University of Nebraska Books

This is the second book of Carolina Maria De Jesus's life. She was a black woman writer living in the slums of Brazil in the 1950's. A reporter discovered her & made her famous. You really need to read the first book, "Child of the Dark" to enjoy & understand this one. The book is written like a diary; I devoured the pages in this book, eager to learn more about her life. After Carolina becomes famous & moves out of the slums she encounters different problems but all & all she's much happier. It was great to read about her eating in restaurants, buying & cooking food for her children, not having to be hungry anymore. I cheered for her as she took her first shower, her first car ride, plane ride, her first stay in a hotel. She buys clothes & jewelry for herself & I'm so happy for her I could burst. This woman went from being a scavenger to being a guest at governor's mansions, appearing on TV shows, and doing tons of book signings all across Brazil and many other South American countries. The relationship between Carolina & Audolio Dantes (the reporter who discovered her & made her famous) is also explored and adds interesting aspects to the story. For example, she can't cash checks or withdraw money without him. This diary only covers one year of her life so be sure to read the "Afterword". It explains what happened to Carolina after this book was written. She is an amazing, amazing woman who deserves much admiration.

Many readers know Carolina de Jesus's memior "Child of the Dark" but few knew that she wrote a second book about her bitter journey from her favela shack to the brick house of her dreams. There, she was treated just as badly as she had been when she was a scavenger for garbage in the favela. As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil (too many years ago!!) I loved this book. It is riveting, unexpected, and filled with insights about how Carolina de Jesus saw the world. The editor's background description and analysis is excellent, too.

I first came across this book while serving as a Park Ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine. I had befriended a family of beaver and was curious to learn more about these delightful creatures. I was discouraged by the lack of informative and interesting literature that was available. Luckily, a fellow ranger pointed me towards this book, and I quickly devoured it.

Orginially published in 1913 (and subsequently often hard to find), Enos Mills's comprehensive observations of beaver behavior and lifestyle continues to serve as an authoritative depiction of the "Original Conservationists," as beaver are sometimes called. The famed naturalist and father of Rocky Mountain National Park writes with a tender eloquence that reveals his admiration for this noble animal.

This book is not a collection of scientific facts about beaver, but rather a series poetic essay about the world of the beaver, their contributions to the opening of the western frontier, their better-than-human conservation of natural resources, and their present tenuous foothold in the shrinking wild places of North America. It is extremely informative and provides a thourough investigation of the lifestyle and habits of the beaver and the many myths that surround this curious creature. It is a book you will want to read from cover to cover. Even those who have never had the pleasure of meeting a beaver will enjoy this book.

Enos Mills moved from Kansas to near Estes Park, Colorado, as a young man and became an important spokesman for conservation issues during Teddy Roosevelt's administration. He relished the outdoors and studied nature, especially beavers and bears. This autobiography is fairly entertaining and interesting. He was your typical outsoors character, robust and very sure of himself. This latter characteristic apparently led to a dark side: he ran Long's Peak Inn for years in Estes Park and had a totalitarian personality that made many enemies, even of his once friends. His younger brother Joe followed in his footsteps to a degree and also published reminiscences. Enos Mills is considered the "Father of Rocky Mountain National Park."

Modernist child all-star Patricia Galvao wrote this book at age 22, reflecting her growing love of Marxism, understanding of the class struggle, and the first inklings of her distate of the traditional Communist party. Written in short vignettes that play like a silent movie, Industrial Park harshly portrays the reality of the early 20th century proletariat through the eyes and lives of working women. With a change of character and place names, the story could easily be set in any city of the world.

I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. While at first it seemed overly serious, I slowly began to pick up on the wild hilarity of Pagu's observations. She was known for being flamboyant and was ultimately expelled from the Brazilian Communist Party for being overly-individualistic. Patricia Galvao, Pagu, was a sizzling pot of sauciness. This book will scald you.

Powerful. And shockingly modern, considering that it was written so long ago. Though the book is perhaps flawed by it's conceptualization of communism as the humanitarian solution for any and all of Brazil's many problems, it is not a rant, no tirade. All of Galvao's characters are immensely believable. It is easy to feel that oneself, even, is another of Galvao's characters. That's how cleverly she draws her readers in. Give this work a chance; it is of course unheard of (none of your friends will have read it) but that's just another of the work's many assets!

Beckwourth was a fascinating character; born to a black mother and a white father in 1798, he was apprenticed to be a blacksmith but ran away, and eventually made his way to Colorado and other areas of the western mountain and plains states. He became a chief of the Crow tribe, as well as a scout for the U.S. Army. While this account of his life is widely considered to stretch the truth somewhat, historians agree that he did live a remarkable life.

It's an interesting read -- obviously Bonner didn't record Beckwourth's own words, but couched it in florid 19th century prose, which actually gives it a sort of peculiar charm. It's also not particularly artful -- events occur that I kept imagining foreshadowed something or other, and then turned out just to be incidents with no narrative significance at all, making the book seem more realistic in the end.

I was often reminded of Thomas Berger's Little Big Man; the eponymous hero of that novel is adopted into the Sioux and eventually serves as a scout for Custer. The language and attitudes of Berger's characters seem so reminiscent of Beckwourth's story that it seems certain he must have read it. Apparently plains Indians really did talk about people getting "rubbed out," an expression frequent in both books that I previously had associated with gangsters.

A real peculiarity of Beckwourth's autobiography is the fact that it never makes any mention of his race. Although the edition I read is part of the series "American Negro, His History and Literature," the book itself leaves the impression that Beckwourth was white -- he even refers to another adopted native as a "mulatto." Beckwourth displays a casual attitude toward killing, particularly killing of Native Americans, in this book. He appears to be, if not racist, certainly "culturist," as he frequently denigrates Native Americans, both his enemies and his friends, only to idealize them and their way of life in the next breath. How much of this is Beckwourth and how much his "editor," we can't tell. The end of the book is jarring; he marries Pine Leaf, the warrior woman whom he has wanted throughout his time with the Crow, and then almost immediately abandons her and goes back to "civilization" with hardly a second thought.

All in all, this book is filled with raw, rough-edged adventure, and provides some genuine insights into the American West. While its cultural biases are difficult to empathize with today, they serve as a reminder of just how different our attitudes have become in 150 years or so. Worth reading.

For over 100 years after this book was first published (1856), much of it was considered factually unreliable, just the boasting and embellishing of a colorful frontier character. But subsequent research into the Fur Trade period of the trans-Mississippi West beginning in the early 1960s has shown much of what Beckwourth reported to be true and basically accurate, with what Huck Finn said about Twain, a few "stretches" here and there. What makes this edition especially worthwhile and useful are the annotations by Delmont R. Oswald, which help separate fact from fiction.

James P. Beckwourth was born in Virginia sometime around 1800 (a very close friend of his gave his birthdate as April 26, 1798, but it can't be proven); his mother was a mulatto slave. His father manumitted him when nearing adulthood, and with his freedom he traveled freely between New Orleans and St. Louis, where his family now lived.

In 1824, he accompanied William Ashley to the Green River rendezvous and began trapping in the mountains. In 1828 he joined a Crow Indian tribe and lived with them for a half-dozen years, taking Crow wives and sharing in their raids and culture. (His claim that he became their chief might be one of his exaggerations.) He fought in the Seminole War in Florida in 1837 under Zachary Taylor, and then became a trader in Santa Fe and at Bent's Fort.

He went to California in 1840 where he procured (stole?) horses and brought them back to Bent's Fort. He then lived for awhile in what is today Pueblo, CO, with a Spanish woman, with whom he fathered a child. He was back in California again in time for the Bear Flag revolt and became a guide for American soldiers during the conflict. In 1848 he was in the just-forming gold mining camps in California and helped lay out a road through a pass that was named after him (Beckwourth Pass). From atop this pass he ran a hotel/trading post for a few years. It was here that former newspaperman Thomas D. Bonner received Beckwourth's reminiscences, which later became this book.

Jim lived another 10 years after the book was published, running freight to the Pikes Peak gold region, perhaps attending the Sand Creek massacre as a guide (this is in dispute), and dying sometime around 1866 (also in dispute).

The book is a major addition to the library of first-hand accounts of life during the pre-Civil War West. Beckwourth relates intimate knowledge of the fur trade, Indian life, western exploration, the conquest of California, and life in the early gold fields. Oswald is excellent at correcting some of his claims and warning the reader when to be wary ("There is no corroboration for this story" is a typical footnote.) But Oswald also shows where Beckwourth was on the mark (for example, much of what he says about the Crows). It's a wonderful book, full of life and adventure - a great source for what life was like on the Plains and in the Rockies during this most exciting time of western expansion. A must-read for anyone interested in the fur trade period.

Louis Kraft does exactly what you're supposed to do with a memoir--he illuminates Gatewood's own words and Gatewood's life. Gatewood's description of meetings with the Apache, of life trying to manage the reservation, is absolutely priceless but Kraft puts the lieutenant into the broader context of his time and circumstance. Gatewood is a man worth knowing, and Kraft does an excellent job of introducing him to us. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
Deb Goodrich,
Publisher
Kansas Journal of Military History

Louis Kraft writes sensational books, my first knowledge of him came from GATEWOOD AND GERONIMO (New Mexico Press, 2000), which was also a History Book Club selection. And for being an "independant historian" he has turned out several very good books of history, this being a notable one.

Unless one has read on the Apache wars in Arizona Territory, 1878-1886, the name Charles B. Gatewood may have very little meaning. But finally due this book and the efforts of Mr. Kraft, Lt. Gatewood is at last receiving some well deserved historical attention.

