North Dakota Books

I've been to South Dakota a number of times and have had many questions about the landscape, etc. This book has the answers and the pictures to go with it. I especially appreciated the glossary and the further-reading list.

I bought this book for a weeklong driving tour through North and South Dakota, and found this book invaluable. If you are interesting in the natural resources and park systems in these places, it has lotsa info you won't get in maps (especially many beautiful color photos) altho the advice given wasn't always useful.

Barbara Handy-Marchello's Women of the Northern Plains; Gender & Settlement on the Homestead Frontier, 1870-1930 is a new and refreshing inspection of the lives and roles of women in rural North Dakota. Destroying the myths and romance of the homestead life, she establishes with brutal clarity that women were not simply the homemakers historians have since portrayed them as; in fact, they led harsh lives as equals to men, worked in the fields as well as the home, and provided crucial income through butter and egg production. The failure of outsiders to recognize the centrality of women's labor ultimately led to the decline of the homesteading movement.

In the majority of cases, women came to the frontier either as wives or as children. In the case of the latter, they remained single until about their mid-twenties, at which point they would join in a partnership with a man. This partnership, more often referred to as marriage, was rarely one of love, but instead a means of staying alive. For the woman, a man meant a partner equally dedicated to her survival as she, and someone with a strong back and a good work ethic in the wheat fields. For the man, a woman was dedicated to his survival as he to hers, and also was someone to have and raise his family, fix meals, and tend to the home. And, Handy-Marchello stresses, feeding, milking, and if necessary, slaughtering the cows, tending horses and chickens, churning butter, gathering eggs, repairing the barn, hauling water, toiling in the fields, and doing anything else of necessity to the family's survival.

The lives of women, like the lives of any living being in the Northern plains, were hard. Besides having substantial wifely responsibilities, there were other factors. They were invariably pregnant, or if not pregnant, on the mend from pregnancy. Death or disability from accidents loomed large over them, claiming a number of victims. So did disease. Husbands were often physically or emotionally abusive to their wives, venting the frustrations of their own hard lives upon them. In the event of a mother's death, the eldest daughter filled the maternal role and adopted all of her mother's responsibilities. In short, womanhood was a tough existence. In response, women developed an attitude of perseverance, took pride in their work, and enjoyed the opportunities life and chance brought their way.

Foremost of those characteristics was the development of friendships fostered over difficult times. For most, the community, however spread out it may have been, was an extension of the family. Women would often breast-feed a baby for a dry mother. They would make meals for a woman having recently given birth. They would help milk cows. Women also frequently joined common religious or ethnic groups. Church organizations, especially the Ladies' Aid societies, gave them opportunities to socialize as they ran fundraisers, prepared food for celebrations, and were generally communally active. In such fashions, they were able to have a life at least partly removed from their farm, rejuvenating them for the harshness of life on it.

For fifty years, homesteading was a sustainable existence, even if it was not particularly profitable. In the 1920s, however, outside organizations like the Farmers' Institute began a campaign to reestablish gender roles on the farm. Specifically, they extolled the virtues of homemaking for women, and discouraged any activities outside the home, most notably milking the cows, gathering eggs, and assisting in the wheat fields. Those tasks were for men. They also advertised electric stoves and other new goods to women, promoting the lifestyle prevalent in the cities. During this time also, agriculture and dairy became industries, forcing out family farms yielding smaller quantities of wheat, eggs, and butter. Both movements together had a disastrous effect on the viability of the homestead life, eventually leading to its decline and a city migration.

Handy-Marchello's monograph is an extremely important piece on the study of women in the Northern Plains. It is a significant departure from traditional historiography in that it emphasizes, rather than downplays, the value of women on the farm. There is substantial merit to such a text. That said, however, there are a few points where she might have improved her work.

For one thing, she provides very little analysis of life on the plains. A scholarly reader might have wanted to see something of an interpretation of history, rather than simply a factual revision.

For another, she consistently demonstrates a lack of depth in her historical recounting. On the subject of Ladies' Aid societies, for example, she states that each was a "highly significant organization that gave women a stronger voice in the community affairs and allowed them to expand their interests and influence..." (p. 99). Yet, she fails to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that point. One gets the impression that such a "highly significant organization" would require more than the handful of pages she devotes to it. For another example, although she states "my research... [will examine] ... how women from so many different cultures carried out their roles" (p. 11), she does not explore those cultures, other than to state that they existed, were diverse, and generally did not intermingle. These examples underlie a critical point - she treats six pivotal decades of plains women in just 166 pages, including the introduction and conclusion.

