Oklahoma Books

Although most of the book (and the reviews) focus on the marvelous youthful adventures of Brett Leveridge's lovely mother, my favorite part of the book were Brett's personal essays. His observational stories add warmth to a genre that is very often overly sarcastic and bitter.

Okay, I have to admit that the only reason I picked up this book in the first place is because of all the handsome men on the cover. When I finally got around to reading it, I couldn't put it down!

It's a very amusing, quick read. All I can say is that I wish my social life was half as active and entertaining as Mrs. Leveridge's!

Wow, did she really share a sunrise with Jack Kerouac?

Brett Leveridge is a terrifically funny writer; his prose is at once witty and engaging, the tales he spins warmly evocative and unforgettable.

Brett Leveridge offers a generous portrait of the delights and dangers of dating, as seen through the wise (but not hard-bitten) eyes of a young woman in the 50's. The fact that this woman is his mother does not distract from his candid appraisals of the motives of men and women during their movie-going, dance-attending searches for companionship.

He creates a remarkable movie in one's head, full of Beat poets, seducing at dawn; confident sons of preachers (whose version of 'going fast' involves way more than the moves of 'third base'); rough men, humbled by her beauty; shy men, sometimes encouraged too far.

All these experiences tie in to Karen's ('Mother's') subtle construction of her dream man; the fidelity and kindness she shows to others during her dates become building blocks for the long-lasting fidelity of her only marriage.

Leveridge's view of human nature in his Mother stories (and in his short essays) is tasteful and respectful, but not conservatively retrograde. Men who might have kept a stash of physique magazines and women who might have had their secret love in the WACS also have their role (an appropriate one, neither cruel nor cold) in this girl's journey to womanhood and marriage.

This is the rare post-modern book that one could safely give to Mom or Dad, while feeling guilty about wanting to keep it for oneself. Play it safe -- buy two.

I picked up Brett Leveridge's new book Men My Mother Dated and thought to myself, "Now who would want to read a book filled with stories about the men someone's mother dated?"

The answer is pretty evident once you begin reading these humorous and wonderfully written stories. It got me to thinking just what types of guys my own mom must have dated and of the different stories all of our mothers could tell regarding the finer points of dating.

My favorite story had to be The Eddie Cantor Six in which Brett recounts the tale of his mother having dated six men who, over the course of two weeks, all took her to see The Eddie Cantor Story at a local movie theater.

The rest of the stories or commentaries, if you will, are just as well written and some are laugh-out-loud hysterical! You simply cannot go wrong with this slim volume of essays by a man with a truly observant eye toward our current state of social affairs. You'll pick it up and won't want to put it down!

Oh...and be sure to check out Brett's Website BRETTnews wherein you will have the opportunity to sign his Guest Book and be asked that all-important question - What Is Your Inseam.

As a die-hard fan of Route 66, I have read and devoured many books trying to get from one town to the next without getting lost (which everyone does at least once!!). This book is the only one you will need when crossing Oklahoma on Rt 66. I wish more were like this for each state, I would own the whole set!! A definite "must-have" for 66 roadies.

Jim Ross has done it again. "Oklahoma Route 66" is a must have guidebook for those Mother Road travelers navigating Oklahoma's stretch of the Mother Road. The photographs and maps are fabulous. Thanks, Mr. Ross, for your exceptional research. I plan to bring my copy on my next 66 journey through Oklahoma.

One simply cannot find a better written Route 66 book than this one. If you think you're going to travel the Route in Oklahoma, don't do it without this book. Even if you're just passing though OK on a longer 66 trip.

This book is SO complete, the Oklahoma Highway Dept uses parts of it for their website section on Route 66. What's that tell ya? (See: [...])

You'll want something like the excellent "Route 66: EZ66 Guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan for travelling the rest of Route 66, but while in OK, you'll put that down and use this book. Trust me. If you explored every single alignment and all the "ghost 66" sections listed herein, you could spend a week on 66 just in OK. Even if you're just doing a less "investigative" trip, you'll learn more from this book than any other.

I got to meet the author on my recent Route 66 trip, and he is a great guy, just overflowing with info about and obvious passion for Route 66. (He even lives on an old alignment of Route 66, in a house that looks like an old cottage-style Phillips 66 station!)

Get this book, you will not regret it.

Oklahoma's own Jim Ross has written a masterful book on America's Main Street. The book combines maps that are clean and easy to follow, numerous vintage images of photos and postcards that enhance the enjoyment of the book, and information about the people and places along the way. He even has included historical information about how the road came about. Anyone interested in history or in finding the road in Oklahoma (including every known alignment) will want to have this book. This is a book the novice as well as the seasoned veteran roadie will enjoy!

As an historic highway researcher and writer myself, I was greatly impressed with Oklahoma Route 66 by Jim Ross. Jim provides so much detailed information on following the Mother Road through Oklahoma that not a single scrap of any alignment has been left to anyone's imagination, right down to the original dirt roads used in 1926 and the interiim strips of asphalt laid down to connect the old road to sections of new interstate highway being constructed in the 1950s.

For die-hards like me who want to know each and every place the old road went, this book is a dream. The maps are concise and easy to read. The photos are crisp and plentiful. Just what I expected from the man who, along with Jerry McClanahan, brought us the Bones of the Old Road video and Route 66: The Map Series. Fun to read and to use, this book's a keeper.

This book goes a long way in explaining why there was so much written about the Wild West and why so much embellishment took place.Throughout history there has been all kinds of spins put on the people involved and what really occurred.Why would anyone expect anything different during the expansion of the West,particularly after the Civil War? In dramatic times of history,be it the Wild West,WW2,Crime in Chicago etc.people are craving for an understanding of events as well entertainment,and that is what we are given by the writers and the media.
Personally,I enjoy both the factual as well as the fictional
aspect of these times.
One character who often appears in books is Ned Buntline.He was a real person by the name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson,and this book does a pretty good job of telling us who he was and some of the things he did.Somebody must have written a book on him;it would be a good read.

This book was a welcome source of information on the Carson & Miller families whose genealogy I have been researching. Michael Wallace did an excellent job of getting his historical facts straight and offered some additional resources for my search for family history.

The easy style presented an engrossing story of a family moving through history from the 1850's to the 1930's and adjusting (not always easily) to the changing moores of society.

My father was a cousin of the Miller Bros. and told us children stories of his childhood in Oklahoma and attending the shows at the 101. My sister & I recently visited the old 101 ranch site and were sad to see that little is left. The Miller house in Winfield, Kansas is still standing in beautiful condition and is a private residence.

Michael Wallace is an excellent storyteller. The book gave life to my genealogy and made me feel in touch with the characters and the times. Anyone with an interest in western history would enjoy this story of a dynamic family who helped shape our images of the old west.

One terrific book -- a majestic recreation of the figures that helped define the old west and western entertainment.

Readers lacking a sense of irony may be dismayed to discover that the Real Wild West was only loosely hitched to reality. Spurred by the imaginations of Charles Miller and his three sons, our perception of what is the west sports the distinct brand of the 101. Take heart, though, because on the Miller Brothers' 101, the west was most certainly wild.

Possibly outlaws and certainly mavericks, the Millers rounded up some legendary talent to work their ranch and perform in their touring shows. The 101 herd of entertainers included Geronimo, Will Rogers, champion cowgirl Lucille Mulhall, Annie Oakley rival Princess Wenona, and such film legends as Tom Mix, Buck Jones, Ken Maynard, Yakima Canutt and Hoot Gibson. Black cowboy, Bill Pickett, famed for inventing the rodeo event steer wrestling spent a long career at the 101, and Buffalo Bill Cody spent his final year with the outfit.

While tooling a longstanding image of the west with their Wild West productions, the Millers also saddled up to motion pictures, oil production and an outstanding crop and livestock operation. Their story is a rodeo itself, made all the more interesting by the hints that white hats did not cover the heads of all of the 101 cowboys and cowgirls.

When the last little doggie was wrangled on the 101, the Miller Brothers' legacy did not ride off into the sunset, but continues to stampede through the dreams of would-be cowpokes everywhere. I'm not a regular patron of movie theatres, but I cannot wait until this saga makes it to the big screen!

