Nebraska Books

This carefully researched history of Yucatan's 19th Century Caste War is a long overdue addition to our understanding of one of the most fascinating chapters in the turbulent history of Mexico. Don Dumond draws from a wealth of primary source documents in this comprehensive overview of the 54 year life-and-death struggle that began in 1847 as a regional rebellion of Maya campesinos living on Yucatan's eastern wilderness frontier. Events rapidly spun out of control, when early Maya success on the battlefield unleased the pent-up energy of long-simmering grievances and hatred directed towards the Spanish-speaking elite, a group the Maya still thought of as foreigners three centuries after the Spanish conquest of Yucatan. As the rebellion caught fire, more Maya communities rose up, sensing the power of the moment, transforming the uprising into a peninsula-wide race war that came close to driving the Ladino population from the land.

Dumond presents a detached and balanced description of the major players and events of the rebellion, leaving the more colorful details of the battles and the stories of heroism and personal survival to Nelson Reed, whose excellent and very readable "Caste War of Yucatan" provides the stuff of a good war story. The appeal of The Cross and the Machete, is more to the student of Mexican history or the serious history buff. Here, Dumond removes the "climax" of the 1848 Maya offensive from its unlikely pedestal, where the Maya farmer-soldiers are closing in on the final Ladino enclave around the capital, Merida, only to abandon the field of battle at the first sign of the winged insects, whose presence in the skies call them to their sacred obligation to plant corn. Rather than "divine providence" saving the Yucatecan Ladinos, touted by many writers, Dumond argues that the Maya offensive petered out at the outskirts of Merida because the campesino army had not only overextended itself, but it had failed to inspire the long-dominated Maya of the Ladino northwest to join the revolt. In this story, the less exciting historical interpretation triumpths over the myth.

The Maya offensive and Ladino recovery of 1847 through 1850 are only the beginning to what turns into a protracted struggle for survival for the rebels and their descendants, who retreat into the wilderness of the eastern and southern forests, coalescing into a number of independent Maya communities in a permanent state of war against Ladino Yucatan, and much of the time, against each other. The most important of these rebel groups, who became known as the Cruzob, found strength and inspiration from a set of "speaking crosses," which appeared in1851 in a dell containing a small spring, deep in the eastern forest. Manipulated by a small group of rebel leaders, the crosses provided guidance and hope for the rebels in their darkest days, attracting large numbers of rebel families, who created a new Maya society there, and whose aggressive military carried out spectacular raids into Yucatan, and fought to a standstill the Yucatecan and Mexican armies sent against it. A well-equipped Mexican army finally put the rebellion to an end in 1901, by which time, disease, discord and desertions had decimated the ranks of the rebels.

"The Machete and the Cross" gives a great deal of attention to the Cruzob, and other rebel groups known as "Pacificos" who had signed vague peace treaties with Mexico, but lived in mostly independent and self-contained communities far from the reach of the Ladinos. Within the ranks of the Cruzob, Dumond brings to light previously unreported factions that operated somewhat outside of the tight control of the centralized leadership. We learn, for the first time, that the Cruzob town of Tulum, on the far north coast, actually became the most important center of the cross cult after the palace revolt that cut down the ruthless Cruzob leader, Venancio Puc and his Interpreter of the Cross in the capital of Noh Cah Santa Cruz in 1864.

Finally, the role of the munitions suppliers in British Honduras, and the delicate political position the colony found itself in as a result of its policies are explored at length in this well-crafted history.

This is a book that must be read by anyone interested in the Holocaust and Jewish life. It is unlike any Holocaust autobiography in that it involves Jewish life in South America. Even after living through the tragedies of the Holocaust Salomon Encourages joy and happiness. As a College student, and as Salomon's grandson this book touched my life in a very special way.

A Man Of The Twentieth Century: Recollections Of Warren V. Keller, A Nebraskan is the personal and engaging autobiographical account of an American who lived from 1900 to 1999, and saw the profound changes that swept across the generations. His stories, memories, trials, endurance, anecdotal observations, and age-seasoned wisdom are all set forth (as told to his daughter Rosemarie Keller Skaine and her husband James C. Skaine) in a decade-spanning, highly recommended presentation of one man's centenary life experiences.

