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U.S. Landmark Books #100
The Story of Oklahoma
Hard Cover; Very Good; Dust Jacket - Very Good; Random House "Landmark Books" First Edition / First Printing. Hardcover, Very Good cloth covered boards with light edge rubbing and fading. Pictorial endpapers. llustrations by Bjorklund. DJ Very Good pictorial with light edge wear. Book # 100.
- GenresHistory
186 pages, Hardcover
First published September 28, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 25, 2013
This book is an easy to read history of Oklahoma with very life-like illustrations. I enjoyed it.
November 15, 2017
And now you know not only about Oklahoma, but the pot of gold at the end of the Trail of Tears. Interesting.
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October 15, 2022A good historical read on the beginnings of Oklahoma.
February 5, 2024
I loved this history of Oklahoma! I felt like it did a great job of explaining the history of Oklahoma for middle graders! Excellent illustrations, as well.
January 13, 2026
This is the first of these books I've read which addresses the story of a US state, and if this is a good representative of what they would be, I wish they had done an entire series on the stories of all the US states! There have been a few which focus on particular events, such as the California Gold Rush and the Santa Fe trail, but not the story of how a single state came to be.
That may be because Oklahoma admittedly does have a colorful history and many notable native residents, only a few of which the book touched on, like Jim Thorpe. Perhaps I'm rather partial to the Sooner state (and now you know why it's called that!) as MANY of my relatives were from there, including Cherokee ones, mostly from the far northeast corner. In fact, my great-grandfather and some of his siblings, born before Oklahoma statehood, were granted some of the individual allotments in the Cherokee territory, one plot of which our cousin still owns.
I made a trip several years ago to the local public library there in Miami, OK, where I was able to view the maps which showed where my great aunts and uncles had land allotments in that area. The land our family still owns is the original 20 acre site where my Cherokee great-great grandmother and their 10 children grew up on a farm, although the house is no longer there.
What I appreciated most was the very candid manner in which the book described the dealings with the indigenous peoples who inhabited Oklahoma, both the traditional ones and the groups who were forcibly relocated from the East coast. It respectfully and accurately recounted the plight of the native people and the historic injustices they have encountered in simply trying to exist. I did notice, however, that not much was said about the Indian schools, which have become notorious in the present day for abuse and a high mortality rate... but they were still in operation at the time this book was written. A new movie which is just about to be released is going to shed some very important light on one of the most tragic episodes in American history, regarding the Osage murders that will demonstrate what went on during this period as well.
Highly recommended for everyone because it is a fair treatment of the subject matter and very engaging. Since Oklahoma is one of our newest states, at #46, its history is more accessible and relatable to people in the modern day.
That may be because Oklahoma admittedly does have a colorful history and many notable native residents, only a few of which the book touched on, like Jim Thorpe. Perhaps I'm rather partial to the Sooner state (and now you know why it's called that!) as MANY of my relatives were from there, including Cherokee ones, mostly from the far northeast corner. In fact, my great-grandfather and some of his siblings, born before Oklahoma statehood, were granted some of the individual allotments in the Cherokee territory, one plot of which our cousin still owns.
I made a trip several years ago to the local public library there in Miami, OK, where I was able to view the maps which showed where my great aunts and uncles had land allotments in that area. The land our family still owns is the original 20 acre site where my Cherokee great-great grandmother and their 10 children grew up on a farm, although the house is no longer there.
What I appreciated most was the very candid manner in which the book described the dealings with the indigenous peoples who inhabited Oklahoma, both the traditional ones and the groups who were forcibly relocated from the East coast. It respectfully and accurately recounted the plight of the native people and the historic injustices they have encountered in simply trying to exist. I did notice, however, that not much was said about the Indian schools, which have become notorious in the present day for abuse and a high mortality rate... but they were still in operation at the time this book was written. A new movie which is just about to be released is going to shed some very important light on one of the most tragic episodes in American history, regarding the Osage murders that will demonstrate what went on during this period as well.
Highly recommended for everyone because it is a fair treatment of the subject matter and very engaging. Since Oklahoma is one of our newest states, at #46, its history is more accessible and relatable to people in the modern day.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews