Nebraska Books

This book was recommended by my sister-in-law, who is 1/2 Lakota Sioux. I wanted to understand more about the culture, the language, the inner feelings of the Sioux. This depiction, from a Lakota who went through the changes from freedom to confinement in his formative years, was sobering. I happened to find a 1951 version at a library and am now ordering the updated version to keep. I will be reading it again. I cried when I realized what my ancestors had done.

Though Emma writes from the perspective of the losing side of the Civil War, and though her beliefs on race clash greatly with our times, her persistence in the face of horrible suffering is a magnificent example to us all. She stands as testimony to the powerful spirit of the South and of Southern women in particular. Were we as committed to the ideals of our day as she was to those of her day, ours would be a powerful society indeed. Her diary is all the more shocking when you realize that she was only seventeen when she began writing

A very delightful and touching story portraying the hopes and aspirations of a group of orphans in their search for a happy home. The story reflects the simplicity of children and their trusting nature in the lives of these orphans. The story also exposes the harsh realities of this world through the thoughts, motives and attitudes of the various adults in wanting to adopt them.

What impresses me most is the trust of the children in God in spite of all the difficulties and their readiness to face the challenges in life because they are confident that God will be their helper.

An interesting and easy to read story and one that I did not find easy to put down the moment I started reading because I was curious to know the outcome of the children in the various homes that adopted them. Children will enjoy this book. So will adults.

This book is a surrogate diary for those who were allowed no voice of their own. My grandmother attended Carlisle Indian Industrial School, 1882-1885 and in these pages, I feel as though I am walking along side her.
Sammie Dennison-Harmon

University of Nebraska professor Jack Botts, who is a prolific writer and author, gives the readers a history lesson with attitude. He captures the events of 1862 and 1863 in the Nebraska Territory with the uprising of Santee Sioux Indians. In his book "Whitestone: An Historical Novel", the reader is taken out looking for these renegades and thus the beginning of an interesting tale. The author makes history come alive through a skillfully written narrative and a well constructed dialog. His characters move and become real people as you go though the story. He has written this book so you cannot tell easily where real history and fact separates into creative imagination; it is a good bridging between the real and make believe world of his novel. The author's feelings about that time and place and his compassionate sense of understanding for the men on both sides of these events comes across clearly, although at times, ever so subtle; which only adds more depth to the reading experience.

If you are looking for an exciting "old west" novel that rings true with facts then this is a wonderful book to pick up and read. The book has all the elements that make a great novel. The author writes with attitude and energy. The plot and the interactions between people is first class. This is good entertainment and perhaps even an education on the attitudes and the history of that time period in our nation's past.

The MWSA gives this book it highest rating of FIVE STARS!

This books covers, in exquisite detail, the ins and outs of identifying, gathering and preparing wild fruits and grasses found on the plains. The authors also include wonderful, hard to find recipes, such as wild plum jelly.

Collaboratively compiled, edited, and notated by Gregory A. Waselkov (Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama) and Kathryn E. Holland Brand (Associate Professor of History, Auburn University), William Bartram On The Southeastern Indians is comprised of the writings and observations first published in 1791 by William Bartram regarding flora, fauna, and the Native American Creeks, Seminoles, and Cherokee that he encountered while touring the American Southeast. This scholarly edition is enhanced for contemporary readers with illustrations, notes, a bibliography, an index, and an informative chapter devoted to the significance of William Bartram's writings in anthropological studies of 18th century southeastern Native American cultures. William Bartram On The Southeastern Indians is a core addition to personal, professional, and academic Native American Studies collections and supplemental reading lists.

This volume of Coletta's magisterial biography covers Bryan's life from 1908 to his resignation as Secretary of State in June 1915. The account of the Democratic Convention in 1912 is one of the highlights of the book, and makes clear that Bryan was responsible for Wilson being chosen in that dramatic convention--the account cannot help but make one nostalgic for those bygone days when presidential nominating conventions were meaningful and full of suspense. Except for Bryan, Champ Clark would have been nominated and elected president--and it is mind-boggling to think about how the world's history would have been changed by such a result at the convention. The treatment of Bryan's time as Secreatary of State I did not think as well done as Arthur Link's account in his volumes on Wilson's presidency. see Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality 1914-1915, by Arthur S. Link (read 4 July 1980) A minor flaw in this book is that while the footnotes are where thay are supposed to be, at the foot of each page, the bibliography does not list all the books cited in the footnotes! A good corrective for this book's treatment of Wilson's course up to 1917 is The World War and American Isolation 1914-1917, by Ernest R. May (read 1 Nov 1984).

This is the third and final volume of Coletta's biography of Bryan. It covers the years from 1915 to his death just after the Scopes trial in 1925. It shows that Bryan was of importance in the enactment of five constitutional amendments: the 16th, the 17th, the 18th, the 19th, and the 20th (even tho the 20th did not come to fruition till after his death). The account of the Scopes trial is carefully done, though Coletta does show some of the more glaring failings of Bryan in his duel with Darrow. A good and a bit more balanced account of that trial can be found in Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, by Edward J. Larson (read 3 Oct 1998) (Pulitzer History prize for 1998).

This was a very good book about my great-great grandfather. The author did an excellent job with her research and the story. I have recommended the book to quite a few of my relatives and will probably be giving it as Christmas presents to others.