Oklahoma Books

I bought this book more than six months ago. Ms Albright doesn't turn out a book a year, so I hoarded this treasure for awhile knowing that I would then have to wait until the next installment. Well, it was worth every minute of waiting.

I live in middle America and appreciate the magic that this author gives to her subject. I appreciate her local color. She is a master at writing dialogue and pacing her story. Her characters are flesh and blood real.

I have read all three novels of Ms Albright and sincerely feel you won't read a more realistic or well written work in the mystery genre.

I am a sucker for Sue Grafton novels about Kinsey Milhone. I know it is largely because of her personality and humor. I suspect that is also true of Viv Powers. This character just resonates with me. The setting of the stories are authentic and well described. This writer has a great gift. I feel a sadness because I am afraid that not enough people are reading this talented woman's work.

Letha Albright has done it again, guiding her spare and stylish reporter through another fast-paced mystery. With realistic dialogue, ripping plots, and dead-on settings, "Bad Luck Woman" is another great read by one of America's finest mystery writers.

Letha Albright is one of those writers that make other writers grit their teeth in envy. She often says more in a sentence than others do in a page. Her books are not cluttered with cardboard characters, but alive with real people you quickly get to know and think you understand - good, bad, or (apparently) irrelevant.

The central character, Viv Powers, is a quick-witted but very human reporter for a local newspaper, who frequently finds herself caught between the interests of apparently respectable bad guys, and everyday people who are trying to keep things on the up and up. This story takes place in and around Tahlequah, OK, the county seat of Cherokee County, which is also the Capital of the Cherokee Nation (and Ms. Albright's stomping grounds for eight years). The location alone opens up unusual possibilities at every turn.

Bad Luck Woman pits a group of Native American activists against the powerful owners of a nuclear power plant - with stories they don't want told, particularly to the NRC. Death to those who talk is clearly an option to protect their plans and fortunes. But Viv is only doing her job, while trying to protect her sister, her friends, and the town.

This book is a page-turner, so clear some time from your calendar so you can enjoy it to the max.

This book is exceptional in so many ways. The writing is good, the photographs outstanding. Good research and intellectual honesty makes it a good source for history, ecology, and natural studies.

The approach to creating the book worked extraordinarily well but at its inception must have seemed very chancy. The author chosen to write this account of the Nature Conservancy's Tallgrass Prairie Preserve was unfamiliar with the Preserve and its surrounding area in Oklahoma. The advantage was objectivity but there are lots of hazards in such a choice. Annick Smith is from Montana's Rocky Mountains, separate from the Oklahoma grasslands in many ways. Her recognized writing skills, coupled with drawing on three years of research, getting a first-hand feel of the Preserve, and interviewing a broad cross-section of local people produced this fine addition to any library.

At first glance, the beauty and physical appearance tempts a person to call this a "coffee-table book." However, this is a book with depth. Although easy to read, it takes far longer to read than a person expects at first glance. There are several photos and illustrations per page. Harvey Payne, director of the Preserve, took the majority of current photos over the Preserve's relatively short existence. His skill with a camera is extraordinary and complements Smith's writing well. The photos are mostly well captioned, although the people responsible for writing the captions and laying out the format made a few errors - one of only two negative comments that you will find in this review.

Smith chose to organize her chapters by major subject and then present them in rough chronological order. It was the correct choice to provide smooth flow, and she avoided the trap of duplicating information from chapter to chapter.

After several tries at preserving something of the vanished tall grass prairies that covered much of the central United States, the dedication of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve was in 1993. Mostly local issues kept it from being federally administered and The Nature Conservancy stepped in to keep the drive for protection from failing. The Preserve includes over 30,000 acres carved from one of the big Oklahoma cattle ranches. To think of the Preserve as being the same as the original tall grass prairies, is incorrect. It will never be. For one thing, we don't even know for sure what that was; what plants were there, how it changed in response to climate and chance events over centuries. This bit of Oklahoma is an infinitesimal part of the original and each acre of the original differed. Obviously, the historic prairie was unmanaged except for minor burning and other efforts by the Indian tribes. The Preserve is highly managed, albeit with a goal of creating something close to the original. The administration sets fires to represent the random burning which natural forces might have caused. Cattle are gradually being replaced with buffalo to recreate historic grazing patterns as much as possible. However, tourism is a significant source of gaining funds and public support. Oil drilling and pumping continues through agreements between the Preserve and the oil companies. Fencing is required not only at the perimeter, but also in the interior.

