Missouri Books

What a great book that truly respects the importance of great literature. Such a rarity in today's superficial academic environment. I wish I could have dinner with the Prof and enjoy some great conversation!!

sps

A fascinating read of pre-Lewis and Clark explorations into the upper Missouri River Basin from its earliest beginnings, with the main focus on the 1795-1797 Mackay-Evans expedition.
Most people have never heard of Scotsman James Mackay and Welshman John Evans, but if it wasn't for their efforts in cartography and ethnology, the celebrated Lewis and Clark expedition would have been quite hampered in its early stages.
When the Louisana Territory was still under Spanish rule, Mackay became a naturalized citizen and Evans swore allegiance to Spain. Their responsibilities to Spain included exploring, mapping and locating a route to the Pacific for trade possibilities, evicting British traders in its territory and promoting Indian intertribal peace to further enhance trade with Spain. Evans' primary objective in accepting this offer was to locate the mythological Welsh Indians whose original Welsh ancestors were suppose to have settled in mid-America during the year 1170 AD.

Although not a completely successful mission, the Mackay-Evans expedition did produce maps of the upper Missouri which Lewis and Clark referred to on numerous occasions and opened understandings of Missouri River Indian cultures and customs.
Dr. Wood effectively sifts through the available journals and maps of Mackay and Evans, along with other pertinent papers and charts of the day, to make this an exciting work.

In his poem,"The Young Husband", Bill Bauer remarks,"You must go and find that place and be there./It may be a day, or year, or many years." These poems take us there. They visit a day and often capture that day for Bill Bauer, but also for us. That day may not be the same day for us..but it is close enough to stimulate recall and understanding of a similar day lodged tightly in our own memory.

These poems frame places and years that are hauntingly familiar. They develop the demographics of promise through poems as diverse as "Fragment of a Letter" which captures the promise that "all the short timers say/they will write when they get home./They never do,..." or, from the poem " For Old Girlfiends" a father looks at promises "A man never suffers the depths of his own cruelty/until his daughter recognizes him for the first time."

This collection of poetry wipes the dust from the table of promises that has been used to serve the future to many generations. The craftsmanship of the author leaves the table clear and allows the reader to see through the dust into similar moments. Clear, sharp, moments summed up so well in poem after poem, remind us, as Bill Bauer says so well in his poem "The Pigeons of Chernoble"; "Each generation/fantasy birds visit earth./Mozart knew them,/so did Freud." These promises belong to every generation. Bill Bauer has captured them for those who have buried the promises in the dust. He has also captured them for those who will have their own to bury in the future.

The material covered in this book was what we expected, and then some. We had seen and used the 1st edition, which influenced our purchase of our own. The second edition gave more information, particularly updated info, which will give the info that we are looking for. It is, in our opinion, very helpful in giving us short trip guides for one or two day travels, particularly info on what may otherwise be overlooked.

Charles Edward Russell's time on the river occurred decades after the four short years when Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) was in the pilothouse. Like Twain (and like George B. Merrick, too), Russell began working for a newspaper in a river town, later went on the river as a steamboatman, and finally settled on a career as a writer.

Amazon has already provided a professional review that highlights other aspects of Russell's activist career. But two of his books stand separately from his political and muckraking writings. One, "Theodore Thomas and the American Orchestra," a biography of the great conductor and founder of orchestras, won the Pulitzer Prize.

The other is "A-Rafting on the Mississip." Here, Russell brings to life the era when great lumber and log rafts, acres in size, came down out of the Great North Woods of Minnesota and Wisconsin, to build the towns and cities along the Mississippi. From the early days when rafts of cut lumber floated with the current, through the decades when steam towboats pushed and maneuvered even larger rafts of logs, Russell describes the industry and the men who made it, some of whom were personal acquaintances and others of whom were on the boats with him.

And on top of all this thoroughly researched and well-written history, Russell's powers of description rival and at times exceed those of Mark Twain. Twain could describe a sunrise or sunset on the river such that the reader's eye pictures it easily. Russell's powers go beyond the visual to capture the rivermen's reverence, respect and devotion to the great and mysterious Mississippi, constantly flowing (in his words), "out of the mystery above the point, into the mystery below the bend."

If you're a devotee of river history and steamboats, you must have this book.

THIS GUIDE IS ACCURATE AND DEPENDABLE.VERY USEFUL FOR CONST WORK,DELIVERY SERVICES,OR EVEN SECURITY COMPANIES.

I bought this map for a refugee family from Southeast Asia who speak little or no English. Right away they could use it to to find rheir house, their church, and my house. It seems to be reasonably up to date but does not show all the suburbs.

St. Louis is really a great city. They have one of the best zoos in the country and it's FREE to attend. The city also offers an amazing Science Center, a beautiful art museum, and an impressive history museum also all FREE. There's Busch Stadium (soon to be demolished), the Botanical Gardens, Grant's Farm, City Museum, the Edward Jones Dome, not to mention all the theatres, concert halls, and other attractions. But, if you're not from the area, it's very easy to get lost. After all, some things are in St. Louis and some places are in nearby St. Charles or St. Peters and for an outsider it could get confusing. Besides, even though St. Louis is probably one of the most friendly cities in the country, there are still certain areas that you just don't want to be driving around lost in the middle of the night. That's why this map is such a handy item to own. There's lots and lots of details and things are pretty straight-forward and clear so that it's easy to find where a particular street is. Just be sure to study the map before you leave and not at night.

A comprehensive, well-written, easy-to-read informative discussion which ties together various aspects of typefaces and their history. Mr. Mullen has written an excellent description of a time period in which this growing industry influenced the disemination of information in the westward expansion of our nation. If you are interested in printing, its history, type, or the history of St. Louis , you will enjoy the depth of well-researched information in this book. I particulary enjoyed the demographical information which was included. Yet another interesting feature is the pictorial description of the typefaces produced in St. Louis.

Grothe has presented excellent survey of Gospels and St. Paul's writings to provide balanced view of what the office of the public ministry is about.

When in our time of marketing and leadership emphasis for pastors, how refreshing that the author begins with showing that most churches would not call St. Paul as their pastor, he didn't fit the model job description they would use in pastoral search.

Prophet, priest, rabbi, peacemaker, etc, they're all here and discussed with good exegesis of the Biblical text to support the point and stimulate thinking and application.

Useful work to use with elders of the church and to return to for inspiration and focus.