Missouri Books

The author writes in a direct conversational way. It's a page-turner from its opening and you can't put this book down until you finish it and find out how the author's story ends. The author writes of many aspects of pre-war Europe which were largly neglected before. This is a valuable book with mainly new information on the Holocaust.

"Letters from the Pacific" should be required reading for all U.S. Military Chaplains. The letters written by Chaplain Russell Stroup show the side of a sensitive, caring man who ministered to the troops assigned to him, plus even the enemy (as P.O.W.'s during WWII) on occasion. A Godly man, his letters have been edited and presented to the public by his nephew, Richard Cartwright Austin. I have the hardback book on my shelf, and will read it again in the future.
I wish I could have met him; there don't seem to be enough heroes these days.

On May 21, 1804, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery set out to explore the Missouri River and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. Their adventure lasted more than two years and covered more than six thousand miles of rugged terrain. The story of their adventure has fascinated Americans for two hundred years. This anthology does more than retell the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Instead, it provides a means to understand the expedition through eleven original essays.
--- from book's back cover

CONTENTS

Introduction by Peter J. Kastor
1) "Thomas Jefferson's Scientific Project and the American West" by David Thomas Konig
2) "'A Multitude of Indians': Indian Country on the Eve of Lewis and Clark" by James P. Ronda
3) "The Professional Culture of the Lewis and Clark Army" by William Skelton
4) "The Geopolitical Context of the Expedition" by James E. Lewis, Jr.
5) "A Journey's Beginning: The Corps of Discovery and the Diplomacy of Western Indian Affairs" by J. Wendell Cox
6) "'Pacific Intentions': Lewis and Clark and the Western Fur Trade" by J. Frederick Fausz
7) "Americans and Their Enviroments at the Time of Lewis and Clark" by Conevery Bolton Valencius
8) "Thomas Jefferson and the Expanding Union" by Peter S. Onuf
9) "Public Perception of the Expedition" by Betty Houchin Winfield
10) "A New Encounter: The Native Oral Tradition and Lewis and Clark" by Angela Cavender Wilson

This is a wonderful account of this great adventure. Both the writing and the photographs are excellent. The reader is able to feel the dynamic spirit of the expedition.

Great book on a great American. Our lives are so easy now days. Read this and you can appreciate this!

"Life in the Valley of Death" by Edward R. Ward is an excellent and highly thought provoking book that can be appreciated by NCAA Basketball devotees and also the shrinking minority of social students looking to learn more about race relations, structural racism, and sociological interaction through the deceptively small scope of Missouri Valley Conference basketball in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Ward begins with a brilliantly and thoroughly researched guide through that brief period of college basketball history. He leads the reader through the information with intelligence, sensitivity and subtle humor.

He closes the book with a discussion of the philosophical and sociological implications of the tumultous time of sports history where segregation, contempt for black people and the desire to win was balanced on a political, social, and academic tight rope.

Any reader will find that once one finishes with the body of content, the actual reading is only half way over, as Ward has tightly packed his end notes with additional anecdotal and general facts, findings and reflections that range from Bill Walton's coaching tips to postmodern analysis of diversity within large institutions.

Ward's quality of prose never disappoints and shows that he not only possesses the ability to research, but also the skill of storytelling.

David Masciotra

Excellent book of fiction if you're into unsentimental realism, darkish humor, and existentialism... This guy is brilliant.

The resurgence of interest in daguerreotypes (witness the the recent auction record of $315,000 for one image) has resulted in a host of beautiful books, of which this volume ranks as the best. Delores Kilgo has done a masterful job of presenting the unparalleled collection of the Missouri Historical Society. Nowhere else will you find the work of one photographer so magnificently displayed and critiqued.

Literary St. Louis: A Guide features fifty authors who lived and worked in St. Louis in a guidebook that is ideal for visitors or city residents wanting to explore the diverse literary history of this fascinating region. Enhanced throughout with photographs, maps, illustrations, and colorful anecdotes, the reader is treated to a St. Louis Literary Chronology, commentaries by literary luminaries ranging from Mark Twain to Tennessee Williams, a locations list, bibliography, and a very useful index. If you are planning a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, then William Gass and Lorin Cuoco's Literary St. Louis: A Guide offers a unique, fun and informative approach to sightseeing and historical surveys.

this book is just wonderful. It captures the essence of the dirt under our feet. A perfect spring time read, just as earth begins its awakinin'