Arkansas Books

Having just returned from Rome, I fell across this title online.

The book is FABULOUS. The history is wonderful (wish I had read the book before our trip). We wandered down this street and ate lunch in a trattoria there after visiting St. Peters. The drawings are exceptional. Regarding the Borgo Pio will be a coffee table book in our home.

Will go back to Rome, with this book in hand, and spend hours walking the area. So much more there than nice little restaurants!

After hitting the "highlights - must do" things in Rome, there are so many other ways to spend days there.

I have owned this book since 1996. I originally bought it for researching my family in Howell County, MO, but have since done many, many lookups for others. I love this book because it not only gives the biographical sketch of the individual, but in some cases includes a picture too. The biographies also are very in depth and include ancestors names and applicable dates if they were known. It should be noted though that the information in the book was given by the families, and it might include errors or misconceptions of truth. Still, it is a great resource and I highly recommend it. There are also historical sketches of the counties it covers in AR and MO.

This was a truly insightful and inspiring read. Highly informative and well-written as it reveals the strength and challenges of 3 unsung heroes of the civil rights movement. Speer, Jones and Treiber were no doubt pioneers of righteousness in a society that at the time lacked basic principles of virtue and morality. I highly recommend this book to all students of American and particularly Civil Rights history. I honestly can't wait for the author's next book!

Rosalyn Foy gathers a wide array of resources concerning the life of Mary Butts and complies them in an exciting and enthusiastic manner. The wit and spirit that springs from her words holds the reader's attention--this isn't just one long boring informative essay! Foy also gives a very up close and personal view of Butts, as she reviews her childhood, influences, friends and collaborators, etc. 99% of the other material (encyclopedias, articles) out there will only give you an overview; you won't experience her life closehand the way you will with this book. It's a shame that this is the only book written on the passionate colorful Mary Butts, but thank god Foy had the vision and insight to create such a wonderful piece of work! If you're at all interested in Butts, I highly recommend buying this book.

The preface from Edwin C. Bearss, Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service sets out in one sentence the very basis of this book: "The observant Strong "tells it like it is" out on the western border." This diary details a war to the knife, and the knife to the hilt; a story about Union Soldiers, white and "darky" (Colored U.S. Infantry units), fighting Confederates, Bushwhackers, Indians, along with the cold of one of the coldest winters in years, lack of food, and just plain old boredom.
This book details a fight that few know about from the War Between the States: that of fighting in the Trans-Mississippi, the country west of the Mississippi River. There are numerous books on the war that takes place in Virginia, Georgia, the Carolinas; these are nearly always by officers although you occasionally find one by an enlisted man. But when it comes to the Trans-Mississippi, there are few books on the War west of the Mississippi. This one is a real gem. It was so easy to place myself in the shoes of Private Strong as he talks about marching 12, 18, 20 and sometimes more miles a day, or having to carry all his supplies on his back and finding out he can get by on a blanket and spare shirt, burning what he does not want to carry, or the times he was hungry because of a lack of food. This book was a real delight because so many of the place names are still familiar to us today, as Strong hikes the road from Fort Scott, through Cowskin Prairie by Maysville, Cincinnati, Cane Hill, Fort Smith, Van Buren, and other marches over a two year period to Little Rock, Washington, Camden, Hot Springs, Ozark, Indian Territory, and other places. It details a life of seemingly needless drill, standing guard duty, foraging for food, guarding convoys out collecting hay, going to watch the "darkies" drill and parade (including the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry). He even mentions playing baseball, as a way to drive away thoughts of hunger! But this is the diary of a soldier. He writes about skirmishes and battles such as Massard Prairie outside Fort Smith, Jenkins Ferry, fighting bushwhackers all over Arkansas. Strong comments on the ability of the Colored Infantry to stand and fight, and seems to be impressed with them as fellow soldiers, expressing anger over the execution of them and their white officers at the fighting near Jenkins Ferry. "April 19 (1864) They killed after our boys surrendered the wounded that had been put in ambulances. If this is true no punishment is too great for them." One memorable event is floating on the Arkansas River, on the steamer J.R. Williams, which was seized near Fort Coffee (north of the town of Spiro, Oklahoma) by men under Confederate General Stand Watie while it was sailing to Fort Gibson, and his escape, evasion, and return to Fort Smith. It details the hunger of the civilians, deprivations by bushwhackers on the countryside, the executions of a few who are captured, having the blues from not receiving any mail from friends or family, and just being bone-tired weary from long marches in the cold, or in the rain and being soaked to the skin while on campaign to seek out and fight the Rebel Army. Strong writes about the joy of hearing about the surrender of Lee in Virginia, Kirby Smith seeking terms of surrender down near the Texas/Arkansas Border; and the mourning caused by the assassination of President Lincoln. Finally, the diary winds down as Strong writes about the long wait to be demobilized and his journey back to Kansas and his family.
This is a short diary, the book being less than 100 pages covering Private Strong's time as a soldier from his enlistment in August, 1862 to July 18, 1865, when he was mustered out and received his final pay. Professor Tom Wing, who teaches history at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith, has inserted numerous footnotes detailing information about people, places and fights that Strong mentions in his diary, and some of these folks ended up fighting in other areas of the country. It was an easy read, and a most enjoyable book. It certainly is an important book because of the level of detail about the experiences of a soldier in the Trans-Mississippi Theater, who fought in the Western part of Arkansas.

