North Dakota Books

The only comment I have is that if the other person who wrote a review of this book is going to be sooo picky about the book description, make sure you get YOUR information correct. Montana is to the WEST of South Dakota, not East.

It arrived the day before we went on a 4-day car trip to western SD. As its title indicates it is focused only on the Black Hills and Badlands, so I relied on other guidebooks for info on places like Sioux City and Mitchell. It has interesting historical tidbits and the info was plenty accurate. What more can one ask from a guide book?

Although the book may contain excellant information (I haven't read it) I would find it impossible to buy when the Product Description indicates factually inaccurate information that an average fifth grade student wouldn't make. It states that the Badlands of South Dakota is the "Home of Mount Rushmore (true)and the site of Custer's last stand" (definitely not true). The Battle of Little Big Horn (Custer's so-called Last Stand)actually occurred about 475 miles to the east in Montana. If I can't trust the initial Product Information provided by the Editor then how can I trust that there won't be other inaccuracies in the book. This is not a minor error or a typo, it is an appalling lack of an understanding of basic American History. Although there was a Black Hills Expedition of which Custer was involved his Last Stand was elsewhere.

Yes, there are some historical and geographical inaccuracies in this book, however as a trip guide it is comprehensive and quite helpful. I recently returned from a 6 day trip through the Black Hills, Badlands and Wyoming. The maps were helpful. The restaurant suggestions were excellent. I took several of the Day Trips recommended outside of the area and enjoyed all of them. If you have time check out Spearfish Canyon, Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, Canyon Lake, and Chapel in the Hills. These were true highlights. I carried this book with me every day of my trip and frequently referred to it.

What can you expect from a book that can't even get the cover photo right? The photo is of a region called the Coyote Buttes along the Arizona-Utah border!! I thumbed through it just out of curiousity upon seeing the glaring mistake, but it didn't look as good as the travel material I already had with me, so I didn't buy it.

We are planning a trip to the Badlands and Black Hills in September. Insider's Guide provides a wealth of information and I'm finding it a valuable asset. Combined with info from the internet, we will have a well organized trip with knowledge of this area's history.

We just returned from over a week in the Badlands and Black Hills. Although this book had a lot of very useful information, I hated searching through it. Everything is divided into its own category: hotels, restaurants, activities, etc. So when we were in one place for a day or two, we had to search through different sections to find all of the info for that one place. Even worse, each section is divided out by Northern Hills, Central Hills, etc. or by the type of food you're looking for. There was no central location to find all of the restaurants in Deadwood, for example. Apart from that, I found most of the info to be correct and useful. A few of the entry fees were higher in reality, but my biggest problem was with the book's organization. It was a great vacation, and I had a hard time coming home...

We just got back from a week-long trip to the Black Hills using this guidebook, and while it was better than nothing, and the information was generally correct, it was very hard to use. Instead of being arranged by location, the attractions are arranged by category, with each category subdivided yet again. And the index is no use, since they're not indexed by location. This means that if you're sitting in your motel in (say) Deadwood, and wondering what to do in town, you literally have to thumb through the entire book to figure out! Very frustrating. And the book lacks detailed maps where they are needed (the Deadwood-Lead area, where the roads are rather confusing, or the area around Keystone, Mt. Rushmore, and Crazy Horse). The maps mention the Mickelson Trail, but it's not in the index, and we didn't find out what it was until we were actually there (hint: it's not a scenic highway). And the book needs to be more emphatic about the need to stay away from this whole region in early August because of the motorcycle madness.

Complete waste of Money. Topics discussed are outdated and morally questionable. Would NOT recommend to any relatives or friends, let along perfect strangers.

One of the easiest to read estate planning books that I have read. I recommend this book for anyone with a taxable estate that needs to understand the issues/concepts of estate planning.

I was looking for financial planning advice that was not intimidating and easy for someone not in a "money & numbers" profession to understand. I found just what I needed in this book. The authors provided information in a common-sense, conversational manner. It was arranged so I could find exactly the topics that apply to me and my family. I found good advice, answers I was looking for and learned alot along the way. I was pleasantly surprised that a subject I had always veered away from could really be presented in such a "user-friendly" format.

The authors attempt to portray financial strategies that many CPA's and financial planners agree are questionable if not illegal.

