University of Iowa Books

I found this guide to be pretty incomplete. I live in the heart of the Flint Hills, and while this may be fine further north, it doesn't apply to well to the plants growing in my part of the Tallgrass Prairie. I wouldn't buy it again. I would recommend a larger book, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers 2 by Doug Ladd instead. I ordered it at the same time, and it is worth the extra weight due to its completeness.

I bought this guide at the Living History Farms gift shop in Des Moines and was pleasantly surprised to learn it was published in my hometown. This is a portable, durable, beautifully illustrated guide to identifying some of the most common plants of the tallgrass prairie. My family has taken this guide along on outings, and we have found it a very helpful way to connect with our natural surroundings. My pre-teen daughter especially has enjoyed closely examining the plants we encounter to see if they match up with the examples in the guide. Also recommend *Woodland in Your Pocket* by the same illustrator.

As a lifelong Iowan, I am of course interested in the history of the state. However, that is not a prerequisite for enjoying this book. There are eight short, autobiographical stories in this collection and they describe the lives of eight people with quite different experiences.
The stories are:

*) "Lovingly Submitted" by Asenath Hampton Gable- Gable lived in Ohio until her mother died when she was a teenager. Gable and her brother then traveled to Iowa to join her father on a farm in Iowa, where she spent the rest of her life.
*) "Des Moines was Young and Gay" by T. I. Stoner - Stoner grew up in Iowa and when his mother died, he largely had to fend for himself. Exhibiting enormous energy and drive, Stoner was able to engage in several business practices and became a business leader.
*) "Memories Never Forgotten" by C. V. Findlay - Findlay's father moved from Illinois to homestead on the Iowa prairie and he grew up to be a schoolteacher and became prominent in Iowa politics.
*) "I Beat it Out to the Black Hills" by Bruce Siberts - Siberts was an Iowa boy who trekked out west when he was in his early twenties. The story explains his adventures in a largely lawless reason capturing wild horses and cattle of unknown ownership and dealing with the other adventurers of the time.
*) "Country Editor" by Ira Nichols - Nichols was the feisty and uncompromising editor of a newspaper who was sued for libel eight times. This is his story of trying to dominate the news business in the city of Iowa Falls.
*) "From Steam to Diesel" by Albert P. Butts - Butts was a longtime railroad man and this is the story of the growth and value of the railroad at a time when there were few roads and the trains largely ran on time.
*) "Love, Mother" by Imogene Hamilton - this is the story of the worst blizzard in Iowa history in 1936 and how those in it managed to cope.
*) "Unseen Battles" by Dr. Sylvester W. Barnett - Barnett was a medical doctor who practiced for 50 years. This story contains some of the highlights, as he had to be able to handle all types of medical problems.

While there are Indians, outlaws and other colorful characters described in these stories, they are mostly about the events of the author's daily lives. Their joys, struggles, successes and failures were all typical of life on the Iowa prairie as it was changed from endless grasslands into productive farm country.

This is a collection of eight accounts by participants in Iowa life. They are of uneven quality, but some are great reading. I especially liked the excerpts from letters written in 1936 by a mother to her daughter, which related the horrendous challenge which living thru that fabulous winter in Iowa was. There is also a good to read account by a railroadman telling of his work from 1911 to 1956--I thought his upbeat attitude to his hard work made a great account. Some of the accounts were a bit hard to believe, and one suspects some of the accounts are a bit embellished, but maybe not.

I think it will be good for me. however, there is others which is the best..

Now in a newly updated and expanded fourth edition with additional topical material and the results of current research and trends, Soil Science Simplified is an excellent guide to the basic principles of soil science. From soil physical properties, chemical equations, water, and fertility to soil conservation, surveys, and engineering, Soil Science Simplified is densely packed with so much information that it is eminently suitable as a high school or undergraduate soil science textbook. Black-and-white sketches and diagrams illustrate the scholarly, methodical, highly instructional text. Soil Science Simplified is strongly recommended for students and professionals in seeking to understand soil science principles -- especially engineers, environmentalists, landscape architects, as well as anyone with an interest or career in agriculture.