Compiled and edited by Dana F. Steward, A Rough Sort Of Beauty: Reflections On The Natural Heritage Of Arkansas is an impressive and memorable compilation of thoughtful and erudite essays about the natural beauty, wildlife, and scenery of rustic Arkansas. A wide variety of environmentally-conscious voices add their insights and observations to this succinct and meaningful collection. A Rough Sort Of Beauty is very highly recommended to the attention and reading lists of Environmentalist/Conservationists in general, and to Arkansas Regional Studies collections and outdoor enthusiasts in particular!

Those of us who live and ride in or near Salida have known for years that there is much more to love about the area than the famed Monarch Crest Trail. But we would be the first to admit that some of the best of the riding in the area is rarely seen because it isn't necessarily easy to find.

Salida Singletrack has helped me to know the Upper Arkansas Valley better than I knew it before. I expected riders visiting here to benefit from a good guide book, but I never expected to have the book help me find new great rides right close to home.

Nathan's section for every "The Ride: Mileage Log" can help anyone with an odometer find the route. His descriptions are enticing and full of background information. Salida Singletrack is a fun book that's also very accurate and useful.

Pick up a copy of Salida Singletrack, then pay us a visit and find out just how good is some of Salida's lesser known riding.

Every black person in America, who has family roots traceable to the South, would be well served to see their roots from an incredibly enlightening paradigm. ROOTS has a new meaning...found in this great book.

Scarlet O'Hara at her worst has nothing on Mary Eliza Pillow, and the real life story of this woman and the troubles she brought upon her flawed knight in shining armor form the basis of this remarkable work of historical fiction. Ann Roscopf Allen's historical novel A Serpent Cherished reads like a story lifted from today's headlines, complete with lies, deception, greed, lust, sex, scandal, fury and - in the end - murder, but the events retold in this novel date back to the late nineteenth century South (centered in Arkansas and Memphis). The very public drama of these events scandalized Southern society of its day; now, in this modern retelling of the story, it offers readers a most unusual look into that Victorian society of the 1880s and early 1890s.

Mary Eliza Pillow was the wife of General Gideon Pillow, a hero of the War Between the States. The general's economic fortunes declined after his return home, and his young widow was left destitute following his death. Far too proud to ever admit she was poor (or to curtail her spending), Mrs. Pillow is in a very real sense rescued by Colonel H. Clay King. Clay owed a great deal to his former commanding officer (General Pillow basically covered up a charge of desertion against him), and he tells his wife that it is only right that he help the widow of the man who helped him so much during the war. So it is that Mary Eliza Pillow moves on to Clay's Arkansas plantation, ostensibly to manage the place. It's pretty obvious to all concerned, including Mrs. King, that the 60-year-old Clay has taken quite a fancy to the young, beautiful Confederate widow, however. Mrs. Pillow puts her womanly wiles to use and, in little time at all, manages to usurp Mrs. King's place in the mansion (with Mrs. King safely ensconced in Memphis). She takes on all of the wifely duties, and King agrees to bequeath the plantation to her when he dies. That isn't good enough for the new mistress of the house. King eventually seeks to appease her by drawing her up a deed to the property (but never intending for it or a second deed to be filed). This is where the trouble really starts. Eventually, Mary Eliza files the one surviving deed drawn up by Colonel King, claiming she is just trying to protect herself and her children. King refuses to divorce his wife, for religious and proprietary reasons, and now the beautiful yet deadly woman he invited into his own home forces him to either back down and marry her or fight for what is rightly his. Things get ugly, threats are made, and the battle lines are drawn.

Several court cases ensue, wild and racy affairs featuring as many lies as truths, as justice is rather egregiously mocked inside the courtrooms. By the time the drama plays out completely, lives are ruined, reputations are destroyed, and one person is dead - shot down in the streets of Memphis. It is really an ugly series of events that sometimes seem unbelievable - yet the basic facts of the case are true. The author relies upon both primary and secondary resources in terms of framing the story, and she incorporates newspaper reports of the sensational trials into the novel.

I was constantly amazed by the devious things Mary Eliza Pillow did in order to lay claim to all of Colonel King's property, and I marveled at the continued weakness of the Colonel in acceding to her requests. You cannot help but commiserate with him in his eventual rage, yet there's no doubt that the bed he found himself lying in was one of his own making. The whole drama has much to reveal about the Victorian mindset of the late-nineteenth century South. Colonel King, as a successful lawyer, went to great pains to keep his relationship with Mrs. Pillow out of the public eye. He didn't have a problem abandoning his wife and taking a live-in mistress, but he was constantly afraid that the truth would get out and he would be scandalized. Mrs. King also cared more for appearances and her own reputation than she did for her husband's faults. It just would not do to divorce him, and she could scarcely imagine what would happen to her if the Colonel's living situation became known among those of her social circles in Memphis. Vain though she was (and no paragon of virtue herself), Mrs. King suffered more than anyone at the cold and calculating hands of her husband's mistress.

A Serpent Cherished is a truly fascinating read. I should note, however, that the narrative perspective changes from one chapter to the next. This can be somewhat disconcerting early on, as the "speaker" of each chapter is not readily identified. Allen is a wonderfully skilled writer, however, and one soon gets to know these characters quite well. We basically hear the story through the voices of Colonel King, Mrs. King, and Mrs. Pillow's companion Kizzie. Each of these characters brings a completely different viewpoint to the drama, especially Kizzie, whose loyalty to Mrs. Pillow is stretched to the limit as she watches her friend and benefactor lie, cheat, and destroy a man who always treated her well. We do not hear from Mary Eliza herself, but her presence overshadows every page of this story. Readers' feelings for the main characters of this sordid tale may vary to some degree, but no one can be any less than fascinated by the actions and exploits put on display in this intriguing work of historical fiction.

Really good Southern writing! Humorous throughout, with a nasty twist toward the end.