Oklahoma Books

"Fearful that this gem of a book may slip through the cracks, may I enthusiastically recommend, Tiger Creek Tales, Memories of an Oil Patch Kid by Billy Gene Carriker. The 297 page hardback consists of both a factual and hilarious account of an oil boom town during the Great Depression of the 1930s, i.e., Drumright, Creek County, Oklahoma, now an historic site. It is a prototype of those towns that sprung literally overnight with the discovery of oil. Hordes of people from other states and from foreign countries converged overnight and built Drumright on two impossibly steep hills. Merchants from Lebanon, Syria and Assyria were prominent; mixed with them were engineers, bankers, lawyers and displaced dirt farmers. Carriker cleverly mixes individual accounts with unifying narration from a dozen old-timers who meet in the Boom Town Cafe for coffee. The book is a remarkable re-creation of the town and the times; it is also highly entertaining. Carriker is right on the mark in his account of that time and place. I know, I was there."

Vivian Kelly Travis, Ph.D.
Psychologist
Associate Prof. Psychology Emeritus

After reading the story of an 'oil patch kid' I was moved by the warmth and humor extended by the author, not to mention the knowledged of an earlier, easier time in life. Born and raised in Oklahoma, but too young to have grown-up during that time, I found the book entertaining as well as nostalgic. The sketches drawn through out the book helped me visualize the scenes that the author so eloquently described. All in all the book, the sketches, and the topic were well worth the time invested in reading from cover to cover the story of the 'oil patch kid'.

What a fun book to read! As an adult born at the end of WWII in the central part of the country, I had grown up hearing tales about the 30s and 40s, but the stories in this book really expand on them. Expressions I had heard and words I never really knew the meaning of are sprinkled through the stories. It's actually a mini-history lesson presented in an enjoyable way. The format, the coffee bunch are so real. Growing up in a cafe, I know there is always a bunch of regulars and do they like to talk! I can see this book being a conversation starter for adults and an eye-opening experience for the younger crowd.
My dad talked about playing shinny, never knew what he was talking about. Blowing the plug out of a pressure cooker, feeding spiders and eating box suppers are experiences you never forget! Fill your coffee cup, settle in your comfortable chair and be prepared for sharing when someone catches you chuckling out loud....

This is a delightful book of wonderful stories about real people of all ages living and working in the oil patch of Oklahoma. Sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, a flavor of rural atmosphere is injected into the stories that recall life in a simpler time.
As history reports, born in an unpainted and roughly-furnished shotgun house, located in an actively producing oil field, Billy Gene grew up on the banks of Tiger Creek near the city of Drumright in the new state of Oklahoma - the time was only a few years after Indian Territory was named the state of Oklahoma in 1907. And that oil bubbling up was the reason that Drumright was founded, becoming a boom town before Oklahoma became a state, years later being known as the "Pipeline Capital of the World". Many colorful characters were part of that history.
In a period of 14 years of growing up in Drumright, the author met many different people. His family moved 9 times, which meant he and his siblings changed schools often. In each instance, a new circle of friends was established to go with the old friends. During his elementary schooling, the author attended 5 different schools in the immediate area of Drumright, graduating from the 8th grade as valedictorian of his class.
Those formative years took place during the Great Depression in the Dust Bowl era, which meant the specter of poverty always hovered near. Despite the economic hardships--or perhaps because of them--the large family, attending different schools and living in the rural atmosphere provided an enriching environment for these indelible memories the author shares so beautifully.
You will be entertained by reading this author's work.

A great reference material book, a must have to collect items from this period, so that you know exactly what years were talking about. It really narrows it down. You will come away being smarter than you ever thougth.

Doug McChristian was the Chief Historian at the Little Bighorn National Monument (formerly the Custer Battlefield) when this excellent book was published in 1995. He had access to the museum there including the countless bits and pieces of equipment that soldiers typically carried to Custer's Last Stand.

