Related Vacation Book Subjects: Oklahoma
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Books to read if you're planning a vacation in "Oklahoma", sorted by average review score:
Barefoot in an Oklahoma Sticker Patch: Memories from Childhood in Rural Oklahoma County
Published in Paperback by 1stBooks Library (January, 2001)
Author: Geneva Johnston Hudson
Average review score:

A Great Family Legacy
My Aunt Geneva brought my heritage to life in her vignettes of her childhood days in her book Barefoot in an Oklahoma Sticker Patch. Through her shared experiences one can appreciate the struggles and triumphs of her great generation. Many of the vignettes are filled with the emotions of the times but laced with the humor and pride of the family. As her niece, "sticker patch" has strengthened my family respect, enhanced by family pride and inspired me to leave a similar legacy to my chldren and grandchildren.

Depression Life in Oklahoma
A timid socially deficient young girl becomes a prominant, intelligent, teacher, educator, and community servant through grit and determination and the strength of family during the depression when the thing she did was persevere and walk through those sticker patches.

The book is akin to "Angela's Ashes" except it is from an American, Oklahoman vantage point.

Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
Published in Hardcover by Eakin Publications (September, 1998)
Author: Hannibal B. Johnson
Average review score:

A Good and Informative topic
Black Wall Street was very imformative book and gave a lot of insight about how successful we were as a people and how unified the community was at that time. Mr. Hannibal Johnson did a wonderful job in potraying the devesatation brought upon the African-American community on May 31, 1921. This particular book should be in every African-American home as a must read to show our youth that in the past were have been a prosperous people.

Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Histo
Imformative as well as historical commentary on sucessful Afro-Americans during a time of extreme overt racial hatred. A positive example of what others have achieved in the past, in spite of the terrible consequenses, to help focus others in the future. An excellent contrast with your usual American history text verbage about the Roaring 20's. A must for Afro-American home libraries as well as American history buffs.

A Dictionary of Creek/Muskogee: With Notes on the Florida and Oklahoma Seminole Dialects of Creek (Studies in the Anthropology of North American Indians Series)
Published in Hardcover by Univ of Nebraska Pr (June, 2000)
Authors: Jack B. Martin and Margaret McKane Mauldin
Average review score:

"Dictioary"?
This "dictioary" is great except for one thing. Instead of being the Muskogee Creek Nation DICTIONARY, it is the Muskogee Creek Nation DICTIOARY. You would think a DICTIONARY would know how to spell its own name.

The best dictionary of Creek
This is far the best ever dictionary of the Creek (Muskogee) language of Oklahoma and Florida. The authors are a native speaker and teacher of Creek, and a linguist specializing in the analysis of the language. The volume provides spellings in both the traditional and the technical (linguists') spelling systems, and is derived from 19th and 20th century writings in this language as well as the knowledge of contemporary speakers. This will be an essential tool for speakers, writers, teachers, and students of the Creek language, and for historians, anthropologists, and other who need to know the meanings and proper spellings of words in the Creek language.

The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library
Published in Hardcover by Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Trd) (February, 1900)
Author: Louise S. Robbins
Average review score:

"America's Ideal Family Center"
Having spent the majority of my life living in northeastern Oklahoma, I was well aware of Bartlesville, OK. I must have made hundreds of trips to what the Chamber of Commerce touted as "America's Ideal Family Center." It had the reputation of being a conservative, white, upper-class community that was progressive as that term was defined by the dominant employer, Phillips Petroleum. In short, it was a typical, though certainly more wealthy than most, small Oklahoma town. Or so I thought. I have since learned, thanks to Louise Robbin's fine book, that Bartlesville had a dark side, darker than most it turns out, that does not appear in the Chamber of Commerce press releases. It is not a pretty story. Ruth Winifred Brown was born on July 26, 1891, in Hiawatha, KS. She graduated in 1915 with a degree from the Univ. Of Oklahoma. In November, 1919, she became the librarian for the Bartlesville Public Library. She served as librarian for 30 years without a mark on her record. It was, by all accounts, a record of outstanding achievement and exemplary service. On July 25th, 1950, Brown was summarily dismissed by the city commissioners. The reason given was she had caused subversive materials, in the form of magazines such as The Nation and The New Republic, to be circulated to the general populace. To be sure this was the McCarthy era, a time when groups such as the American Legion and the Chamber of Commerce, to name but a few, were working diligently to rid our communities of suspected or perceived communist influence. Thus, if a librarian or two had to be sacrificed in this war to protect our cherished freedoms, it really was not too big a price to pay. After all, many American's lost their jobs, reputations, and families under the tutelage of Sen. McCarthy and his ilk. That's the price of freedom. If this were the real story of Miss Ruth Brown it probably would not warrant the publication of a book. Unfortunately, there is more, much more. Thanks to the scholarship of Ms. Robbins we now know that Brown was fired from her job, not for so-called subversive activities, but because she had been active in promoting racial equality. She had the gall to not only help form a group affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) but, even more shocking, to visit a major drug store in Bartlesville in February, 1950, with two black ladies and request to be served. This she did on her own time, without any fanfare or publicity, and some four years before Brown v. Board of Education and other events which began to at least offer a glimmer of hope to those supporting racial equality. Robbins has provided the reader with the history and background of political, social, economic, and cultural events that led to the merger of McCarthyism and racial unrest, which resulted in a sad, black chapter in the history of Bartlesville, not to mention the Nation. It is sad, not only because the community tolerated such behavior by its elected and appointed officials, but also because many of Miss Brown's colleagues knew the real reason for her termination and failed to disclose it to the community. It is also the story of courage and pride exhibited mostly by women during a time when it was not popular to be supportative of African Americans or any other group not on the power structures accepted list. This is a must read book if you are interested in forces ever present in our communities that can, and do, lead to censorship, intolerance, and the suppression of individual rights. The story is about a local event some 50 years ago; the message is about issues that are relevant today. Bartlesville, "America's Ideal Family Center." You be the judge.

