Nebraska Books

Gratefully Yours is an excellent book! The author is Jane Buchanan. The author's words flow very nicely and it makes me feel like I am living the story.
This book is about an orphan. Her name is Hattie. She has no one to love. My favorite scene is when she goes on a train to see if she would get adopted. Hattie is very brave, quiet, calm, and most of all open-minded. The theme of this book is wait and see what truly is. This book is meant for someone who likes sad books but with GREAT endings! I won't tell you the ending because that is for me to know and you to find out!!!! The author writes so well. I just wanted to stay up all night to finish it. The book is good for all ages 10 and older. Once you have read this book you will truly be thankful. Hattie has been though so much but she is still holding up. The genre of this book is realistic fiction.

I loved the book! It was soooooo exciting! It is about a girl named Hattie who was an orphan and eventually got adopted by a farmer whose wife was sick. I think everyone should read this book. Some parts may be sad though.

This is a good book about a girl who traveled on the Orphan Train. Hattie found a home with the Jensens and made friends with the cat, Cloud. But she has problems with kids who don't like orphans and some of her friends being mistreated. To find out how it ends, read the book!

I had to read this book for my Children's Literature class (I'm going to be an elementary teacher) and I loved it. I will definately use it in my classroom. It's a great way to introduce or review my Orphan Train unit :)

The book Gratefully Yours brings the thoughts of a stubborn New York City tenement orphan into the wide and open prairie of Nebraska. This books main character, Hattie, is charming and loving. She learns the jobs of a farm girl, and keeps her knowledge from New York. I give this book 4 stars because of a suprise ending that I didn't like, but some people might.

This story shows a little of what it was like decades ago in the heartland. Great artwork too.

I grew up a voracious reader and somehow, I missed this gem of a book! We checked it out from the library and now must have it. Sandburg's writing is reminiscent of Dr. Suess in novel word usage and syntax and the story telling reminds me of NPR's A Prairie Home Companion. A great tall tale that enthralled my 6 year old twins and 4 year old and that I enjoyed reading WAY too much! Add to your collection!

When my mom read this book to my sister and me, it had already entertained young readers for about 50 years. How lucky were we that this story had been preserved for the purpose of delighting us to the very core of our young beings? The idea of a popcorn farm catching fire was thoroughly thought provoking for an already thought-filled pre-schooler.

When I recently purchased it for my own little girls, I must admit that I suffered a major disappointment. You see, the Huckabuck family has a pony faced daughter named, "Pony Pony Huckabuck." Unbeknownst to me (and in my honor) every single time that my mom read this book, that daughter became "Joanie Joanie Huckabuck." Now, I can't decide if I should be upset that Sandburg didn't really name one of his main characters for me, or that my mom re-named the "PONY FACED" child after me.

In any case, I highly recommend this book to any parent who would like to share a very interesting story, told with interesting language, with their children.

Carl Sandburg's Huckabuck Family will delight and charm children of every age with a story of family pride and optimism. When the Huckabucks Nebraska barn burns down and all their popcorn pops, they decide to go on the road and wait for a sign to tell them when to come back home. Each year they move to a new town and Papa finds a new job. The Huckabucks may have good luck, or bad, but they always have each other. David Small's illustrations add just the right touch to the story and are so detailed that even the farm animals have facial expressions. So, sit down and take a trip across the country and back with the Huckabucks. I promise, you won't be disappointed. This is a wonderful book the whole family can share.

This book is a satisfying follow-up to David Small's last twobooks, The Gardener & The Library. Though this is an old story its optimistic message suits Small's whimsical style beautifully. I'm thoroughly confused by the review in Kirkus that criticizes the repetitive nature of the names--this is part of Sandburg's poetic form--as well as the "pointless" nature of the Huckabuck family's travels, which is actually the whole point of the story. One must take a change in luck in stride, go out and find one's new fortune, and you may even find yourself back home having learned a thing or two. Cheers (& 5 stars) to the Huckabucks, Sandburg, and David Small.

This book helped me out so much in my neurobiology class. I would definitely suggest it as a great reference for anyone taking an upper level neuro class who needs great pictures and drawings of the "tracts." The CD is also a lot of help for studying.

some sections are a little weat such as N-histology, however, great illistrations, and easily readable, also the atlas that goes along with the text is a must. I especailly like the section on N-vasulature CSF, also the Thalmus is covered pretty well

It's concise and fits the needs of those less familiar with the topic of neuroanatomy but the level of detail serves as a great source of reference for the more advanced individuals.

