Oklahoma Books

Former Secret Service agent Alex Stone was the best of the best, so impersonating missing foreign dignitary Thomas Barde seemed easy. Convincing the world that rough-and-rowdy Melusine Brand was actually Katerina, Thomas's ultrafeminine bride and the president of Tantilla's beloved daughter, was another story. And while Alex was no stranger to difficult assignments, hiding his history with Melusine bordered on impossible.

Physically, Melusine could have been Katerina's twin, but the resemblance ended there -- something Alex was grateful for when their simple plan turned dangerous. As they tangled with terrorists in the Texas desert, Alex wondered not only whether a future without Melusine was worth living, but would they survive to see any future at all?

This volume contains eight of Lysias's most famous orations, in their original ancient Greek, without translation into English. It begins with Lysias's denunciation of Eratosthenes, one of the thirty tyrants who briefly ruled Athens in 404-403 BC, and concludes with Lysias's speech on the Athenian Constitution, in which he opposed restricting the vote to owners of real estate. Charles Darwin Adams, the editor of this volume and professor of Greek at Dartmouth, provides a thorough introduction, as well as notes on the texts of the speeches, a chronological history of the fifth century BC, discussions of Athenian legal procedures & economy, and detailed account of the rhetorical terms and usages.

THE BOOK WAS A EASY READ FOR MY SECOND GRADER AND IT WAS ENOUGH FOR HER TO DO A GOOD BOOK REPORT

Popularly known as 'Black Seminoles', American Seminole freedmen have a long history of oppression and have long been assigned a label which denies them cultural distinctions. They have had many misconceptions of their shared historical relationship with Africans s: THE SEMINOLE FREEDMAN: A HISTORY argues that Seminole freedmen are neither Seminoles, Africans or 'black Indians', proposing they are descendent who inhabit a unique cultural and racial category. Chapters build upon this concept and provide not only a unique historical review, but an analysis essential to any college-level collection strong in Native American studies.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I really enjoyed reading and looking at all the craft projects. Very nice photos and easy to read instructions. A must have to every sewing/embroidery person's collection.

Sexual Culture In Ancient Greece adds to the university's series in classical culture, but stands well alone as a college-level survey of early religious and sexual culture in ancient Greece. Art from the earliest periods accompanies a discussion of nine successive stages of Greek sexual culture, using passages from Biblical, Near Eastern and Greek literature to trace ideas of sexual culture in regional civilizations. The only comprehensive survey of Greek sexual culture.

With sometimes wry humor, Raymond Stedman shows us one shameful stereotype of American Indians after another, and makes one realize how these images have become engraved on our subconscious in films, novels, and sports mascots. From bloodthirsty savages to noble creatures of nature, impossibly muscular warriors to nubile, nearly-naked maidens, Indians have never been depicted as ordinary human beings with the same feelings we all share. This book should be on reading lists in schools everywhere!

I come from the area where Shanghai lived and reigned. I even lived in Pierce, Tx for a while. I think that anyone who is interested in Texas history and Cowboys will find this a must read. I have stood by his grave many a time through out the years and wondered about him. This book answers many of those questions. A larger than life person!

There are those who revere a past where western heroes ride tall. If so, they are forewarned as the author dismantles the celebrated frontier reputations of Chris Madsen, E. D. Nix, and Bill Tilghman. Heck Thomas is left unscathed. Some may feel the author's unyielding stance is a tacit admission that she is arguing rather than proving her premise but they would be wrong as this is a well documented book derived, in the main, from original sources.

Samuelson offers the proposition that the early transgressions of Madsen and Tilghman in particular were harbingers of their misbehavior in Oklahoma Territory. A misspent youth isn't always a predictor of a misspent adulthood yet the author makes a good case to the contrary. The guardsmen's early deeds and misdeeds coupled with names, places, and dates does complicate Samuleson's narrative. Her task is eased somewhat when the subjects' lives converge in Oklahoma Territory where their primary focus settles on the Oklahoma outlaws. Samuleson illuminates various incidents from that time period and matches legend against fact and myth against truth.

