University of Nebraska Books

A good friend of mine was very intrigued with her Jewish heritage and wanted to learn Yiddish; I thought I'd try to locate an English/Yiddish dictionary for her birthday. When I found this book instead, I struck gold.

Bluestein has done more than simply provide a handy guide to common -- and not-so-common -- Yiddish and Yiddish-influenced terms and phrases. He has given all readers a chance to learn a little about Jewish-American culture and a little about their own. Each entry includes notes on common usage, probable origins, and best of all, humor. Anecdotes, quotes, and dialogues illustrate these words and phrases in use or in principle, and grant what I have always seen as the surest insight into any culture: what makes them laugh. When neighbors can laugh together, they often find that there are other great values they share, in spite of whatever differences seem to seperate them. You may be surprised to find just how much your own sense of humor owes to Jewish culture -- from Bugs Bunny to the Marx Brothers and far, far more. Indeed, you may be surprised just how much of your common speech is glorious Yinglish. I know I was.

Well, eventually I did hand the book over to that friend, but not before learning something about her heritage, and, inevitably, my own; and not before having some of the heartiest laughs in a long time. And I think I can safely say that she enjoyed it as much as I.

In 1879, Thomas Cruse graduated from West Point and was assigned to active duty in Arizona at Fort Apache. Throughout the 1880s Cruse participated in a number of campaigns against the Apache: the Cibecue Expedition in 1881, the Big Dry Wash campaign in 1882 (where he won the Medal of Honor), and a number of other campaigns throughout the Southwest. He married in 1882 and his wife accompanied him throughout his years of service. In the 1890s he was appointed to the Quartermaster Corps (an assignment he didn't relish) and served as chief quartermaster during the Spanish-American conflict. He spent time in Manila and retired from the army in 1918.

Most of this memoir deals with Cruse's years in the Southwest. A professional soldier, he makes no bones about his duties as an Indian fighter; political and social issues are not his concern. He gives a good picture of life at Fort Apache (and other camps), on the trail during campaigns, and encounters with "the enemy," which included Victorio and Geronimo. He also gives first-hand accounts of Generals Crook and Miles, and was particularly impressed with the leadership abilities of General Eugene Carr, especially at Cibecue. Cruse is a clear, objective writer, and the book is informative and interesting. A major disappointment is the lack of an index. Otherwise this is a good account of an army officer's reminiscences of the Indian campaigns in the Southwest during the 1880s.

This book will de bunk the myth about apaches being savages and uncultured criminals. The apache people were a nomadic people, and the US Government taught them more about treachery than any village elder ever could. Treaties broken , starving people forced to march to barren wastelands, all the things the US Government forced the apache to endure are here. Only then did the apache begin to fight the white man in seriousness, and then only in small numbers. It is a tribute to their tenacity and strength that they were able to avoid capture by 'three stars' Crook for so long. In particular my favorite chapters were those about noble apache chiefs like Cochise and Mangas Colorado. These were the true leaders of the apache, Geronimo was never revered as a leader until he broke off from the main tribe. I have read this book over and over, its a hard read, but worth it.

The Apache Indians: In Search of the Missing Tribe is the English version of Helge Ingstad's original book published in Norway in 1937. This edition features a preface by Benedicte Ingstad, Helge Ingstad daughter, and an introduction by Thomas J. Nevins, a PhD candidate in anthropology at the University of Virginia.

Helge Ingstad was lawyer turned adventurer and self-taught ethnographer and historian. While spending four years in the Great Slave Lake area with the Chipewyan, Instad chanced upon a native tale about a group of Chipewyan members that had left the group proper and never returned. It was suggested in these stories that this band of individuals had travelled south through modern Canada and the Plains of the United States to modern Arizona and had become the ancestors of the Apache.

Ingstad was so intrigued with this theory that when he got the opportunity to work alongside a group of White Mountain Apaches as a cowboy in 1936, he jumped at the chance. During his time with the Apache, Ingstad saw linguistic and cultural similarities indicated a strong interconnection between the Chipewyan and Apache. The presence of myths stating that the Apache had travelled from the north to their present location further substantiated Ingstad's hypothesis.