I'd recommend The Human Brain: An introduction to its functional anatomy as well. Great texts for an introduction to the human brain.

Very comprehensive, beautifully edited book. Personnally, I like neuroanatomy books a lot. This is not the first one I've bought, but it is definitely one of the best. Sections on clinical imaging are a nice little extra that you will not find in most of the other anatomy books.

Each chapter is an essay on some aspect of life in the Sand Hills, often connected to the author's trials with his university or other human institutions, often dam builders, stream diverters, highway folks, boaters, hunters. As usual, some chapters are much more interesting than the others. I liked the parts about curlews and malaria the best. He has a strong and distinctive voice that sounds like a lot of zoologists i have met. Botanists just don't have the same attitude, somehow.

John Janovy captures the excitement of biological field research in his "own back yard". This classic, "Keith County Journal", details the work he and his students did on parasitology in his home state of Nebraska; a state that does not immediately conjure up images of great scientific discovery. This is a great pity because many fundamental discoveries can be made without traveling to the Amazon or Antarctica. In fact a researcher can spend some very fruitful time in such places as mud holes and stock tanks, as well as others, such as agricultural fields. Barbara McClintock, for example, won a Nobel Prize by studying corn in her own research plots and Jean Henri Fabre wrote a whole series of very well-known books on the insect life found mostly on his home "harmas" of about one hectare.

While he and his students scrounge through ponds to look for snail and bird parasites, Janovy was also busy making drawings and paintings of birds. Not wonderful paintings, but certainly reasonable ones. In this he joins with a large number of natural scientists/naturalists/artists who have utilized art as a vehicle for observation. Indeed, Janovy makes a very good case for such observation as a basis for field biology.

This is not just a book for biology wonks, but will also give the general reader a taste of what field biology is all about. "Keith County Journal" is in fact a highly readable book and I recommend it and any other work by John Janovy without reservation.

There are books by scientists and nature writers that inspire an attitude of awe and wonder, and they do it with a graceful style of coolly elegant prose. This is not one of those books. Janovy, a University of Nebraska biologist specializing in parasitology, is often awestruck by nature, but his style is wonky and comically ironic, using the kind of classroom lecture technique meant to engage undergraduates by seeming to be anything but reverential about subjects he loves, enjoys, and deeply cares about.

Unscientifically, he personalizes and humanizes the species he discusses (termites, snails, fish, birds) and even the places where he and his students do their field work - the Platte River, the waters of man-made Lake McConaughy, the streams and marshes that feed into it, and the Nebraska Sandhills. And there are references as well to beer drinking, the Doors, and Waylon Jennings. He refers to himself sometimes in the third person and easily reveals his own embarrassments and frustrations as his attempts to unravel nature's mysteries are sometimes less than successful. Waxing philosophical at nearly every turn, he eventually reaches a state of mind he calls the "Ogallala blues."

Meanwhile, like a great teacher who inspires with his enthusiasms, he opens a world unknown to anyone unaware of the subtle and complex relationships between species. And he's able to do this by focusing on just a few life forms, including one-celled animals, in a small area of western Nebraska. Janovy invites you to take the nearest exit ramp within range of open fields and streams - even a patch of weeds - and just feast your senses on the flora and fauna. His book is full of fascinating material for the nonbiologist and a pleasure to read.

This story is very specific in its content, which is great for a biologist like myself, but because it is so specific it may appeal only to a limited audience. I especially enjoyed the field trips described and felt I was there, leaky waders and all, plus battles with barbed wire and seeking permission from land owwners to trespass their property.

The use of common names in addition to scientific names may have contributed to its readability. More illustrations would help too. I recommend this book to anyone interested in biology, particularly those over age 15.

This book is a quiet masterpiece. I am not a biologist, but I did not find the book too specific or too technical. Janovy sees lessons everywhere. He teases them from his subjects, his students, his experiences. When he wades into Whitetail Creek with his twenty biology students, he changes the lives of those that follow him, whether in the water or on the page. He writes of the Rock Wren, "Live in a place where you are not tested, and you are living in a place of inferior quality." True, the book is about parasites, and his treatment of parasites is fascinating. But the parasites are packed in among his observations about human being and place and the workings of the world. His writing style is graceful and enticing. I can't wait to read more.

great book! buy it!! Everything is wakan. find out why!

Lakota Belief and Ritual is a book rich in oral history. It was recorded at the a time when there were First Nations members who had the personal experiences of a lifetime and whose tradition was an oral tradition. Dr. Walker (a physician and anthropologist) collected and preserved this oral history in the face of the destruction of most First Nation's cultures through the intervention of the European cultures.

