Here are 100 books that Nebraska fans have personally recommended if you like
Nebraska.
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Growing up in Alberta, Canada, I spent many summer days at the Calgary Stampede, where I became familiar with the idea of the Wild West. We would don our cowboy hats and trek to the fairgrounds to watch bucking horses and chuckwagon races. Thus began my obsession with popular westerns. I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation on the subject, and I still teach courses and write books about various aspects of the popular West. As a bit of an outsider myself, I especially love Westerns by folks on the margins, without a lot of power. Their takes on the West are always quirky and surprising. I hope you agree!
This is a Rubik’s cube of a Western. It feels so familiar in terms of its Western iconography and stock characters and motifs, but McCarthy twists the familiar tropes of the popular Western into bizarre and inscrutable patterns.
It’s a book I want to figure out but can’t quite, and that’s why I have re-read it several times. With each read, I’m confronted with a new puzzle just when I thought I had cracked its code.
Llewelyn Moss, hunting antelope near the Rio Grande, instead finds men shot dead, a load of heroin, and more than $2 million in cash. Packing the money out, he knows, will change everything. But only after two more men are murdered does a victim's burning car lead Sheriff Bell to the carnage out in the desert, and he soon realizes that Moss and his young wife are in desperate need of protection. One party in the failed transaction hires an ex-Special Forces officer to defend his interests against a mesmerizing freelancer, while on either side are men accustomed to spectacular…
My family moved frequently and, as a result, I was raised in a number of different small towns in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and Massachusetts. I now live in a large city but the experience has never left me. There was always a certain amount of crime and corruption in the towns I grew up in, but I only had a child’s eye view of it. However, a child’s eye view is usually the most vivid. This experience and the books that I have listed above all had a direct influence on Blue Hotel.
Road to
Perdition takes place during the Great Depression. Like my book,
it concerns a man who betrays his Chicago Irish-American mob boss and is forced
to flee for his life (accompanied by his young son in this case), pursued by a
relentless killer sent by his former boss. Superficially, what appealed to me
was the Depression-era atmosphere that the author of Road to Perdition created.
On a deeper level, it appealed to me as a story of a man in a battle for the
soul of his son. The man, an enforcer for his gangland boss, considers his own
soul to be irredeemably lost because of the crimes he has committed, not only
survive but to thrive.
First there was Max Allan Collins' legendary graphic novel...then came the Academy Award winning movie and his bestselling screenplay novelization. Now Collins presents an epic new novel, combining and expanding upon all that came before, to create the ultimate version of his unforgettable story.;
Depression-era Chicago is awash in liquor and blood, ruled by guns, graft, and gangsters like John Looney. His most feared enforcer is Michael O'Sullivan, known as the "Angel of Death." But when O'Sullivan's twelve-year-old son witnesses a gangland murder committed by Looney's brutal son, O'Sullivan's entire family is marked for execution to cover up the crime.…
My family moved frequently and, as a result, I was raised in a number of different small towns in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and Massachusetts. I now live in a large city but the experience has never left me. There was always a certain amount of crime and corruption in the towns I grew up in, but I only had a child’s eye view of it. However, a child’s eye view is usually the most vivid. This experience and the books that I have listed above all had a direct influence on Blue Hotel.
This
is the story that inspired my novel. It takes place in a small Nebraska
railroad town in the bitterly cold winter of 1898. My novel takes place in the bitterly
cold winter of 1947, shortly after WW2, mostly in the same blue hotel in the
same snowbound town as in Crane’s story.
Crane’s
story “is one of the most well-known of the short stories in the collection The
Monsters and Other Stories. Although it appears to be a reasonably simple
tale about a man who encounters trouble following a stay at the Palace Hotel,
several complex themes underpin the story and define many of the overarching
themes in novels like Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and more generally,
Crane’s corpus. Stylistically, the story breaks free from the norms of the
period, often entering the realms of Expressionism, an unusual style to
encounter in American literature.”
This carefully crafted ebook: “The Blue Hotel” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.
"The Blue Hotel" is a short story by American author Stephen Crane. The story first appeared in the 1899 collection entitled The Monster and Other Stories. It is a story about a man who gets in trouble after a stay at the Palace Hotel.
Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet who is often called the first modern American writer. The Blue Hotel (1899) is considered one of Crane ́s finest short stories.
My family moved frequently and, as a result, I was raised in a number of different small towns in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and Massachusetts. I now live in a large city but the experience has never left me. There was always a certain amount of crime and corruption in the towns I grew up in, but I only had a child’s eye view of it. However, a child’s eye view is usually the most vivid. This experience and the books that I have listed above all had a direct influence on Blue Hotel.
