Any Given Day: The Life and Times of Jessie Lee Brown by Jessie Lee Brown Foveaux.
Jessie Lee Foveaux, who wrote this memoir when she was eighty years old, records memories of an idyllic childhood spent in the early twentieth century rural United States. Foveaux tells how she survived illnesses, the depression, two world wars, and marriage to an alcoholic while raising eight children. RC 45164.
Army Brat: A Memoir by William Jay Smith.
The son of an enlisted man, a corporal in the Sixth Infantry Band, offers a frequently comic account of regular Army life spent in and around Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, from 1921 to 1941. A record of Smith's artistic development as a poet emerges, as does a moving portrait of his father who was a gambler, drinker, and bootlegger. BR 4720.
The Awakening of American Nationalism, 1815 – 1828 by George Dangerfield.
The period from 1815 to 1828 marks a time of extraordinary growth and development in the United States, during which American nationalism evolved and ripened. Initiated by the Peace of Ghent, this period includes the Panic of 1819, the Missouri Compromise, and the Monroe Doctrine. RC 27210.
Becoming Laura Ingalls Wilder by John E. Miller.
The biography of the woman who wrote the Little House on the Prairie series. Examines how the child who lived those experiences evolved into the mature author who wrote about them. Discusses the role of her daughter, Rose, in encouraging and editing her novels. RC 48844.
A Book of Bees and How to Keep Them by Sue Hubbell.
A book full of good nature and advice by a former university librarian who tends 300 hives in the Missouri Ozarks. Hubbell, who is known as the "Bee Queen" to her neighbors, includes quick, friendly sketches of local residents and quotations of classical authors from Virgil to E. B. White. RC 28362.
Celia, a Slave by Melton Alonza McLaurin.
Fourteen-year-old Celia was purchased by Robert Newson from Callaway County, Missouri, in 1850 and endured his sexual advances for the next five years, bearing him two children. When Celia became involved with another slave she insisted she stop sleeping with Newsom, she defended herself against her owner, killing him with her blows. The efforts of her appointed lawyers could not overcome the lack of provision within the law for slaves' rights. RC 34515.
Chester Himes: A Life by James Sallis.
Discusses the African American novelist's Missouri childhood, the inception of his writing career from prison, and the failure of his early works in a racially charged climate. Explains that Himes became famous writing crime stories while an expatriate in Europe. Some strong language. RC 52754.
The Civil War in the American West by Alvin M. Josephy.
Little attention has been focused on Civil War battles that took place in the huge western areas of the country, from the Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Ocean. Josephy shows that westerners did not idly watch the conflicts in the East, but rather took up arms for the North or the South, depending on their loyalties. Events include the Missouri-Kansas border disputes and the Native American uprisings in Minnesota. RC 34873.
Dangerous Passage: The Santa Fe Trail and the Mexican War by William Y. Chalfant.
Set in the late 1840s, this is the story of a road that ran from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the role it played in the Mexican War and in claiming southwest territory for the United States. The road, known as the Santa Fe Trail, played an equally dramatic role during encounters with Native Americans that soon escalated into the Indian Wars. RC 39684.
Daughter of Destiny: Kathryn Kuhlman, Her Story by Jamie Buckingham.
The biography of the woman from Missouri who became an itinerant evangelist at sixteen and a famous healer. In her early days, Kuhlman slept in chicken houses and preached in warehouses, but at her death she was a millionaire with luxury cars and fashionable clothes. An intriguing portrait of the evangelist that reveals her peculiarities and failings, but admires her faith and her astonishing ministry. RC 13085.
Dying to Get Married: The Courtship and Murder of Julie Miller by Ellen Francis Harris.
Depression and other psychological problems probably caused Julie Miller to overlook any quirks in her new boyfriend's seemingly perfect facade. But ten weeks after their marriage, when her corpse was found strapped to a chair in her burning garage, her husband's proclamations of innocence rang false to those investigating the case. Contains violence and explicit descriptions of sex.RC 34588.
Farm: A Year in the Life of an American Farmer by Richard Rhodes.
The author, who grew up on a farm, describes a year in the life of a midwestern farm family. Rhodes brings to life the courage and creativity required to survive capricious weather and market prices. He also makes clear the rewards of farming. RC 31102.
The Ghost in the Little House by William V. Holtz.
Rose Wilder Lane was the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder who was the author and main character of the Little House series. Holtz contends that Lane, who authored biographies and articles as well as ghostwriting for others, was the actual talent behind her mother's juvenile books. Using letters and journal entries, he details Lane's life including the financial support she provided for her parents and friends, forsaking her own needs. RC 36988.
Harry S. Truman by Margaret Truman.
Covers the former president's life from his early days and political career in Missouri through the years in Washington where he served as a United States Senator, Vice President, and President. Personal recollections by his daughter are interspersed throughout the narrative. RC 6138.
