Between AD 900-1600, the native peoples of the Mississippi River Valley and other areas of the Eastern Woodlands of the United States conceived and executed one of the greatest artistic traditions of the Precolumbian Americas. Created in the media of copper, shell, stone, clay, and wood, and incised or carved with a complex set of symbols and motifs, this seven-hundred-year-old artistic tradition functioned within a multiethnic landscape centered on communities dominated by earthen mounds and plazas. Previous researchers have referred to this material as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC).

This groundbreaking volume brings together ten essays by leading anthropologists, archaeologists, and art historians, who analyze the iconography of Mississippian art in order to reconstruct the ritual activities, cosmological vision, and ideology of these ancient precursors to several groups of contemporary Native Americans. Significantly, the authors correlate archaeological, ethnographic, and art historical data that illustrate the stylistic differences within Mississippian art as well as the numerous changes that occur through time. The research also demonstrates the inadequacy of the SECC label, since Mississippian art is not limited to the Southeast and reflects stylistic changes over time among several linked but distinct religious traditions. The term Mississippian Iconographic Interaction Sphere (MIIS) more adequately describes the corpus of this Mississippian art. Most important, the authors illustrate the overarching nature of the ancient Native American religious system, as a creation unique to the native American cultures of the eastern United States.

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Vincas P. Steponaitis, F. Kent Reilly III, James F . Garber - Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms, Inte rpretations of Mississippian Iconography (2007).pdf

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China Galland- Love Cemetery, Unburying the Secret History of Slaves (2007).jpg

By the eve of the Civil War, there were four million slaves in North America, and Harrison County was the largest slave-owning county in Texas. So when China Galland returned to research her family history there, it should not have surprised her to learn of unmarked cemeteries for slaves. "My daddy never let anybody plow this end of the field," a local matron told a startled Galland during a visit to her antebellum mansion. "The slaves are buried there." Galland's subsequent effort to help restore just one of these cemeteries—Love Cemetery—unearths a quintessential American story of prejudice, land theft, and environmental destruction, uncovering racial wounds that are slow to heal.

Galland gathers an interracial group of local religious leaders and laypeople to work on restoring Love Cemetery, securing community access to it, and rededicating it to the memories of those buried there. In her attempt to help reconsecrate Love Cemetery, Galland unearths the ghosts of slavery that still haunt us today. Research into county historical records and interviews with local residents uncover two versions of history—one black, one white. Galland unpacks these tangled narratives to reveal a history of shame—of slavery and lynching, Jim Crow laws and land takings (the theft of land from African-Americans), and ongoing exploitation of the land surrounding the cemetery by oil and gas drilling. With dread she even discovers how her own ancestors benefited from the racial imbalance.

She also encounters some remarkable, inspiring characters in local history. Surprisingly, the original deed for the cemetery's land was granted not by a white plantation owner, but by Della Love Walker, the niece of the famous African-American cowboy Deadwood Dick. Through another member of the Love Cemetery committee, Galland discovers a connection to Marshall's native son, James L. Farmer, a founder of Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and organizer of the 1961 Freedom Riders. In researching local history, Galland also learns of the Colored Farmers' Alliance, a statewide group formed in the 19th century that took up issues ranging from low wages paid to cotton pickers to emigration to Liberia.

By telling this one story of ultimate interracial and intergenerational cooperation, Galland provides a model of the kind of communal remembering and reconciliation that can begin to heal the deep racial scars of an entire nation.

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Robert Mazrim - The Sangamo Frontier, History and Archaeology in the Shadow of Abraham Lincoln (2006 ).jpg

When Abraham Lincoln moved to Illinois’ Sangamo Country in 1831, he found a pioneer community transforming from a cluster of log houses along an ancient trail to a community of new towns and state roads. But two of the towns vanished in a matter of years, and many of the activities and lifestyles that shaped them were almost entirely forgotten. In The Sangamo Frontier, archaeologist Robert Mazrim unearths the buried history of this early American community, breathing new life into a region that still rests in Lincoln’s shadow.

Named after a shallow river that cuts through the prairies of central Illinois, the Sangamo Country—an area that now encompasses the capital city of Springfield and present-day Sangamon County—was first colonized after the War of 1812. For the past fifteen years, Mazrim has conducted dozens of excavations there, digging up pieces of pioneer life, from hand-forged iron and locally made crockery to pewter spoons and Staffordshire teacups. And here, in beautifully illustrated stories of each dig, he shows how each of these small artifacts can teach us something about the lifestyles of people who lived on the frontier nearly two hundred years ago. Allowing us to see past the changed modern landscape and the clichés of pioneer history, Mazrim deftly uses his findings to portray the homes, farms, taverns, and pottery shops where Lincoln’s neighbors once lived and worked.

