Missouri Books

This book gives a first person perspective on what the civil war meant to one union supporter who had a law office in St. Louis, but later left to avoid the conflicts in Missouri. Well done!

This book is an authentic, first person account of the Civil War situation in Missouri from 1861 to 1865. It is taken from the hand written journals of Franklin Archibald Dick, and compiled by his great,
great granddaughter, Gari Carter.

The journals are an amazing, new and primary source of information on the Civil War. They are his personal notes on the War, the U.S. economy and global politics of the era. He was a perceptive attorney and Union officer, and recorded his day-to-day experiences in the Troubled State Journals

If you want a close-up account of the Civil War story in the state of Missouri, directly from a man who was there, read this book.

Troubled State: Civil War Journals of Franklin Archibald Dick is a collection of private journals written by Franklin Archibald Dick, a St. Louis attorney, Union officer, and provost marshal general. Assiduously assembled by Franklin Dick's great-great-granddaughter Gari Carter, Troubled State offers a firsthand view of historical events such as the early Camp Jackson incident (during which he was Captain Lyon's assistant adjutant general). Dick was concerned about the slow progression and horrendous cost of the civil war; witnessing the divided city of St. Louis broke his heart, and journals reflect his progression from optimism to grave doubts about the future. Thoughtfully annotated and supplemented with brief biographies as well as a family genealogy and bibliography, Troubled State is a welcome addition to Civil War primary source shelves.

Unfortunately their is so much revisionist junk history about the atomic bomb and the cold war. Nuclear diplomacy, racism and other unfounded theories about the bomb have found their way into textbooks and classrooms. Anyone who does not think Truman used the bomb to end WWII quickly and with less lives lost is simply ignoring the obvious and the evidence. This book helps set the record straight. The decision to use the bomb was simple: to get Japan to stop fighting. Truman wanted to save lives and end the war: end of arguement. This book helps set the record straight.

Mr. Maddox has done a great service in analyzing the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. He systematically demolishes the arguements used by those who (for whatever reason) think that the bombing was unjustified. He shows through intercepted transmissions how the Japanese were ready to commit themselves to a bloodbath to fight off an invasion and how the Japanese military still wanted to fight even after Hiroshima was destroyed. Overall, the book is great work and should be required reading in schools and the Smithsonian Museum.

Some of the most popular books on the atomic bombing of Japan are filled to a depressing extent with distortions and incaccuracies. These books argue that there was no military necessity to use the bomb. Various nonsensical theories are offered to explain its use e.g.: The bomb was deployed to provide diplomatic leverage against the Soviets or as a result of American racism. These authors routinely take many indisputable facts and ignore or twist them beyond recognition in order to justify their arguments.

Robert James Maddox does a great public service by exposing these abuses of truth in Weapons for Victory. Point by point the tendentious butchering of historical source materials is exposed until there is little doubt that the methods used by these writers are the historian's equivalent of junk science. Various quotes, documents and other pieces of information are often used selectively and taken out of context. This process drastically alters the real meaning of these sources as facts are chopped up and forced to conform to predetermined conclusions. Maddox reproduces many of these misused sources in their full context and thereby shows their true meaning to be something quite different than what these authors claim. In addition, many basic facts that contradict the revisionists' claims (and that are usually ignored by them) are recited. For example, it's often said that the Japanese would have surrendered by mid-1945 if they had only been assured that their emperor could remain in place. Drawing on U.S. intercepts of Japanese diplomatic communication, Maddox shows that the Japanese wanted the emperor to remain the actual ruler of Japan, not the figurehead that he became after the surrender. Many other revisionist arguments become farcical after Maddox compares them to the documentary evidence.

This book is an indispensable antidote to such widely known and wrongly respected travesties as The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Gar Alperovitz and Hiroshima by Ronald Takaki. Weapons for Victory clearly exposes the malpractice of the historian's profession contained in these books. A similar work of equally high quality is Truman and the Hiroshima Cult by Robert P. Newman.

The issue here is not about varying interpretations fo history, which are completely legitimate. It is about the proper and responsible use of source materials by certain authors who hold themselves out to the public as careful historians. We should all hope that despite the popular appeal of conspiracy theories and gratuitous America bashing that has propelled many revisionists to fame, good scholarship like Maddox's will still prevail.

I love this book. It has tons of beautiful exterior photos but I would like to see more historical photos and more interior shots. I would also love to see more recounts by the people who lived there. There are a few stories and I read them over and over. I'd really like to give this book a four and a half but that's not an option.

