Oklahoma Books

I loved the Fort Larned Incident, as I have loved all of the previous Tay Bodal mysteries. Ms. Medawar not only infuses these novels with her keen sense of history and tells the story through the viewpoint of a great quirky protagonis, she also makes all of her secondary characters so real you feel like you know them personally. This was a terrific mystery and I never even came close to guessing whodunit. Actually, I wasn't that anxious to find out because I wanted the book to go on and on. Of course, I want time to stand still while the characters play out their dramas, since Tay Bodal lets us know what ultimately happened to his loved ones, friends, and enemies later on. I am not at all anxious to get to that part of history. I like to think these folks maintain their independence and strength forever, as none of us really manage to do. Unlike some of the smug and savvy current day detectives, Tay Bodal isn't sure of anybody. As well as he knows these people of the Rattle Band and as closely as he lives with them, he never quite has anyone figured out completely, least of all his wife Crying Wind or even his best friend Skywalker. This adds that very realistic human mystery that makes each character, as well as each plot, fascinating. Much as I hate for history to roll on, I sure hope Ms. Medawar has another Tay Bodal story in the works now. I miss him and the Rattle Band already.

Just before the ten-year war between the Kiowa Nation and the US Army, the tribe tried to make peace with the whites. The Indians traveled to Ft. Larned, Oklahoma, the site of the first Bureau of Indian Affairs, for a peace celebration. While the tribesmen waited for their supplies, fighting and tribal conflict continued. Three Elks, son of the chief, is killed and the powerful Skywalker asks Tay-Bodal to determine who is the murderer.

Tay-Bodal has solved three previous tribal homicides. He agrees to uncover the killer's identity, but becomes very reluctant when he learns White Bear is the prime suspect. Tay-Bodal is having marital troubles; White Bear is trying to court his spouse. While Tay-Bodal investigates the crime, someone else almost loses her life.

THE FT. LARNED INCIDENT is a rich exciting historical mystery that places as much emphasis on the period as it does on the investigation. Readers see how the Kiowa lived, loved, and related to one another over a century ago. In his fourth appearance, Tay-Bodal retains his fascination because he believes he is just an ordinary guy even though he performs heroic feats when necessary. Fans will anxiously await the next entry in Mardi Oakley Medawar's wonderful Americana fictional series.

Harriet Klausner

It may be that what doomed the Tay-bodal series was the attempt to straddle three genres--mystery, American Indian, and historical. But if you haven't tried these offbeat mystery novels, you are missing a unique experience.

Kiowa healer Tay-bodal moves among the great figures of the most famous moment in the tribe's history, the period of Satanta and Satank and the beginnings of the reservation system. He is a traditional herbalist with a probing and inquiring mind, as open to white medicinal practice as he is to the more spiritualist methods of other Kiowa healers.

Each of the Tay-bodal stories hinges on a crime that has serious community implications for the tribe, and in each, Tay-bodal finds a solution through a combination of logic and action adventure. And the stories are linked together by the development of Tay-bodal's personal life.

In this, probably final, book in the series, Medawar does something daring and touching, casting the entire book as a reminiscence of her hero, deep in his old age. The device works, as the plot involves reconsidering a crime supposedly solved decades ago. As the book ends, the old man has lost most of what mattered to him. Losing him is our loss, as well.

This and the first book, *Death at Rainy Mountain*, are the best in the series.

I enjoy reading American military history, from works in the easy-going oral history tradition of Stephen Ambrose, to the much more detailed multi-volume histories by such authors as Bruce Catton and S.E. Morrison. In the course of my reading, I came to realize there were huge gaps in my understanding of what life was like for the typical serviceman in the Second World War. Though I'd learned a great deal about the US serviceman, a lot of what I thought I knew was based on assumptions, logical deductions, or was limited to writings about combat experiences alone. I'd not read much about what the whole experience of life in in the wartime armed services was like, from induction to discharge. What was the process that turned the ordinary mechanic or factory worker into a soldier, able to put his life on the line when his whole life lay before him? I'm in the process of remedying those gaps in my understanding, and the first work I chose was Lee Kennett's "G.I."

Kennett has produced a fine work for the general reader with a working knowledge of World War II history who wants to know what it was like the be drafted and absorbed in the US Army. It's not an exhaustive account of the life of a soldier, yet it isn't a lighthearted dance down memory lane, either. Kennett admits it is impossible to pin down an "average" soldier of the period, simply because the army was made up almost exclusively of draftees (an example of something I did not know), reflecting the diversity of the society they were drawn from. Instead, he seeks to show us typical soldiers, with sprinklings from the extremes, and he does an admirable job. He begins with a hstory of the draft and how it worked to draw in selectees. Then he continues along a logical, sequential review of how a civillian became a soldier (and he goes to some pains to point out the typical soldier felt he was in the service, but not truly a part of it as the old Regulars were -- civillians at heart). Then he takes us through his training and actual combat experiences. He makes extensive reference to personal interviews and personal letters, as well as government documents, presenting two views of a given subject.

Kennett's work is thorough and generally well-written in an easy-going style (he has a few stylistic habits I found annoying and pretentious). Anyone who is familiar with the classic "Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb" studies of the lives of Civil War soldiers will find a somewhat less detailed though similar style in this book. My own personal military history is limited to peacetime service in the Navy, but Kennett has shown that some habits and feelings among servicemen are universal across braanches and long spans of time. I was particularly impressed at how similar Civil War soldiers were to World War II soldiers in how they regarded rank, obedience to military rules, and sense of being in the service, not of it.

This is a very good, well-written and researched overview of life in the US Army during WWII. It walks a nice balance brevity and detail (I personally wish he had written at much greater length, but that's just me), perfect for a general reader. He doesn't write with the passion of the brilliant but often cynical Paul Fussell in his essays on WWII soldiers and combat, but he gives a good place for the interested reader to start.

A final note: In deciding to buy this book, I was very put-off by the cartoonish artwork on the cover. It suggested a juvenile, romantic, "GI Joe" book. I think the publisher did the book a misservice here, but don't let it cloud your decision. The old saying, "You can't tell a book by its cover" is literally true here.

...but I'm happy, because I've read my original copy (purchased 15 years ago) to tatters. This should be a fascinating book for general readers and serious World War II buffs alike. It recounts various experiences of American GIs from induction through boot camp and battle to liberation and victory. The book is well-researched and chock-full of interesting anecdotes. I highly recommend it.

This book is a true must have for anyone interested in what a GI went through in preparation for WWII. Kennett covers such topics as the draft, boot camp, combat, discharge and even the emotional and mental states of the GI. Such details as what kind of food the GIs ate and how they stacked up as soldiers against the Axis powers is provided.

This book would really make an excellent companion or first read for anyone interested in the WWII genere.

This biography truly reveals the man behind the myth. Geronimo has had a reputation as either a bloodthirsty, pitiless scalp hunter (the conservative view), or as a divinely-guided leader trying desperately to save his people from destruction (the romantic view). Both of these are partially correct, but neither gives any indication of Geronimo as a human being, and that's what Debo does ably in this book. Debo compiles all the information available to give an impressively detailed portrait of the man's life, and uncovers many aspects of his personality, both good and bad. So we get the predicted praise for his bravery and honesty; but the author is not afraid to criticize his ill temper, vindictiveness, and lack of eloquence.

While the focus remains on Geronimo himself, this book also serves as an informative history of the final days of Apache independence. Many interesting characters are covered in a good amount of detail when Geronimo is absent from the narrative, like Victorio, Loco, Chihuahua, Kaywaykla, Naiche (my personal favorite) and even the white generals Crook and Howard. There is ample coverage of the tribe's post-glory days when they were imprisoned on various disagreeable reservations, and the depressing consequences of the loss of their culture and the deaths of many tribe members from disease. The only flaws in this book are Debo's criticism of previous information sources as inaccurate (they were, but the author's criticism is often arrogant), and a rather sappy, overly sentimental writing style.