In Broad Daylight by Harry N. MacLean.
When Ken McElroy was gunned down on the streets of Skidmore, Missouri, in 1981 in front of almost fifty people, a reign of terror that had lasted over ten years was finally ended. MacLean recounts the events that led up to McElroy's murder and explains why the townspeople may have protected the killer. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. RC 30076.
Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker in Her Time by Phyllis Rose.
Josephine Baker, born into poverty in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1906, began her rise to fame and fortune in 1925 when she was recruited to dance in a black review in Paris. Her charming personality and uninhibited performances took Paris by storm. Baker also worked undercover on the behalf of France in World War II, and for her civil rights activism and support of humanitarian causes was accorded a state funeral. RC 32267.
Jessie: A Novel Based on the Life of Jessie Benton Freemont by Judy Alter.
After her husband's death, Jessie Benton Fremont begins writing about her life's involvement in nineteenth century politics, issues, and adventures. Jessie sees her life in three stages: as the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri; as the wife of John Charles Fremont, explorer, soldier, senator, and presidential candidate; and as a historical writer and ghostwriter for her father and her husband. RC 41852.
Jesse James Was His Name by William A. Settle.
This well documented volume cuts through the tangle of legend and folklore concerning the American bandit, Jesse James. WOD 381, BR 7047.
Judgment Day by Bob Lancaster.
On July 10, 1981, 47-year-old Ken Rex McElroy was shot dead on the streets of the little Missouri community of Skidmore. He was shot in his pick up truck, in broad daylight, with several citizens present. Possible witnesses left the scene of the crime without notifying authorities. If anyone knows who pulled the trigger, they will not talk. Was the death a vigilante killing? Strong language. RC 20431.
Life Was Simpler Then by Loula Grace Erdman.
Recollections of the author's childhood in a small western Missouri town when Central was an all-knowing operator at the other end of the wire, and harvesting ice or making apple butter was a neighborhood affair. RC 7616.
Living the Natural Life by Grace Firth.
Anecdotes from the author's youth when her Missouri grandparents practiced the country way of living and when she taught native children in Seward, Alaska. Includes specific techniques for curing hams, bacon, moose, caribou, and canning, pickling, and home brewing. RC 8716.
Mark Twain: The Man and His Adventure by Richard B. Lyttle.
Portrait of a man often cited as the quintessential American author. Lyttle traces the life of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, from his premature birth in a frontier village in Missouri through his career as a popular writer and a famous speaker.RC 41051.
Missouri by William R. Sanford.
Millions of people feel that they know Missouri through the books of its most famous author, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. The state's largest city, St. Louis, has long been known as the “Gateway to the West” because of its strategic location near the meeting point of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. This is a great introduction to the "Show Me State" for people of all ages. America the Beautiful series. RC 34624, BR 9024.
Nathan Boone and the American Frontier by R. Douglas Hurt.
Biography of Daniel Boone's youngest son, who followed in his father's footsteps as a frontiersman. Nathan worked as a trapper and hunter, a surveyor, and a soldier, eventually settling in Missouri with a family of fourteen children. He was instrumental in
the removal of tribes to the Indian Territory that enabled settlement of the plains by pioneers. RC 48647.
On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
The diary, kept in a little five cent notebook describes the journey made by covered wagon across the prairie frontier. RC 8811.
Phil Sheridan and His Army by Paul Andrew Hutton.
A study of the post-Civil War career of General Philip H. Sherridan, the nation's principal Indian fighter. From 1867 until 1883, when he became commanding general of the Army, Sheridan administered the Military Division of Missouri. Under his command, the final Indian campaigns of the century were planned and fought. RC 26665.
The Santa Fe Trail: Its History, Legends, and Lore by David Dary.
Traces the development and decline of the 900 mile trade route that linked Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Examines its cultural and political heritage from the arrival of the Spanish settlers in the New World through its replacement by the railroad. Relates personal experiences of travelers. RC 53106.
Truman by David G. McCullough.
This is a monumental study of the life and times of the plainspoken, ordinary man from Missouri who became an extraordinary president. McCullough details Truman's accomplishments as a politician and a statesman, as well as his failings and his lack of sophistication. The author also recreates the famous 1948 presidential election, which he calls Truman's finest hour. RC 34820.
Westering Man: The Life of Joseph Walker by Bil Gilbert.
This book reconstructs the life and times of one of America's greatest yet least known frontier heroes. A man who, among other things, was the first sheriff of Independence, Missouri; discoverer of Yosemite; surveyor of the Santa Fe Trail; and leader of the first wagon train to California. RC 19982.
White Town Drowsing by Ron Powers.
The commentator returns to his hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, and examines the place he finds and the place he remembers. A loving, wary evocation of small town America. RC 25377.