South Dakota Books

What a fun and light book.
I enjoyed it alo and it was fun to read.

South Dakota has a lot going for it, and this book will show you and your students what.

The "Portrait of America" series is a terrific and easy to understand introduction for pre-teens to the 50 states and to the places and events that shaped the history of the United States. This "South Dakota" installment is very good. The book is broken down into sections like "History", "Culture", "Economy" etc., and each section is thoughtfully written and edited.

This book, as well as the entire "Portrait of America" series, will prove to be a valuable teaching tool to all primary school educators

I picked this up while on a vacation in South Dakota. It definitely added an extra zest to my travels, going around in Deadwood and Rapid City, Badlands, etc. and reading about the "spooky side" of such locations. The entries are short, concise, and tell you what's been seen, a short blurb on the history of the place, and what if anything the authors found upon "investigation" of the site. Each site includes a photo and driving directions so the reader can find the site and check it out. The entries are not too in-depth, which is nice because it doesn't get boring.

My only critique of this book is the sloppy editing, there are numerous typos. Whoever edited this should be fired. The sloppy editing does take away a little from the credibility of the book, but it's a light-hearted treatment so I guess it's not to be taken too seriously.

My first impressions of America were in Rapid City, South Dakota (7-10 October 2001) and the patriotism and hospitality of Dakotans set the pattern for an enjoyable three week tour (that included NM, NYC and DC).

John Milton's concise 200 page history of the Coyote State filled in some gaps for me and simply whetted the appetite for a return visit.

Particularly interesting was the East-West divide caused by the Missouri river and how, traditionally, the political clout in the State has been in the hands of the easterners.

The conflicts between Red and White, that still persist, started with the gold rush, an event that sparked the major migration of white settlers into the territory.

Colourful characters like Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Hugh Glass, Red Cloud, George Custer and others give the flavour of pioneer times and the imagery of the past was enhanced by me being able to see some of the historic places in the Black Hills as well as some of the big sky country of the prairie-both of which the author conveys well in his text.

The rural nature of much of South Dakota, with wide open spaces reminds me of my own environment (in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia) and the history of gold rushes,early inter ethnic clashes, achievement of statehood (SD was a year ahead of Western Australia), friendly people and rural conservatism is something that I can clearly recognise and which Milton explains.

If you want a good concise backgrounder to SD (with a useful section on further reading) then Milton's book is a good starting point.

As for South Dakotans in general I admire their patriotism (after Sep.11) with flags and signs everywhere- and in particular I thank Pastor Jim Patrick, and members of his United Methodist Church, who took time to make sure this traveller from a distant land not only enjoyed reading about the history of the State but also saw South Dakotans of the present for what they are-a gracious, generous and decent people.

If you're even remotely considering on attending the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD and have never been there during the rally before, then you need this book as a reference. Even seasonsed veterans to the rally such as myself will find this an enojoyable read. There are some great stories and riding suggestions, however the real golden lining is the comprehensive listing of hotels/motels/cabins and campgrounds. Never before has such a list been compiled. The author also gives you an insight as to what to expect for weather.

In the preface to this book, Philip Hall explains the two-fold purpose of this book. It is an effort to tell a story of the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890 from the standpoint of local frontier history, rather than the more common efforts that treat the event as an episode in American Indian history, or in Western military history. Hence he tells the story of white settlers and ranchers in the area. The second purpose is to contribute to a deeper and more meaningful effort at reconciliation between Indians and whites in western South Dakota.

Hall does a good job of the first goal, orchestrating the views of participants on the settler side of the Indian-white encounter around the time of the massacre. He shows that these views were more complicated than readers of other histories might suspect. In putting forth these views, he also lays out some perspectives that could, with a focused and committed political effort, stimulate the possibilities of mutual understanding between Indians and whites in South Dakota, as well as other areas in the West. He shows that participants in the crisis of 1890 found themselves caught up in events beyond their control. They were faced with choices in which all the alternatives failed to satisfy their priorities. In the choices they would have liked to make they might have found the basis for peaceful coexistence, rather than the violence and oppression that became the mode of interracial relations.

Hall does a good job of orchestrating a narrative that evokes these possibilities. However, his approach often seems too much that of a journalist who conceals his stake in the outcome of the events. His second objective--racial healing--might be served better by stronger analysis and the commitment throughout the text that is put forth in the preface and the author's bio.