Drawing readers into the thrill of discovery, The Sangamo Frontier inaugurates a new kind of archaeological history that both enhances and challenges our written history. It imbues today’s landscape with an authentic ghostliness that will reawaken the curiosity of anyone interested in the forgotten people and places that helped shape our nation.

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David Grover - The Unforgiving Coast, Maritime Dis asters of the Pacific Northwest (2002).jpg

The Pacific Northwest Coast can be as deadly as it is beautiful, as demonstrated by the hundreds of shipwrecks and maritime disasters that have occurred in these waters. In "The Unforgiving Coast," David Grover vividly tells the true stories of some of the deadliest maritime disasters of the twentieth century.

As a former chief mate in the merchant marine and commander in the Naval Reserve who has served in Northwest waters, Grover knows their grandeur and dangers firsthand. And he has drawn on his expertise as a widely published marine historian to select nine of the most dramatic major accidents that happened between the California border and Vancouver Island, including two fatal shipwrecks on the treacherous Columbia River bar, known as the "Graveyard of the Pacific."

"The Unforgiving Coast" offers a penetrating look into each of these nine catastrophes, focusing on the unique, the inexplicable, the poignant, the heroic, and the tragic elements that make them remarkable. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Grover tries to explain not just what happened in each disaster, but how and why it happened. The stories vary considerably-some are mysteries, some are adventure thrillers, and some defy categorization.

Compelling and highly readable, David Grover's book uncovers the true stories behind these ships and their terrible fates.

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David Grover - The Unforgiving Coast, Maritime Dis asters of the Pacific Northwest (2002).pdf

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Adam King - Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, Chron ology, Content, Contest (2007).jpg

One of the most venerable concepts in Southeastern archaeology is that of the Southern Cult. The idea has its roots in the intensely productive decade (archaeologically) of the 1930s and is fundamentally tied to yet another venerable concept - Mississippian culture. The last comprehensive study of the melding of these two concepts into the term Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC) is more than two decades old, yet our understanding of the objects, themes, and artistic styles associated with the SECC have changed a great deal. This work presents new data and new ideas on the temporal and social contexts, artistic styles, and symbolic themes included in the complex. It also demonstrates that engraved shell gorgets, along with other SECC materials, were produced before A.D. 1400.

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Adam King - Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, Chron ology, Content, Contest (2007).pdf

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Scott Tribble - A Colossal Hoax, The Giant from Ca rdiff that Fooled America (2008).jpg

This book relates the story and implications of The Cardiff Giant hoax. This hoax was one of the leading questions of the day, and how citizens answered it said much about Americans in 1869 as well as about America more generally.

"I had almost no knowledge about the Cardiff Giant before coming across this gem. What an amazing and unbelievable story...It's hard to believe so many people were fooled so badly!

While the lives of the perpetrators are given extraordinary depth and detail throughout the book, the depiction of 1869 America is what truly tells the tale. Tribble does an excellent job of placing the hoax within the context of the times, exploring how the state of the nation played a major role in its success.

An extremely enjoyable book, very well written, and highly recommended." - reader's review.

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Scott Tribble - A Colossal Hoax, The Giant from Ca rdiff that Fooled America (2008).pdf

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William Deverell - A Companion to the American Wes t (2004).jpg

A Companion to the American West is a rigorous, illuminating introduction to the history of the American West. Twenty-five essays by expert scholars synthesize the best and most provocative work in the field. Each essay covers a subtopic of western American history, its major concerns, and its major works to provide a comprehensive overview of themes and historiography. The essays not only come from the perspective of the “new western history,” reflecting a resurgence in both scholarly and public interest in the region, but also reflect other schools and positions, such as ethnic studies, cultural studies, and subfields of environmental and gender history.

The Companion covers such topics as industrialism, women, Native Americans, exploration, religion, politics, and art. Also included is a combined bibliography to aid further research. The essays are lively, well written, and suited to the student, scholar, and all interested readers of the history of the American West.

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William Deverell - A Companion to the American Wes t (2004).pdf

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Osprey - Essential Histories 6 - Daniel Marston - The Seven Years' War (2001).jpg

A study of the Seven Years' War, reviewing the grand strategies of the combatants and the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. The narrative is supported by official war papers, personal diaries and memoirs, and official reports.

