South Dakota Books

Thomas McCollum's Palmer Lake is a disturbing novel offering a glimpse of where the near future just might lead. A wealthy man commits suicide, and his body is cryogenically preserved - but when some question of whether or not he was murdered arises, advances in cryogenic technology imply that he just might be revived to name his killer! Palmer Lake is truly compelling saga of lies, deceit, money, and power.

McCollum has written a good story that keeps you in suspense until the very end. It's a little far-fetched perhaps, but who would have believed cloning a sheep was possible 20 years ago either. I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to combine a little sciene with suspense.

I'd call the book okay, but not much more. There is basically an interesting story plot, but the characters mostly seem artificial and wooden (couldn't use frozen could I?) If it weren't a local guy, I would have passed on it

Palmer Lake is a real page-turner. Author Thomas McCollum combines an extensive knowledge of cryonics with an imaginative and captivating plot. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. Highly recommended for fans of suspense, mystery, thrillers...and anyone who loves a pulse-racing story

This book grips you right from the beginning, with a tense scene that got me hooked before I had even flipped through the fist few pages. After that them mystery and suspense keeps building. It was one book that was hard to put down and easy to keep reading - in fact it was hard to do anything else BUT read it until I finally finished it.

It is hard to classify this book. It has elements of mystery, sci-fi, and adventure. Love and suspense. Something for everyone and a book just about everyone is going to enjoy. A must-be book, as far as I'm concerned.

This book has a sheer raw gripping power that takes hold of you, drags you in and under, into a world that seems absolutely alien to middle-class Whites like myself. It lets you peek over the shoulder and into the mindset of Rudy, a middle-aged tribal cop on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Unfortunately, it does so in a language whose pubertal vulgarity doesn't quite fit a man in his 40s.

While the book has passages that I find hauntingly beautiful (the Deer People, to name just one), it also has a fair share of redundancies, suffers from an overuse of adjectives and - most of all - from a point-of-view that oscillates wildly between third person limited and third person omniscient. I often found myself wondering whose eyes I was looking through, so to speak: Rudy's as an adult? Rudy's as a teenager? Somebody else's? Whose?

Inspite of its shortcomings, I very much enjoyed "Skins". Louis is a talented storyteller. He deserves - needs - a better editor, though!

Poet, short story writer, and former journalist, Adrian Louis presents a harshly comic vision of Indian life in this novel set on the Pine Ridge Reservation in southwest South Dakota. He immerses the reader in a compelling mix of Indian and white cultures and the resulting ambiguities, competing worldviews, and conflicted values.

Rudy, the Indian cop, portrays these confusing conflicts beautifully, representing both the law in his tribal police uniform and vigilante justice in his blackface and pantyhose mask. Revealing other dimensions of Rudy's confusion, Louis explores his relationship to the women in his life. Married and estranged from his wife, Rudy indulges his growing attraction to his cousin's wife, Stella, while he carries on with other men's wives as well. Meanwhile, afflicted with hypertension, he takes meds that affect his sexual performance, and much of the novel traces the rising and falling cycles of his libido, all of which are unpredictable and seemingly under the spell of forces beyond him. It is significant that Iktomi, the trickster spirit and shape-shifter, is a central theme in the novel, for appearance and reality, wisdom and stupidity, pride and shame, love and rage are all in a continuing dance for dominance.

Also at the center of the story is Rudy's relationship with his alcoholic older brother, Mogey. While casting an unblinking eye on the devastating impact of alcohol consumption on the reservation, Louis both condemns and forgives those who seek oblivion in the bottom of the bottle. In his hands, Mogey is a wonderful creation. While there are vague allusions to the grim effect of two tours of duty in Vietnam, Louis doesn't excuse Mogey for choosing his path of self-destruction. Yet through his brother Rudy, the reader can begin to understand the deep love possible for someone unable to resist the pull of despair.

