South Dakota Books

I adored this book, because I left Sioux Falls, my birthplace, when I was only one and a half. When I read this book, I learned so much about where I was from and it helped me choose where I am going to visit when I go with my family on a trip all over South Dakota! This book is for all South Dakotans!

Skeletons of the Prairie is a wonderful book for anyone who appreciates the beauty of the prairie and its forgotten inhabitants. This informative, easy to read book is full of beautiful, riveting photographs of the prairie and its "skeletons". The authors and photographer have done an admirable job of bringing attention to these endangered structures of the prairie. A+ book recommended for coffee tables across the country.

I Live in the Black Hills and rely on this book extensively for travel on and off the beaten path. If you need forest service roads for camping, fishing, or hunting, this book is it! Alos lists out of the way places to see exceptional scenery and get away from the main stream grind. Try it....you'll like it!

My Autistic son enjoyed hearing a chapter read out of this every night and could easily remember what had happened before. It's a great way to learn about the history of our United States.

This book is well researched and contains great information. Mr. Johnson and his wife toured South Dakota after retirement and went to every town/city/village that has ever existed in the state and took photos at each stop and they provide interesting detail about each and every location. Worth the money spent.

I'm from a russian family from Odessa, Ukraine who wants find out members from my lost family.

An excellent overview of South Dakota rock art by a noted expert in the field. I had particular interest in the Cave Hills area, just south of where I live in North Dakota.

Edited for publication by Paula M. Nelson (Professor of History and Chairperson of the Department of social Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Platteville), "Sunshine Always: The Courtship Letters Of Alice Bower And Joseph Gossage Of Dakota Territory" was compiled by Maxwell Van Nuys, Alice Bower Gossage's nephew and the family historian. Alice Bower lived in Vermillion, South Dakota, where she occasionally worked as a typesetter and cared for her younger siblings. Joseph Gossage lived in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he founded the 'Rapid City Journal' -- what would eventually become the second largest newspaper in the state. It was his need for a good typesetter that introduced him to Alice in 1880 and the beginning of their remarkable courtship which was carried out through letters conforming to the strict social formality of the time. The letters provide a unique and engaging 'window in time' into an American yesteryear as we read of their hopes, fears, dreams, and beliefs during a time of dramatic development within the country and their own responses to hard times (including a flood sweeping away Alice Bower's home and Joseph Gossage's struggles to build his newspaper). Here is the riveting, self-described story of two young people whose communications were to lead first to love, and then to marriage. "Sunshine Always" is enthusiastically recommended reading and a welcome contribution to both academic and community library American Biography and American History collections.

Tatanka and the Lakota People: A Creation Story is a bilingual English/Lakota picturebook recounting a traditional creation story from the Lakota (also called Sioux) Indians. The striking and symbolic color paintings, deliberately created in a style to reflect the art created on buffalo hides by the illustrator's Lakota ancestors, add a vivid dimension to the tale. The story tells of the Trickster who fooled the Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation) into leaving the Underworld, where they became the Ordinary People and needed help to survive. Tatanka, the holy man, provided that help by turning himself into a Buffalo and sacrificed his powers for the sake of the people. A profound tale, presented with great respect for Lakota culture.

Paul Piana and Todd Skinner are well known in the world of climbing. But some folks don't know that Paul first climbed in the Needles, in the early seventies. His descriptions of the routes are sometimes sketchy, but this is nonetheless the classic book on climbing in the Black Hills. He includes some maps of the various areas, and a good introductory section on the history of climnbing in the area. Some interesting biographical notes, including Herb and Jan Conn, some Yosemite greats and others.