Nix was a venal U. S. Marshal who hired scores of incompetent relatives and associates. He also hired some lawmen including the guardsmen to help police Oklahoma Territory. Complaints soon surfaced about drunken officers and their illegal seizures of property. An audit of Nix's office disclosed, among other things, that he was forging and/or inflating expense vouchers and discounting fake vouchers to banks for cash. Nix later wrote a popular book extolling his Oklahoma experiences wherein he often claimed as his own the accomplishments of other enforcement agencies.

Madsen's assertions that he fought in foreign wars with the Danish army and the French Foreign Legion were false. In contrast, he did spend considerable time in Danish jails because of forgeries and frauds. He was deported as an undesirable and came to the United States. Madsen joined the U. S. army, served six months in a Wyoming prison, lied about his Rough Rider experiences, and continued romanticizing and embellishing his phantom exploits, including those in Oklahoma, until his death at 92 years.

Heck Thomas was a policeman, trail driver, express man, and bounty hunter before being appointed deputy U. S. Marshal for the Indian Territory. He was an excellent deputy and arrested scores of violators. If Thomas had one fault it was a fiery temper which led him into trouble at inappropriate times. He was quick to use a billy club or firearm and engaged in several shoot outs .

Tilghman's claim to fame as the "outstanding lawman on the frontier" was promoted by Outlaw Days (1926) and Marshal of the Last Frontier (1949) written by his widow Zoe Tilghman. Frontier myths have a life of their own and Tilghman's were no exception as they were passed on by succeeding writers who based much of their narratives on Zoe's loving but somewhat mythic information.

Tilghman led a checkered life in Kansas . He served as a lawmen yet had earlier joined with known thieves to steal scores of horses from protected Indian lands. He also sold whiskey and guns to Indians. The author regards Tilghman and his associates' illegal actions as a major cause of the Red River War of 1874-75. Tilghman hadn't altered his wayward ways decades later as he was arrested six times in Oklahoma for running bawdy houses and consorting with prostitutes, and at least nine times for illegal gambling. His job as Sheriff of Lincoln County, Oklahoma, was clouded by minor scandals and issues of impropriety, a consequence of his advanced age and diminished future.

Samuelson carefully examines the 1924 shooting death of Tilghman in Cromwell, OK, by Wiley Lynn, a Federal Prohibition Officer. She raises the specter of "Special Officer" Tilghman as a pay-off man for the Governor and uncovers troubling questions. Why was Tilghman in a notorious place late at night sitting with the owner, a known lawbreaker? Was Tilghman a protector for the night spot? Was Tilghman, who didn't like Wiley, waiting to confront him? Why did Wiley Lynn have a night time search warrant for that particular place to be served at that particular time? Was Lynn as corrupt an officer as other writers have portrayed him?

The author doesn't provide answers to all these questions leaving it up to the reader to be the judge. What is clear is that Lynn's and Tilghman's careers came to an end on that fateful evening in Cromwell. Two men: one young, brash, and destined to die within a few years; the other aged, physically ill, and ensnared by his past. Tilghman the possessor of clay feet became a legend when he died on that dusty street.

These celebrated Oklahoma lawmen may have lacked firmness of character when in positions of power. They may have faltered occasionally when crucial decisions had to be made. However, on most occasions they acted with assurance and celerity, rarely allowing themselves the burden of doubt. This is an admirable trait in the right place at the right time. According to the author, the right places were few and far between. Some will argue the guardsmen were victims of circumstances that few of us will ever experience; that they shouldn't be judged for indiscretions precipitated by exigent circumstances and that their hallowed status as myths should remain untarnished. The author would probably describe those so inclined as failing to grasp reality by clinging so fiercely to the past.

The book's title may prove confusing unless one is familiar with the subject. A list of photographs and documents would have been helpful along with additional maps. Each chapter should have had related end notes rather than being grouped together at the rear of the book. The appendix contains thorough and useful genealogical information on all four subjects. Excellent information is contained in the author's notes. The source material Samuelson examined is quite impressive.

This is an admirable addition to book collections of frontier lawman and outlaw histories.

Simon Says by Molly Levite Griffis is the last of a 3 book series. The book, though fictional, gives a very accurate historical view of what it was like growing up during the WWII era. Although this is a crossover book for tween and young teenaged children, as an adult I too enjoyed the reading of this book for the historical value. There are not that many folks left who can tell us how it felt living in that generation and what is was like as a child especially growning up during this time. The book is not only educational but funny and an entertaining read! Molly is a wonderful story teller!!!