This is required reading for students of the Custer Fight or anybody interested in the Frontier Army after the Civil War, and before the Spanish American War. McChristian's book is an encyclopedia of what Custer's troopers (and other soldiers of that era) wore, carried and even what they thought.

McChristian goes beyond compiling a copiously illustrated encyclopedia. He discerns such crucial, nuanced themes as the connection between equipment and morale and documents it with careful, objective research. He annotates his work thoroughly and extensively and adds a great bibliography.

This is one of the best reference books you can have if you're interested in the Army of Custer's period. I gave it five stars. It just doesn't get any better.

This isn't just another general survey, but a detailed inspection of the development of army uniforms, equipment and small arms during the Indian campaigns in the West. As such, it will attract history buffs, military readers and collectors alike, pairing over two hundred photos with historical background on the frontier era. THE U.S. ARMY IN THE WEST, 1870-1880 comes from a retired research historian for the National Park Service, and could've been featured in our 'Collector's Shelf' area, but is featured here for its added attraction to any military history buff with an affection for early Western events.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

What has and will be for sometime to come..the quintessential work on the US Armys equipment and uniforms of its late Indian War era...McChristian's volume is loaded with excellent photos and text...detailing weapons, clothing, leather gear, and personal items..that the Regular Army soldier used to sustain his existance at a time when military spending was frugal to say the least ..in a post-Civil War political atmosphere. Although this book was written with an eye towards the history of that time ..it really is geared towards collectors and amateur historians. Custer fans...and collectors of Indian War artifacts..be advised this is a necessary book for your shelf, if you really want to experience what life on the plains was like for the grunt soldier. The thin line between you and your haversack, overcoat, and rifle..represented the daily struggle between life or death. McChristian's research is flawless...and well documented. My only wish for this book was that it might have had color photos..(instead of black & white)..of original artifacts from known collections..such as many of the newer WW2 collector research books,that have shown up of late. Maybe..next time out...for the volume covering 1880 thru 1900..if such is being worked on..??!!

Along with other well written books dealing with counter-insurgency (Warfare by Other Means and Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam) this is a timely edition to the literature and an important addition to the history of the civil war. The campaigns of John Singelton Mosby have been chronicled elsewhere (Gray Ghost: The Life of Colonel John Singleton Mosby) and so have those of Quantrill (The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders) and Forrest (Nathan Bedford Forrest: A Biography) but this book synthesizes the entire discussion and history of these irregular warefare experts and tries to not only come to a conclusion about defining them in terms of the time and in terms of the history og guerilla war, but also to provide a history of their emergence and the Union's attempts to deal with them.

This is a well written and interesting account, although the picture on the cover leaves something to be desired. A very fascinating addition to material on the civil war and a fascinating topic that many will find interesting, especiall Civil War buffs and those interested in irregular warfare. The only problem is that the book should have been expanded to deal with the guerilla campaigns in Kansas and Missouri.

Seth J. Frantzman

The book is focused on irregular war in the upper South during the period 1862 to 1865 it is a scholarly work that is based on primary source documents from the official records of the National Archive and provides a clarity and understanding that dispels current myths.

The author begins his work by explaining the differences between partisan war, guerrilla war and raiding and he sets this stage by explaining the historical theory and practice of the time. Although it may appear that this definitional distinction is semantics, it is not and the 3 types of warfare are distinct. The author uses Jomini as the basis for defining these types of operations. This author takes his analysis another step by placing the definitions and doctrine within the context of the time and does not compare it with modern notions. This is an important aspect of methodology in which he rests both his thesis and the book. This author places both the success and failure of irregular war during the civil war into context within the period. Lastly, "Contrary to many historians he argues that the confederacy overtly organized and fought an irregular war and lost....that this unconventional war existed not as a separate conflict from the conventional conflict but formed and integral part of the overall war strategy" (from page 21 of the book)

In order to get a better understanding of this thesis and theory it would be extremely beneficial if one obtained the book "Compound Warfare That Fatal Knot". This is a product of the US Army War Command and General Staff College and you can download this from there web site in a pdf format or order this online from the US Government Printing Office.

This book is a valuable contribution to understanding the important lessons learned in counter-insurgency. At times the book is slow, but, all in all it is a good book and warrants serious consideration by any student of warfare. I strongly recommend this book

The Upper South--Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas--was the scene of the most destructive war ever fought in the Western hemisphere. It included, among even more bloody encounters such as Gettysburg and Antietam, the battles of Manassas, Shiloh, Perryville, and Pea Ridge.

In The Uncivil War, Robert Mackey writes a dissertation about the unconventional warfare in the Upper South during the American Civil War. He points out that, alongside conventional warfare, where soldiers confronted one another in opposing lines of battle, there existed a "shadow war" employing irregular strategies--hit-and-run, behind-the-lines, create-havoc-and-confusion "guerrilla" attacks.

Examining the entire spectrum of irregular warfare during the Civil War: Mackey makes a distinction between three types of tactics: guerrilla (or people's war), partisan warfare, and raiding warfare. His thesis is that, whereas such maneuvers had limited success, they were ultimately unsuccessful, and often counterproductive, in their results.

Contrary to many historians, Mackey argues that the Confederacy overtly organized and fought an irregular conflict but lost. Also in contrast to previous scholars, he argues that this unconventional war existed not as a separate conflict from the conventional conflict but as an integral but subordinate part of the overall Confederate conduct of the war.

Mackey zeroes in on such leaders as Thomas C. Hindman in Arkansas, John Singleton Mosby in Virginia, John Hunt Morgan in Kentucky (and also in Tennessee, Indiana, and Ohio), and Nathan Bedford Forrest in Tennessee."

In his description of Mosby, "the Gray Ghost of the Confederacy," Mackey writes, "Mosby was larger than life, a monster that would spring out of the darkness to attack isolated outposts and sentries and steal horses, supplies, and weapons, before fading back into the countryside."

One should remember that such encounters were often bloody and fatal; all was not swashbuckling adventure, fun and games. "War loses a great deal of romance," said Mosby, "after a soldier has seen his first battle."

Nathan Bedford Forrest (who, by the way, was born in Chapel Hill, Tenn.) was so elusive and persistent in his attack-and-destroy tactics, that the Union Army referred to him as "that devil Forrest." When asked was the secret of military success, Forrest replied, "War means killing, and the way to kill is to get there first with the most men."

Whereas most of the books written about the Civil War deal with conventional warfare fought by "regular" forces, The Uncivil War brings a fascinating perspective on "the war fought in the shadows." Mackey shows why such irregular warfare, while often annoying and sometimes highly disruptive and destructive, was ultimately a failure.

Major Robert R. Mackey, Ph.D., is a career Army officer currently working as a Strategic Plans and Policy specialist at the Pentagon. A graduate of Arkansas State University and Texas A&M University, he is a decorated veteran of Panama, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom, and he taught military history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He is a member of the Society for Military History, the Southern Historical Society, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies. He devotes his free time to volunteer work at the Manassas National Battlefield and Civil War reenactments portraying a soldier of the 5th New York Infantry, "Duryee's Zouaves." His dissertation, from which The Uncivil War developed, was the top-selling dissertation in the U.S. for 2002.

Roy E. Perry may be reached at rperry1778@aol.com

At the end of the Civil War Grant was critized for having given Lee surrender terms that were far less harsh than the people of the Union felt should have been imposed.

Grant, however, was afraid that Lee would disperse his army to continue the war as a guerrilla army. It may be that he also wanted to save something of the union rather than creating unending hatred on the part of the south.

During the war the South had created several of what would now be called irregular forces. The varied from the Gray Ghost, John Mosby in Virginia to Fortest and Morgan in Kentucky/Tennessee, to a range of groups in Arkansas/Missouri that included William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, Cole Younger and others that were little more than bandits.