The collection is inspired and intriguing. The range of emotions created in readers by the poetry of Emily Dickinson is demonstrated through the variety of thematic works presented. From the humorous (Emily Dickinson Attends a Writing Workshop, and Emily Dickinson's To-Do List) to the introspective (The Deconstruction of Emily Dickinson), to the wishful (Emily Dickinson, Bismarck and the Roadrunner's Inquiry)--each gem is carefully chosen by the authors. If the reader is not familiar with Dickinson's work, this book will inspire a thorough reading of her poems. For those who know her work, the recognition of the power of her work will bring knowing smiles and memories. A note to the previous reviewer: the Billy Collins' poem, Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes, is included in the collection (p. 13-14).

An interesting thematic collection that sometimes is a homage to Emily and at other times (As in X.J. Kennedy's poem) gently pokes at the Emily cult. It seems that almost all poets pass through her writing at some point and at least take a sip if not a full glass. They really should have included Billy Collins' poem "Undressing Emily" which is funny, sad and, I think, lovingly done.

Although this book wasn't entirely what I was expecting, I found that my investment was worthwhile. The book covers the treatment of actors in America from their times as relatively looked down upon players to their elevation to respected stars. Although some sections are harder to read than others, generally it is quite interesting, with short biographies on some of the major players of the time. I found the sections which discussed the touring lifestyle to be especially intriguing. I recommend it to anyone who is seriously interested in American Theatre history or the history of actors.

I was attending Iowa State University at the time this sad story took place. Unfortunately I wasn't as involved as I would have been had I known the whole story as related in this book.

The book is written with exhaustive detail with numerous footnotes and citations. In fact, it's very much written like a university research document. (The author is a university professor, so that's not unexpected.)

It is a personal account of the sale of WOI-TV in Ames, IA as well. Professor Harl relates firsthand knowledge and personal perspective throughout the book. His anger and frustration are palpable throughout but he remains focused on the facts of the matter.

The sale of WOI-TV (and the ongoing attempts at damaging my alma mater, ISU, by University of Iowa supporters) bothers me to this day. This book is an excellent recounting of the circumstances surrounding and within the sale of WOI-TV, an asset of Iowa State University, to private interests.

Quality of poetry is uneven, but an interesting collection. (Standard measured against =Milosz, Oliver, Whitman). Plenty of categories to browse. A different anthology worth having for people who enjoy poetry.

This is not an easy read; it is a book that uses phrases like "intertextual passage." In other words, it is book that will help the writer get tenure. That is not to say it is not well written. Philip Metres has some sentences that sing, especially considering the academic style that he is required to use. The problem is that Behind the Lines is simply not written for the average reader. And since I finished my master's degree last year, I have quickly reverted back to being an average reader.

I was attracted to this book by the title, as a person who enjoys reading poetry. I wanted to learn more about poetry in America, particularly war poetry since we are in the middle (or is the end?) of a war in Iraq, yet this book was more than I was counting on. There wasn't a lot of poetry inside it. Metres traces the history of war poetry and cites the works of poets from Robert Lowell and William Stafford to June Jordan and online group Poets Against the War, but you don't get to experience the poems as poems because they are excerpted and then scrutinized.

If you want to learn about the limits of current lyric and autobiographical in the contemporary peace movement, this may be a book you want to read, but, personally, I have trouble even getting that sentence out. It brings back memories of being a graduate student, reading on Saturday nights in my pajamas and eating frozen dinners, and that's a place I'd rather not go back to.

Cora Frear Hawkins was born in Iowa in 1887. As the daughter of a rural doctor, Cora had the experience of travelling with her father on medical calls and assisting with his practice as she got older. This book is a memoir of those times with her father. It opens with a blizzard that he went out in just before she was born, and closes with his death more than forty years later. It is a slim volume and a quick, smooth read. The chapters are loosely grouped around subject areas such as the life of the wife of a doctor, the buggy and horses that the doctor used, and her period as an office assistant.

I am delighted to see that the book has been reprinted. It is well-written enough to be of interest to general readers of all ages. In addition, it should be of specific interest to anyone interested in the history of women, pioneer medicine, or that particular time in US history. Cora herself inspired at least one book for younger readers, so if you are familiar with the book Cora Frear, this might be worth reading as well.

Robert Stein has written another exciting story that will hold you from the first line to the end. He's rapidly becoming a force in suspense publishing, and with reason.