Within a couple years of being posted to Arizona, Lt. Gatewood was in charge of the Apache Scouts and pretty much the key man concerning operational relations with the Apaches. Now, from Mr. Kraft and the University of Nebraska we can read Lt. Gatewood's 'recorded experiences', but only up to a point, for Lt. Gatewood died before he could complete them. What we receive here though is a valuable primary source printed for the first time.

Have interest in the Indian Fighting Army in late Arizona Territory Apache Wars? Then you cannot pass this book up.

Recommended.

Semper Fi.

This book is a scholarly treatment of the French and later British/French-Canadian fur trade in the northern tier of North America. It looks at the fur trade from the perspective of labor relations, and clearly identifies the differences in class, culture, and power that were common to the 18th and 19th century especially in connection with the North American fur trade. The author covers the ground thoroughly, and readers will come away having learned a great deal. As a scholarly writer, it seemed to me, however, that Podruchny was sometimes trying too hard to make the mundane seem interesting, or to draw conclusions that were just slightly strained. Overall a well-done presentation of the British fur trade from a new perspective, and a valuable recent addition to the literature about this part of North American history.

So frequently, those who study history think they will not enjoy learning about western Canada's fur trade. Even amongst the folks who specialize in the subfields of the prairies, British North America or indigenous peoples, there often lies an assumption that whatever happened at posts, on the river highways, or in the bush, it will not be particularly compelling.

If any book will change skeptics' beliefs about the relevance of Aboriginal-newcomer relations, economic history or the North West, it is Professor Carolyn Podruchny's effort. When read, it will come as no surprise that _Making the Voyageur World_, Podruchny's very first book, was a finalist for "Best Book in Canadian History" (2007) as awarded by the Canadian Historical Association. For those of us interested in the subfields this work touches on, it contributes to history and historiography immensely.But -as important - Podruchny demonstrates she can preach to those considered very unconvertible. She will reach already-made history buffs and (well-formed) history-haters alike. A scholar could not hope for more.

Podruchny takes the reader on a historical trip to explore how the normative nature of 'voyage' should have a broad definition. Men who decided to be an explorer/trader/New France-representative traveled the land and rivers, but they also entered various circles which introduced different cultures, climates and concepts. Many of their own values were influenced by trade. Yet appreciating Canada's eighteenth and nineteenth centuries using monetary terms alone would be historically incomplete. To illustrate this view, Podruchny explains why someone would become a voyageur in the first place, what cosmologies voyageurs had, how their world-views evolved, how they socialized, how they made money and how they took care of other basic human functions. The roles of sexuality and entertainment in voyageurs' lives, for example, are two subjects Podruchny uses to reveal how journeys are not only measured by the number of miles traveled.

Today, many of those who write about indigenous peoples still underrate or completely ignore events in indigenous cultures' pasts which show the complicated nature of pre-contact trade, personal relationships, and politics. Podruchny confidently assumes that Aboriginals were active agents, and she provides examples all the time about why the rest of us should believe her. By also regularly interweaving remarks about other scholars into the main narrative, Podruchny easily discusses the "history of 'history'" without being boring or sentimental.

Podruchny's writing is punchy, and even funny at times. When she is metaphorical, she is never unbelievable. Like Carlo Ginzburg, she shows how we can notice some moments in the past and then use this information to deduce conclusions about other events previously considered inexplicable. Like the canoes she details in _Making the Voyageur World_, Podruchny takes her reader on a (historical) voyage which is (scholastically) water-tight, full of valuable material and just the right length. And like the voyageurs do, Podruchny entertains, adapts well to (research) conditions in order to achieve her purpose, and leaves us wanting to know more about Canada's pre-confederation times. Her voyageurs make it in the historic world. Podruchny makes it -and splendidly so- in our historical one.

Tom Lewis spent ~ 10 years at Pine Ridge, working as a psychiatrist in the local hospital. During that time he had the opportunity to interact with many prominent Lakota healers, including Frank Fools Crow, the most eminent of them all at that time. In this book he presents us with a sympathetic account of his encounters with yuwipi men, Eagle ceremony leaders, herbalists and other medicine people; he also includes interviews with white and Indian informers and his own observations of the life on the rez. He tries to be nice, but many details are quite scathing; the books describes graphically the Lakota disregard for their own environment, health and traditions; the drunken brawls, the dysfunctional family life, the distrust of the white man. The high rate of medical problems among the Oglala is associated with poverty, education difficulties, family disorganization, a disintegrating culture, the absence of an economic base, and pervasive difficulties with role, status and motivation.