About the Author
Daniel Marston was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He completed both his BA and MA in History at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. The subject of his MA thesis was the performance of the British Army in North America during the Seven Years War. He is currently living in England, where he is working towards completion of a D.Phil in the History of War at Balliol College, University of Oxford

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Brad D. Lookingbill - War Dance at Fort Marion, Pl ains Indian War Prisoners (2006).jpg

War Dance at Fort Marion tells the powerful story of Kiowa, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Arapaho chiefs and warriors detained as prisoners of war by the U.S. Army. Held from 1875 until 1878 at Fort Marion in Saint Augustine, Florida, they participated in an educational experiment, initiated by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, as an alternative to standard imprisonment. This book, the first complete account of a unique cohort of Native peoples, brings their collective story to life and pays tribute to their individual talents and achievements.

Throughout their incarceration, the Plains Indian leaders followed Pratt's rules and met his educational demands even as they remained true to their own identities. Their actions spoke volumes about the sophistication of their cultural traditions, as they continued to practice Native dances and ceremonies and also illustrated their history and experiences in the now-famous ledger drawing books.

Brad D. Lookingbill's War Dance at Fort Marion draws on numerous primary documents, especially Native American accounts, to reconstruct the war prisoners' story. The author shows that what began as Pratt's effort to end the Indians' resistance to their imposed exile transformed into a new vision to mold them into model citizens in mainstream American society, though this came at the cost of intense personal suffering and loss for the Indians.

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Brad D. Lookingbill - War Dance at Fort Marion, Pl ains Indian War Prisoners (2006).pdf

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Paul Semonin - American Monster, How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of Nati onal Identity (2006).jpg

USA Books - Paul Semonin - American Monster, How the Nations First...ric Creature Became a Symbol of National Identity 2006.jpg

In 1801, the first complete mastodon skeleton was excavated in the Hudson River Valley, marking the climax of a century-long debate in America and Europe over the identity of a mysterious creature known as the American Incognitum. Long before the dinosaurs were discovered and the notion of geological time acquired currency, many citizens of the new republic believed this mythical beast to be a ferocious carnivore, capable of crushing deer and elk in its "monstrous grinders." During the American Revolution, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson avidly collected its bones; for the founding fathers, its massive jaws symbolized the violence of the natural world and the emerging nation's own dreams of conquest.

Paul Semonin's lively history of this icon of American nationalism focuses on the link between patriotism and prehistoric nature. From the first fist-sized tooth found in 1705, which Puritan clergyman claimed was evidence of human giants, to the scientific racialism associated with the discovery of extinct species, Semonin traces the evangelical beliefs, Enlightenment thought, and Indian myths which led the founding fathers to view this prehistoric monster as a symbol of nationhood.

Semonin also sees the mystery of the mastodon in early America as a cautionary tale about the first flowering of our narcissistic fascination with a prehistoric nature ruled by ferocious carnivores. As such, American Monster offers fresh insights into the genesis of the ongoing fascination with dinosaurs.

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Paul Semonin - American Monster, How the Nation's First Prehistoric Creature Became a Symbol of Nati onal Identity (2006).pdf

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Jon Lewis - Hollywood v. Hard Core, How the Strugg le Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industr y (2000).jpg

USA Books - Jon Lewis - Hollywood v. Hard Core, How the Struggle O...Over Censorship Created the Modern Film Industry 2000.jpg

Lewis's exhaustive history of censorship in American motion pictures starts off with a bang as he traces how the fledgling Motion Picture Association of America allied itself in 1947 with the House Committee on Un-American Activities to increase its power. The truth of the Hollywood adage "when they tell you it's not about the money... it's about the money" is repeatedly confirmed as Lewis demonstrates how the MPAA, which is supposed to serve as a watchdog for parents, really functions to promote big Hollywood business and discourage upstart independents. Lewis's chronicle of prominent skirmishes with the MPAA censors begins in the '50s (with The Moon Is Blue, Baby Doll and Tea and Sympathy) and continues into the '60s, when an X rating didn't necessarily indicate pornographic material (Midnight Cowboy, A Clockwork Orange, The Killing of Sister George), before moving into the present day (Eyes Wide Shut, Showgirls). The MPAA doesn't come off as an evil censor so much as a money-driven business concernDunlike Ted Turner, who apparently sabotaged the release of his own company's Crash and Bastard Out of Carolina because of his distaste for the projects. Only a fraction of the book covers the few years in the early 1970s when Hollywood was actually threatened by the popularity of hardcore films like The Devil in Miss Jones and Deep Throat. If there's a problem with Lewis's investigative report, it's that it is exhaustively complete: there is no detail too small to trace back a century, making it an outstanding reference but too detailed for most general readers. Photos throughout.

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Duane A. Smith - Rocky Mountain Boom Town, History of Durango, Colorado. (1992).jpg

December 7, 1991, was a day for Americans to remember events of fifty years earlier, when World War II came crashing in on the United States with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Durango, Colorado, has changed immensely during the five decades since then, but no more subtly or significantly than in the past five years.