This book covers the changing of the guard in American politics, when authority was no longer unquestioned and citizens were learning how to organize and exert their positions. In hindsight, it is amazing that such an ill conceived idea as transporting 800,000 cubic yards of water over 100 miles to irrigate land inherently unsuited to irrigation could have held sway for three decades before being exposed as impractical. The fact that this feat was accomplished by a handful of citizens, against the united desires of the press and business and political leaders, makes it even more interesting reading.

During the period that this drama was being acted out, I served as a Special Assistant to the Governor of South Dakota, and I was impressed by the clear, interesting and straightforward telling of this story. While I would dispute some of the details, to a reader that did not live out this drama, these are of a minor consequence. As the staff member that authorized funding of the study of transporting Missouri River water to Wyoming, I can assure the readers that this study was done solely to determine the impact of providing clean, fresh water to ranches and small communities in western South Dakota and was completely unrelated to the Oahe project. Governor Kneip quickly distanced himself from this study when objections arose from our political base in eastern South Dakota. This study, however, documented the importance of clean water supplies to the public health and the raising of livestock. The rural water systems that were created in the wake of Oahe addressed this need and as the author noted, this was the lasting legacy of the Oahe Project.

There is a natural tendency in books like this to paint the good guys as pure and the establishment as universally bad. In this case as part of the establishment, there were major differences of opinion within the Kneip administration on the feasibility and desirability of the Oahe Project. The decision to "leak" and make public a wide array of documents that were destined to aid the opponents was thoroughly debated and I admire Governor Kneip's tolerance of those that prevailed in providing the public the truth.

The lesson that citizens can overcome incredible odds in fighting proposed developments is a fascinating story that deserved telling.

The many books in the Images of America Series offer readers the opportunity to get to revisit the histories of places they know well. Thus, I have enjoyed reading several volumes in the series which describe Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I was born, or Washington, D.C., where I live. But the many volumes in the series can also be used to discover something about new places - towns or sites in the United States that the reader finds unfamiliar. For me, this book on Wind Cave National Park falls into the latter category. I have never been to Wind Cave and knew nothing of it before reading this book. The book taught me something of a place and its people that are outside my usual run of things.

Wind Cave National Park is located in southwest South Dakota south of Mount Rushmore, about 50 miles south of Rapid City and 6 miles north of Hot Springs. In 1903, the cave became the seventh National Park in the United States and the first devoted to a cave. Wind Cave is one of the longest caves in the world, and its full extent has even today not been determined. The cave has many unusual features including a rare cave formation called boxwork. Over 600,000 people visited the Wind Cave National Park in 2007.

In 1912 Congress made the Wind Cave National Park a wildlife refuge. Shortly thereafter, the New York Zoo donated 14 bison to the Park, and other donors transferred elk and antelope. Today the Park is a thriving sanctuary for wildlife, including about 350 buffalo.

In her book, Peggy Sanders tells in photographs and text the story of Wind Cave National Park over its first 100 years. Sanders, from Oral South Dakota, is the wife of a rancher. She has lived in the region of the cave all her life and has written five books on southwest South Dakota for Images of America. In 2007, Sanders received first place in the Will Rogers Writing Contest sponsored by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists for an essay she had written. She is an ideal person to write a homespun history such as this book about Wind Cave. A bit more proofing and editing from Arcadia would have been welcome.

In six short chapters of photos and text, Sanders gives an overview of the history of Wind Cave and of the key moments in its development. Although it had been known to Indians, a young man named Tom Bingham became in 1881 the first settler to discover the Cave. A few years later, a teenager named Alvin McDonald fell in love with the cave and spent much time in its exploration. McDonald left a diary of his effort and the diary is on display at the Park. The Cave was made a Park in 1903 partially to avoid a feud over ownership that had developed between two rival claimants.

During the long years of the Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps made many contributions to Wind Cave National Park. The CCC constructed an elevator to the Cave and built park buildings, including the Visitors Center. The CCC brought improved lighting to the cave and constructed roads and trails in the Park, among many other accomplishments. Sanders devotes a great deal of space to documenting the efforts of the CCC. Her book also documents the extensive Indian presence at Wind Cave and tells a great deal about the NPS employees who devoted their careers to the Park. She also offers many scenes of local people and areas surrounding the Park.

