After reading "Giants in the Earth" I was anxious to continue the story of the Holm family. I rushed to pick up "Peder Victorious" and its sequel "Their Father's God" and again, I was not dissapointed.

"Peder Victorious" chronicles the childhood of the youngest Holm child, Peder, who is bound for greatness. Through his tribulations with love and sex, to his conflicts with authority this novel brings out all the strife of Americanization.

Perhaps the best built conflict and consequently the most frustrating, is that between Peder and his mother. His mother becomes religiously fanatical at times and consequently drives Peder from the church.

"Peder Victorious" is a powerful novel, written by a brilliant author. It is too bad that I can't read Norwegian, because I'm sure that these novels are even greater in their original language. I would strongly recommend "Peder Victorious" for anyone that is interested in the conflicts of a widening generation gap, but also for those seeking simply a superbly written novel that is entertaining to the end - Enjoy!

This book is the sequel to "Giants in the Earth," an engrossing adventure story about the settlement of the South Dakota prairie. Peder turned out to be entirely different, more cerebral, slower, less exhuberant. I read Giants to learn what my ancestors experienced. It turned out to be a truly significant and exciting novel, but I didn't learn much about the Norwegian-American experience. I picked up Peder to discover what happened to the characters in Giant. Instead, I gained a deeper understanding of the joys and agonies that my family must have experienced as they lost their Norwegian language and culture, becoming Americans.

Peder starts off slowly. Revolving around the title character, it uses Peder Holm's experience as an adolescent as a device to illustrate the changes and conflicts within the Norwegian-American community. As he becomes more mature, and his dilemmas become more adult, the story becomes more engrossing.

I have to admit that I set this one down for about a month before finishing it, but I'm ready to read the next one. In many ways, it is a more significant novel than Giants. It was moving and thought-provoking. Great novels are not always an easy read--this one is worth a bit of patience through Peder's childhood years.

"Giant's in the Earth" ended with Per Hansa going off into the snow storm. This novel picks up on his son (who was only 4 when his father disappeared) and his growing years and also fills in the gaps that one had to assumed happened in the first book. A very powerful story regarding a Norwegian boy growing up in America. I only wish that Rolvaag extended it a few more chapters. Peder Victorious, all though it moved slowly at times, was well worth the reading!

Little Crow shares his own personal intrepetation of his Dakota/Lakota world view and how to apply the sacred truths of not only taking accountability for all of one's actions in daily living, but for learning to take responsibility for every thought we create within ourselves, which, in turn, affects everyone and everything else in the universe.

This is a well-written book and Little Crow is succinct and to the point. If you start applying what he writes about, be ready for some life-changing experiences. This book is not for the lazy person but rather for one who is ready to "get up off your spiritual ass and go out and live your life," as the author so eloquently puts it!

This book is a roadmap for finding your way out of 21st century stress, violence and emptiness. It is clearly written, based upon the wisdom of the First Americans, and how that wisdom (oral tradition) can be put to use in bringing balance to comtemporary living. This book parallels the wisdom shared each Sunday morning at The Gathering in Garden Grove, California. What you hear at The Gathering is what you get in reading The Sacred Hill Within. If you're desperate in getting a handle on day-to-day insanities, get ahold of this book. It will do your spirit a world of good.

This spiritual human being "Little Crow" has been an instrument for my healing and growth since 1991. Since attending "The Gathering", held each Sunday in Garden Grove, California, I have had the blessing of many insights and spiritual people to join me on my path. The tenants of the American Indian Church simplify the altruistic beliefs of most indigenous peoples, hence "World Views". A wonderful gift for those that wish to seek their own individual sacredness.

Tired of the same old stories? Fed up with people always recommending Grisham, Patterson, and Clancy novels to you? Break the mold with West River.

This collection of capitaviting stories from the American West retraces history in an honest and accurate fashion. The beatuy of this book is the wide spectrum of perceptions expressed within its pages. Reading stories about the interactions of settelers and Native Americans from different perspectives enlightens the reader in a way that few other books do.

However, I am even more impressed with the level of documentation in this book than I am with the stories told in it. I feel as though I have been given a special looking glass that provides me with an honest, impartial view of the past--truly a great gift.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking truth and beauty within American History.

West River is a wonderful book filled with interesting stories and anectdotes from the early history of the American West. Its treatment of Native American and White Settler relations is refreshingly honest and extremely well documented.

Simpson's West River brings to light many exciting, thought-provoking, and poignant stories of the American West that have not made it into our traditional history text books. The more I read about them in this book, the more I wished that I had been able to learn this side of history earlier. They are great stories and an important part of our country's heritage.

Simpson's unique style of writing also makes you feel as if you are hearing the stories being told by the people who lived during the time. And his careful documentation is equally impressive.

I would recommend this book to anyone - especially those who are interested in the forgotten stories of our western history in the great plains.

West River is a wonderful book filled with interesting stories and anectdotes from the early history of the American West. Its treatment of Native American and White Settler relations is refreshingly honest and extremely well documented.

Simpson's West River brings to light many exciting, thought-provoking, and poignant stories of the American West that have not made it into our traditional history text books. The more I read about them in this book, the more I wished that I had been able to learn this side of history earlier. They are great stories and an important part of our country's heritage.

Simpson's unique style of writing also makes you feel as if you are hearing the stories being told by the people who lived during the time. And his careful documentation is equally impressive.

