University of Nebraska Books

I'm not a big fan of the Western genre...just not something I ever got into.

however, I am a fan of the author, as he created my favorite character: Conan the Barbarian. So, I purchased this collection of short stories and loved them!!!

The men are based on stories that old timers who lived through the era told Mr. Howard back in his childhood through the 1930s, when he was a professional author.

The raw, rude writing style coupled with the action, gives these short stories memorable punch.

In this collection, many of Robert Howard's best westerns are presented for those who enjoy this great authors work. While in the same series is another collection of humorous westerns, those are, because of their lack of Howard's usually downbeat vision, inferior to these. The Vultures of Whapeton--the longest of the stories--is easily the finest, featuring intensely described gunfights, paranoia, and carefully interwoven, downbeat moral themes. Also, the ending is very powerful (though a somewhat lesser happy ending is also included). There are any number of other fine stories though, including crossovers such as The Man on the Ground, which effortlessly injects a sense of wonder and awe into what would otherwise be a traditional western revenge story. As with most of Howard's prodigious body of work, the writing is grim and crisply paced, making it not only quick but enjoyable. My sincerest hope is that some talented young director will read these stories and choose to adapt one into a worthwhile movie. Overall, this is one of the finest collections of Howard's work and is thoroughly recommended.

After reading dozens of R.Howard stories,from Kull to Breckinridge Elkins I was looking foward to this collection of dramatic westerns.For some reason they just didnt hold my interest.Unlike most of his other stories these seemed very dated.I realize they are seventy years old,but Howard's other writing seems to me to be as fresh as if it was written last week.There are a couple of good stories, "Law Shooters of Cowtown" and "Vultures of Wahpeton",but mostly its like the difference between watching a western like "Shane", and then watching "Hopalong Cassidy".I did like the three "spooky" westerns and I thought a poem "The Sandhills Crest", was excellent.If you are a Howard fan,like me, you might like this just to get a taste of his western work, but if your looking for exciting western action I would probably look elsewhere.

This book was a very good read! How ever, the author wrote her story from second hand information, she, herself had no real memory of the horrors the others went through! But, her description of Sacramento, and surrounding areas was very interesting. Her hardship that she recalls at Sutters Fort were disheartening! The author had a comfortable life with the Brunner's after her tragic experience. But, the title of the book, just doesn't fit the story, it should be titled "The Life and Times of Eliza Donner"!

I loved this book! While I understand that there was a bias coming from Eliza Donner in her effort to clear her family name - the book still is a reflection of the time in it's prose and in it's descriptions of life. Originally, I picked the book up to read about the Donner tragedy. But in the end I found myself facinated by the 2nd half of the book. In this half little Eliza describes life in early California as an orphan. Because of her unique position, she was able to experience a variety of cultures that existed in California in the mid 1800s. This was a time when Indians, Mexicans, and European Americans mingled in small towns. There are so many books that deal with the large issues of men's conflicts. Conversely, if you are curious about a woman's perspective of the small details and the day to day life of new settlers in California this book is absolutely a must read. Learn about some of the details of farm life, of the responsibility of children, and the harsh realities of a life where community, family, and traditions were bound with love, respect, and survival.

Ms. Donner Houghton has a real skill in writing and was able to write the book from the perspective of a child growing up in early California. As I read the book, I found myself loving little Eliza for her courage, honesty, and effort. For me, it was window into the cultural mindset of people of that era. I remember a remark about a visitor coming into Sacramento that excited the women so much that they 'forgot to roll down their sleeves before they came outside'. Yes, the dress code was very strict - but only little Eliza, a person of that time, would notice. I also liked the details of how the people of the early towns worked together to help make a community. For example, when the sick came back from the gold mines, the German household that Eliza lived in became a makeshift hospital for the men.

If you are from Northern California or just like pioneer history, little Eliza has a story to tell you.

The author of this book, which was first published in 1911, was a survivor of the Donner Party, that hapless group of eighty-seven pioneers who in 1846, while navigating a supposedly new route to California, found themselves trapped high in the Sierra Mountains. Immobilized by snow and frigid weather, little more than half, mostly women and children, of this hardy band of westward-ho pioneers would survive the deprivation and great human suffering. One of those survivors was Eliza P. Donner, then a child just under four years of age. She would live on, hearing of lurid tales of cannibalism, which were to mar her survival.