Annick Smith first gives the history of the Preserve, and then circles back to that at the end of the book. She begins with the character, plants and animals of the Preserve. At that point, she steps back and covers the Native American history of the area, including the dismal record of broken agreements and various Indian relocations. The Osage are the predominant Native Americans in the area today. Smith's narrative then goes through a progression of white incursions of buffalo hunters, settlers, cattle ranchers, and finally oil exploration. It is necessarily a summary history but still provides a lot of detail. There is a generous amount about people in this book; those who created the Preserve and run it, the past and present inhabitants of the area.

At this point, I must interject my second negative comment. In portraying the community surrounding the Preserve, Smith adequately covers the people of lower income, as well as the large cattlemen and oilmen. Although mentioning some of the people in the middle, she goes too quickly past those who operate businesses in the towns that support the preserve. There isn't any mention of mini-ranchers running a few head of stock while holding other jobs to make ends meet. The people who attend PTA meetings, lead 4-H clubs, and cooperate in soil conservation districts are part of the core element in such a community.

Now back to the positive. The final chapter is "The Politics of Preservation," and the book ends with a delightful Epilogue, a great resource list for further reading, and a helpful index.

Thanks to those who brought the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve into being, and I wish them the best of luck. Thanks to Annick Smith and Harvey Payne for a great book.

I fully enjoyed this book. In her discussion of the prairie preserve, Annick Smith delved into cowboys, cattle drives, Indians, The Trail of Tears, Oklahoma land runs, buffalo, cattle, oil, the Civil War, controlled fire, prairie grasses, outlaws: all the makings of 10,000 Western movies. The book is beautiful: oversized and full of color photos. I especially enjoyed it since I was born in Oklahoma, still live here, and have spent some time on the prairie. But for anyone who likes Western history, prairie photography and preservation, this is a spiritual journey into a new home of grasses and buffalo in Oklahoma.

....this is a book you must own. Harvey Payne is one of the greatest outdoor photographers you will ever find. If you have lived in Oklahoma or are at all interested in this area or ecosystem, you will find this book fascinating. There is so much beauty in our state that is overlooked, and this book brings it to life, along with engaging stories of the people who tamed this rough wilderness. This is a book that makes me proud to be an Okie while looking at it. If you have ever been entranced by the stoic, proud majesty of the bison who once ruled the prairie, and are now relegated to wildlife preserves, buy this book!

The Black Regulars is an excellent book. Drs. Dobak and Phillips have told this story well, with truly exhaustive research that never suffers from what I call "academic" writing. It is lively and interesting from beginning to end. Along the way, they debunk an old myth that the black regulars were given the poorest equipment, garrisons, quarters, etc. They point out that in the post Civil War army, all soldiers suffered from the above difficulties. The lot of the black man was difficult, but the army did offer more equality. My only quibble is that the book ends with 1898. Perhaps we can look forward to black regulars from the Spanish American War to the present. I heartily recommend The Black Regulars.

This complex, richly documented treatment of the activities, lives, and relationships of black soldiers in the West during the generation after the Civil War is the single best book on the subject. It is one of only three books on the frontier army singled out for recommendation on my website. ...

This book offers a detailed survey of the black enlisted men in the regular army who served from the end of the Civil War to the Spanish-American War in 1898. It is not concerned with the campaigns of the black soldiers (the authors do not use the term Buffalo Soldiers, deeming the designation an insult and one the black soldiers never used themselves), but more with their enlistment, organization, and treatment within the regular army ranks.

When the Civil War ended, most of the soldiers returned to civilian life. The army needed men and one place to get them was from the newly-freed black population. A bill was passed in Congress in July 1866, after much debate, that provided for six black regiments (two cavalry, four infantry), to be on equal footing with the other 54 white regiments. Ironically, the equality of treatment in terms of duty and responsibility was greater for post-Civil War black regiments than it was for black army regiments in the first half of the 20th century. Equally ironic, many blacks thought the army a safer place with more opportunity than what civilian life offered them, especially in the South.

