Iowa Books

The hustle and bustle of busy Beijing must present a startling contrast to the corn fields of Iowa. The similarities and surprises that another culture can provide are described in this book by University of Iowa journalism professor Kenneth Starck who spent a year in China teaching journalism to Chinese students in the mid 1980s. Besides the differences in the U.S and Chinese news media and the perplexities they cause in teaching, Starck also describes his forays into China with his wife and daughter. Besides the obvious (a visit to the Great Wall), there are also little delightful episodes; one such is when an inspector on a train demanded that Starck's daughter hand over her Walkman cassette player, and slipped on the headphones to check what kind of music the American girl was listening too. While Starck sweated ('we could be in real trouble'), the inspector started to bop to the music and handed back the equipment to them with a smile. "We passed," Starck writes. "So did the Eurythmics."

I highly recommend this book for someone who wishes to have a greater understanding of social history and economy in medieval Iceland. Written by an anthropologist it uses a good combination of historical record, written literature (sagas) and anthropological technique to describe the economic conditions of Iceland during this period.

It is a very short book but is nice to have for the collection:

Chapters include: Production Chiefly Consumption Politics Exchange Kinship, Church, and King Ideology

In the conclusion it has a nice justification for the use of the saga as source for social information.

I really like Anderson's perspective on life and how to live it. His quest for answers and knowledge and insight is admirable.

Elaine came from China and moved to San Fransisco as a young girl. She was happy in California. Than her dad had to move to Iowa for work. She started her first day of school and she missed playing jump rope with her old friends.

Elaine eats lunch at school on her first day with Keleen. Elaine opens her tin lunch box and takes out fried rice. Keleen has a bologna sandwich. They each eat foods that they are use to.

Elaine works with a science partner named Mary Lewis. They had to work together to bring in an object that could fly. Mary Lewis loved frogs but Elaine reminded her they did not fly.

When Elaine went home she talked to her parents about her pojects. She told them about her new friend and how she loved frogs. Elaine was acting like a frog in the house. Her dad suggested they make a frog kite.

Elaine and Mary Lewis worked on the frog kite with Elaine's dad. He was a great kite maker. They were both excited. They brought the frog kite to school in a garbage bag. All the class wanted to know what it was.

They opened the bag and the class was amazed.

The book was all about friendship and teamwork. I think it is a good book.

Dr. Orlik successfully accomplishes the objectives of this book as it provides a thorough overview of the various positions available to students seeking to enter the field of broadcasting. The fifteen chapters are divided into four sections, covering; 1) the big picture 2) chronicles 3) professional perspectives and 4) sneak preview.

In the first section, an overview is provided as readers are taken on a broad tour of what exists. Technical aspects are included.

The second section of the book places the industry in a chronological context. It describes the inventors and their contributions to the field of electronic media.

In section three the various functions found in media organizations is presented. In this and every section the inserts with media professionals is a particularly useful source of information for readers.

The final section deals will making the transition from student to media professional. It gives inside information on how to successfully land a job in media work.

I have used this book as a textbook and recommend it to anyone interested in entering the field of broadcasting.

A true glimpse of the positive potential that sustainable farming has for our society. Built upon a solid foundation of historical perspective and insight then layered with the many varied approaches to farming in today's world, the reader is provided an opportunity to listen to the dialogue among current farmers and the evolution of agriculture in America. An encouraging book for those of us in support of sustainable farming.

This book analyses accidents from an aviation psychology standpoint. It is clearly and logically written with a good portion of humor. The concept of Cockpit Resource Management, CRM, is discussed in detail. Highly recommended for any pilot or anyone interested in aviation.

One short story in this collection, also published in the Best American Short Stories 1966, is perhaps the finest short story I've ever read. Titled "The Places We Lost," it is a wonderfully controlled, powerful tale about a family losing their home during the depression.

There are a few others I enjoyed, such as "Plastic Edge to Plastic Edge," and "The Follower."

The loess hills of Iowa and Missouri are the gift of Ice Age dust storms, which deposited this very fertile soil in large piles on the East Bank of the Missouri River. Essentially, loess is dust that has been recompacted into soil. It is easily eroded once channel cutting starts, and the present hills are the result of these processes.

The book capably discusses these matters, and also addresses the biota and human history of the region. You will be amazed at the variety of plants, going from chestnut trees to prickly pear cacti.

The photos are helpful and pretty much follow the well written, well organized text. The book closes with an examination of the efforts being made to preserve these landforms, and a plea to continue them. I recommend this most interesting book for any traveler, geographer, or geologist, as well as anyone who lives in the Midwest.

The three wars covered by Des Moines Register columnist Gordon Gammack were the Second World War, the Korean War and the American involvement in Vietnam. From the columns, you can clearly see the transit from a just and necessary war, through a necessary war and finally to what was just a war. As brutal and bloody as it was, the American troops in WWII knew that they were fighting an enemy that needed to be completely defeated. Gammack followed the troops in the European theater and his stories are of troops with upbeat attitudes, even though the fighting was fierce and deadly.
In the Korean War, the troops were still positive, although they disliked the country and hated the term "police action" when it was used to describe what was happening. The tone of the troops and Gammack himself changes dramatically when he is covering the Vietnam War. As a veteran war correspondent, he is constantly frustrated at the lies and deception of the military, as they try to control the message to their satisfaction. At one point he states bluntly, "Eisenhower would never have allowed this." He also easily sees what is really going on, describing in detail the deterioration of the American forces as drug use, insubordination and even the murder of officers reaches unprecedented levels. However, he still manages to maintain his objectivity, although it is clear that it is hard for him to do so.
While Gammack concentrates on Iowans in conflict in his columns, you learn a great deal about how soldiers felt about these three wars, as well as what went right and what went wrong. They show you a side of these wars that history books largely ignore.