Nebraska Moments

Nebraska author Mari Sandoz remarked that most people see Nebraska as that long flat state that sets between me and any place I want to go. If so, theyre missing plenty, as this entertaining volume makes abundantly clear. Susan A. Wunder and John R. Wunders new, expanded, and updated edition of Donald R. Hickeys classic account of defining Nebraska moments showcases triumph, tragedy, comedy, and accomplishments that could have happened nowhere else and that reveal the rich culture and history under the states deceptively quiet surface. There are moments that shinesurviving the Oregon and Mormon trails; completing the Union Pacific Railroad; and winning national football championships, Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, and presidential nominations. There are also moments of darkness such as the murders of Crazy Horse, Malcolm X, and Brandon Teena; the lynchings of Will Brown and Juan Gonzalez; and the Blizzard of 1888. Together they evoke a dramatic history populated with the likes of Pedro Villasur, Willa Cather, and William Jennings Bryan. This new edition also mines Nebraskas most recent history, adding to the ever-changing, ever-intriguing picture of this Great Plains state.