Can people who claim to be Christians hold grudges against people because of their religion, ethnic origin, or handicap? In Prairie Fire, Palmer shows an entirely different side of the citizens of Hope than she did in Prairie Rose. When Caitrin Murphy falls for Jack Cornwall, her sister, brother-in-law, and the other citizens of Hope do not approve because of his Cornish heritage, traditional enemies of the Irish immigrants of Hope. When Caitrin tries to point out the irony of Hope residents who accept German and Swedish immigrants but not Cornish, her brother-in-law Jimmy O'Toole won't listen. He tells her not to forget her Irish heritage and her allegiance to it. Caitrin replies that she is now an American and "won't be bound by petty prejudice." Jimmy refuses to listen, even when Jack gives his life to the Lord and changes his previous ways. When Jack's mother and sister arrive in Hope, the townspeople become even more suspicious. How can a family keep one of its members in chains? The townspeople resolve to force the Cornwalls to leave. The drama builds to an exciting climax at an emotional prayer meeting of dedicated Christians that ends up in a scene not unlike a bar room brawl. Can these so-called Christian citizens ever accept those who are different? I found Prairie Fire an enjoyable novel, one that teaches as great a lesson to Christians today as to those of the town of Hope over 100 years ago.

I loved this book and don't plan on exchanging it any time soon. It was always exciting and it made me laugh. There were some good lessons to the book too, but even though the morals were serious they were mixed in with a cheerful and happy tale. It was a funny book that takes you away and doesn't bring you back until it's over! You should read it!

As Rosie and Seth Hunter begin their married life, the town of Hope flourishes. The mercantile and post office are now run by Caitrin Murphy, sister of Mrs. O'toole, and the focus shifts. Jack, the bully and the outlaw of book one, is attempting to escape town after being shot in the shoulder. He hides in a barn and encounters red-headed Caitrin for the first time. Both are firey, opinionated, mouthy and fiesty. The highlight of this book for me was when Jack learns that God loves him and he is so humbled by that realization. When he heals, he tries to return to Hope, start anew and make peace. The people of Hope do not intend to make peace with the likes of Jack, and bigotry and prejudice especially in Jack's mother and Caitrin's brother in law keeps the town in an uproar....mostly against Jack. He has brought with him his sister, Lucy, who seems like a mad woman. She cannot relate to normal people...but no one except Caitrin makes any attempt to reach her. Lucy's family's dark, ugly secret is kept for only the 3 of them to ever know. It is not until Jack is actually threatened himself that Lucy has to decide whether or not to break her silence, admit to her dark past and save her brother. The author does a superb job in identifying the ugly and mean side of some of the townspeople, and the good and the gentle side of others. She manages to elicit fear, anger, sympathy, hope, despair and excitement in the reader. Familes are divided, loyalties are questioned, love seems destined to die and the town struggles to stay alive in the drought. The reader is left to wonder whether the real "Fire" is the prairie fire, or the fire of hate and dissention which burns out of control several times in the book. I could hardly put the book down, and I am sooooooo anxious for "Prairie Storm" to be released!

Lamb's story of Sanderson's Lunch is a fascinating journey though emotion, passion, hard work, and fruitless endeavors. To hear Lamb's story is to laugh, cry, and seriously consider getting a job at a 24/hour diner just to have a glimpse of the crazy antics like those at Sanderson's. The reader will cheer with the successes, be crushed at the defeats, and empathize with every emotional state Lamb was in at the time. If you are a KC native, you are doing yourself an injustice to overlook this outstanding work. It is a little piece of history and a small masterpiece of nonfiction

I enjoyed the book but would like to see more articles telling more of the wacky tales of the old 24 hour restaurant, perhaps in a newspaper or KC mag. Maybe there are enough for another book with a bit more emphasis of the unusual parade of customers. (I couldn't resist!)

Art Lamb is my step-grandfather, and I picked up the book out of curiosity and started reading one afternoon. The next thing I knew, night had fallen, dinner was cold, and the kids were conked out in front of the TV. I shrugged and kept on reading. Witty, engaging and fast moving, this slice of life will capture your interest and engage you until the last page.

Being a fellow Kansan myself with farm-family roots back to the Civil War, I found SUNS GO DOWN to be a masterful depiction of the ups and downs, failings and triumphs, of four generations of one Flint Hills family not too unlike my own. Rich in characterization and setting, this is the work of an award-winning author at the height of her craft and completely at home with her subject matter. It's a true family saga, anchored in the 50s, that transports the reader away through time and psychological depth. The Lutzs, amid the plot's twists and turns, become a part of the reader's own world. I've long admired the short stories of Shirley Sikes. This novel, however, is a crowning achievement.

Suns Go Down, an excellent American saga, deals with a small-town community and how the unique people who inhabit it interact with the past, which has made them what they are, and with each other. Shirley Sikes writes with compassion and empathy about the human situation, the heroism of the common person, and the importance of family.

Shirley Sikes has created a splendid family saga filled with dynamic, rich characters. It is a summer read to thoroughly savor. She transported me to small town Kansas in the 1950's. It was a memorable, satisfying journey with a masterful storyteller.

Wonderful humor and wit make this book the treasure it is!
A good laugh as I read lets me set a book down, sated, and remembering just WHERE I placed it. A poet to be watching is this man who grows his hair long...just because he can. Add this one to your library!

I am a fan of Mr Mcmanes writes. I also have two of his previous books. This one is a little more abstract than the other reads. But once again he did not fail me. I enjoy his rich humor and the way he weaves around his subject. Often finding a moral.