A little less than half of this book is devoted to the doomed expedition itself. Of course, even though the author was one of its survivors, given her tender age, most of the information about the expedition is based upon the recollections of other survivors, including those of her older sisters. She paints a fairly intimate and poignant portrait of her family, but the account of their tragic journey seems to be subjectively sanitized, as if to offset the grisly details that had become an integral part of the Donner Party legend. The details of the Donner Party tragedy are best told by historian, George Stewart, in his book, "Ordeal by Hunger."

Still, this book provides an interesting look at the aftermath of the Donner Party debacle. It looks at early pioneer life in California, through the author's eyes, recounting what became of her and her surviving sisters after their incredible rescue. This makes for an eye-opening, first hand account of what life was actually like in those early pioneering days. The author, an apparently hearty soul, would go on to have quite a full and interesting life. Written in an easy, conversational tone, this book will capture the interest of those who enjoy memoirs, books on pioneer life, or books on the Donner Party.

Slatta's book works well when assigned to college undergraduates, because he covers complex and important issues in an engaging style. The subject of gauchos should be fascinating as well to lay readers interested in US cowboys & frontier history, because Slatta provides a clear basis for comparative history. 10-15 years ago it would have deserved a 5-star rating, but "Gauchos" has stimulated further research which is beginning to modify, or at least extend, its conclusions (cf. J. Lynch, "Massacre in the Pampas 1872"). Nevertheless, Slatta's book remains the place to begin expanding one's understanding of New World frontier history.

Slatta brings the Argentine gaucho alive in all his splendor and squalor. One gains an appreciation for the extraordinary lives of this equestrian people who almost literally lived in the saddle. The author depicts life on the pampa in sometimes searing realism: a hard, state-of-nature life, but one the gaucho himself would not have changed (and did not change at the few junctures where he had the chance).

Slatta presents a structuralist history of one of the W. Hemisphere's most colorful and renowned peoples. In other hands this approach might minimize the role of personality and personal choice, as though the gaucho bobbed helplessly on the rough seas of impersonal historical force acting thru the medium of latin culture.

Not so here. The author dispassionately shows that the gaucho's fierce independence and tribalism contributed directly to the demise of his culture in its collision with mainstream Argentine society on the pampa. It could not be otherwise. Modernity was simply incomprehensible to the gaucho. One could not be gaucho and latino at the same time, and civilization destroyed the gaucho way of life.

Slatta explores obvious parallels with other horse cultures such as that of the Mongols, the American Indian and the American cowboy. He demonstrates subject mastery in a wealth of detail concerning equipment, words, and convergent ways of handling similar challenges. The inherent drama of the gaucho story had echoes of "Monte Walsh" sounding in my mind as I finished the work.

This thoroughly readable book is enjoyable both as history and as entertainment.

Slatta brings the Argentine gaucho alive in all his splendor and squalor. One gains an appreciation for the extraordinary lives of this equestrian people who almost literally lived in the saddle. The author depicts life on the pampa in sometimes searing realism: a hard, state-of-nature life, but one the gaucho himself would not have changed (and did not change at the few junctures where he had the chance).

Slatta presents a structuralist history of one of the W. Hemisphere's most colorful and renowned peoples. In other hands this approach might minimize the role of personality and personal choice, as though the gaucho bobbed helplessly on the rough seas of impersonal historical force acting thru the medium of latin culture.

Not so here. The author dispassionately shows that the gaucho's fierce independence and tribalism contributed directly to the demise of his culture in its collision with mainstream Argentine society on the pampa. It could not be otherwise. Modernity was simply incomprehensible to the gaucho. One could not be gaucho and latino at the same time, and civilization destroyed the gaucho way of life.

Slatta explores obvious parallels with other horse cultures such as that of the Mongols, the American Indian and the American cowboy. He demonstrates subject mastery in a wealth of detail concerning equipment, words, and convergent ways of handling similar challenges. The inherent drama of the gaucho story had echoes of "Monte Walsh" sounding in my mind as I finished the work.

This thoroughly readable book is enjoyable both as history and as entertainment.

I ordered 100 copies of this. I got 10 in two different shipments over a span of 1 month and had to cancel the remaining orders and look for a different vendor.

The product was new as described but i'm not happy with the merchant.

Dr. Irene Vernon's "Killing Us Quietly: Native Americans and Hiv/AIDS" is a long-overdue, and critically needed work. Vernon provides a depth of details and information pertaining to an issue that is little researched in the academic community. The interviews, research, and discussion make this an invaluable work!

Vernon has written the first book to address the issues of AIDS and HIV in the Native American population. She has included interviews with both rural and urban Native Americans. She addresses the virus in women, children, IVU's and two-spirits. A commendable job covering a rarely discussed issue.

The author recounts her experiences in a form of interviews given in the 1990's, some fifty years after the events. She also expresses anger over those who deny that the Holocaust ever happened, and lists some of her loved ones who perished in this tragedy that supposedly never happened.

Alina Bacall-Zwirn understands the fact that much of the so-called Polish police, in the service of the Germans, actually consisted of ethnic Germans. She comments: "That was the Volksdeutsche, working for Gestapo. That was the Polish police." (p. 40).

She lived in the Warsaw ghetto, and was shipped to Treblinka. She managed to jump from the train, and was aided by a Pole who brought her food (p. 35). She then made it back to Warsaw.

Later, she met with Poles who were being shipped to Germany for forced labor, and Poles who were incarcerated in concentration camps as a result of the failed Warsaw Uprising.

This was a difficult book for me to read. It is in the first person style. I can hear their voices. I did an interview three years ago. It is on tape. Yet i can not listen to it.. Such a difficult time in our youth, in our lives. I recommend this book. This one voice speaks for so many.

it made quite an impact on me. emotionally draining. how Alina kept her sanity is remarkable. Stark did not try to editorialize. instead as painful as it was, he let her tell it in her own way, regardless of syntax. i have never read anything like it...in only three hours i experienced an unforgettable voice.

Readers should be aware that only volume 2 is available, focusing mostly on apache campaigns and post-indian war. Those interested in prior campaigns (civil war, sioux war of 1876-77) will therefore be frustrated...

I ordered this book thinking it was 1 book, but when it came it apparently is in 2 volumes and Amazon only sent Volume 2, even on the replacement order. So be aware of that until they get things fixed. Miles though in Volume 2 does write mostly a description of American cities, industry and people. Except for a few chapters on the Apache trouble it is more like a census. I hope someday to read Volume 1 and am disappointed things did not work out.

General Nelson A. Miles wrote a detailed, history- filled accounts of the Red River Wars and other Indian battles. Illustrations by F. Remington were a big surprise to me, as it was of a direct relative, William F. Schmalsle, Indian Scout, Guide, and Courier. The rescue of the German Sisters is a heartfelt experience. The reader will feel like one is living in the Old West, with all the joys, adventures, and tribulations that the characters experienced. The references in the back offer one further insight into the past. As Miles was involved in other battles besides those with the Indians, the history buff will find a lot of references in the back of the book which will result in many hours of pleasurable research and reading. The General Miles history trail may lead you to a long lost relative, as I found out, with numerous sources of information. So try reading the General Miles books from your library and if you like, order them from Amazon and take them home, or take them camping in the woods and plains, visit the historical places mentioned.

a piece of historical treasure, how often do you see a book written by an indian woman from the 1800's? it is a must own for anyone remotely interested in indians, or american history.

Zanjani's writing is academic and somewhat dry. The historical research has not advanced much since Gae Whitney Canfield's "Sarah Winnemucca of the Northern Paiutes" but Zanjani does incorporate new theoretical approaches to interpreting Sarah's own memoir and place in history. The bibliography then, is useful for scholars, but the the prose is further bogged down with unresolved (and unresolvable) intellectual issues best left to academics. Try Canfield's well researched and easily readable prose instead.

A simply told tale of the complex life of a complex woman -- I did not find it dry or academic at all. I cannot judge the quality of the research, as I am not familiar with Winnemucca's life, but the biography appears both frank and well-rounded. I enjoyed the way in which the author wove contemporary sources and Paiute folklore into her story. It's not an especially sophisticated book (for good or for ill) but it is not without complexity. Nineteenth century U.S. cultural and political constraints are clearly illustrated, along with Sarah's personal life and the tribulations facing the Paiutes & other Native Americans of that era. I think it would be of interest to anyone interested in 19th century women, Native Americans, or the frontier.