If you like history and the stories of the old west, buy this book. I really enjoyed it.

Remnants of Glory is so beautifully written. I read the book several months ago and the characters are still active in my thoughts. It is a compelling novel, written by a gifted story teller.

Teresa Miller has brought us an ageless story in this wonderful book. Kate Dexter's story is the story of early twentieth century womanhood in the southwest. Tough, gritty, yet full of compassion and love - a chronicle of early Oklahoma. Simply beautiful. A truly satisfying book.

As a rule, I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction because too often the history is the star of the story. This book is an exception, however. While Oklahoma at statehood and during the depression is a fascinating backdrop, Teresa Miller has kept the history in the background (where it belongs) and allows her characters to shine. Kate Dexter and her family are richly and fully drawn, with quirks, flaws, and strengths you will immediately identify with. Though their day-to-day battles are different from ours, their larger struggles remain with us: racism, betrayal, sexism, our treatment of the mentally handicapped and the aged. The details are just right, too -- you can feel the sun beating on your back as you watch Kate's mother tugging the wild asters around the veranda, and your heart aches when a careless roommate breaks Kate's watch, a last gift from her long-deceased husband. By the time you finish the 90-year journey with Kate, she will feel as familiar to you as family: someone you know, warts and all, but love anyway.

Remnants of Glory is one book you shouldn't pass up. This novel spans a huge portion of Kate Dexter's life, from age 18 to age 90. Many roadblocks are thrown in her path, but she triumphs with grace and glory. As a mother to a mentally challenged daughter, she does what most of us would do, much to the chagrin of others around her. As a wife, she deals with her marriage and it's traumas with dignity. And as a human being, she admits her weaknesses and flaws in spite of her perfect reputation. Kate lives her life throughout this novel with a mad determination. It is truly a beautiful and powerful piece of work. Teresa Miller deserves a big round of applause for this one. Those who love reading about a character from life until death, fully-formed and 3-dimensional will most likely appreciate this masterpiece.

This book is the life story, from 18 to her 90's, of Kate Dexter, a feisty, stubborn and determined woman from Oklahoma who survives personal tragedy, povery and marital infidelity, to live to old age. Kate's mother, Cora, ran a successful boarding house, despite the handicap of a totally impractical dreamer of a husband who always had grandiose, get-rich-quick schemes for making money which inevitably failed. Kate married a small town lawyer and was happy enough until their second child was born mentally retarded. The marriage rapidly deteriorated as Kate devoted herself to caring for the child at home, neglecting her husband and other child. It's a story of just how tough a woman can be when needed, just to survive life with all of its tragedies and heartbreak. The indomitable spirit of this woman made me feel rather guilty as I'm sure that I'd never have the strength to forge ahead as she did without breaking.

This easy-to-read book provides a unique perspective on guerilla battle tactics and how the outlaw rebels of Missouri saw the Civil War conflict. As a former Kansan, it gave me an insight into the slaughter at Lawrence that I was unaware of. Other than John Brown, this subject was rarely discussed in the Kansas history classes I took! And, the viewpoint certainly would have been taboo. The story filled a void in my educational background. Should be required reading for high school students in the Plains States. No wonder the sports rivalry between KU and MU is so bitter! Ironically, published by the University of Oklahoma Press (1992), 232 pp.

I Highly recommend McCorkles first-hand account. It is not often that we can resolve much of the differing views of history with first-hand accounts by those that were there during most of the events. I would have given this book a five had it not been for the very "out-of-place" commentary at the front of the book by someone named Hattaway (of West Point New York). I taped the aprox 25 pages together with an adivosry to skip this section as it only appeared to be added to censor McCorkles account and done in very poor taste. Why would someone want to take the time to distort someone's personal account of history. The Introduction by Barton is done very well however. Why would the publisher think that a commentary should be added when the work already had an introduction? I think the Commentary might have been added after the book was submitted just to try to promulgate a pre-conceived notion of history. Skip the commentary and its a great short work.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Any interested individual or serious student of this era must read this book. I am fortunate enough to live in the present day setting where the author's story took place. This is the real thing. I only wish there had been more works of this quality produced and saved. We would have a much better insight to those times.

