Review of Kayaking Alone by Scott R. Anderson, nearly Landlocked Armchair Adventurer, Millersville, PA.

My initial reaction to the idea of kayaking alone was “That’s not very smart.”  Sure enough, safety concerns are addressed (and pretty much dispensed with) by the end of page four. [I should think seriously about getting one of those EPIRB locator beacons for my car keys.]  I felt redeemed by the author; my initial thoughts about kayaking 900 miles of river from Idaho to the Pacific Ocean alone as a potentially lethal undertaking were confirmed.  Refreshed, and with greater armchair abandon, I pressed onward.

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In celebration of Lisa Knopp’s Interior Places, today’s LIL features links to people and places featured in this outstanding new book. Link away! Amelia Earhart’s Kansas hometown: http://www.ameliaearhartmuseum.org/ Aldo and Frederick Leopold: http://www.aldoleopold.org/ Burlington, Iowa: http://www.burlingtoniowa.org/ P. T. Barnum: http://www.ringling.com/explore/history/ptbarnum_1.aspx Nuclear weapons in southeastern Iowa: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/aap-iowa.htm Lincoln, Nebraska: http://www.lincoln.org/ The Platte River: http://platteriver.unk.edu/ With all of these interesting topics, how could you resist a trip to your local bookstore to pick up Interior Places??? It’s futile to resist, so why even try? Get your copy today! Continue reading Linking in Lincoln: March 27, 2008

The Year the Stars Fell: Lakota Winter Counts at the Smithsonian edited by Candace S. Greene and Russell Thornton “This volume’s careful introductions and its clear visual and contextual presentation of the counts should serve as a model for future endeavors. . . . Highly recommended.”—CHOICE To view earlier praise for The Year the Stars Fell, visit http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2007/07/praise-for-th-1.html. Continue reading More Praise for The Year the Stars Fell

Between Panic and Desire by Dinty W. Moore “Moore forges a brisk, incisive, funny, sometimes silly, yet stealthily affecting memoir in essays and skits, a ‘generational autobiography,’ and good candid guy stuff. . . . Each anecdote, piece of pop-culture trivia, and frankly confessed panic and desire yields a chunk of irony and a sliver of wisdom.”—Donna Seaman, Booklist “This book is funny, funny, funny. It is an unconventional—some might say, experimental—collection of frolicsome and touching, personal essays. . . . [T]he book is a rare example of how unusual form actually helps. It is the ideal display for Dinty’s … Continue reading Dinty, Dinty, Dinty!: Even More Praise for Between Panic and Desire

To a Distant Day: The Rocket Pioneers by Chris Gainor “Let us hope for as good a companion volume taking the story to the shuttle and space-station era and the emergence of space powers other than Russia and the U.S.”—Roland Green, Booklist Read earlier praise for To a Distant Day by visiting http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/02/praise-for-to-a.html. Continue reading More Praise for To a Distant Day

Taking Trivia to the Court In Young, Black, Rich, and Famous, author Todd Boyd chronicles how basketball and hip hop have gone from being reviled by the American mainstream in the 1970s to being embraced and imitated globally today. In keeping with Boyd’s subject matter, today’s "Tuesday Trivia" tests your knowledge of the game of hoops. Don’t know your lay up from your Larry Bird? If that’s the case, this TT may not be a slam dunk. Sick of my puns? Well, shoot! I’m sorry. Okay, okay. I’ll stop. On to the trivia! 1. When was basketball invented?A. 1789B. 1902C. … Continue reading Tuesday Trivia: March 25, 2008

Hard Air: Adventures from the Edge of Flying by W. Scott Olsen “It’s hard to imagine a more gripping book for aviation buffs than Olsen’s depiction of some of the hairier aspects of service networks usually taken for granted and seldom properly noticed by the media.”—Roland Green, Booklist Check out earlier praise for Hard Air at http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/03/praise-for-hard.html. Continue reading Taking Off: More Praise for Hard Air

Good Neighbors, Bad Times by Mimi Schwartz “[A] beautiful memoir of introspection and contrasts.”—Harriet P. Gross, Dallas Morning News For previous praise for Good Neighbors, Bad Times, link to http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2008/01/praise-for-good.html. Continue reading Continued Praise for Good Neighbors, Bad Times

Jackalope Dreams by Mary Clearman Blew

“Mary Clearman Blew’s stunning first novel gives us an example—if any is required—of why fiction is still necessary and what it uniquely offers. It’s an understated achievement that recalls the early works of Larry McMurtry, along with the tough, febrile voice of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders and the emotional intelligence of William Maxwell. Willa Cather’s work also comes to mind. . . . Sentences seethe with urgent, unhurried energy, and the description of the land the author so clearly loves is in service of the story, not showing off. You come to care deeply about these people, caught between an uncapturable past and an uncertain future. Jackalope Dreams is a small masterpiece; it deserves the attention it makes a point of not seeking.”—Paul Wilner, Los Angeles Times Book Review

To read earlier praise for Jackalope Dreams, please visit http://nebraskapress.typepad.com/university_of_nebraska_pr/2007/12/praise-for-jack.html.

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