The narratives are all excellent and there are 90 + documents containing those first-person narratives along with several photographs.

The Bison Books edition has an extensive (and very valuable) series of appendices, including an extensive (modern) bibliography.

The original Walker papers (or the majority, at any rate) are now part of the Colorado Historical Society collection.

A first rate piece of work by the editors, DeMallie & Jahner, working from the primary materials created and preserved by Dr. Walker and his family.

An invaluable work. This book -or at least excerpts- should be part of any text on U.S. History. The inclusion of First Nations culture in our textbooks is rare, indeed.

James Walker went to the Pine Ridge reservation in 1896 (as a Christian) to serve the indians as a Medical Doctor.

18 years later when he left the reservation; he had adopted the Sioux form of Spirituality, and had become a wicasa wakan (holy man). He was trained by George Sword, and other medicine and holy people.

Some of this material is very dry, and dificult reading because a large part of the book (expecially the rituals and myths) were translated into English from the Language of the Sioux. But if you have a sincere wish to understand this form of Spirituality; this book is well worth reading.

I do wish to confirm one statement in this book by wicasa wakan (George Sword). "Any pipe can be used in a sacred manner" I could NOT agree more! I have used a meerschaum pipe, a pipestone (catlinite) pipe, and a briar pipe. The condition of the heart and mind is far more important than the kind of pipe one uses.

I encourage questions and comments about my reviews; Two Bears.

Wah doh Ogedoda (We give thanks Great Spirit)

This book is the litmus test for subsequent interpretations of the Lakota religion. Since the true authors felt that their culture was disappearing, they were extremely forthcoming with their information to Dr. Walker. All Lakota expressions of religion that follow this revelation of the Lakota medicine men are in fact derivative of it. Some have questioned the qualifications of the "informants" within Lakota society, but I have seen no contemporary Lakota belief or ritual that deviates from the broad strokes of this book. If you truly want to learn about traditional Lakota religion, start here, and then move on to Raymond J. DeMallie's edited texts under the title The Sixth Grandfather.

I think that the author of this book that I have just started to read is very good at give the outlook of the Lakota and the way of live that thye live and i think that if you have the change to buy or cheak it out from the library in your area that you should

When I read this for the first time, I said "I've read this before....". Then I realized it's very much in the style of William Least Heat Moon. Good for laying on a hill, watching the clouds, listening to the birds and animals.... and that's just what the book is!

As often happens in Washington, DC, I got inside information. The author (my eighth grade history teacher) tipped me off about his book, before it was available. I got to read a "galley" I think it is called, and felt even more like an insider. It's exciting when a friend publishes a book, and when that friend telegraphs, with the sound in his voice, that this one might be something special. Steve knows. I read the hardback copy as soon as I got it. Growing up in Colorado gave me some appreciation of this majestic place to the East, which I now plan to visit for the first time. Stephen Jones has woven history, geography several sciences into a literary work of art, that can provide great inspiration, even to the uninitiated. His images are vivid, whether he is describing the hard-scrabble personalities that live there or the spirit-ghosts of Native Americans that have long since perished. His treatments of the landforms and myriad species of animals that dwell in the Nebraska Sandhills, are characteristically perfect. He has written a couple of other nature books, including one with his photos, called the Shortgrass Prairie.What many do not know about Steve is that he was diagnosed with a back problem before he undertook his arduous weeks long trips, the several hundred miles East. He would not want me to mention this, Steve is a low key guy. But his courage is, well, another story. I hope everyone who loves nature, and our vanishing wild places will read this book and be inspired and dream and go there.

Mr. Jone's admiration, appreciation and concern for this very special ecosystem shines through this lovely book. In it, he intertwines Native American myth, Plains history and well researched scientific data into a cohesive and readable overview of the Sandhills of Nebraska.

Through his eyes, we visit and experience a landscape of beauty, solitute, history and rich wildlife. It is, in turns, thought provoking, humourous, enlightening, yet never preachy. Steve is most respectful of the current private owners of these lands, and integrates their ongoing stewardship into well reasoned suggestions to insure the long-term integrity of this fecund habitat for posterity.

The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal is an astonishing blend of nature, myth, and love of the land--richly textured with wry wit and something very close to wisdom. It's so deeply rooted in love and its own particular landscape that it transcends locality and becomes universal. In other words, it's a classic, akin to Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Writing, details, and a sensibility to treasure.