Life in the Turbulent McCarthy/Blossoming Civil Rights Era
This book provides a fascinating micro snapshot of what was occuring on a macro level across the United States during a turbulant time period in American history---the McCarthy era and the blossiming of the civil rights movement in the South. Bartlesville, OK, presents the perfect, middle-American city for a case study on American upset caused by the post-WW II end of American isolationism (with its concommitant fears of Russian world domination) and recognition that American Blacks were deserving of the same rights they died for the Europeans to have. The book recounts the true story of librarian Ruth Brown, who in fighting against censorship and for civil rights, became the victim of an economic, class, and social structure not ready for change and eager and willing to use ignorance and fear as weapons. I appreciated the author's ability to pull together an interesting, well-organized, and comprehensive story from a vast array of sources with very different points of view. For anyone interested in history made personal, and in seeing how every-day people become heroes and villians by standing up for their beliefs, this book is a true gem.

The Fall of David Hall
Published in Paperback by Macedon Publishing Co. (25 July, 2000)
Authors: William R. Burkett and James Edwin Alexander
Average review score:

Some Facts are Lies
My father personally knows some of the people that were caught in the middle of this investigation. Wrongdoing was going on, however; the way reporters painted the picture of how some people had to live their lives due to this investigation were untrue. There were no bodyguards for Barbara or A. Cowen. No black roses or death threats sent to their offices. The mystery man throughout the whole event? It's no mystery to me, I know. Trust me, prosecutors couldn't find any evidence towards this man because there was no evidence. Reporters found a way to make this spectacle look entertaining, and that's all it was...entertainment.

The system works!
This was a very interesting book discussing the fall of the former Governor of Oklahoma for illegal actions taken while in office. The book gives a great introduction to some of the problems with our judicial system but shows that this system ultimately works in the end. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Oklahoma politics, federal prosecution, or law.

Horace : Epodes and Odes (Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture , Vol 10, Latin language edition)
Published in Paperback by Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Txt) (September, 1998)
Authors: Horace and Daniel H. Garrison
Average review score:

Good for introductory students
Garrison's layout of the text is fairly well done so that the text is easily able to be read. The commentary is, generally, useful. There are a few typos or mistakes in it, but the commentary will prove valuable to the intro student. There is sufficient aide for grammatical question and enough cultural explanations to make the book useful. Sometimes Garrison makes references to more modern works, which is less useful, yet still available. If you are a serious reader, you likely know more suitable sources already. Otherwise, for the casual reader or student who is attempting to augment proficiency, this book is useful. Fortunately, Garrison (Ode 1,11) does not fall into common convention to misaddress 'carpe diem' as sieze the day rather than the proper 'pluck the day' in the proper context.

A good text for the casual reader
Garrison's edition is well suited to the recreational reader of Latin and the non-scholar. His notes, as always, are very helpful and cover most of the gramatical and textual questions that are likely to arise for the undergraduate or secondary reader. This book, however, would have benefited from a vocabulary and a slightly larger print size for the text. A good book, but not as good as Garrison's Catullus.

Lying Wonders: A Sheriff Milt Kovak Mystery
Published in Hardcover by St. Martin's Minotaur (January, 2003)
Author: Susan Rogers Cooper
Average review score:

Murder at "The Holy Temple of the Seven Trumpets"

   Susan Rogers Cooper, a mystery writer who lives in Austin, Texas, is the author of Funny as a Dead Comic and Funny as a Dead Relative.
   Lying Wonders is the eighth novel in her Milt Kovak Series, which includes Doctors and Lawyers and Such, Chasing Away the Devil, and Dead Moon Rising.

   Milt Kovak, "looking the barrel of sixty right in the eye," is the high sheri
ff of Prophesy County, Oklahoma. He and his new wife, Dr. Jean McDonnell, a psychiatrist at Long Branch Memorial Hospital, are the proud parents of a toddler called Johnny Mac.

   The Kovak's small-town life is relatively quiet until Milt finds the corpse of Amanda Nederwald, 18, at the "retreat" of a religious sect called The Seven Trumpets. The girl was lying beneath a mesquite tree, her long blond hair entwined on the hooklike feet of a vulture.

   The headquarters of this weird cult in situated in the northwest corner of Prophesy County (page 11). Or is it in the county's northeast corner (page 15)?