Ms. Debo has presented a complete analysis of the man Geronimo, from both sides of the Apache conflict. She deals with the prejedice of the day as well as the myths and legends of the time. I was well informed by her conclusions and believe the concepts she presented were both truthful and informative.

Books commonly do not live up to the hype they receive, so when I read comments about this one being, "the only definitive book on this notable Indian" and others to that effect, I was initially skeptical. Then I read the book and found myself agreeing with the praise heaped on it, for Debo did indeed write a balanced and readable account of both Geronimo and the Apache, not to mention various parties from the U.S.A. who dealt with them (such as those in the Department of the Interior or army figures such as General Crook or Britton Davis), all based on years of careful research, personal interviews and extensive correspondance. The result is a book that gives a little of everything pertaining to Apache life in general and Geronimo and his contemporaries in particular. She writes with interest about past Apache history, Apache customs (such as the Dance of the Mountain Spirits), geographical distribution of various factions within the tribe, and the lives of those associated with Geronimo such as Cochise, Mangas Coloradas, Victorio, his wives, his sisters, Naiche, Nana, or Loco, to name but a few. Moreover, she writes of the division of opinion and lifestyle within the Apache themselves with respect to living on reservations and raiding. The raiding and killing done by Geronimo and other Apache hostiles, coupled with the duplicity and injustice of the U.S. government, ultimately brought disaster on many of the peaceful, productive Apache. The years of imprisonment and exile following Geronimo's capture show the great forbearance of the Apache, along with the difficulties faced by all parties in trying to preserve the Apache way of life while at the same time trying to become incorporated into mainstream American society.

Geronimo himself is treated fairly and shown in all his complexities. The reader is neither given the hero worship type biography nor the spiteful villain approach, but rather a temperate account of a strong, courageous, independent, yet flawed human who both fought for his people and yet brought disaster to them as well. As such, the man's humanity is revealed: his kindness to children and relatives, his good work ethic (even in old age), his fidelity to justice as he saw it, his courage in battle, his deeply religious nature, and willingness to endure hardship are just as evident as are his hatred towards Mexicans, weakness for alcohol, and willingness to murder and steal. Photographs are liberally sprinkled throughout the text, providing excellent visual aids.

I found Debo's writing to be neither overly sentimental nor dry as dust. She obviously took great interest in her subject and from time to time placed personal comments in the text or footnotes which give the reader the feeling that they are receiving a STORY and not merely a dry academic treatise. This is definitely a five-star book and I read it with great interest.

This book is part two to Season of Yellow Leaf. It focuses on a fictional Quanah Parker and his relationship with an ex-Confederate soldier who now works for the local agency and Fort. Kwahadi (Quanah) frequently comes across as a bit too mysterious and all-knowing. All in all, it was a great story. It's not all action and some parts are more exciting than others. I do recommend this book, but I believe that in order to get the most out of it, you should read Season of Yellow Leaf first. Although each book can stand on its own, there are several characters continued from the first book and you will be able to see how they evolved.

This marvelous story focuses on Liverpool Morgan, a simple but very literate former Confederate army man who, after the Civil War, works for the Indian Agency and the army in Oklahoma Territory. His friendship with the Commanche tribe and its intelligent, perceptive chief, who are struggling to adapt to the world of the white man and the disappearance of their world in just a few decades, is wonderfully told. It's really a classic and must be based on true stories of this frontier.

I can't believe a book as great as this one can be out of print. I am not a big fan of westerns and before I read this book and its predecessor, The Season of Yellow Leaf, I did not have much of an interest in Native Americans. These two books absolutely captivated me, however. I am no expert, but both of these books seem very authentic and believable. The culture of the Commanches is fascinating, and the characters are complex and easy to relate to. This is not a book without flaws. For example, Jones is not always 100% consistent in his views of the Commanches and the white settlers. This is a very ambitious work, however, and its small flaws are easily forgivable. This book comes very close to being a masterpiece of American Literature and it will change the way you think about Native Americans forever.

