A Great Plains Reader

"The land of linear horizons, the Great Plains summon imagination from any writer who would set a poem, novel, or essay in them. From the explorers, settlers, and Native Americans who have done so, the editors anchor this anthology with famous scriveners such as James Fenimore Cooper, Willa Cather, and Louise Erdrich, as well as a wealth of authors far less famed... This treasury contains more than 100 excerpted selections. Well worth a library's consideration."-Booklist Booklist "One of the great features of this work is that one does not need to read the entire book to get a flavor for the rich and infinite variety of the people and landscape that make the Great Plains a truly unique experience and place. You can turn to virtually any story, essay, or poem and immediately become immersed into a region that has been praised and cussed from the arrival of European explorers and settlers to present day inhabitants."-Mike Nobles, The Oklahoma Observer -- Mike Nobles The Oklahoma Observer "Here is a delightful potpourri of poems, essays, excerpts from longer works and short stories about the Great Plains."-Phaedra Greenwood, The Santa Fe New Mexican The Santa Fe New Mexican "The collection is a fine introduction to a misunderstood place that still inspires reflection."-Kenneth E. Hada, Journal of the West Journal of the West "A marvelous collection of prose and poetry, fiction and non-fiction reflecting varied responses to the land and its inhabitants... Yet like the blow-out penstemon, the text contains equally beautiful works that might otherwise go unnoticed by the student for whom this collection serves as an introduction to Plains literature and can also be appreciated by a more seasoned, native reader... [A Great Plains Reader] introduces its audience to a complex ecosystem, a rich narrative tradition and history, and an evolving physical and psychological landscape. But they also create a subject-a Great Plains reader-who will want not only to absorb the readings that object contains, but also to be challenged anew in thinking about the ways the land and writing about the land shape who we are."-Philip R. Coleman-Hull, Great Plains Quarterly -- Philip R. Coleman-Hull Great Plains Quarterly "Informing, revealing, confirming, infuriating, and always holding our interest, this anthology is a masterful fusion of history and myth."-Ed Imhoff, Virginia Quarterly Review -- Ed Imhoff Virginia Quarterly Review "The editor's wide range of selections helps us understand that the whole truth of the region has not been told... The general reader who knows little or nothing about the Plains will discover the region's complexity by reading the selections, and those who know the subject from experience or study will discover a wide range of insights and subjects for further investigation."-Robert L. Berner, Western American Literature -- Robert L. Berner Western American Literature