Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder Named Nebraska Book of the Year
Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder Named Nebraska Book of the Year
The Nebraska Center of the Book announced Oct. 9 that Stew Magnuson's "The
Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the
Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns" was the 2009 Nebraska Nonfiction Book of
the Year.
In addition, graphic designer Lindsay Starr won best cover illustration for her work on the book.
The award follows ForeWord Magazine's bronze medal in the book in the
regional nonfiction category for books independently published, and
nominations by the Writers' League of Texas for its nonfiction book of the
year and the Center of Great Plains Studies for its Great Plains
Distinguished Book of the Year award.
Says Magnuson: "As a native Nebraskan, I'm really grateful for this honor."
He will appear at the Nebraska Book Festival in Lincoln on Nov. 14 to accept
the award and discuss the work.
"The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder" is published by Texas Tech University
Press under its Great Plains series, which is edited by University of
Nebraska-Lincoln professor of history and journalism, John R. Wunder. It
traces 130 years of shared history between two communities, the Oglala
Lakotas of the Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D., and the border towns of
Sheridan County, Nebr.
It recounts the death of Lakota ranch worker, Raymond Yellow Thunder at the
hands of four white men in 1972, and the subsequent involvement of the
American Indian Movement in the case. Among the other stories is the Wounded
Knee Massacre in 1890 and the border towns' role in the incident, the life
and death of Nebraska AIM Coordinator Bob Yellow Bird Steele and a
comprehensive history of the town of Whiteclay, Nebr., a hamlet on the
border that continues to sell millions of cans of beer per year to the dry
reservation.
The Nebraska Unicameral is holding a series of hearings on Whiteclay this
month and next.
"I think this book can provide some historical perspective on the Whiteclay
controversy," says Magnuson, who visited the town dozens of times. In total,
he conducted more than 70 interviews for the book in addition to archival
research. To raise funds to live in Gordon, Nebr. for four months, he worked
in a salmon cannery in Ketchikan, Alaska, for a summer.
"I really want to thank Texas Tech University Press and John Wunder for
believing in this book when so many other publishers took a ," says Magnuson.
He is now managing editor of National Defense Magazine in Arlington, Va. He
is currently working on a second nonfiction book, The Last American Highway:
A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83.
The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder is available in bookstores throughout
Nebraska, on amazon.com or can be ordered by phone from Texas Tech
University Press at 1-800-832-4042.
The Nebraska Center of the Book announced Oct. 9 that Stew Magnuson's "The
Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the
Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns" was the 2009 Nebraska Nonfiction Book of
the Year.
In addition, graphic designer Lindsay Starr won best cover illustration for her work on the book.
The award follows ForeWord Magazine's bronze medal in the book in the
regional nonfiction category for books independently published, and
nominations by the Writers' League of Texas for its nonfiction book of the
year and the Center of Great Plains Studies for its Great Plains
Distinguished Book of the Year award.
Says Magnuson: "As a native Nebraskan, I'm really grateful for this honor."
He will appear at the Nebraska Book Festival in Lincoln on Nov. 14 to accept
the award and discuss the work.
"The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder" is published by Texas Tech University
Press under its Great Plains series, which is edited by University of
Nebraska-Lincoln professor of history and journalism, John R. Wunder. It
traces 130 years of shared history between two communities, the Oglala
Lakotas of the Pine Ridge Reservation, S.D., and the border towns of
Sheridan County, Nebr.
It recounts the death of Lakota ranch worker, Raymond Yellow Thunder at the
hands of four white men in 1972, and the subsequent involvement of the
American Indian Movement in the case. Among the other stories is the Wounded
Knee Massacre in 1890 and the border towns' role in the incident, the life
and death of Nebraska AIM Coordinator Bob Yellow Bird Steele and a
comprehensive history of the town of Whiteclay, Nebr., a hamlet on the
border that continues to sell millions of cans of beer per year to the dry
reservation.
The Nebraska Unicameral is holding a series of hearings on Whiteclay this
month and next.
"I think this book can provide some historical perspective on the Whiteclay
controversy," says Magnuson, who visited the town dozens of times. In total,
he conducted more than 70 interviews for the book in addition to archival
research. To raise funds to live in Gordon, Nebr. for four months, he worked
in a salmon cannery in Ketchikan, Alaska, for a summer.
"I really want to thank Texas Tech University Press and John Wunder for
believing in this book when so many other publishers took a ," says Magnuson.
He is now managing editor of National Defense Magazine in Arlington, Va. He
is currently working on a second nonfiction book, The Last American Highway:
A Journey Through Time Down U.S. Route 83.
The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder is available in bookstores throughout
Nebraska, on amazon.com or can be ordered by phone from Texas Tech
University Press at 1-800-832-4042.
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Susan
(new)
Oct 16, 2009 06:59PM
This book truly deserves the honors bestowed upon it. Mr. Magnusen has written the saga of the clash of cultures on the American Plains, in history as well as today. His writing style brings the region and residents alive while telling both sides of the white/Native American melting pot around the Pine Ridge Reservation. I came away from this book with a spectrum of emotions; outrage at how the Native Americans were treated by pioneers, sadness at their poverty and hopelessness now, pride in their attempts to save their culture, and hope that I can do something to make a difference in some small way. I have never been moved by a book as much as The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder.
reply
|
flag
Yellow Thunder Book Honored
The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns, by Stew Magnuson, won the bronze medal in the regional nonfiction category at ForeWord Magazine’s
...more
- Stew Magnuson's profile
- 32 followers
