Nebraska Books

Compiled by professional linguist David J. Costa, The Miami-Illinois Language is an exhaustive grammatical reconstruction of the language spoken by the Miami and the Illinois Native Americans -- dialects of the Algonquian language family. The populations of the speakers of these languages were decimated by warfare and disease; now, The Miami-Illinois Language pieces together a complex technical map of how people once communicated, with information from surviving stories, historical sources, comparison with related languages and more. A seminal work of impeccable scholarship, The Miami-Illinois Language is very highly recommended for inclusion into Native American Studies in general, and Native American Linguistics reference collections in particular.

This is NOT an "exhaustive grammar" of Miami-Illinois; there is no coverage of word formation (a major component of the grammar of an Algonquian language) nor of syntax. One hopes Costa will go on to cover these areas (so far as such a thing is possible given the absence of native speakers) because his account of the historical phonology and the morphology of Miami-Illinois (which is what this book consists of) really is very good. I suspect it would be most likely to appeal to Algonquianists; it should be pretty useful to the brave souls striving to revive the language, whom one wishes well. Costa says his target audience includes linguists interested in learning about the Algonquian languages, and I think it would indeed be useful for them, especially because of the fairly conservative phonological nature of Illinois compared with eg Ojibwe. A minor quibble: nowhere is the allomorphism of the personal prefixes ni-/nint- ki-/kit- a-/at- mentioned, even though the book has plenty of examples of it; this would mystify readers unfamiliar with other Algonquian languages.

This book is clearly the best researched and objectively written work ever produced on the, controversial,"last battle" of the Indian Wars.

An unbiased, original, creative, compelling mastperpiece, Moon of Popping Trees is a brilliant and "professionally detached" work regarding Native American/European American relations prior to and including the Wounded Knee "incident." Of course, by "professionally detached" I mean amazingly separated from this often times over-emotionally approached subject in American History.

Yet, what is most compelling about this absolute masterpiece, is that despite Smith's own emotional detachment, he by no means fails to draw in the emotion of the reader--a danger which "scholarly reflections" often succomb to. Smith's work is perennial, cautious, and yet fascinatingly marvelous in its ability to "suck in" the reader. A subject I often pay little attention to and have little care for...Moon of Popping trees gave me a desire to study this area of history in greater detail.

Great book - well written, accessable. Divided into two sections - the first is an introuctiuon to the broader concerns of approach german baroque music - lutheran-musical ideologies, ideas of rhetoric in msuic etc. the second is both a compendium of musical-rhetorical terminology, and a selection of shorter extracts concerning individual baroque theorists and their ideas of rhetoric in music. superb book: essential for reference and for and introduiction to the msuic of the period's extrinsic concerns.

i read this book while studying in the authers music history class in university.its informative and fascinating for the mind to analyze the inticate theory of music during the baroque period. truly a wonderful piece of literature

Schullery and Whittlesey have performed a great service for all lovers of Yellowstone Park and its history. This is excellent scholarship. It is not, however, the "first full account" of this story. Chris Magoc's Yellowstone: The Creation and Selling of an American Landscape, 1870-1903 (University of New Mexico Press and MOntana Historical Society, 1999), is equally fine and indeed goes further and deeper in its analysis of the cultural and historical significance of this chapter of the park's history.

The collaborative effort of Paul Schullery (Professor of History, Montana State University) and Lee Whittlesey (Park Historian, National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park), Myth And History In The Creation Of Yellowstone National Park presents the complex and fascinating history behind the creation of the Yellowstone National Park. This unprecedented establishment came to be during the American Gilded Age, a time when corporate greed ran rampant and political altruism seemed almost extinct. Myths about the inception of Yellowstone National Park have persevered and found an enduring public acceptance, but the true story of the individuals behind the park's creation is actually one of flawed human beings with their own competing motives, and not necessarily pure-hearted conservational philosophies. Myth And History In The Creation Of Yellowstone National Park is a work of impressive scholarship and very highly recommended for university and community library American History collections.

The Delorme atlases/gazetteers are valuable references especially if you are traveling the back roads. Compared to a regular road map, there is much more detail to find your way just about anywhere in the atlas coverage area. If you need a lot of detail, you can then purchase topographic maps. Special features are also noted. Get one of these for any state where you plan to explore off the beaten trail. I already have atlases for five states, and the collection will surely grow in coming years.

The best overall atlas for the state of Nebraska. Very clear concise easily readable colorful maps with a state overview. Great for the family vacation or frequent traveler. I use it everytime I am in Nebraksa a must for the who like road maps that go above and beyond.

Johnathan Rands' American Chillers book, Nebraska Nightcrawlers, has captured the undivided attention of our seven year old son. He loves these mysteries. This one, with the creepy nightcrawlers, has him wondering if, just maybe, he should collect and sell some nightcrawlers as a way to make money to buy more Johnathan Rand books!