This small book is difficult to assess. At times it is quite interesting, yet at other times, and despite its diminutive size, 69 pages, it seems to be somewhat tedious. Perhaps that's because there is little or no action, but most likely its because many of the direct quotes from the various enlisted men seem irrelevant to the story line, such as it is.

Even so, the book is worth reading, especially if you are interested in, and hope to better understand, the various Indian Wars. I have heard and read quite a bit about "Custer's Last Stand," for example, and have seen quite a few recriminations concerning the way the Indians were massacred at the "Battle of Wounded Knee," but I never made the connection between the two. And, before reading this book, I had never read any eye witness accounts of what the remaining soldiers of the 7th Cavalry found when they finally reached the Little Big Horn two days after the battle. As it turns out, Custer's command was not only wiped out, the troops were stripped, mutilated, and their skull were crushed in. As a result, the soldiers of the 7th set out to wreak havoc on the Indians to avenge their comrades, especially when they found 7th Cavalry artifacts from the battle in the various Indian encampments. Thus the massacre at Wounded Knee - small wonder.

In any event, you have to admire this hardy troop of scalawags and wonder why they would subject themselves to such dangers and privations with such meager chance of reward. I, for one, would have a hard time eating raw horse meat even if I had some salt and pepper, let alone without it. But these were tough men in a tough time and place.

This book is exactly 69 pages long, 69 SMALL pages. It can easily be read in less than an hour. It should more accurately be called a monograph, not a book. What I infer from this "book" is that the men who "trailed the Sioux" must have been one laconic bunch. No new information here. It's no surprise that they complained about the "Starvation March" and cussed about Crook. Don't expect any info on why they fought, how they felt about their equipment or weapons, how they felt about Miles or McKenzie, or even Custer.

Direct quotes here are usually, but not exclusively, short. Hedren mostly paraphrases throughout the "book". He also spends a lot of precious space trying to put a quote in context by recounting briefly the history of the Great Sioux War as it relates to any one particular quote. Did I mention its only 69 pages?

Hedren should have broadened his scope to include enlisted comments from the entire Sioux/Northern Cheyenne struggle from 1864-90 and ended up with a real book of 200 pages or so.

Not recommended. Not worth the price. Get Rickey's "Forty Miles a Day on Beans and Hay" for a better look at enlisted life during the Indian Wars.

Those who have had the chance to peruse the early 20th century Indian War veterans publication, "Winners of the West," may recall the vets repeated contention that the hardships and deprivations they endured on the Northern Plains exceeded those suffered by other troops in other wars. Paul Hedren's well-written narrative that rides along on various first-person quotes from Sioux War veterans will help the reader realize that their contention was not without strong merit.

The author begins this all too brief work by describing the varied nature of the enlisted men who served in the Sioux War--immigrants, youth searching for adventure, a small enclave of educated men and various malcontents. On the whole, his portrait is more positve than that drawn by some other present-day writers who often tend to view the enlisted men in the same terms as 19th century society in general did; that is, as the dregs of society unable to fit in elsewhere and unwanted by the civilian world. Hedren then treats the reader to selections from numerous journals, letters and interviews with enlisted men to craft an "in the field" look at what life was like for those in the Great Sioux War, focussing primarily on the events of 1876 and those serving under Terry, Gibbon, Custer, and Crook. You will feel the frustration of a tired trooper, ready to soak his feet in a water puddle only to come back and find a thirsty mule has drained it. Commisserate with a soldier who describes his Christmas meal as a "regular old Christmas dinner. A little piece of fat bacon and hard tack and a half cup of coffee." Marvel with the diarist who wrote of a fellow trooper with the unique ability to sleep soundly while water from heavy rains washed over him!

Surely, the greatest difficulties (with the exception of those who were killed/wounded in battle) were encountered by those on General Crook's infamous "starvation march" in late summer 1876 as gaunt horses and mules were slain in order to provide sustenance to the men. This section, along with a generous selection of quotes from the enlisted men who survived the Reno/Benteen portion of the Little Big Horn battle make for fascinating reading. All was not hardship though, as Hedren relates accounts of boredom in camp that was relieved by baseball, songs, stories, and whatever frivolity the men could conjure up. All of these "verbal pictures" are further enhanced by a generous selection of photographs of enlisted men, both in portraits taken in studios as well as photographs from the field, mainly captured by the lens of Stanley Morrow who documented the hardships of the "starvation march." The only complaint about this book is that I wish it could have been longer and delved into the Wolf Mountain battle of January 1877, fought against the twin enemies of severe cold as well as the Sioux.