A well written diary from the Trans-Mississippi theater of operations. This is one of the few Civil War diaries from that area. It is written by a recent German immigrant to Nebraska and covers the period of his three year enlistment, 1862 - 1865. The story covers relatively little actual fighting. When Mr. Scherneckau was wounded (in the leg) it is because he was accidentally shot by one of his fellow soldiers. Instead it covers life in the Army consisting mostly of futile marches, guard duty, converting from an infantry unit to cavalry, putting up with Army life, almost as though the country was at peace.

Mr. Scherneckau originally wrote the diary in German, his native tongue. It is clear that he was a well educated man, but little is known of his background and education.

The diary has been translated and brought up to date with modern English style and wording as well as ancillary materials such as newspaper accounts of the time. This makes it a lot easier to read than the approach taken by other editor/translators.

Accompanied by in-depth captions, Mari Sandoz's Native Nebraska: The Plains Indian Country is a truly impressive compendium of period photography showcasing her life and work. Born on the Nebraska Panhandle in 1896, Mari Sandoz grew to become an outstanding American writer until her death in 1966. Her writing was profoundly influenced by the people who called at her homestead. Her acquaintances included Bad Arm, a Sioux Indian who fought at the little bighorn and was present at Wounded Knee; "Old Cheyenne Woman", a survivor of both the Oklahoma and Fort Robinson conflicts; and the legendary William "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Mari Sandoz's Native Nebraska will prove of profound interest to students of Native American studies, women's studies, and American history.

I love Sandoz's books about the Plains Indians, but was never sure until I read her biography, as to their historical accuracy. I now wonder why anyone else would bother to research the culture of the Lakota and Cheyenne or the Sioux Wars, or any of the historical subjects she wrote about. Not only did she get first hand accounts from survivors who are now long dead, she also delved into papers and reports which have long since disappeared, mostly due to neglect. She brought historical writing to a new level. Never being satisfied to surmize, she would spend years researching gaps in her information. I have read several histories of the Sioux wars since reading Sandoz's Crazy Horse, and though her name appears constantly in the footnotes, no one in their introduction seems to want to acknowledge her as the definitive source. Perhaps it is because her writing style was not the standard regurgitation of facts, but had a beauty of its own, perhaps, as she believed, it was because she was from the West, and had no actual college degree, or perhaps it is because she was a woman who added a woman's touch to subjects usually handled by men. I also noticed that the First Nations' Amazon site does not list even one of her books. This is very sad because she probably did more to make white people not only sympathise, but empathise with the Plains Indian, than any other person-Indian or white, before or since. My congratulations to Helen Winter Stauffer for writing a very thorough biography of a great bigrapher.

Harold Frederic's last novel, published posthumously in 1899, it's about Joel Thorpe, an unscrupulous English businessman, who wishes to acquire all the wealth and position he can, only to end up being bored with it all after getting it. He makes his "killing" with bogus rubber stock and a great deal of chutzpah. But he is also interested in power: "There's nothing else in the world so big as power - strength. If you have that, you can get everything else. But if you have it and don't use it, then it rusts and decays on your hands." He is ruthless and a bully, and remains so right to the end.

When near the end of the book Thorpe exhibits restlessness and displeasure with the way his life is turning out, his business partner levels with him: "You've set out to live the life of a rich country squire - and it hasn't come off. It couldn't come off! You haven't the taste for it inbred in your bones. You haven't the thousand little habits and interests that they take in with their mother's milk, and that make such a life possible." One of the best characters in the book is Thorpe's sister Louisa, who has him pegged right from the start. When she accuses him of being uncaring and negligent with his money and then declares, "You sit upon your money-bags and smile. If you want the truth, I'm ashamed to have you for a brother!" - we want to cheer. The novel is brisk and sharp in its satire, and sticks with you long after finishing it. Worth tracking down and reading.

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING, PACKED WITH DRAMA, AND SUSPENSE, AND COMEDY. EVERYTHING THE 1999 ACADEMY AWARDS DIDN'T HAVE

I highly recommend this book. It gives an in-depth, historical view of the Scots/English struggle for supremacy in Scotland's politics. I found the portions dealing with appeals to the Pope and the documents used to bolster the arguments particularly fascinating. I hope this text comes out in paperback to make it more affordable.

"mean woman" has this enchanted amusement park funhouse quality, all mixed up with circus music and kaleidoscope perspective shifts...and this is a novel addressing brutal dictatorship, personal and political tyranny and exploitation...at once delightful, provocative, disturbing and, mostly, astonishing. borinsky is a fine, fine writer, who presents her own brand of fiction with authority and style.