Oklahoma Books

New in paperback is a college-level reference that is perfect for any serious Native American library: a survey that is the most important place names guide in print. American Indian words define North America: this reference blends history and linguistics with insights from Native speakers across the country, creating a scholarly 'bible' of reference detail key to any comprehensive Native American collection - and now very affordable in its new paperback format.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I had the good fortune of using this book for a seminar paper. Truly, all that can be said is this is the most comprehensive source on Roman comedy you will find anywhere. It is well written and easy to use. Some knowledge of latin is a plus, but not really required. I would recomend this book to anyone looking for serious scholarship on Roman comedy.

This book was a great help for my review for the usmle step 2. It is an easy to read book , not so long and above all not boring at all. On the contrary it was very enjoyable. I would greatly recommend this book.

This book enlightens the reader to major enconimic forces influencing the history of New Mexico while telling the story of the development of the Camino Real through New Mexico and into the United States.

The Nez Perces in the Indian Territory: Nimiipuu Survival tells of the Nimiipuu captivity and deportation after an agreement with federal agents following the Nez Perce war of 1877. Focusing on the tribe's eighty years in exile, the author describes their forced journey and incarceration and provides a powerful record of events - the only comprehensive record of this part of Nez Perce history. Any in-depth college-level Native American collection needs this.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

As the education coordinator for our state's natural heritage program, when we begin developing a "citizen science" survey for box turtles, this was book that guided us. I have worked with interpretation programs for native animals for almost 25 years, and this is the best book I have ever used for detailed natural history about a particular animal. Dodd combines very solid science with a humanistic and practical approach. His text is very readable and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the turtles -- but I caution you -- once you begin reading this, you will quickly understand this is NOT a guide to keeping box turtles as pets, and in fact, Dodd details a variety of reasons why they do NOT MAKE GOOD PETS. PLEASE do NOT REMOVE BOX TURTLES FROM THE WILD! This book will give you guidance as to how to better enjoy the turltes you may see in the wild, and a true appreciation of the species.

This fascinating overview of Cherokee history and culture describes the social, political, and spiritual life of a sophisticated and multi-faceted people. The book focuses mostly on the centuries before the Cherokees' forced migration from their Smoky Mountain homeland to an area that is now Oklahoma.

The book debunks a lot of myths about Native Americans. For example, contrary to the stereotype of the much-abused Indian "squaw" as a virtual slave to her menfolk, Cherokee women were equal to men. They had their own traditional role in society, but they enjoyed a lot of freedom and played a major role in their villages' decision-making. Women, not men, owned a family's home and almost all other property. Some women even hunted for meat and fought in wars, and were revered for doing so.

One chapter is devoted to the history of interactions with European settlers and the United States government. More than any other North American tribe, Cherokees outwardly adapted their ways in order to live alongside whites, while still holding onto the traditions that mattered most to them. They developed a written version of their spoken language, achieved a literacy rate far beyond that of their European counterparts, and published a bilingual newspaper to keep their citizens informed of the issues that affected them. They lived in settled communities and in mountain cabins. They raised livestock and planted corn. Even their white neighbors considered the Cherokee to be one of the "civilized tribes."

In the end, their efforts to adapt to the increasingly dominant European culture did not matter. In the 1830s, the Cherokee were thrown off the land of their ancestors and forcibly moved West. This book brings home the poignancy and outrageousness of their plight; at the same time, it inspires awe in the innovation and resiliency of the Cherokee people.

This impressive reference covers much of what is currently known about the natural history of the genera Nerodia, Regina and Seminatrix in North America -- collectively referred to as "watersnakes" because of their common habitat. It does not include semiaquatic snakes found near or in water that are not dependent on wetland habitat for food and protection.

Range maps down to the county level are provided for each species covered in the text, including sources of distribution records. The cumulative range for the three genera includes 38 U.S. states, one Candian province, Cuba and 11 Mexican states.

Drawn from their own studies and nearly 1,800 references, authors J. Whitfield Gibbons and Michael E. Dorcas cover every aspect of watersnake natural history, from evolution and fossil records to reproduction, predation, captive maintenance and conservation efforts. They also discuss research questions, hypotheses and opportunities associated with each species.

Gibbons is a professor of Ecology at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab and author of Their Blood Runs Cold: Adventures With Reptiles and Amphibians. Dorcas is an associate professor of biology at Davidson College in North Carolina.

The late Richard G. Condon was an anthropologist at the University of Arkansas and had a long association with the community of Holman in the Western Arctic. In this book, he and his local assistant Julia Ogina have given us an authoritative history of the Ulukhaktomiut (people of the Holman area) from prehistoric times to the present day.

What makes this book unique is the extensive interviews which Rick and Julia conducted with the Holman elders, in an attempt to record their memories and stories of long ago. Many of these interviews have been recorded in this book, with the result that we get a unique view of the development of the Holman area 'from both sides'; that is to say, utilising not only the records of European explorers but also the memories of the local inhabitants.

The book includes many photographs covering a time period from the days of Stefannson and Diamond Jenness (in the early years of the 20th century) through to the mid-1990's. Every effort has been made to identify the Inuit who are the subjects of these photographs.

As a former resident of Holman (I served as its Anglican minister from 1988-91), I found this book both accurate and enjoyable to read. My only regret is that Rick Condon's untimely death has brought his research in the area to an end.

Steele Commager was my Latin professor at Columbia. While his courses in Vergil and Ovid were brilliant and thoughtful, his real contribution to our understanding of the classics was his interpretation of Horace.