Oklahoma Books

While Clarence Darrow is often on the lips of those who reach back into history of the greatest trial lawyers of all time, Moman Pruiett tops them all. The historical aspect and the outrageousness is better than any fiction - 303 acquittals in 343 murder cases by allegedly mastering the art of jury tampering and deceitful testimony.), this is a gem of a story that every lawyer should read about. It's not about a lawyer who plays by the rules by any means - and this isn't fiction either.

One of the interesting aspects is that he didn't decide to become a lawyer until after his own second conviction (which he served two years), felt that he had been wronged, and swore out the vendetta to empty the jails "and turn thieves and murderers loose . . . in a perfectly legal way."

One of the great stories in the book: The lawyer, Pruiett received a message from a distant state late in his career saying "I have been charged with murder. Have $5,000. Will you defend me?" Pruiett's immediate reply, "Am leaving on the next train with three eyewitnesses."

It was a different time and different place. Famed Law Professor Gerald Uelmen (also of OJ "Dream Team" fame) wrote a good article about Pruiett in the early 1980s and mentioned him in a '99-'00 law review article "Who is the Lawyer of the Century."

Indigenous peoples around the world are at the center of many conflicts: natural resource management, intellectual property rights, sovereignty, identity, and health care to name just a few. In each country, and among each indigenous group, these conflicts differ. Adding to the complexity of each idiosyncratic conflict is the continued encroachment of non-indigenous (primarily Western) cultural practices, exacerbating specific situations for each indigenous group. The country and indigenous people of Guatemala are no exception to this mix - or emerging pluralism - of the old and the new, indigenous and non-indigenous, ancient and modern. Health Care in Maya Guatemala, the newly published book from the University of Oklahoma Press and edited by Walter Randolph Adams and John P. Hawkins highlights this contemporary dance of conflicts by specifically examining health care among the indigenous Maya peoples.

Covering a range of issues effecting the indigenous Maya peoples of Guatemala - specifically three neighboring K'iche' Maya communities in the central west highlands - the book offers Central American specific examples of cultural, institutional, and behavioral health care perspectives. Further, the editors have made sure to include several chapters on specific aspects of the nature and treatment of various conditions, such as midwives, childbirth, development, dentistry, and depression. As such, the book is well rounded and encompassing, making it accessible to specialists, applied researchers, and interested or concerned individuals. Furthermore, because the chapters come from several years of field school programs held for advanced undergraduates, this book is an excellent text for medical anthropology courses.

Much of the importance in the book, however, resides in the unique contribution to the larger medical and anthropological fields that it makes. For example, the book provides important indigenous perspectives to the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) debate. Here in the West we are enthralled with indigenous forms of medicine, methods of healing (including the body, mind, and spirit), biopharmacy, and anything alternative to the mainstream medical world. Health Care in Maya Guatemala, however, comes from the other perspective - that of the indigenous Maya peoples and their perspectives on Western versus traditional health care practices. Rather then framing its arguments in terms of the West cannibalizing Guatemalan Maya indigenous medical knowledge, it examines why indigenous people in Guatemala are neglecting their own ethnomedical knowledge (which works quite well), and instead willingly adopting many aspects of Western medicine.

Through the use of short-term participant observation, informal interviews, and other standard anthropological methods, the process of this adoption are intricately captured. Not only are the shortcomings of Western medicine in a culture that has a different understanding of the patient/client role clearly documented, but so are the attractions and perceived powers of Western pharmaceutical medicine discussed. By focusing on three neighboring K'iche' Maya communities in the central west highlands chapters within Health Care in Maya Guatemala argue that the process of medical pluralism - the mishmash of indigenous and Western medical practices - is currently the norm in Guatemala and much of the rest of Central America. Not only is it the norm to a large extent, but it is not necessarily that bad.

Beginning as early as the 1950s, the influx of Western medicine has had an influence on the indigenous Maya of southern Mexico and northern Guatemala (Adams 1952, Paul 1955). The process and methods of this influence has not always been the same, and the editors and their students have teased out several of the unique characteristics of this plurality. For example, the Maya medical term yab'ilal is used to describe a "disease for everyone" and k'oqob'al is used to describe when "someone is making you sick." As a result of these indigenous categories, Western biomedicine has had more of an influence on diseases placed in the yab'ilal category, while those changes brought about by Catholic and Protestant missionaries have effected k'oqob'al diseases. That is, Western medicine's fixation on microbial and pathogenic types of diseases has resulted in its influence on "diseases for everyone" while more Western based psychological or mental diseases have impacted k'oqob'al diseases.