Stephen Jones notes in the book that the Sand Hills of Nebraska make up one of the few "dark spots" on those wall posters featuring a satellite view of the United States at night. It is, truly, a wide open space, and he does the landscape great justice with his evident love for the land, its wildlife, its people and history.

For those who think Nebraska is simply home to a football team and endless acres of corn, "The Last Prairie" should open some eyes.

Jones is a prose poet. He makes the Sand Hills live and breathe right there on the page. An excellent, deeply-felt homage to one of America's little-known (thankfully?)great natural treasures.

In a word - gorgeous. The author - Joel Sartore - is a contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine, so you know that the photography is going to be something special and it is. Sartore travels throughout Nebraska, taking pictures of everything - an endangered beatle, rodeos and the cowboys that compete in them, pheasant hunters and fisherman, and Carhenge.
It's is a book that will those of us who live outside the state homesick for Nebraska. It is a reminder of Nebraska's true spirit - it's people. People who live in a state that's dismissed as uninteresting by most, but who make up for any perceived geographical shortcomings by being interesting themselves
Sartore honors his craft, as he captures those traits in the pictures of Nebraskans throughout this book. There isn't a lot of writing, just enough to describe what's happening with each photograph.
"Nebraska: Under a Big Red Sky is a perfect Christmas present for that Husker fan who already has everything colored red. The price is right (less than $15 at Amazon, click the link above).

It's the kind of book you can pass around amongst your family at Christmas time, and I guarantee that they'll spend a few hours pouring over the pages. Well worth the money just to have around, even if you're not going to give it as a present. Leave it on your coffee or end table - someone will pick it up and it will provide hours of quiet entertainment for the holiday season.

Seriously, you don't want to miss this one.

Joel's work is extraordinary and will be appreciated by even those who have never set foot in the state of Nebraska. It will definitely make you want to visit, though!

The pictures put you right where the action was

Fabulous, a must buy for transplanted nebraskans and residents alike.

Joel Sartore has captured the subtle essence of why so many Nebraskans that leave the state eventually come home to roost. Unbeknownst to most residents as they grow up, a strong imprinting slowly takes place. As Joel explains, the unique sense of family, community, place, and weather, all contribute to this phenomenon. Joel's photographs are a collection of these innocent but pervasive features of life in Nebraska. If you have ever struggled to describe Nebraska to a person who has never visited the state, this book is for you. It will crystalize your thoughts.

I gave this book to my husband. He is a rangeland management major and he is in love with the book. I do not know anything about plants, but he seems to love it and find it extremely useful. Compare to the expensive "weeds of the west" this book is relatively cheap for the amount of plants it has.

As a Range Conservationist in WA State a great book for all range mgrs, range techs., however, I was surprised to see Thurber needlegrass taken out of the most recent issue.

This is a great reference book for North American Range plants. It includes a detailed description of each plant along with sketchs and a maps to show distribution. Grasses, forbs and shrubs are included. This book also closely follows the lists for university range plant identification team contests. An excellent reference or study book for North American plants.

This book contains 200 of the most common range plants in North America. Each entry contains a detailed illustration, range maps, scientific and common names, complete written description, growth habit, origin, livestock value, and medicinal uses of the plant. I found the illustrations to be the best I've ever seen, especially the detail included in the grass spikelets. This is an excellent reference for anyone trying to familiarize themselves with common range plants.

North American Range Plants is a great book for any beginer, taxonomy student, layman, and expert alike. It is easy for the novice, because it's not in a key format, which may disappoint some more serious plant collectors. It contains 200 of the most common, and important plants found in the United States, Canada and Mexico. I have had this book for sometime now, and it has become an invaluable resource in my studies at Texas A&M University, where I have come to know one of the co-authors, Stephan Hatch. He has an unparralled knowledge of plants and a dedication like no other to put forth a good product, so i know from experience that this book was written by folks who are the top in their field of study. Being from Texas, i have worked internships in the plains of central North Dakota and the desert "outback" of eastern Oregon and have found the book to most useful, oftentimes referring to it before trying to "key out" a plant in a more technical publication. It just doesn't get any better than this.

This is nature writing which deviates quietly and profoundly from the main American currents. In the 1940s, Sally Carrighar spent her summers in a cabin in Sequoia National Park. She distilled her observations into this exploration of the experiences of nine creature during a single day near the same granite cliff. The interlocking portraits are engaging and convincing. Carrighar keeps the inevitable anthropomorphization to a minimum. Her descriptions allow us to enter into the animals' sensations and impulses. A deer mouse "wanted the walls of the nook to press her all over, but however she crouched, one of her sides had no touch of shelter on it." A lizard is tempted by "a gamey, delicately tart green leafhopper." A chickaree giving an alarm call "jerked, as if he were a little bag filled to bursting with bright sound that piped out whenever the bag was jostled."

