University of Nebraska Books

To cite Meriwether Lewis as Editor of this and other volumes of this University of Nebraska Press edition, edited by Moulton, is an injustice to Moulton. Lewis' efforts never got beyond a pros- pectus. Further, to list Clark as merely a con- tributor, is unforgiveable.

Number twelve in a distinguished, and, multivolume effort by Dr. Gary Moulton, The University of Nebraska, The "Herbarium" volume of "The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" is the most comprehensive, edited botanical reference of the known plant specimens of the Corps of Discovery, 1803-1806.

As an impressive culmination to the Journals, the herbarium collection finalizes the extensive botanical scholarship contained in the notes produced by Dr. Moulton in the previous eleven volumes, published periodically over the past twenty years. The product of extensive research into the known world repositories of the extent plant specimens, this volume contains only one known error in terms of inclusion of a plant specimen that cannot be attributed to the expedition's collection. This one specimen at the Charleston Museum has been discounted since publication.

Nevertheless, this volume contains relatively high-quality image reproductions of the known 238 specimens in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium, in addition to a clear introduction to the history of the Herbarium collection and the scholarship behind its most recent publication. 227 specimens are currently housed in the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia, and the remaining 11 are housed in the Kew Gardens, London. Of this list, 177 are distinct, individual specimens.

In the future, it is more than likely, despite this exhaustive effort on the part of Moulton, that a few new specimens will emerge from the depths of the American Philosophical Society, The Academy of Natural Sciences, and Kew.

Until such a time, this volume is an absolute necessity for anyone seriously interested in understanding the natural history ramifications of the expedition, the study of Lewis and Clark, and, for that matter, America's landscape legacy. One wonders how many more specimens would have been added to this collection if Lewis' early collections for the lower-Missouri had not been lost to decay during the expedition itself.

"Volume 12, Herbarium of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," Gary E. Moulton, Editor, The University of Nebraska Press, completes a fantastic series and must be added to complete one's collection of the first eleven volumes of the truly great American literary epic.

The only wish of this author would be the publication of high-resolution, color digital images of the Herbarium on CD or DVD, as a compendium to this volume. Perhaps in this way, we could all experience more clearly the wonder of viewing this most valuable treasure.

Dr. Gary Moulton should be congratulated for a job very well-done.

Alex Philp The University of Montana

The Lewis & Clark-edition by the University of Nebraska is milestone not only for the US historiography, but also for booklovers, wether if the are Americans or not!

This is an excellent book for anyone searching their geneology for connections to American Indian Nations in North Carolina. It is a well written history book that is interesting to read. I have trouble putting it down and wait anxiously to pick it up again.

I find it hard to believe that this book has not received any feedback. If you are an undergraduate history or political science student who wants to go to law school (especially in Kentucky), a las student, or if you are just seeking an excellent resource examining Kentucky's Political History- this book is for you! This book is a good read. It has a lot of information in it, but the information BY NO MEANS weighs down the actual text. Take the advice from someone who has been there- you cannot grasp the concepts of a state's laws or its government without first understanding its political history. In all seriousness, you should buy this book. G.A.

easy to read and broad perspective of the crazy horse sioux leader, great photos and descriptions by all the people involved in the last days of this great mans life

This is the definitive book on the phenomenon. If you want a discussion of the real "Kokopelli" rather than a compendium of fanciful and spurious "new age" ideas, this work provides that and more. Along the way you will gain interesting insights into Hopi culture, and how the Kokopelli phemomenon may have started and grown. Nicely illustrated.

Educational and interesting. My husband hasn't been able to put it down. The best gift I've found for a history buff in a long time!

Alexandre Leupin's Lacan is an amazing book! I didn't know Lacan could be as interesting. Alexandre Leupin has accomplished a tour de force: making Lacan's ideas and thoughts clear and enjoyable. Thanks to Leupin, Lacan's fascinating notion of the relationship between language and desire are made accessible to (almost!) everyone.

Rose Pender was an English aristocrat who accompanied her husband and his business partner on a trip to the US in 1883 to inspect their large cattle holdings in the West. Landing in New York in March, the party embarked on a four-month "grand tour" of the country that would take them across to San Francisco and back again. This book, published five years after their return to England, is her account of the trip, and it's a beauty.

Her observations are fresh and very personal, filtered through the lens of her aristocratic associations. She refuses to shield her prejudices, which are directed mainly against the Mexicans and Irish, though she is sympathetic toward the Indians. She is appalled by the dirt and "wretched quarters" she often finds in the "bar infested" towns they travel through. (Their "tour" covered a lot of ground within a relatively short period, and many of her observations are mere first impressions and thus rather negative, especially of some of the larger towns visited such as Carson City and Salt Lake City). Yet she can be humorous about some of the shortcomings she experiences, even self-deprecating, as for example the night spent in Cook's Hotel in Yosemite Valley, where "the walls are merely lath and paper, and we overheard a funny conversation between a Pennsylvanian bride and bridegroom that was certainly not intended to be public property ... about the 'darned stuck-up Britishers' ... it was very amusing."

They also had their fair share of adventures, including climbing Pikes Peak in deep snow and participating on a round-up in eastern Montana. The last leg of the trip from Miles City back to New York is rapidly dealt with in only a few pages, as if she had seen all she intended to see and now it was time to be off for home again. Ms. Pender impresses one as being something of a whirlwind, which is what makes her breezy and spirited account so entertaining. There have been many books written by travelers to the "Wild West," and this short little narrative is among the liveliest and engaging of them all.