Rightfully so, this book is dedicated to the memory of the late Don G. Rickey, author of the 1963 classic FORTY MILES A DAY ON BEANS AND HAY. If you own Mr. Rickey's book, you should buy Mr. Hedren's WE TRAILED THE SIOUX as the two books work well together.

I'd also add a consideration of author Lazarus's viewpoint, which Stripes rightly says is distorted by Lazarus's attempt to vindicate his father's role as an attorney for the Lakota tribes. I am a third year law student who sees himself as a Peace Corps Volunteer sent from the "real world" to the world of law. Legal education is worse than most in its warping effect on students' judgment. I am also reading Lazarus's "Closed Chambers", about the Supreme Court for whose Justice Blackmun Lazarus served as a post-graduate "clerk" in 1988-9. This latter book was written recently and is generally well-balanced and hopeful. By contrast, the Black Hills book was written while and soon after Lazarus completed his education, and shows signs of the preternatural or premature jadedness that not only infects law schools but seems to be part of the curriculum. I'll let Lazarus speak for himself (from page 230-1, as far as I've gotten in the book): "Tough and technically precise, the motion to vacate reflected an unmistakable contrast between the tribe's old and new counsel. Gone was Case's [the "bungler"] essentially romantic view of the legal process and his sentimental confidence that the government's overriding sense of fairness would lead it to a just settlement with the Sioux. Instead, Sonosky, Schifter, and Lazarus brought to the Sioux claims a hard-nosed view of the law and a degree of skepticism about the federal government. To them, the law was a two-edged sword to be wielded boldly and carefully in the service of clients. The legal system was a battlefield where the better cause did not always prevail. And the federal government was sometimes an ally, sometimes an adversary, but rarely the impartial purveyor of justice. The lawyers differed in their attitude towards their clients as well. To Case--the frontiersman's son inspired by the melting pot image of America--the Sioux were warriors to the last man who, nonetheless, wanted to assume their rightful place as members of an integrated national family. Sonosky, Schifter, and Lazarus, by contrast, heirs to a Jewish sensitivity about issues of ethnicity and discrimination, believed deeply in the New Deal's promise of cultural pluralism and Indian self-rule. They thought Indian law generally, and the claims process specifically, should be directed not towards ultimate assimilation but towards obtaining for Indians every penny to which they were entitled under law and guaranteeing to them a degree of independence in the direction of their own destinies." I think the heirs of the European usurpers should give the heirs of the original inhabitants of the continent a tenth of the current land/wealth. If the latter heirs want to buy a chunk of California and set up a gated community or a new state, feel free. The trend in Indian law seems to be the steady encroachment on Indian "independence". The father Lazarus's representation of the Black Hills claim netted 17 million dollars, what, five hundred dollars per survivor. No wonder the tribes voted to reject the award or settlement. Old Case's wheedling of the various courts, which younger Lazarus depicts as deaf to any call for justice anyway, at least had the merit of believing that Right means something in this country. If you don't believe that your opposite number cares about justice, what is your basis for persuasion? Public humiliation? Dazzling ambiguities to batter her or him into silence? Veiled threats (that you couldn't carry through on anyway)? These seem like the public's view of "lawyer's tricks". I say all this with younger Lazarus's later "Closed Chambers" in mind. Despite a couple of rough edges in its early pages, it is a passionate and philosophical study (so far, as of page 260) of a nation struggling to govern itself under law. There are no particular bad guys, no Case fall-guys for Lazarus's righteous indignation to exhaust itself upon. The later book is more of a Shakespearean tragedy, with the worst characters having redeeming (or redeemable) qualities. In a phrase, Lazarus has lost, by the time of this later book's writing, the "scorched earth" mentality that carried him into his earlier work. I suspect he got that mentality, largely, in law school. I think, as elder bungler Case might have said sheepishly,that that's a damn' shame and not necessary. If law is indeed a conversation, you can't have a conversation with someone if you are constantly calling him or her, in your mind or under your breath, a damn' fool. Speaking of Jewishness, I believe the Old Testament, one of the Wisdom Books, says somewhere that the person who calls someone else a fool (a rakah?) will not be forgiven. That's not an epiphany--it's the experience of neighbors who distrust anyone who badmouths an absent neighbor: what will this guy say about you when your back is turned? If you're not a good citizen, you're not going to be a good lawyer.

