University of Nebraska Books

Zane Gray's books were the first westerns I ever read. I loved them then and I love them now. "The Spirit Of The Border" takes place in the Ohio River Valley. This is very close to home for me. Zane Gray mixes historical events into his stories. It is fast moving and one you don't want to put down until you complete that last page. If you have not read this, read it you will enjoy the adventure. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River" Natchez Above The River: A Family's Survival In The Civil WarQualifying Laps: A Brewster County NovelTravelersSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County NovelWriting as a Small BusinessThe Bluegrass Dream: A Wilderness Adventure of Early Settlers

Drawing upon ancestors notes, Zane Gray reconstructs the agony of America's initial transmontane western movement of the frontier away from the original colonies into the OHIO Valley where Indians and Whites contest for souls and Wetzel, and Indian hunter, pursues his cause in a most dramatic fashion. The book is a riveting account of true adventure the veiled backdrop of which is the continued occupation of the teritory occupied by British and Americans. An excellent introduction to further study of the the then misunderstood goal of Manifest Destiny.

There's no reason to withhold the fifth star! The poet, linguist, and typographer Robert Bringhurst worked from transcriptions of Haida myths recorded at the beginning of the twentieth century, and allows those of us who don't speak Haida a chance to sit and listen to some of that nation's great mythtellers. We can never recover what it was like for their compatriots to hear these poems, but the rawness and directness of Bringhurst's translations brings us remarkably close, certainly closer than we get in the usual ironed-flat renditions. In this first of three volumes he intersperses his translations with a discussion of their cultural and intellectual context. (Some texts appear in the other volumes in revised form.) An ideal introduction, and few will be able to resist going on to the others

Good mythtelling is poetry of the highest order, and it takes a poet to translate it. Robert Bringhurst's renderings of the verbal masterpieces of classical Haida storytellers are truly astounding, as it is his reconstruction of the facts surrounding their collection by American anthropologist John Swanton. As someone who works in the same field I must say that this book has been a great discovery for me. It is an example to follow, both in the style of the translations and in the wide range of the commentary.

C. Richard King and Charles Springwood, with their edited collection, bring to the forefront the cultural and social intricacies, animosities, and stereotypes associated with the Native American team mascot debate. The work "traces the (re)inventions of self and society through Native American mascots and the cultural artifacts, public sentiments, and ritual performances...associated with them." (1)
The essays are very informative and help clarify why certain practices have been misappropriated by the dominant "Euro-American" society. The authors prey upon the same themes in almost every essay, racial stereotypes, misappropriations of cultural practices, and displacement of Native American cultures and histories. Moreover, it appears that some of the authors take umbrage with the fact that certain Native American tribes actually support the use of their images as mascots. In their fabulous discussion of the Seminole Tribe and Florida State University, King and Springwood particularly illustrate their indignation in regards to the backing of the Chief Osceola mascot by the Seminole Tribe. The authors believe that members of the Seminole Tribe should quit "playing Indian" with the whites and work to challenge the misuse of Chief Osceola and the Seminole Tribe's identities and culture. King and Springwood also worryingly rely on a third-person account to buttress their argument that Florida State's appropriation of Native American imagery for use as a mascot only furthers popular stereotypes and prejudices.
Team Spirits is a work of activism. The collection of essays are designed inform readers of the complexities surrounding the Native American mascot controversy and hopefully reconsider their thoughts and conceptions of Native Americans. Perhaps the most important point of the text is that the appropriation of and misuse of Native American images reveal "much more about the non-Indian people and institutions that invented them than they have about Native American cultures and histories." (328) Most of the authors ignore the fact that mascots are not intended to glorify a certain historical or cultural distinctness. Many mascots were created in informal meetings without much regard to historical and cultural settings or identities. The authors of the essays expect mascots to lionize certain aspects of a locale's cultural and historical heritage. In reality, this just is not the case. However, Native American mascots are held to a higher standard as they should be and the complexities and controversies surrounding the issue show no signs of diminishing. Additionally, the Native American mascot controversy overshadows the argument that Native Americans have been perhaps the finest athletes the United States has ever had.
King and Springwood's effort certainly will not end the debate; it does provide analysis and understanding for those unfamiliar with the true subtle intricacies forever associated with Native Americans and their white conquerors.