The Union was able to defeat these units, but only at great cost in people, money, and equipment. Building a blockhouse to defend every railroad bridge is a major effort. (The Union blockhouses looked a great deal like the blockhouses used by the British to defeat the Boors in South Africa forty years later.)

This book brings this new story to the accumulated literature of the Civil War in an organized and complete manner that hasn't been done before. This is an area of the war that can no longer be neglected in our histories.

The book x-files "voltage" by Easton Royce was very well written and had many issues and events to deal with including suspence. The story starts off in a small Oklahoma town when a 17 year old boy is struck by lightning and is able to tame electricity...
A must read book for all ages that will get you hooked!

This book is written extremely well throughout. It is the kind of short book that you feel you want to and should just read all through, from front to back. I almost did (if it wasn't for starting it late at night!) It is almost exactly as the episode on TV portrayed it, which is also a good point. Well worth a read even if you're not an x-phile, if you are, then it's a must-read book.

This book is rally good because it has a good climax. The story they give is expression because Darin loved Mrs.Kiveat and he wanted to show her how he feels.Darin has power to make ligthing strike any time he wants.The book is good I recamended.

How is lightning so accurate to kill residents in a small Oklahoma town every time it strikes? Lightning can't do that...can it? Ask Darrin Oswald, a big video game wiz, but a big geek who has a crush on Sharon Kiveat, married to Frank Kiveat. His crush won't go too far...will it? Does he have any paranormal powers? Naw...that's Mulder talk, a boy can't make lightning. Right?

While I had to use this book for a class I particularly wasn't interested in - Western and Cowboy Art - with this book, I have actually began to appreciate its contents for what they are. The book has some amazing paintings and sculptures included as well as details about the artists and information about the art included within the book as well as some other art by the artists. It has a good sampling of Western art from George Caleb Bingham to Frederick Remington and has a wide variety each artists work so the reader can get a good idea of how the artist worked and what sorts of pictures they favored. I only gave it 4 stars because of the subject matter, but all in all, a very good book.

An outstanding work by an outstanding scholar. I too am a former student of Dr. Goetzmann -- twenty years or so ago. His work really changed the way I look at America -- American history and American landscape. Try to rent or buy the PBS television show this book went with....

I first read this book as a student in Dr. Goetzmann's undergraduate class at the University of Texas at Austin. Although not an Art History major, this is the best course I have ever taken. The book is an excellent compilation of the influence of History/Culture on the Art of the American West. There is also a PBS series which accompanies this book. I highly recommend both. I keep this book on my coffee table, and enjoy reading it regularly.

As of this writing (Aug. 2002) this fine book is out of print, and shouldn't be. It is an informative and well illustrated survey covering almost 200 years of pictorial representations of the American frontier.

Because of my interest in the mythology that developed around the cowboy, I found the chapters on Frederic Remington, Charley Russell, and Buffalo Bill Cody especially absorbing. Magazine illustrators who further developed imagery of the "wild west" are represented here in discussions of N. C. Wyeth and Maynard Dixon.

On a parallel track, the authors give a chapter to the early silent Westerns, highlighting the careers and contributions of Tom Mix and William S. Hart (a precursor of Clint Eastwood). Another chapter is devoted to the Hollywood Western during the sound era noting similarities between Remington's imagery and that of director John Ford. There's also a discussion of the evolution of western movie themes from "The Virginian" (1929) to "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" (1969).

This book is a rewarding study of the American West as its visual artists inspired the imaginations of people around the world. Definitely worth having.

This is the best resource available for an overview of America's eight National Scenic Trails. It is a MUST for anyone with an interest in our National Trails System.

This is one of those rare travel books that will inform and entertain the armchair traveler while at the same time provide invaluable information to the trekker setting out to explore one of the Congressionally sponsored National Scenic Trails. Congress established the National Trails System Act in 1968 for the purpose of creating a trail system that would provide long-distance paths through some of the most scenic country in America and preserve trails that contributed to our history. Since 1968 the trail system has designated twelve national historic trails, some eight hundred national recreation trails and eight national scenic trails. This book focuses on the eight National Scenic Trails in the system and is a great guide to the almost 16,000 miles they encompass through 30 states. The trails range in length from 694 miles (the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail) to the 4,300 mile North Country National Scenic Trail. The trails, due to the diversity of their locations, can be traveled in all four seasons and contain some, if not all, of the best scenery and animal life, not to mention historical significance, that the United States has to offer. The National Scenic Trails are Appalachian, Continental Divide, Florida, Ice Age, Natchez Trace, North Country, Pacific Crest, and Potomac. The book is a combination travel guide and history lesson that is written in a highly readable, fact-filled manner. For each of the eight trails there is a history of the trail, a description of the trail today, a list of points of interest, detailed maps, state-by-state tourist information, a listing of the total mileage of the trail, and the states it traverses. For those of us that probably will not attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail "straight through"(it's 2,144 miles long!) the author thoughtfully gives suggestions on where one can enter the trail at numerous locations and walk for a few hours with time for a picnic lunch. This is a splendid general reference book for the National Scenic Trails. For the reader desiring more specific information on any of the trails the author has included a complete, up-to-date listing of all state and public land agencies, an exhaustive bibliography, an index, and 87 color illustrations and detailed, yet readable, maps. June 2nd is National Trails Day and what better way to learn about those national treasures that getting a copy of this book. This is a perfect example of the quality publications one can expect from the University of Oklahoma Press. Armchair travelers and wanderers of all types will be delighted.

This book provides and excellent overview of eight National Scenic Trails, from the Appalachian to the Pacific Crest Trails, and including the Natchez Trace, Potomic Heritage, Florida, Continental Divide, North Country, and Ice Age Trails. Each trail gets a separate chapter, and within each chapter we get an historical overview, what each trail is like today, and a fairly comprehensive listing of points of interest for each NST. Maps are also included, though they are not very detailed.

Some of the trails will probably be familiar to most people (the Appalachian and Natchez Trace, for example), but others may not be. I'd never heard of the Florida NST until reading about it here; it stretches from Big Cypress Swamp in the south all the way up and over to the western end of the panhandle near Pensacola. The North Country NST, one of the newest of the trails, is still very much under development and incorporates many local trails in state parks and national forests in the seven states it crosses (NY to ND). The Potomac Heritage NST runs over much of the C&O Canal Towpath along the Potomac River, where there are many historical points of interest.

Armchair travellers might find this book more pertinent than hikers: those in the field might want more detailed information than is provided here. But for anyone planning on hiking any of these trails, or part of them, you will find much good material here to get you started and direct your attention to the more general things you can expect to encounter along the way. The book is well-illustrated, has an excellent index, and is printed on slick, sturdy paper. Highly recommended.

"Annie's Soup Kitchen" would make a dynamite movie!
Here's a game I invented, and played as I read the book: Choose the movie stars you would cast as members of the Soup Kitchen gang. Samuel Jackson as the General!
Can you beat that?
And here's another idea: Get the book to those movie stars. Samuel Jackson, where are you? Here's your role!

Annie, we love you! Who else but a nonagenarian Irish woman straight from the Age of the Potato Famine would undertake to nourish the bodies and souls of the multitudes, the castaways of society who populate a soup kitchen in the shadow of the Valley of the Rich (notorious Orange County, Calif.,where never is heard a discouraging word over the sound of Hummers in the morning, Hummers in the evening). Annie, you're a saint! Tubs of food, tanks of pasta, bushels of greens resurrected (like the souls you cherish) from the supermarket dumpsters (yes, vegetables have souls, too--don't we talk and play Mozart to them?).

