Customer Reviews

Art of the State: Oklahoma

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Years ago, when preparing for my 50-state road trip I'd purchased a load of travel guides to help plan what to see in each state. The guides satisfied me until I stumbled upon the first ART OF STATE book in Iowa and quickly purchased all the other states available. This curious book series made all other travel books pale by comparison. Deceptively small, slim, lightweight and light read, these books pack a punch of meaningful, inspirational information. Beautifully designed and written, they are thoroughly engaging and a joy to read--like finding an ancestor's scrapbook or diary in the attic and reading a fascinating family heritage while peering over images of a buried past. Each author must be a native or a deliberate transplant, for they tell each state's story lovingly, with a deep appreciation of the state--and not just its good features, but the blemishes, too, described evenhandedly. Photographs of architecture, landscapes paintings, crafts and memorabilia complement the words. Each book presents the state's history, climate, landscape, traditions, symbols, recipes, must-see destinations and a statewide calendar of events. I've purchased all the books in the series (20 of the 50 states as of 2007). If your budget won't allow you to buy all 20, at least buy two: one of your home state and one of your adopted state. You'll be amazed at what you discover.

I apologize for raving so much about THE ART OF STATE series, but it was such a find, like discovering a diamond in a sea of glass. I can't help but gush.

Now, about the Oklahoma edition. Each book in the series has a wallpaper design on its inside cover: a background color, unique to the state, dotted with a state motif. I try to guess what the wallpaper will be before opening the book. Sometimes I guess correctly, but not often. Oklahoma's motif is an oil derrick set against a burnt orange background. (I'd expected a cowboy motif since Oklahoma has more cowboys per capita than any other state and a red background because of it's red earth. But I was wrong, again.)

The Oklahoma edition exceeded my high expectations of all the ART OF STATE books. How did the author ever find such remote parcels of history and trivia? For example, the early 19th century English botanist, Thomas Nuttall, nicknamed "Le Fou" (French for "the crazy one") who traveled through Oklahoma in 1819 "rhapsodizing about the plant and animal life." Or, the "Uncivil War," when U.S. soldiers pulled out of Indian Territory to fight the American Civil War, leaving the Indians they had been protecting to fend for themselves. Many joined the Confederates as they were surrounded by Confederate neighbors, and caused a mini-Civil War between the tribes. The battle of Honey Springs in Oklahoma was the first time in American history where whites, blacks, and American Indians fought alongside each other. Not only did I learn more about Oklahoma, the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Route 66's beginnings, and the state's famous sons: Woody Guthrie, Count Basie, Ralph Ellison, Gene Autry, and Will Rogers (a Cherokee who joked, "My ancestors didn't come on the Mayflower--they met the boat."), but I learned a great deal about the art, history and the landscape of the state. For example, Oklahoma, a landlocked state "without a single natural lake has more shoreline than the Atlantic and Gulf coast, combined," due to its numerous public works efforts, specifically the dams. And the "empire of grasses," Oklahoma's three distinct types of prairie grasses. I enjoyed the story of the land runs, the oil rushes (and their unique lingo), and the dust-bowl exodus. The wild characters, such as "Alfalfa Bill," a kooky governor who championed alfalfa farms. The Trail of Tears story broke my heart, as did reading about the treatment of American Indians who lived in Indian Territory before it became white man's Oklahoma. When it did become a state, however, its 1907 Constitution was strongly populist "packed with provisions for direct democracy, employee and consumer protection, and corporate regulations"--hailed as "the most radical of state constitutions." It took three days to read it out loud for ratification. For all its uproarious land rushes, oil gushers, cowboy and American Indian tales, art and song, Oklahoma is a a great read. When author Edna Ferber researched the history for her novel Cimarron, she tossed most of it out because the stories were just" too fantastic" to be believed. That's Oklahoma.