The farmer adjusted the brim of his cap, pointing toward the faded blue and white farmhouse nestled atop of the hill. Rose and Arnold first moved here from Lincoln. In 1913, a tornado completely levelled their first home. Rose never much cared for the area and had been homesick since she left her family home. Arnold went back to Lincoln, measured her parent's house inch by inch, and then built an exact replica for her on the hill, making sure she was comfortable in her new home. The porch swing groaned in the breeze. Even though Rose and Arnold have long passed, their farm remains. Home is where you feel safe enough to reveal your true self. Everything begins and ends in the home; it's where you raise your children and grow old with your spouse. Like the families who deserted them, each home has a tale to tell and they are all unique. Every loss and triumph is absorbed within the splintered walls. Their gaping windows stare across the countryside searching for their lost residents. Trish Eklund's personal experiences and the stories of those associated with the locations accompany the author's enchanting images.

"America Through Time is an imprint of Fonthill Media LLC"--Verso title page.

The numbers of farms and farmers on the Great Plains are dwindling. Disappearing even faster are the farm places—the houses, barns, and outbuildings that made the rural landscape a place of habitation. Nancy Warner's photographs tell the stories of buildings that were once loved yet have now been abandoned. Her evocative images are juxtaposed with the voices of Nebraska farm people, lovingly recorded by sociologist David Stark. These plainspoken recollections tell of a way of life that continues to evolve in the face of wrenching change. Warner's spare, formal photographs invite readers to listen to the cadences and tough-minded humor of everyday speech in the Great Plains. Stark's afterword grounds the project in the historical relationship between people and their land. In the tradition of Wright Morris, this combination of words and images is both art and document, evoking memories, emotions, and questions for anyone with rural American roots.

The Sunflower State is soaked with history, which in turn fills the walls of her buildings. Four major Civil War battles took place in Kansas: Lawrence, Baxter Springs, Mine Creek, and along the Missouri-Kansas border, giving Kansas the nickname "Bleeding Kansas." The infamous Bonnie and Clyde, along with their gang, committed multiple crimes throughout the state of Kansas, including at least thirteen murders and robberies. Amelia Earhart was born and spent her early years in Acheson, and Ernest Hemmingway lived and worked in Kansas City at one point. In 1973, a huge flood near Walnut Creek, east of Great Bend, revealed a mass grave. In June 1864, approximately thirty wagons with thirty unarmed men--several only teenagers--were attacked by 125 Sioux braves (unhappy by the way they were recently treated by the government). While passing deteriorating homes, the distant laughter of long-forgotten children and the cries of distant warriors echo on the breeze. Home is the most significant place in our lives--all of our experiences, every sorrow, and every success are imbedded into the walls of our homes long after they're gone. Trish Eklund's personal insights, and the stories of those associated with the featured locations, accompany the author's enchanting images.

"Homesteading the Plains offers a bold new look at the history of homesteading, overturning what for decades has been the orthodox scholarly view. The authors begin by noting the striking disparity between the public's perception of homesteading as a cherished part of our national narrative and most scholars' harshly negative and dismissive treatment. Homesteading the Plains reexamines old data and draws from newly available digitized records to reassess the current interpretation's four principal tenets: homesteading was a minor factor in farm formation, with most Western farmers purchasing their land; most homesteaders failed to prove up their claims; the homesteading process was rife with corruption and fraud; and homesteading caused Indian land dispossession. Using data instead of anecdotes and focusing mainly on the nineteenth century, Homesteading the Plainsdemonstrates that the first three tenets are wrong and the fourth only partially true. In short, the public's perception of homesteading is perhaps more accurate than the one scholars have constructed. Homesteading the Plainsprovides the basis for an understanding of homesteading that is startlingly different from current scholarly orthodoxy. "--

In the ’60s it was called the "back to the land" movement, and in Helen and Scott Nearings’ day, it was "living the good life." Whatever the term, North Americans have always yearned for a simpler way. But how do you accomplish that today? Blending inspiration with practical how-to’s, Rural Renaissance captures the American dream of country living for contemporary times. Journey with the authors and experience their lessons, laughter and love for the land as they trade the urban concrete maze for a five-acre organic farm and bed and breakfast in southwestern Wisconsin. Rural living today is a lot more than farming. It’s about a creative, nature-based and more self-sufficient lifestyle that combines a love of squash, solar energy, skinny-dipping and serendipity . . . The many topics explored in Rural Renaissance include: "right livelihood" and the good life organic gardening and permaculture renewable energy and energy conservation wholesome organic food, safe water and a natural home simplicity, frugality and freedom green design and recycled materials community, friends and raising a family independence and interdependence wildlife conservation and land stewardship. An authentic tale of a couple whose pioneering spirit and connection to the land reaches out to both the local and global community to make their dream come true, Rural Renaissance will appeal to a wide range of Cultural Creatives, free agents, conservation entrepreneurs and both arm-chair and real-life homesteaders regardless of where they live. Lisa Kivirist and John Ivanko are innkeepers, organic growers, copartners in a marketing consulting company, and have previously published books. John is also a photographer. Former advertising agency fast-trackers, they are nationally recognized for their contemporary approach to homesteading, conservation and more sustainable living. They share their farm with their son, two llamas, and a flock of free-range chickens. Rural Renaissance also offers a foreword by Bill McKibben.

U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.