And what a motley tribe who feed from your table of viands and inspiration. In fact, filled with your spirit, they conspire with you to subvert the establishment--an oil company, a food-packing company-- Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you don't want to miss the scatological just desserts channeled by mysterious means into a food-packing company. (Ahem, I use the word "desserts" advisedly--don't try this at home, without professionals at hand.) Or the disbeliever brought low by the burning bush, whence speaketh divinity. Poor Betty, she'll never badmouth a person of color again. Or the General--now here's a dude with his mojo mojing. When he sniffs the air, the birds listen; his magic hands choreograph the powers that count against the powers that be; he speaks his own mojo language--those who have ears let them hear, those who have eyes, let them see. He will invoke imprecations and maledictions on the non-readers of Smith's pages: why, I had the audacity to put the book down in an unguarded moment, and the heavens thundered against me. I barely escaped His wrath by feverish catching up. Beware. These powers are best not affronted.

But sometimes even magic, the will of a Saint, and the best laid plans of cagey conspirators are not enough to cleanse the dross of the world, to transmute the lead into gold. It takes an act of divine nature--all those politicians, all those media hounds, all those wanna-be's who wanna prevail by prevarication and jumping on the bandwagons of the holy. We see it every day. Here's someone doing GOOD. Let's act like this is our bandwagon. Annie's Soup Kitchen, like all mythic books, is REAL. You'll know it when you see it. Everything in it happened, just like you saw it on the evening news, only without the fictionalizing. The rains fell, the dams broke, the unwashed masses were washed in a universal baptism, and the world tried to reconstitute itself under the new order. Only Grady, like Ishmael, is left to tell the tale.

So, read this book: fall under its spell, or try in vain to escape the conjurings of the General: he knows who buys, and he knows who only window-shops. He's tapped in. The lookers-in-windows live in glass houses. Fortunately, they're only a stone's throw from the Truth and a good meal.

Once in a while-not often-a writer comes along with a voice and a story so good-humored, hopeful and compelling that the reader's world-view is changed for the better. Lawrence R. Smith is one of those writers, and "Annie's Soup Kitchen" is one of those stories. It might fall roughly into the category of magic realism, but it's more accurate to say this book is just plain magic.

The cast of well-drawn, unforgettable "marginal" characters starts with Annie O'Rourke herself, a ninety-five-year-old nurse who runs a soup kitchen from an abandoned lot by the railroad tracks, and includes hard-nosed Betty, who undergoes a startling conversion after talking to a burning palm tree out back (who says miracles can't still happen?); the General, a powerful black man who delivers mystifying monologues while wearing knee-high rubber boots filled with soapy water; John DeLorean-is it that John DeLorean?; and a host of other mostly good-natured eccentrics. In response to a frightening "shadow plague," they form the monkeywrenching Magnificent Seven in an attempt to stop the disease at its environmental source. Though antagonistic, the authorities are impotent against the power and good-will of these quirky and magical souls.

Especially in these dark and discouraging times, "Annie's Soup Kitchen" is a wonder and a joy.

WOW!

This book not only shows you the relationship between politics and war but also uncovers the real reson why politicians do what they do. Pitney uses well known events as examples to support his writing. From Nixon to Clinton to Newt, Pitney discusses their triumphs and pitfalls, and what they did to achieve them.

The Art of Political Warefare is not just a guide to war and state and local politics but can be applied to corporate politics as well. I am requiring my staff to read it.

John, keep up the good work!

This unique book breaks a lot of new ground as a practical guide to modern political campaigning, but it has a greater hidden value: "The Art of Political Warfare" is a manual, of sorts, for those leading the global war against terrorists. Pitney takes the elements of military conflict - strategy, leadership, coordination, morale, deception, intelligence and the rest - and applies them to politics. A politician who follows this guide is likely never to lose a race.

More importantly, this book illuminates the battlespace for those involved in fighting terrorism around the world. It shows the warfighter how the strategic application of political warfare, as part of an overall military strategy, can often be far more effective than ordnance and bullets in achieving military objectives. The terrorist enemy already knows this lesson. It's time the civilized world learned it and practiced it. Pitney helps show the way.

