, old B&W photos, though.

This well-researched book is an old standard and well worth owning. Unfortunately, it suffers from being a bit outdated, having been written before the population explosion in the southwest during the past 20 years. The descriptions are frequently of remains and ruins no longer in existence, plundered, or merely part of new, cutesy 'discovered' communities of gingerbread and bricabrack. A lot of the ghost towns, I might have said, have been reincarnated.

Even so, there's not a better book anywhere about the ghost towns of New Mexico as they existed 20-30 years ago.

Thomas Barnes
Lindeman Review
ADED5510
University of Wyoming
October 31 , 2006

Lindeman, E.C. (1961). The Meaning of Adult Education. Canada: Harvest House.
(1989 rev. Ed.). Norman, OK: Oklahoma Research Center for Continuing Professional and Higher Education.

In adult education today "the more we know about adult learning, the more effective our practice in the classroom, in the workplace, or in our communities" (Merriam, 2001, p. 1). Therefore, valid information about the purpose, meaning, and processes of adult education is useful indeed. In 1926, Eduard Lindeman provided a new sense of awareness to the field of adult education as he shared critical and beneficial insights. His book, titled The Meaning of Adult Education thoroughly examines adult education. The answers to the puzzling questions concerning adult education are interspersed throughout the philosophically challenging text. However, the pieces of the puzzle are drawn together toward the end of the book. The reader then comes to the realization that the totality of Lindeman's effort has answered the critical queries about the purpose, meaning, and processes of adult education.
This seminal work of Lindeman transmits understanding of the foundations of adult education. A profound purpose is stated as the author "reflects progressive education's faith in education's ability to develop the individual and social intelligence, that is, the practical understanding of the world in which we live" (Merriam, 1984, p. 17). This end is accomplished through the revelation of his underlying assumptions of adult education. The exploration of individual aspects of personality, the collectivization of these aspects and their relation to methods of adult education satisfy the requirements of his assumptions. A review of Lindeman's assumptions and the connections made to them reveal deep knowledge and a practical wisdom derived from experience as a social philosopher, educator, and scholar.
The assumptions remind the learner that adult education is inclusive of all aspects of life, the "purpose is to put meaning into the whole of life" (Lindeman, p. 5), the approach should go through situations, and not subjects; and the learner's experiences provide pertinent resources for living. The goal of these assumptions is improvement of oneself and the necessity of accomplishing this goal is a vital personality. A vital personality requires the following attributes as a necessary path for learning; "knowledge leads to power, power leads to self expression, freedom and creativity, creative freedom leads to enjoyable experience, and finally, a world in which knowledge goes forward under a discipline of specialization" (Lindeman, p.94.).
A vital personality enables the adult learner to confront "the socialized environment of the modern world" (Lindeman, p. 95). Consequently, the adult learner is prepared for adult education. In the final chapter, Lindeman insists that adult learners can not learn through the traditional methods of subject study. Rather, adult education must be accomplished through a situation approach. This approach will "give meaning to the categories of experiences, not to the classifications of knowledge" (Lindeman, p. 123).
Certainly, the content of Lindeman's text and the ideas expressed therein possess the capability to answer the important queries of adult education. An overview of the book reveals information for adult educators, adult learners, and any person interested in self improvement. The optimum demonstration of the utilitarian value of Lindeman's invaluable work is its contribution toward the progressive nature of adult education. His dual purpose of adult education consisted of improving both society and the individual. This view progresses Franklin's educational and democratic initiatives, instills a method for social reform, and inspires educational activists like Myles Horton.
Furthermore, Lindeman placed the highest value on experience, specifically the learner's experience. He stated that "experience is the adult learner's textbook" (1961, p. 7). A contemporary of Lindeman, John Dewey stated in his notable work Education and Experience that "all genuine education comes about through experience" (1938, p. 13). Additionally, Lindeman, as a mentor to Malcolm Knowles, helped provide a foundation for his assumption of andragogy. Knowles reiterates the point of Dewey and Lindeman when he states that adults "accumulate an increasing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasingly rich resource for learning" (1980, p. 14). Also, a tradition of critical reflective practice; pragmatist constructivism obtains background from Lindeman's work in adult education, specifically how people understand and interpret their experience (Brookfield, 2000).
The methods shared by the author also inform the reader that the situation-approach is a superior method for adults to learn. The present day theory of context-based learning employs a process of situated learning. The process, a derivative of the situation-approach uses interaction among learners, the tools of learners, the learning activity, and the social context. The learning is facilitated and shaped by this contextual process, a social and situational experience of learning, similar in many respects to Lindeman's situation-approach (Merriam, 2001).
In The Meaning of Adult Education, author Eduard Lindeman successfully provides the reader with an explanation for the meaning of education. This is illustrated by a cornucopia of knowledge and insight about adult education. Unsurprisingly, the concepts of this book are still studied today and many of the principles espoused by Lindeman are in prominent practice in the field of adult education. This concise text is a Mecca of valuable information for those involved in adult education and is highly recommended for anyone seeking knowledge and wisdom from life. Essentially, Eduard Lindeman said "education is life" (1961, p. 4), an educational experience of continuous learning with a vital personality fulfilling the preparation of life; a life with meaning, a life with growth, a life of becoming (1961, p. 128-129).
