This book is not for everyone, as some of the reviews already posted here indicate. However, I recommend it highly for what it has to say about the Indian nations - in their own voices and without the moralizing or sentimentality of those who have never walked in their shoes. Also worth watching is the film "Skins" (2002, available on DVD), which is based on the book.

Alexie, Harjo and Welch have already explained why this is such an excellent story. I'd like to add a few personal thoughts. The characters are truly memorable. Rudy is part Rhett Butler, Rocky, Thomas Magnum, and Vinnie Vega. Mogie, offers us a face, a history, and an explanation for his thousands of real life counterparts. Several of the female characters acknowledge the often downplayed or even ignored fact, that Indian women are sexual beings.

I found it hard to let Rudy go at the end of the book. As with Rhett, Rocky, and Thomas, I wanted to know what happened to him next. How he made out during the years that followed.

I am a woman and I did not see Rudy as misogynistic at all. I'm sure there are some who would call Rhett, Rocky, etc. the same thing. To some, the glass is ALWAYS half empty.

As of 1-01, the book is expected to be made into a film. I read it a second time when I heard who has been cast. Picturing Eric Schweig as Rudy, Graham Greene as Mogie, and Adam Beach as a younger Rudy in flashbacks, just intensified everything I felt about the characters during the first read. There ARE some "don't miss" parts of the book that will not make the film. I'd highly recommend reading the book while you wait to see the perfectly cast film.

Adrian Louis is a genius! I could NOT put this book down! I even snuck it into work with me.
It is sad, funny, gut-wretching, sweet---it has it all! If you don't thoroughly enjoy this book--CHECK YOUR PULSE!!!!!

Admittedly, I couldn't put the book down and read it in a week. Even thought the novel is a work of fiction, it hits closer to the truth about Rez born and raised Indians than any other novel that "mystifies" Indians in the "butterflies and daisies" sense. Fact of the matter is, Rez life is hard, damn hard. There are many casualties in this novel. First and foremost: the dishonor caused by CENTURIES of abuse and the systematic extermination of Indians have produced a culture of people who love hard, live hard, drink hard, die hard, and hate even harder. And, the central common theme...even to those who refuse to see it is the Indian's hate of the white man. Rudy clearly has little use for most of the everyday characters he comes across. He has disdain for most of his fellow Indian police officers, his Indian boss and his Indian friends. He has no respect for Indian drunks, and loathes how the economically oppressed culture has turned Indian kids into violent drug users and thugs with little respect and no hope. Socrates surmised "all questions lead to God". On the Rez, all ills lead to the white man.

This hate is the saddest legacy that American's have cultivated from the abuses that have, and CONTINUE to be bestowed upon the red man. Most whites in America are not deserved of this hate. I think it is puzzling to many white American's why Indians continue to hate them, even though many white people have never even met an Indian, and are totally unaware of the abuses that continue to happen at the hands of the government, or greedy entrepreneurs.

The last insult of the book that disturbed me the most, was the consciences crafting of hatred and callous death and destruction to the most despised Indians that exist to most western tribes, whites of mixed Cherokee ancestry. Eastern Cherokee have long been the butt of jokes, ridicule and downright hatred because of their light skin, and often-light hair. The cruelest person on the reservation was represented by Wally Trudeau, a mostly white / part Cherokee (of suspect origin, and married to a full blood from the Rez) who uncaringly allowed the death of Mogie's best friend, Weasel Bear, by catching him in a steel animal trap during a blizzard in his back yard.

Wally was unremorseful and un-pitying. And, seemed not to respect tribal authority, nor the life of Indians. Eventually, he was killed in cold blood for some other deserved slight to another Indian. You could almost imagine the collective cheering by full blooded Indians everywhere. Though it is essential to any story to have a foil, I think Mr. Adrian Louis was making another of his now famous, calculated statements. Most Indians on the Rez are drunks. Most men/women on the Rez will cheat on you and leave you one day...All true Indians are deep red skinned with braids and live on a Reservation (even his wife Vivianne, who was Chippawa, had skin too light for Rudy's tastes). All others indians need not apply. This is further bolstered in the fact that when Mogie dies, he goes to heaven, "and there was not a single white face there".

This book is one of the best books ever written. It is very easy to read and there are many illustrations to help understand. I really enjoyed this book then I'm planning to give a present to my nephew. If you think you are a biker, Hiram's book is a must. Thanks.

This book is one of the best books ever written. It is very easy to read and there are many illustrations to help understand. I really enjoyed this book then I'm planning to give a present to my nephew. If you think you are a biker, Hiram's book is a must. Thanks.

This is an awesome book that is well written and an excellent guidebook for the outdoorsman. The photographs are outstanding. The trail maps are very helpful.

I used this book as well as the Falcon Press "Hiking South Dakota's Black Hills country", by the Gildarts, on a recent trip to the Black Hills, Badlands, Bear Lodge Mtns & the Devils Tower.
Both books were useful, but I'd give the edge to this one:
1) Hiram Rogers' book includes photocopies of topographic maps. Reproduction quality isn't high, but is frequently sufficient for the purpose. The Geldart's book has only handdrawn schematic maps.
2) "Exploring the Black Hills & Badlands" has more material. As you can see from the info provided by Amazon, there are more pages, but this understates how much further Rogers goes. Descriptions of particular trails are a bit more detailed, usually, and there is more historical and natural history material given in most cases. You will find more material, especially, on the Badlands (eg. a section on off-trail travel in the Sage Creek Wilderness).
The Geldarts do touch on locales and details not mentioned in Hiram Rogers' book, so those planning to spend any appreciable time in the area might want to get both.
I see that there appear to be restrictions in availability through Amazon as I type this. If you aren't comfortable dealing with secondary dealers, I would note that I saw new copies of Rogers' book in the bookstores at Wind Cave National Park and elsewhere. Try the websites for WCNP, the Badlands NP or Custer State Park.

This book focuses mainly on hiking trails, so if that's your thing this is the book for you. It would benefit greatly if each trail entry was _clearly_ listed with it's approved uses. The index also needs a section under each activity, that way you can look up 'mountain biking' and find references to every trail they review where biking is allowed. Some of the reviews of the trails are questionable ... the trail from French Creek Horse Camp to Iron Creek is not ridable at all for mountain bikers, in my opinion, not even close, yet it's listed as 'an exciting mountain bike ride through the park's remote northern end'. I have no idea what they were thinking. Like I said, probably a better book for hikers than bikers, but still a good resource just to give you a hint as to what's available in the area and get you started. If biking is your thing, stick to the trails listed as having cross country ski access as well as for biking and you'll get some nice single track love.

The short version is that this was like reading a novelization of a bad Lifetime movie (which is a redundant statement, anyway). The good news is that you can skip entire chapters and not lose track of the story.

I really like her books, Since I am also Sioux I can relate to most of what she has written. She's VERY good.

This book is wonderful! You should read it if you love romance, or horses, or strong deep men who are generally silent but make an exception for the woman they love.

The dialogue is great! It reminds me of Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, and also of the Gilmore Girls. It's really fast and you have to pay attention to stay on top of it.

My copy of this book contained the first few pp of Eagle's next book, "Mystic Horseman." I'm already hooked!

I loved the characters, the story, everything. I couldn't put it down. A great read!

Thank goodness, Kathleen has gotten her voice back. She is simply wonderful when she writes about kind and giving Lakota Cowboys, and the lucky ladies who are loved by them. Both tiny Lauren and Nick are strong yet vulnerable believable people, ones that you want to cheer for. This is definitely an keeper.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up all three of Lori Armstrong's books in the Julie Collins series. I don't read a lot of mystery, and I now realize that I've been missing out. How can I not root for such a passionate, flawed heroine? Wonderful writing, excellent characterization and a rich plot make this series a keeper.

Julie has been haunted by death. First her mother dies in a car accident, and than her half brother is murdered. The crime goes unsolved and Julie thinks it's due to the fact that her brother was half Lakota. Still reeling from her lose, Julie takes a job in the Bear Butte County Sheriff's department hoping that maybe, just maybe she will get a little peace. She couldn't be more wrong when a new murder turns up and it turns out the young victim is a sixteen year old white girl. Now everyone is interested in solving the murder. At the same time she finds out that her best friend and local PI Kevin has been on the case investigating the last two weeks of Samantha's life. He asks for Julie's help and she reluctantly gives it since this case hits just a little too close to home. Still before she knows it she and Kevin are getting closer and closer to a killer, and the killer is starting to get nervous. People connected to Samantha are starting to turn up dead. Is Kevin or Julie the next to fall victim to a murder that will stop at nothing to protect his secret?

I was blown away by this mystery. I started and finished this book in one sitting. The murder mystery kept me guessing until the very end and the characters were wonderfully developed. I loved Julie and Kevin not only was their relationship fun, but it was different. I loved their dynamics. I would love to see Ms. Armstrong expand on their relationship in another story. They are a great investigating duo! Ms. Armstrong took great care and effort in creating her world so the reader will feel truly drawn into what's happening. Julie is a very complex character and she made me laugh, and cry. Or should I say I laughed and cried with her. I highly, highly recommend Ms. Armstrong's debut read. She provides plenty of edge of your seat reading.

BLOOD TIES is Lori Armstrong's debut mystery and I liked it overall. This novel was recently nominated for a Shamus award (for best PI book), so I thought it was worth a read. This is the first novel in a series, with the second book coming out later this year.

The 34-year old heroine of BLOOD TIES, Julie Collins, works for Bear Butte County Sheriff's Office. She works there in the hopes of finding the person who killed her half-brother Ben Stalking Elk (all of this is explained as background). Over the last five years five Native Americans like Ben have been murdered, but another body of a 16-year old girl has been discovered. Julie teams up with her friend, private detective Kevin Wells, to find out the girl's killer. Along the way, she uncovers a lot more than she bargains for.

The main plot of this book is just okay. This is a standard serial killer mystery, where the identity of the killer isn't revealed until the end. There are a lot of characters in this novel, and it was hard for me to keep track of all the different names and relationships. Next time, I hope Armstrong does a better job of streamlining the plot.

The real attraction of BLOOD TIES is the characterization. The main character, Julie Collins, is a very likable person, and I found myself rooting for her. Julie is no angel -- she likes to swear, drink, smoke, and get laid. But she is a very compassionate person at heart, and it's hard not to fall in love with her crusading spirit.

Armstrong is a good writer. There is a subplot in this novel involving a neglected child that was just heartbreaking to read. She also does a good job of describing the day-to-day life in Sioux City, South Dakota, a small city that I would probably never get to know if it wasn't for this novel. Be warned though -- this book has a fair amount of graphic violence, sex, and profanity. Not the type of book to give to your grandmother (at least mine, anyway).

Overall, this book was a fun read and I look forward to the next in the series. Armstrong certainly has talent, and I hope she makes the jump to a larger publisher in the near future.

this book is one that will keep you in suspense. i read it in two days just because i had to know what would happen next! great storyline. i can't wait for the next book. way to go lori, two thumbs up!!!!

This book has a fantastic cover, which is what drew me to it initially. I like to read horror predominantly, and so I grabbed it. It turns out that this book is a mystery and that the author lives in my home town. The story itself is set in the Black Hills area as well. This is Armstrong's first novel, and is exceptional in that context. She stays true to area geography, landmarks and history. For instance, the series of mysterious deaths among homeless Native Americans used as back story really happened, and the biker organization known as the Bandidos really do ride here. Armstrong's characters are realistic, everyday people you can easily visualize. The heroine is one you can sympathize with and root for, with one or two exceptions where she gets a little "boy crazy" (she's attracted to at least three different men in the course of the book.) There are also moments of extreme violence which help keep the book interesting (for a horror fan like me). Lots of plot twists and revelations to keep you turning pages, although the chapters don't necessarily end with cliffhangers, so there are moments you may be tempted to put the book down for a while. Overall, I am glad I purshased this book.

I found this book to be very helpful with pictures and building concepts easy to understand by the layman. The chapters are well layed out on each step of the building process and gives a lot of good tips both in dealing with the building code requirements and common sense ideas to building a straw bale house. While the houses in this book are architectually simple, a rectangle shape, the ideas can be use in more complex designs.

This was really a good book and I would recommend it very much.

I first became aware of straw base houses when I visited friends who had built one high in the Colorado rockies. In spite of the bad winters in that location, they reported that they very rarely used any heating beyond opening the drapes on the south facing windows. I don't know what the R-value of a bale of straw might be, but it is high.

They also reported that in the few years they had lived there they had had virtually no maintenance. I had imagined little cracks in the exterior covering and furry little critters living in the walls. But they reported that nothing like this had occurred.

This book is put out by the Red Feather Development Group. They are a non-profit group chartered to provide low cost but efficient housing on indian reservations. They have been developing straw bale contruction for houses over many years, many buildings.

This handbook is not exactly a complete primer on building a straw bale house, to me it is an idea book. There's not much here, for instance on plumbing, heating, wiring and so on. Fair enough, those things are much the same for any house, and well understood by architects and contractors. What this book does is talk about building the house itself, the wall structure, supporting the roof, the things that are unique to building with Straw Bales. There are lots of pictures, illustrating lots of points that you wouldn't think of unless you had been there and done that.

Highly recommended!

When Red Feather Development Group founded in 1994, its mission was to build and develop affordable and ecological sound straw bail houses for the American Indian community. In recent years, the work of the Red Feather Development Group has drawn interest as many environmental and green building groups have developed.

Due to the increase of interest, the group has released "Building a Straw Bale House: The Red Feather Construction Handbook".

The handbook is a great guide for anybody wanting to better understand the principles of straw bale construction. With step-by-step construction directions and wonderful illustrations, "Building a Straw Bale House" makes the topic approachable and simple to create similar versions of the building technique.

For example, the author provides the reader/builder with numeral step-by-step instructions for constructing the foundation, the correct mix for the interior finish coat, and radiant floor heating diagrams. Everything that may need to be known for constructing a straw house is available in its book, which that in itself is notable.

"Building a Straw Bale House" succeeds in bringing an interesting construction type into the limelight, but the principle of its origin is even more admirable - providing affordable and sustainable housing to individuals.

This book gives an over view of the process to build a home using straw bale construction that is used by the Red Feather Development Group. Modeled after Habitat for Humanity they help tribal members living on Indian reservations achieve home ownership. The book takes you through the building process with many photos and diagrams. There is also pictures and discriptions of straw bale homes that are still lived in after 80 years, showing that sustainable housing is not a passing fad.

I came across this book at Powell's books and am so pleasantly surprised. I can't believe I never heard of it in the press or through word of mouth, considering how many subjects/topics it covers that I happened to be interested in, and how amazingly well written it is. The story centers around women in the Victorian Western, who are living in hard times and who struggle in various ways. So many subjects that I am interested in and have a passion for are in this book such as native American sprituality, lesbian romance, western living, farm-life, Victorian-era, female/minority empowerment, and the plot is full with various mysteries involving murder and other dangers. This book is amazingly well written, so beautiful that I actually have memorized a few lines here and there that I have been quoting to my friends. A haunting story rich with strong female characters, and a dark, spiritual, nostalgic, passionate, intensely female mood to it. I was sad as I neared the end of the novel because I've been enjoying it so much. It isn't often that I come across a book that is both literary and a page turner, What a treat!
I truly hope this author writes more, because I will buy anything she writes.