Although I don't like giving a 5 star rating to any book this book deserves 6! This is the real stuff, pre WWII, pre WWI, PRE-TV! It was written at a time before historic brainwashing by movies and television existed. Before people were self conscious about telling the truth. We can see the actual format of the "Civil" War sentiments. He reveals the concepts of dying, of The North, Slavery, and other aspects of the era that we are usually forced to accept from modern day writings, reflecting only current, politically correct viewpoints. The down to earth flow of this book is very enjoyable and is great reading for anyone with interest in this subject matter.

Quantrill is often maligned as a psychopathic killer and a despotic guerilla. John McCorkle not only refutes this common claim by the writers of the winner's history, but shows that Quantrill was a compassionate and honorable man. He shows a side to the War of Northern Aggression that is rarely told.

The introductions decry the author's side of the story, but they provide no evidence that is substantiated. The factual errors that McCorkle relates can easily be relegated to the fact that he was in his 80's when he told his story to O.S. Barton and the ravages of time on the memory are well noted throughout history.

This book is a rare glimpse into what made the Missouri Bushwhacker, or Partisan Ranger as they were properly known, what they were. What they did, how they fought, for what and whom they fought: it's all in here and with a lively color that brings to life the way life was in those most trying of times.

After gold was discovered in the Bitter Root Mountains of present-day Montana in 1860, lawlessness followed the rush of miners into the region. Bannock and Virginia City became important centers within the mining districts, and by 1862 were typical western "shoot-em-up" towns teaming with unsavory characters, racked by violence, and basically "removed from the restraints of civilized society" and its laws. It's in that context that the Montana Vigilantes were created, a group that, according to the author, brought order out of chaos by offering "a shield of protection" to the citizens while wielding "a sword of retribution" against lawless marauders. An interesting development occurred in Bannock, however, in that the elected sheriff (Henry Plummer) apparently at the same time was the leader of the most notorious road gang (thieves and murderers) in the territory. Thomas Dimsdale, an Englishman who had gone to Viginia City in 1863 for his health and who shortly after operated the first newspaper published in Montana, wrote a series of articles for his paper about Plummer, his operations and agents, and the work of the vigilantes to bring to justice (often by hanging) these criminals, and these articles were later collected to make this book.

In 1987, a new biography of Plummer by R.E. Mather and F.E. Boswell threw Dimsdale's book into the realm of controversy by declaring a belief that Plummer was innocent of the crimes Dimsdale accused him of and that Dimsdale praised the work of the vigilantes too highly and uncritically. There is no doubt that Plummer had a criminal past before coming to Bannock (he was hanged there by the vigilantes in 1864), having served time in San Quentin for murder. Who is closer to presenting the truer picture is hard to say, but Dimsdale's work is a thrilling and dramatic account, a fascinating narrative that is as lively as a Max Brand western story.

The writing style / language is like that spoken in the HBO series Deadwood. A bit hard to get used to but then an interesting read and a very clear glimpse of what it was like in Montana during the 1800's.

This fascinating document is an account of the notorious "road agents" operating in Montana in the early 1860s during and after the Alder Gulch gold strike. These men took over the towns of Alder Creek, Virginia City and Bannock and ran them as criminal enterprises. Eventually groups of ordinary citizens formed secret vigilante organizations to combat the road agents. Taking the law into their own hands they pursued, shot or hanged as many of the road agents as possible. On Virginia City's Boot Hill there are presently gravemarkers with the names of a number of the men mentioned in the book who were captured and hanged by the vigilantes. Dimsdale, the author, was born in England and took over editorship of the Virginia City paper. Some of the events he witnessed, but more he relates from the testimony of those who participated in them. The accounts are a bit confusing -- they read as newspaper reports and lack a historian's distance and clarity. But they make up for all faults in the immediacy of their telling. This is a very valuable document of life in the old west, and gives an extraordinary sense of what life was like in a raw mining town, too new to have any legitimate law enforcement. Mark Twain cites Dimsdale and quotes him copiously in "Roughing It," his account of his adventures in Carson City, Nevada, and other places in the West.

Dimsdale writes of Montana history in a clarity not often appreciated by some history authors. "The Vigilantes of Montana" brings, page after page, the gold-rush era of Montana Territory to the memory and eyes of the reader. This fascinating text tells the story as my ancestors told of living in Montana during this period. It is an excellent choice for any reader interested in a true account of the romantic and hostile West.

This was first given to me 1976. What I would do with this one, I don't care about vigilantes, I have no interest in Montana, and time is too precious to take it away from the 19th century, my favorite. It suddenly dawned upon me, this is the 19th century, and if someone is going to understand the mindset of the century, you will have to examine the mindset of the whole population. Reluctantly I picked the book up and began reading. Some hours later I set the book down sorry that the author had run out of words.

Thomas J. Dimsdale was an Englishman who settled in 1863 and Virginia City, Montana and in 1864 took over as editor of the Montana Post. The newspapers served as the first publisher in serial all of The Vigilantes of Montana and perhaps some of the writing in this book, some of the romantic element, some of the color of the book is explainable artifact it was first written for the newspaper. In this century that has arisen some question about the true facts surrounding the "villain" of the story. Henry Plummer arrived in the gold camp in Nevada City in 1852 and very soon participated in the wholesome disreputable houses when he saw fit to murder two men. By 1862 former was notorious as a boss of the gang of criminals. In 1863 moved to Montana and news was elected sheriff. This is the story of the vigilantes who tracked down, tried, and executed plumber and his gang of desperados. Some modern researchers who tried to prove Plummer innocent of the crimes for which he was executed.

The author describes this event in colorful detail and very readable narrative as you see in this excerpt:
"seeing that the circumstances were such as embedded of neither vacillation nor delay, the citizenry here, summoning his friends, when up to the party and gave the military command, "company! Forward march!" This was at once obeyed a rope taken from a noted functionary's bed and had been mislaid [more was immediately sent for and soon they were hundreds of feet of good hemp] ....
"The order to `Bring up Plummer' was then passed and repeated; but no one stirred. The leader went over to this `perfect gentleman', as his friends called him, and was met by a request to `Give a man time to pray.' Well knowing that Plummer relied on a rescue on other than Divine aid, he said briefly and decidedly, ' Certainly, but let him say his prayers up here.'"

And, "Soon after, the party formed and returned to the town leaving the corpses stiffening in the icy blast. The bodies were eventually cut down by the friends of the road agents and varied. The `Reign of Terror' in Bismarck was over." The book continues for another hundred and eighteen pages of the same where only the names and places are changed to condemn to posterity the guilty. At the end, the author provides a section of short biographies of the leading players.

This is an easy reading book, well worth what you might pay for it, and whether all of the factual information is an is factual is somewhat immaterial here because it does give a picture of these decades in the West India and Hollywood would be afraid to imagine.

This book tells the story of my wife's cousin, William Swain. Swain witnessed over a hundred cholera victims, alive a day earlier, now buried in the sand banks of the Mississippi River. Bodies strewn along the Nevada trail, he viewed the tragedy. Ships, valued in the millions, he viewed abandoned in San Francisco bay.

As family members, we have John Holliday to thank. Moreover, I was thrilled with each page of Holliday's book. The 1849 Gold Rush extracted more from its participants, due to gold fever, than they got in return from the California mines. That's exactly what happened to William, who, in May of 1848, left his lovely wife, Sabrina, a newborn daughter, his brother George, and his farm residence in Youngstown, NY. William, in his heart, knew he would make it big in California country. At least he must try. And, Sabrina, not knowing the hardships and penniless outcome, gave her loving agreement. Along the way William witnessed death and deprivation, loneliness and hunger. He arrived hopeful in gold country, plied his efforts, and came away luckily with the skin on his back. He differed from most in one important way: William kept a journal. And, Sabrina and William wrote and saved their letters, from which Holliday made one of America's finest narratives. William, weighted with introspective highlight, wrote to George, "If you're thinking of coming out here, for [Gosh] sakes, do not!" William pleaded. Prospectors and miners everywhere, food scarce, prices high, California gold fields deluded nearly all. "And no one I know has gotten rich," William offered. William, beaten in his quest, longed to be with Sabrina and brother George. Ready to return, he had saved $400. He longed to bring it all home, to hand to Sabrina. But, think of it, did you ever try to get from Sacramento to Niagara Falls in 1850, while tired and broke? Yikes. No train. William would have to walk the same way home he came, over that horrible trail. He couldn't face that prospect. So, William scraped his pockets clean, and purchased passage on a ship, via Panama. Just one catch: There was no Panama Canal. That happened 60 years later. William made his way to San Francisco bay. He boarded ship. He endured sea sickness. He ate crummy food. He arrived at Panama, shaken. Next, he and all passengers traversed the 50 mile overland eastward trek with a guide. Threatened with abandonment in the jungle, he paid double. Weak, he arrived at the east side of the Isthmus, broke. William struggled on board ship. It traveled north, taking forever, to arrive at New York City. There, George, who knew to meet him from William's earlier letter, stood waiting at the gangplank. William, broke and sick, 25 pounds skinnier, staggered into his brother's arms. George helped William toward home, finally past beloved Niagara Falls, north to Youngstown. There, adoring, relieved, Sabrina faithfully nursed William back to health. Asked late in life if it was worth it, William avoided answering. He merely declared he loved his Youngstown. Can you read between the lines on that one? 'Nuff said.

Thank heavens for people like William Swain who took the time to record their personal stories and let it become, in a sense, a first-person history tale to people in the 21st century. Swain goes into great detail about his trials and tribulations and you begin to care so much about him, it almost becomes a novel. It accidentally sets the reader up for disappointment in the end by Swain reaching home and the story suddenly stopping. You'll find yourself asking, how did Eliza greet her papa? What did Swain do with the meager amount of money he made? What was Sabrina and her husband's first words to each other after an almost two-year absence? Of course, it's not Swain's fault for ending his diary at home. He merely kept the journal to update his family on his journey; not give readers 150 years later an autobiography. Holliday can not answer these final questions either and rightfully so, he does not try. You are left to ponder how it ended and hopefully, after reading so many emotional passages from William and Sabrina, you can use your imagination to answer the homecoming questions.

Holliday blends the information together wonderfully by arranging each chapter into three sections:

1. an overall historical account

2. Swain's diary

3. A Back Home section in which letters written to Swain from wife Sabrina and brother George are included.

The format works splendidly for the reader and keeps everything in a proper time frame. Holliday also includes scaled-down regional maps for every chapter which lets the reader follow along on a microcosm/macrocosm scope of the total journey. Holliday has also laboriously researched hundreds of other personal diaries and includes passages from them when Swain leaves gaps or when a quirky story can be added to intrigue the reader further. The World Rushed In is a fast read and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Western US history or is just looking for a great story.

"The World Rushed In" is a gold rush history must read. Holliday's approach to telling the 49ers tale was a seamless stitching together of William Swain's journal and letters home with other facts and general information surrounding the rush. It is a personal approach. It is an accurate approach to what being a 49er meant to those who chased the elephant.

Holliday's interpretations and prose keep the story flowing, but do not add extraneous information. Nor does Holliday attempt to explain feelings or jump to conclusions. The ease with which this book flows and the personal feelings expressed by William and Sabrina Swain make this book hard to put down. The reader feels the fear of cholera and the aches at the end of the day.
This book describes the rush mentality of the 49ers extremely well. These young, eager, adventurers truly believed they would easily find their fortunes and soon be back home. Swain himself, who was apparently better read and prepared for the trip than many, believed he would be home much sooner than he was. Unlike many others, his decision to return home from California was easier. He had a farm, a family and a life to return to that did not require any wealth. Many of the rushers had nothing to return east to.

As a native upstate New York farmer who has traveled along most of the major westward trails, albeit via car or railroad, I completely understood Swain's descriptions of praise or denigration of the land he passed through. I empathized with his homesickness. There was irony in the travails Swain survived and many of my own one hundred and fifty years later. We both went west to find our fortunes. We both adapted. He was able to return home in twenty- two months. Seven years later, I am still hoping.

My favorite paragraph in the book is a journal entry describing the Black Rock Desert in Northern Nevada. The paragraph ends with "where the hell is California?" I have crisscrossed Nevada in every direction. It is desolate, harsh and will lead even the most proper person to exclaim, "Where the hell is anything!" I can't imagine crossing this state walking beside an ox team.

Holliday artfully tells the big story of the emigration in conjunction with Swain's individual view. Swain had no idea how many people were ahead of or behind him. Swain mentions problems in other companies, but had no idea the extent of discontent among some of the trains. Holliday draws from other sources to compare Swain's adventures with the experiences of others. This approach gives a broader spectrum of the emigration. Swain's crossing was relatively uneventful and trouble free. He was taken ill a few times, but did not die from cholera as so many did. He was fortunate in selecting trustworthy traveling companions. He found decent passage home. Swain made it home.

"The World Rushed In" is a must read for anyone interested in the human side of the gold rush. Other works contain all the facts, figures and dates one could want. This book reveals the personal and social side of 'going to see the elephant.'

This is a superb, gripping and very personal account of one man's experience travelling to and from the California gold rush. The fact that Holliday had access to virtually all the letters sent from him and to him on the trail makes this book even more enticing. It made me feel that I was taking every step with William Swain on his journey, sharing in his joys and sorrows and those of his brother and wife back home. I thoroughly recommend this book, I couldn't put it down.

My wife and I recently visited California for the first time. In a U.S. Forest Service bookstore, I saw this book. Since we planned to return to California and tour the Gold Rush areas, I bought the book. I made a good choice! The use of William Swain's actual diary and letters made me feel almost like I was there, the descriptions were so detailed and vivid. It was an incredible journey that tens of thousands of men, women, and children made across the west. Many of these people thought that they could simply pick up gold nuggets for a few days and be rich. In fact, gold mining was brutally hard work, and few of the 49ers ever got rich. The author does a fantastic job of describing the California Gold Rush in human terms.

If you only read one book about the California Gold Rush, "The World Rushed In" would be a great choice.

This is a touching book about the loss of a child and the process it took to recover spiritually and emotionally. Highly recommended.

I confess I bought this book with a lot of worry that I would waste both my time and money and was really surprised that I got interested so quickly. I highly recomend this book. It is a wellwritten account of what happened {I live in Oklahoma} It is really a moving book. I actually cried and it takes alot for a book to make me cry. It also made me stop and think about my relationship with god.I'ved read alot of the bombing books and this is one of the best.

This book is very wonderful and inspirational. It tells in full detail about one family's loss on that fateful day in Oklahoma City. It's great for people dealing with a loss or even for people who aren't going through a loss.

I started this book thinking it would take me a while to read it, but I read it over two days because I just could not stop reading. Kathleen Treanor's story is very personal; it's not just what you know from the news. And much of the book focuses on her healing process.

She offers hope to anyone who has suffered a tragedy, not just those affected in Oklahoma or New York.

I never realized how much the letters from school children meant to victims of a tragedy.

Kathleen talks about how one day everyone else seems to go back to a normal life, and you can't understand how they possibly could after what has happened. Yet she eventually heals, and her journey is truly inspirational.

This is a wonderful book.

On April 19, 1995, the lives of the Treanor family were forever changed by the tragic loss of their daughter and parents. The author describes through heart-breaking detail their struggle to survive and eventually triumph over this horrible chapter in their lives. As an Oklahoman, I started the book believing it would speak to all of us who experienced this terrorist act in our own neighborhood. By the time I finished, I realized this book speaks not just to Oklahoma, but to the world.

He visted my school and told us the story of his life... He even gave me a autographed copy... (which I dont think I can find anymore)

but the books GOOD

I reccomend it especialy to people around that age...

I bought this book more than a decade past at a convention about gifted children. I loved it then and marveled that a boy so young could write such an incredible book, and that there was a publisher so brave and generous to bring it to the public eye. Just recently, January 7, 2003, I revisted this old friend of a book and was even more inspired by its courage and vision than I was all those years ago. I am sure Adam Moore is all grown up now and I pray that he is happy and well. Thank goodness, I now discover via Amazon.com that his terrific book is still available to both kids and adults. This is a great story and one of a boy's triumph over enormous odds and terrible pain to regain his life. Broken Arrow Boy is a triumph of the will and the spirit that people will benefit from reading again and again. This is a book children and their parents should share. Broken Arrow Boy is like an old friend. It calls for many reunions.

