This started out as a list of the top 20 Arkansas books for Christmas gifts, but it turned into more -- much more.
Compiling a list of 20 Arkansas books, over the past year or two, is not hard to do -- but selecting the best 20, now that's a job.
So, with an aide to your holiday shopping in mind, I am hopping right to it.
For lovers of the state's history, no better organization to join would be the Arkansas Historical Association, which publishes the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and has other programs. The basic membership is $20 per year. Information can be found at www.arkansashistoricalassociation.org.
Now on the top 20 Arkansas history books or books on an Arkansas subject or books by an Arkansas author in 2013-2014 that just might be right for someone on your Christmas list.
The numbering of this list of titles, authors and publishers is only for reading convenience. Available locally means books can be found at local independent booksellers like Nightbird Books or they have a limited stock of these books.
No. 1 -- "George Dombek: Paintings," UA Press, Fayetteville.
No. 2 -- "Muzzled Oxen: Reaping Cotton and Sowing Hope in the 1920s," from the Butler Center Books of Little Rock.
No. 3 -- "I Do Wish this Cruel War Was Over," by Mark K. Christ and Patrick Williams, UA Press.
No. 4 -- "Lon Warenke: The Arkansas Hummingbird," by Don Duren and Xulon Press is available locally.
No. 5 -- "The Southern Manifesto: Massive Resistance and the Fight to Preserve Segregation," by John Kyle Day, University of Mississippi Press.
No. 6 -- "The Day We Marched: A Union Soldier's Account of War in Arkansas," by Butler Center Books.
No. 7 -- "Arkansas Butterflies and Moths," 2nd edition, Ozark Society Foundation, is available locally.
No. 8 -- "We Wanna Boogie: The Rockabilly Roots of Sonny Burgess and the Pacers," Butler Center Books.
No. 9 -- "Of The Soil: Vernacular Architecture in Arkansas," by UA Press.
No. 10 -- "Arkansas In Ink: Gunslingers, Ghosts and Other Graphic Tales," by Butler Center Books.
No. 11 -- "When Men Betray," by Webb Hubble, Beaufort Books, is available locally.
No. 12 -- "Deadly Ties: A Waterside Kennels Mystery by Susan Holmes," Elderstone Press, is available locally.
No. 13 -- "Hot Springs: Past and Present," by Ray Handley, is by UA Press.
No. 14 -- "Architects of Little Rock, 1833-1950," by the UA Press.
No. 15 -- "Daughter of the White River," by Denise White Parkinson, is available locally.
No. 16 -- "Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B," by Don Duren, The History Press, is available locally.
No. 17 -- "Storytelling: True & Fictional Short Stories," Jack R. Cotner, Elderstone Books , is available locally.
No. 18 -- "Gay Panic in the Ozarks," by Ed Bethune, is available locally.
No. 19 -- "American Appetites: Food & Foodways," by UA Press.
No. 20 -- "The Indicted South by Angie Maxwell," by University of North Carolina Press.
Magazine lovers take note of these area and in-state publications as potential gifts for others this holiday season.
A new magazine on local food, edible Ozarkansas, is available for $22 per year, four issues, at www.edibleozarkansas.org
As a disclaimer and for transparency: I am a board member of the Arkansas Historical Association, publishers of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly and a frequent volunteer at Washington County Historical Society events. I receive no compensation for these annual books or magazine recommendations.
Hope this helps on the hard-to-buy book lover at your house.
-- Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 12/17/2014