Unlike Thoreau and all his literary descendants, Carrighar does not focus on the spiritual reverberations of nature in the human soul, and she does not speak of herself. In his introduction to the California Legacy Book edition, David Rains Wallace highlights her "down-to-earth, impersonal" approach. Today's nature writers, perhaps influenced by postmodernism and multiculturalism's emphases on individual perspective, rarely attempt to enter the consciousness of other beings. Perhaps they avoid cuteness, projection, and presumption that way. They also miss a chance to help us realize that other creatures exist as hungrily as we do.

As a veteran reader of nature writing, I am embarrassed to say that I felt surprised when this book made me remember that the animals I glimpse and don't glimpse on the trail must have continuous, emotional and sensory lives. I felt like going outside to watch a bluejay for an hour. I felt that the jay wouldn't bore me and I might be able to figure out what the he was up to.

Carrighar didn't entice me with the promise of objective knowledge of a secret kingdom. Rather, she made me wonder if I could achieve a sense of home in that kingdom through intimate knowledge. Though she never describes her own process of observation, Carrighar offers herself as a teacher. With her clear, faithful gaze, she comes as close to joining the community of Beetle Rock as a human can.

I haven't finished reading this book because I don't want it to end. Each chapter takes you through the same day as the other chapters, only from the vantage point of a different animal. Most humans don't have a clue as to the life of any other species 24/7. The detail, the nuance, the empathy that Carrigher brings is stunning, without being anthropomorphic. I'm starting a book club based on this book.

Each chapter is about a day's adventure of one of the animals (Weasel, Sierra Grouse, Chickaree, Black Bear, Lizard, Coyote, Deer Mouse, Stellar Jay & Mule Deer) on the rock and surrounding forests and meadows. Sally Carrighar compresses her observations into one day and weaves a fine tale of the activities and imagined-thoughts of each animal.

This is one of my favorite books. Carrighar writes about the lives of nine animals during one day in Sequoia National Park, one chapter per animal. Each animal interacts with the world and fellow creatures in its own way, and each has its own problems and anxieties -- which creates dramatic interest. Carrighar anthropomorphizes her characters, but convincingly and unobtrusively -- how could you avoid it in a book of this type? The writing beautifully describes sounds, scents, the play of light on leaves, etc.

This book, written from the point of view of each of a series of animals living around Beetle Rock, follows the web of life and illustrates the beauty of the natural world. This is a book for anyone seeking to understand the natural world, and anyone who truly loves animals.

This book and Author have been our summer reading list for my three boys, myself and my parents. My eldest at 8 read it himself I read it to the younger two and all were kept interested. After reading Moody's book on the Pony Express we were able to stop at a couple of relay stations and they already new so much.

An accurate and outstanding book which contains a perfectly woven story, about the Pony Express. Probably the best ever written on the subject. Ralph Moody is one of top american authors in our nation's history.

I read this for my homeschooling and it is very well portrayed. Characters are given a very fair amount of credit. There is allot of pony express books out there and I have to say this one is the most: Accurate(to my knowledge), exiting, well written, Keep you interested all around good book. This man is a wonder with writing. You never get board. This is written so well, it sounds like being a pony express rider was like today being a NASCAR driver. Well I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to know more about the "Pony express" or for school (naturally).

This book is ideal for the mid-primary ages, filled with visionary men and larger that life characters that fulfuilled their vision.

Authentic feeling due to Moody's extensive knowledge of horses and the west and illustrated with line drawings and maps that enhance understanding.

A true product of it era no effort was made to soften or "PC up" the relationships and attitudes of white and indian and although the feel and language used is probably understated it may concern some people to see terms such as "Injuns" perjoratively used.

There are also honest although no graphic treatments of deaths both indian and white as well as the death of some Pony Express horses in the line of duty which should be easily handled except by a very sensitive child, but if yours is please bear this in mind.


An excellent book - good source for a book report. Would make an interesting read for a family traversing the Pony Express route on vacation darwing the younger children into the expereince. Over all an excellent book but slightly dated.

180 pages of illustrated true grit, with maps. 12 short chapters chronicle the first day's crossing of mail by the Pony Express. 4 more chapters record the danger and greatest rides of actual Pony Express riders. Ralph Moody shows only a slight bias toward his beloved wild mustangs.