Kansas Books

The critical events and personalities of the civil rights movement weren't confined to the southern United States. As Gretchen Cassel Eick so ably demonstrates, Wichita, KS was itself a center of the struggle in the critical period from 1954 through 1972.
From a 1958 drugstore lunch counter sit-in that predated the more famous one in Greensboro, NC by two years, to agonizing struggles for school and housing desegregation, this mid-sized city far from the national headlines had all of the elements.
As reviewer Randy Bradbury said in the Wichita Eagle, "Gretchen Cassel Eick's book is a well-documented reminder that Kansas has been and is a place divided along racial lines, where opportunities differ depending on skin color."
Professor Eick creates a compelling narrative by weaving Wichita happenings in with those on the national level. So we see Wichita events in a context of changes in social beliefs, political leadership and even how they shaped and were shaped by infighting in the national leadership of the NAACP.
She also introduces us to a fascinating cast of activists at the center of the local struggle, a few of whom also played national roles.
The book works on two levels -- both as a narrative for the lay reader and as a well-documented study for academics.
As Bradbury wrote in his Wichita Eagle review, the book "must be considered an essential read for anyone interested in the history of race relations in Wichita or hoping for a foundation to begin understanding where those relations stand today. Additionally, however, the book is an exceelent primer on the national civil rights movement..."

I bought this book about a year ago. I feel this book is easy to read, well written and told the story of the history of the black and grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park. I highly commend the author for not glossing over some of the ugly past issues of bear policy. I laughed and cried at the ineptness of park managers when learning to deal with bears and the public. I did not know a lot about the past bear management in Yellowstone and found it heartbreaking to learn how the bears have been mismanaged in the park, from feeding platforms to letting visitors hand feed bears by the roadside. I was shocked to learn the numbers of bears that have been destroyed because of these issues!! I am glad that the park has gone full circle and now cherishes the natural bear and are working to do all they can to preserve bears and relocate them rather than destroy them. When you see a bear, please don't feed it.

This is the only bio on this gentlemen. During his life H. Roe Bartle was a well respected scout executive, head of the Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, founder of Mic-O-Say scouting honor society, and mayor. The Kansas City Chiefs are named in his honor, not after American Indians. If you want to learn more about The Chief, this is the book to get.

This is a must read for those in professions offering care to others as they grieve.

A reviewer, a person of faith., 07/28/2008

'. . .thought provoking from the standpoint of my Christian beliefs, informative from its historical perspective, and suddenly funny when you least expect it. I was impressed by the author's depth of knowledge of both current politics and biblical history and how successfully he mastered the challenge of weaving both topics into one great novel. We should all experience the simple and uncomplicated relationship that the youngest heroine, Tina, has with Jesus...through the eyes and heart of a child' -- Ellen Mordus, Medical secretary, Hamilton NY

That is the question the Psalmist asked. I've no idea and neither does this book, but it contains a world of recipes for which one of the following is true:
1.Men can cook them,
2.Men can eat them, or
3.Men wouldn't want to be connected with them in any way, shape or form.
In any case, the book is great! It is great for you or great for a gift to either a man or a woman!

This 1977 biography has been reissued this year, the 90th anniversary of the Rising, in its original form. It is difficult to imagine a subject for a biography which would be more capable of stiring controversy. It is also difficult to imagine an author taking a more reasoned, scholarly, and evenhanded approach to their subject.

This biography manages to humanize a man who is often reduced, in character and deed,to a faceless political icon. The book is thorough in relating his work in the Gaelic League, his writings, his tenure as a schoolmaster, and the development of his political philosophy and activism.

Finally, the book allows the reader a firm basis with which to independently evaluate Pearse the man. This is not to say that the work is inchoate, for the very title itself, The Triumph of Failure, reveals a steely frame upon which the facts are sculpted. By this it is meant that the book breathes life into a subject whose reality is given fair treatment rather than obscured by an ideological or euhemeristic approach.

The author notes in the 2006 preface that she has been constantly in controversy with those who use or condone the use of violence to accomplish political ends. The author does make judgments about Pearse with respect to his character and the Rising. She notes that Pearse was an exponent "...of a romantic morality which sanctined the the sacrafice of self and others in the pursuit of self-realization." It is clear that the Rising was in the author's eyes an undemocratic insurrection.

It is also clear that the author has attempted, and in my view successfully, to produce a balance and fair biography of Pearse the man which in some respects must be fairly described as sympathetic.


It is well worth the time and it is written in a clear and reader-friendly style.

Set in the American West during the late 1800s, The Emerald Prairie by Harold G. Ross is the sweeping and highly recommended story of a pioneer family looking to stake their claim on Kansas prairie. A tale of faith in God, survival, and a young man who grows up tested by destiny yet driven by the courage and challenge passed on in his blood, The Emerald Prairie is a moving tale that brings a bygone era vividly alive and documents Harold Ross as an original author and a talented master of the western genre.

I appreciated the well researched and thought out ideas presented in this book as well as all the personal stories and experiences that reinforced the concepts. As an educator in an early childhood, special needs program, I see great value in following the advice given by Debbie in raising a special needs child to be as independent and capable as possible in handling his/her own life. The author is positive and encouraging while giving strategies to empower parents, as well as children, to meet the, sometimes, difficult days with which they are faced. I was very happy to find this book and
Debbie helped me adjust my thoughts as I looked at children with special needs from a different perspective than before. I highly recommend reading Empowering Your Child.

Very interesting book. We all know about land taken from the Indians when pioneers were settling the west. But this book explains how it all happened. Writing style makes it a very interesting book that I had trouble putting it down. Next on my list is "The End of Indian Kansas".