The Ozarks region-spanning parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma-overflows with visible fragments of the past. A Living History of the Ozarks is a guide to the region through landmarks and sites which offer clues to its intriguing history. This splendorous land inspired Phyllis Rossiter, a native of the Ozarks, to write about the area to help people learn to appreciate its beauty and to recognize our dependence upon nature. "I feel that it's important to safeguard what we have left," says Rossiter. "In my writing, if I can help achieve that, then that's what I want to do-to help people acquire an appreciation for nature." Abounding with sparkling lakes and rivers (including the great Lake of the Ozarks), clear blue springs, rugged mountains, ancient caves, and windswept prairies, the Ozarks are a visitor's wonderland of natural beauty and legendary mystique. Author Phyllis Rossiter explores the major areas that make up the storied Ozarks. The Lake of the Ozarks region, the Springfield plateau, Ozark mountain country, the Buffalo National River, White River Hills, and the Big Spring region are all covered in depth. A detailed appendix lists places to view ongoing history such as caves and rock formations, Indian artifacts, bridges and ferries, gristmills, Civil War monuments, heritage crafts, mountain music, hiking trails, floatable rivers, national parks, and more. Offering keen insight on the area's history, as well as a complete guide to the sites and scenic spots of this popular American vacation destination, this book is a marvelous documentation of "living history" for tourists and interested area residents alike. Phyllis Rossiter resides in Gainesville, Missouri, where she is an active writer, photographer, conservationist, and lecturer. She is a member of the Missouri Writers Guild, the Ozarks Writers League, the Society of Children's Book Writers, and the Outdoor Writers of America.

Interest in scholarly study of the Ozarks has grown steadily in recent years, and The Ozarks in Missouri History: Discoveries in an American Region will be welcomed by historians and Ozark enthusiasts alike. This lively collection gathers fifteen essays, many of them pioneering efforts in the field, that originally appeared in the Missouri Historical Review, the journal of the State Historical Society. In his introduction, editor Lynn Morrow gives the reader background on the interest in and the study of the Ozarks. The scope of the collection reflects the diversity of the region. Micro-studies by such well-known contributors as John Bradbury, Roger Grant, Gary Kremer, Stephen Limbaugh Sr., and Milton Rafferty explore the history, culture, and geography of this unique region. They trace the evolution of the Ozarks, examine the sometimes-conflicting influences exerted by St. Louis and Kansas City, and consider the sometimes highly charged struggle by federal, state, and local governments to define conservation and the future of Current River.

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. The WPA Guide to the Show-Me State of Missouri literally shows the reader the virtues of this lovely region, by including vivid pictures of Art Deco skyscrapers in downtown Kansas City, farm scenes, the Ozark Mountains, and the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. It includes historical essays about the influence of these rivers on the state as well as Missouri’s important role in the American Civil War.

Oil and charcoal portraits with explanatory stories in Ozark dialect.

The well-known Ozark folklorist gathers together bawdy tales, previously considered unprintable, that provide insight into the region's rich exotic narrative tradition.

"Vance Randolph was perfectly constituted for his role as the chronicler of Ozark folkways. As a self-described "hack writer," who first visited the region as a child with his middle-class parents, he was as much a figure of the margins as his chosen subjects. And his essentially romantic identification with the Ozarks--encouraged by the editors of the era--was always tempered by his scientific training and his contrarian nature. In The Ozarks, originally published in 1931, we have Randolph's first book-length portrait of the people he would spend the next half-century studying. The full range of Randolph's interests--in language, in hunting and fishing, in folksongs and play parties, in moonshining--is on view in this book that made his name; forever after he was "Mr. Ozark," the region's preeminent expert who would, in collection after collection, enlarge and deepen his debut effort. With a new introduction by Robert Cochran, The Ozarks , an image shaper in its day, a cultural artifact for decades to come, this wonderful book is as entertaining as ever." --Back cover.