I grew up in a small Montana town, so Watson’s
novel has a special meaning for me. It is a vivid portrayal of small-town life
on the Great Plains and takes place during the same time period as my own book. It tells of the corruption of a trusted official and its effect on
his family, his victims, and the town itself. Watson’s novel allowed me to feel and understand the deep emotions,
the pain, the anxiety, the love, and the disappointment that his characters were
feeling.
"From the summer of my twelfth year I carry a series of images more vivid and lasting than any others of my boyhood and indelible beyond all attempts the years make to erase or fade them " So begins David Hayden's story of what happened in Montana in 1948. The events of that cataclysmic summer permanently alter twelve-year-old David's understanding of his family: his father, a small-town sheriff; his remarkably strong mother; David's uncle Frank, a war hero and respected doctor; and the Haydens' Sioux housekeeper, Marie Little Soldier, whose revelations turn the family's life upside down as she relates…
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, I was crazy about both horses and books, so it’s not surprising that in grad school I became a horse historian. I found that writing about work horses linked my love of horses with my interests in technology and nature. The books I’ve chosen show how humans and horses shaped each other, society, the environment, and built the modern world. I hope readers browse (graze?) these books at their leisure and pleasure.
Horse stealing was more than theft of valuable and essential property. Matthew Luckett explains that on the Great Plains horse stealing “destabilized communities, institutions, nations, diplomatic relations, and cross-cultural exchange.” Luckett challenges many popular notions about horse thieves (for starters, they were not hung). There were different kinds of horse theft and horse thieves. Don’t be misled by “Nebraska” in the title—this book shows that horse stealing had regional and national repercussions. Luckett is an engaging writer, and this book is extremely readable and filled with compelling stories. I particularly recommend the chapter “The Horse Wars” about the role of horses in the war the U.S. Army waged against the Indians.
Never Caught Twice presents the untold history of horse raiding and stealing on the Great Plains of western Nebraska. By investigating horse stealing by and from four plains groups-American Indians, the U.S. Army, ranchers and cowboys, and farmers-Matthew S. Luckett clarifies a widely misunderstood crime in Western mythology and shows that horse stealing transformed plains culture and settlement in fundamental and surprising ways.
From Lakota and Cheyenne horse raids to rustling gangs in the Sandhills, horse theft was widespread and devastating across the region. The horse's critical importance in both Native and white societies meant that…
I've been writing for decades, as one genre evolved into another. Local Colorado history led to the identification of "Boulder Jane Doe," a murder victim. During that journey I learned a lot about criminal investigations and forensics. I devoured old movies (especially film noir), and I focused on social history including mysterious and intriguing women. Midwest Book Review (see author book links) credits In Search of the Blonde Tigress as "rescuing" Eleanor Jarman "from obscurity." So true! Despite Eleanor's notoriety as "the most dangerous woman alive," she actually was a very ordinary woman. I've now found my niche pulling mysterious and intriguing women out of the shadows.
Mollie was 18 years old and a new bride in 1860 when she and her husband left eastern Nebraska for the gold diggings of Colorado.
The 7-week journey across the plains tested her strength and endurance, but Mollie battled the hardships and isolation of pioneer life with humor, intelligence, and honesty. She never intended her journal to be published, but it was, and I found it inspirational.
Mollie is a vivid, high-spirited, and intensely feminine account of city people homesteading in the raw, new land west of the Missouri. More particularly, it is the story of Mollie herself - just turned eighteen when the Dorseys left Indianapolis for Nebraska Territory - of her reaction to the transplantation and to her new life which included rattlesnakes, blizzards, Indians, and the hardships of pioneer life. Mollie describes her nearly three-year engagement to Byron Sanford, during which time she worked as a seamstress, teacher, and cook. Following her wedding Mollie's life took a new turn. Catching "Pike's Peak Fever," the…
I am deeply passionate about human resilience. From Louis Zamperini's unwavering spirit in the face of war and captivity to Santiago's quiet determination against nature's harsh realities to Michael Jordan's relentless drive to overcome setbacks, these narratives resonate with me on a profound level. I'm particularly drawn to how these stories explore not just physical resilience but emotional and psychological strength as well. They serve as a powerful reminder that true victory lies not in the outcome but in the unwavering spirit we bring to life's struggles.
Jim Harrison's book is a masterpiece. I love how Harrison crafts Dalva's character; she's simultaneously tender and tough, with a complexity that resonated deeply with me. I found myself completely immersed in her world. The bold narrative structure, especially the contrasting voice of Michael, thrilled me as a reader. I love how Harrison fearlessly explores themes of loss, resilience, and self-discovery through Dalva's journey.