   Basically, the Seven Trumpets is a mishmash of pseudo-Eastern religions, a little Judaism, some Christianity, and a whole lot of Star Trek.
   
   The self-appointed prophet, guru, and spiritual leader of The Holy Temple of Seven Trumpets is one "Brother Grigsby," a sleazy con man "as slimy as a squashed bug."

   Revered by his gullible female acolytes as "The Source" and "The Light," Brother Grigsby is dedicated to disseminating the seed of Gospel Truth and populating the  New Age that is dawning."Religion," muses Sheriff Kovak, "is a tricky business."

   Amanda's boyfriend, Trent Johnson Marshall, also 18, who was with girl when she disappeared, has vanished. Assisted by his four deputies--Emmett Hopkins and Dalton Pettigrew (the day squad) and Jasmine Bodine and Hank Dobbins (the night squad)--Milt not only has to find Trent and identify the killer, but must also save his niece from the same fate.

   The best feature of this novel is Sheriff Milt Kovak, a down-to-earth and likable character. Although Milt is not exactly a Sherlock Holmes, his dedicated pursuit of justice ingratiates him to readers. The author also paints a convincing picture of small-town politics.

   Roy E. Perry

exciting police procedural
His former lover Laura Marshall hysterically demands that Prophesy County, Oklahoma Sheriff save her teenage son Trent from the Seven Trumpets religious community that she swears kidnapped him. Though he prefers distance from Laura, Milt reluctantly follows up on her complaint and quickly learns that Trent's girlfriend Amanda Nederwald has failed to come home either.

Milt visits the Seven Trumpets estate, but before he sees anyone, he finds the corpse of a young female that is later verified is Amanda. Trent remains missing. Milt visits the church where he notices that most of the flock consists of pregnant women. His interview with the founder Brother Grigsby goes well, but also leaves Milt feeling a bit creepy. He returns with his wife, psychiatrist Dr. Jean McDonnell, so she can provide him with a quick assessment of Grigsby. As Milt and his department investigate the homicide and missing boyfriend, his niece becomes a recruitment target of the Seven Trumpets.

LYING WONDERS is an exciting police procedural that readers will enjoy due to the clever interweaving of the overflow of Milt's past personal life into the murder investigation. The story line never slows down even when the hero's sister and niece go at it. Milt is a strong character that makes the rest of the cast seems real because he comes across as a person with complex relationships. Though his sarcastic behavior in his second encounter with Grigsby seems out of character for the calm sheriff, Susan Rogers Cooper provides a delightful who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

Oklahoma
Published in Paperback by Bantam Books (November, 1990)
Author: Dana Fuller Ross
Average review score:

Too many divergent stories
Oklahoma! just has too many subplots

1) Toby goes to Oklahoma to settle differences between the various land owners
2) Janessa finding she has mixed emotions concerning Gisela.
3) Henry Blake having to clean up the fort and town of Fargo.
4) Eulalia having to learn to accept Alexandra as Toby's fiance
5) Cindy becoming an etcher for the Troy expedition
6) Henry Blake's arch-enemy Buehler becoming a pasha for the Ottoman Empire
7) Edward Blackstone going to India to acquire Brahman cattle.

This is just too much for the book to handle. Everytime you are getting into the story, it abruptly changes. The last three plots should have been eliminated as they were unneccessary.

I love Dana Fuller Ross
I have not been disappointed by any of his books yet. Homesteaders and ranchers are headed toward a range war in Oklahoma Territory. This book has everything, love, hate, pestilence, bushwhackers, renegades, and sharp shooters.

Spotting the Leopard
Published in Hardcover by Walker & Co (October, 1996)
Author: Anna Myers
Average review score:

The Spot of animals
The book Spotting the Leopard was a good book. I think it teaches people to understand animals and help them. Spotting the Leopard was about this boy who was trying to save a run away leopard, Lucky and help his sister to go to college and become a vet. Well, things didn't work that well, but things still worked out. It is a really good book, and I mean it. I just love animals, especially cats. Since Leopard are in the cats family I like them too. It's really interesting that a boy would give up everything just to help a leopard. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves animals. I would rate this book 8 ½ from 1 to 10. I think this book would change the way a person thinks about an animal. Like, Kate thinks no one like animals, but after she read this book, she'll understand what a person would do to help an animal. Even though I rated 8 ½, I have some criticisms to make. First I don't think the situation with Uncle Delbert and Mr. Summer doesn't really have to do anything with the book. And another criticism I will make is that I am not that sure what time period this happened. The author could explain more about the background to give us clues about what time period it happened. Over all, I think this is a great book.

This review is about why I like this book.
I thought this book was good because the author(Anna Myers)used a lot of creativity with describing the characters and things in this story. I liked reading this book,and I persuade you to read it.

Waltzing With the Ghost of Tom Joad: Poverty, Myth, and Low-Wage Labor in Oklahoma
Published in Paperback by Univ of Oklahoma Pr (Txt) (September, 2002)
Author: Robert Lee Maril

Related Vacation Book Subjects: Oklahoma
More Pages: Oklahoma Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30