This book was so well written I felt I was discovering who the culprit was along with the writer. I love the way the words wove together and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. On the same note I didn't want the book to end because I wanted the words to go on. The characters were real and the mystery was exciting. I highlty recommend this book and look forward to many more from this author.

I can't wait for her next walk into fiction. It's one of those books that will always stay with you to recommend to others. Wonderful testimonial to the strength of women and how they unite in the face of adversity!

I read this book without having read any reviews, thus I went into it without any pre-conceived ideas. It then became a pleasant surprise to have the story reveal itself to me. I found it to be thoughtfully written and with a lyrical feel. I highly recommend it.

A recent Lambda Book Report has a long and thoughtful review, which I thought was spot-on. A good book, and fills the need to see sexual identity handled well in a realistic way in an historical setting.

This is really a question insteadof a review. I have a copy of Boots and Saddles written by Elizabeth B. Custer. The copyright is 1885, by Harper & Brothers. The first page has a note wrote on it "To my friend Richard Dec 25th 1890 then a signature of the giver M L Malis ? Would you know anything about this particular book?

This is the first of three books George Armstrong Custer's widow Elizabeth Bacon Custer (EBC hereafter) wrote about her life with the General. It begins with Custer and the 7th being assigned to North Dakota, and ends with the expedition which led to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. EBC is a good writer within the limitations of the "style" of 1880s-1890s nonfiction. One has to allow for the fact that for her, G. A. Custer was the tallest, strongest, smartest, wittiest, bravest and most omnicompetent man alive. [It's worth pointing out that she often also describes all the troopers riding with Custer as "physically perfect, absolutely splendid specimens of manhood in its prime."] Also following the style of the period, EBC almost entirely omits the names of those she writes about. But otherwise her word-portrait of the life of an officer's wife in the utter desolation of the frontier forts during the Plains Indian Wars is effective, vivid and often moving.

There are so many good stories here I don't want to spoil any by hinting at them. The most famous is EBC's account of "Old Nash," a Mexican laundress who earned several small fortunes with her expert sewing and tailoring, was much sought-after as a marriage partner despite her dark complexion and broad shoulders, and who turned out to be the best midwife around... despite....

A few of the many things that impressed me with EBC's powers of observations--- When the great chiefs and warriors of the plains came to visit Custer, she noted that they (contrary to modern stereotype) were physically almost completely undeveloped, with geek-like pipestem arms... and she understood the reason: that males among the Plains indians did essentially no physical labor whatsoever. Another fine passage involves the relationship between Custer and his favorite indian scout, the famous Bloody Knife. According to EBC Bloody Knife was relentlessly sarcastic concerning the skills and abilities of white men, and Custer in particular. When on a hunting expedition with Custer, Bloody Knife would keep up a running narrative of belitting remarks concerning Custer's unfamiliarity with and incompetence with firearms. As soon as Custer got off a good shot, Bloody Knife would fall silent and express his admiration with a brief smile, which Custer obviously treasured far more than many sentences of insincere and overdone flattery. It reminds me a bit of a comment supposedly made by Wyatt Earp about his great friend Doc Holliday: "He can always make me laugh!"

There is no gossip about Custer's notoriously poor relations with many of the other officers and men of the 7th Cavalry. EBC defends this by saying that Custer deliberately did not tell her of feuds and enemies, because he wanted her as hostess to treat all members of the 7th with equal courtesy. However, this excuse is contradicted within the book by extracts from letters written to her by Custer, which refer to feuds and enemies in ways that would have made no sense if EBC were not fully informed,

Recommended for anyone curious about the life of Cavalry officers, troopers and their families on the "rim of empire" in the 1870s.

There are so few well written and personally lived books about the people of the northern great plains, but this is one of them. Mrs. Custer gives intimate details of life in the cavalry and the Dakotas of a time now gone.
She tells of blizzards, heat, insects, dangers and people in a most readable way that draws the reader in. This is a special book that speaks to the plainsman's heart.