Another component of this medical pluralism is that indigenous healers often do not know unlimited amounts of ethnobotanical knowledge as they are often romantically framed in the West. Rather, as the chapters in this book document, many indigenous medical practitioners (in this case comadronas [midwives], curanderas [healers], hueseras [bonesetters], and cura los ojos [eye doctors]) often know only a handful to several dozen plants that have medicinal properties. Furthermore, most are self-taught with only a minimal amount of training. However, as discussed via first-person interviews many have experienced what has come to be known in the anthropological literature as "the call." Several other aspects of the medical pluralism found among the indigenous Maya are also documented, adding to the books overall reach and value.

In general Health Care in Maya Guatemala attempts to reverse the trend found not only in Guatemala, but in much of the medical research dealing with indigenous peoples; that of focusing on behavioral, quantitative, and mechanistic research projects. Rather, this book returns to a more anthropological, qualitative, and applied research and scholarship agenda. Part of this is the overarching theme of giving something back to the Maya. This is done not only by the publication of the book and its extensive use of indigenous linguistic terms, but also by focusing on a very useful and applied topic: health and the useful applications to promote health.

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Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources
http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com

Wonderful vintage photographs and the genealogy of this area. A must for anyone who is studying the area, has an interest in the area or is researching family history.

The book written by Dr. Quirke (Egyptian Curator at the British Museum, London) and illustrated by Mr. Forman (Photographer) is most recommendable. With a clear and concise style, the former introduces to us the historical evolution of the traditional religious literature of Ancient Egypt, i.e., the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts and Book of the Dead, not only focusing on the "historical" process but also in the evolution of the contents and the mental horizon expressed therein. There are excellent editions and translations of all of the aforesaid "Egyptian books", but very few in which the connection between the three of them can be traced so neatly as in this one. The superb color plates of the second co-author are an actual mine of visual information on monuments for which much has been written but less has been shown. Most recommended for students of ancient Egyptian religion and writing!!

One pulls for first one man and then the other in this engaging book. Who will she end up with and why? Besides being a mystery involving expensive Lakewood art pottery, one isn't sure who is the bad guy. Romantic scenes are the stuff of fantasy come to life. The plot sweeps you right along as you learn about academic politics in a university and art pottery auctions. The author certainly knows her stuff!

A masterpiece written by the well known historian, Dr. Arthur L. Campa. The most accurate account of Hispanic Culture and historical events ever written! Highly recommended!

If you're looking for a way to celebrate Oklahoma's upcoming centennial, want to get a little more familiar with Oklahoma City history, or are curious about those notorious street jogs in the downtown area, then pick up a copy of this book and feast on a collection of photographs ranging from the Land Run of 1889 through the postwar era and beyond.

The book views the birth of Oklahoma City through the lens of a camera. The result of countless hours of research, it features a collection of historic black and white photographs recording moments in time that shaped the development of the capitol city.

Some highlights:
* Two townsite companies feuded over accurately surveying the townsite, resulting in strangely aligned streets
* Treeless fields filled with tents, horses and cattle
* An early photo of a May, 1896 tornado, described as a "twisting serpent-like cloud
* Horse racing at the first state fair in 1907
* Charlton Heston participating in a civil rights march

Many people like looking at old photographs of buildings and landscapes, but my favorite shots are of people, like the one of the conductor on page 79, poised on the steps of a trolley. He's grinning from ear to ear. What was his name? How did he get to Oklahoma? Where did he live? What was his story? Such is the power of a photograph.

Full of tips and details only somone who has been there could know. Refreshing, insightful and fun.

Dan Poynter, Author, The Self-Publishing Manual.

Great book for the research I'm doing for an historical novel. It gives information about the terrain, plant life, stage and train routes, mines and military reserves.

The product arrived in perfect condition, and promptly.

(I'm reviewing the 4th Edition Hardcover) This atlas maps and details an astonishing number of facts about Oklahoma. There's something for everyone: political (e.g. "Constitutional Convention Delegate Districts, 1906" , geologilcal ("Geologic Formations), biological ("Buffalo Country"), military ("Civil War Battlesites, 1861-1865"), and this sampling barely scratches the surface: my use of the word 'astonishing' wasn't mere hyperbole. Each subject has about a page's worth of explanatory text and maps of excellent quality. One of the strongest themes in the book involves the indian populations of the state: there are numerous pages, from "Early Arrivals, 40,000-12,000 BC"/"Early Big-Game Hunters, 12,000-8,000 BC" to the "Proposed State of Sequoyah, 1905", with meticulous maps of the various indian territories in-between, as they were created and modified over the years. This is a great book for any Oklahoman: The authors, and OU Press, have done a very fine job.