This is a gripping story of one woman's attempt to cope with a world that suddenly and ominously changed around her. She and her family were living in Kabul when a coup de etat by a group of Afghan Communists plunged the country into civil war. The immediate consequnce for her was the disappearance of her husband. Along with that the social world she had known was dramatically changed. New and strange demands were placed upon her in her university job. Ordinary social and commercial concourse in the city broke down as military checkpoints interrupted traffic. Reliable information on what was happening became impossible to come by. Rumors abounded. Her children brought home communist propaganda. As Mrs. Gauhari searched for her husband friends and colleagues in official places told contrary and implausible stories about his whereabouts; some of her relatives withdrew support; mysterious visitors for unknown reasons offered empty promises of help. The book could be read as a woman's experience in a male-dominated world. But it is much more: this is what it is like to be plunged without warning into civil war. The presumptions of ordinary life give way to the confusion, suspicion, and terror resulting from the suddend explosion of violence among neighbors and associates. In that sense this is one woman's account of life in the midst of a ferocious civil war, an experience that many peoples around the world have had in the last decade: in Rwanda and Burundi, for instance, where repeated massacres have taken hundreds of thousands of lives; in Yugoslavia where Serb, Croat, Bosnian Muslims, and Albanians have sought to cleanse each other from their respective enclaves; in Sri Lanka where Tamil separatists and Ceylonese nationalists have murdered each other for a generation; in Chechnya where a war of secession has destroyed the country.

I have read this book last year and now I read it for the second time. I ejoyed it more this time. It is a wonderful book based on events after Communism take over of Afghanistan and it brings sense to our present day events. In the Forword section of the book, Nancy Dupree indicates that ..." years of discord have stretched taut the fabric of this society (Afghanistan) and left many lingering effects. National traits once respected, honored hallmarks of Afghan character, are in jeopardy. Tolerence for others. Forthrightness. Aversion to fanatics. Respect for women. Loyalty to colleagues and classmates. Dislike for ostentation. Commiment to academic freedom. All has been compromised.
Thankfully, the spirit of courageues determination, amply evident in the pages that follow, is still strong. There seems no reason to doubt, therefore, the reconstruction can be astnishingly rapid."

"Searching for Saleem" is one of a very few books I've found about Afghani women. It takes up where "Three Women of Herat" by Veronica Doubleday leaves off. The writing is very good although not great, but it's not really the quality of the writing that makes this book so important--it's the account of life in Afghanistan. I find it amazing that there are so few books about Afghanistan! And most are for children.

After the September 11, 2001 bombings in the United States by radical Muslim terrorists, I wanted to know more about the people of Afghanistan. Morrocco was my only experience traveling in a Muslim state, and I found that Afghanistan is radically different. This book provides a rare look into the experience of one Afghani woman who seems atypical of many of the women in the country but has the facility with English and the education to provide all of us with a glimpse into a country that's playing a significant part in our lives and that seems to be a place where few Americans have lived or traveled.

Although there are a number of well researched accounts of Indian Cheifs and tribes, there are as many if not more books and articals written on them that have their base on hear-say and downright wrong information. I have spent a number of years reading about Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet, and Tecumseh, his more famous brother and have been futher confussed from one source to the other. Which was more true? Until this book 'The Shawnee Prophet' by R. David Edmunds came along, I was about to give up; thinking there couldn't possibly be a correct account. Mr Edmunds bothers to futher authenticate his findings with numerous pages of refferences(about a fourth of the book's volume). The reading format was heavy at first but soon, because of the welcomed amount of information, it quickly became relavent and facinating to read. By all means do read this book. More books like this need to be written. We need to know the truth about our history.

This biography of Tenskwatawa is the only work devoted to the role and importance of the influencial Shawnee Prophet who has long been eclipsed in both popular and scholarly works by his far more famous brother, Tecumseh.

Born in 1775 in Ohio, Tenskwatawa was one of three triplets born into the family of the Shawnee war chief Puckeshinwa. After surviving a less than ideal childhood and losing an eye in the process, Tenskwatawa soon found himself an outcast among his own tribe. Following the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, he and his people are forced to give up their claims to most of the Ohio Country and many, including himself, fall victim to alcoholism and despair. But after experiencing a vision he believes is sent by the Master of Life, Tenskwatawa is reborn as the Shawnee Prophet and begins to preach a return to the old ways and to reject the ways of the whites whom he says have corrupted and destroyed the Indians. His religious revival brings together many thousands of loyal followers from many tribes across the Old Northwest and becomes the core of the pan-Indian confederacy engineered by his older brother Tecumseh who intends to push the Americans back east of the Appalachain Mountains and reclaim their ancestoral homelands. Tragicly, these dreams are crushed by William Henry Harrison's victory over Tenskwata's forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Though Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa would continue to fight alongside the British in the War of 1812, the Prophet's reputation is devastated forever, as is the dream of uniting the tribes and driving the whites from their lands.

This is a fascinating book that covers much information not only about the Prophet, but his people and their history, as well as shedding much light on one of the primary causes of the War of 1812 and the Indians' role in that conflict.