Althought the opinions of Custer and life with the calvary are viewed through (very) rosy glasses, Mrs. G.A. Custer is a witty and prolific writer. She also gives little-known insight into everyday happenings in life on the prairie and how women survived the journey. Particularly interesting are the dynamics of relationships between women when living literally in the middle of nowhere, surviving the harshest of climates, with few friends, the same friends, for extended times. Also interesting is the relationship between people of color and the white soldiers. Custer is an enigma, and readers should read this book but also others ("Son of the Morning Star" is the best thus far) to get a glimpse at the man. Libby Custer falls into poetic verse at times, but this can be refreshing - there are not many writings of women in these times available.

My husband first purchased this book for me quite a few years ago, knowing my fondness for Laura Ingalls and also because I am named for her. It is a wonderful compilation of letters, recipes & pictures from Laura's personal collections. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for history and those whom have lived it.

This book reads as a companion book to the Little House series while including information on Laura's life. It isn't a biography as I was hoping - though the author thinks that a complete biography is called for.

What this book was for me, was a farther glimpse into Laura's life. It touched briefly on the time during the books but seemed to focus mostly on the Ozarks. This was mainly because the author was striving to record recollections from people still living who knew Laura. I agree with the author, in the wish that someone had done that right after Laura's death or even before. There are also a couple chapters of Laura's writings, one on her thoughts of war. The pictures were nicely added as well. I also enjoyed the recipe section and appreciate the updates on the measurements and the ingredients.

The most unsatisfying chapter was the mysteries. I had more questions that I wanted answers to, and hardly any of them were asked in this chapter. It made me want to know more. In fact, the whole book seemed to be asking more questions than it was answering. In a way that is a good thing and perhaps soon, there will be other books on Laura that addresses more of her life.

You can easily pick this book up and read chapters out of order, gleaning the information you want at the time. It also reads well cover to cover, though I did do some skimming on the war articles. A valuable book if you're looking for another glimpse into Laura's life.

I am a longtime fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I have read many books about her life and visited most of her homesites. But I have always wanted to read a biography about who she really was, what her personality was like, her relationship with her husband Manly and her daughter Rose. It is difficult to imagine what a person is like when all you have to go by are a few books and pictures. I was thrilled by the detailed accounts in this book, it really gave an in depth peek into her likes and dislikes, her dogged determination, stubborness and unfailing love in the face of much adversity. I felt like I knew her, all of the friends and neighbors who shared thoughts of Laura and Manly paint a picture of a homey, loving atmosphere, that Laura truly lived what she wrote about. The stories made her seem more real, something tangible outside of the juvenile stories I had read (the Little House books) and several other journals and biographies. These are people who actually lived and breathed with her, amazing. I applaud the efforts made by the author, this book is truly a detailed and fascinating account of this beloved lady who has come to represent so much to so many people.

I realize it has been hard to come up with enough material to write a first-class biography of this cultural icon. This book is a teaser. There are some interesting bits in it, and Laura's unique writings are part of it. Needs a bit more illustration, but to all Laura fans it will scratch an itch to learn more about her.

Although I grew up in the city and have had no exposure to ranchers, I read this on a recommendation from a fellow nature/animal lover. The author describes her daily life with crisp and matter-of-fact - yet warm and insightful - prose that is difficult to put down. I agree with the previous poster in that I, too, read through the glossary at the end just because I didn't want the book to finish. By the end, I felt that I knew the author, her family and friends well enough to want to know what's happened to them since. This book made me think about what the future holds for the author and the dwindling number of privately-owned ranches and farms that continue to persevere in the face of Corporate America.

This book is about people living strenuous lives in an environment of extremes -- drought and prairie fires in summer and fierce cold and blizzards in the winter. And there seem to be no moderating seasons in between.

The author, a writer, poet and environmentalist, has returned in mid-life to the South Dakota ranch where she grew up. Here she lives with her husband, a Hodgkin's-survivor, helping her parents make a living by raising cattle. The year is 1987.