The weakest point of the book is that Lewis never bothered to actually learn about Lakota healing; the book is written from a Westerner's "rational" perspective, taking no account of the reality of the indigenous view of the world and its mysteries. "Why", asks Lewis, do these people "rely on the imagery of the unreal, the mysteries of mythological formations, the magical techniques"? His answer is that the modern Lakota healer acts basically as a psychotherapist, reassuring his clients and weaving them back into the web of mutual social obligations. In my opinion, and experience, Lewis' contrast between the "magical thought" of the healers he encountered and the "scientific thought" he ascribes to himself look nowadays a bit naive and passe. They certainly do not reflect modern anthropology or psychiatry. Rather, they represent a white amateur's view of the fascinating world where people are still connected to nature and its whispers, where ancestors and spirits still have a stake in our survival, where conversation and listening become one and the same.

Lewis a psychiatrist and medical anthropologist who stayed at the Pine Ridge Res in the late 60's and early 70's. From the book: "...he describes the Indian Healers - their techniques, personal histories and qualities, the problems addressed and the results obtained" . This is an excellent book for Native American studies, those interested in non AMA healing techniques and also should be required reading for all med students.

Most historians speak of the Middle Ages as a period when cavalry had the ascendancy over infantry. Delbruk argues that there was no such thing as cavalry during the Middle Ages, and until the coming of the Swiss phalanx, not much in the way of infantry. Simply putting an armed man on horseback doesn't make him a cavalryman any more than handing a weapon to a peasant makes him an infantryman. Cavalry was a disciplined group of horsemen fighting as a unit. Mounted knights were an undisciplined group of horsemen fighting as individuals. A troop of cavalry should be able to defeat an equal number of knights, but a single knight defeats a single cavalryman. For a good description of what the military aspect of mounted knighthood was all about, read Delbruk's description of the encounter between two knightly armies at Pillenreuth. That alone is worth the price of the book.

Delbruk doesn't stop with a description of the military art of knighthood. He studies every aspect of medival warfare, drawing insightful and iconoclastic conclusions.

It is in this volume that Delbruck's sense of racial superiority shows the most. Although the longest volume in the work it deals almost exclusively with warfare among medieval Germans. He virtually ignores the Crusades, the Reconquista, the Hundred Years War, and Manzikert. His argument against including the Crusades is that they did not do anything to change warfare in Europe, but later mentions that the English experiences in Syria led to the development of the long-bow. This definitely should have been explored more.

The best move Delbruck could have made to improve this volume would have been to split it into two books. Had he done that he could have dealt with the Hundred Years War in the same way that he dealt with the Punic Wars, gone into more detail about the Crusades, explored the Reconquista and the Norman migrations, and given the Byzantine Empire the focus it deserves.

Delbruck's analysis of the Swiss (whom he constantly refers to as "German") contribution to modern warfare is amazing, however, and makes the work worth reading.

Doctor Danker was one of my favorite history professors and a man who loved the story of the westward movement with a passion and with a down-to-earth human persepective. Though he passed on nearly a year ago, I still can see him in my mind's eye lecturing about the move west while standing before us in his somewhat rumpled brown suit, bathed in the fall afternoon sun with his head thrown back, his graying shock of hair standing up a bit and his eyes closed as he told us a story. He was wonderful at discovering and using journals to illustrate the lives and times. In my senior year he set me to reading the journals of the Agent for the Pawnee Reservation on the Loup Fork in Nebraska. He was a Nebraska native and had a special affinity for the stories from that state. I have an old copy of this book and it is a treasure to me not only for it's fascinating content and it's own story, but because of the memory of Dr. Danker it brings to me.

Here is a high spirited diary account of a young woman who travels across the country with her parents and young siblings. Her wonderful sence of humor and adventure are entertaining and well accounted in her pranks and hijinks. This diary provides excellent commentary on life on the road, the importance of family, and falling in love during the mid-nineteenth century. A very easy read, but you'll want to note enteries on clothing, cooking, visiting, and daily living. How sad we are not able to learn how her life continues after her diary stops....

Joy Melcher, Civil War Lady Magazine, Pipestone, MN

After knowing OF Mourning Dove for over 20 years in my school life.It was not till the internet,that I fully got to know MORE about her.Library books,were only so limited.But thanx to the internet,doing research on herwas well worth it.Her books"Morning Dove" a Salishan Biography,and "Cogewea" are both very well written.So as not to have favorites,I love both of her works.I highly reccomend them.You will gain a better appreciate the Native American Culture after reading about her,her life and her struggles.

I found this book to be a good source of information about Native American life at the turn of the century. Every aspect of life was covered, at times through stories about the author's life and at other times through her descriptions and explanations. The book is not written in chronological order, so it was confusing to follow in certain sections. Overall, Mourning Dove's experience of living both the traditional nomadic and then the settled Indian life is a fascinating one, well worth reading about by anyone interested in these subjects. As a feminist, I also found her description of the role of women in her culture to be revelatory.