Should you actually wish to drive down either Westmoreland or Portland Places, expect an unnessecarily rude treatment from what must be the local rent-a-cop. It matters not the price of your car or attire- you might get (as I did) threatened to be "thrown in jail for trespassing", and lectured as if you were an idiot. Other students of architecture beware. It happened to me, and judging by the character of the "gentleman" in question, I'm just glad I'm not black. I escaped without kissing the hood of my car.

Congratulations to all that contributed to this outstanding book. The history of the Places was carefully and completely researched and presented with beautiful photographs.

As a student of the Overland experience and a resident near the original trail in Nevada County I was just fascinated by this wonderful account. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and have given it as a gift to other early West enthusiasts.

In his own words Bryant describes his life on a wagon train going to California from the East Coast. If Bryant had a fault, it was that he too descriptive of the trail and events on the trail! If this wasn't enough, he was a doctor of the day, well, in his words, "Almost a Doctor." He was going to California to complete his studies. Like any good intern, he kept notes of who he treated on the trail and how he treated them. Also, being a bachelor, he was invited by the father of an eligible daughter to travel with them, "to let nature run it's course." This book should be a text book on the high school or the collegiate level.

Edwin Bryant's work is a classic not only of overland travel in 1846 but also of life in early California during the same time period.
The Kentucky newspaperman's writing style approaches poetic composition. He was a keen observer of every minute detail on the trail and when in California:
Geography; Indians; weather; describing the many people along the route; river fordings; acting the part of doctor to the many ailing emigrants; traveling with the Donner party; he and a handful of men separating from the main wagon train in Fort Laramie to go it alone; the perils, mishaps, hazards and beauty of the trail; meeting several celebrated individuals including Joseph Walker, Fremont, Sublette, Hastings, Hudspeth and Kearney to mention a few.
When in California, Bryant walked right into the United States' conquest of California from Mexico. He was a volunteer in Fremont's army to thwart insurgents. These and other timely events are well depicted. Bryant's description of what happened in the horrific Donner party expedition are piercing.
This is an exceptional book and highly recommended for enthusiasts of the early west.

"When you begin reading a diary, you drop abruptly into someone else's life." And what a life. Ms Fisher has brought to life the story of an unheralded German immigrant and in the process provided more than a glimpse of antebellum St Louis and Cincinnati, two of America's frontier cities in the mid-nineteenth century.

The editor's insights, introductions, and annotations are the highlights of this biography. I think I enjoyed the notes at the end of each chapter as much as the diary itself. The notes cover the spectrum: from the origin of the vernacular "OK" to the frontier oyster industry to the peculiar acquisition of German surnames before the modern era.

Extensively researched, "The Whiskey Merchant's Diary" provides budding genealogists a roadmap on how to track their own family history with references to the National Archives (Washington, DC, and College Park, MD); the Library of Congress; and, state archives from New Jersey to Wyoming.

As I have mentioned in other reviews, the presentation of a book is very important to me and in this case the Ohio University Press has been superb: the feel of the paper and the type font are outstanding. Highly recommended.

This thoroughly researched diary of a German immigrant is a must read for anyone interested in the history of the American mid-west. Spanning the years 1847 to 1862, it records the adventures of a young man who loved the ladies (perhaps, too much; syphillis which caused blindness ended his entries), a good time and a good deal. Filled with rare pictures and maps of pre-Civil War Cincinatti and St. Louis, the book carefully reflects the rise of a budding merchant against the background of the American early Victorian period. Of special interest to historical and geneological buffs, it is also an entertaining read for the general public.

Dr. Linda Fisher has taken the words of Joseph J. Mersman - an 1847-1853 era merchant - written in his own hand, and added commentary and exposition to them, to bring the world of Mersman back to life, full of the vibrancy that Mersman felt as he was writing down his life experiences. Mersman's diary opens in 1847 Cincinnati, and moves - in January 1849 - to St. Louis, where he lived the rest of his life.

This book, a culmination of more than 9 years of work, describes that world - business, social, and everyday life - and adds background information on the issues and events that Mersman encountered in his life, including the devastating cholera epidemic of 1849, and other significant events of the day.

The author recreated the 1850 maps of Cincinnati and St. Louis, and located on them the places that Mersman mentions in his diary, so the reader will have a sense of not only the events that occured, but the spatial world of Cincinnati and St. Louis. The volume is well written, and is a "must read" for history enthusiasts and scholars, especially those interested in mid-19th century life, business and medicine.