Nonetheless, Ingstad was quite disappointed at the lack of cultural continuity between the Apache and their ancestors. However, through listening to the stories of the White Mountain Apache, Ingstad had learned of the potential presence of another group of Apache that had travelled with the remnants of Geronimo's men into the Sierra Madres of Mexico. It was proposed that the resulting Sierra Madres Apache had strictly adhered to their traditional lifeways. Ingstad immediately made plans to seek out the Sierra Madres Apache.

The Apache Indians: In Search of the Missing Tribe details Ingstad's experiences with the White Mountain Apache and his subsequent attempts to locate the mysterious Sierra Madres Apache group. These experiences read more like an adventure story than an ethnographic document. Nonetheless, Ingstad did a wonderful job of describing and contrasting the life of the White Mountain Apache with their traditional Chipewyan origins. Moreover, Ingstad also illustrated a realistic and more balanced version of the noble savage and the barbaric primitive images so common during his time. That Ingstad actually lived with and worked alongside these individuals, probably account for his in-depth and realistic views of these people.

The entertaining nature of Ingstad's writing makes this book suitable for anyone interested in learning more about America's past. However, the information that Ingstad recorded contains some very important insight of use to researchers. This is especially true of the myths of the Chipewyan and Apache and also in the details Ingstad provides about the changing lifestyles of these individuals during the 1930's.

Army & Empire, by M. N. McConnell, deals with the various aspects of life on the British western frontier from 1758-1775, chiefly in Indian relations, garrisoning forts, and other issues concerning British Empire's handling of the vast western territory it suddenly inherited from the French. Lots of details about soldier life too, what historians call "material culture." One drawback-$it is expensive! Maybe your library has it? Nevertheless it is a good read with good info presented in a very workmanlike, if not inspired way.

We need more historians like William H. Goetzmann. Focusing on the history of the Army's Topographical Engineers we get a completely different view of the Cowboy's and Indians portrayal of the American West that Hollywood likes to keep repeating. Goetzmann shows that almost to a man, and despite many faults, these engineers, the cream of each West Point graduating class, made a most remarkable contribution to the exploration, definition and integration of the American West into the rest of the country at large.

An extension of first the Executive branch and then subsequently of the Congress itself, these men not only defined what others claimed they saw, they scientifically refined what existed to a point where others, who could not see for themselves, could rely with the utmost confidence that things were as reported. Along the way, they influenced everything from much needed infrastructure changes such as road and bridge building, reconnaissance, railroad surveys, raw exploration, and map making to establishing frontier forts and our national boundaries themselves.

These men accomplished for the United States what the English, French, Russians, Spanish and native peoples could not. They reported an accurate, scientifically based, in-depth understanding of what would be required to conquer and subdue a land that, from the beginning of time, had avoided and frustrated any and all attempts at civilization. This is the amazing story of the men who, more than any other single group, led in the development of the American West.

"Astronomical Lore in Chaucer" is a pretty interesting idea for a book, but buyers should be aware that this is a reprint of a book first published in 1919. This was after Einstein's first papers on relativity were published, but long before the idea of the "Big Bang" was a hot topic. Astronomy has progressed a lot since 1919. So, the author makes occasional statements about astronomy that will rest uneasily in the mind of the alert reader. Also -- social science in general was a very different scene in 1919 than it is today, so be prepared for some statements you may actually find offensive.

That said, the writing style is pleasantly, rollingly Edwardian, reminiscent of Saki or Olaf Stapledon, and the book is packed with intriguing notions. In Chaucer's day, astronomy and astrology were not differentiated, so let's just say the science isn't always overwhelmingly hardcore. Nevertheless, Chaucer was apparently considered an expert with the medieval astrolabe, so he did have things to say that were actually cutting-edge science in the 14th century.

The book is divided into four sections, dealing with I.)Astronomy in the Middle Ages, II.)Chaucer's Scientific Knowledge, III.)Chaucer's Cosmology, IV.)Chaucer's Astronomy, and finally V.)Astronomical Lore in Chaucer. The actual quotes don't really kick in until chapter two. There are many entertaining, illuminating little passages sprinkled throughout this highly neato book. All you need to be wary of is the fact that the book is a little out of date, and then you can relax and enjoy it. Two thumbs up.