The authors hope to correct two misconceptions regarding their subject: that the army itself discriminated against the black regulars, and that they "had become elite units . . . and the most professional, experienced, and effective troops in the service." The bottom line, and it's an important one, that the authors reinforce over and over with specific examples, is that both black and white regiments were treated pretty much the same, and that one group did not out-perform the other. Prejudice did exist against the blacks, but it was on an individual basis and not universal or policy generated. And if life was a combination of the dull, the dangerous, the brave, and the incompetent, it was so for everyone in the army.

The book is a scholarly account but not deadly dull. The authors write clearly and with style. The book is well-annotated, with many of the footnotes presenting further examples or deeper explanations to things mentioned in the text. The book is an excellent reference resource on the subject of the black regulars. Highly recommended.

This book took me back to a time and place I have only seen in my dreams. The descriptions and the family tales are truly exciting, interesting and the stuff western ledends are made of. What a wonderful family history and place. I plan on visiting in the near future.

The current generation of Selman's offer a retreat for birders, outdoors people and horse riders. I am looking forward to my late spring adventure along the Buffalo Creek.

If you are at all interested in natural history, history, the prairie, Oklahoma, or families in general, this is a book you will greatly enjoy. It 's also a beautiful book with generous numbers of great black and white photos. Definitely a "must read."

The Buffalo Creek Chronicles is a team effort, uniting the photographs and commentary of Don House, memoirs by Sue Selman and observations by Gary Lantz focusing on the personal, cultural and natural history of the Selman Ranch, some 16,000 acres of native prairie along Buffalo Creek in northwest Oklahoma.

The ranch dates back to when founder J.O. Selman herded longhorns up from Texas during the 1890s while he accumulated land of his own in the big, unfenced cattle country known as the Cherokee Strip.

J.O., or "Jimmy Few Clothes" as he was called due to the stark poverty that inspired him to join a trail drover crew at age 15, eventually amassed more than 60,000 acres between the North Canadian and Cimarron Rivers. Today Sue Selman's children represent the family's fourth generation to live and work on the ranch.

Lantz and House spent over a year exploring the ranch from every angle-on foot, through the window of a pickup truck, in the saddle, in a wagon pulled by a team of draft horses.

During that time they became acquainted with Selman family history, the sodbusters who lived in dugouts carved into dirt bluffs, pioneers who arrived here in covered wagons, epidemics that swept the countryside, plagues of grasshoppers, cowboys with a taste for whiskey, the last horseback bank robbery in Oklahoma, blizzards, dust storms, droughts. The authors found Indian artifacts and ancient buffalo bones half buried in the banks of Sleeping Bear Creek. They rode with the Selmans as they celebrated their family heritage during a two day longhorn cattle drive held on the ranch. The men dodged rattlesnakes, made the acquaintance of a few porcupines, helped guide hunters from as far away as Buffalo, New York and watched a remnant flock of lesser prairie chickens stage a spring courtship drama that once thundered from every suitable knoll stretching from the Cimarron River sandhills to the rainshadow of the Rockies.

A sampling of some of each can be found in this book, along with Sue Selman's recollections of growing up in the rough `n tumble Buffalo Creek cattle country during the 1950s, a time when little girls learned to rope as well as cope in what was traditionally a man's hard-edged, sunburned world.

This book is about cows, grass and a proud heritage and culture seeking new ways to survive. Fickle cattle markets have prompted Sue and her children to explore nontraditional land use practices, including fee hunting and nature tourism, to keep the family together and the ranch intact.

A special section devoted to Don House's black and white photographs seeks to portray the stark dignity of a landscape that oftentimes unnerves visitors due to the encircling bigness of it all. Capturing he Buffalo Creek country on film is an exercise in interpreting overpowering horizons, a landscape that must be dissected and examined in increments, then somehow visually and philosophically reconnected to grasp the sum of all the parts.