This book is incredible to have been written by a young boy. Adam Moore kept a positive attitude through many complications that occured after he fell on a arrow that went into his brain through his eye. He gives details of many medical procedures in a way that is interesting to children. I have read it to second graders every year since I discovered it, and they love it. I use it to encourage them to write about things that happen to them.

Adam's story takes place when we were in 3rd grade in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. His story touched all the students and we were very impressed with his book. Being a teacher, I like to share stories that touch me with my students. Adam's book is obviously written by a child for children. The students love the fact that they are around the same age Adam was at the time. They also like the idea that a child can actually write a book to be published. It gives them inspiration to be writers themselves.

You know, I have found that being thrust into that world of white (hospitals, nurses, and doctors) has actually increased my quality of life. Sure, I was dealt a rather unfortunate hand, but in my opinion, only recently did I realize this, I am the way I am and I will always be the same person as before. Now, in the minds of children, a character never 'grows up'; however, I have. Now, I write as a 25-year-old associate in college. Since the publication of my book, I have endured over 40+ different surgeries in various parts of my physical body, though my love and compassion for others has not wavered. Hopefully, someday I will be able to fully document my trials and tribulations for anyone interested. For now, I am content in my wheelchair - a result of my most recent surgery - but I am working towards walking again with my cane. For those concerned, my determination shall shine forth and once again I will be the Adam Moore I once was.

Jean Brody's characterers are wonderful and certainly capture the reader's heart. This book made me cry a bit and chuckle alot. Cleo is a star - and everyone should be lucky enough to have a grandmother like Mam. Make yourself a cup of tea and read this book in front of the fireplace

In "Cleo," Jean Brody creates wonderfully specific characters and writes with both depth and a wise, hard-headed humor. In a way, it's a book about loving books, as the title character's life is forever changed by a rural Oklahoma librarian who feeds her love of literature and opens her up to the wider world. But Brody doesn't stint on story, and I found myself eagerly returning to the book for three nights running to discover just where the next turn in Cleo's life would take her.

If John Wayne had True Grit, then Jean Brody's Cleo has True Spunk! This little gal takes us on an adventure through her growth as a runaway adolescent to a mature woman, scarred, but not beaten, by life's journey. When we meet Cleo she is on her way to Lhasa. Thank goodness for the reader she never gets there or we would have been deprived of some wonderful literary moments. If you are tired of reading cookie cutter novels, give Cleo a chance - she'll steal your heart and leave you asking for more! Me? I'd love to read more about the grandmother. How about it Ms. Brody?

Cleo is born in 1912 in Oklahoma. At age fifteen she craves to go not just beyond the garden gate, but all the way to Lhasa. She leaves home with the egg money, her trumpet and a heart full of lust. "The way to contain the itch in the privates," Cleo says, "is to cultivate the itch in the brain."

It's a circuitous trip to Lhasa, that looks as though it may last a lifetime. Cleo's sense of humor keeps her moving on. She falls once in love, once in lust, bears two children, and survives tragedy. Back in Oklahoma she begins to recover, then moves on to Los Angeles to find even more trouble, which for Cleo has become synonomous with passion.

In the end, she finds that life never loses its power to astonish. Once you make the journey with Cleo, things look different when you get back home.

One of the best books I have ever read. Picked it at random from my local library and loved it so much I wrote the author to tell her just how much I enjoyed it. This is the story of a girl from a remote town in Okalahoma (is there any other kind?) who runs away and comes back full circle to find herself. Born in a typically dsyfuntional family, drunken, womanizing father, religious spouting bitter Mother (who puts scripture quotes in the kids' school lunch muffins!) a younger brother and two sisters. Best of all, a Grandmother with Creek blood who lives, loves, smokes and will keep you in chuckles and honest reflection througout the book. This would be a marvelous movie. The story is told in a way just like life happens, if you could stop to write it down during the day. A truly enchanting, heartwarming and funny book. I could not put it down.