In regards to her sources, she draws upon a wide variety of primary and secondary documents. Despite that, however, she has a tendency to draw most of her anecdotes from just a few of those sources, using multiple anecdotes per person. One must wonder then whether the anecdotes are in fact representative of the plains people in general, and if so, why she did not employ anecdotes from others.

Although she does not say specifically one way or the other, the nature of Handy-Marchello's text suggests that this is a prelude to a more in-depth analysis yet to come. If that is the case, it will be most heartily welcome. She has demonstrated her considerable talent as both an author and a scholar. If in fact it is to be a beginning point for another scholar, that would be acceptable as well, for certainly it provides an excellent introduction to the complex and as-yet under-explored subject of women on the Northern plains. As such, I thoroughly recommend this text for anyone interested in plains history, Dakotan history, or the history of women at large.

"North Dakota pioneer women accepted what they had first seen as 'nothing,' made it into something they recognized, and claimed it as their own." Handy-Marchello writes about the varied ways the pioneer women claimed the empty and daunting frontier. Both immigrant women and "Yankee" women migrating from eastern parts of the U. S. accomplished this by joining the men in practically any work that had to be done. But in addition, it was primarily the women who looked to education and health care for children, the development of community by establishing civic and religious organizations, and all kinds of personal and public commitments making for a lasting society which could be handed down to future generations. At the time the northern plains, particularly the area of the state of North Dakota, was being settled, the Indians had been mostly pacified and farm machinery and electricity were changing the work of farming. Nonetheless, the settlement of one of the last western frontiers called for all the determination, enterprise, imagination, and hope from the women as settlement in any other time or area. Handy-Marchello, a history professor at the U. of North Dakota, gives equal treatment to both the physical challenges (e. g., the weather, making fields for crops) and how these were faced and also the indefatigable pioneer spirit of the varied women. And in the course of doing this, the author notes how the pioneer women's spirit and contributions continue to shape the regional society.

this is the story of tyler and issac adventures when they set of to the west to find there place in the world. When they are given up as slaves to an Indian tribe, Thier world changes dramatcly. Tyler, who is white , is treated badly, while Issac, A black former slave, is treated with respect. Tyler is very confused at this. He realizes he is jealous, and begins to question how he treats other people, including Issac, and his own brother. Tyler realizes he has had privliges just because of who he is and the color of his skin. Tyler desperatly wants to escape yet Issac, who has never been treated so well is thinking of staying. This book is more than your simple action adventure story. It explores friendship, race, loyality, and other difficult choices that a boy must make before he becomes a man. This is the follow up to the excellent Bigger, and then Sooner.
All these stories are highly reccommended

Wonderful old and new photos - interesting bits of info. in captions - great pictorial history of Bismarck

I find this book to be very interesting and educational although, I am not very sure that the kids will find it too interesting where it talks about politics and religion. Its very interesting to read about Velma and her family and their struggle, but some of the things are boring to read even for me and I am Velma (the main character in the book). This is one of those books that might make people stop and think for a second about their life and what they have. The sad thing is that its only for a second that they stop and appreciate life. Robin tried to explain the best way she could what happens when people come to the US and also the reason for their coming. The book is not very hard to understand especailly since everyone has heard of Bosnia and what happened there. I had fun reading it for the first time (I kind of laughed at some of the things I said). I guess now that I am 17 years old, I don't think the same way. Overall the book gives you a warm feeling at the end to know that Velma and her family made it and that they are safe.

A Class Act was a really well written story with good content but too much dependence on the bed scenes to hold the story together.

Rafe Strongheart was a Tribal police chief who was very interested in helping the young boys who were turning out to be hellions.

Carly Austin, who had been in high school about the same time as Rafe had become a very accomplished teacher and was now working for the system. The school is connected with the Indian Reservation and their people.

Frankie Fire Cloud was becoming a bone of contention between Rafe and Carly. Carly tended to see the good in people and Rafe was always aware of how the boys could ruin their lives.