Forget the Cartwrights. This is a book about real ranch life -- the endless hard work, the human and financial cost, the losses and disappointments that become almost routine.

Only a stoic acceptance of forces far beyond one's control seems to keep these people facing one day after the next. There is also the redemptive power of work itself, whether fence mending, working cattle, or putting up food supplies for winter.

Add to this an appreciation for the beauty of one's surroundings. Hasselstrom often stops to record the stark pleasures of life observed on the plains -- carpets of wildflowers on the pasture slopes, migrations of birds, the appearance of deer and coyotes.

And there are the starker observations of weather. Each day's high and low temperatures are noted, and brief descriptions of cloud cover, the many varieties of snowfall, wind, rain, and the unrelenting sun and heat. There are sub-zero winter days with wind chills below -50, and one summer morning that dawns with a low of 90 degrees.

Although she denies feeling isolated (a highway passes by the ranch, and they are only miles from a small town), there is a sense of lives lived without much contact with other people. Horses, pets, and even wildlife provide the social environment. You understand the appreciation she articulates when her rural community gathers for the end-of-summer county fair.

And to know people is to know adversity and vulnerability -- there are frequent brushes with death. An uncle on a nearby ranch suffers a heart attack. The members of a family from another ranch are seriously injured in a car accident.

The author herself is trampled by her horse. Her husband undergoes tests for cancer and is hospitalized for surgery. Her husband's spirited teenage son, from a previous marriage, spends a few summer weeks with them and then is gone again, the house suddenly filled with an unwelcome quiet.

It is a compelling book that leaves you in wonder, with feelings welling up at the end that make you reluctant to part from these very real people whose daily lives you have come to know so intimately. Far from the farm I grew up on, I relived something of that demanding life as I read this book and was also helped to see it with new eyes.

As I approached the end I thought, "If I have to read about feeding cattle or fixing fences one more time, I'm going to scream!" But these are major elements in ranching and, and this is a diary of one year in a rancher's life, so they must be included.

Hasselstrom keeps a candid diary of a year in her life as a woman rancher and spares nothing from castrating steers and the dead pile to doctor visits and a fur-trader rendezvous re-enactment vacation.

This is a family ranch owned by her father who lives just down the hill, but by now he sees his daughter as an equal partner. During the winter, her father heads to Arizona. She and her husband wonder if they will have enough feed for the winter, they struggle through snow to feed the cattle, they worry about the cattle not on the home farm, and are saddened to see the toll that a winter takes. In spring, calving dominates their lives which is complicated when a late April snowstorm catches them without cattle feed. During the spring they mend fences, sort cattle, and watch coyotes play with mice.

However, her life is not all ranching. She is constantly writing about her struggle to maintain her writing work which flares and sputters but never completely stops. She also gives writing workshops and campaigns for environmental causes. Hasselstrom is also very open about her past, a failed marriage, her step-children, her decision not to have children, and her relationship with her husband. She allows us to follow the ebb and flow of her marital relationship from the claustrophobia of back to back snowstorms and the fears of a looming surgery, to planting the garden together and the anxiety she experiences when she can't help her husband outside.

Although it contains many crises, this is not a compilation of the best and worst of a ranch life, but the honest daily activities of a ranch year involving cattle, humans, and nature. This will strike a chord of authenticity for anyone who has ever cared for cattle.

Is there anything GOOD about ranching, except seeing baby grass erupt in the spring and hearing the birds? The ranchers I knew when I lived in SD (1987-90) didn't leave piles of afterbirth and dead calves lying around for weeks at a time, although they existed. I don't know where they were, but of all the time I spent on ranches, they were never apparent. And, none of the people I knew lived within 1/4 mile from a highway. Why would a rancher keep breeding a big Charolais bull to little Angus heifers if it's going to tear them apart to deliver, or deliver calves that have to be sawed in pieces to get them out? I grew up on a farm with cattle, but I must be missing something here.
I realize this was a diary, but it became very tedious reading what with doing basically the same thing day after day.