U. of Oklahoma Press

Arapaho journeys; photographs and stories from the Wind River Reservation.

Having taken a job as a social worker on the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming in 1973, Wiles began taking black and white photographs of the Arapaho people and would continue to do so for the next 30 years. In 2004, she began collecting stories from the Arapaho to accompany those photographs and the result is presented here in what she refers to as a "mosaic ethnography" of the Arapaho people. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

First Manhattans; a brief history of the Munsee Indians.

Grumet, an anthropologist, offers a pared down version of his sweeping work The Munsee Indians: A History (2009) detailing the history of the Munsee Indians of Manhattan from their first contact with Europeans in 1524 to their relocation to reservations in Ontario, Wisconsin, and Ohio in the mid 18th century. He chronicles the sale of the island by the Munsee in 1626 and the aftermath as European settlers continued to move into the area. 9 maps have been included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The jar of severed hands; Spanish deportation of Apache prisoners of war, 1770-1810.

Santiago, author and director of the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, tells the story of Spanish attempts to quell the Apache attacks on the northern frontier of New Spain in the late 1770s. In the telling, the author also explores the larger political and cultural issues during the colonial period in the Southwest and Northern Mexico. The Spanish utilized a strange combination of extreme violence in their attempts against the Apaches, which adds to the story's fascination. A bibliography and additional reading suggestions are included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Mormon Rebellion; America's first civil war, 1857-1858.

In 1857, President Buchanan ordered US troops to Utah to replace Brigham Young as governor and restore order in the territory. Bigler, former director of the Utah Board of State History, and Bagley, an independent historian of the West, use long-suppressed sources to show that, contrary to common perceptions, the Mormon rebellion was not the result of Buchanan's 'blunder,' nor was it a David-and-Goliath tale in which an abused religious minority heroically defied the unjust government. The authors argue that Mormon leaders fully intended to establish an independent nation in the West. Primary sources analyzed include territorial militia records and the papers of Brigham Young. The authors seek to provide a more factual basis for considering the causes and consequences of this confrontation, and to shed light on the mistakes the American republic made when it first wrestled with theocracy. B&w historical photos and maps are included. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Shooting from the hip; photographs and essays.

Cook, a photojournalist and resident of Oklahoma City, showcases the everyday life and people of the region through this collection of photographs and short essays. Subjects include cowboys and western agricultural life, poverty, tragedy and death, old age, Native Americans and cultural tradition. The use of over-exposure and varied contrast provide a consistent mood throughout the collection of black and white photos. The volume features an introduction by film actor James Garner, an Oklahoma native. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Stories of old-time Oklahoma.

Dary, former head of the Gaylord College of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma, presents a collection of short articles originally published during Oklahoma's centennial in 2007. They illustrate the state's colorful history through its incarnations as an Indian Territory, outlaw haven, oil and cattle boom state, dustbowl, and beyond. Organizing his tales by subjects such as geography, migration, Indian history, treasure, outlaws, celebrities, and historical events (and including a spectrum of characters such as bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd, cowboy superstar Gene Autry, and folk singer Woodie Guthrie) Dary covers a broad array of Oklahoman tales in a simple, straightforward presentation with the feel of flipping through a small town newspaper's history column. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Valentine T. McGillycuddy; army surgeon, agent to the Sioux.

Moulton, a prolific western history author, has written a biography of Army surgeon Valentine T. McGillycuddy (1849-1939), a man whose life encapsulated major events in American history that profoundly changed the lives of Native people. The author chronicles his experiences on the northern plains as not only a physician but also as a topographer, cartographer, and Indian agent. The author drew from government documents, interviews, family papers, and other sources to portray McGillycuddy, a cultured physician who loved the theater and music and who also "...drank military officers under the table." It is an engaging account of a singular individual and a revealing series of snapshots of an equally singular era in American history. An imprint of the University of Oklahoma Press. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Violent encounters; interviews on western massacres.

The authors interview nine experts on violence in the American West. Those interviewed include academic historians, National Park Service historians, an anthropologist, and a journalist. They challenge both the traditional patriotic view of Western expansion and politically correct ideologies on violent interethnic encounters in the 19th-century American West. The interview format allows questions and speculations and offers insight into the methods of historical research. The interviews offer new perspectives on well-known events such as the Wounded Knee Massacre, as well as less-known events such as the Camp Grant Massacre, in which whites, Mexicans, and Tohono O'odham Indians killed more than 100 Apache men, women, and children. The interviews also cover broad themes such as the political uses made of history. The book includes b&w historical photos and illustrations, plus b&w contemporary photos of sites, b&w maps, and b&w portraits of those interviewed. The book is for scholars and students of history and historiography. The authors have participated in the work of organizations dedicated to the preservation of National Historic Trails, and four of the interviews were published previously in journals of historical trail associations. (Annotation ©2011 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)