I enjoyed the opportunity of learning from this book about a place that was new to me. This book will have its greatest appeal to those readers familiar with the area and to those who have visited Wind Cave or who have a special interest in caves.

Robin Friedman

This is the 2nd book by Alison Weir that I've read, and I must say that she is a very talented historian and storyteller. What I love about her is her gift for taking non-fiction subjects and telling a compelling narrative, almost as if it were a novel. Although my only criticism of this book is the fact that it's so laden with detail, especially when dealing with the infamous casket letters, that at times it became somewhat tedious. The emphasis on the letters is neccesary, however, since they were instrumental in convicting Mary of Darnley's murder, and their examination is the cornerstone Weir's theory that the letters were at least partial forgeries. I'm not sure if I agree with her aquittal of Mary as an accomplice to Darnley's murder, but whether you decide to agree with her or not, she definitely makes a compelling arguement.

When i brought this book i was hoping that i would come away with a new and clear understanding unfortunitly i was not 100 per cant satisfied.This book moves along at a very brisk pace this is justified i suppose by the fact that the early life and other events that exclude the Darnly affair are not supposed to be the highlight of the story.Alison weir does not make it very clear who was most likely to be guilty of the crime i suggest this book for someone who enjoys deciphering but if you just like to have a casual read then this is not the book for you.I was not too disapointed for i was able to get it new for 5 dollars pheraps for this price i may say it was a good buy but if you are paying above 8 dollars then i would not bother.My review may sound critical but i merely would not like others to be dissapointed and other alison weir books such as the wives of henry the 8th or the life of elizabeth the first are more desirable

I was disappointed in the book, because I hoped for a more balanced, objective look at the murder of Darnley, and Mary's degree of involvement. I agree with the reviewer who said the book needed better editing. Too much time was devoted to repetitious and indignant refutation of George Buchanan's ludicrous allegations about Mary, and Ms. Weir's point of view was driven home too vehemently. The research was meticulous, to the point of ponderous. Near the end of the book, I found myself thinking "Off with her head!" and skipping chunks of pages to reach the conclusion, which, by that time, I found rather satisfying.

Alison Weir writes wonderfully. Her discussion is crisp, engaging, and even by turns charming. She has a knack for pulling out telling detail, and weaves original source material deftly through each passage. In introducing Lord Darnley, the then-future husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, she notes that his parents doted on him, holding him particularly precious as most of his siblings died in infancy. She finds a letter he wrote at 8 that sheds insight on his ambition and religion. Detail by detail, she paints his personality, bringing him to life before us. This is a book that is hard to put down.

Yet, Weir also has a knack for building assumption on frail assumption, trying to build a house of bricks on a foundation of straw. As an example, she speculates that the illness that plagued Darnley in the months before his death was not smallpox (as commonly assumed) but rather an intermediate stage of syphilis. She acknowledges that this is not clear from the record, but merely speculation, and outlines both the pros and cons for her view. Weir is clear enough: there's some reasonable chance she is right, but she acknowledges that, across the years, it is impossible to establish her position with certainty. Weir then builds on this assumption, suggesting it was "inconceivable" that Mary did not find out that syphilis ailed her husband, making assumptions about Mary's state of mind, whether or not she may have had another pregnancy, and how she interacted with other men and her husband based on the speculations about Darnley's disease. This is but one example. Again and again, as one works through the book, speculations which are carefully qualified and limited on first argument become certainties when repeated a few pages later, so that as one finally reaches her conclusion, gets her point, and steps back to consider whether she is right, her logic simply melts away. In the end, she adds nothing to the history but her pretty words.

Had this been a work of historical fiction, I would praise it. Weir is a wonderful story teller. Alas, the book masquerades as history. But, oh, if only other historians could write like Weir!

Like many people, I'm aware of who Mary Queen of Scots is, how she died and the death of her husband. But, I knew little about the actual details of the case, the atmosphere of the time, and the specific evidence against her. In this book, Alison Weir reveals her theory of what happened to Lord Darnley and how his wife Mary was involved.

