Nebraska Books

This is an excellent resource for anyone studying Native American history, culture, or art. Covering the history of this calendar-like art form, and following with year-by-year images and descriptions from each winter count, the book ends with a modern interpretation of the winter count concept by Emil Her Many Horses.

It is very interesting to compare which events are covered by each winter count keeper. It is also fascinating to see how the Lakota depicted other tribes as well as soldiers. The book and the data in it give us a peek into a window of a culture that had no written language.

This book contains pricless pieces of history. Be aware that the up-close individual pictures are black and white. If you wish to view the winter counts in full color you can just visit the smithsonian website. Even though I have spent countless hours viewing these wintercounts online, there is something about having a copy of your own that you can easily flip through. One of the best parts of this book is that upon reading the descriptions of idividual pictures, you will see that the authors are not so bold as to hold their descriptions as absolute, but rather the best information they could compile from the families and indirect sources of these wintercounts.

I was iffy about this, because of the other photos. Luckily, this product has exceeded my expectations. I don't know why there are "other views" of this calendar, they aren't from this product. Wish you could see the back!

Some of the other posters, besides the front, are Nebraska - Pittsburgh from 1928, Oregon State vs. Nebraska from 1947, Arizona - Nebraska from 1967, etc. The calendar is spiral bound and states that it is archival quality. Lots of neat artwork. I am buying it for a big Husker fan and think the posters will make nice framed art for his football room.

Adam's Diary is a brilliant work of art & a very entertaining book. In it, the "modern Adam" is a composite of thief, dog & prisoner. It's interesting that the composites are not merely psycological aspects of 3 different men, but they're actually what the men involved have become in reality. The book is broken up into 3 "diaries" for each man, & they all revolve around their relationship to one woman. Each portion is an interesting blend of "stream of consciousness" and psycological drama. The book becomes more & more compelling as you read on. Faldbakken is a guy hardly anybody in America has heard about, let alone read, & that's a real shame. He's a first-class writer & worthy blood-brother to Dostoyevsky. Get this!

Big-Foot Wallace is a true Texas icon. He was on the famous Miers Expedition which explored West Texas. He also served as one of the original Texas Rangers. The reader does't know if what he reads in the story actually happend. Much of if did, but Duval added some stories to make it a better yarn. The humor is dry and understated fitting with typical West Texas sensiblity.

An excellent first hand narrative with lively and descriptive writing by one of the first pioneers to help settle the untamed Northwest. Alexander Ross joined Astor's Pacific Fur Company expedition in 1810 and this is his story of the day to day struggles which he and the other men had to overcome. He left New York on the soon to be ill-fated, doomed ship the Tonquin, with a pompous and overbearing Captain Thorn. They sailed around the tip of South America, then to Hawaii and finally to the mouth of the Columbia River, all the while prevailing over many hardships during this voyage. Upon landing and without delay, the men began to construct the trading post Astoria. Ross' detailed descriptions of their adventures amidst the forces of Mother Nature, Indian relations, the Northwest Fur Company, geography, etc. makes this book a real page turner. They all had many obstacles to overcome, and as I said, his writing skills are exemplary. He devotes the last few chapters to the culture and customs of one of the local Indian tribes. The man was a keen and acute observer of all his surroundings and this is an energetic effort on his part to put it in writing.

George Meredith's "The Adventures of Harry Richmond" is the most atypical of this dazzling and at times maddening Victorian writer.In it he eschews his usual epigrammatical wit and complex elliptical structure to write a straightforward autobiographical novel in the style of Kingsley's "Alton Locke" and Dickens'"David Copperfield".His best work up to that time-"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel","Evan Harrington" and "Sandra Belloni"-contain some of the most brilliant writing of the period,but they also are uneven-they seem structurally unbalanced and the ambitious prose sometimes falls(as Virginia Woolf pointed out)flat as a pancake.Later works,such as "The Egoist" and "The Tragic Comedians",probably display Meredith's writing at the its height-but their sacrifice of incident for minute but oblique analysis render them like James' last novels,difficult to approach."Harry Richmond",however,has none of the faults endemic to Meredith's work and if there is none of the famous authorial piquancy,it makes for a better overall experience."Harry Richmond" tells the story of a young man,Harry Richmond,torn between the conservative, commonsense rearing of his landowning grandfather and the romantic,fantastical schemes of his dashing,but penniless father.The book reads like a serious comedy of manners with its final struggle of duty and imagination,love and shame culminating in intense poetic tragedy.Richmond Roy,the father,is one of Meredith's most memorable creations,and the love interlude with the Princess Ottilia is one of his most exquisite scenes.The "statue" scene is,I believe,the best thing Meredith ever wrote-its power is amazing.Meredith at the time of his death was one of the most admired writers of his time,but his reputation has since declined because of his unique,lyrical style is not as accessible as other poet novelists-such as Emily Bronte and Thomas Hardy.But anyone who attempts Meredith will be rewarded,despite his undeniable flaws,with an original and fascinating writer,whose work as embodied in "The Adventures of Harry Richmond" still has the power to haunt and challenge. P.S.This was Edith Wharton's favorite Meredith novel.

I found this book enjoyable for a few different reasons:

First, it is a good source for an introduction to the ancient school of Skepticism in western philosophy. Greaves gives a helpful synopsis of the main figures of this school and their methods, especially Sextus Empiricus.

Second, you don't have to know Greek! Of course the book includes the Greek text and references that would profit anyone wishing to read in the original.

Third, the subject matter of music (what it is, its practice, effects on beings, etc.)I think is more interesting and accessable to the experience of the general reader, as opposed to drier topics Sextus wrote on (like grammer).

Fouth, the detail of footnotes in the text would be invaluable to anyone wishing to dig into the study of ancient music.

Fifth, one can read through the text in an evening or leisurely afternoon.

This book would be enjoyed not only by readers of philosophy or classics, but I think musicians would enjoy going through its provocative arguments as a stimulus to clarify their own views on the nature of music.

In this book, Brian Swann has amassed a rich collection --translated from Algonquian literatures of North America -- of stories, fables, interviews, all with accompanying footnotes, references and "additional reading" -- all quite in-depth, interesting, and educational.

Varying in intensity from highly interesting, to amusing, to solemn, they capture the multifaceted personalities of the Algonquians as they relate animal stories, hero stories, ceremonial songs (some with musical notation), legends, dances. And although the Algonquian way of life was forever changed by the arrival of the whites, these narratives, written or told by Native storytellers, contemporary or long-gone, show how the strong backbone and tradition of the Algonquian culture has thrived, even as their numbers were diminished.

The addition of commentary and explanatory text do a great deal to introduce to as well as immerse the reader in the Algonquian spirit as well as philosophy.

Standing along or as a reference, or a classroom text, this book is a worthy addition to Native American studies.

Dryden's reworking of Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" is a great read, especially if you didn't fully comprehend Shakespeare's work. Dryden's language is concise, and his portrayal of historical characters is excellent; especially considering that he had to follow Shakespeare's lead.

This is an amazing book. It is hard to write about one's own family and make it interesting. To go further and make it not only interesting, but relevant to others, takes a writer of rare talent. Penn is clearly such a writer, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the creative and original approach taken in this work. The author draws thought-provoking parallels and connections between his own mixblood Indian family's dreams, visions, failures and successes, and those of other families, in particular other native and mixed-blood families, including exploration of the writing of many historical native American figures. This is a creative and very original book, highly recommended.