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Duane A. Smith - Rocky Mountain Boom Town, History of Durango, Colorado. (1992).CHM

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Sidney Warburg - Hitler's Secret Backers (1999).jpg

American bankers supplied Adolf Hitler with millions of dollars to help build up his Nazi party. Warburg was a joint owner of the New York bank, Kuhn Loeb & Cie; he describes three conversations he held with Hitler at the request of American financiers. This book was originally publisher in Holland in 1933, shortly before Warburg's death.

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Sidney Warburg - Hitler's Secret Backers (1999).pdf

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Junius P. Rodriguez - The Louisiana Purchase, An E ncyclopedia (2002).jpg

When you begin to look at Dr. Rodriguez's Encyclopedia, you become entranced and amazed at how many people and places where involved in the Louisiana Purchase. Rodriquez breaks down the book an writes a description for each person and event during the Louisiana purchase. As one of his students at Eureka College it is very obvious that he is an Expert about The Louisiana Purchase. I suggest if you don't anything or think you know everything about The Louisiana Purchase, I suggest reading Dr. Rodriguez's encyclopedia.
In 2003 the United States will celebrate the bicentennial of an event that was much more than a simple real estate transfer between the French government and the newly established American Republic. The acquisition of Louisiana territory was one of the defining moments in American history, doubling the nation's size and changing the course of American civilization and culture. This volume includes an A-to-Z of signed articles, information on the early American West and the Westward movement itself, important historical figures, important concepts, the reactions of individual states, frontier outposts, Native Americans and the benefit and costs of westward expansion.

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Junius P. Rodriguez - The Louisiana Purchase, An E ncyclopedia (2002).pdf

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Kathleen A. Cairns - The Enigma Woman, The Death S entence of Nellie May Madison (2007).jpg

In this intriguing cultural history, Kathleen A. Cairns tells the true tale of the first woman sentenced to death in California, Nellie May Madison. Her story offers a glimpse into law and disorder in 1930s Los Angeles while bringing to life a remarkable character whose plight reflects on the status of woman, the workings of the media and the judiciary system, and the stratification of society in her time. An intriguing cultural history, Cairnsâ€™s re-creation of the case from murder to trial to aftermath casts an eye forward to our own love-hate affair with celebrity crimes and our abiding ambivalence about domestic violence abuse as a defense for murder.

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Kathleen A. Cairns - The Enigma Woman, The Death S entence of Nellie May Madison (2007).pdf

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Joseph Cooper - Congress and the Decline of Public Trust (1999).jpg

Since the time of Watergate and Vietnam, trust in government has fallen precipitously. This can easily be sensed in the apathy and divisiveness that now characterize American politics, but it is perhaps most clearly revealed in poll data. The great majority of Americans do not trust the government “to do what’s right all or most of the time”. Nor do they believe that government is run for “the benefit of all” rather than for “a few big interests”. The nine essays in this volume detail the present character of distrust, analyze its causes, assess the dangers it poses for the future of representative government in the United States, and suggest remedies.The focus of the analysis is on Congress because of its pivotal role in representative government in the United States. The authors also examine patterns of trust in societal institutions and trust in the Presidency, especially in light of the Clinton impeachment controversy. Because the causes and effects of distrust are complex and pervasive, the individual chapters highlight many of the defining features and issues of contemporary American politics. These include the emergence of a politics that is far more ideological, candidate centered, and captive to interest groups, the changing character and enhanced importance of the media, the mounting costs of campaigns, the contradictions in public attitudes toward political leaders and processes, the causes and consequences of public misconceptions of democratic politics, and the need for reform in campaign finance, media practices, and civic education.

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Joseph Cooper - Congress and the Decline of Public Trust (1999).pdf

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John H. Richardson - My Father the Spy, An Investi gative Memoir (2006).jpg

As his father nears death in his retirement home in Mexico, John H. Richardson begins to unravel a life filled with drama and secrecy. John Sr. was a CIA "chief of station" on some of the hottest assignments of the Cold War, from the back alleys of occupied Vienna to the jungles of the Philippines—and especially Saigon, where he became a pivotal player in the turning point of the Vietnam War: the overthrow of South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. As John Jr. and his sister came of age in exotic postings across the world, they struggled to accommodate themselves to their driven, distant father, and their conflict opens a window on the tumult of the sixties and Vietnam.

Through the daily happenings at home and his father's actions, reconstructed from declassified documents as well as extensive interviews with former spies and government officials, Richardson reveals the innermost workings of a family enmeshed in the Cold War—and the deeper war that turns the world of the fathers into the world of the sons.

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