Since this mystery is many hundreds of years old, there is no concrete forensic evidence to lay it to rest. Some historians and readers will no doubt disagree with Weir's solution. She doesn't present new "facts," she provides her interpretation of the existing ones. However, she has done meticulous research, which is readily apparent, and presents a solid circumstantial case for Mary's guilt or innocence (I won't ruin it!). In one way, Weir's conclusion is irrelevant. Some reviewers have already mentioned Weir's take on the Casket Letters. Weir is not the only historian to doubt their validity, so I had no problem seeing that viewpoint. What makes this worth reading is learning what evidence was used at the time, the placement of people and events, and an examination of it all. I appreciated learning more about this famous, ill-fated woman.

Weir's trademark easy writing style makes this flow like a novel, while still remaining non-fiction. It is a long book, but I don't feel it was bogged down. Readers need more details on the political mood, Mary and the events leading up to Darley's death to get the full picture. I don't think this is as good as The Princes in the Tower. That read like a true-crime novel, and I found myself convinced by her argument at the end. I'm still uncertain what I think really happened to Darnley, but I found Weir somewhat persuasive in her view. Most of Weir's books are worth reading, but this is definitely one of her best efforts via a vis a mystery. Highly recommended.

Daschle vs. Thune starts and ends well, but in different places. And the big in-between fails to deliver the real gory "anatomy" that the title promises and that a participant ought to be able to give.

Lauck launches Daschle vs. Thune in his best polemical form, anticipating in his Preface the predominant criticisms that his book has faced, that Lauck, as a paid Thune staffer writing while fallout from the campaign lingers, is too close to the topic to write a good history. Lauck shows his sharp rhetorical skills here, deftly arguing that his participatory history is part of a long tradition of the finest historical works. Thucydides, Churchill, Schlesinger -- all participants in history, all writing close on the heels of the events they record, all providing works of lasting historical value.

Unfortunately, Daschle v. Thune doesn't provide similar historical value, not in the way the title and Preface promise. As he zooms in from national political context to the specifics of the South Dakota campaign, the book falters. The book gradually turns into a mere rehashing of the campaign against Daschle. Not the "campaign for Thune," mind you: After the recap of Thune's entry into the race and visits to the reservations in the spring, Thune becomes nearly invisible. Even in his own staffer's telling, Thune is little more than the guy running against that two-faced liberal Daschle. The text reads more like Daschle and the Argus Get a Whoopin' than Daschle vs. Thune. Leaving Thune, one of this history's title characters, so underdeveloped is a serious literary flaw.

As a participatory history, Daschle vs. Thune could have offered a real insider's story of campaign strategy, tensions in the Thune war room, etc. But we get none of that rich insider's perspective.

After proclaiming in his Preface the vital nature of a participant's perspective, Lauck disappears almost completely from the narrative. Lauck cites other bloggers specifically for their pro-Thune efforts, but Lauck gives little if any detail about his own writing or other participation in the Thune campaign. This literary choice denies us the full "passion" and "strife of experience" that Charles Beard mentions in Lauck's Preface. Lauck's participatory status colors our perception of the book, but it doesn't appear to contribute to the richness of the book itself.

If anything, Lauck's participatory status appears to detract from the richness of Daschle v. Thune. Rather than risk turning the lights of consciousness inward on the Thune campaign, Lauck can only look outward, fixated on Daschle, on making the argument that Daschle should not be re-elected, even three years after he helped successfully make that argument. It is as if the campaign never ended, and the Thune camp must keep bashing Daschle into submission, not just in the election, but in the annals of history.

Lauck does cap his rehash of the Thune camp's arguments with a reasonable historical theory -- 1960s vs. 1980s, McGovern/McCarthy vs. Reagan. He even marks himself as perhaps the only historian writing for popular consumption in 2007 to use the word synecdoche (see Chapter 10: "Daschle versus Thune as Synecdoche"). Seeing the Daschle-Thune race as an element representing the whole of contemporary American politics is a clever conceit. But if it is accurate, what does the current state of affairs with Daschle and Thune -- a lingering sense of bitterness and vengefulness, a refusal to let the 2004 campaign go, and a Republican senator once touted as the "new national spokesman for Republicans" [189] now relegated to minority status and relative inaction -- say about the bigger political picture? Lauck's own conclusion suggests that his synecdochification of the Daschle-Thune contest is more wish than historical assessment.