Fans of St. Louis sports will find this a fine keepsake edition recounting tales of record-breaking events in St. Louis sports. This was originally scripted for KFNS Radio as part of a series, using vignettes to consider the personalities and events of fourteen different regional sports. While this holds special interest for Missouri residents, any with an interest in local sports history will find its lively descriptions and black and white photos compelling.

In The 100 Greatest Moments In St. Louis Sports, Hall of Fame journalist Bob Broeg recounts in a descriptive story-telling style the most outstanding, unusual, legendary, and thrilling episodes in fourteen different sports by St. Louis athletes. The individual stories range from 1899 (The Day Old Cy, New Cards Came to Town) to 1969 (Stop-Off to Cooperstown: Carlton's 19-K Game) and range from the comedic to the heroic. The 100 Greatest Moments In St. Louis Sports is highly recommended for anyone who delights in the history of athletic competition and achievement.

this book i recomend for standard readers.I liked it alot!
Very interesting about curing warts.Loved it alot, hope
the people that read it liked it too.From my rating from 1-10
i'll give it a 9.Thanks for reading.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures Huckleberry Finn as great book to read. It's way better than the movie, like most books are. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry do things that would give your life such a rush. The adventures they go through and the trouble they get into is just great. Children these days can't do some of the stuff they do without being gounded for life or send to a military camp, but on thing they can do is use there imagination like Tom and Huck do in this book. This is a really good book to read and it feels like your part of the book, which is a cool feeling. This is one of my all time favorite books. I read it once already but I just want to open it and start reading it again. Mark Twain, AKA Samuel Clemens, had a taste for adventure now it's your to taste it. There are many moods to go thrugh in this book happy, sad, angry and etc. Just got to read it. There is excitement around ever corner.Uproariously funny, Tom and Huck even run away awhile, to show you how hard it is to live on your own if your a kid to see how hard it is to support yourself on you own. There is even a murder in this story and it's a cool court case to. But there more not like I'm going to tell you, Oh Ok you pulled my leg hard enough. They also fine buried tresure enough said. I hope you read this book. ENJOY

Wow! I could not believe how remarkably crispy this book was. I mean the pages were just crisp with crispness. You know how when sometimes you're reading a book and you think to yourself "Dam! This book is crispy!"? Well, when you read this book, it will make you think that. Are you ready to ascend to new levels of crispiness? Then reading this handsome man's audacious study of the crisp. I found particularly interesting the area where he compares Lacan's mirror stage to Ralph Ellison's novel: "THE CRISP FACTOR". What a tight, irresistable thriller!

Darryl Dickson-Carr's African American Satire is recommended for college-level audiences; this studies the role and purpose of satire as a literary genre in African-American writings. Afro-American literature and the history of satire are concurrently studied in chapters which argue that major works by Hughes, Ellison and other should be viewed as satires in order to fully appreciate their meaning.

This is just wonderful - poetry, fiction, essays, spanning from slavery to the modern day. Early has gathered an important collection of writing, period. Forget ethnicity, forget locality, this stuff is GOOD.

I thought this book was incredibly entertaining. It has local flair and memorable comments from some of the most famous blacks in history. The essays are provocative, fun and entertaining. A must read.

Alexander Doniphan is one of those great characters from history who learned from his mistakes about the role of government. He is one who rebelled against the demogoguery of American politics to become a true independent having experienced first-hand the results of policies he had helped push through at one time. A warrior who came to know the horrors of war and so came to realize its utter futility and underlying causes of greed and self-aggrandizement. He, like Smedly Butler in the century that followed, came to see war as a racket for a few at the expense of the majority. Doniphan's integrity in the Mormon wars shines through in a world gone mad with hate. His life is so full of examples for us it is sad that he, once a household name, has become virtually unknown to us now. He truly was a great American hero and we would do well to honor his life and work. The book is wonderfully well written and complemented with black and white photos and drawings from the Doniphan's life. It is a must have for the serious student of mid-19th century American politics.

Alexander William Doniphan was one of the most significant and popular figures in Missouri from the 1830s through the 1870s. He excelled as an orator above all but was also an extremely successful attorney (he defended 188 clients on murder charges with most being found innocent and none receiving the death penalty), military leader, politician and businessman and an influential educator and farmer. Doniphan's most famous exploit, the conquest of New Mexico and Chihuahua and the creation of a law code to govern the first area, was chronicalled several times in the 19th century but this is the first full biography to be published about this important man. I have studied most of the available primary and secondary sources on Doniphan and find this biography to be both balanced and complete. Anyone who is interested in Mormon, Missouri or Western History should find this book worth reading.