This book offers good historical narrative, but also justifies the actions of the author's father. It lacks balance in its perspectives.

The author's father, Arthur Lazarus, was one of the principle attorney's who won the largest, longest running Indian land claims case in US history. In 1980 the US Supreme Court upheld a judgement in favor of the Sioux of $17.1 million plus interest for loss of the Black Hills. However, the check has never been cashed; rather, the judgement money continues to draw interest. The Sioux now reject their legal victory that awarded them "just compensation" for loss of sacred lands, arguing that only restoration of these lands to the Sioux will end the conflict.

In _Black Hills / White Justice_, Edward Lazarus describes the legal efforts of Oglala attorney Mario Gonzalez (one of the leaders in the land restoration movement) as a Lakota Don Quixote who lacks a sense of reality. This bias affects much of the story that Lazarus tells in this history.

Never the less, there is no other book that offers a comprehensive overview of the history of US-Sioux relations through more than two centuries. The book is well researched and well written. It is a good primer.

The story in this book begins as the Sioux begin their rise to dominance on the northern Plains as they acquire horses and guns. The focus then shifts to the interactions of the Sioux with non-Indians from early traders and explorers to government officials, soldiers, settlers, and finally, bureaucrats and lawyers. In the focus on this relationship, the book offers little insight into the internal dynamics of Sioux culture, but it says more about the legal relationships between tribes and the federal government than many other books.

I'll keep it simple: In the famous words of the comic book trader fron The Simpsons, "Worst book ever". Tom is a dolt.

If the purpose of regional studies is to arrive at an understanding of the character of the people of an area, and how that character is reflected in the material constructions of those people, then Isern has it nailed. Among the fascinating range of issues pertaining to Dakota culture that he discusses is how the creative/artistic impulse of a people is sometimes found in the mundane.
For many Dakotans, whose lives are shaped by a pioneer inheritance, whose forebear's lives were hard and economic existence precarious, 'art for art sake' just doesn't seem right. The inherent desire for artistic expression sometimes found, and finds, its outlet in the practical, such as in the design and construction of barns, calf feeders or windmills.
For many Dakotans, huge roadside monuments, like the world's biggest buffalo, pheasant, dairy cow, etc., would be hard to appreciate if they were 'merely' artistic expressions. They would probably be seen by most of us as monuments to someone's ego. But done for a bigger purpose, such as for the benefit of the artist/creator's community, it is much easier to appreciate. But that's this Dakotan's view.
Most interesting of all is Isern's reflection on the desire of many here to create a mythology of our own. Hence the tales of the Welsh among the Mandan, or the Vikings along the James River, as well as our desire to believe these tales. (They're called tales only because they haven't been proven. Yet.)
In the end, a study of regional culture tells us something about what is intrinsic to the whole of humanity. It's rare to come upon a regional study that is genuinely wide ranging. Rarer still to come upon one that is free of the pedantic stuffiness that is found in so many other regional studies. For locals, this is an 'ah-hah' book. Isern's got us down cold. And coming from the Dakotas, that's saying something.

Off the Beaten Path-rather a so-so account of "what to see/do" in the Dakotas. I personally like the Moon Travel Series better as the format is easier to read and more consistent.

Great source for additional possibilities when visiting the magical Dakotas. However, restaurants and lodging lean heavily to those who have plenty of money in their purse/wallet. For most of us, I would research these areas further. But it is outstanding for many possibilities to make a wonderful trip even better. Just don't expect it to cover much roadfood, wacky attractions or budget motels. VERY worthwhile still.

Who likes being adopted nobody does especially Tall bear when his kola White hawk abanded him at a butte that had a eagles nest on a little tree.His kola who lied to the village that Tall bear was killed by the eagles.

I like this book because it reminds me of two buddies in my class.The part I dont like is when Tall bear kola abandens him at the butte.My opinion about this book is that its a good book it talks about friendship. I'll recomend this book to anybody who likes reading books by the athur PAUL GOBLE.And to people who likes reading novals from Tomie Depola.

I learned some things from this book, but it does amble on like a boring textbook sometimes. The stories of the the families were very interesting. My great-grandma's cows in N.E. SD ate cockleburs during the depression, and trying to hit water during a well drill was distressing.

trying to bridge the gap betwwen art and anthropolgy she has done a fine job of presenting her work and making it easy to understand for a moron like myself.