An illuminating look into the mascot controversy, "Team Spirits" covers many of the issues surrounding the debate, including historical, fiscal, and racial. This book belongs on the shelves of anthropologists, sportswriters, sports fans, and concerned individuals. "Team Spirits" is especially useful for countering the tired and ignorant accusation that removing mascots is merely a PC move by liberals with nothing better to do.

The most authentic book ever written about the Texas cowboy. J. Frank Dobie said that "no record of cowboy life has supplanted this rollicky, reckless, realistic chronicle" and that it is "the most-real, non-fiction book on cowboy life." Siringo worked as a cowboy for Shanghai Pearce, rode with a posse of Texas cowboys to New Mexico to track down Billy the Kid and took part in numerous cattle drives. A Texas history classic.

Ok. At this point in your life you're pretty far away from watching Bonanza, Gunsmoke, etc. with your family on that old black & white Zenith. You no longer have the toy six-shooter and cowboy hat that were the joy of a long ago Christmas or birthday. You've forgotten whether you preferred to play the sheriff or the outlaw, but you probably remember the name of your imaginary horse. Read this book. Not because it's great literature (the writing is merely serviceable) but because it reminds you why the image of the cowboy era is so powerful and enduring. And it's all true. Wonderful read

Though I attended a school with a buffalo as its mascot, I never tried to learn much about them till recently. Purchasing this book was part of my effort to learn more, and the book was useful for that. The book is very readable, and a very interesting overview of the buffalo. Unfortunately, it dates from the 1970s, and knowledge has moved on since then. The most obvious example of this is coverage of "Blue Babe"--A frozen buffalo from several thousand years ago which was discovered after this book was published. I'm sure there are other places where our understanding of buffalo and their place in the scheme of the prairie has changed, but I'm not expert enough to identify them. I really like the book, but would like to see it updated to reflect new findings.

This full-scale study of the buffalo splendidly memorializes the magnificent beast that once roamed from Alaska to the Carolinas. Illustrated with maps, drawings, paintings and photographs, this informative account begins with the genesis of the buffalo in the Ice Age and traces his evolution, natural history, patterns of behavior, and relationships with three cultures.

You may consider this review biased since I am the brother of the author (who is now deceased). However, I found the book great fun to read and the technical aspects of the material are beyond reproach. In 1984, Tom McHugh wrote:

"Some reviewers have called my book, The Time of the Buffalo, the definitive work on the subject. The book actually had its beginnings in my doctoral thesis, a study of social behavior in buffalo. For the book, I expanded my thesis to include the effect of the buffalo on the life of ancient hunters, the Plains Indians, the American frontier. Photographs of buffalo behavior that I originally made for the thesis eventually led to my being chosen as director of photography for Walt Disney's Academy Award-winning feature, `The Vanishing Prairie.'"

This book is just delightful, considering it was written by an old gentleman who was raised with good moral values and such a gentlemanly attitude. He tells of his coming to the USA to try to make a living for himself and ended up being a cowboy. It is just thrilling to read of the experiences he had as a bullwhacker and other cowboy adventures. It is heartwarming to know that his wife and daughter saw to it that the book was published first in 1921 after Mr. Bratt died unexpectedly before finishing his years of work in writing this book. It is truly a gem, in my opinion. If you enjoy reading Western factual history, it is very good!

This memoir is the story of John Bratt, an Englishman who came to America near the end of the Civil War and, after many adventures, ended up a successful rancher in Nebraska and two-tern mayor of North Platte. Bratt was an educated man with a good business head and a strong set of personal principles (he neither swore, drank, smoked, or gambled; a humorous incident is related where he admonishes himself for backsliding in the swearing department, though his comrades praise him for it. A not so humorous incident is also told where his fellow bullwhackers force a bottle of red eye whiskey down his throat and almost kill him.) After arriving in New York in 1864, Bratt went to Chicago where he became a successful trader on the Chicago Board of Trade. A disastrous trip to New York via New Orleans, during which a storm in the Gulf of Mexico destroyed his goods and left him nearly penniless, is described, as is his time helping to build a levee along the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Red River. But then he signed up with an outfit delivering goods to Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming by ox team, and here's where the western adventures begin. He describes sights along the old Oregon Trail, especially Ft. McPherson, and many troubles with Indians beyond Ft. Laramie. He stayed on at Phil Kearny for a few months, mainly hauling hay for the fort, encountering Indian hostility almost daily. He left (he implies because of a vision of impending disaster) just before the notorious Fetterman massacre.