He didn't fail to make me laugh once again. This book does beg to be read outloud. I read it to my husband who loved it as well. "We ain't in Kansas no more" is a little more abstract than his previous writes touching on some serious subjects such as death. Yet his wonderful sense of humor is still present.

I will not hesitate to buy his next book.

Joyce Chelmo

This is by far the most eclectic collection by Robert D. (Mac) McManes. Both in the topics presented, and in the open style of poetry employed, he has created a book that is not soon to find its way to a bookshelf. I enjoyed the easy feel of the words, and simplicity of approach in even very complex topics.

Not being in Kansas anymore has not hurt this poet; he tackles death, dieing, loving, and demonstrates an irrepressible love of nature in these poems. This collection is a wonderful read, from a prolific and sensitive poet.

Michael Rehling
...
Editor of Short Stuff poetry eZine

This book will hardly fit back on the shelf: Yellow post-it notes hang from its margins, nearly a pad-ful so far, each marking a high-taste recipe. I've only had the book a year, but it has fast become a favorite.

I have prepared many of the recipes from this book and have found all I have tried to be wonderful. They are easy to follow, and the collection of recipes is diverse and appeals to the most discriminating of tastes. This book also provides visuals on the art of artistic meal presentation. Of the cookbooks that I own, I know if a meal is prepared from this book all will be happy, especially me!

like the first reviewer I also had this assigned for a class and it was the book I enjoyed the most. I've done a lot of political organizing and am interested in what makes a social movement tick and why it succeeds or fails, and this book does a great job of getting into the heads of political activists. The story is also very interesting, there's a real drama to the way the author tells the story. It reminds me of another book on the Populists, The Populist Moment, by Lawrence Goodwyn, only this book is more concerned with how women and men related (or not) to each other, and how this affected the movement. The book also does a good job of covering women's politics, especially the woman suffrage movement. The author's argument is that women tried to be both committed to their gender and their political party, and couldn't balance the two, which I think in part is a problem feminists have today. I enjoyed it very much, and learned a lot.

This book was assigned in a course on American political history, and I have to admit I didn't expect it to be so interesting--I mean, Kansas??!! Turns out Kansas was a pretty amazing place in the 1890s, and there were a lot of very strong, interesting women involved in politics for the first time. The book is often pretty funny, especially when it looks at how freaked out men were about women getting the vote. I've recommended it to a couple of friends as a book to read outside of class (although it helps to like history, like I do), and though they thought I was crazy at first, they really like it to. I'm now looking for more books like it. Maybe I should start a list!

When she is given a diary for her ninth birthday, Margaret Cora Wells, called Meg by her family and friends, expects to record her daily life in St. Louis, Missouri. But then a cholera epidemic strikes, and Meg's mother and little sister, Grace, fall ill. Having already lost two children to cholera seven years before, Meg's mother is determined not to lose another. So Meg and her seven-year-old brother, Preston, are sent to live with their aunt, uncle, and cousins in the Kansas Territory. Accustomed to a comfortable city life, Meg finds frontier living to be tough, but at the same time full of adventure. But in 1856, Kansas is a very dangerous place, where pro-slavery Border Ruffians attack northerners like Meg's family, who have come to Kansas in the hopes of making it a free state. Can Meg come up with a plan to help her family? I highly recommend this new title from the My America series.

During 1856 in St. Louis her mother and sister fall ill with the cholera epidemic, which has spread widely in Missouri , nine-year-old Meg and her brother Preston are sent to live with relatives in the praire lands of Kansas, until the epidemic passes. In her diary Meg describes the dangerous journey they have to take to get to Kansas and when they finally get their she and her brother Preston must adjust to the rugged lifestyle which is much different from St. Louis with their everyday chores. This was a great story about how a young girl braved her new lifestyle and someday wishes to be reunited with her family. I highly recommend Dear America fans to read this great new book in the My America series. I can't wait for the conclusion of Meg's story in her next diary!

This book grabs your attention in the first few pages and keeps you hooked until the end. Historical facts back up a believable story that you can relate to. Action and emotion are in every chapter and keep the reader up late reading just one more chapter. The heroine, Emma Jordan, is a survivor of the best kind. The book gives us a glimpse of life in the old frontier and the American spirit that made this country great.

I got a copy of this book directly from the author. I read it in just two days! What a great story! The pace of the book was very fast and exciting, while being a very moving story. Now, I want to buy more books for friends and family. I loved the story. It was interesting, unpredictable and most of all, very well written. The characters were the kind that stick with you long after you've finished the book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves GOOD, no, GREAT historical fiction! Buy it and you'll see!

I was given this book for Christmas and I was reluctant to read it. I dont really watch the news and I am not a religous person. As I started to pick through it I realized the book was about much more than that. It was personal and honest and touching. I thought for a long time that people in front of the camera- be it a movie or TV or news weren't "real", with "real" problems, they were charmed in some way. Harris Faulkner gave me a glimps into her life and just how real she is. Thank you.

This book is a must read. It isn't preachy like the title made it sound. It is a very chilling account of how one woman lived through being stalked. This is the first book I've read in years and read it from cover to cover in one evening.

A father and his son discover that Kansas does have mountains, and many other wonderful things, as they spend a Sunday afternoon bonding on the plains of Kansas. The charming story by George Shannon is beautifully illustrated by Thomas B. Allen. Gorgeous pastels of the wheat fields, grain elevators and sleepy main streets will be quickly recognizable to anyone from the midwest. The twist is - the words and illustrations will make you see your surroundings in a new way, just like the little boy in the book!

Hey--Kansas isn't flat-there are many hills, and this book is an awesome read---and sooooooo funny. You don't have to be from Kansas to enjoy the midwest humor---everyone from Kansas doesn't not have a dog named Toto! You will also find little tidbits of history.