Missouri Books

The many facets of the career of Benjamin Franklin have brought one biography after another, with some specializing in one particular aspect of his life. As he had so many active fields of endeavor, the supply of books will continue. Franklin was a scientist, inventor, philosopher, revolutionary, chess player, journalist, essayist, and lifelong do-gooder. He was also a printer, and from that he was a businessman. It is this seemingly ordinary part of his spectacular life that is the subject of _Benjamin Franklin's Printing Network: Disseminating Virtue in Early America_ (University of Missouri Press) by historian Ralph Frasca. Franklin, of course, thought of himself as a printer. It was what he was trained to do as an apprentice. He became a fugitive apprentice when he ran away from his older brother's Boston shop to make his own way in Philadelphia. He succeeded, and although others eventually took over the ink and typesetting parts of the trade while he made himself busy with other things, he extended his influence to other shops and other newspapers. Using his job skills, he was able to rise beyond his class, a common enough and even typically American story now, but something that was just not done in what was still the British social system of the time. He developed a network of printers which was not only lucrative to him, but helped him get the word out about the importance of virtue, morality, and industry.

That Franklin was a success himself as a printer in Philadelphia there can be no doubt, but he was enormously influential in making a printing empire. In 1731, South Carolina invited him to become its printer of official records, but he did not want to leave Philadelphia. He hit on the alternative of sending his journeyman, Thomas Whitmarsh, to Charleston, along with a press, fonts, and funds. Whitmarsh thus was the first member in what we would recognize as a franchise marketing scheme. He surrendered a third of the profits to Franklin, and in return got the start-up costs, as well as almanacs and other books to be sold in his shop, and news stories so that the _South-Carolina Gazette_ would be a sister publication to Franklin's in Philadelphia. Over the succeeding decades, Franklin would select other journeymen to become his distant proxies, always valuing their industry and sobriety, and in this way hoping that his emphasis on virtue might create further examples for others to follow. Eventually, the Franklin printing empire extended to New York, Newport, New Haven, and even Antigua. Not all of the shops flourished, and some not only lost money but caused their founder family heartache. Nonetheless, Franklin's printing network was the largest and most influential of the time. His first partnership started in 1729, and he forged his last over fifty years later. By his franchises, he increased the growth of printing throughout the colonies; by 1755, eight of the fifteen newspapers in the colonies were from the Franklin network, and other printers learned and borrowed from them. Franklin's success was the press's success, and formed the early American printing tradition. Not only were information and opinion disseminated through the network, but also the value of journalism was impressed upon the reading audience. When the new government was being formed, the importance of a free press was not lost upon it.

Perhaps the most important function of the network was that it allowed Franklin to spend more time on other things, the experiments in electricity, the advising on colonial independence, and the appointments to France by which we better remember him. It was the printing that made him, though; in drafting his will in 1788, he went on to mention his other offices, but identified himself as "BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, of Philadelphia, printer..." right at the beginning. He also wrote the wonderful epitaph for himself (not actually used on his monument) comparing his printer's body to a cover of a book from which the contents have been torn out. Even within the sphere of being a printer, however, he went on to be much more. Frasca's welcome book shows just how Franklin made himself into a printing empire, and stresses (just as Franklin would have wanted) how it was done as part of his effort at improving humanity.

Saw this book reviewed in the newspaper and had to order it. It is small and has the most popular plants grown here. These are plants that will grow best and can prevent buying plants that will not survive the winter.

Experienced outdoorsman Charles Farmer presents The Best Of Fishing, Hunting, Camping, And Boating In Missouri: Tips From An Outdoor Enthusiast, a primer of basic techniques and strategies to get the most out of one's wilderness experience in the Show-Me State. From where to find the premier fishing lakes and trout parks, to advice for which fishing lures to use and how to fish with kids, optimal habitats for hunting, various Missouri hunting clubs, camping checklists and safety tips, boating basics, and much more, The Best of Fishing, Hunting, Camping, And Boating In Missouri is a superb primer. Black-and-white photographs embellish this plain-terms introduction to the joy of experiencing what Missouri has to offer.

"Best Of The Best From Missouri Cookbook: Selected Recipes From Missouri's Favorite Cookbooks" is a spiral-bound collection of hundreds of recipes drawn from a large number the most beloved cookbooks published in the "Show Me" state by private individuals, non-profit organizations, and small presses. From Plum Bread, to Gooseberry Salad, to Chicken Dijonnaise Strudel, and so very much more, these wonderfully diverse recipes combine flavorful explosions of favorite local ingredients, easy how-to instructions, and the solid stamp of approval that comes from the test of time. The "Best Of The Best From Missouri Cookbook" is enthusiastically recommended as a 'kitchen cook friendly' addition to any home and community library cookbook collection! Cookbook collectors are encouraged to visit the Quail Ridge press website for a complete listing of all of their "Best of the Best" series of cookbook compilations.