Back in Nebraska after a few other adventures, Bratt established a ranch south of North Platte and had a successful operation. But times were changing and homesteaders were moving in and breaking up the big spreads, so Bratt sold out and moved his family into North Platte and built a home there and got into the real estate and insurance businesses. North Platte was still a pretty wild place (some of the stories he tells about gunfighters and drunken melees seem embellished), and Bratt, the steady, moral citizen, was elected mayor to put things in order. By all accounts, it appears he did ("I helped," he says). Bratt was an educated man and takes an historical approach in these memoirs. His style is straightforward and episodic (as opposed to reflective). The second half is more raggedy than the first, as if he was getting tired with his endeavor (indeed he died before finishing the work, which his wife completed for him). His prejudices are plain: he has nothing good to say about the Indians. Unfortunately, the book shows no editing and appears as first published, and, even more disappointing, there is no index. However, it's an interesting first-hand account of one man's experiences in the West, especially the first half of the book. Recommended.

Wellman, who died in 1966, was born in Oklahoma and worked on Wichita and Kansas City newspaper for much of his life, before moving to California and freelance writing. This book, written in 1939, is an excellent summary account of the cattle trade in the West, from 1580 to the early 1900s. He touches on just about everything having to do with his topic, from historical figures and events to equipment. I thought he spent a tad too much space on Billy the Kid, the Earps, and such (they don't seem that important to the cattle business), but he's an excellent writer. The first half of the book is the best. Recommended.

Novelist and historian Wellman here provides an indescribably superior one-volume story of the range-cattle business that reads as easily as fiction. Beginning with the Spanish roots of the Southwestern cattle ranches, he goes on to tell something of the early Anglo settlement of Texas, the troubles with the Comanches, the "hide-and-tallow empire" built up in antebellum days, the effects of the Civil War, the clashes with the Kansans, the founding of Abilene. He talks about stampedes and what was done about them, great trail towns and their lawmen, lean years and fat ones, the cowboy's work and play, and a gallery of unforgettable Western characters, good, bad, and indifferent. He studies the Lincoln County War, the coming of "bobwire," and why cowmen hated sheep. There is information I got from this book that I've found nowhere else. You will say the same. Every lover of Western social history should be glad to see it back in print.

This is a good book if you are interested in a brief synopsis or precis of the Lewis and Clark Journals. The Introduction is informative and accurate. There is a note on the text detailing the editing process, and the constraints the author was confined to. All in all, it is a good, quick summary of the journals. It should be noted that the first entry is for May 13, 1804, so any earlier history of the expedition is ommitted. Additionally, the entries end on September 24, 1806. Basically stated, for the price it is a good value. If you are interested in a beginning primer on the expedition of Lewis and Clark, you cannot go wrong by starting here.

Historians and enthusiasts of U.S. exploration are very fortunate that these journals of Jedediah Smith have survived so that we have a better understanding as to past events and life as it was so long ago. The book begins with a short but enlightening autobiography from Smith himself on how and why he entered the fur trade. The following chapter is the finale of his epic 1826-1827 ramble across the Great Basin from California where he and his two men nearly perished. The focus of the book is on his second California expedition to California in 1827-1828, then up to Oregon and Washington. While the second expedition was disastrous in the loss of ten men to the Mohave Indians along the Colorado River and fifteen men lost to the Umpqua Indians in Oregon, it was monumental in exploration and cartography for the United States. Sandwiched between these two massacres were confrontations with Mexican officials. Also included are letters from HBC Chief Trader McLeod on his journey with Smith back to the Umpqua River in order to recover what was stolen from Smith and his party by these marauding Indians. A very historic book because of the journals and Sullivan's thorough editing. The precursor to these journals would be the book "The Southwest Expedition of Jedediah S. Smith: His Personal Account of the Journey to California, 1826-1827", edited by George R. Brooks.

