Missouri Books

Though not the only source of knowledge about the Quakers during the Nazi period, it is currently the best. It can also be a practical guide for those confronting how pacificism and apolitical compassion may be applied in the face of modern, often evil, totalitarianism. The books documents the mistakes, the triumphs, the ideals and tactics of the Friends during one of their most trying of times. It is not surprising that the Quakers were recognized via their Friends Service Committee the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize. Strongly recommended.

Schmitt repeatedly stresses in his book the title- Quakers *and* Nazis, not Quakers *verses* Nazis. And that is the beauty of this book. Schmitt writes of how the Quakers in WWII worked to protect people from the Nazis, to engage in feeding programs, clothing the hungry, serving those the Nazis were oppressing, working to release them from prison and concentration camps. All this they do before WWII, during the war, and afterward, throughout the world- Germany, Austria, Poland, Latvia, Holland, Denmark, and even Morocco.

But Schmitt also writes of how the Friends worked to free Nazis from prison, to feed the Nazis and German soldiers, and make sure they were clothed. They believed that no one should be imprisoned for the sake of their conscience, no one should be mistreated for what they believed- no matter how insiduous those beliefs.

There are times when the Quakers struggle with their missions, and times when they don't agree. Reflecting the standard Quaker doctrine that each individual should be guided by the internal Light of the Holy Spirit, some choose to fight for Germany, though most choose the ancient Quaker doctrine of pacifism. Some choose to work in England to try to appease Germany; others realize early on this will not happen. Some are willing to agree with Germany's Semitic separations in feeding the poor and oppressed, in order that they might at least help some; others refuse to be involved in anti-Semitism at all.

Schmitt writes with copious detail, which can lead to some boredom at times- there's a lot of research here, and sometimes you have to wade through it to get to the better parts. I was particularly impressed how, as one reads step by step in the history of the period, how easy it was to not realize the horrific nature of the Nazi regime, from the perspective of the time. Even the Quakers who disagree with the anti-Semitism, violence, and injustice of the Nazis, don't realize the full gamut of the evil of the Nazi regime until the stories come out at war's end. In the beginning, it is one's own country, which has taken a wrong turn, as every country does, in every age. And the wrong turn gets a little worse. And a little worse. And it is so easy to disagree with the actions of one's country, to fight them, but still not realize that that last turn was the one that went far, far too far.

The Friends respond to these wrong turns with love. They decided they would love the Jews, and their fellow Germans. And that they would love the Nazis, as brothers and friends. Just as they won slave-owners in the South to the cause of abolition by loving the slave-owners as brothers, they hoped to win over the Nazis. They succeeded in some small measure in gaining greater rights to care for the oppressed. But most of all, they remained a witness of love and peace, a light in a time of great darkness.

Mr Schmidt extensively researched this book to not only reveal the work of the Quakers in Nazi Germany, but also to allow the reader inside the minds of so many of the participants. Though the book can become tedious because of its depth of detail, it also finds its power in those personal stories. Imagine a member of the Gestapo allowing the Quakers to feed the oppressed because he himself had been fed by the Quakers in post WWI relief efforts. This is a piece of history few if any know about, and Mr. Schmidt makes it all interesting.

The American Civil War is an event that has multiple aspects and of these many aspects, the Missouri guerrilla conflict, which developed into a civil war within the Civil War, is arguably one of the best examples of true guerrilla activity during the Civil War. Joseph Houts' Quantrill's Thieves focuses on one of the more infamous groups of guerrillas who were under the command of William Clarke Quantrill. Quantrill's operations became notorious within the Missouri region for harassing and terrorizing union troops and union sympathizers. Houts provides much more than just the details surrounding the operations of Quantrill's guerrillas. The book is very focused on the men themselves, who made up the ranks of the company. The field which Houts' book fits into best is guerrilla conflict during the American Civil War. Many of the examples which he found of the actions of the guerrillas during the conflict clearly follow the understanding of guerrilla tactics which experts of the field agree on. Houts differs from others who write on guerrilla conflict in the way in which he brought out the details of the events surrounding the guerrillas. He of course describes each of the battles which are common knowledge of the conflict, for example the raid of Lawrence. Beyond these events Houts provides a deeply comprehensive description of all of the members of the company which were listed on the group's muster roll.
The basis of Quantrill's Thieves is taken from a copy of the group's list of members which was obtained by the Union after the battle of Pleasant Hill. Houts states the group became labeled as thieves from the Union as a way to dishearten the support the guerrillas received from the citizens of the area. It does not seem Houts adds all that much to the field of guerrilla warfare, not because his process or detail is lacking, but more because the topic of guerrilla conflict in Missouri has been thoroughly discussed many times over. Houts in particular focuses on the background of the men under Quantrill's command, which is vital for understanding the influences that brought the men into guerrilla action. This understanding of the details behind the individuals of the conflict is the driving force behind the author's purpose. The reason for the main focus of the author being the men themselves is connected in part to Houts' background as a child going up in Missouri and his confusion on whether his confederate ancestors were "good" or "bad". Another part of the purpose was to further understand the progression from the beginning Union orders (General decrees) to the quickly evolved brutality. Houts spares no detail in his process of analyzing the conflict within his own perspective.
Quantrill's Thieves is by no means a work which will cause the current understanding of guerrilla warfare to change in any large sense. However, this does not mean it is completely useless. In reality the book is really much more in a field of the historic importance than the guerrilla warfare in the conflict. A brief look through both the Joes' books and Houts' book provides all the necessary evidence. Joes is largely focused on the tactics, strategy, and other operations and influences of the guerrilla insurgency, while Houts puts a microscope over the people within the guerrilla ranks to gain detail of the conflict and group. With that said, the book does provide an amazing view of each of the guerrillas which were on the muster roll captured by the Union. In recommending the book to possible readers it should be understood that two people may become interested in the book. First, would be the eager student of guerrilla warfare who wishes to expand their knowledge of different uses and effects of insurgency. I do not believe this particular book will serve them with the amount of information they are looking for. On the other hand, Civil War and history buffs which especially enjoy the interesting little details of the events should most definitely pick up this book. The detail within the book can be quite encompassing at times.

For all the civil war and partisan ranger buffs especially, this book is interesting. It offers useful new information and a completely different angle on Quantrill's Raiders. The title comes from a document, lifted from one of Quantrill's band, that amounted to a roster. When copied by Union soldiers, one titled the roster Quantrill's Thieves. Quantrill was a fascinating individual and an adept leader. The author's effort here is to provide some color and description about his followers not found in other accounts. He draws on local records, some genealogy and other data to flesh out the members of Quantrill's band listed on the roster. In some cases he makes an educated guess about the individual but in most it appears he has identified the person. Why were they drawn to Quantrill more than other partisan leaders? Why did they follow and trust him implicitly? Who were the faces behind some of the daring raids? Who were the men behind atrocities like the Lawrence Massacre? If you have been reading about Quantrill, you should read this book.

This is a great book with loads of detail. It explains the background and history leading up to some of the bloodiest guerilla raids of the civil war. It explains how various actions of Congress and government officials can lead to the Rule of Unintended Consequences. From the Raiders we get Jesse James, the Daltons, etc. There were decades of actions all which find there genesis in the civil war era raids detailed in this book.
The author sets the stage for the reader in a very straightforward matter. There are biographies of all the riders. Also the location of the beginning of the raid on Lawrence Kansas is revealed.
All civil war buffs should have this book in their collection.

We recently moved from Portland, OR to the St. Louis area, and this Streetfinder has been indispensible. The map system is based on an Letter/Number coordinate system, and the information is up to date -- even some newer subdivisions are captured. We like to use it in conjunction with Microsoft MapPoint, to see if we can find a more efficient route than the one MapPoint recommends.

Unless you know every square inch of the St. Louis metro area, this book is a handy companion that will give you the confidence to travel anywhere by car.

This is a great reference source, parallelled by none. I first bought it when I moved to St. Louis about 1 year ago, and I still use it to look up little roads and streets. It is a faithful drivong companion and has been in my car for over a year, and saved me from numerous episodes of being lost...

This map is easy to use and has many wonderful attributes. It covers the entire St. Louis area and vicinity, it graphically shows libraries, post offices, etc., has overall and page grids that help with location, a comprehensive index and colors that help you discern neighborhood streets from local expressways, etc. This is by far the best map I've seen for the area and everyone I've shown it to agrees!