Fellow readers, the book Nebraska Night Crawlers written by Johnathan Rand is full of adventures and exciting events. The suspense was outrageous you never knew what was going to happen. The mood is quite good it is rainy, and night time so it is dark.
I couldn't stop reading it because it was full of chilling events. The night crawlers were quite scary they loved to make ruckus in the neighborhood. That is how I liked the book Nebraska Night Crawlers.

In 1989 five states and two multinational corporations schemed to locate a 'low level' nuclear waste dump in an isolated northern Nebraska county by offering them, $3 million a year for 40 years. The town officials agreed to host the site - but what evolved was unexpected on all sides: a fierce battle by Boyd county's farmers who fought corporations, the state and the federal government to prevent this from happening. Author Susan Cragin was asked to write this story by Greg Hayden, Nebraska's commissioner to the Compact charged with sitting the dump, who was opposed to the Boyd County selection process. Her eye-opening account is moving and revealing.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This true story, researched and told by Susan Cragin, is an amazing tale that is so captivating, I couldn't put it down. The author deserves great respect for digging out the complexities of a story spanning over 20 years. The book is especially interesting because it not only tells the story from the perspective of a group of people struggling to stop the powers-to-be from building a nuclear dump in their agricultural community, it includes the actions, motivations and insights from those supporting the dump. Getting both sides of the story makes this book special. The book is never a dry recounting of facts. It is a powerful read as it enlightens, inspires and entertains.

Sometimes, constructing an elaborate fiction-as Tierno Monénembo does here-reveals an emotional truth deeper than would be possible with any journalistic account. Mr. Monénembo has lived in exile from his native Guinea since 1969, studying in Senegal, Abidjan, and Lyon before settling in Normandy. The Oldest Orphan is his seventh novel, and second of his books to be translated to English.
The narrative is fragmented between flashback and a blur of present tense, where the protagonist Faustin's memory wanders between age 10 and age15. At age 15, Faustin exists in prison, awaiting execution, accused of killing the boy who allegedly raped his sister. Faustin faces heroic challenges with humor, resourcefulness, and remnants of an innocence that has been brutally truncated by genocidal mania. The facts are difficult, and blurred, against the backdrop of social & political upheaval.
This is an important novella concerning the Rwanda genocide of 1994, written by one of the strongest literary voices available in translation from the African continent.

This book is beautiful! From such sadness Mr. Monenembo has wrought exquisite humanity. I could not put it down. It is Africa viewed by an African instead of Europeans or Americans. In a compelling fashion Mr. Monenembo focuses not on the politics but on the people.

I am very impressed with this new release of Mary Walker's Diary. I am a direct decendant of Mary and Elkanah Walker and am very proud that there is such a wonderful book with her's and Myra Eells' diary entries. It gives us a view of how women's lives were, how people's views about the Native Americans were at that time, and shows us the hardships of pioneer life. I want to thank the authors for keeping this piece of history alive.

Carrie Walker

These diaries of Mary Walker and Myra Eells bring to life the early day pioneer struggles to maintain survival and sanity during the years 1838-1848. Being recently married wives of missionaries, both Walker and Eells maintained excellent daily diaries of their arduous overland journey from Missouri to Washington. In company with two other missionary wives (Gray and Smith), they were the second group of women to cross the continent. These overland diaries are an entrancement to read, depicting day to day life along the Oregon Trail while riding side-saddle for 1900 miles. Mrs. Walker was oftentimes dismayed over both the long journey and the uncertain and questionable love of her husband (she was also pregnant during this journey).
Once in Washington, they all spent the winter of 1838-39 at the Whitman mission. Conditions were somewhat crowded that first winter, therefore human feelings and emotions ran rampant (even amongst missionaries).
Mary Walker then continues her diaries for the next ten years. They had their own mission to build and manage at Tshimakain whilst bringing salvation (attempting to) to the Spokane Indians. Mary had six children while living at their mission. With so many children to look after, along with cooking, cleaning, making clothes, tending livestock and the garden, etc., it was a full life. So full in fact, she oftentimes was despondent of her purpose in life regarding the mission and raising her children. The book ends shortly after the tragic Whitman massacre of 1847 when they then moved to the Williamette valley of Oregon.
At times the book can become somewhat overbearing due to the multitude of footnotes, but still a truthful look at pioneering so long ago.

This compelling hybrid manages to be at the same time a memoir of a young activist and new mother, a meticulously researched history of a group about whom little has been written - German anti-fascists in Nazi Germany - and a richly imagined version of the author's grandfather's life. Huber expertly draws parallels between her own experiences and the lives of the grandparents she never met, while creating characters so real that I found myself in tears at the end.

In Opa Nobody, Sonya Huber expands the territory of the memoir by engaging in speculation of the most fruitful kind about the family history that history itself conspired to make only partially available. The result is a memoir reminiscent of novels that incorporate similar strategies, among them Philip Roth's American Pastoral and William Styron's Sophie's Choice. Lofty company, this, but it is company Huber has earned. Opa Nobody is highly recommended.