Being a relative of E.A. Brininstool, I know first hand what length of detail and accurateness went into this product. Earl spent many months/years on interviews, pictures, and fact finding on this compilation. I would recommend this to anyone looking for accurate information on the Custer Battle.

This is a very readable book with interviews and stories by many of the participants of the 76 campaign. As Brian Pohanka (foreword) adeptly informs the reader, Brninstool did tremendous research and interviewed and corresponded with a number of the survivors of the LBH. However, as Pohanka hits the nail on the head, Brininstool lacks objectivity when it comes to Reno and Benteen. He supports their versions 100%. In Benteen's statements, he repeatedly denies that Custer had any plan. And in his testimony and letters he constantly states that he was to just ride to infinity to the left, which is totally absurd. In Gray's time motion studies and in Darlings "Benteen's Scout to the Left", Benteen only went one mile further than Custer by the time their trails intersect. Brininstool constant reminds the reader that Custer through his adjutant stated that Reno "would be supported by the whole regiment". If that statement was true then obviously he meant for Benteen to join the attack. If you tour the site of the first separation, it made logical sense for Custer to have flankers on the left where the ground rose and could have hid attacking Indians on his flank. In addition, Brininstool supports Reno and his "charge" that was actually a rout. Later in the excellent recounting of the Lt. Kidder massacre in 1867 about the young Lieutenant and his platoon that ran into a Sioux war party the author states "Running away from Indians was, in the opinion of experienced Indian fighters, poor policy." Well, he seems to forget this when applauding Reno for his abrupt run from the cottonwoods leaving 21 men behind who didn't get the word and somehow survived but Reno still lost 1/3 of his command in his run. The survivors particularly Lt. Hare continuously state that they would have not lived other wise. Brininstool also over estimates the number of Indians. Brininstool also has a section on Theodore Goldin and the famous water detail, which is very interesting except that Goldin has historically been proven to fabricate the truth including his own service period.

The best parts of the book are the story of Lt. DeRudio and Sgt. O'Neil's exciting two
days surrounded by Indians while abandoned and hiding in the cottonwoods after Reno suddenly bugged, the retelling of the 1867 Lt. Kidder massacre and the exciting story of Lt. Sibley's escape from a large Sioux war party while scouting for Crook. After being surrounded, Sibley led by famous scouts Grouard and Baptise Pourier abandon their horses at night and travel days in broken country to return to Crooks base camp. The book also includes a mini-bio on Lonesome Charlie Reynolds, one of the greatest scouts of the west who died turning Reno's bug out. Although not mentioned by the author, another great Scout Herendeen testified that he and Reynolds discussed that the worst thing that one could do is try to outrun Indians which was supposedly said not long before Reno abruptly hauled freight.

Lots of great testimony in spite of Benteen's self serving interview which is valuable to read since his extreme defensiveness is obvious along with his distaste for Custer, his argument is so absurd that it is irrational to believe. Besides Brininstool's lack of objectivity, I was disappointed that he didn't have more interviews with the surviving
Troopers such as Peter Thompson who was with Custer until just before Medicine Trail Coulee where his horse broke down with a few other troopers who walked back to join Reno. Those interviews with these only technical survivors would have been fascinating.

This is actually a good book to add to your collection. In contrast, I like Walter Camp's book "Custer in 76" edited by Ken Hammer better. It appears more objective with lots of nuggets of information such as references to Peter Thompson. Brininstool like Camp met a lot of the participants, reading both is a pleasure.

The subject matter seems boring but it is actually a great book once you think about how it applies to today's immigrants. I recommend this book as a great first reference about emigration to the U.S. by the first group of settlers. Of course remember to take the book with a grain of salt as everything is more than likely not true.

The book is about the emigration of the Burlend family from rural England to the wilds of Illinois in the 1830s. It gives us a glimpse into the life of this family through the eyes of Rebecca Burlend...the decisions to be made, the sorrow of leaving home for the unknown, and the hardships they would face once they arrived in the new world. As a decendent of this courageous woman and her family, I am proud to recommend this book.