Missouri Books

Journalist Harper Barnes' biography of David Rowland Francis,
American politician and diplomat whose career ranged from St. Louis in
America's heartland to the depths of Russia during the Bolshevik
revolution (1917-19), is full of surprises. As the youngest mayor of
St. Louis and governor of Missouri at the turn of the 20th century, he
lead progressive Democrats and fathered the St. Louis World's Fair in
1903-04. Appointed ambassador to Russia by President Woodrow Wilson, he
endured terrible hardships during its revolutionary period, aided by his
articulate and loyal friend and valet, African-American Philip Jordan.
Much of the Russian story reads like an exciting spy novel. Wonderfully
researched and well written, it is a compelling account that enriches
both United States' and international history. It captivates the reader
and offers heretofore unknown insights into not only a remarkable
American but United States foreign policy at a pivotal time in world
history.

This is a "classic" text on the Current and Jack's Fork rivers of Missouri. It's a must read for anyone interested in the two beautiful watersheds. The reader will tag along with the author and his wife as they canoe, camp, and explore the riverways. Hall provides his journeys in splendid detail capturing the imagination of those who charish and love nature and the Ozark riverways as much as he did.

I love history and this book is very informative and easy to read. Just what I was looking for.

This book is so rare I don't think it made outside the state of Missouri when published. Excellent source of the men and their regiments. Detailed information of the regiments and the men with dates and names.

Gary Fincke has unfortunately remained one of those best-kept secrets in literature. However, along Fincke's new collection of poetry, Writing Letters for the Blind, and this collection of stories, it's apparent that his work has never been stronger.

The title story is macabre and painful, a brutally honest examination of a pregnancy gone terribly awry that ends with a haunting and chilling image that's impossible to shake. Yet, don't let that scare you away. The next story, "The Wrath of God" is an amusing though at times equally as moving a story as "The Stone Child." "God" centers on a down-and-out writer who has taken to promoting an escape artist. What is so fascinating about this story, and with much of this collection, is Fincke's uncanny ability to pull in everything around him and use it in the story. Whether it be history lessons or pop culture references, not one of them is wasted in this collection. "You Asked For It," a title taken from a television show, also shows Fincke's keen eye for detail, painting fully rounded characters out of their actions. And "Zombies" shows Fincke's brilliance in creating a fully realized world - high school - simply by the details and fresh characterizations.

For anyone that's a fan of the hard, tense plots Flannery O'Connor mixed with a little Jill McCorkle and Tom Pettotta humor topped off with the keen eye for emotion like Charles Baxter, I strongly recommend these stories.

And there's only more to look forward to: in the next few months another story collection and nonfiction book are due. Hopefully Fincke will finally earn some much-deserved attention with a larger audience and not just with the numerous awards that he's won.

Clearly this book should be available here! Well, it IS available at several places in Lake Ozark, MO...highly recommended if you like lakes, dams, and especially dammed lakes!!

The material presented by Jacobs and Wright makes law-abiding, middle-class persons realize there is an entirely different world where disgruntled criminals take revenge in ways that only Quentin Tarantino could imagine. There are few ethnographic works that can match the fascinating stories of retaliatory violence contained within "Street Justice."

This is an extraordinary book of poems. I had the opportunity to speak to the author/poet and I didn't realize how down-to-earth such an eloquent poet could be. He told me that his favorite word is "spackle" (such a manly thing to say) and talked at length about his youth, mostly spent listening to Springsteen songs and surviving the turbulence in his hometown.
Can't say enough good things; simply put "buy the book."

This is the Truman book you will truly enjoy-- after reading the 5,000 others. Harry S Truman was a real old-fashioned communicator who understood the value of honestly telling others what was on his mind (a great and thoughtful mind) at any appropriate juncture. He also had the good judgment-- once he had dictated and reviewed a letter to some notable-- to at times keep a particular letter from the mail, and save it exclusively for his own files. Truman spared himself countless embarrassments using this discipline.

If you liked "Harry and Ike," you'll love Poen's book, which you have to search for. The work is worth it-- Truman was the last of the Mohicans, a president who believed in telling both the American public and those with whom he interacted his honest assessment of a situation.

When I studied at the Truman Library in Independence in 1985, two years after first reading this book, I found the original correspondence. It is as priceless as Poen thoughtfully put it all together.

A gift for a retired navy man who served on this ship and was very impressed.