Arkansas Books

For those with interest in baseball history with a local flavor, this book is a delight. Lots and lots of wonderful pictures with a nice text that helps give a feel for the real history of baseball in Little Rock, Arkansas. Terry Turner does a great job of presenting the information and did a fantastic job of finding entertaining and interesting pictures.

This book does more than offer a funny, learned, and well paced analysis of the 1992 Presidential election, it does so while at the same time offering an interesting theory about political conflict in America. For Busch and Ceaser, the basic conflict which has defined american political life is one between "insiders and outsiders'. Clinton got elected in large measure because he was an "insider' who was able to sell himself as an "outsider' to a public distrustful of the inside washington establishment of which George Bush was so paradigmatic a representative. Perot , on the other hand , was far TOO outside, to put it mildly. In short, a book which I would reccomend to all students of American Politics, and one which might be useful in an introductory college course.

The memoirs of Sideny Drake Jackman add much to our understanding of the recruitment of Confederate troops in Union held territory, specifically in Missouri. Jackman recruited troops in western Missouri in 1862, and fought them at the bloody engagement at Lone Jack before they were drilled. This account contains the best first person account of the battle of Lone Jack in print. Jackman does not fail to credit bravery or mock cowardice. His candor is unusual for books of this genre. All in all this is a good read and a great discovery for students of the war in Missouri. Norton has included a fine introduction and his footnotes are useful and informative.

Mr. Hubbell's book is a genealogical gold mine for anyone with ancestors in the area. He very briefly explores the area's history during this seventy-year period and includes a rather comprehensive compilation of its historical documents with emphases upon its early families and their individual names through censuses, maps, photos, locations of old cemeteries, persons buried in these cemetaries, etc. (These comprise the major part of the book.) The effort had to be a work of love for the author.
My early copy is a xeroxed, spiral-bound edition, but it remains my most prized genealogical document, as it was through this book that I found the graves of my great grandparents in a weed-grown, unmarked, abandoned cemetery.

If Levin's book in 1992 can be categorized as mystery marketing, it may have little relevance in the aftermath of the Clinton administration, and his Presidency.

If however, it can be categorized as real revelation, it puts the entire Clinton administration history under decidedly different criteria with regard to what the people knew, and when they knew it, a twist upon the 1992 public election.

It may also have relevance to the 2008 election given the fact that his wife's history is covered with some measure of candid approach, along with her 1992 commencement speech to her alma mater, Wellesley College, which for all practical purposes, should carry weight in how she is perceived as a candidate for 2008, at least among women.

It's improbable that anyone could be as good as Clinton was cast in his upbringing, and earlier political years, in what people actually care about. It's also improbable that Hillary could be as bad as she is currently cast in what people care about, given the insight of early pre-1992 election revelation.

The most interesting thing about the book is that it reveals how further entrenched America is in the complaints of why Clinton ran for office in the first place, and how fully America has erased whatever progress he made to backslide through another Bush administration - to nearly the same conditions that were then made a focus of his economic policy, and desire to change America.

For any astute reader, America is essentially back to square one, perhaps as the result of having another Bush in office, a revovling door interrupted by the "good Clinton years" by today's standards.

In making such an assessment, it behooves America to evaluate how far we've come, or not, in having wiped away that progress he spoke of then, and for all practical purposes, a repetition would not be unwelcome, given the circumstances, whether by him or by his wife.

It also identifies whether America, itself, really "got it," when the book was published as to what they were reading, and why public scrutiny was minimized to later erupt as a spectacular "departure" from what they thought they were getting, in the near universal criticism of his later conduct that brought impeachment. In view of such relevations, it might be very possible that the stalking of Clinton was, in fact, a part of the Republican conspiracy that has been conjectured.

Since its insight depends much upon the accuracy of the author, and the candid exposure by his friends, teachers, etc., it may well be just as relevant today, as it was in 1992 - but do people actually read these revelations or take them seriously? Apparently, not. Having just been made aware of it from one of the many other books written about him, the insight is long overdue, but may well still be relevant to his success, and may be relevant to her success. A review for those who have read it might be an important task in judging her outcome, as it was for his outcome - assuming people actually care about the Presidency.

Occasionally I review a book that really is different then expected and author Jo Anne Allen certainly created something unique with her novel "Blessed Are The Pure In Heart". If you are a Christian, this book will. of course, be aimed right at the heart of your faith and beliefs.

The author is not afraid to share her faith with the reader. She uses it as the very foundation for her story-line and plot. This book is about sharing your faith; but how this is done makes for a great reading experience.

I fully recommend this book for all Christian readers. It is also one of those rare books that is both inspirational, as well as great entertainment! This book would make a wonderful gift to those whom you love in your life.

can anyone help me locate the web site for Matt Talbot???? Thanks Shamrok47@aol.com

I am a long time fan of Philip Levine. He is among a select pew preeminent chroniclers of the lives of working class people and has managed to faithfully record their experiences in a clear, true and genuine manner. With this volume Robert Gibb has joined Levine in this select group. Gibb was born and raised in the steel mill town of Homestead, PA, the kind of town that used up grandfathers, fathers, and sons, indeed entire families, in the hearths of blast furnaces and tap rooms. It also produced this highly personal account of loss both personal and communal. These poems portray loss and sadness in a tender, passionate manner that renders a dignity to those that labored to preserve the things we all hope to save. You will not forget this one.

This is an account of a largely neglected expedition during the Civil War which was part of the Red River Campaign.. The eastern theater of the civil war has garnered the historical scrutiny of many writers while treating the campaigns west of the Mississippi as a side show of little significance. Michael Forsyth's book provides a well researched treatise that refutes such a view and asserts that this expedition had significant implications to the northern war effort. The author provides insight into the characters and personalities of the commanders' involved as well as detailed descriptions of the events leading to and during the engagements between the opposing armies. His premise, that Steele's expedition saved Banks' army and thus contributed to the eventual success of the Union Army in the east has well documented merit. This book should be read in concert with Michael Forsyth's other book "Red River Campaign of 1864 and the Loss by the Confederacy of the Civil War", Ludwell H. Johnson's book "Red River Campaign. Politics & Cotton in the Civil War". Gary Dillard Joiner's book, "One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End. The Red River Campaign of 1864", and Mark Christ's book, "All Cut To Pieces and Gone To Hell." The Civil War, Race Relations and the Battle of Poison Spring. I highly recommend these books for those wanting a greater understanding of the Trans Mississippi conflict and its contribution to the greater picture of the American Civil War as well as a look at Civil War America's "heart of darkness".

My only complaint was the maps in the book are Diagrammatic and would benefit more if they had more scale and topographical detail.

To the memory of Josephus Utt, Co. K, 14th. Kansas Cavalry at Poison Spring Arkansas 1864.

If you are interested in old buildings and/or the history of downtown Little Rock then this book is an interesting read. The book profiles the building from its early beginnings through current times. The old building has quite an impressive history.