Oklahoma Books

I used this book in a mythology class project and it was a great help. The book reveals a great deal of the Winnebago tradition through the history detailed in the stories. This book is well worth the money and is a necessary piece to any Native American collection.

This is the most interesting book I've read about the work of newspaper correspondents in the field. While focusing on a handful of campaigns against the Indians in the West mainly during the 1860s-1870s, Knight traces the role of the assigned correspondents who marched with the soldiers, sometimes fought (and died) with them, and somehow wrote the stories and got them back to their respective newspapers under trying conditions.

Although Knight deals with 12 major campaigns between 1866-1891, he centers his attention on chiefly the following:

Crook's campaign against the Paiute in Oregon (1867-68), reported by Joe Wasson of the "Owyhee Avalanche" of Silver City, Idaho;

Custer's attack at the Washita in the winter of 1868, with reporter DeBenneville Keim of the "New York Herald" in tow;

The Modoc War along the California-Oregon border in 1873, attended by a number of reporters, chief among them Edward Fox of the "New York Herald" who interviewed "Captain Jack," the Modoc leader;

Crook fighting the Sioux at the Rosebud in 1876, covered by reporters from Chicago, Denver, and New York;

and Custer again at the Little Big Horn, where Mark Kellogg, claimed by two newspapers, became a hero after being killed along with Custer's men.

Although Knight of course is mainly interested in the newspapermen and what they wrote and how they delivered their stories, he also gives a pretty detailed account of the events being covered. His writing is clear and concise, and he shows how newspaper stories of those times were much different than today: many of them were written in the form of letters to the editor, the writer's own prejudices were usually allowed to stand, and often the writer employed a droll sense of humor in his accounts. At the end of the book Knight traces the life of his newspaper "heroes" beyond the times covered in the book to the conclusion of their careers. It's an interesting and entertaining book. Knight concludes his work by saying that the newspapermen did their jobs well. So does he. Highly recommended.

I got this book because I will be doing work in the Cross Timbers and need to be able to identify what I find there. It is a handy reference of a size that will fit a pocket in my field vest. The book is organized by species and family, and the drawings are very good to help with identification.

This book allows the reader to see in real life how families handled the bombing in Oklahoma City. Some stories leave you crying from sympathy, but a surprising amount of the book leaves you crying with joy. One of the stories is mine. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you everyone for reading it.

"Fire warms, dissolves, enlightens;
Is the great promoter of vegetation and life,
If not necessary to the support of both."
-William Paley, "On the elements"
I ordered this book because I am a fan of Mary Clearman Blew and have reviewed some of her books in the past. I also know that most years Idaho is ground zero in the never ending effort to control wildfires in the American west and figured, correctly it turns out, that this collection of essays on fire and how it affects our lives would have a fair amount of writing on wildfires. I also was intrigued with the unusual history of the book. Originally the University of Idaho Press was to publish the book but sadly it was closed shortly after the proofs were submitted by the editors and thus the book was looking for a home. The University of Oklahoma Press, not known for publishing lackluster or marginal books, recognized the quality of the submissions and reputations of the editors and agreed to publish it in cooperation with the Idaho Humanities Council. It was a wise choice and speaks well for the reputation of the folks at OU Press.
This anthology contains essays by twenty writers, both established and novice, including two prize-winning stories by Kim Barnes and Robert Coker Johnson. The book offers a variety of essays not only about wildfires and firefighting but also the affects fire has on our lives in other than a wildfire setting. For example, the frightening story by Robert Johnson, winner of a Gettysburg Review award, about a trash fire that consumed a three year old boy and his experiences in a burn unit, is about fear, courage, and coming to terms with fire in a most unforgettable way. There are stories of campfires and a longing for the past, of burning Presto-logs, stolen no less by an author's mother, the ever present fire danger to ranchers and farmers in an area so achingly beautiful it makes the danger at least acceptable, and a host of other stories that, in the words of editor Blew, "like fire will warm, frighten, and entertain the reader."
The Greeks believed fire was one of the four basic elements which combined comprised the total of creation. This is a wonderful anthology that will provide the reader with a good overview of the many facets of fire and it's place in our history. A worthy addition to the readers' bookshelf.

This book was written by one of America's most-respected autograph dealers. It discusses the materials (paper and ink) used by forgers; shows comparisons between fake and real signatures; discusses famous forgers; provides an analysis of major forgeries; details the equipment used in examining questionable documents; and provides a bibliography of almost 100 books written on the subject of either autograph collecting or documenting forgeries.

