As an OCPD officer myself I found this book to be entertaining and educational. Naturally there were a few stories I thought should have been included that weren't, but for a single book history this book does a very good job of covering the history of the OCPD from its inception right up to the Federal Building Bombing in 1995. It's a must-have for anyone with an interest in the history of Oklahoma City.

Lillian Gallup Haskell was the first First Lady of Oklahoma, so the book begins with her story. Embellished with excellent photographs, this book gives the reader some insight into the personalities and interests of Oklahoma's governor's wives.

There's the flamboyant and somewhat notorious Lydee Roberts Marland who married her adopted father; the domestic Grayce Breene Kerr who loved to cook; and the judge who became First Lady, Molly Shi Boren.

If you're a collector of Oklahoma history you'll enjoy this overview of the women behind the powers of the State.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

I used this text for a medical school physiology course, and found it to be a very good compromise between a textbook and a review book. If you're in medical school, you know that you don't have time to read a textbook. Still, most review books opt for outlines, charts and tables, and some concepts take a bit more full-sentence explaining. Each section in this book (e.g., renal physiology, respiratory physiology) can be digested in about 2 hours, and you'll learn more than if you sit down to read a review book and try to fill in the blanks yourself. The Oklahoma Notes books are especially good to read at the beginning of your deep studying prior to course exams.

I enjoyed reading about life in the first half of the 20th century, told vividly and humorously. Walta tells about her childhood as if she were still a little girl experiencing it, but her style of writing changes as she "grows up." I split my sides laughing at the joke pulled on her step-dad at the Chivaree, but the Great Depression stories about sharing cold biscuits with a tramp and being bilked by an escaped convict are poignant and sensitive. She's a good "story-teller," with the ability to paint pictures with her words. She's the kind of author you'd like to get to know.

The author contends that the media discovery in the 1990s of rural militia and even the Oklahoma City bombing should not be too surprising because they follow in a long line of rural radicalism. She considers rural radicalism as a distinct phenomenon because of the nature of rural life itself. Rural residents, especially the common folk, often endure difficult and even harsh lives. Urbanization, modernization, consumerism, and the rise of huge business interests and bureaucratic government have impacted or have been felt to unduly impact rural residents. Rural people have generally turned inward toward their local communities for support in the face of difficulties. But at different periods in our history these small communities have erupted, often extra-legally, to contend with these various hated forces.

The author distinguishes between producer radicalism and vigilantism. The former category is much concerned with economic issues from unfair land laws and practices, distant and unresponsive legislatures, burdensome taxation, judicial favoring of creditors, and monopolistic businesses, especially railroads. The Populists of the late 1800s are the prime example of producer radicals. Vigilantism shares some of these same concerns, but is slanted towards external forces or people who are seen to be a threat to a closed way of life. In some cases, as in pre-revolutionary North Carolina, vigilantes have operated against criminal elements in the absence of effective law enforcement but have been far more likely to identify and inflict harm on scapegoats along racial, ethnic, religious, and political lines. The KKK is perhaps the foremost example of a vigilante group.

The author trys to convince that producer radicalism and vigilantism are two sides of the same coin. This reviewer does not find that the case is made. The Populists had legitimate complaints and found responsible ways of expressing them. They did not hate the federal government, even advocating for the nationalization of some industries. Some of their platform was adopted during the Progressive Era. Vigilantes in lieu of operating from any careful analysis of their situation seem to cling to wild conspiracy theories usually involving the federal government and then proceed to select vulnerable victims to assuage their frustrations. These are not the virtuous citizens of producer radicalism.

The book is a very good survey of the various rural radical groups through our nation's history. While I do not agree with a central tenet of the book, maybe others would. In any event the book is quite worthwhile.

When I was a small girl growing up in Oklahoma I wanted to be like my grandfatherwho was osbi(he thought gene leroy hart was innocent) I was also a girl scout and thought this book was a thrill ride for myself and loved it enough to read it several times....A+

I will be starting med school this fall and I'm trying to prepare myself for the overload of information as best as possible. This book was very informative but a bit long (easy to loose focus at times) and I'm not sure how helpful the section on the boards (the USMLE) is since the test has changed from a two day paper-and-pencil exam to an 8 hour computer-based test (Everyone has told me that the First Aid for the USMLE series are the best books for board prep). In the Oklahoma notes, you start out by taking a modified version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (a psychological instrument). The results of this test went a long way towards explaining my personality and what my previous study skills where lacking. I discovered how to study better, take better notes and problem-solve based on my type. Next were different strategies for learning and retaining information for the long haul-from the next exam, to the boards, to residency and beyond. I learned terrific ways of taking notes, annotating text books, pre-reading for class and condensing the large amount of information from lectures and books. The time management sections offered very easy and realistic advise. All in all, I'm glad I bought this book because I learned many new things. However, I would strongly recommend the following book over this one if one had to choose: How to Excel in Medical School. It is easier to follow, a faster read and takes you subject by subject. If you have enough time and money, buy both!

The subject matter is covered really well. The author clearly knows what he is writing about. Highly recommended.

The careful reader of the Whipping Boy will note that Morgan accepts few of the stereotypes of the southwestern frontier. For example, Hanging Judge Parker has become a symbol to liberals of the mindlessly violent injustice of frontier justice, especially as by the 1880s Federal officials began working to undermine Parker's authority;Morgan reveals that Federal officials chiefly opposed Parker because he strictly enfoced the law to protect the Indians in what is now Oklahoma from both marauding criminal whites and from the Federal government itself that coveted their land and eventually would strip the Nations of their final sovereignty. The novel's time period is 1894, after the great land rush and when a combination of Federal officials and northeastern businessmen with experience in coal and oil began furtively plotting to destroy the Nations and create a larger Oklahoma ruled for and by the interests of those businessmen and their government allies, using white farmers as pawns to weaken the Indian Nations and to convince the American populace this was for the good of the USA as a whole - the same argument that propped the removal of the 5 Tribes from the southeast to what would be eastern Oklahoma.

Morgan didn't need the graphic sex scenes, and his presentation of the Presbyterian pastor who runs the orphanage for Indian boys is the one stock character living up to stereotypes. But The Whipping Boy is a better novel, in some ways vastly so, than the recent bestselling Toni Morrison work also set in Oklahoma, Paradise.

This book is a series of profiles of over 100 historic sites in Oklahoma, written by Kent Ruth, whose newspaper column by the same name appeared weekly in the Sunday Oklahoman for many years.

I particularly enjoyed the story of the ghost county seat of a ghost county -- Grand, Oklahoma. This ghost town is unique in that its former residents meet annually to recall memories of the once-lively town.

The last two pages of the book contain directions on how to find each of the places described.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)