The author uses many sources and many factual accounts of the events of the early 19th century in the area of the Old Northwest, present day Ohio Valley region. He shows that Tenskwatawa, also known as the Shawnee Prophet, was a proud man who would do anything to maintain his followers. It gives us a great insight into the difficult relations between the Americans and the Native Americans. The reading is fairly easy and the events described were very interesting. It was a very in-depth look into the life of the Shawnee Prophet, his followers and how they dealt with the world of change swirling around them and the culture clash that existed between the Native Americans and the white settlers moving in.

If you are interested in learning more about Native American culture, especially the Shawnee, then I would strongly recommend this book.

What is the relation between the American Civil War and the Monroe Doctrine? Where's the connection between the Emancipation Proclamation and the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857? Did you know that one of the crucial battles of the Civil War was fought nowhere near the bloody fields of Virginia or Tennessee?

"Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of Freedom" traces the events surrounding Lincoln's fight to keep the European Powers from intervening on the side of the Confederacy. Without help from abroad the Confederate cause was virtually doomed; the leadership in Richmond compared their fight with that of the Revolutionary War of 1776-81 and the importance then of the active intervention of France. The stumbling block for the leaders of Britain and France in 1862 was slavery in the Southern states. While the upper classes who led these European nations were sympathetic to the South, the middle and working classes were against slavery and thus for the North.

What makes this book interesting is that it goes beyond high school level history and shows the complexities of British politics and French imperial ambitions. What happened was neither straightforward nor obvious. The twists and turns of diplomacy are shown along with the mistakes of ambitious leaders and politicians in stark contrast with the stubborn, steadfast policy of Lincoln himself.

The book has flaws, luckily, not many. The most notable one is the style of the writing. I suspect that Howard Jones, a history professor, is used to writing for his professional colleagues rather than the general public. The result is a bit turgid and does not read easily.

Howard Jones is University Research Professor in the Department of History at the University of Alabama. He is the author of Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of the Slave Revolt And its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy which provided historical basis for the movie Amistad.

Abraham Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong but legally protected by the Constitution. This initial stance never changed. He had said in his speeches that a nation half slave and half free cannot endure. He had considered the option of paying for slaves in the South. He had considered moving slaves to another country, as did James Monroe, to Liberia. He said that he would accept some slaves as free and others not - whatever it took to keep the union intact. He believed that slavery would die by stopping its expansion.

Expansion had been stopped by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed it, and the Dred Scott decision, which declared it unconstitutional, meant that slavery would grow. Lincoln knew that only by ending slavery would the nation endure.

The Emancipation Proclamation, though considered by some to be effete because it did not free all the slaves, placated the western states and urged the slaves to desert the South to join the fight. Some 50,000 did. England now realized that the destruction of slavery was the main issue and recognition of the Confederacy was no longer viable. Without England as an ally, the ambitions of France were doomed.

Historian Allan Nevins said, "No battle, not Gettysburg, not the Wilderness, was more important in the contest waged in the diplomatic arena and the form of public opinion. It
is hardly too much to say that the future of the world as we know it was at stake."

Had Great Britain and France recognized the South, the rest of the world would have followed. Fortunately for the Union, the Anglo-Franco rivalry stopped intervention. While both nations claimed to be anti-slavery, their true intentions were nefarious. For Great Britain, a Confederate nation to the south of the United States and Canada to the north would have left the United States between two non-friendlies and no threat to Great Britain. Napoleon still had designs on Mexico and even the western United States in the establishment of a dictatorship friendly to him in the form of Maximilian. England's Palmerston and France's Napoleon were "...self-appointed keepers old world order...."
Only Russia among the larger nations was in accord with the Union (sound familiar) because of the Czar's tenuous hold.

In Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth Of Freedom, historian Howard Jones focuses intensely on Abraham Lincoln's strong belief that slavery was immoral and must be destroyed for this nation to find "a new birth of freedom" as expressed in the one nation theme of the "Gettysburg Address" and the unfulfilled promise of the Declaration of Independence. This theme repeats throughout the book's 192 pages of text and illustrations (the remainder of book is notes and index) as though Jones were lecturing with pedagogical "foot-stompers". If one comes away with a different idea of Lincoln's beliefs, he or she has missed the point.

In a sense, Jones stretches the theme of diplomacy since it could be stated in a few hundred words. In fact, the entire book could easily be condensed into a standard magazine article or monograph.

That being said, Abraham Lincoln and a New Birth of Freedom is a book that I have heavily underscored, read deliberately, and will keep for re-reading and reference in my library. If one does not have time for the entire book, I suggest they buy it for reference and its pregnant prologue and epilogue.

Mark Witt
Parrish, Florida