I would recommend this book to anyone - especially those who are interested in the forgotten stories of our western history in the great plains.

What a courageous woman Bess Corey was to go into the unkown territory of mostly crude men and make a home for herself. She didn't let anyone take advantage of her, yet she was sweet. She was an honest, humorous, hardworking woman. This book kept my interest from beginning to end. The only disappointment was that she didn't write more letters! This would be a great book for anyone who wants to really understand how America was built.

I came across this book purely by accident in the library, and since the title sounded interesting, I decided to check it out just to see what the letters were like. I was expecting dry letters written by a hardened woman. Boy, was I wrong -- I love Bess! She's so funny, and her letters back home are wonderfully descriptive. At 21, she left Iowa to stake a claim in South Dakota. I'm only about a third of the way through the book right now, and she's living alone in a tiny 2-room house on her claim, getting up at 5 to walk two miles through the snow to the schoolhouse where she teaches. At night, she writes these letters home, describing her day in great detail. This book is a treasure. I'm ordering a copy for my home library right now. :-)

This book is about a girl named Christine who finds a mysterious cave of wonderous objects. Her brother is extremly ill in this magical story.This story takes place in the dust-bowl times.What Christine finds in this significant cave is unbelieveible and amazing. This Book is the best I've ever read in my entire life. I reccomend this book to every body in the world!!! I absolutely LOVE this book!!! It's the bomb!!! -Jillian

This is one of my daughter's and my favorite books. It tells the story of an adolescent girl coming of age during the dust bowl. While her family prepares to leave their homestead if rain doesn't come within the week, the girl and her brother discover and explore a cave which contains valuable geodes. They must decide whether to reveal the existence of the cave to their father, or to keep it secret in order to preserve it from the same destruction that the surrounding woods have met at the hands of desperate settlers. This book is an excellent read aloud book for advanced 6 year olds and up, or an excellent read for 9+ year olds. Be forewarned, though, that there are several pages that deal with the onset of menstration.

These four very different and very wonderful short stories are about lives that, by today's standards, are simpler yet certainly more difficult. The rich detail will be nostalgic to some and fascinating to others. In whatever way you relate to these stories, you will be drawn in by the author's captivating narratives. These are not "the good old days" kinds of stories. I don't want to reveal too much, but none of them are at all what I expected. Bill's imagination and his insight will leave you breathless and thoughtful.

The promise of Dakota Incarnate lies in its beautiful cover. The four fast-moving, fascinating stories present a kaleidoscope of life in the early days of Dakota. Rosebud Requiem tells of a lonely homesteader seeking a mail-order bride; David's Drummer acquaints us with a young Hutterite wife living in the Gadsden Colony who awaits word of her critically ill soldier husband; The Essay Contest introduces us to eleven year old Jackie and tells of his observa- tions of life in small town Nunda as he strives to write a winning essay; Dakota Reincarnation startles us when a thirty-eight year old grandfather meets his sixty-nine year old grandson in an airport in Washington, D.C. My expectations of this book were more than fulfilled. Sometimes, you CAN tell a book by its cover!

Reading this book was a wonderful experience. What a touching story of a family that develops as all families do; realizing we love our family members even more when we accept them loving us the only way they know how. All this against the backdrop of a still unspoiled area of America. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this region, history or living.
Allen

People from the prairies of South Dakota and North Dakota aren't pretentious. Well, some might be, but they tend to stand out in miserable ways. Linda Hasselstrom's writing is like the people of her home: careful, persistent, simple, surprisingly complex, fascinating. Your own family and home may be very different from Hasselstrom's, but through her writing you'll gain a better understanding of your own people and place of origin. Hasselstrom is a master; she shows us how to cherish the tribes we were born into, despite the inevitable losses and disappointments of life. She ranks right up there with Kathleen Norris and Patricia Hampl.

This is the first book I ever bought about Native Americans. It was really great. Funny, sad, shows great love. More, more!

Louis is angry and irreverent, but yet not offensive. It'a a very quick, enjoyable read. The short stories in this work touch on every issue you can imagine, mixing humans and anthropomorphic creatures against a graphic backdrop of contemporary reservation life. If you like Sherman ALexie, you'll love Louis!

James G. Abourezk, a former United States Senator from South Dakota (1973-1979), has enlightened us with his autobiographical account of the motivating experiences in his life. A prominent dissenter in the political mainstream, Abourezk recounts his early years growing up in South Dakota, the son of Lebanese immigrants. From early on, he championed the causes of the underprivileged, having been raised near a Sioux reservation.

Abourezk reflects his encounters and adventures which made him an ardent supporter of issues which would make him be branded as a "troublemaker" years later in the United Staes Senate. He supported American Indian causes, labor rights, civil rights, Palestinian national rights, and environmental concerns, causes which sometimes were at odds with his liberal supporters.

I recommend this book because it is an inspirational account of living the "American dream." Abourezk's determination and enthusiasm of making a difference is well presented in this captivating autobiography.

Best Of The Best From The Great Plains Cookbook compiles its recipes from 88 cookbooks drawn from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. From a non-alcoholic Hot Buttered Rum to Mexican Ice Cream, this impressive, highly recommended compendium offers up wonderful selections for any family meal time or celebratory dining occasion. Of special interest to cookbook enthusiasts is the extensive listing of titles for the entire "Best of the Best" cookbook series from Quail Ridge Press.