Provides guidelines for United States Democrats to connect moral values to important policies, using practical tactics to guide political discourse away from extreme positions.

Stories of the heartland by the National Book Award finalist and author of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. “Nebraska captures a rowdy, changing America. Written with wit and brawny lyricism, in voices ranging from hip to tender, the stories gathered here are as diverse and expansive as the country they celebrate…References to America’s heartland abound throughout the book and serve as a central metaphor for what’s close to American hearts, what connects us: dreams, myths and possibilities as vast as the Great Plains. Wise and smart-alecky, creaking with legend and crackling with modernisms, these tales are about American obsessions past and present.” –The Washington Post Book World “Just as Raymond Carver came to be identified with a Pacific Northwest populated by blue-collar workers, and just as Richard Ford has crafted a Montana full of drifters, so Ron Hansen has carved out his own geographical niche. His Nebraska is a distinctive mix of 19th century settlers and 1980s breadwinners, of sudden storms and life-long yearnings, of lost souls stranded in the middle of nowhere.” –USA Today “Beautifully crafted stories… Wickedness, evil, malice is called by name; and for Hansen’s people the snake in the garden never fails to appear.” —The New York Times “Breathtaking virtuosity…These short narratives are utterly clean and smooth; they click together like a collection of river-washed stones that are each remarkably different yet polished by the same hand.”—Publishers Weekly

DIVDIVGeorge Whitmore’s acclaimed and affecting coming-of-age novel about a boy searching for his identity in the wake of a terrible accident/divDIV When a car crash took one of his legs at age twelve, it also robbed Craig of his last hope for a steady childhood. Living in a Nebraska town with his abusive, alcoholic father and strong-willed mother, Craig is delighted when, in the middle of his recuperation, his uncle Wayne returns home, discharged from service in the navy. At times Wayne is like a surrogate father to Craig, helping him with his rehabilitation and igniting his imagination with tales of adventure sailing around the world. But with Wayne’s nightly calls to a man known as “the Chief,” it becomes clear to Craig that his uncle is still very much a mystery./divDIV Beautifully written and utterly heartrending, Nebraska is a poignant story about a boy’s maturation into manhood, and about the vividly drawn family members that surround him throughout his youth in the doldrums of rural life./divDIV/div/div

At the age of 17, Randall Hunsacker shoots his mother's boyfriend, steals a car and comes close to killing himself. His second chance lies in a small Nebraska farm town, where the landmarks include McKibben's Mobil Station, Frmka's Superette, and a sign that says The Wages of Sin is Hell. This is Goodnight, a place so ingrown and provincial that Randall calls it "Sludgeville"-until he starts thinking of it as home. In this pitch-perfect novel, Tom McNeal explores the currents of hope, passion, and cruelty beneath the surface of the American heartland. In Randall, McNeal creates an outcast whose redemption lies in Goodnight, a strange, small, but ultimately embracing community where Randall will inspire fear and adulation, win the love of a beautiful girl and nearly throw it all away.

This revised 5th Edition, now expanded to over 400 pages in a larger 8 x 11 in. format, contains over twice as much information as previous editions. Featured in this 5th Edition are hundreds of digital images for most popular makes and models, making identification much easier. The Blue Book of Airguns contains both up-to-date 2005 airguns pricing information and detailed technical data on both todays high tech offerings and older, discontinued models. This includes domestic, foreign, and military airguns, modern commemoratives, and major trademark antiques! Also included are some valuable editorials by Dr. Robert Beeman and noted airgun journalist Tom Gaylord, as well as an extensive pictorial glossary. The 5th Edition Blue Book of Airguns contains more useful and up-to-date information than any other single airgun publication.

“A beautifully written epic that seamlessly intertwines a family’s history with a region’s, and, ultimately, with a nation’s. An ambitious novel.” —Ron Rash, New York Times–bestselling author of Above the Waterfall Ten years after the massacre of more than two hundred Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee, J.B. Bennett, a white rancher, and Star, a young Native American woman, are murdered in a remote meadow on J.B.’s land. The deaths bring together the scattered members of the Bennett family: J.B.’s cunning and hard father, Drum; his estranged wife, Dulcinea; and his teenage sons, Cullen and Hayward. As the mystery of these twin deaths unfolds, the history of the dysfunctional Bennetts and their damning secrets is revealed, exposing the conflicted heart of a nation caught between past and future. At the center of The Bones of Paradise are two remarkable women. Dulcinea yearns for redemption and the courage to mend her broken family and reclaim the land that is rightfully hers. Rose, scarred by the terrible slaughters that have decimated and dislocated her people, struggles to accept the death of her sister, Star, and refuses to rest until she is avenged. Jonis Agee’s bold novel is a panorama of America at the dawn of a new century and the durable men and women who dared to tame it. “Deceptively leisurely, intensely heart-rending . . . Rose and Dulcinea are women strong enough to cow John Wayne.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Deadwood has nothing on Nebraska’s Sand Hills. Jonis Agee serves up a gritty, bloody romance.” —Stewart O'Nan, bestselling author of A Prayer for the Dying “The finest western novel since Lonesome Dove . . . an epic saga with elements of a Greek tragedy.” —New York Journal of Books

Pemmican and pickled plums, sauerkraut and salmi of quail, Swedish flatbread and Bohemian kolaches and Danish meat roll, dishes familiar and foods exotic-you'll find them in this cook's tour of the state from Lewis and Clark to the Age of Elegance, for in its cuisine as in its weather Nebraska is a land of variety and extremes. Interspersed with the recipes are descriptions of food preparation and fare which tell us much about how our forebears lived-industriously, ingeniously, and sometimes very well. Although many of the recipes could not be duplicated in today's kitchens, there is plenty here to challenge and stimulate amateur and professional chefs-and plenty of food for thought for social historians. Kay Graber is managing editor emeritus of the University of Nebraska Press.

From its pioneer history to its fun celebrations, there is a lot that makes Nebraska unique! This informative title leads readers through the state’s landscape, history, industry, and culture. Vivid photos show what life is like in Nebraska, maps help readers place the state’s landforms and cities, and special features introduce Nebraska’s people, wildlife, inventions, food, and more. Get ready for a trip to the Cornhusker State!