"The Rebirth of the Missouri Pacific, 1956-1983," by H. Craig Miner, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 1983. This is the story of the Missouri Pacific Railroad during the final days before it was merged into the Union Pacific system in 1983. The MoPac originated as part of the Missouri state railroad system. That system created a network of railroads designed to bring traffic to St. Louis, Gateway to the West, and during the steamboat era, fourth largest city in the US. The Pacific and Missouri was envisioned as the premiere line of the system. Its route connected St. Louis with the state capitol in Jefferson City, taking the scenic route along the south bank of the Missouri River. The line then continued to Sedalia, head of the Texas Trail and on to what would become Kansas City, head of the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trails. It was envisioned that MoPac would be the first leg of the transcontinental railroad, then being promoted by Missouri's Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, a major booster for Western expansion.

Those big plans seem doomed almost from the beginning. In 1855, an inaugural excursion train carrying executives and dignitaries to Jefferson City crashed through a temporary bridge over the Gasconade River killing most of the railroad's most vigorous supporters. Ultimately, the Transcontinental Railroad was built from Omaha rather than Kansas City. After a stent as crown jewel of robber baron Jay Gould's empire, MoPac wound up with a system from St. Louis to Pueblo, CO, and with southern branches extending into Texas and Louisiana--serving especially chemical manufacturing in that area. Eventually the MoPac sank into bankruptcy during the Depression. It took years to resolve the bankruptcy, during which the railroad was operated by trustees. A complex structure resulted with Alleghany Corp controlling B shares and Mississippi River Fuel Corporation, the pipeline company that brought natural gas to St. Louis, as major players.

Miner picks up the story as MoPac leaves bankruptcy reorganization. How quickly we forget the days when railroads were highly competitive small empires, that had to exchange traffic with neighbors to send freight any distance. Those were the days when strict regulators made it difficult to merge any lines while balancing the competitive needs of other interests. Miner takes us through the era when MoPac decides to modernize, recapitalizes to eliminate the B shares, installs the first computers and uses them to build major operating efficiencies. MoPac also negotiates endless mergers. Eventually they are able to buy part of the C & EI granting them access to Chicago. This book covers the era when MoPac rebuilt itself from a tradition bound road to nowhere to a modern railroad, often ranked one of the best managed in the US.

Miner's story of installing the first computers, using them for materials control, streamlining supply operations, and later to control real time operations makes great reading. MoPac also took pride in establishing modern hiring practices beginning with interviewing on campus. A training program was established to help the best candidates learn the railroad business and move rapidly up the executive ranks. This was a major change from the days when rail executives began as brakemen, worked their way up, and usually were chosen based on seniority. MoPac developed a way to bring the brightest and best college graduates into the railroad business. Similarly, modernization included developing a standardized system for maintaining motive power, for repairing cars, innovating in unit trains and in piggyback/container cargo, and installing modern equipment in selected shops and yards.

Miner's tale is loaded with gory details in the early stages, but in the end it covers the subject of modernizing a railroad very well. Railroaders will enjoy it. IT types will enjoy the detailed account of successfully installing major systems in a traditional bound industry. Index. Footnotes.

I read this book years ago and find it quite interesting. Many of the concepts in this books were explained in my transportation class. Mopac was an very important rail line in the Southwest and many of the present day U.P. Managers (i.e. Dick Davidson) came from this railroad. I hope people can draw the history and basic concepts to understand present day railroad operations.

This book gives a good look at the forces that shaped the Missouri Pacific Railroad during its final era, from job forces, line acquisitions and locomotives to corporate doings and "pleasing the stockholders." It also includes excellent black-and-white photographs and informative maps. Despite the fact that I am primarily a Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad fan, I still found this book to be extremely interesting and thorough. It reads quickly, presenting the information in a concise, well-organized manner. I highly recommend this book to any railroad fan who is interested in the history of railroads, particularly that of the "MoPac" and its closest rail competitors.

Rose and Alva are two little girls who are best friends. They pick pokeweed, expore caves, see a deer rub , vist the kittens, and make mud pies. Rose likes her new tomboy friend and they both have such fun times!

A great book discribes Rose buifly fun and intresting. a great atinchen graber. It discribes Rose and Alva great. the best of McBrides books.

The book Rose and Alva was one of the best books I ever read. I liked this book because Rose moved to a new home, and she meets Alva. Rose has to work on the farm,but on Sundays she can play. Alva usually comes over and asks if Rose can come over . They went on lots of adventures. They had a lots of fun together. If you like hearing about adventure I recommend this book, Rose and Alva, to you.

After having Dr. Lund as a professor in college, I saw his books on the shelf of our college bookstore and had to read them! I have read four of the books in his series so far, and ROUTE 66 KIDS is by far my favorite. They are all witty and charming, and I look forward to more!

Lund's second novel in the Route 66 series continues to impress--he takes up the teenage years of his protagonist Mark Landon with a great deal of sensitivity and insight, and lots of humor. As the last reviewer pointed out, even though this novel is very particularly set in the midwest of the 1950s, anyone who has gone through the teen years, or is going through them now I presume, will find connections with the story. Landon's narrative voice is particularly endearing: a bit self-conscious, always aware of the vagaries of memory, but always, too, trying to identify as exactly as possible how his world was shaped and why things turned out the way they did.

In Route 66 Kids, Michael Lund has done an outstanding job of capturing all of the nuances of maturity. As his protagonist, Mark Landon, continues to learn about sexuality through his experiences with his long-time object of affection, Marcia Terrell, he also makes other realizations that come with age. He sees his parents in a different light and he comes to recognize that small-town life is not always 'hunky-dory.' Because Lund treats these serious experiences with just the right amount of gentleness and humor, his second novel in the Route 66 series is delightful for readers of all ages. While some of Mark Landon's experiences may be particular to the 1950's Midwest, anyone who's been a teenager can relate to the sense of discovery that pervades the novel.

Dr. Raferty has done a wonderful job bringing together Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's journals of his adventure into the eastern and central Ozarks Region before major settlement. Schoolcraft's jouney begins at Potosi, Missouri on November 5, 1818 and proceeds southwest to the Arkansas border along the North Fork River. From there he travels northwest towards modern day Springfield and then back southeast into Arkansas along the White River to Batesville. From the Batesville area he proceeds northeast back towards Potosi arriving there on February 4, 1819.

Schoolcraft's descriptions of the unsettled land and its native plants and animals are wonderful. Prof. Raferty has added an appendix which provides a day by day account of Schoolcraft's journey and the modern reference points with amazing accuracy.

This is a great book for anyone with an interest in the history and geography of the Ozarks Region. Very well done!!

Schoolcraft's journal describing his expedition into the Missouri/Arkansas border area in the dead of an Ozarks winter is an entertaining read! He describes with great dignity how he fell into the icy cold river -not just once, but twice! He talks about the wildlife that roamed the area, many species of which are long gone from here now. He also talks about how clean and clear the rivers were then - a shame its not true today. Schoolcraft used an expansive vocabulary to describe his surroundings, which is almost more entertaining than the facts he's trying to relate. A common misconception is that Schoolcraft was exploring country that had never before been seen by white settlers. Not true! There were several hunters' families in small, isolated settlements in the area long before Schoolcraft arrived, and he stayed overnight with some of them. He saw himself as a bit of a lad, which is evidenced by his writings regarding the "greasy" women in the settlements. He once made some of his imported tea for a hunter's wife, who was used to drinking only sassafras tea. She told him his tea was the most bitter thing she'd ever tasted; a mark of how uncivilized she was, in Schoolcraft's opinion. He ends his journal abruptly, with no philosophical revelations about how 90 days of stomping through the brush and ice and greasy women has changed his life, etc., which is a bit of a let down, but all in all it's a fun read. In the back of the book Rafferty has inserted a table that relates the landmarks Schoolcraft described to the way the landscape looks/is used today. There are also several excellent maps marked with the dates and locations of Schoolcraft's movements. Rafferty's research, comments, and detailed maps, coupled with Schoolcraft's descriptive tales, earn this book a well-deserved Five Stars.

While not as famous as Lewis and Clark, Henry Schoolcraft conducted the first of his many expenditions with similar care and attention to detail. One needs to excuse some of the poetic descriptions. The book gives an excellent insight into the very early development of the region shortly after the Voyage of Discovery.

The author has considerable personal research with Schoolcraft's travels as a college professor leading field trips on portions of the expedition. The most helpful is the author's appendix which keys the days of travel to current day locations.

For anyone studying the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks, this is a must-have. It provides the only contemporary vision of this part of the United States prior to the rapid development in the years prior to the Civil War.

Really it deserves a 2.5, but that's not possible so I rounded up. I have read a number of books on the military history of the Civil War, and I bought this book as a brush up to keep my finger in it, one could say. The authors greatest error, in my eyes, was his tendency to make sweeping observations which were not always true. He claims that the South just had to hold out and keep holding out to win, whereas it has been the general opinion of many historians, as well as Robert E Lee, that the South had to win quickly, or be doomed to a gradual loss.

