Nebraska Books

Heart's Desire is an idyllic turn-of-the-century mountain village filled with eccentric characters who specialize in bizarrely comical events. The main romantic leads liberally share the stage with everyone in town as we find out why they moved to such an off-the-beaten-path location and how they scheme against railroad and mine operators to keep it that way. Infused with Mark Twain/Bret Harte style humor throughout.

A wonderful book of color photos taken mostly in the eighties and early nineties of railroad activity in Michegan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. There some historical photos from the fifties and sixties, including a super one (page 27) from 1956 taken at Durand, Michegan, the essential station photo, a parked car or two, people waiting trackside, smoke drifting up from the engines smokestack, station building, signals etc.

The photos of freight and passenger trains are taken through the seasons by thirty nine photographers, captions are explanatory without too much technical detail, the books landscape shape helps display the trains better than an upright format.

After looking through the book a few times I was aware that I could tell if it was a Greg McDonnell photo, to my eye he seems to have a knack of framing the train in the composion and all the elements in the photo work together. This is not to say the other photographers are not as good as McDonnell (the famous Emery Gulash has a great dock and diesel photo on page 130) but his work clicks best with me.

Railroad fans are very demanding customers, they want raw energy, speed, sharpness, detail and very little moody, out-of-focus stuff that other photographers might say contributes to their best work, I suppose railroad photographers are basically involved in the reportage style. This and McDonnell's other book 'Signatures in Steel' of railroading in his native Canada are as good as it gets for train fans. Highly recommended.

Reads like a lot of short stories grouped together to make the book. Parker is a unique person, trying to clean up the west. No Rooster Cogburn in here, but a lot of other people who are just as interesting. Good read and great for a history buff.

This was a very interesting study of how the war affected everyday life of citizens. The high rate of dissertion was due to many reasons but the higher duty that pulled the men was to the safety of their own family. When conflicted between duty to "the cause" and reports of starvation on the homefront, or of thier women and children being at the mercy of vagabonds, many men opted to honor the higher duty of their familial commitments. Very interesting to read about the lack of governmental support for fighting men's families; the women's resourcefulness in severe hardship; and how the soldiers' minds were focused on their children and their safety. If you want a fuller picture of the Civil War than what is presented by history books generally, read this book.

Excellent book with top notch photos and location of photos listed. Highly recommend this book to any current or past resident of Omaha or person intestested in Omaha history.

Joseph McCoy was the founder of Abilene, Kansas, and chief promoter of the town as a railhead for the cattle trade. After building stockyards in the town and laying out a trail stretching south to Corpus Christi (later known as the Chisholm Trail), he convinced Texas cattlemen to drive their cattle to Abilene. In its first year of existence (1867), 35,000 head of cattle made their way to the new town. Within only a few years Abilene was a boomtown with hundreds of thousands of cattle being shipped from it yearly. Seven years later McCoy penned this comprehensive history of the western (mainly Texas, but including Colorado and New Mexico as well) cattle trade.

Although chiefly concerned with the business aspects, McCoy describes many components of the trade, from the life of the cowboy on the trail to the packing houses in Kansas City. There are chapters on the difficulties with the railroads (especially the Kansas Pacific, which reneged on its contract with McCoy in the 1870s), the "Spanish fever" which infected many of the Texas herds, the prejudice against longhorn cattle because they spread disease among the other cattle, the effect of the Panic of 1873, stock ranching, and the famous Drovers Cottage in Abilene, the hotel built for stock buyers and cattlemen. McCoy's account is authoritative and interesting. Just as good is the long introduction by editor Ralph Bieber, which expands on McCoy's treatment time-wise, and is a concise though thorough history of the cattle business from early Spanish days to 1867, and includes a detailed biographical sketch of McCoy. Highly recommended.

This is a comprehensive book on the history & families of Gering & the surrounding areas.
The book consists of detailed city, business, ranch & family histories. Well illust. with many historic & family photos.

(no highlighting, notes, marks, etc.)

12x10 Hardcover, without dustjacket,

This book is not written in a particularly sprightly style and yet I found it a work fascinating in the extreme. It starts at the very beginning , and I am sorry it only goes up to 1966. The chapter on the Non-Partisan League (1915-1923) was the most interesting. And Bill Langer had a fascinating career, the account of which was made more attention-holding for me because I used to go to the Senate gallery when I was going to law school in Washington and listen to his orations. Unforgettable, since unique. This is a great and memorable book.

I found this book to be very informative. It gave great accounts from both sides (Indian and non-indian). It follows the Santee Sioux history starting with accounts from explorers who encountered these wonderful people, to the Sioux Uprising, to their exile from their land, to the present day. You will find yourself unable to put this book down.

The author challenges the reader to understand how environment and place shape who we are. After reading this book you will never again take the places in your life for granted. The author's poignant essays will touch your spirit and inspire you to explore the places which make you who you are.