In light of the recent election and it's fallout, we've all become familiar with the use of military terminology in political commentary. In The Art of Political Warfare, Pitney shows how similar the philosophy and strategies are in these two seemingly seperate arenas. Perhaps Pitney's greatest achievement is writing a book that is clear and interesting enough for anyone to enjoy while also breaking new ground and writing on a level suitable for academics and political experts. Anyone who truly wants to understand American politics in the 21st century simply must read this outstanding work.

Dude, H.W.F. Saggs you are THE MAN (Notice how THE MAN is capitalized). This book really dishes out the skinny on ancient Mesopatamia, and homey take it from me this civilization is DOPE!! He begins by describing the studs(archaeologists, historians,etc.)who rediscovered a lot of the ancient Mesopotamian stuff. Then he breaks it down from the neolithic all the way to the end of the superfly Neo-Babylonian Empire. Saggs style is quite lucid and the pics add a lot to the material Saggs presents in this work. He really does an awesome job at introducing the amazing civilizations that made up ancient Mesopotamia. I especially like the part with the III Ur that dude Shulgi was totally sweet!! Saggs you must be butta' cause you on a roll!! In other words I highly recommend this book.

Saggs puts together a very intriguing review of life in Early Mesopotamia, using archaeological evidence and historical texts. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even though the title is a bit misleading. I highly recommend this book to any student doing research on the early settlements in the Sumer and Akkad region. The book covers briefly the Uruk period and in much more detail the Agade , Ur III, and old babylonian periods. Another book that you would also find of great interest is H. Crawfords book called "Sumer and the Sumerians". She examines the Uruk period in more detail than Saggs. Both books are of great value Professor, Student, and novelist alike.

I found myself unable to put this book down. However, I feel that the title is a bit misleading in that while it does cover the Babylonians it also covers a whole lot more. To me the book served as an excellent summary of the history of ancient Mesopotamia from the Sumerians right on through the Babylonians. I borrowed it from the university library and ordered my own copy after I had read it. mwp

I bought this book more than six months ago. Ms Albright doesn't turn out a book a year, so I hoarded this treasure for awhile knowing that I would then have to wait until the next installment. Well, it was worth every minute of waiting.

I live in middle America and appreciate the magic that this author gives to her subject. I appreciate her local color. She is a master at writing dialogue and pacing her story. Her characters are flesh and blood real.

I have read all three novels of Ms Albright and sincerely feel you won't read a more realistic or well written work in the mystery genre.

I am a sucker for Sue Grafton novels about Kinsey Milhone. I know it is largely because of her personality and humor. I suspect that is also true of Viv Powers. This character just resonates with me. The setting of the stories are authentic and well described. This writer has a great gift. I feel a sadness because I am afraid that not enough people are reading this talented woman's work.

Letha Albright has done it again, guiding her spare and stylish reporter through another fast-paced mystery. With realistic dialogue, ripping plots, and dead-on settings, "Bad Luck Woman" is another great read by one of America's finest mystery writers.

Letha Albright is one of those writers that make other writers grit their teeth in envy. She often says more in a sentence than others do in a page. Her books are not cluttered with cardboard characters, but alive with real people you quickly get to know and think you understand - good, bad, or (apparently) irrelevant.

The central character, Viv Powers, is a quick-witted but very human reporter for a local newspaper, who frequently finds herself caught between the interests of apparently respectable bad guys, and everyday people who are trying to keep things on the up and up. This story takes place in and around Tahlequah, OK, the county seat of Cherokee County, which is also the Capital of the Cherokee Nation (and Ms. Albright's stomping grounds for eight years). The location alone opens up unusual possibilities at every turn.

Bad Luck Woman pits a group of Native American activists against the powerful owners of a nuclear power plant - with stories they don't want told, particularly to the NRC. Death to those who talk is clearly an option to protect their plans and fortunes. But Viv is only doing her job, while trying to protect her sister, her friends, and the town.

This book is a page-turner, so clear some time from your calendar so you can enjoy it to the max.