Participatory political history, justified as it may be, should give us more insight into the who, the how, and the why of events the participant helped shaped. If Daschle vs. Thune really is participatory history, I want more, not less, of Lauck on the pages. Lauck shouldn't be afraid to turn that light inward on himself, on Thune and his fellow campaigners, to give us a richer history of what was indeed a historic campaign. Instead, Daschle vs. Thune remains focused on beating Daschle, over and over, and thus offers us little but a repeat of the 2004 playbook.

[excerpted from full review at [...]

One will be hard pressed and hell-bent to find such a thorough and well rounded case study on the culture of politics and federal campaign races as Dr. Lauck's book on the Daschle v. Thune Senate race.

Some denizens have voiced concerns over Mr. Lauck's proximity to the Republican challenger and now Senator, John Thune. However, proximity does not indicate or beget bias. Jon Lauck is, by trade, a historian and a lawyer, both vocations which require one to become adept at looking at multiple sides of any issue and choosing the best argument based on known facts and thorough analysis.

In his book, Dr. Lauck discusses the myriad of issues that went into making this contest one of the most hotly contested and nationally renowned Senate races in American history. This book should be mandatory reading for Political Science majors in colleges across America. Not to mention this book should be read by the public at large who too often take politics at face value and fail to look at the underpinnings making the political cogs turn on either side of the ideological spectrum.

I think this is one of the best books I have ever read. I see that the angry people attacking this book worked for Tom Daschle and for liberal groups (such as Jeremy Funk, who has many ethical problems and conflicts of interest). I thought the book was very fair to Daschle but I guess that doesn't matter to the professional smear-mongers like Funk. "Daschle v. Thune" is a revealing look at American politics and should be read by everyone who cares about the political system. Bravo, Dr. Lauck!

I read Jon Lauck's blog regularly during the 2004 campaign not because of any great insights or analysis on his behalf but because it was like a car wreck from which I could not look away. Besides being a tired writer, relying on old cliches and superficial observations to describe the Daschle-Thune campaign, Lauck's pattern of disingenuous, dishonest, disreputable narrative effectively made him as untrustworthy a voice as existed in South Dakota's political arena.

If you want to read a great political book about a great political race, with valuable political lessons applicable more than two decades later, read 'Helms and Hunt: The North Carolina Senate Race, 1984' by William Snider. The author was the editor of the Greensboro News and Record and tells this story with all the skills of an experienced and knowledgeable newspaperman. It is a much better read, and for a fraction of the cost, than Jon Lauck's hackery.

Sorry to interrupt this lil' tea party amongst what are obviously Jon Lauck's relatives, but I don't have to read a word to know this is a colossal waste of time and money. As a South Dakotan who was intimately involved in both the Thune v. Johnson `02 and the Daschle v. Thune `04 Senate races, I can tell you that Mr. Lauck is a political hack of the worst order -- a hack whose political shenanigans lost him his job at a prestigious law firm in Sioux Falls and prevented him from getting tenure at South Dakota State University.

But, don't worry - he managed to land back on his feet on our collective taxpayer dime as a current employee of Senator John Thune. So you know how objective this work, which the hopelessly untenured former professor is laughably trying to pass as an academic work, is going to be: http://www.legistorm.com/member/Senator_John_Thune/97/8.html

But don't just take my word for it, you can read all about how Mr. Lauck was the key player in completely bogus voter fraud accusations in 2002 that nearly brought down a local network television affiliate in South Dakota: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/001693.php

You see, as the Chairman of "Lawyers for Thune," Mr. Lauck partook in a special conference orchestrated by Karl Rove himself to train hack lawyers, such as Mr. Lauck, how to accuse campaigns of "massive voter fraud" with little regard for what trained professionals often call "credible evidence." So, again, you know you're going to get nothing but the straight facts from this guy.

The State Attorney General at the time, Mark Barnett -- a stalwart Republican -- would ultimately deem Lauck's efforts to be worth considerably less than the paper his numerous fallacious briefs were printed on: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1041004948

It was an embarrassment to be sure - but an embarrassment that would later pay off in spades following John Thune's unfortunate comeback in 2004. (sigh) If only there were someway to deduct my contribution to Mr. Lauck's lavish salary working for Senator Thune from my taxes.