Alright, so maybe Hattaway did say that - it's only one thing, right? Well, it is always "The North," "The South," like everyone in those two areas thought about the war the same. Ok, so he was trying to keep his history short. And yes, he did keep it short, at the expense of misrepresentation. Many people generally regard the Civil War as a battle of generals, and I don't see a reason to disagree with that, and neither does Hattaway. So he mentions the generals, and this general, and that other general, and soon even I, someone who has studied the Civil War before, don't even know whether he's talking about a Confederate or Union general, never a good thing to be confused about.

I could recommend this book only as the most elementary introduction to the military history of the Civil War, someone interested in learning a little more about it and not having any prior knowledge. Otherwise, I would go for one that was a little less pro-North (as Hattaway has a very Northern point of view. I know, it's the timeless problem about writing about the Civil War - it's hard to keep objective. He just tends to tell the point of view of the Northern generals a lot more than the Southern generals. Except mentionning their names, of course, see above comment).

Hattaway's Shades of Blue and Gray is an excellent introduction to the military history of the Civil War. While brief enough for the amateur historian to enjoy, this book is also suitable for scholars and features many valuable insights into the period. Hattaway adequately explains many of the complicated and technical aspects of the war in a way other works have failed to do. Shades of Blue and Gray gets to the heart of the military science involved in the war, and relates the Civil War to the world-wide development of modern warfare. This book is also excellent for anyone interested in Confederate General Stephen D. Lee, one of Hattaway's specialties. For anyone interested in the way the war was fought, this book is a must.

Prof. Hattaway, a student of T. Harry Williams of LSU, has the most eloquent and clear style of writing that the concepts that he communicates are very easily understood. Having had Prof. Hattaway for Am. Hist. in college, I must say that his writing technique is truly genuine--he acts and reacts precisely in the way that he presents himself in the work. The work itself gives a very broad overview of the Civil War with enough detail to surpass elementary study but in moderation enough to keep easily distracted readers from finding it laborious. I highly recommend Prof. Hattaway and his works.

Devine finally confesses that he leaked a untrue story to Time Magazine and SI about how a crazed Packer fan had killed his dog. The real story was that he lived in rural Wisconsin and allowed his dog run loose. The dog was known to have been killing farm neighbor's ducks. He was warned several times and then one morning when the dog was attempting to kill more ducks the farmer shot the dog (not hanged, not skewered). In his confession he admits it was HIS FAULT for allowing the dog to continue to roam unsupervised.

You can't doubt his coaching success, but to allow this story to continue on for decades before coming clean sure leaves plenty of doubt about his character. As a former Notre Dame Alum and born and raised Packer fan, I still think he was one hell of a college coach. This is a very good book and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of college football. I am glad that he ultimately came clean on that ugly story that tarnished the residents of Green Bay and the neighboring farm communities.

I picked up this book because I'm a Notre Dame fan and wanted some insight into the six season tenure of Coach Dan Devine. Not knowing much about his accomplishments in life I found his story to be an inspiring tale involving youthful hardships and exciting success due to hard work. At the college level, wherever he went, great things happened. Then when the NFL came calling he found himself struggling. This reminded me of his successor at Notre Dame, Gerry Faust, who himself had great success at one level (in his case, high school) only to find that success out of reach at the next level.

But Coach Devine takes us on his jounrey into the Army Air Corps, college, and his years at Arizona State, Missouri, and Notre Dame. He talks too briefly for my taste on decisions such as switching the Fighting Irish to green jerseys in 1977.

Nevertheless, I breezed through the book in no time because it was an enjoyable account of his life, which was certainly worthy of being published.

This is a great book of a great man who managed to coach and raise a wonderful family with the help of a wonderful wife. There should be more families like this.

This beautifully illustrated book explores the physical and ecological roots of Idaho's civilization by following its longest river from Henry's Fork, through desert landscapes, cutting deep through ancient rock formations flowing out through Hell's Canyon (deepest in North America)... (I may have stole part of this from some other review I read.) If I did I apologize!

An excellent book on the Snake River Plain from pre-historical archeological time through to critical water and people issues that confront not only that area but the world as a whole. The format, design and layout were excellent and the written content moves through beautifully. The pictures and insets greatly enhanced the message of the book.

Snake examines this unique region in southern Idaho from the perspectives of geology, history, anthropology and current politics. Snake combines excellent illustrations, graphics and photos with a very informative text. The book is a must buy for both natives and visitors who want to know more about the region.