Don's camera examines not just the landscape, but also moments of time and space contained within that landscape. In addition to his contemporary photographs, he has judiciously selected and edited historical pictures that add faces and places to the personalities represented in the text.

The mission of the Buffalo Creek Chronicles was to write the biography of a ranch that continues to defy all odds and exist under the founder's name, along with the people, the plants, the animals and the weather that comprise the character of this particular place on earth. The Buffalo Creek country can have a hard edge to it, and the people must acquire a special toughness to survive here. Yet at the same time this land can be beautiful and brimming with life. The writers hope this book will give readers a new appreciation for not only our rapidly disappearing native grasslands, but also the ranchers who do so much to preserve what little remains

Kenner's book is an excellent narrative which chronicles the actual experiences of the buffalo soldiers and the white officers who served with them. The book is a pleasure to read because it goes beyond the dates and battles, opting instead to recreate their foibles and shortcomings as well as their valor and heroism. It takes a true historian to give the rest of us glimpses into such humanity.

Kenner's book is an excellent narrative which chronicles the actual experiences of the buffalo soldiers and the white officers who served with them. The book is a pleasure to read because it goes beyond the dates and battles, opting instead to recreate their foibles and shortcomings as well as their valor and heroism. It takes a true historian to give the rest of us glimpses into such humanity.

This is an incredible social history placed on the backdrop of the west. When most people think of racial issues in the American west, they think about White settlers vs. Indians on the warpath. Dr. Kenner's book presents a different picture of the West. His book focuses on the world of white calvary officers and their "colored" soldiers. Dr. Kenner talks about issues from the fighting skill of these often forgotten African-American soldiers to interracial dating to homosexuality. This is an incredible story, that no serious historian of the west should ignore.

This book is not only about Charles Goodnight, but it is an excellent source on the history of the Panhandle, especially the settlement of the Palo Duro Canyon. You'll learn about the land, the wildlife, and the men who came to tame them both. It's an excellent biography, and should be required reading for anyone who lives within a hundred mile radius of the Palo Duro canyon.

My first indication this book existed was a chapter, entitled The Making of a Scout, that Ole Hosstail (Joe Austell Small) ran in TRUE WEST magazine back around August, 1966.

Charles Goodnight was many things in the Texas Panhandle, pioneer, ranchman, Indian fighter, homesteader, leader and all around man 'with the bark on. One of the outstanding things he did, among all his other activities, was his work with the Bison (buffalo) saving a herd but also in achieving the 'cattalo' a cross between range cattle and the bison.

This book was already 20 some years old when it crossed my trail, and though I have a good hardcover copy, it is a second printing. But no matter which copy one may have, it is definately a prime source of information and no small classic in its own right.

In September, 2007, the University of Oklahoma will publish a newer biography of Charles Goodnight by William T. Hagan. Though having much fewer pages it will no doubt be worth having on a reader's western shelf as well.

No matter what your western reading interest concerning the west, Charles Goodnight is almost a must read.

Semper Fi.

Being a shirtail relative of Charles Goodnight, Ihave been anxious to learn more of him. My mother was a Goodnight, but not a direct descendant. More like a great-great niece. Would like to here from anyone who may be related. The book is very informative. I have an early copy from about the 1940's.

This dictionary is very well done, albeit a bit complicated, but then the cherokee language can be complicated. The sections on grammer seem very complete.

This book is an excellent book, however the price is rediculous,
it can be puchased at Cherokee Nation Giftshop in OK for under $20.
I know because I am a reader,writer, interpretur, and native speaker of the Cherokee Language. I also am a certified Cherokee
langauge instructor and a full blood. I have taught in SE TN and
my students all purchased this book for their class with me.
I have my father's original brown hardback book from the first
publication. For references, please contact me.
Jessie W Hair
Chattanooga,TN

Having been a student of the Cherokee language for many years, I must go out on a limb... I must say this one book is THE gateway to understanding the sheer complexeties of the Cherokee language. I recomend it to anyone with a sincere desire to learn my mother tongue.

For anyone unfamiliar with the Ol' time cattle drives, this book does a wonderful job enlightening from the point of view of the Ol' Cowboy Cook. I recommend this title to any reader interested in cattle drives

This book is highly recommended for those who follow the arcane art of chuckwagon cooking. Adams displays an excellent, first-hand grasp of the subject and writes with wit and style. Buy it now!