Blame it on a Blizzard! Although Carly had been around, Rafe had not come in contact with her until a blizzard hit. And he had to save her. They were snowed in until the BIA Road Commission could plow them out.

During that time Carly learned of Rafe's horses and that he painted. Apparently Rafe had fallen for Carly fifteen years before but had issues to settle and he squelched his feelings and now Carly is seeing the man and tries a little positive pursueing. There follows a bit of gentle give and take as Rafe resists Carly's advances and she has a couple of mild scurmishes with the boys and Rafe.

She finally takes Rafe to meet her grandfather. therein is another story. grin. But she does succeed in seducing Rafe and oh la! here we go again.

She does get Rafe to finally tell his story [after the shootout] It is a story to enjoy and then pass around but doesn't have much staying power. Characters are excellent, story is pretty darn good but . . . . . Ah Well, see for yourself, you should enjoy.

Like many young couples, the war has hurried Melany and her fiancée Logan into a quick love affair and a hurried wedding. Like many wives left behind when their husbands are shipped out, Melany takes on a job. However, she is one of the lucky ones. Melany has always loved gems and precious stones so when she is offered a job and a chance of gemology training at Kismet Jewels she is thrilled. Melany soon starts to wonder if the job is too good to be true, when someone starts to "borrow" mailing boxes from the store that are implicated in spy activities. Is there a spy working at Kismet Jewels?

Fire of War and Winter is the second book of the Autumn in Cranky Otter Series. I have not read the first book of this series but am now intrigued to find out what the first book was about. This second book of the series was completely self-contained and I had no trouble understanding or enjoying the storyline without having read the first book of this series

This is not a book without merit; it simply is a book that strectches out storylines that could have been wrapped up in one book. Toby Holt stills has to quell the northern tier from Ma Hastings and Red Cloud, such as he had to in Montana. Meanwhile, Beth Blake undergoes captivity and a homicide trial that has little in the means of suspense.

Still, I like the story dealing with Toby's and Gentle Doe's affair, and the introduction of Kale Salton continues the Ross tradition of having "ladies of ill repute" seens as angels trapped in a bad guy's profession. I give this book a generous 4 stars.

Ella Deloria's Buffalo People is an assemblage of Lakota myths originally recorded by Deloria. This book contains five myths and legends recorded during her field investigations in the 1930's on the Lakota reservation. The author, Julian Rice, has compiled these unpublished and previously published myths and legends into a series of books, of which this is the third.

The book includes an introductory chapter explaining the methods used in her research. The author states that Deloria's research was unique because she was a native speaker of Lakota. This intimate linguistic knowledge allowed Deloria the freedom to interview many non-English speaking Lakota as well as the ability to fully comprehend the linguistic subtleties within these accounts. Thus, Deloria was able to meld various versions of each myth or legend into one solid coherent legend and then present these stories in both Lakota and English texts.

The presentation of full stories in both Lakota and English is beneficial for researchers undertaking linguistic studies as well as those individuals interested in learning or reinforcing learning of this language. Moreover, researchers interested in studying the precise details or symbolic dichotomies contained within these texts will also find the grammatical intricacies and ability to compare the two texts extremely helpful.

Another useful aspect of this work is that these myths and legends include important cultural information about women and children. The addition of these often neglected details adds depth to the dynamics of Lakota life. Researchers looking at gender roles, behavioral expectations, and social dichotomies within Lakota culture and language will find this information invaluable.

Each of the five myths and legends-A Sioux Captive Rescued by His Wife, Stake Carriers, A Woman Captive and Her Baby, Prairie Dogs, and The Buffalo People is written in a smooth and entertaining way. These accounts range from the three page text of A Woman Captive and Her Baby to the thirty-three page account of The Buffalo People. Each includes ample footnotes explaining the grammatical complexities within various sentences, as well as the sources, and potential variations of each account.

Ella Deloria's Buffalo People is both an entertaining book and an important research tool. Thus, the book is suitable for those beginners interested in Lakota myth and language as well as those researchers or collectors looking for detailed information to conduct analysis in these areas. It is unfortunate, however, that the book contains only five stories as a more complete volume of all Deloria's published and unpublished work would be an important asset to any researcher interested in the linguistic or mythological aspects of the Lakota language and culture.

Very well laid out and easy to use. It has info on where to stay and what to do. Other books are more complete but this one does OK. I would recommend it