The Big Empty:
Contemporary Nebraska Nonfiction Writers
edited by Ladette Randolph and Nina Shevchuk-Murray

“A wise friend once recommended learning about an unfamiliar place by reading the works of authors who live there. That theory proves true with this collection of 27 previously published essays and excerpts by Nebraskan nonfiction  writers. . . . This diverse collection enables the reader to experience life in Nebraska. An excellent selection for regional libraries and academic literature collections.”—Library Journal

“The Big Empty isn’t about nothing. It’s about Nebraska, its writers and its potential.” —Rick Brown, Kearney Hub

“These essays are springs from which flows our collective identity. . . . Read The Big Empty slowly. Savor the depth of thought, the breadth of subjects, the richness of language. Distance surrounds us, and these Nebraska writers, ‘who pass through it with open eyes,’ as Ron Block says, open ours.”—Linda Read Deeds, Nebraska Life

“This book is a pleasure to read. . . . Although many of the selections are excerpts from longer works, for the most part they feel satisfyingly self-contained. . . . The volume as a whole . . . is thoughtfully arranged. . . . These writers take unflinching looks at racism, the Vietnam War, rural poverty, environmental degradation, and other unflattering episodes in the state’s history. The book is nevertheless filled with humor. . . . [I]t’s certain that readers will never look at a barbed-wire fence or a buffalo chip the same way again.”—Bloomsbury Review