Ramon Adams has an encyclopedic knowledge of the social life of cowboys on the range. In this one of his many books, he describes the role of the chuck wagon cook on the cattle drives and roundups. Adams is a great collector of amusing stories and colorful cowboy slang. If he knows one word for something, he probably knows half a dozen.

The book provides a detailed description of the chuck wagon itself, how it's constructed and its contents organized, how it's cleaned and maintained, who has responsibilities for what. The chuck wagon was both the nerve center and social center of a trail outfit. Besides getting three meals a day, the cowboys also laid out their bedrolls nearby, and the wrangler's remuda of horses was close at hand. In many cases, the cowboys' bedrolls made the trip to the next night's camp in the back of the chuck wagon.

Of most interest to this reader was the actual fare, typically fried meat, beans cooked for many hours, and sourdough biscuits made in Dutch ovens, all washed down with strong coffee. Depending on the talent and disposition of the cook there were also treats and "sweets," such as pies made from dried apples. An outfit depended for morale and productivity on a cook who kept the men well fed and happy. This gave a well-liked cook a tremendous amount of leverage in the all-male hierarchy of tough cowboys. A man who complained about the chuck or didn't respect the cook's camp rules would soon be sorry.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and while I've read extensively about the cowboy West, it taught me a lot I didn't know, and in a very entertaining way. It belongs on anyone's "Lonesome Dove" bookshelf.

What a lovely story of such beautiful times in American culture. Paul you must feel especially blessed that your grandmother captured this portion of your heritage for you to share with your grandchildren. I was fortunate to have a kind neighbor here in Cypress Village, my Florida retirement community, that let me borrow this book. I look forward to vacationing in Tulsa so that I may feel some of the true magic of Oklahoma. This author took me in from page one as if she yelled out "Come in This House right now, its where you belong." Do yourself a favor and read this book. Thank you Helen.

My Grandmother wrote this book and it is great. A true
story of the hardships in Oklahoma- Paul

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. I've passed it all around the nursing home and it has become a favorite among me and my girlfriends. We sometimes have weekly meetings discussing the pro's and con's of living among a rural community in Northern Oklahoma, and this very book is usually the center of our attention. I've both laughed and cried when reading and the unusual scenerios really hit home. Way to go Helen!

For those out there who still refuse to put anything nylon on yer hoss - this is the book for you. In an age when "horse whisperers" dominate the public's view on training their mounts, it's good to still pay attention to the wisdom and insight passed on by men who rode for a living, day in and day out, on green mounts in rough country. Also includes sections on handling a herd, packing, campfire cooking, leather work, saddles, tack, early rodeo, and a few long-forgotten loops for those of you who think you know how to throw a rope! True buckaroos as well as greenhorns will love this book.

This book is like a desktop encyclopedia devoted to nearly everything about the modern-day (1950s) working cowboy. As John Erickson, himself a working cowboy and writer, notes in his foreword, Ward has left us a treasure trove of cowboy know-how mostly passed on by word of mouth and that would have been lost without Ward's writing it down and illustrating it with his meticulous drawings.

There's a bit of history everywhere, as Ward traces the evolution of practices that mark the cowboy work of his day, but mostly he sticks with what he knows from what seems to be first-hand experience - how to braid leather, shoe a horse, throw a rope, make a bed roll. Chapters are devoted to varieties of equipment and cowboy gear. The detail is often amazing, for instance eight full pages devoted to descriptions of 134 different earmarks used in the branding of cattle. And for the noncowboys among readers, there are many little-known facts, like when and why to shoe only the back hooves of horses and why chaps are held together in front by a string instead of a belt.

The volume of information in the book is leavened by the author's conversational style and dry humor. There's a barely suppressed grin in his description of how to pull a cow from a bog, and in describing a pair of fancy chaps he remarks, "Chaps like these make a hundred-dollar bill look like thirty cents if you're going to buy 'em." Thanks to the University of Oklahoma Press for keeping this fine book in print.

TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IF YOU ENJOY COWBOYS THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YO