This book was interesting for a number of reasons, but it is not a "hunting book". If you want sheep hunting stories and tactics look elsewhere. The book discusses the various sheep species of the world in a easy to read but scientific manner. Also included is some interesting historical details of the mountainour regions these sheep inhabit. If you are thinking about sheep hunting internationally this would be a great (but a little outdated) read.

As an owner of many domestic horned sheep, which are descended from the wild sheep described in the book, I found this book fascinating especially the attention paid to horn type, growth and comparisons between subspecies. It serves as a great foundation as I continually learn to understand and improve my flock.

Although published in 1964,this is perhaps the most complete work on wild sheep avaliable to the layman.Written in an easy read style, this work is full of stories of old hunts and the trials of old hunters.I find myself coming back to it time after time......

A fine book with plenty of research to back it up. However, I must point out the book's glaring error - the Cascades Indian tribe is *not* extinct. Many descendants still live on in the Yakama and Warm Springs reservations and in the Columbia River Gorge.

This is not a book that can be read in any linear fashion. For the average lay reader it is primarily useful for the wonderful black-and-white photographs of members of almost every one of the 150 tribes described. And if you want to attend a special event of a particular tribe, the book will have that too. Otherwise, after 10 pages of straight reading, I was just overwhelmed with facts, figures and details, plus locations for which there was no corresponding map in the book, a real detriment, I think. Yes, there is a map showing the areas that the various tribes inhabited, but with no relation to present day locations at all. For the Pacific Northwest Indian student, this should definitely take a place on bookshelves as a reference tool. But for average folk, perhaps one of the many suggested readings would be more appropriate. A great overall encyclopedia of the tribes.

Dr. Robert Ruby has done comprehensive research on our heritage.

He and John Brown are the most neglected historians of our time.

Do yourself a favor.

Get to know this author!

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I expected it to be just a "thin" myth-busting account of gunfighters but it is actually a beautifully written account of the western culture from which gunfighters appeared. It is extremely well-written and anyone who is interested in the West should enjoy it immensely. As a professional photographer, I have had a fascination with ghost towns of the West since the late 1960s and this book has greatly increased my understanding of those towns in their heydays. Surprisingly, the book doesn't really spend too much time on gunfighting itself. I found another review here to be a bit baffling when it says that the book goes into endless details about who shot whom, where they were shot, which gun they used, etc. I have to wonder if they actually read the book because that's not a good description of it at all. This book doesn't glorify or demonize gunfighters. It explores the culture that produced gunfighters. It puts them into the context of their times and, as such, is a wonderful historical account of the West itself, not just gunfighters. Being a voracious reader, I can say that this book was a complete surprise to me. Rosa is an outstanding and insightful author. It's ironic that an Englishman was able to best put western culture into context. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history even if they have no interest in gunfighters.

This book is actually very useful. Besides relating dozens of stories of real gunfights the author acutally gets inside the head of the gunfighter and tries to figure out what made him tick. The reader learns for example that it usually wasn't who drew the fastest that won the gunfight but rather who had the greater nerve and time enough to aim.
It's also amazing just how many shots were fired in the typical gun fight. And how many of those shots usually missed their mark. A testiment to just how much nerve and steadiness entered into the equation. I found the details such as where bullets hit and what types of guns mankillers preferred and why to be invaluable.
I highly recommend this book. It's a good read with lots of information that's been compiled with hundreds of footnoted sources.