This memoir is as compelling as a novel. It describes the author's stay in Moscow and St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) as an English teacher in 1982, and in particular her romance with Kolya, a Russian living in St. Petersburg. She describes a return trip the following summer to see if the relationship had a future, and I was completely engrossed by the story. This is a very candid memoir, and Alberts is very honest about her own insecurities. In addition, the memoir is an accurate portrayal of life in the Soviet Union (at least according to my wife, who spent her first forty years there, and who also read the book).

In Beyond the Missouri, Richard Etulain demonstrates how the American West is, and has long been, a complex region characterized by change. In his comprehensive and engaging study, Etulain examines the changing inhabitants, social patterns, and industries of the West. Creating more than a basic narrative, Etulain discusses how public perception of the West has evolved through the use of multiple mediums.

The earliest known inhabitants of the West included a variety of Native tribes. After centuries of establishing unique cultures and societies, the Native population began to decline with the first contact with Europeans in the 16th century. Spanish, Russian, British, and later Mexican and American interests attempted to exert control over all or parts of the West, in the process physically and socially displacing the previous inhabitants.

During the 19th century, predominantly Anglo Americans migrated to the West as trappers, prospectors, miners, and businessmen. In addition to changing the human aspect of the West, these settlers altered the West that surrounded them. Trappers reduced various animal populations, some to the brink of extinction. Prospectors and miners changed the landscape of the West by boring into the land and engaging in the destructive practice of hydraulic mining. Many businessmen prospered for brief periods in the many boomtowns that emerged throughout the region, while others enjoyed the growth of towns like Denver and San Francisco that would remain important regional centers.

The growing and urbanizing West remained a virtual colony dependent on the East until World War II. During the war, the federal government awarded a large number of defense and support contracts to multiple regions of the West. The resulting inflow of people and money transformed the West into an independent region with its own unique identity that continues to evolve today.

One of Etulain's strengths is his discussion of the perception of the West in popular culture, the individuals who created the images, and the various forms in which the images were transmitted. If there is a shortcoming of the study, it is that Etulain's discussion of the modern West is skewed so as to read as an urban and not a regional study.

Beyond the Missouri is a well-written book of the American West that builds upon previous studies to provide the reader with a broad overview of the region.

Deborah Cummins has named her book well. The serious precision of her poetry does reach beyond, look deeply into familiar landscapes, revisit people and situations from her past with renewed insights and with both irony and compassion. She can bring old Mrs. Alekna to life as a child saw her, with her holy cards and fascinating "brisly goiter/ Already the size of an orange." Cummins can be a social critic also, as in "Cody, Barnes & Wentworth" where she remembers being a professional woman among male colleagues and "summons my old voice from bedroom to office." First and foremost, Cummins is a fine poet of nature and landscape, particularly the Maine coast. These of her poems have a beautiful, elegaic quality, like shadows on a lawn, as when "just before nightfall" she loves "the brief flare of luminous light,/its almost saving grace." Always aware that it is "almost" saving, Deborah Cummins nonetheless brings her poems to us in this book with real grace.

A great book for kids to look through and read about the story of a tree that grew up while America was being tamed. He always wondered what his purpose was, and when he got old and fell into the river and stuck in the bottom, a riverboat was steaming straight for him! See what happens next, and if the old tree finds his purpose.

It's a glossy hardcover, and is a very appealing book to own. Wonderful art fills every page from edge to edge, with the text overprinted, so it's truly a picture book. The illustration is done in colored pencil and airbrush acrylics, and is colorful and fun.

I really enjoyed this book, and learned something, too.

The Big Rivers is an excellent book. It takes the older elementary student through the water cycle using the big flood of '93 as a living example. I recommend this book for every library. Teachers this book is a great non-fiction book for use as supplemental reading for any environmental education curriculum.

An "indispensable book for bikers, hikers, walkers, joggers and families who want to enjoy Missouri's trails." Shawn E. Richardson's book Biking Missouri's Rail-Trails follows an identical format to Shawn E. Richardson's other two books Biking Ohio's Rail-Trails and Biking Wisconsin's Rail-Trails. This colorful paperback book includes detailed maps, photos, and a description to each trail. Trail lengths range from 1 mile to 235 miles and include information about trail surface (smooth crushed limestone, asphalt), trail use (biking, roller blading, horses, wheelchair, hiking), parking, and points of interest. Shawn E. Richardson provides informaion about the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and their involvement with Missouri's Rail-Trails. If you live in Missouri, or plan to visit Missouri, this book is a must for any cyclist!