First presented in the 1950s, yet just as relevant today, Forgotten Fires: Native Americans And The Transient Wilderness by Omer C. Stewart dispels the longstanding cultural myth that Native American communities had no impact on the natural environment surrounding them. Taking a close look at the effects Native American civilization had upon nature's ability to incorporate them into the ecosystem, with an especial eye toward how some regularly used fires to manage plant and animal communities through localized habitat burning, Forgotten Fires is a thoughtful study about mankind's true interaction with the environment, presenting straightforward facts instead of romanticized legend. This highly recommended edition for Native American Studies and Environmental History reference shelves and reading lists has been collaboratively edited by Henry T. Lewis and M. Kat Anderson for the contemporary reader.

Anyone who has ever visited the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeast Arizona knows what a unique experience that is (first of all, you have to hike in to the fort ruins a mile-and-a-half from a small parking area off a dirt road). The feeling at the site of being transported back in time is profound. Douglas McChristian has given us a thorough history of the fort and its role in the affairs of Arizona during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Before Fort Bowie was constructed in 1862, there was a Butterfield Stage station located near the site (its ruins are still visible). Apache raids on local ranches in the area brought a military response in 1861, which was unsuccessful in dispelling hostilities. With the advent of the Civil War, the importance of Apache Pass as a viaduct to the California gold fields for the Confederates became a major concern. Union volunteer cavalry under Gen James H. Carleton rode to Apache Pass, where on July 15-16, 1862, they fought a battle with several hundred Apaches at the springs near the pass. After the Indians were finally driven off, Carleton realized the pass needed to be fortified, and Fort Bowie was soon under construction.

The first Fort Bowie was in existence from 1862 to 1868 and consisted mainly of tents inside a stone breastwork. After the Civil War, the US Army (as opposed to state units) took over and a new fort was begun about a quarter-mile to the east. Much more substantial, it contained adobe buildings and included barracks, officers' quarters, storehouses, and a hospital. By the time the fort was abandoned in 1894, 38 buildings had been constructed (the ruins of these buildings is the chief attraction for a visitor today).

A tentative peace was established with the Apaches in 1872 when Cochise agreed to occupy a reservation that included their traditional homeland. There was restlessness on the reservation, however, and some bands (most famously, one led by Geronimo) left the reservation and wandered between the US and Mexico, escaping capture for years. Finally, in 1886, Geronimo and his band were caught and sent to Florida. Fort Bowie hung on for another eight years, but with the Indian wars at an end, the fort served little purpose. On October 17, 1894, the last troops marched out of the fort for other posts.

McChristian's account of life at the fort is fully detailed. Fort Bowie was an isolated post, and life there could be pretty lonely (drinking was a big problem). Actual encounters with the Indians were rare, though scouting expeditions were never-ending. The author lists all the commanding officers at the fort (the list is long and many officers stayed for only a month or two) and all the units stationed there (the Sixth US Cavalry was there the longest: 1875-85). His approach is scholarly (footnotes are numerous and many annotated), but it's not written for just other scholars. There are also many photographs. Fort Bowie was an important military post in the West, and this book relates its story well. Highly recommended.

Mr. Rister wrote this in an easy to read style, and it is loaded with facts, entertainment, a great read which I refer to often. Highest recommendations!!!!

For this book, published in 1970, Robert Carriker began researching in the 1960s a vast number (he was surprised by the amount) of records housed in the National Archives regarding Fort Supply, located just east of the panhandle of Oklahoma on the North Canadian River. The records indicated to Carriker how important a post the old fort was in the history of the West and encouraged him to write this account.

Fort Supply, established in 1868, played basically three essential roles in its 25-year history: during its first ten years (1868-78) its troops helped protect the Cheyennes and Arapahoes from other Indian tribes (mainly the raiding Kiowas) as well as from the exploitations of whites, especially the whiskey traders from Kansas who used the supply roads to ply their illegal trade in the nearby Indian villages; during the next dozen years when its troops helped protect the cattle business along quickly developing cattle trails (the Chisholm Trail to the east and the Dodge City Road to the west, to name just two); and after 1890, by serving as headquarters for the opening of the Cherokee Outlet to homesteaders.

Carriker is an excellent writer (his biography of Father De Smet, pioneer Jesuit missionary to the northwest Indians, is also superb), and he tells the story of Fort Supply with verve and in detail. The fort officially closed in 1895, though 13 years later the Western State Hospital took up residence there, where it remained into the late 1980s. Fortunately, when the hospital closed the state of Oklahoma took over the site and turned it into a park. Old Fort Supply should thus avoid the usual fate of abandoned historical places: deterioration followed by oblivion. Anyone interested in forts of the old West or in the history of the Plains will find this book useful and entertaining.