References
Brookfield, S.D. (2000). The Concept of Critically Reflective Practice. In Wilson,
A.L. & Hayes, E.R. (Eds.). Handbook of continuing and adult education.
(33). San Francisco: Jossey/Bass.
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Collier Books.
Knowles, M.S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: from andragogy
to pedagogy. (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge Books.
Lindeman, E.C. (1961). The meaning of adult education. Canada: Harvest House.
(1989 rev. Ed.) Norman, OK: Oklahoma Research Center for Continuing
Professional and Higher Education.
Merriam, S.B. (Ed.). (2001). The new update on adult learning. San Francisco:
Jossey/Bass.
Merriam, S.B. (Ed.). (1984) Selected writings on philosophy and adult education.
Malabar, FL: Robert E. Krieger.

Eduard Lindeman, author of The Meaning of Adult Education, has written a timeless book on adult education. The book was originally published in 1926 but could have been written today in our present insurgence of placing higher priority on adult education. The content and context are both relevant to what we're still researching in regard to how adult students learn differently than tradional age students.

Lindeman has captured the meaning of adult education and given us words of wisdom to use as we continue to strive towards understanding adult students in relation to their learning process, their environment and their success in the classroom.

Lindeman's The Meaning of Adult Education is a collection of essays regarding his views on adult education. His background was in social work, and his essays ring with words that suggest how educating adults can bring about change ...to the learners themselves, as well as society. Each one describes how a particular aspect or focus (be it power, knowledge, or freedom, etc) contributes to an adult's goal of growing. For example, in the first chapter he notes that experience should be the textbook for an adult learner, and he condemns the authoritative teaching found in public schools. In the essay on Power he applies it towards organized labor movements. The Self Expression chapter tells adult educators to pay attention to what activities bring joy to their students. This process of growing and changing comes about through adult education. His postscript ties all the essays together with the statement that "Growth is the goal of life. Power, knowledge, freedom, enjoyment, creativity--these and all other immediate ends for which we strive are contributory to the one ultimate goal which is to grow, to become." (p.128).
I think Lindeman's book has proven its worth. Eighty years later, the adult education themes that Lindeman outlined are still in existence. Namely, that experience/situations not subjects/textbooks should guide the adult learner; education should be tailored to each specific student; education is an art; a teacher should assist a student in learning methods of self-discovery; education is a process, not an end; yes/no questions aren't worth asking; local affairs are more important than distant ones; and act on what you're learning to make positive changes in the society around you.
Readers of adult education literature will find Lindeman's themes repeated in other books. Jacob Riis in How the Other Half Lives, wrote years before Lindeman that education was a key to reform. He and Lindeman shared a poor immigrant background, and both sought to change the conditions of America's poor. Myles Horton took Lindeman's words to heart and created an entire school whose purpose was to create social change (read Unearthing Seeds of Fire: The Idea of Highlander). Horton and Lindeman both studied the Danish Folk Schools to learn more about their methods. Benjamin Franklin, long before Lindeman's time, demonstrated what Lindeman formalized, that people need to continuously improve themselves, to grow. Franklin used a small group format to create a discussion association called the Junta.
I thoroughly enjoy a book written as Lindeman's is in short essays. I appreciate the important finer points written in short concise chapters. Adults pressed for time can pick up his book, read one essay (chapter) get the whole picture and then put the book down until another day without losing any of the book's momentum. This book is a must read for adult educators. It is a classic that should be found in the current section bookshelf of all instructors of adults. The essays continue to remain timely and it is a book that can be revisited often.

The Meaning of Adult Education by Eduard C. Lindeman is a timeless piece of adult education literature. Written in 1926, this book is still a work that sheds light on the meaning and importance of adult education. Lindeman makes clear distinctions between what he refers to as traditional education and how he feels adult education should occur. He investigates how adults learn, what motivates them to learn and how this learning can increase the quality of their lives and ultimately the society in which they live.

Lindeman's vision for adult education was not bound by a classroom, textbooks and formal instruction. Instead Lindeman suggests that education comes from people's experience, situations and ideals. "The real distinction between educated and uneducated persons is not to be found in such superficial criteria as academic degrees, formal study or accumulation of facts; indeed, formal learning may, and often does, lead people into narrow scholarship and out of life." (Lindeman, 110)

Lindeman was known in the social philosophy arena, yet his work in adult education has earned him the respect as a founding father. His book has many references to reformation in education and progressive influences, reflective of the thinking at the time of his writing. One theme that is clear throughout the book is that learning expands well beyond the confines of mandatory education of children. He clearly states this in the beginning of the book by declaring that "education is life - ...the whole of life is learning, therefore education can have no endings." (Lindeman, 5) This thinking certainly has become the foundation of adult education as practiced today.

Lindeman further states that "the approach to adult education will be via the route of situations, not subjects...in adult education the curriculum is built around the student's needs and interests." (Lindeman, 6) In this approach texts and teachers are secondary to situations that create learning in the adult's daily life. This flows into Lindeman's fourth assumption of adult education, which is the value of the learner's experience. As Lindeman says, "If education is life, then life is also education." (Lindeman, 6) These themes have continued as major tenets of adult education in the decades since Lindeman's writing.

In the chapter entitled, "Those Who Would Create" Lindeman states "Intelligence for power, power for self-expression, and self expression in a context of relative freedom: this is the sequence which leads to creative living." (Lindeman, 53) He goes on to say that a learner will not seek a lone objective and find this freedom, but instead allows the forces to interact together, generating creativity. Such was the case for Benjamin Franklin, he sought education or learning for learning's sake. Through this learning, he was able to express himself on a multitude of topics with both countrymen and gentlemen. This great diversity and knowledge came together at many different times to generate extraordinary creativity.

After reading Lindeman's thoughts on trade unions one can't help but think that it would have been interesting to hear a discussion between him and Myles Horton, the founder of Highlander Folk School. After reading the book, Unearthing the Seeds of Fire - The Idea of Highlander, a reader is inspired to learn of the way in which the desperately poor in the state of Tennessee banded together to learn and solve their problems. Many times this involved confrontational methods, such as marching, demonstrating, or even striking. Lindeman, however, believes that "if adults approach education with the end view that their new knowledge is to be the instrument of a probable future revolution, they will almost certainly defeat the very purposes of learning." These Highlanders created revolution in their environment, the purpose of their learning was to make changes to better their lives. They were very effective in accomplishing a number of goals related to jobs, fair wages, discriminatory and environmental issues. They sacrificed much in their struggles, yet Lindeman would suggest that this form of revolution should be used "only when the true learning process has broken down, failed." (Lindeman, 49) This reader would suggest that there are times when revolution is necessary for change because traditional methods are failing some in society.

In the book, How the Other Half Lives, by Jacob Riis, one senses the desperation in the lives of those who lived in the tenements in New York City. Riis did an admirable job shedding light on their plight, but one couldn't help but wonder why so few of them tried to escape or better their condition. In Lindeman's book, he speaks briefly of Utopia:
"We have once more reached one of those historical periods which seems like a dead-end because the shell of the old institutions and habits, although crumbling, still possess sufficient resiliency to prevent the new from bursting forth. In like periods of the past, thinkers with vision turned occasion to account by imagining and portraying perfect societies, Utopias. The function of Utopia is to set activity toward new goals, to visualize the consequences of changed conduct, to redirect ideals. We need not lose ourselves in fanciful, legendary and unrealizable dreams but if we do not utilize our present difficulties as opportunities for equally adventurous challenges to the future, we shall deserve to be recorded a generation of people who possessed many things but lacked courage and vision for higher ventures." (Lindeman, 83)

Although the immigrants living in New York City tenements did not possess much, they had come to America in search of their Utopia, yet it seems that they became trapped in a crumbling shell of old institutions. That combined with old habits seemed to prevent them from "bursting forth" and creating new circumstances for themselves.
There are many nuggets of wisdom in the book that deserve more thought and reflection than the casual read affords. This book is one to keep on the shelves for further reference and guidance as educators continue their search for creating dynamic environments for adult learners. The book is rich with inspiration and challenges. It is a great book for those in the field wanting renewed stimulation. It is not a book for new educators that will give prescribed patterns or a framework for successful adult education.

Eduard C. Lindeman's profound insight into teaching methods, learning theories, and diverse motivations for adult learning are beautifully illustrated in his classic work: The Meaning of Adult Education. Lindeman's ideas are original, comprehensive in their approach to the adult learner, and express a breath of understanding of adult education, which was not to be formally developed by theorists until decades later.
Lindeman originally published this book in 1926, and like Myles Horton, he was influenced by the world around him. Horton (Adams, 1975) and Lindeman both had first-hand knowledge about Danish developments in adult education. Lindeman was impressed by the folk school that he experienced on a trip to Denmark in 1920. The Volkshochschulen was a place where farmers came to pursue self-improvement. (p., xli) Danes participated in vast cooperatives, and these economic enterprises gave them leisure time to devote to adult education while providing everyone with a comfortable standard of living. At a time in the United States when industrialization and labor movements in the north and Jim Crow in the south perpetuated poverty and Black Sunday looming on the horizon, the Danish Volkshochschulen must have seemed like a utopia. The Volkshochschulen had a tremendous impact on Lindeman and his ideas about the possibilities of adult education.


"The whole of life is learning," writes Lindeman (p. 5). This exemplifies Lindeman's timeless ideas about life-long learning and that he believed adult education is one point on a continuum of learning. In the chapter entitled Those Who Need to be Learners, Lindeman demonstrates his deep insight into how adults learn. He writes about the importance of the context of education and that "experience is the adult learner's living textbook." (p. 7) He argues for educators to recognize the necessity of teaching adults "actualities, not abstractions," which today is one of the basic tenants of adult education. (p. 6)
There is a gap between what is being taught in the educational system and what learners will actually use in the real world. For example, Lindeman argues that the educational system promotes "self-expression", but society "regards self-expression as an aspect of abnormality." (p. 35) Rather than pursue this futile end, Lindeman sees adult education as a means of transcending this dissonance by encouraging and facilitating adult education that teaching learners how to learn and to the love of learning. The process of learning in more important to Lindeman than some measurable outcome. Lindeman's poignant recollection of the Danish farmer is a case in point. Lindeman saw a painting created by the farmer and offered to purchase it. The farmer was completely insulted and "he not only refused to bargain but severely reprimanded me for presuming to place a pecuniary valuation upon the product of his recreation." (p. 40)


Humanistic values are evident in Lindeman's work decades before their formal development as a theoretical basis during the 1950's. For example, Lindeman writes, "the psycho-therapeutic specialist does not cure his patient; he merely assists the patient in learning the methods of self-recovery." (p. 46) Today, this is central to client-guided therapy and teaching based on humanistic theories. Lindeman wrote this at the height of psycho-analytical popularity.

The construct of intelligence is another issue Lindeman addresses. Rather than be measurable, his notions of intelligence recognize that there are different types of intelligence and that each individual is a unique mix of different types of aptitudes. He argues that we must recognize and celebrate this diversity in order to facilitate others in finding their unique intelligence in order to express themselves, experience self-knowledge, and be creative. This is Lindeman's definition of freedom, and the role of the teacher is to facilitate this-another example of his humanistic views.


The "Danish farmer who...talked less about art because he lived artistically," is our model for adult education. The painter was about the process, not the painting. Lindeman uses this example to show us that adult learning is a creative process and if allowed to fully engage in learning, adult learners, each of us, "can all live artistically." (p., 59) This rings true of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. One could say that given the tools, adult education is a means to self-discovery and self-actualization.


Like Karl Marx, Lindeman warns us about specialization. He writes about specialization in education, industry, and government. Specialization in education turns discovery and creative thinking into categorical sets of information. In a sense, this is a preemptive criticism of cognitivism, but is best viewed as an argument for allowing the true intellectual process to occur. Lindeman sees the "evils of specialism" as an effective means of social and intellectual control. (p. 75) Lindeman argues for a broad liberal education as an undergraduate and reserving specialization for post-graduate studies. He warns us that specialism in government may lead to "more efficient results will be accomplished when power tends to become absolute and centralized." (p. 81) Specialism is a particular evil in industry and possesses the ability to isolate workers more and more from the means of their production. This specialism eventually leads to increased specialism. The influence of Marx's views on capitalism and Max Weber's notions of bureaucracy are evident in Lindeman's notions about specialism, and this part of Lindeman's thesis is thrilling to read.

Lindeman was a sociologist at heart, and his chapter on groups and membership reaffirms his humanistic views that acknowledge the holistic nature of individuals and the fact that we are social creatures. For example, Lindeman writes: "Growth should be a process of integrating emotions with thought, an evolving capacity for feeling more deeply and thinking more clearly." ( p. 110) This deep insight demonstrates that Lindeman understood the affective aspects of learning and that adult learners learn best when new information can be related to other aspects of their lives. Lindeman has a keen understanding of the motivations of adult learners. Education, in Lindeman's view, is a source of directing collective action much like Horton's work at the Highlander Folk School. (Adams, 1975)

"To be educated is not to be informed but to find illumination in informed living" is Lindeman's definition of educated, learned. Mark Twain would say that Lindeman didn't let his learnin' interfere with his education. Lindeman's book is a masterpiece of insight into human nature, society, the academic vs. the pragmatic, and a testament to a great thinker way ahead of his time. This book should be on the "must read" list of anyone associated with adult education and it will be of importance in the study of sociology, psychology, social work, and anthropology. This book is packed with information, and there are certainly numerous interest I have gleaned over. With that in mind, this book could be read by anyone who likes non-fiction. It is a pleasure to read, every word carries meaning, and each new chapter reveals a little more about the it means to be an adult learner, the role of the teacher, and the influences, internal and external, on motivation and fulfillment of adult education.