From the Bookshelf Periodic musings on books I like I have taught the 2nd half of the U.S. survey (1877-present) no less than 8 times and for that course (and other introductory-level surveys) I always pair a textbook with a few solid monographs. Biographies, autobiographies, easy-to-digest analytical monographs, a novel or two, etc... Some books worked well, others did not. One text that consistently received high marks on student evaluations was Joe Starita's 1995 The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge. A journalism professor at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Starita conducted hours of interviews with the Dull Knife family and presents a 4-generation narrative: Chief Dull Knife who Continue readingFrom the Bookshelf: Starita – The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge