The spell that the West has always exercised on the American people had its most intense impact on American literature and thought during the nineteenth century. Smith shows, with vast comprehension, the influence of the nineteenth-century West in all its variety and strength, in special relation to social, economic, cultural, and political forces. He traces the myths and symbols of the Westward movement such as the general notion of a Westward-moving Course of Empire, the Wild Western hero, the virtuous yeoman-farmer--in such varied nineteenth-century writings as Leaves of Grass, the great corpus of Dime Novels, and most notably, Frederick Jackson Turner's The Frontier in American History. Moreover, he synthesizesthe imaginative expression of Westernmyths and symbols in literature withtheir role in contemporary politics,economics, and society, embodiedin such forms as the idea of ManifestDestiny, the conflict in the Americanmind between idealizations of primitivism on the one hand and of progressand civilization on the other, theHomestead Act of 1862, and public-land policy after the Civil War. The myths of the American Westthat found their expression in nineteenth-century words and deeds remaina part of every American's heritage,and Smith, with his insightinto their power and significance,makes possible a critical appreciation of that heritage.

Virgin Lands: Two Years in Kazakhstan, 1954-5 focuses on the life, career, and experiences of L. I. Brezhnev when he stayed in Kazakhstan to push for the improvement of the agriculture sector of the country. The book first offers information on the experiences of L. I. Brezhnev as a farmer, land-use surveyor, metallurgist, factory worker, and politician. Brezhnev underscores how he pushed for the organization of collective farms. The text also highlights the poor state of agriculture in the country, including the farming methodologies that Brezhnev and his countrymen have adopted to overcome the extreme conditions of farming lands. The manuscript details the improvement of state farms, particularly noting the increase in harvest and the number of farms to be set up. Brezhnev narrates how the state farms are affected by drought and extreme weather conditions, and how they have doubled the crop areas through the use of farm implements. The book also underscores the role of farm machineries in the increase of production of grain, meat, and vegetables. The text is a dependable source of data for readers interested in the life and career of L. I. Brezhnev, particularly his dedication to develop agriculture in Kazakhstan.

Counternarrative Possibilities reads Cormac McCarthy's Westerns against the backdrop of two formative tropes in American mythology: virgin land (from the 1950s) and homeland (after '9/11' ). Looking at McCarthy's Westerns in the context of American Studies, James Dorson shows how his novels counter the national narratives underlying these tropes and reinvest them with new, potentially transformative meaning. Departing from prevailing accounts of McCarthy that place him in relation to his literary antecedents, Counternarrative Possibilities takes a forwardlooking approach that reads McCarthy's work as a key influence on millennial fiction. Weaving together disciplinary history with longstanding debates over the relationship between aesthetics and politics, this book is at once an exploration of the limits of ideology critique in the twenty-first century and an original reconsideration of McCarthy's work 'after postmodernism'.

Library has Vol. 1-5.

This coming-to-America novel introduces men and women who were among the first to leave England and build new lives in the New World. We accompany them as they pursue their DREAMS, face unimaginable DANGERS, and find ROMANCE. It's 1629, and widower SIMON HOYT takes his three sons in search of free land and independence. He soon discovers he can't claim land until he becomes an official member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Will he take the Freeman Oath and give up his independence? And what of his attraction to the widow Susannah? Their love seems impossible as she's engaged to someone else. A year later, in 1630, NICHOLAS and ELINOR KNAPP board the Arbella, flagship of the Winthrop Fleet. Their hastily arranged marriage has qualified them to join the new colony in America. After a difficult two months spent crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they reach Salem Harbor and believe the worst is behind them. But is it? This historical novel highlights the many personal sacrifices required of the first colonists to settle in New England. We see them fight to stay alive through the "starving months." At times, their lives conflict with the strict rules of the Puritan and Pilgrim governments. And we glimpse struggles endured by the native population. Virgin Land, 1629, is the first of three novels in the Fencing America saga. Throughout the series, Ann Pontrelli weaves her family genealogy into historical events, letting their stories give us a deeper understanding of the people who fenced the land and transformed a continent.

A colonist in Virginia falls for a Powhatan girl, and is drawn by their respect for nature.