Only one returns. At least, that's the way it always used to be on Saturday afternoons at the movies here in Marblehead, Mass. about half a century ago. Television kept the tradition going a bit longer, and then there was Clint Eastwood. Yup. Nope. Well, it turns out that all this was pure mythology. Joseph Rosa did some excellent research back in the 1960s and came up with the ultimate book on the subject of guns and gunfighting in the Old West. Despite Hollywood, most of those gunfighting heroes, were, not to put too fine a point on it, pathological killers. If they lived, it was because they didn't hesitate to kill in situations where they felt threatened. Men with some qualms about taking human life usually lost their own. Fast draws ? Showdowns in the main street lined with those hitchin' posts and false fronted saloons ? Forget it, that almost never happened. Still, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and many others whose names are written in American legend did exist. Perhaps the reality was neither as pretty or as irreproachable as the legend. They often consorted with the bad guys and definitely with ladies of ill-repute.

If you happen to be interested in the 19th century development and manufacture of various brands of pistol, THE GUNFIGHTER is certainly your book. It's all in here. You can also read countless stories of the many gunfighters, lawmen, and semi-heroes who fought (and usually died) in the bad old days. Gunfighting cowboys or sheriffs over 30 must have been a rarity. Of course, nobody had heard of testosterone in those days. Gunfighters appeared in the cattle towns in Kansas, in mining towns like Tombstone, and wherever cattle barons clashed with settlers. Rosa concentrates on Kansas and Texas, but the phenomenon existed all over. I feel that Rosa got lost in a galaxy of details. He can and does tell you the story of a hundred famous gunfights, of who killed whom, in what part of the body he was shot, and with what weapon. What is missing is a wider view of history, any connection to the rest of the world or the rest of America. He frequently compares the reality to the movies and dime novel fantasies, which I appreciated very much, but he cannot seem to decide whether he is a local historian or one who wants to put the whole subject in the context of American history and culture. THE GUNFIGHTER falls between the cracks. Anyhow, if the topic interests you, I doubt if you can afford to ignore Rosa's work.

It's handy, easy to use and authoritative enough to be recommended by professors for the purpose of rapid reading. For in-depth study or a more authoritative translation, use Cunliffe.

Having been a student of Greek for five years, and having used other dictionaries, I find that this one is the best and easiest for Homer. It suits the needs of both the beginner and the more advanced. I must also praise the illuminating pictures. Well worth the money!

Autenrieth's major problem is that the entries are incomplete and lack morphological information; gender, for example, is not given for nouns. Definitions are often superficial and incomplete, and odd forms are words are often not glossed or cross-referenced.

This is useful if you already know Homeric greek, and need only occasional promptings. If you're still a student (undergraduate or graduate), spend the extra cash and get Cunliffe. You really won't regret it.

This is okay for speed/incomplete reading, as the other reviewers suggest, but it is not in any way an authoritative text.

Different, different, different. This book moved at an extraordinary fast pace. One moment you are witnessing Pearline's physical abuse then two pages later she is pregnant with twins by another man that she now proclaims to love.

If you are looking for a book with a lot of action, drama and suspense, I don't recommend this novel. I found this book to be very superficial. There really was not substance to this book. I finished the book, but I kept wanting for something to happen. Maybe that is the affect Ms. Thomas was trying to achieve. This book was definitely different.

Ms. Thomas is an excellent storyteller, who gives her characters strong voices and identities.

"House of Light" deals with many issues from spousal abuse, interracial relationship, African American women coming together to form an alliance against the treatment they receive from their employers and much more.

Abyssinia's heartfelt situation at the end will have you crying. I enjoyed reading "House of Lights". I highly recommend "House of Lights" to book clubs, schools reading lists and libraries.

I found Ms. Thomas' writing entirely unplifting and above all, hopeful. Her prose gives the reader examplesof how undconditional love can change the soul. Upon reading this book I immediately felt my spirits lighten. I realized the important themes she touched upon: community, healing, patience with one's self and progression, spirituality, and above all, unconditional love. The focal character, Abby, the doctor/healer/spiritual & community guide extrordinaire I found to be almost otherwordly in her talent, insight and giving attitude, and a character I enjoyed wholeheartedly. Discovering the twists and turns of her personality and how she touched the other main characters kept me enthralled to the last page. I also enjoyed the reocurring theme of music and its healing powers interwoven throughout. I would have liked to read more about Zenobia and her musical gifts. I haven't been uplifted by a book to this extent in quite some time, I felt an obligation to share this with other readers.