Frazer takes a new look at the hero-bandit and related characters of myth and reality, especially around the turn of the 20th century. He uses a suitable range of sources and shows how these fascinating characters played their part in pre-revolutionary Mexico,and just touches on their lingering legacy today. Essentially this is a good read recommended for general as well as academic audiences, although some general knowledge of Mexican history helps. I would have given it five stars instead of four if the author had not burdened his prose with academic buzzwords and repeated references to various social-science theories, especially in the Marxist camp. Still, no one will be bored. I look forward to Mr. Frazer's next contribution.

A famous Civil War General surprises a peaceful Indian village and defeats the native men. Hoig details this great victory of Custer. Hoig points out that in the Indian village, there were large numbers of women and children (collateral damage in modern language). Also, the village chief was peacefully disposed toward the settlers and white authorities. Custer used the attack as an example, this struck fear into tribes that were rebeling. This and Sand Creek were detailed as victories over a rebellious native people.

After a period of time, history re-examines itself. Hopefully, this battle and others of the West will be re-examined for new details. This is a good read from an excellent Western historian.

The only reason why I'm bringing this up first is because he starts the book this way. The text begins with the author saying that he's straight. He noted that many proof-readers and Two-Spirit men themselves were skeptical of that claim, but others said his sexual orientation gives gay studies legitimacy and that he'll be viewed as "objective" unlike what would be supposed of gay researchers. I am surprised that while he goes out of his way to declare his heterosexuality, he never says anything about his whiteness. Like almost all Two-Spirit books, this one was written by a Caucasian person. (Others include Walter Williams, Lester Brown, Sabine Lang, Will Roscoe, and the list goes on.) I don't know why the author feels that his sexual orientation stands out, but his race doesn't. Some Indians, of all sexualities, have said, "Don't send us your anthropologists!" I highly doubt that Two-Spirits thought nothing of his race, but only of his sexual identity. The author really needs to freshen up on books being written about whiteness and white privilege.

The most powerful impression this book left upon me is that Two-Spiritedness concerns action and not just labeling. Previously, I thought any gay person with some Native ancestry could call themselves Two-Spirit. This book, however, talks of how a legitimate Two-Spirit person would learn of their tribe's customs and dedicate themselves to helping others in the tribe. This promotion of communal action will impress Native heterosexuals, I imagine.

This book touches upon many issues that non-Native gay men and lesbians of color face. When the book mentioned that Two Spirits often care for young people that are not their biological children, I thought of something similar stated in the book "One of the Children" about gay, African-American men. When it mentioned Two Spirits that "tone it down" among Native straights, I thought of what J.L. King said in his "Up from the Down Low" about the Black community. In "Global Divas," gay Pilipino men had drag contests and spoke a slang just as these Two Spirit men did.

This book details Native homophobia, for example, when a man said, "That mess doesn't need to be thrown in our faces" and gay white racism, for example, when a gay white man says, "If I hear one more drum!" Still, there was one scene that I thought could be seen not as prejudicially as the author imagines. The author recalls a biological woman who resented a transgendered Native dancing in female competitions. However, in "Paris Is Burning," competitors squabbled over trivial things. Remember when Dorian Corey said, "Did you see that gymnast disqualified from the Olympics because her coach was within a certain distance of her? That's shade!"? This anecdote just could have been Native shade, a person trying to win at all costs.

The author writes "non-gay" rather than "straight", and "non-Indian" rather than "white" (no other people of color are ever mentioned), so one has to read carefully. Though I purchased a new book, my page 11 was smeared, I hope other readers don't get defective copies. The author never mentions any bisexual men, though Two-Spirit author Terry Tafoya once wrote that many Two Spirits are bisexual. The author notes closeted Natives, but never says whether any of these men had wives. Bisexual activists may resent this.

Geographically, most Natives leave west of the MS River, so the focus on Oklahoma and Colorado makes sense. Still, the author teaches at a Northeastern university. It would have been nice to learn about Native, gay men from that region. Any gay Oneidas in New York? Gay Naragansett in Rhode Island? This book never says. Perhaps someone else can write a book covering that topic.