The vivid portrayal of the American West and its history added layers that I found fascinating. What I appreciate most is Harrison's prose—it's so powerful that I often find myself rereading passages just to savor the language. This book touched me profoundly.
From her home on the California coast, Dalva hears the broad silence of the Nebraska prairie where she was born and longs for the son she gave up for adoption years before. Beautiful, fearless, tormented, at forty-five she has lived a life of lovers and adventures. Now, Dalva begins a journey that will take her back to the bosom of her family, to the half-Sioux lover of her youth and to a pioneering great-grandfather whose journals recount the bloody annihilation of the Plains Indians. On the way, she discovers a story that stretches from East to West, from the Civil…
As an award-winning author of nonfiction books for kids, I’m passionate about discovering titles by other authors that introduce a topic innovatively and engagingly. I obtained a B.S. in Biology, with an emphasis in Ecology, from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. I received the 2023 Stephen Fraser Encouragement Award and a 2023 finalist for the Russel Freedman Award. I feel that it’s important to plant seeds of curiosity and encourage children to look at the world around them through a different lens. I love reading books that present complicated ideas in a way that young readers (and adults!) can understand.
It’s hard to imagine our world looking any different than it does today, but this book will take you back millions of years to a time when camels, elephants, and, of course, rhinos roamed North America.
That is, until a volcano buried them in ash. I found the discovery, excavation, and study of these animals captivating. The chapters are short, and the illustrations are engaging.
This book left me curious about what other fossils are buried beneath our feet and what story their discovery might tell.
Twelve million years ago, rhinos, elephants, and camels roamed North America. They would gather at nearby watering holes - eating, drinking, and trying not to become someone else's lunch. But one day, in what we now know as Nebraska, everything changed. The explosion of a super volcano a thousand miles away sent a blanket of ash that buried these animals for millennia.
Until 1953, when a seventeen-year-old farm worker made an unbelievable discovery.
This is the first book to be published about the Ashfall Fossil Beds, where more than 200 perfectly preserved fossils have been found. Step into the past…
Like Thomas Jefferson, I cannot live without books. And, while I read in a variety of genres, from early childhood on, my favorite stories were the ones that began with “once upon a time.” My fascination with historicals started with one of my father’s few books from his childhood, The Cave Twins, which introduced me to a world far different from suburban America. For me, the appeal of historicals is the opportunity to learn about another era and to escape from the modern world. And so, if you want to escape from what seems like an endless pandemic, I invite you to explore the worlds six talented authors have created.
“You ought to write inspirationals.” Every time a reader told me that, I’d shake my head and reply, “They’re too preachy.” But then a dear friend’s death made me reconsider the direction of my writing, and I began to research the inspirational market. One of the first books I read was Secrets on the Wind, the first of Whitson’s Pine Ridge Portraits trilogy. To my delight, she combined meticulous research, sprinkling her story with “telling” details that brought the Nebraska prairie and Fort Robinson to life, and unforgettable characters to create a story that’s lingered in my memory for more than a decade. Best of all, she demonstrated that faith-friendly fiction doesn’t need to be preachy. I’m deeply grateful to her because Secrets on the Wind convinced me that this was the right market for me.
The Pine Ridge Portraits series opens as two soldiers discover a desperate woman hidden in a cellar, then take her back with them to their U.S. Army post at Fort Robinson. The painful secrets surrounding Laina Gray and her seeming indiffernce toward those who try to help her will touch readers deeply as her journey to faith unfolds. Every effort is made to reach out to this strange, silent woman, but after living through her worst nightmare, she isn't soon ready to trust anyone with her secrets...not God, and definitely not the handsome soldier who tries to befriend her.
There are 2.2 million people behind bars in the United States—more than any other country in the world —in greatly disproportionate demographic numbers. There are mandatory drug sentencing laws that put fathers and mothers, sometimes both, away for many years regardless of their actual direct involvement in a crime. I wrote this book because no matter how one feels about these laws, or these crimes, if 2.2 million adults are incarcerated, there are at least as many children without mothers or fathers. Having lost my mother to suicide there are many connections, stigma, shame, and the hardship of reconciling a mother’s love in spite of the events that took her away from me.
On the other end of the spectrum is a light and funny, extremely well-written, and poignant middle grade novel about a boy growing up with his mother inside prison walls. (Full disclosure, I cried at the end of the book.)
While it’s not realism, it brings attention to its readers, that the law is not perfect, and often the wrong people are in prison. The happy ending helps make this realization palpable for young readers, who nonetheless will get the message about criminal justice and being quick to judge.
Junior Library Guild Selection * Kids' Indie Next List Pick From Leslie Connor, award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch, comes a soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful story, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me. Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them…