Bud Wilkinson's name isn't mentioned with college football coaching legends like Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, Paul 'Bear' Bryant, Woody Hayes, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner or Tom Osborne, but it should be. Wilkinson became a head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners in 1947 at the young age of 31. Seventeen years later he retired from coaching in 1963 at age 47 after winning three national titles in 1950,1955, and 1956.

Along with the titles, his coaching career included one win streak of 31 games and another spanning over four years at a record-holding 47 games. (So, how does won go on a 47-game winning streak and only win two national titles? The answer is in the book.) At one point Wilkinson's win/loss record stood at a incredible 94-5-2 over 101 games - a feat that will never be duplicated.

'I Remember Bud Wilkinson' isn't a book about Bud Wilkinson's life as told by the author. Instead the story of Wilkinson's life is told by the people who knew him throughout his life. Included are comments from notable names such as Curt Gowdy, Keith Jackson, Barry Switzer, Jim Hart, and Ara Parseghian.

The first part of the book contains stories from coaches and players during his career at Oklahoma. We are treated with several anecdotes about Wilkinson's coaching philosophy from how he handled his players to how he organized his practices. The stories give the reader a good idea of who Bud Wilkinson was as a person and how he developed the Sooners into the stuff of legend. At times, the stories are inspiring and may serve as guidance to young people - I realize this sounds a bit corny - on how to conduct themselves.

The stories after Wilkinson retired from coaching and became a broadcaster tend to be more light-hearted. You're treated to a different side of Wilkinson and simultaneously what the early days in college football broadcasting were like.

Some of the better ones include:

* Keith Jackson recalling an experience when Bear Bryant was to assist in a broadcast. Bryant showed up 'pretty well greased', commented very little and eventually ended up nodding off while Wilkinson was forced to work him in and out of the broadcast.
* Barry Switzer telling a story about how Wilkinson spent the night in a hotel room serving drinks to Woody Hayes, Bob Devaney, Bear Bryant, and Duffy Daugherty.
* How a television cue mix-up lead to the Air Force Falcon flying off before the broadcast started. How another mistake left Wilkinson and fellow broadcaster Chris Schenkel shouting over the top of a marching band at the beginning of the first Peach Bowl broadcast.

The last part of the book deals with Wilkinson's two-year with the St Louis Cardinals as a NFL head coach. Stories here relate why Wilkinson failed, how the Cardinals were run as an organization. The end of the book includes "In His Own Words" - which weren't nearly as interesting as the other stories throughout the book. The book then concludes with a history of Wilkinson's win/loss record throughout his career.

'I Remember Bud Wilkinson' is a pretty fun read. It's also an easy read. The stories are interesting whether they're about football, broadcasting or Wilkinson's short-lived NFL career. You get a full view of his life and an understanding of the world in which he lived. The book isn't just for Oklahoma Sooners fans - it's for anyone who would like to know more about college football history and one of the greatest unsung coaches to shape the game.

I have always had great respect for Bud Wilkinson as a football coach and as a leader of men, I did not need to read a book where everyone who speaks of him lauds him needlessly and dumps sugar all over his legacy. I read "The Undefeated" by Jim Dent. It was all about Coach Wilkinson and his fabled OU football program. THAT, was a brutally honest account of the REAL Bud Wilkinson. I DO want to read about the real man that Coach Wilkinson was, not some perfect "god". I have total respect for Coach Wilkinson, no matter what human imperfections he may have had. I did enjoy "I Remember Bud Wilkinson", but it was WAY too candy-coated. If you're looking for an HONEST portrait of Coach Wilkinson, you won't find it in this book.

It is a fun book to read because it tells the reader how Bud Wilkinson was a football coach for young men that only players on so many other teams could only dream about. Bud Wilkinson was a coach who enjoyed the game and enjoyed practice aand he let his players do the same!